I don’t know what to say about MMO players these days. I’m all for PVP and pirating. I don’t consider ganking people in PVP zones “bad”. Sure, it’s lame and annoying to have players many times your level attack you while you’re questing but it’s par for the course. The same goes for pirating. It’s a fundamental mechanic of AA and an extension of PVP. I don’t like having my items stolen from me any more than the next person but I recognize it has a valid play style. And in those circumstance, even when outnumbered, you at least have the opportunity to defend yourself and your property.
What I can’t abide are hackers, exploiters and griefers who misuse game mechanics in a way where you can’t attack them. Where you are powerless in preventing them from initiating an incident is such a sucker’s route. Recently, we’re seeing an increase in two forms of grief attacks against trade pack haulers.
Case #1 – Dance Your Packs Away
Case one uses an in game item that forces a player to dance with the initiator. You’re not given an option – no warning or confirmation is required. If this occurs when you’re driving a farm vehicle, you will stand up from the seat, which allows another player to take it over. Even if you have Owner’s Mark on which prevents another player from taking control, they can make you dance until the Owner’s Mark wears off AND THEN take your shit. In order to steal your packs they drive the vehicle into a pack of mobs that will destroy it, thereby dropping your packs on the ground for the taking.
Trion has said that this is an exploit and a bannable offense. Too bad it wasn’t removed from the game back in Alpha when it supposedly was taken out. Or the item's dance feature disable - something that was also said to have been done. To date the game's track record on banning exploiters and keeping them banned isn’t that stellar, leaving their threats to ban people weak.
The most you can do is to spam Owner’s Mark anytime you’re near other players. If this happens to you take screenshots and report the participants. Don’t give up on trying to get the cart back. I’d drop the pack on my back and follow the offender, killing mobs they’re trying to have target the cart. Jump back on top of the cart and keep spamming “mount” so that you can disengage them and reapply Owner’s Mark.
I had a red player steal my farm wagon once in Halycona. The area was very crowded and I had trouble making it back and forth to my cart to load up the trade packs. The OM ran out before I noticed and someone started driving off. As a ranged class, I glided on to the top of the wagon and kept killing mobs they were heading toward while banging OM for dear life. Eventually, I unseated them and was back in control. Whew! It was a close call. If they’d made it to the roving Centaur pack it would have been lights out for my cart and trade packs.
Case #2 – Click to Your Death
Another ploy that can only be done by players of the opposite faction is to block the trade pack turn-in NPC with their bodies or carts. Doing so may cause you to accidently click (auto-attack) them or their cart which will cause the Neutral Guards to annihilate you and your cart. BOOM, your packs are now on the ground as free loot.
I'm front/left (ChittyChittyBangBang), inching closer each time they try a counter move.
At some points they had people standing all on top of me and hood of wagon.
As you can see from the screenshot above, I was in a stand-off with a bunch of jerks while trying to deliver packs in Two Crowns. The incident lasted almost 30 minutes. Players from my own faction tried to help but ended up being killed. And because the collision detection isn’t working as intended on the farm vehicles yet…still, you can’t push them out of your way. Players unware of this fact tried spawning their carts to help push the reds off the vendor but to no avail. It was heartening to see others come to the defense of a stranger. *GO KYRIOS*
I was so busy spamming Owner’s Mark and trying to edge forward anytime they moved an inch trying to out flank me, that I didn’t have time to warn others who tried to turn theirs in during the midst of the stand-off. Two players died and had their farm carts destroyed because they accidently clicked the red players instead of the NPC which is the goal of the griefers.
I can be very evil and stubborn when my buttons are pushed. I refused to give an inch or leave! I wasn’t going to retreat to turn in elsewhere for less money. Nah, I had as much time to waste as these idiots did. I turned ALL OF MY PACKS IN, one at a time by spamming OM and always having one pack on my back. The instant I saw an opening where my cursor could interact with the NPC through their bodies I turned it in. Rinse. Repeat. Thwart. After my cart was empty and unsummoned, I danced around them and threw them flowers while they portaled out empty handed. MUAHAHA
Sandbox games with PVP can attract a different breed of player. You need to be aware of the current exploits and grief mechanics being used to stay as safe as is reasonably possible. Knowledge is power. Landlubbers beware and good luck out there!
hi! i have something similar today.. the minute and a half of owner's mark run off and someone still my farm cart. i chase him from falcorth to villanelle. there was NOTHING i could do. that guy was a total prick!
That kind of behavior on a game it is plausible of doing it on RL if it wasn't moral or police, laws and a jail to lock them up for scamming or murder... but i think, and i'm not going to far with this tought, pricks in game, pricks in RL aswell.
And i have taken pictures (because is not my first videogame that i have a really close encounter with an asshole) to elevate them to a report... but i don't find any report, help or ticket button at all.
Can you guide me to it, please?
[Saylah]: Check Reddit. I don't know if there is a bug report feature in Archeage. I think it's via the official forums. I'm not playing anymore but you can ask on Reddit.
Posted by: Elisabel | March 03, 2015 at 02:00 AM
by the way, thanks for your post!
Posted by: Elisabel | March 03, 2015 at 02:01 AM