After doing a few dailies with my Mage, I decided to take a break from level 50 and switch to my Cleric alt, Kaeji. He was only level 8 and fresh out of the time machine from the desolate future.
While I was running about in Freemarch, I noticed a conversation going on in zone chat. Someone was asking what RP stood for, and that led into some talk about whether or not it was polite to RP outside of private channels. Keep in mind, this is on Faeblight which is a PvE RP server. Let me repeat that: an RP server.
I don’t roll on a PvP server and complain about ganking. That’s kind of the point of rolling on that server type. Why oh why do people roll characters on RP servers (of which there aren’t many) and then complain about RP happening in public channels?
Of course the fellow who was asking about RP obviously didn’t know what he was getting into. But one of the other people who chimed in referred to public RP as exhibitionism, and he seemed to know enough about MMO’s to know better than to role on an RP server and not expect to see some. Why he decided to make his home on Faeblight, I’ll never understand.
I am not really sure why or how it happens, but the RP servers in many MMOs become the most popular, despite the fact that almost no-one roleplays on them See Antonia Bayle in EQ II for another example. I have some theories, but they are all somewhat convoluted.
I picked Faeblight largely because bloggers I know are there (you included obviously). You could have picked the “Old women will come to your house and say mean things to you” server and I’d still have signed up. It’s now nearly the most populated server for whatever reason, and seems to be charting a very similar course to AB in EQ II.
I think you’re right about that. It’s the same thing that happened with Landroval. All of the RPers decided just before launch to focus on that server. That server got a reputation for having a great community (I’m going to assume because of the type of person who likes RP, anywhere from light to heavy) so it’s population swelled. A lot of the people on that server have no interest in, or knowledge of, RP they’ve just heard good things about Landroval.
I still find people’s disregard for RP on an RP server grating though.
That’s so funny – I was running around Freemarch last night during that exact conversation (I had to chime in, sarcastically with the “hide their shame” comment when someone proposed private channels only for RP) (I was also the one who Waani caught with his trolling “What’s RP?” question…I’m such a noob sometimes!)
I picked Faeblight for the same reasons – other bloggers were there, and the hope that Fae will be the Landroval of RIFT. And most people who go to Faeblight sadly aren’t interested in RP. They’re more interested in being “where the action is” and as many bloggers talk about Faeblight, I think its natural for people to gravitate to our server (though I’ve had a few nice experiences in the last few weeks with some light RP).
Either way, I think the response by those in the conversation was overall a positive – RP is why they come to an RP server and if you really don’t want to deal with it, go somewhere else. Not mean or hostile, just matter of fact. It shows that, overall, the most vocal and active community members on Faeblight are supportive of any and all efforts at RP.
Oh, you were Dranne in that conversation? I took screenshots of the chat for the post. 🙂
I wasn’t following close enough to see who asked that initial question, or that it was a troll. Dangit I got caught too. Oh well, it did give me some blog fodder and I was debating posting at all since I didn’t have anything I really wanted to write about.
I think my experience in the high-level areas has colored my impressions of the Faeblight community, because I’ve not encountered any RP outside of Meridian, and the level 50 chat channel is twice as bad as the GLFF channel on Landroval. I had higher expectations because of the fact that it’s developer designated RP instead of being unofficially picked by the players. Having just written that though, maybe that’s why Landroval is the way it is. Being unofficial meant that the players had to work a bit more to make it RP friendly and so it’s made for a better experience. That whole given versus earned thing.
Yeah, that was me! Though I don’t think anyone caught the sarcasm…
I definitely agree with the “given vs. earned” aspect of the RP servers. Landroval is the way it is because, as a community, the players came together and set the tone. I think we can all agree that the things players build for themselves are always stronger, longer lasting, and more pervasive than anything that the developers try to “enforce”. Especially when it comes to the social side of MMOs. The best thing a developer can do it provide the players with the tools for RP, not necessarily designate areas as “strictly roleplaying”. If it’s going to happen, the players will make it happen.
For that reason alone, I always consider servers labeled “RP” by the devs as a…suggestion. Not a mandate. One, I think it encourages community-minded players to come together, and two, it keeps me from being disappointed when the non-RP players flood the chat channels.
So far, I think Faeblight is pretty strong as a community. Maybe not Landroval, not yet, but far better than some other “RP” servers on which I’ve played other games.
Drop me a line if you see me – I’ve got a Mage and a Rogue still hanging out in Freemarch.
(And this is totally cheesy, but is your guild recruiting? 😉 Thanks!)
Nothing cheesy about that. I don’t think we’re actively recruiting as in an officer is broadcasting on chat channels, but we’re not closed. Send me a tell next time you see me on and I can invite you. I have to say though, that the guild has been pretty quiet the last week and a half (or so) with maybe five or ten people online on any given night.
RP is dead guys, accept it. I am too playing at a RP server and sometimes I try to RP my dwarves, but it is not use.
MMO are each time more distant from D&D…
Never!
I don’t usually roleplay much myself beyond the internal kind that I do constantly, but I still play on RP servers in the hopes that I don’t see as many immersion jarring names, and that I end up in a more mature and engaged community. That worked out very well for me in LotR. It’s still too early to day for sure about Faeblight, but I’m not as optimistic as I was a few weeks ago. Part of that is my own fault, I foolishly had higher expectations since it was a Trion designated RP server.
I’m on the Guardian side of Faeblight. There’s almost always a group of folks RPing in the Inn in Argent Glade, but what bothers me is people talking politics or about what they’re having for dinner in the public chat channels. I hear that and think that same question: Why do people come to an RP server if they’re just going to get on chat and talk about the pros and cons of pizza from Dominos?
I’d love to turn the chat channels off but you kind of need them in Rift to know what’s going on where…
I’ve given a lot of thought to turning off the level 50 channel on my Mage, but that’s where all of the pickup groups are organized for dungeon instances. It can be frustrating sometimes though to see the Barrens-level chat going on. I’ve ended up creating a separate chat tab for when I’m interested in pugging and I just switch over occasionally and see if anything useful is going on.
I am over on Shadefallen, also an RP server. Thing is, while I love pen and paper roleplay, I have never enjoyed doing it in an MMO. This is an oversimplification, but in a video game I would rather be out killing a dragon than role-playing I did. Thing is, I always start characters on role-playing servers.
Why you ask? Well RP servers tend to attract players looking for a more mature gaming experience. They tend to attract the people that care about building a cohesive network of players, they care about building the community. As a result, myself and my friends are role-player-friendly but don’t do much role-play ourselves. Our guilds always have fleshed out back stories, and reasons for being there but as a rule are more “Diablo” than “MUD”.
I think a lot of people fall into that category. I do much the same thing myself, where I don’t usually actively roleplay but I am thinking about my character and why he/she is doing what they’re doing. I don’t often write a backstory before I roll a character, well I do for superhero games, but I usually come up with one while I’m playing.
Yeah i didn’t pick faeblight because i wanted to role play, but i certainly wouldn’t complain about it. Thats just stupid, or more than likely, someone trolling.
Always hard to tell if someone’s just a subtle troll or really clueless, isn’t it?