I'm Mad As Hell and I'm Not Going to Take It Anymore!

I wrote this blog entry back in September and still believe I learned a valuable lesson about resource farming in MMOs.

But.

There. Are. Limits.

Case in point: my Lord of the Rings Online champion has been stalled at master expert weaponsmithing for months now. Now that it's summer, I've been hitting the South Trollshaws where Dwarf-iron is plentiful and the surrounding mobs grey to me. Today, when I hit the countryside, I had the region all to myself. For the uninitiated, that's like driving down five empty lanes of freeway. It's freakin' sweet.

At one point, I happened upon two nodes within walking distance of each other. I dismounted, mined the first. And then ran to the other. I suddenly heard galloping behind me. I was already running, but I continued to the node, nearly there. A mounted dwarf ran right over me, dismounted faster than anyone I had every seen, and mined it right as I reached it.

Wrenched from my five lanes of open freeway revelry, I muttered some choice four-letter words, but only mounted my horse and rode away in-game. After all, it was just one node. Plenty more around.

I mined another node or two and then made me way for another when I heard familiar galloping behind me. Already at full speed, I continued towards the mine. The same dwarf overtook me, jumped off his horse, and mined it just as I reached it.

Gritting me teeth, I try REAL hard to not emote nut kick him or send him a /tell. Instead, I check which direction he flies into and I turn the opposite way.

Not five minutes later he overtakes me again and snags ore within inches of me.

Now, notice the language I'm using here: THE ore, not MY ore. I know it's not my ore. Not until it's in my backpack. Still . . .

At this point, I'm pissed, but I ride off (the opposite direction again) without any communication with the lout. But as I make my way to another mine, I hear the familiar galloping. Almost to the node myself, the dwarf suddenly appears, as if from nowhere. If I weren't mistaken, I'd swear he had a catapult attached to that damn saddle of his. He grabs a fourth node right from under me at which point I've had quite enough.

I send him a /tell, simple and to the point: "Man, you're a jerk."

Predictably, he responds with the ore is fair game, he gets there first, blah blah blah. I've heard it a million times, I've even tried subscribing to its mantra, but ultimately, I just can't. The guy was behaving like a braying ass. On four different occasions, he had to pass by me to reach a mine before I did. He denied engaging in this behavior, tried to claim if he saw me going for a mine, he turned to look for another.

Utter nonsense.

The real issue here is, you CAN outrace someone else for a resource, but SHOULD you? There's tons of things we can do in real life that we don't. Because of moral qualms or undesired consequences or a social network that would frown down upon us. I know all too well that people can "ninja" resources, but I recommend that they shouldn't. Why? I guess for some of the same reasons we do polite things in public, like hold doors open for people behind us. Or not cutting in lines. Or jumping in a cab that someone else has flagged down. Or taking up two seats on a full bus. Or talking on your cell phone during a packed movie.

I agree, it's a small thing to take a node away from someone else. But it's the small things that add up. In subtle ways, that kind of behavior and attitude harms the server community at large.

It makes the atmosphere less friendly. More cut throat.

Less give. More take.

Less congenial. More self-serving.

Less polite. More loutish.

Less "Greetings friend!" More "F*#% you!"

So I'm just not going to let this stuff go by like I used to. Fragrantly ninja me once, twice, maybe even three times, I'll let it go. But after that, I'm calling you on it. It's a game, yes, but that's no excuse to chuck civil behavior out the window in pursuit of the game's goals.

Let's keep it friendly out there, shall we?