Do you prefer to read a guide before heading into something new?

[KyaniteD]

Odds are, they either end up carrying you through the encounter or going out of their way to teach you, so why go in blind and inconvenience someone you don't know that doesn't have the same motivations as you?

 

When/if I join a comms/social run, I do try to prepare. And I warn people in advance if I only know the fights in theory. That never got me kicked or not accepted, people usually took the time to explain a few things here and there. (And likewise me and my guildies check on what everyone knows or thinks they know and try to get everyone on par.)

 

However, the question was what we would prefer, i.e. in theory. And in theory I don't want to know everything in advance. It's like reading a whodunit back-to-front.

[Elear]

If all 8 people in group want to try to figure out the tactics the hard way, by wiping over and over, nobody is stopping them. If only one of the 8 wants to do it, then that just sucks for him. Others in group value their time and credits. So if the player does not follow what they tell him to do (tactics are explained to everyone in chat), then they are within their right to kick him out.

During fights, there is simply no time to type complex pointers what to do, people have to be told before the battle begins.

You missed my point there. Currently, even people that normally would want to go at it hard way won't do so, because assumption is that everyone read guides before. It's not that 8 random people get together, realize that they all want to just try things, and happily pocced to run and wipe. What is stopping them is assumption that everyone has to read guides(or know fights on day one by other means). This way, those 8(random) people are simply not given chance to do it, to figure out things on their own. And on chance that they do it anyway, go in without reading guide despite it being norm, they are that 8ght person, only one that did so, and there is only grief and complaining instead of expected experience of discovering mechanics on your own.

 

It's not about fact that right now going into new content without reading guide before you'll most likely end up incovininecing other people.

It's about fact that right now everyone simply assumes going into new content without reading guide is bad, and has to do it, even if majority of players would simply prefer to do it hard way, but can't be certain if people they'll be matched with will share their views.

And main thing at fault here is existence of guides. To say it simply, it's too easy to avoid making mistakes.

 

Guides are not required, but they are welcomed addition if you seek to avoid mistakes of others. That is the way normal people usually work in all areas of human activities. For example, cooking some meal you never cooked before. Sure, you can try wasting your time and resources to figure out who it is done, or you can ask someone who cooked it before for some pointers.

 

Let's say it like that, guides are not bad, when you can sue them resposibly. For games, using guides save you time(and since everything in games translates into time, only time), but decrease gaming value f any content. For activities like cooking(or for example, programming), using guides can save you taime and resuorces, but also prevents you from finding your own solution, that could be better than one in guide. Also, those are all solo activities, there is no pressure at all to use guide. In MMO, main reason people complain about others not knowing how something works is because it's so easy(too eay, IMHO) to find guides on subject.

[kevlarto]

Me and my friends like to learn a new encounter, and only turn to a guide if we are stuck, we figure most games today hold your hand enough, we want to try to break that grip and play a game, not a guided tour. I know a lot of folks like to use them and if they are having fun good for them. Edited April 27, 2013 by kevlarto