A Modest Guide by A Modest Mudder

Gaardian’s Beginners Guide to Being A Good Groupie:

The purpose of this guide is to help direct you along the often tedious path it takes to achieve your final goal in Aard. Just as in real life, no man is a mountain or an island unto themselves, we need help in our journeys. For the vast majority of us we enjoy Aard not because of our desire to watch text scroll but because of its social aspects, for what they are. Speaking personally, some of my closest and most trusted friends have come from people that have either helped me level or I have help level by giving them drags. You will find that as your TNL (experience to next level) increases, you’ll probably want to find someone to tag along on your leveling spree. Remember, misery loves company! So this mini-guide is meant as a point of reference to help you be A better dragbie (person who is in the group, but not leading). Let’s face it, no one wants to be “That Guy.”

General Rules:

1) Offensive Spells and Skills : Remember, you’re role as the dragbie is to assist. The main way you can assist is by doing something! Mostly this means using your strongest skill or spell. Use it! Every round. Does it do as much damage as the leader? It doesn’t matter. Anything helps! Nothing frustrates a group leader more that if your dragbie is doing absolutely nothing. Then you just become dead weight and an exp leech. Don’t be “That Guy.”  New to Aard and don’t know what skills are useful? Look for our future guide to useful skills/spells out soon! In the meantime, if you don’t know what skill/spell to use either use the same as the group leader or ask for a suggestion.

2) Healing : This one is a bit less steadfast of a rule. Personally speaking, I don’t need my dragbies to heal me unless Im about to die and ran out of pots or something. However I will add the caveat that when you get into SH dragbie range (level 186 – 199) this rule changes. The best advice I can give is to ask your leader. A quick “Hey, do you want me to heal?” is a valid question! So ask, no one will be bothered. Don’t have heal spells? There are lots of places which sell heal scrolls! Remember, potions can only be used by the person. Scrolls can be recited on other people!

3) Double Experience Etiquette : Double exp brings some new rules along with it. The main rule is paying more attention! We all tend to drift off into our text-induced coma while we are leveling, so when dbl comes around, focus! A couple of things to NOT do during dbl exp.

a) Don’t run off to go quest No man is a mountain or an island unto themselves, we need help in our journeys.during dbl. The quests will be there when you’re done. Remember you’re there to help deal damage.

b) Make sure you have doorway or gate spell practiced so that you can door/gate quickly to your group leader as they move through areas. Usually your leader will tell you to door/gate to them, so pay attention.

c) Training/Restocking/Respelling : In general, try to avoid any of these activities during dbl as it all takes away time from damaging mobs. Dbl usually only lasts 10 minutes, so you can take care of it after.

d) If you desperately need to restock potions/respell etc., let your group leader know. A quick “Hey, I need to restock pots after this room.”  Will draw their attention to your plans….which leads into the next point.

e) The understood courtesy before leaving to restock/respell/training is to wait until you’ve finished clearing the current room you are in of mobs. Don’t flee in the middle of a battle or try to recall if you don’t have to. Don’t be “That Guy.”

f) Being chatty: outside of dbl, I like talking with my groupies. During dbl, Im more focused on typing commands. Being chatty during dbl is generally slowing down the exp rate.

4) Group Courtesy : In brief, don’t be rude. Your group leader is doing most of the work, so you’re just riding along. Be appreciative! Your group leader an idiot who doesn’t know an area? Your group leader killing slowly? Are they dragging you through aggro mobs? Eventually you will find yourself in a group that’s not working for you. It’s ok to leave. Just don’t be “That Rude Guy” about it and start calling people idiots and n00bs. I always welcome new suggestions for areas and mobs where to kill. I don’t claim to know every area. I have my set leveling patterns for whether I am good/neutral/evil aligned and I tend to stick to those in general. Don’t be “That Guy” and start spamming group tells with “This area sucks, I know a better area you idiot.” A nice simple suggestion of a new area is most welcome. A constant spamming of new areas is annoying. Personally speaking, when someone else is leading, I don’t complain about much. It usually means I get to kick back and do almost nothing (see rule 1).

Notes: This guide is meant as being a groupie for leveling range (1-186). The rules change quite a bit if you’re getting a SH drag (will be covered in future editions). All groups and leaders are different, so if there was one governing rule, just ask! You’d be surprised how much you learn from asking questions!