Boards›Player Behavior

New Players - Why You Can't Keep Them Playing

Zantiel·9/18/2016, 2:14:35 AM·5 votes·836 views

After three years of working on me to play this game, I finally succumbed to the wishes of my significant other and decided to give this game a real chance. Having played other MOBA's for years, and this one being none to different, I expected it to give me at least a modicum of enjoyment. And until I reached Level 5, it was okay.

Then I started playing with everyone else, and it became utterly clear that this game, and it's player base, has no room for new players. My first PvP effort turned into an all chat argument about who the best "smurf" was, all the while, I'm out there lost and getting my ass handed to me by people I never should have faced with zero experience. Thinking it was a one-off moment, I tried again, and again, and again, with the exact same results. Three things always happened. 1) My team lost, largely because I was the only really new player and had no idea what I'm supposed to do. 2) Other players shit on me for my lack of skill and experience, even though I'm level 10 and none of us should really know anything. 3) There was always a conversation about who the best "smurf" was, and that only took me 2 games to realize what it meant.

You do not have any "new" players anymore. Those that do venture in run through the gauntlet of your failed elders who only wish to feed on your future to satisfy their present. I, for one, will not continue, because someone brand new to the game can not learn anything getting crapped on every time they play. Quite simply, it is not worth it. If you want to know why the game is dying, it all starts at the bottom. Without new blood, your product is stagnant and doomed to fade. As the old and tired fall away, and your new and eager are chewed up and spit out by your jaded elders, you are left with nothing. I find it interesting that you allow your elders to simply prey on new players in this way because it has been long proven to be highly destructive to the health of a player base.

9 Comments

No flash no life9/18/2016, 3:47:21 AM3 votes

While what you said is true, it is also true that, unfortunately, there is no real way to stop smurfing. Limiting account creation based on ip doesn't work, since ip can be changed and there can be multiple players living in one household.

Making it a rule won't do anything, since ppl will simply not admit they are smurfs, and you can't possibly punish players for "doing well" to the point where, objectively, they seem to be smurfs. For argument's sake, they can even say "my account got hacked and I can't get it back so I'm starting from scratch" and what can you do?

The best measure I can suggest - very flawed at it - is charge $ for account creation, which as a result will discourage players from smurfing since money doesn't grow on trees. It will also make them treasure their valued accounts more instead of the " I'm feeding and idc about report I can make new account" mind set. However, this idea is generally frowned upon and is against the free2play concept behind this game so it'll never happen anyway.

Glaedr9/18/2016, 4:58:33 AM3 votes

I understand your frustration, but you will be surprised how quickly this game weeds out new players from the guys who are just playing on alt accounts. I'm sure a lot of people have pretty rough first pvp experiences with this game, especially if they're playing with friends who are playing on their smurfs. But if you're playing solo and say your friend is just spectating to help give some pointers, I can guarantee you after just a few games you will be playing with legitimately new players.

I can guarantee you in less than 15 pvp games the game will lower your matchmaking to the point where you're playing with other new guys and it will feel like a more natural setting to learn the game.

DemainaNyx9/18/2016, 4:57:00 AM2 votes

I can agree with you on that. I started last year, played a ton of bots, and then tried a few normal games. Within the first 5 normal games I had been placed against plat Blitzcrank with smite who would smite the minion you were hiding behind and hook you through it, flamed at by my team for not Soraka ulting the Ryze who had gone in 1v5 and wasn't even close to winning that fight, flamed at for using my Soraka ult on the Ryze who was 1v3ing and died, flamed at for not knowing what every champions abilities did, and a whole other host of things.

I eventually went to ARAM where I started to learn what each champion did without people worrying too much about my skill level cause they understood you might get a champ that you didn't know what they did. After many games there, I eventually gave Summoner's Rift a chance again and I'm glad I did, but I will admit that those first 5 games were hard to get past when you are literally just getting used to a game and people expect you to play like a pro.

Hakuna Matatah9/18/2016, 6:08:31 AM2 votes

I would suggest playing bot games until level 20 or even higher if you're completely new to the game. Also, it would be helpful if your significant other spent more time teaching you how to play instead of trying to play while you have no clue what is going on. I had a similar experience. Watching streamers really helps and friends who actually know what they're talking about can also be beneficial. You could add my account if you want to talk or have any questions.

Morality Coach9/18/2016, 4:07:15 AM1 votes

Play support with a heavily armored class and you shouldn't get raged on much.

DemainaNyx9/21/2016, 9:44:26 AM1 votes

{quoted}

I've given ARAM a few tries, and I'm fond of the chaos and team-fighting. It does, as you said, give me new perspectives on other champions and seeing how people work together. Since I've actually won there, I can also say that my inexperience won't outright pooch the whole team in ARAM, so there is a comfort zone there as well. Perhaps after I have unlocked a few more champions, I will have better success on the Rift.

What lane on Rift are you trying to learn or are you just playing whatever position until you find the right spot? You mentioned that your girl suggested you play jungle and support but I don't know if that's the ideal spot for you. I don't play Dota 2, but off of the quick google search and gameplay I watched, everything mentioned that Skywrath Mage was a nuker type champion. Sona can be that way if you build properly, but she's more a poke heavy lane bully, not a 1 shot champion.

The first champion that that one reminded me of was Kayle. Her Q is a point and click slow which does damage, her W is a heal and movement speed buff, her E makes her autos go from melee to ranged and do extra damage, and her ult makes a champion immune to damage for the duration. All of her abilities are point and click, so it allows you to get used to the game first instead trying to deal with learning skill shots. Generally you build her with on hit and attack speed, so items like item 3115 item 3085 item 3091 item 3124 item 3116 item 3006 . And honestly, all you need to do is hit Q on an enemy, hit E, and then right click the enemy and you're basically done. If you start getting low, use your ult on yourself and continue to hit E whenever it's off cooldown. She isn't a nuke, but she does a lot of damage and you can't really dodge it.

Someone who actually can nuke a target though would be like Veigar. 3 of his 4 abilities are skill shots, but he's rewarded for hitting skill shots by getting extra AP. And that AP increases the damage on his abilities, so the more you hit, the more damage you do, regardless of the items you have. He's one of the few champions with infinitely scaling because of this. He does a ton of damage and his ult is a point and click nuke that does a ton of damage.

Itankyou9/18/2016, 4:49:52 AM1 votes

I read until you started talking about blood and shit, weird bro