bNet protocol questions

[GrlNDgz]

Hey all!

I'm new to battle.net, but I've been playing single-player for a while, and there are some things I'm wondering about (and feeling a little silly, too):

*When someone wants a TP, is just opening it good enough? Or do I need to go through it as well?

*I'm used to playing /players8, so it seems like it's really slow to level up; asking someone to rush me seems a little like cheating, and a lot like I'll be at completely the wrong level with regards to the mlvl if I do. But there don't seem to be many games with more than 2 people in them. Is it rude to hang out in ActIV-normal on somone's ActI game?

*People are SO fast! I'm having a hard time keeping up, and then I feel like I'm not pulling my weight. Plus I'm playing a skellemancer with no melee (well, ok, CE from a wand), so I tend to hang back anyway. After an area or so I start feeling really overwhelmed. I want to play with the rest of you - that's why I'm here. Does everyone start out like this?

*Do folks mostly already have everything they need? Another reason I'm slow it that I'm gold and item poor, and want to open the chests and kick the buckets and pick up gold and take a look at what's there. (On the other hand, since no one seems to want anything, I don't feel too rude picking it up.)

*I'm feeling like there's a whole different style of play I need to learn? One where you keep your inventory almost empty for snatching the good drops? How do I do that, plus collect gems and runes for cubing?

That's got to be enough for now - who knows what tomorrow will bring.

Thanks!

[Cosmosis]

*When someone wants a TP, is just opening it good enough? Or do I need to go through it as well?

I just pop them open and try to keep them (relatively) clear, myself.

*I'm used to playing /players8, so it seems like it's really slow to level up; asking someone to rush me seems a little like cheating, and a lot like I'll be at completely the wrong level with regards to the mlvl if I do. But there don't seem to be many games with more than 2 people in them. Is it rude to hang out in ActIV-normal on somone's ActI game?

Fnd a group to play with. I'm still working on this, myself. Heh. So long as you do not kill any of the monsters needed for quest completion(Smith, Diablo, etc.) I don't care where in the game you are. That's just me, though.

*People are SO fast! I'm having a hard time keeping up, and then I feel like I'm not pulling my weight. Plus I'm playing a skellemancer with no melee (well, ok, CE from a wand), so I tend to hang back anyway. After an area or so I start feeling really overwhelmed. I want to play with the rest of you - that's why I'm here. Does everyone start out like this?

CE, I find, works quite nicely with just one point. Have someone else(or your merc) kill something in a group, hit CE, couple more die, keep hitting CE. My Necromancer's only in norm, mind you.

*Do folks mostly already have everything they need? Another reason I'm slow it that I'm gold and item poor, and want to open the chests and kick the buckets and pick up gold and take a look at what's there. (On the other hand, since no one seems to want anything, I don't feel too rude picking it up.)

As I mentioned above, try to find a group of people that you can play with. Ask them if they feel like playing an untwinked/whatever character. When I'm on bnet, I'm all about the chests/baskets/barrels. :P

*I'm feeling like there's a whole different style of play I need to learn? One where you keep your inventory almost empty for snatching the good drops? How do I do that, plus collect gems and runes for cubing?

You'll get the hang of it. Another reason why a group to play with is nice...not nearly as drop-hungry. Playing in public games reminds me of a bunch of baby birds with their mouths open, waiting impatiently for some food from mom. ;)

Good luck.

-Chris

[SatansAvenger]

dont worry about it, weve all been there. when you first start out with nothing, it is normal that you lag behind, especially non-melee characters. i doubt if any of us, even now, pull our weight when we start up a new sorceress.
dont feel that other people are fast, of course they are, because they have been playing for months, if not years, it becomes second nature to them.
some people actually have specific low level gears for their low level characters, when they start a new character, they just transfer the gears to them, and they therefore become a lot stronger.

[Machina]

Hey all!

I'm new to battle.net, but I've been playing single-player for a while, and there are some things I'm wondering about (and feeling a little silly, too):

*When someone wants a TP, is just opening it good enough? Or do I need to go through it as well?

Yes, just opening it is good enough.

*I'm used to playing /players8, so it seems like it's really slow to level up; asking someone to rush me seems a little like cheating, and a lot like I'll be at completely the wrong level with regards to the mlvl if I do. But there don't seem to be many games with more than 2 people in them. Is it rude to hang out in ActIV-normal on somone's ActI game?

As most public games focus on rushing your Char. as quickly as possible to Hell Baalruns, mid-game is a bit deserted. If you want quick exp. then the best way to go is get to Act5 Baal and join public Baal Runs. But don't feel that you have to do that, go at your own pace - and generally it's not rude to LvL in a different place to everyone else.

*People are SO fast! I'm having a hard time keeping up, and then I feel like I'm not pulling my weight. Plus I'm playing a skellemancer with no melee (well, ok, CE from a wand), so I tend to hang back anyway. After an area or so I start feeling really overwhelmed. I want to play with the rest of you - that's why I'm here. Does everyone start out like this?

Yes, generally you will start out like that. It will be easier when you get used to it, and the pace will seem slow if anything. As I said above, go at your own pace, take things in, and you'll get better and more used to things as you go along. Don't worry about taking your time.

*Do folks mostly already have everything they need? Another reason I'm slow it that I'm gold and item poor, and want to open the chests and kick the buckets and pick up gold and take a look at what's there. (On the other hand, since no one seems to want anything, I don't feel too rude picking it up.)

Alot of people already have what they need, but then again most people are greedy and will pick something up if they don't need it anyway. Chests etc. can drop just as well as monsters, don't feel inferior to people because your bothering to open them.

*I'm feeling like there's a whole different style of play I need to learn? One where you keep your inventory almost empty for snatching the good drops? How do I do that, plus collect gems and runes for cubing?

As a rule of thumb it's good to leave at least two rows of 4 slots free for picking items up. And cubing Gems up to PGems is a good way of gaining some currency with which to trade for better items.

[Myrakh-2]

Some RANDOM thoughts...

Bnet has its own playing style; don't play it like you play singleplayer. Newbies might still be "playing" in normal or nightmare (note: I said "newbies", not "noobs"); everyone else is just levelling to 70+ in a few hours and doing hell.

I used to do something in between: powerlevel to around 40, then play through nightmare or at least parts of it to get a feel for the char. I don't have the endgame gear yet, but all the endgame skills should be available, although they aren't maxed yet.

As for your "lagging behind": don't worry. If you're alone... more exp for you :-) I've had some "funny" conversations about things like this... on the last ladder I was building a sorc, and I was meleeing my way through Act 1. Must have made quite some impression on this barb I met --- he seemed to be a bit "shocked" when he asked me about my defense and damage, which apparently was way higher than his :-) That's exactly the same situation you are encountering --- there is some useful low level gear that you don't use for long, but it really helps to give you a cookie-cutting start.

My current playchar (a Skelemancer) is my "big" exception --- I only have one char on the current ladder, so he started with no gear. As such, I didn't start hell before I had traded for most of my endgame gear, making for an unusual long stay in nightmare (I think I was level 77 or something like that when I started hell, and I didn't actually do a lot of baalrunning...).

I'm thinking about making another char (haven't quite decided yet what...), but that will be usual "trade for gear before starting it", so 2 hours after creating the char he'll have the full endgame gear in his stash.

Anyway, back on topic: as for "protocols": don't worry, be greedy. That's what everyone else does :-)

I still try to be "nice", although I'll still grab whatever I can get my hands on. It's more about "nice" playing. When I'm rushing a mule to hell(forge :-)), I tend to MAKE games indicating what I'm doing, rather than just hopping into someones game. A2 is about the only exception, but even there I try to find games that actually say something like "Duriel Plz", or have other names indicating that they wouldn't mind a highlevel char speeding things up.

I feel that this is particulary important in hell --- I tend to not join games with people asking for help, or with comparatively low level chars in them, unless I actually want to help out (which I usually don't want). So, entering a game with a lvl 70 barb struggling his way through A1 just to get more players so I get more drops in A4 is something I wouldn't consider appropiate. But that's just me.

And while we're talking about fairness... I'm lucky enough to have two CD keys, so when I rush a mule in somebody else's game, I log in the mule, then I log in my playchar to "help" with whatever people are doing. People tend to be smart enough to notice the similar account names, and even if they don't the presence of a cooperating high level char usually makes them not mind the lowlevel standing in town.

And in general... do not expect drop sharing or "strong" teamplay. In particular, do not expect drop sharing; the pickit people win, or the people clicking faster. That's the main reason why I don't help people in hell, unless I need them for mule rushing (as in "they have the stuff and only need duriel killed") --- I kill Andy, Mephi, Diablo and Baal on a regular basis anyway, and I do like a change of scenery in any case, so "helping" with anything wouldn't be a problem --- but I also like to get my drops. Its not like I play 24/7.

Along the same lines, if I find a public game where I can be on my own, I don't make TPs even when asked --- my map, my drops, go somewhere else :-) Won't help against determined maphackers since they can always get to me in no time, tough :-(

As for teamplay... don't expect too much. You'll find that Paladins have no problems running the same aura, or Barbs overriding their warcries. Multiple necros will happily override their curses and so on.

In many respects, BNet is more singleplayer than singleplayer --- in singleplayer, people tend to know each other, which makes for better cooperation. On bnet, parties are completely random.

[Cooked]

Welcome to b-net and the forums.
Glad to have a new face here.
When I first went online after playing single it was a bit of a shock. There were really RUDE people and some nice people. I wish I had found these forums at that time. As it was I just struggled along as best I could

Just play as you want and don't worry if others are unkind.
Reading stuff here in forums will help you.
Look at some strategy guides as you start finding gear.
After awhile build a MagicFind (MF) sorc.
Save gems and cube them to perfect. Gems can be traded here for lots of better gear)

If anyone call you a noob just remind then that they were at one time too and then just ignore them.

Have fun!! and good hunting!

[GrlNDgz]

Some RANDOM thoughts...

Bnet has its own playing style; don't play it like you play singleplayer. Newbies might still be "playing" in normal or nightmare (note: I said "newbies", not "noobs"); everyone else is just levelling to 70+ in a few hours and doing hell.

I used to do something in between: powerlevel to around 40, then play through nightmare or at least parts of it to get a feel for the char. I don't have the endgame gear yet, but all the endgame skills should be available, although they aren't maxed yet.



Is powerleveling different than rushing?

I'm missing something here, and maybe your answer should be, "Just keep playing, you'll figure it out." And I intend to. But I keep picturing myself in Hell with no resistance, and even if I do manage to stay alive long enough to kill something, netting a whopping 5 xp. I've watched my merc (not) levelling up when I 've gone too fast for him.

As for teamplay, it's been great the couple of times I happened on someone who wanted to run through part of an act together, and I've been surprised by their generosity and tried to reciprocate. But mostly, yeah, it's about what I expected (and why I stayed SP for so long).

Thanks!

[Hakai_no_Tenshi]

What realm are you on? I'm on USWest and have a bunch of items I was gonna get rid of so I figure it might as well go somewhere worthwhile. I used to play SP exclusively for 3+yrs before I tried BNet since I needed something new to add spice to things. If you are on USWest, look for me on *hnt or *hnt2 sometime

--T

[Cosmosis]

Rush: Where you get a higher level character to take you through most of the game in one go.(Usually just one difficulty level)

Powerleveling: "Runs" against high-exp monsters.(Sewer runs, early on, followed by 'baal runs', etc.)

Usually you can find 'runs' with names like: Sewerz01, followed by Sewerz02, etc.

-Chris