April 19, 2017 March 8, 2023
PvE Talk: Hierarchy and Attitude
There seem to be an ongoing “war” between casual and hardcore players for years now. Hardcore players are upset with casuals because of their lack of gear/strategy and casuals are upset with hardcores for being treated badly. It look like an endless cycle that can’t be stopped and will go on forever. Well, maybe it will, but understanding hierarchy and attitude in game can drastically change these things.
I want to start this article with a game description – the biggest misconception is that Wizard101 would be a casual game. This is only partially true and was valid in the first (and maybe half of second) storyline arc. However, a proper description (imho) would be to call it a team-based casual game. After all, it’s completely possible to finish Mirage with regular gear, but you need a team for it.
However, many complications can appear when you go further than just finishing main quests. So, in this article, I’ll focus on 3 things, where hierarchy and attitude apply:
- Gear
- Pets
- Dungeons
Gear
Gear hierarchy
The first thing about hierarchy is gear choice. This is such a simple and easy concept. Yet I’m still seeing lots of wizards that completely ignore this. You should stop running around with random gear and try to get pieces that are actually useful for you. Maybe you can finish quests with your current gear, but you’ll have harder time finding a team for harder dungeons/farming. The logic is quite simple: respect the hierarchy and don’t skip gear.
There are a few exceptions like Waterworks, which is also perfect example for this part. The proper way of obtaining the best gear should be Bazaar -> Waterworks -> Darkmoor, and not Bazaar -> Darkmoor. There are of course many other alternatives that can be used; this was only illustration to back up the statement above.
I know that this mean you’ll have some extra work to do, but obtaining the best gear in game is worth all the struggle and grinding.
Pets
I’m aware that there are people who won’t hatch with you no matter what you do, what rules you obey and how good your attitude is. I also know that Wizard101 central hatching exist, which is completely opposite to what will be written here. The point is that not everyone uses this site (though I’d still highly suggest you to try arrange a hatch there). Many wizards still go into the Hatchery, expecting a quick and easy way to get good pet. Getting a good pet is (really big) struggle and except from central hatches or your friends, there aren’t any shortcuts here. (Edit: there is now the Hatchmaking Kiosk to help with this issue.)
Hatching hierarchy
You can’t expect random wizards to hatch their max stat triple damage, double resist pet with your second generation pet. Everyone (ok, let’s say almost everyone) in the Hatchery is there with the same reason as you — to improve their own pet. Now, if you can’t give anything in return (not talking about crowns or packs) they often see no reason to hatch with you. They would lose gold, which can be pretty painful when you realize that creating a good pet can cost you over a million gold. You should go to the hatchery with more realistic expectations.
For example, say you have a pet with two good talents. Instead of trying to get a hatch with the perfect pet, find someone who has 3 talents. Once you get all 3 talents together, start looking for the fourth and after that for the fifth. This is the hierarchy; you can’t simply jump from 1 to 5. While this is indeed more costly, it’s less stressful and it helps you understand that not everyone who won’t hatch with you is a bad person. I know that there are snobs that throw a bad light on other wizards, but then again this is often done by casual players too. These are players who don’t understand the hierarchy and throw everyone who won’t hatch with them in the same basket.
Hatching attitude
Now when we’re done with hierarchy, let’s say few more words about attitude. With a bad pet, you’re in no position for short and negative responses. Even if your hatch request is declined many times, you must remain nice and friendly. Having a positive and nice attitude will get you hatches easier and faster. Just compare the following sentences:
- Hatch?
- Can we please hatch?
- Hello, I’m trying to improve my pet and I really like yours. Do you think you could help me with one hatch?
We all know that the first example is wrong and will get you nowhere. The second one is bit better and many would consider it polite. But as we see, there is always room for improvement. You can easily make a simple and polite question look like an effortless attempt to get a hatch.
Dungeons
Dungeon hierarchy
One thing that you need to understand here is that players “bossing” you around aren’t snobs. The snobs are the players that judge you based on your gear and pet. When you’re casual player and you’re dealing with hardcore players, their behaviour can quickly create confusion.
Hardcore players have (most of the time) one goal in mind when farming: finishing the dungeon as fast as possible. That’s why they’ll start ordering around, giving you the roles they need and telling you what cards to put in your deck. It’s not because they’re bossy. It’s simply because they want to utilize you to perfect their (and your) run. And they can afford that, when they have the best gear, pet and strats. If you don’t like it they can simply find someone else who will be prepared to listen. And when you do listen to what they’re saying, make sure you do exactly as told. If they say to add 2 elemental blades, add 2 – not 3, not 1, but 2.
Another thing about hierarchy when doing dungeons is the gear that wizards have. I don’t care if you’re a Storm – you won’t hit with this 80% damage boost if there is a Fire with 130% in same team. Adapt, respect the hierarchy and play support until you get better gear with better stats. Exactly the same thing applies if you’re a Storm with a 130% boost – you should play a support role if there’s another Storm with 140% damage boost in the team.
Dungeon attitude
This is the same as with pets – your attitude is important. A Storm with 100%+ damage boost or a Life with 100%+ healing boost can afford to simply say “going in?” or “need a hitter/healer?” Casual players without perfect gear can’t. That’s just the way the Wizard101 world works and the sooner you accept this, the easier it will get.
If you see a group of well-geared players don’t hesitate to ask them to join. Just remember few things: stay nice, polite and focus on what you can do to help them achieve goal faster. Instead of focusing on bad gear, focus on how many different blades/traps you have and how effectively can you support their hammer. Oh, and don’t forget about long and polite sentences: “Hello, I want to improve my gear and I’m wondering if I can join your group? I have x amount of blades and y amount of traps and think I could be really good support.” Or something along these lines.
Final words
I don’t look down upon anyone in this article and I really hope that it won’t stir more controversy and make things even worse between casual and hardcore players. I hope it will make the differences smaller between all of us and lead to more co-operation. I’m a strong believer in hierarchy. I’m 100% sure that a team with casual+hardcore players that respect hierarchy and attitude is way more effective than a hardcore+hardcore team that doesn’t respect them.
And if anyone still doubts this, I’ll post 2 pets of mine that I created when I was a free-to-play player on the .us server. It’s true that I already had knowledge of how pet works, but I wouldn’t have been able to create them if I wouldn’t have followed the principles of hierarchy and attitude.
