Don't ask me to heal you if...

[windholder]

Okay, so the other day I'm over in Goblin Camp, grinding out some Sand Ratmen, when up walks a fighter who asks for a party. Fair enough, I'm soloing, and I'm not going to keep the whole area to myself, so I accept. He takes out one or two, and then stops...and just stands there, right in the spawning grounds, not even defending himself. Well, he is in my party, and I've got to keep him alive, so I'm peeling the Sand Ratmen off of him and healing him as needed.

Meanwhile, a mage walks up, and starts picking on multiple Were Bears all by herself. I'm busy trying to keep my suddenly defenseless and unresponsive fighter alive, while this mage is giving me a whole lot of lip about keeping HER alive (even though she's not in my party). Finally, the fighter signs out without saying anything, and the mage proceeds to snark, "wow, u can heal."

Enjoy your sarcasm, but don't you ever ask me for a buff.

I've got a couple of "do not buffs" already--players who've drop-thefted me, hung me out to die in battle, or otherwise demonstrated a complete unworthiness of the privilege. I'm not encouraging dishonorable play by continuing to reward players who demonstrate a complete disregard for honorable play. Buffs are a privilege, not an entitlement.

Now for the question that I hate to ask: if somebody's COMPLETELY over the line, would you refuse to heal them? "When a cleric speaks a word of power, you live or die"--that's part of the class description. We're under no obligation to heal everyone we see. So, in standard, non-KQ play, would you ever consider refusing to heal someone if they're being excessively abusive/hostile to you?

Now, obviously, if somebody's breaking TOS, and you can screen-grab that and send it in, that's that. But if it's not a TOS violation, just somebody going over the top with their best Sean Avery impression (Wikipedia him if you don't get the reference), would you refuse to heal them?

[shadoweve]

The guy not moving, obviously disconnected, as for the mage just lol.

[yamimi]

It's rare that I heal non-party members unless it's the KQ tanker(s), and even with that, other people will tell them to join my parties lol. Only other times I heal is to "buff plz"ers and lower lvl soloers who are obviously having trouble (running from mobs).

The other day after the plague, a noob archer logs on, walks up to me & says, "heal"

I just walked away. I mean are you telling me people are too damn cheap un game to use HP stones? Or saying they have no times to rest for 5 seconds? What lazy-*** people.

[shedoesncare]

yeah i have enough respect for myself not to act on other people's orders 'just b/c im a cleric and thats my job'. i have a good memory, and i hold grudges. people who were rude to me, kicked me out of their party, will not get a response from me. and some people act like this game is their life. pathetic. i was in a kq yesterday and it was hilarious how ppl were getting their panties in a bunch because 1 cleric wouldn't buff them. oh did you help me when i was getting mobbed by all the miscellaneous mobs? did you know i also have a party to tend to? where is your party's cleric? weren't you that guy being an *** to me? sorry but i do remember. etc etc. don't get me wrong, i do try my best to fulfill my job description, but people are so quick to blow to their fuse when it comes to a cleric.

[mianhae]

If someone is being that rude to you, and isn't even in your pt, I just wouldn't heal them.
If they were being rude, but I needed them in the pt I would just put up with it.
If they were being rude, I didn't need them in pt, I would either kick them or find a new pt.

the mage that was being rude to you had no right to be. you had nothing to do with her, she shouldn't have be expecting heals from you. If it was me, I just would of not healed her lol.

[OneSapphire]

No, I did not heal people like that and will not heal people like that. They clearly just don't understand that heals and buffs are privileges. Perhaps too many have been receiving free buffs too easily? I've stopped giving out random buffs.

Just very recently I left a noob to die in Sand Hill because he wanted me to power level him for free and refused to use his stones and kept asking me to heal him.

[ontslaan]

If someone is being that rude to you, and isn't even in your pt, I just wouldn't heal them.
If they were being rude, but I needed them in the pt I would just put up with it.
If they were being rude, I didn't need them in pt, I would either kick them or find a new pt.

the mage that was being rude to you had no right to be. you had nothing to do with her, she shouldn't have be expecting heals from you. If it was me, I just would of not healed her lol.

I agree. I love randomly healing and buffing and generally taking care of other players, but I do have to draw a line in the sand at some point. If I am in a full party and I'm busy, I will not even bother to respond. If I only have one or so members to watch, and the person isn't rude, I'll buff and heal them.
However, I never heal or revive anyone who demands to be entitled to such privileges.
If a mage doesn't want to take so much damage or die, they shouldn't be mobbing in the first place. Good for you on refusing them. You aren't a heal-bot nor should you be treated as such.

[shun-]

i dont heal unles the person asks me to, oh and they have to say pleas, if there being rude i kick'em out of party
or leave, they can die for all i care its just a game / :[

[LongshotFoxx]

If the mage thinks she can just keep going all those levels and make friends with clerics that way, she's going to have a hard time.

I find people with just rude mannerisms all around (jerks) eventually quit the game because they can't get under people's skin as easily as other places. Either that, or everyone just ignores them in the end.

As for the fighter, I've had a couple of instances like that as both a cleric and mage. On both sides. I've been a mage that had a cleric join my pt, and never do anything. And visa versa. I just de-pt them when they're afk and let them die. I later see them standing in Elderine for about an hour after they die. I'm not giving them free exp.

But yeah, I wouldn't even nod my head towards leeches or jerks. Like you said, it's your choice to heal. That's why we can choose to press the hotkey or not. Otherwise our finger would be glued to it.

[windholder]

Except refusing to heal is something that runs against my nature in real life, and is completely out of character for me in-game.

Out-of-character portion:
In real life, I'm actually trained as a holistic healer. So cleric was a natural choice for me when I picked my first character. I have a very hard time saying no to real-life healing requests, even if I receive absolutely nothing in return (which is technically not what I'm supposed to be doing, for both my sake and the client's). If someone needs help, and it's within your means and ability, shouldn't you help them? I mean, it is do unto others as you would have done unto you, right? And if someone slaps you on the right cheek, aren't you supposed to turn the other also? So it's not easy for me, personally, to DNB or DNH somebody. I feel like I'm not being true to my own beliefs by doing that.

In-character portion:
"I still remember, in my seventh summer, crying at my dying mother's bedside, and wishing there were something I could do to save her. I would never have become a cleric without that single, crystallizing moment of sorrow. And it was in that moment that I set out to become a healer. It was too late for my mother, and I carry her memory with me always.

"But it's not too late for the adventurers who are out to rid Isya of the rising evils which threaten us all. Every stranger on the streets of Elderine, every new adventurer in Roumen, every friendly face on the battlefield...they all have stories to tell. They all have someone who cares about them. They all want what I want: to drive the evil away from our lands.

"And so it's difficult for me to refuse to serve. I feel almost as if I'm betraying my calling when I do that. And sometimes I even wonder if Mother is watching somewhere, thinking, 'Ciaran, how could you do that?'

"But then, without all of us working honorably together, we will never be able to overcome the evils which are set against us. Today's spiteful words might be tomorrow's drop theft, or the next day's combat betrayal. So it would be against my interests to encourage that.

"And yet, I still can't shake the feeling that I'm betraying everything I'm supposed to stand for.

"Why does being a healer have to be so complicated?"

[Panzehao]

For the fighter probbly dc or something in rl came up and he/she had to go it happens, as for the mages LOL i never ever expect people to heal me if they aren't in my pt and either should anyone else unless you in kq and your the main tankXD to clerics out there keeping the main tank alive in kq is a good thingXD even if they aren't in to your ptXD Back on topic so for people like that mage feel free to watch them die then laugh at their death for they deserve itXD And yes people always blames the cleric>.> as a tank i have pt with so many cleric i can tell when its my fault, my pt fault or the clerics faultXD and guess what most of the time its not the cleric's faultXD only time it is is either cleric afks or is not paying attation to the pt's hpXD other than that its either your pt grab too many mob or the tank failsXD So people get off the clerics backs>.> we got enough of a cleric shorage (for me anyways coz i can never find a cleric when i need one so i have learn to do w/o >.> not fun) we don't need more quiting coz people can't act their age>.> (however if you area little kid then i have nothing to sayXD)

[Orchids_Mantis]

There are several people that are on my DNB list -and one on a do-not-party list (this one figured it was okay for her [I say "her" and "she because it was a female character, but I was informed that th eplayer was a male IRL...natch, huh?] to lure a bunch of CC zombies on the whole party 8 times and kill everyone so she could have time to warp to Elderine and back to turn in the zombie quest 8 times for a near-level in 1 run...she didn't mind dieing because she had BoT, which the rest of us didn't)

Anyways, yeah, people that insult me or lecture me when I'm not bending to their every whim -especially when I'm a) not in their party, b) tryign to keep myself alive, or c) not in a field map (in a town, not combat...particularlly near storage keepers), I usually have fun with by buffing or healing others...in field maps I've been annoyed to the point of being evil enough where I artied them and then fiegned lag to l;et them die....twice

[jman517]

Wind, I know exactly how you feel! xD So many noobs pk me or pick on me or are extremely rude to me, and make it onto my "Ebil people" list (AKA no help list)(Excluding KQ's) xD Just hate how some people are so noobish and think clerics are Healbots and buff slaves.

[chibi_pet]

To me, it feels similar to the fighter being expected to tank or a mage/archer expected to aoe.
Although...clerics still have it tougher.

[windholder]

chibi, not quite. There's a HUGE difference between keeping your party alive in battle, and giving somebody the luxury of several hundred extra SP and HP for an entire hour. Healing is right next door to a necessity; buffs are, I think, mostly a luxury.

That's why it doesn't take a whole lot of misbehavior to end up on my Do Not Buff list. But for me to consider 86ing someone all the way, it's got to be BAD. Telling someone to hit the bricks for a "b00f pl0x" is a no-brainer. Refusing to heal someone, THAT gives me pause, thus the thread.

[Fayette_VanClyde]

I had more problems as a cleric in my lower levels (below 60) than I do now. I find that the people who are total jerks during these levels either quit playing or learn to play nice or else get blacklisted by everyone. I typically found that players who were rude and disrespectful to me as a cleric were also rude and disrespectful to other players. The servers aren't that big actually - word gets around quickly who the bad players are and sooner or later no one wants to be around them. In my 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s I haven't had many problems as a cleric. Hardly anyone barks orders at me or is rude/demanding of heals and buffs. I ocassionally get the "let's do my quests and ignore yours" or the "all-the-drops-are-mine" guy/gal but not as often as I used to. Usually if that does happen, the entire party puts the guy/gal in his/her place and problem solved. I find overall in later levels people are more civil towards each other in parties.

Except for a certain guild on Epith that I refuse to help/heal/buff/or party with. I won't name names but this particular guild and its members have a bad rap in my book xD

[islabonita]

In spider kq, archer in party almost had giant spider killed, little spiders attacked me and I died... Archer said "you are a sucky healer" - I never, ever, partied/healed/buffed that archer and never will.

Mage (not in my party, I was solo) stole my drop while I was dumping stuff from inventory - same thing ... no heals for you. Next!

Why do people outside our parties expect to get healed/buffed? Do they help the cleric in any way? No. But we should help them. This entitlement is annoying.

[jimbowolf]

It irritates me too when I'm playing my cleric and people start demanding heal or buffs and their not in my pt I mean I'm not a jerk usually but it's ridiculous and people whonder why I stick to my archers or fighters usually, mostly cause I get sick of wasting 90% of my sp buffing or healing someone who usually doesn't even give me a customary thank you,

[liranqi]

yeah..have seem many rude ppl =~=.just hard to being a cleric...and they blame u for everything

[kahysadra]

I've always loved helping people, healing and buffing is something I want to do. But there are certain requirements I decided on.
No please, no buff.
Any numbers, no buff.
If I have no sp, no buff.
If all the requirements are there, I'd be more than happy to help you.
I don't heal anyone other than in my pty, sometimes if you're lucky I'll see someone soloing a mob without a buff, maybe I'll buff you and heal you once. But then I'll run along and do my own thing.
I don't like power leveling people either. As a cleric I find it hard enough anyway. I can't mob, I have to take each and everyone one at a time, which as it happens, is useless compared to the other classes. And then I get told, "You're useless at this."

[swanny811]

Exactly, People need to take this as a game!
Its not Real life (Its A role playing game

[paella]

You spend more time preaching about not giving the buff when you should be buffing and moving on. I don't bother with clerics, in fact, I leveled up my own for buffs. It's silly..there are two sides.....
If you can buff a person, then just do it. If you are busy it's understandable...

But there are JUST as many clerics out there who try to make you feel they can boss you for buffs. I've seen clerics force people to dance...

So ya, clerics are just as bad.

[leobaloy]

If people ask in a decent manner if buff them, if they ask in a decent manner and use a vitality scroll before i buff them, then I pop on my safe set and buff.

If people ask me in an illiterate/ignorant/commanding manner, t1 buff, or just ignore them completely

[paella]

Point proven. You get something out of having control...you literally go OUT OF YOUR WAY to give them a low buff. I've never seen such an insignificant amount of power go to a person's head.

[windholder]

Paella, with all due respect, you're so far off base the catcher doesn't know where to throw to start the rundown.

Buffs are, and always have been, a privilege. No one is entitled to them. No one. Even heals are ultimately at our discretion. "When a cleric says a word of power, you live or die." That's in the class description.

I'm a Cleric first and foremost. It fits my real-life personality to an extent, and I enjoy being able to help other players.

Unfortunately, there are too many players who think they can just up and demand that we do stuff for them, or who think it's entirely okay to heap abuse on us for not bending to those demands. I was getting "BUFF" when my level was in the 20's, and by the time I even was ABLE to buff, I'd gotten fairly disgusted at some of the bad manners.

We're human, don't forget, and we do not like getting screamed at/snarked at/stalked/what have you, for exercising our discretion as to who we do or do not choose to buff. Put bluntly, we do not HAVE to give buffs. And if you really want to go there, we do not HAVE to heal or revive. Most of us who are drawn to the class will prefer to do those things, instead of not doing them. But we all have our limits, and there does come a point where some of us just go, All right, no mas.

We're not going to encourage rude behavior by buffing every screamer, snarker, and stalker. Forget it. If you want us to give you that kind of blessing, ask nicely. A couple of extra keystrokes isn't going to give you carpal tunnel syndrome, and a little bit of civility goes a surprisingly long way.

Bottom line: all of our skills are ours to use as we see fit. And there are some of us who just do not see fit to use them to help others who treat us like slaves.

[Eloren]

I'm sure some if not most of the clerics who "force" people to dance are just trying to have a little fun (and maybe encourage other people to have some fun too). You get kinda punchy after dealing with a steady stream of "buff plz." :D

And yeah, in terms of the general topic, if someone is rude to me they shouldn't expect me to go out of my way to serve them. I'll do my job to help my party, but someone who doesn't respect me and the work I do can find a more forgiving buff and heal slave if that's all they want.

[Ex.plode]

If someone has the balls to actually say b00f pl0x0rz, the cleric should automatically buff them and give them 1 gold.

[hiro9]

Okay, so the other day I'm over in Goblin Camp, grinding out some Sand Ratmen, when up walks a fighter who asks for a party. Fair enough, I'm soloing, and I'm not going to keep the whole area to myself, so I accept. He takes out one or two, and then stops...and just stands there, right in the spawning grounds, not even defending himself. Well, he is in my party, and I've got to keep him alive, so I'm peeling the Sand Ratmen off of him and healing him as needed.

Meanwhile, a mage walks up, and starts picking on multiple Were Bears all by herself. I'm busy trying to keep my suddenly defenseless and unresponsive fighter alive, while this mage is giving me a whole lot of lip about keeping HER alive (even though she's not in my party). Finally, the fighter signs out without saying anything, and the mage proceeds to snark, "wow, u can heal."

Enjoy your sarcasm, but don't you ever ask me for a buff.

I've got a couple of "do not buffs" already--players who've drop-thefted me, hung me out to die in battle, or otherwise demonstrated a complete unworthiness of the privilege. I'm not encouraging dishonorable play by continuing to reward players who demonstrate a complete disregard for honorable play. Buffs are a privilege, not an entitlement.

Now for the question that I hate to ask: if somebody's COMPLETELY over the lineProxy-Connection: keep-alive
Cache-Control: max-age=0

C would you refuse to heal them? "When a cleric speaks a word of power, you live or die"--that's part of the class description. We're under no obligation to heal everyone we see. So, in standard, non-KQ play, would you ever consider refusing to heal someone if they're being excessively abusive/hostile to you?

Now, obviously, if somebody's breaking TOS, and you can screen-grab that and send it in, that's that. But if it's not a TOS violation, just somebody going over the top with their best Sean Avery impression (Wikipedia him if you don't get the reference), would you refuse to heal them?


i lold

the only time i think a cleric should heal somebody other then somebody is in their party is when you are in a KQ and the TANK isnt in your party. Mainly because (especially for KKP) if the tank dies everyone dies. Now while grinding or questing do as you please xD

EX of when a cleric should heal some1 outside their party: Clerics in KKP one time wouldent heal the tank, but instead stood there because their pt wasnt being attacked.. needless to say the KKP failed because of this.

EX of when no1 cares what they do: ^--the mage from above xD :rolleyes:

[hiro9]

dubble fail lag post e.e

[windholder]

But consider this.

Suppose I want to vendor some T1 Stones, and I need some materials. I typically opt to take the scenic route from Elderine to Echo Cave by legging it across Forest of Mist and Sand Beach. Nothing on those maps is going to bother me at this point, so I'm free to look around and see who's fighting what. If I see, say, a Level 11 Mage with a Ratman Fighter right in their face and who's in imminent danger of dying, party or not, it's heal-buff-heal-restore and ask questions later. No, I can't help everyone, nor should I. But I don't think I should just flat-out ignore someone who clearly needs help.

I almost think it's morally wrong to refuse to help someone who's clearly in need. Yes, this is a completely inconsequential online RPG we're talking about here, but it does mirror real life to some extent. The choices we make here, I think, say a lot about us as human beings.

Let me get seasonal for a second. It's kind of like what Trans-Siberian Orchestra sang about it in Old City Bar (which is a pretty song, by the way): "If you want to arrange it/This world you can change it/If we could somehow/Make this Christmas thing last/By helping a neighbor/Even a stranger/And to know who needs help/You need only just ask."

And that goes all the way back to my original post. I have a hard time, morally and spiritually, putting people on my 86 list. Turn the other cheek; go the second mile; give your cloak also; that's how I was raised IRL, and I still believe all that.

So a couple of snarky words shouldn't then mean I refuse to help someone--the punishment doesn't seem to fit the crime, at least on the surface. But on the other hand, am I doing the greater community any favors by aiding and abetting someone who's likely as not to verbally abuse someone else?

Yes, this is an inconsequential RPG, but because there is a human element, morals do come into play. Morally, I personally think that if I can help someone, I'm supposed to, and that if I'm not at any risk myself, I'm required to.

So for me to take names and say that none of that applies for this person, for me, actually feels almost immoral. Same thing with not buffing everyone who asks: I actually have a hard time saying no. But on the other hand, being too quick to forgive, or bending to every screamer, would only make life worse for someone else down the road. I don't like having to lay down the law at the expense of helping someone when I'm not at risk. So for me, this is actually a fairly complex question, even though I suspect it's just me.

But that is just me, and what I bring to the game from real life. You REALLY don't want me to double the length of this post by letting my character have the floor, so I'll shut up.