What is a TP block?

[Malo]

I've read this a couple of times on here. What exactly does it do and how do you perform it?

[Cytrex]

You set a town portal right in front of the stairs, so you(or more importan, other people) cannot click on stairs down, because the portal is blocking the area. There is a way to get past it though, see if you can figure it out ;)

The key for success is you knowing the way to get past it and the unwanted people not. So in public games you can set a portal to stairs to 14 to block level 14(and effectively, every level after it).

If you cannot figure out how to still get down, just ask ;)

[Yogi_Baar]

Neat trick. I just hope the PKs aren't lurking here as well. OK, *that*, or that they aren't willing to put 2 minutes of thinking into how to overcome this new obstacle.

[the Langolier]

It can also be done in the dungeons, catacombs, and caves. Also, in these areas it is impossible to get down if the TP is blocking the stairs - but there is still a way that you can get down. Let this screenshot illustrate for you:

[Nystul]

I never did understand this: If you're willing to play with other people, then why block them out? And if you're not willing to play with other people, then why not put a password on the game? Or do you play 20 questions with the person first to decide whether to block them or not?

Just curious. It always seemed like it defeats the purpose of actually playing mutliplayer games in the first place.

[ShadowHM]

caution keeps you alive.

I used this trick in public games until I had a chance to talk to those who entered my games. A little conversation gave me either sufficient hope to clear the way by re-casting a town portal, or drove the would-be grief player (PK/MK) away from sheer impatience. It may well be that it drove away some fine coop players as well. But it seemed at the time to be worth it.

[Nystul]

Funny, I just sat in town square to have that conversation :)

[LemmingofGlory]

Town Chat
Pros
--Tap your foot while the omnipresent invisible minstrel strums the Tristram theme
--"Hands on" examiniation of newcomers
--Town entrapment opportunities exist where the only recourse is game exit
Cons
--Newcomer could begin clearing your area while you're trying to talk to him
--You're ultimately left with, "Do I play or do I go?"
--People seem to think being in town means you're an item duplication NPC
--Listen to idiots beg for TPs even though you're standing right next to them

Portal Blocking
Pros
--Freedom to game while "examining" newcomers
--Possible amusement from listening to befuddled players curse at the TP
--Possible satisfaction from denying gaming to irritants
Cons
--Replacing the TP block is impractical if you're not near the stairs
--Unless you surface (or, ew, scan), you never actually see the other character. For all you know the person you're talking to has 2500 HPs.
--Many believe it's rude, regardless of purpose
Toss up
--"send tp" spam replaced with "mov tp"

Personally, I prefer the former approach. Public games are an elaborate illusion designed to appear and function just like regular Diablo when, in fact, they exist to present opportunities to duel wits with dimwits, half-wits, and the witless alike. And sometimes all at once.

[o: *LEMMING* :o]

[ShadowHM]

made me loathe to squander game time in town. :)

Lemming of Glory nicely outlined the pros and cons of each approach. For me, the other deciding factor was that I did not want to be the one who had to leave the game I made.

[hell-bringer]

You set a town portal right in front of the stairs, so you(or more importan, other people) cannot click on stairs down, because the portal is blocking the area. There is a way to get past it though, see if you can figure it out ;)

The key for success is you knowing the way to get past it and the unwanted people not. So in public games you can set a portal to stairs to 14 to block level 14(and effectively, every level after it).

If you cannot figure out how to still get down, just ask ;)

i think i have found out how to get around a tp block could you just simply teleport down the stairs? Use teleport on thestairs to go down it.

[Jane]

That will not work however if you put the tp on the lvl the stairs go to.
Would that not be a more effective tpblock?
unwanted player goes down stairs just to walk into your tp sending him/her back to town ...