Hi Animl...LTNS.
I argue that the current environment hampers self policing and leading by example. Guys that cannot manage to average one whole kill for every death run their mouths like they are the hottest **** in the game. I've watched players who are not only among the best sticks in the game, but also give of their time in events and helping people completely disrespected on channel by a bunch of tardlings, or mass reported. Not that they couldn't handle themselves in a verbal joust, but I see stuff we would never have dreamed of years ago, because you'd have been made a community outcast for pulling much of the crap I see. There is a sub-culture where the players are completely clueless of how incompetent they are in what we consider "skills", have no concept that AH is primarily a combat simulator over a war game, and at the same time are among the most arrogant players in the game. The anonymity level is high enough during peak that I don't see leading by example as being an effective option. This one is funny...but also, not...The anonymity level is so high that I've been told about once a month for the last six months to "go to the TA" by some tardling who can't post a whole number in k/d or k/s.
This prevailing attitude shows through in gameplay environment. A lot of the gameplay people complain about are valid tactics under a given set of circumstances. I do not believe they should be "eliminated" in any way. But at the same time those "issues" should not be the ONLY trick in so many players bags. Yet they are, and that's why the complaints are so prevailant.
I'd like to see a change in the environment structure so that 95% of the playerbase is not swimming in the same cesspool. The arena split two years ago was supposed to do that, but in my opinion the existence of open planeset arenas prevent it from being effective.
I agree. I like to talk some smack on 200 as we all know, I actually need to do it a bit to get in the mood to kill people. I'm naturally a very non-violent person in real life, so I have to incite some emotional intensity to get myself frisky. When someone I recently killed starts poking me with a stick, the first thing I do is look at their sheet. I don't look at their
"RANK" I look at their
"STATS". And I don't just look at their fighter stats either. I look at attack sorties too as most like to put their "vulch-fest with a perk ride" hops in the fighter category and their normal, average hops in the attack category, so attack sorties are quite often a better representation of a person's effectiveness.
If the person poking me with a stick has 4 kills in 500 hops a 1% hit % and 1 kill every 2 hrs, they get called on it in hall of shame fashion, then publicly advised to zip it pending them getting a clue. However, if a person has 300 kills in 75 hops, a 10% hit % and 7 kills/hr they get to play smack-warrior with me and it's all fun, they deserve to be there yak'ing it up.
Some people like to say things like, "Zazen, don't be mean" or "Rank means nothing". Well, first of all it has has nothing to do with rank, it's just a simple matter of being effective, either you can seal the deal vs. enemy fighters in the MA or you can't. If you can't, you need to zip it, watch and learn. If you can then I don't need to explain this to you, because you're already there and know what I am talking about. I seriously don't care how fabulous you are in the DA jerking your dweebfire around 1 vs 1 at 5k. If you can only cash it in for 4 kills in 500 hops in the MA, you're of no use to me, yourself or anyone else in the MA and you certainly shouldn't be poking people with a stick who are effective, practice humility and you will learn faster.
