It's not the first time it happened - but the reason why is clear. Denied entry to a group (at 96) because the 3-boxer wanted to keep his 3 Mercs up so they would get Merc AA. I understand how from a "gameplay and lore" standpoint that it makes sense to need a Merc active to get any AA's. I really do. But it's totally counterproductive to encouraging grouping. (which is what Hotzones are all about - for example) I can't see where it would be totally unbalancing of anything to let Merc AA's grow at the same rate - whether your using the Merc or not. It' only got the upside of better encouraging grouping at all levels. -Rat
As a former boxer I always had a rule that I would never let a merc take the spot of a real person under any reasonable condition. I needed slightly more fortitude with this when it came to merc exp, but I was able to fairly easily maintain this rule with myself. Where this becomes a lot tougher for me is when I am in a group with 3 mains and 3 mercs, and a 4th wants to join. Having to determine who drops their merc is an awkward situation that I would love to avoid.
People actually care about those? Sounds like a thinly veiled excuse for someone that simply wants to play alone.
When you are maxed on exp, it is nice to see an exp bar moving again, whether it is really useful or not. Look at all the people that spent days and weeks maxing their evolving alaran tear, when the impact of it will be fairly negligible. Or the people that actually bought merc gear..... Never underestimate many peoples wish to max everything, no matter whether it has no impact or not.
Exactly. Dropping a Merc for a real player should never incur a "penalty". For exactly the reasons you stated. -Rat
Anyone who won't dump their merc without batting an eye in exchange for a real player is not someone I want to group with, anyway.
all 8 ranks of healing acumen seemed to add like only 400 hp per a direct healcast by my mercs. I don't have the exact numbers but yeah it was kinda meh.
Only an idiot would take a merc over a player Unless said player is so bad I say "WOW even a merc could do better then this" < or low level/undergeared... I have on occasion had random DPS toons I invited from general (when someone from my fellowship wasn't on) that I have kicked and ended up popping a merc... Same with healers although it happens far less frequently. Because they couldn't do better then a merc (which is a pretty low bar to set... mercs are horrible in comparison to what a toon with a pulse can do) You said you are level 96, do you Out DPS a level 100 DPS merc? If not then thats why you didnt get invited. You would be holding the group back if you were in it to begin with more then likely.
I'd take a level 96 actual player over a 100 merc, but I'm both an enchanter who can compensate for a weak player, and unusual.
Right, yes a merc is not as good as a player. I agree. Here is the thing. I'm maxed AA. I've done a lot of achievements. When I do my dailies, I only do them for one reason.. merc aa. Otherwise there is no point doing the daily quests right? Now if I could drop all three of my mercs and still get some meaningful exp, it would encourage me to say to my guild "hey I'm doing the dailies, anyone else need them?" Instead I do them, then ask if anyone needs help. Merc AA is just badly implemented. Yes we should always want to drop mercs to add someone to our group. Yet what is the point of playing a maxed AA character in a zone that isn't getting achievements, isn't giving you any aa or xp, and isn't giving you upgrades...... Other than just self sacrifice. Yes in the perfect world all of us would care nothing about our own toons and simply help others achieve their dreams... but we are far from perfect.
Everyone in the group should get merc Xp if a merc is up, even if it's not their merc, after all the experience is actually carried by the owner and not the merc.
That guy was just being a . Even if they have worse gear, you should always drop mercs for players. This game has a dwindling playerbase, we need to help each other out
That's not really "denied entry to a group" if that group was just 1 person 3-boxing. I suspect he/she just doesn't want to group with you for whatever reason, and merc AA is just an excuse. No need to blame mercs.
There are other reasons than skill that people would keep a merc over a player. They include being able to AFK without feeling bad, being able to hoard all the loot, and now they just added another: so the mercs will get exp. People don't need more reasons to want to use mercs over real players, they already have enough.
I don't like how someone choosing to 3-box is being considered brainless and other insults. I love grouping with people from all over, I have no problem with that. But sometimes I prefer to group with mercs over people. The list is short but there are some benefits from it. For example, I like to go fast, I chain pull, and selo's to everything in the HA's to get them done as fast as I can. Using mercs allows me to be able to do that faster then with a group of people where someone might AFK, go LD, and just decide they want to leech for awhile. Why should I have to change my fast paced game play and allow other people to slow me down just because they are "real".
How about fun? Does fun not interest you, or is the game really only about watching your XP bar and stats grow? I know your .sig lampoons my "Your XP bar is not a fun meter." statement, but I really do think there's a lot of fun to be had in this game without concern for XP or loot. Look at it the other way: if the only reason to play is to watch your numbers get bigger and/or your XP bar grow, what fun is that? You may as well stare at a clock/calendar. First of all, while I'm aware that there are weak players who could actually slow down a great boxer, I think most players would not only speed up the group, but make the group more enjoyable. What are you in such a hurry to do, anyway?
