How many players do you think.......

How many low level players do you really think are real new players? Or is the majority recycled players? I remember a long while back it wasnt uncommon to see people wandering around aimlessly tryin to make NPC's talk or screaming for directions in Butcherblock, Gfay etc etc. But now I dont see any of that. People always complaining about newbie players but I think that its just old players playin new classes they arent used to .

What ya think?

I think the majority of the low level characters are alts or someones friend they have talked into playing EQ. I can zone into Rivervale now without being bombarded by the "give me stuff" tells.

I remeber this one time when I was level 5 this dude was giving out free banded at neriak entrace. I asked for some but he said I couldn't use it!

I would bet there are 10-20 true newbies on each server every week.

Remember that with games like EQ that only about 2/3 maintain the subscription for more than the free month. And of those only 1/5 will play the game more than 3 months.

of course 90% of the people we know fit in the minority so its hard to see it in that perspective.

I rememeber LUSTING after bronze armour when I was around lv 15, this rogue called Trizdae told me if I helped her by gathering pelts for her she would give me the armour she made and I could sell what was left to help buy the bronze.

Man i hated getting those pelts, i wanted the bronze NOW!!!

But hell she taught me not to beg and showed me my first ever guild (Dark Faith) it was quite cool really, felt like i was being inducted to some arcane organisation.

2 Years on and im triple the level of her but she still remains one of the most respected people in my books.

Another thing to remember is there are a lot of players who never really get past level 20 before starting a new character. I'm sure we've all know the terminal-newbie now and then; the ones that used to sit in EC shouting "level 20 rogue selling everything on me or trade for paladin gear!" A week later they could be seen shouting "level 19 paladin selling everything for..." etc.

I am sure out of the newbies are old timers wanting to act like newbs for fun/irritation.

Coming into the game, I was able to watch over my husband's shoulder for his 30-35 levels. After 60 levels, I still feel like a newb.

Porting into Steamfont, I'll get hammered by a newb-acting gnome asking for <insert list of druid spells here>, pp, gear, even when I am /role. Unless they've studied the book from end to end, they're sure knowledgeable. I didn't know what my spells were a few spell levels beyond my current level back then.

Once, some friends of mine ported in after me. I had been earlier telling them that this guy was pestering me for pp, buffs, and gear. They ported in and began begging him for buffs. The guy sat there for a minute or so and then ran off.

Cassaendra

...the longer you go to school, the less you know... (Or I am just going senile)

I tend to agree with cass and xarg on this one. I have seen both as well. I remember the first time I zoned from wfp to ec and was attacked by a skele. Boy was my level 2 warrior in for a shok. ( I didnt know you could zone thought I had done something wrong) But that was over 3 years ago.

Now, I talk people into trying EQ and they stay or go depending on them. True newbies are rare. When I find one. I tend to help them as much as possible. And you know when you find one. They are the ones with the bronze look and wondering around the gorge going .. ahh whats an evil eye. Or some other place doing something like it.

It's actually pretty easy to find the true newbies most times. A short conversation with them and you can learn alot. The ones I like best are the ones that ask for advice, not for stuff. I will generally spend alot more time with them, and usually figure out a way for them to end up with a nice item in exchange for doing something simple that saves me time (like buying something from a vendor in a kos city for me).

The fake newbies piss me off. Most of the ones that beg for items and plat are not alts of high levels, but alts of perma-newbies. What I have found is that a quick application of newbie beggar root will stop them. (newbie beggar root is a process of giving myself a str buff, converting 100 plat to copper, and giving them 10k coins).

Every time I hit neriak I seem to find a real newb. Watch em drool over summoned crap I toss them.

I have tons of characters, in all my years and levels of playing EQ I've never asked for a sow or much else. I did get some stuff handed to me at low level with my two firsts, which were Wilerili and Jorfe. Guess I did look like I needed help, was trying to kill a rat with an orc pawn pick with Jorfe and with Wilerili at level 2 I was lost in Gfay sitting at the orc lift. Now I twink my lowbies with the best I can afford and they are very nice, I don't mind to be seen as a twink. If you see a level 6 BL wearing brown chitin and treeweave that's me. If you see a level 11 necro in fulll netted kelp that's me. I don't pass up for a newbie, I even shamelessly PL myself sometimes, but not past level 10, since I like keeping my skills up to par with my levels.

It's true in 120 levels of paladin and cleric I've never asked for a sow and only twice for a port. I leveled a second druid to 49 just so that my paladin would have ports, sows and binds. I can live without KEI and I can CR with no sow or invi. Sometimes I do it just to prove a point. At this point I can port, sow, bind and rez all my 14 characters.

http://www.geocities.com/roednt.geo/EQ/Jowilclair.jpg
Wilerili
Jorfe
Clairesy

After seeing Cassaendra's reply i gess i'll have to spam her for buffs and ports now just for fun =P /wave Cass

But as for "Newbies" i haven't run into that many in the few months since i came back to EQ. Found one in GF that was shouting and oocing for help finding her trainer (she fell off and died, and couldn't find her way back to the druid guild in Kelethin) from POD lift. So as always i helped someone i "felt" needed it. took her to her guild trainer, and bought her some of her lev 1 spells. About 10 mins later (when she figured out how to use /tell) i recived a simple "thank You". wich made me feel good. So there still around but alot more rare it seems.

As for the "veteran" n00bs i see them a little to much. Ran into lev 2 monk in EFP the other day. I was just sitting at the newbie guards at the gate talking to my guild and and he stroled up and inspected me. and then sent me a tell with "let me have that sword" well after I did a /who i replied with a simple your class can't use swords and sorry I'm not giving any items away. He replied with "aww come on many you know you got 10k sitting in the bank and all kiinds of items you will never use.. i mean come on your 52!!" ( i wish i had 10k and a bank full of items i'll never use) but anyways i simply told him that i as not rich and couldn't help him out. then came "You 50+ M----- F-----'s are all the same horrding all the good stuff to yourself." So trying to keep my temper under controll i replyed with "Yep we horrd it all and welcome to /ignore" but before i could spell out his stupidicly long name i recied a one word tell of "faggot".. and then a Wu Trance Stick appeared in his hand and a druid showed up buffed him and away he went with the druid following as if he was on /follow.
People like that should have all there characters ported and bound in somewhere in Hate with a full pop.

Sorry if i started ranting

Xent Halfbent 53 champion of Spirit of Arcana
Xental Shadowpet 54 retired Heratic
Xentwolf Timberspirit 35 Druids trade skill mule

I remember when I first started this game back in december of 99. I choose a warrior. His name was Slashking. When I first got on I didn't know diddly about the game. I had a friend who started playing standing over my shoulder telling me how to set up keys and such. I was lucky that day. I remember a higher level warrior came up to me and said, "are you a newbie" after a minute or so, once I learned how to talk back, I said "Yes I am". He gave me 20pp. I though I was rich then. He said take this money and go to East Freeport and seek the leather shop. Inside there you can buy a full set of leather with it. I did what he said and bought a full set for 18pp and roughly 2pp leftover. I will never forget that moment, but I definately forgot his name.

I see plenty of true newbies around. It's VERY easy to pick out people that are actually new to the game and it's kind of neat to see them having fun, or arguing with each other, or screaming about stealing kills, etc.

There are newbies, but you have to actually go to newbie zones to see them. If you go to the known "high level player starting a twink" PLing spots, you obviously won't be likely to see that many true newbies.