I started playing on the realms...

[NuurAbSaal]

Well I couldn't keep myself from starting online play before 1.1 and it takes some time to get used to the lag so I figured some training time wouldn't be that bad. Wrong.
I play on Europe and took my Sorceress MsTripledeath to lvl16 in a couple of hours (wee, no more players 8 :lol: ). Folks were nice enough (at first, read on), except 90% seem to use maphack and 80% are completely uninterested in playing through the game at a normal pace. Or the other way around...

I started a game of my own called "Act one no maphack" and no one joined during the 90 minutes I played...hmm...

At level 13 I joined another game (needed better exp) and soon things started to become interesting. I was playing with two other guys of similar level in the sewers when a lvl 1 Barb joined us and immediately filled the screen with "gimme items gimme gimme gimme gimme etc." He was ignored but continued to fill the screen.
As someone who has played SP for the last two years it was quite an annoying experience that a complete stranger has the ability to ruin a game with no effort. I read about it but it really has to be experienced to understand it. When he finally left I was already slightly irritated and the next guy was even worse.


lvl7x Amazon: noobs (first time I saw it on Bnet) who want duriel
us: no thx
Amazon: i open tp and kill
us: no thx
Amazon: *insert obscenities that would make a 90 year old pirate blush*
"this stupid amazon" has expressed hostility...

I left the game.
Looks like I'm a pansy/sissy/weenie/crybaby but it just sucks. And bites.

Make me believe again
account *NuurAbSaal
Realm Europe
Softcore


Sad Greetings
Nuur

P.S.: Well after reading this through I figured out that this may not be all that new/exciting for my fellow lurkers. So I apologize for any yawns I caused but I felt a little down and writing this all up helped some.

[Archon_Wing]

Actualy, you only meet a jerk approximtely 20% of the time. (at least in my experience. There are a lot of decent people out there, but they are overshadowed by those idiots.

I play on USWEST, but you could PM me if you get desperate. :P

[WarBlade]

Make me believe again

In what? That BattleNet is an acceptable place to find enjoyment?

:lol:

There's really no need for gratuitous self-mutilation. Ladders? Pffft! They can keep them. The usual goal of any game is to have fun playing it and if those BattleNet Realms can't deliver, then find your fun elsewhere.

[Kasreyn]

He was ignored but continued to fill the screen.

Did Blizzard take out D2's Squelch feature??! O_o Or do you just not know how to use it?

And another thing:

lvl7x Amazon: noobs (first time I saw it on Bnet) who want duriel

Why is it that Bnet morons assume anyone low-level is a "n00b"? I've been called a newbie a lot whenever I'm starting a new character. Is it possible people are too stupid to understand that new characters don't necessarily mean a new player?

-Kasreyn

[NuurAbSaal]

The second I read "squelch" in your post I felt like a complete idiot :( .
I had actually forgotten about that. Be merciful, I haven't played on the realms for a long time and until now I never needed this feature.
No wonder the other guys didn't complain about the spammer -> they couldn't hear him anymore! Oh boy...

Concerning the n00b thing, I'm pretty sure lvl7xAmazon would have called a lvl99 char a n00b too. Since he's so uber 733t everybody else has to be a noob. And if you're still in Act 1 Normal at lvl 13 instead of at the red Portal in Hell Cows you really don't have a clue, do you? :(

Note to self: Squelch!

I'll try again this weekend with that in mind and we'll see...

I'll try channel lurkerlounge on Europe, just so you know.

Greetings
Nuur

[Sporky Smurf]

Have you tried the ABasin games?

[Ryethe]

I agree, Go over to www.theamazonbasin.com and sign up for an account. Then in two days you'll be able to play in Abasin games. Be sure to read the rules. To me playing in AB games is akin to playing in the ole' Strat/Forum D1 games oh so long ago.

-Ryethe

[Baajikiil]

Note to self: Squelch!

I often find the chatter in pubbie games to be amusing, or I just don't want to bother with squelching. Hitting the N key will erase all on screen chat. I am usually interested in seeing what the people are saying, I just don't want to have my screen obscured. I use it often.

As for public games, well, I play HC on west. I've found that HC has a much smaller % of annoying players(though they ARE there, and PKing has worse consequences). You can still sometimes find legit co op players to quest or lvl with. You just need to stay away from any hydrasorc, and now, any high lvl bowazon(trigger hack).

It takes a certain type of glutton for punishment to play in public HC, but it can still be fun. Not for everyone though.

EDIT: Oh yes, also you need to stay away from any wps or enterances to towns :) As well as any suspicious people.

[Jugalator]

I'm suprised people actually still try to play in public games!

Public games is almost always bound to be a failure, because it's the same thing as checking these boxes at game creation, if they would exist:

- Welcome all personalities to be able to join my game, including players who want to disrupt game play by spamming and PK'ing, etc.
- Welcome players to use bugged items if they happen have any.
- Welcome players to use maphack and other hacks to do whatever the wish.

The solution?

It's NOT to stop playing on the realms; something I still do. I've had more fun realm games than for example D2 mod games, so far.

The solution is to play with friends, just like you usually have more fun on a vacation with friends instead of just about anyone ranging from immature adolescents to antisocial people in general.

[Jugalator]

In what? That BattleNet is an acceptable place to find enjoyment?

:lol:

It is, and I don't really understand why you think they aren't enjoyable. Can you explain why they aren't? Of course, you need to put a pasword on them unless you want to do the equivalent thing as marking yourself as "Free To Chat" in ICQ to let pretty much any kind of person contact you. I guess you know what the result of that is. Yes, it would do the same thing as creating a public Battle.net game.

I've played on Battle.net for years now and I must thank Blizzard for offering me such an enjoyable service that is even free! I haven't come across any hacked items (except an Ith bow a friend got his hands on, which we cubed into a Quiver of Bolts :D), any dupes I'm aware of, but I *have* come across several hours of great fun! I won't complain about lag either, since my average ping is 35-60 ms. It's good to live in the same country as the Europe Realm Server. ;)

[WarBlade]

In what? That BattleNet is an acceptable place to find enjoyment?

:lol:

It is, and I don't really understand why you think they aren't enjoyable. Can you explain why they aren't?

Sure.

10 minutes. I spent 10 minutes on a BattleNet Realm and saw somewhere in the ballpark of 10 dupes lying on the ground, while I wondered why my real life aquaintance was so ready and willing to give up SoJs and an Eye of Etlich . . .

"Take them" he says . . .
pffft! <_<

Then someone else turns up in the game and I immediately lag out. No, some people at Blizzard let BattleNet rot and frankly, they can keep it.

Of course, you need to put a pasword on them unless you want to do the equivalent thing as marking yourself as "Free To Chat" in ICQ to let pretty much any kind of person contact you. I guess you know what the result of that is.

No I don't actually, but I can guess. The idea of actively waving to attract every Tom, Dick and Dopey for a chat is not something I'd normally go for. Besides, ICQ even leaves the option for narrowing the list of unwanted. Such a wonderous program. :) It's kind of silly comparing it to a BattleNet Realm though . . . It's like comparing a cat with a pencil - They're entirely different. :lol:

Anyway what's the point of passwording games unless you already know other players who you can share the password with. You'll be playing alone otherwise and without friends you may as well stick to Open on you PC at home maintaining a far better playing experience. :P

[Archon_Wing]

Actualy, I tend to find most public games playable. Of course, I like to take risks. :P In general I look for players that have just started out to help them. Of course, in two weeks they disappear with my ITAMS, but I'm pretty apathetic about my items now, so whatever. Occasionaly, there are mature players who for some reason still play on the realms, and thank God for them.

Maybe I just happy to be lucky to avoid jerks. Sadly, most of my friends in R/L who play this game are cheaters, so I have to find others to play with. No, I do not want your white, red, purple, or green rings!

Is it worth it? Probaly not. But hey! I started D2 on the realms, and even though it seems to be a dump (USwest) nowdays, it is still my dump :)

[Jugalator]

In what? Sure.

10 minutes. I spent 10 minutes on a BattleNet Realm and saw somewhere in the ballpark of 10 dupes lying on the ground, while I wondered why my real life aquaintance was so ready and willing to give up SoJs and an Eye of Etlich . . .

-snip-

It's kind of silly comparing it to a BattleNet Realm though . . . It's like comparing a cat with a pencil - They're entirely different. :lol:

Anyway what's the point of passwording games unless you already know other players who you can share the password with. You'll be playing alone otherwise and without friends you may as well stick to Open on you PC at home maintaining a far better playing experience. :P

10 minutes? Whoa, you ARE unlucky. During 2 YEARS of active playing, I have yet to see such a public game. :blink: But, as I said before, you're bound to run into these games if you play public sooner or later.

Regarding ICQ, yes the ICQ application and Battle.net is apples and oranges (and I didn't mean to say otherwise), but definitely not the effect of inviting just about anyone on ICQ to chat with you compared to inviting just about anyone to join your game. The end result will in both cases be -- just about anyone will join you. Just about any personalities, good or bad. If you're unwilling to accept this, don't play in public games...

Which brings me to your thoughts about passworded games...

Even Lurker Lounge has a game setup forum, and several other Diablo II forums as well. The purpose of these are to remedy the problem you describe, and from my own experience, I'm quite sure they are. :) On these you'll usually find much more friendly players than Mr. L337, who you basically say "hi and welcome to my game" to if you create a public game. I'm having no problems finding players to play with. At least much less problems than to find players to play a Diablo II mod with on a private server for example, just to pick a form of non-realm multiplayer gaming to compare with. And since single player is often boring to me, even mods, I'm usually playing with some of my 25 Battle.net friends (gah, increase the buddy list size Blizzard! ;)) in my own time zone where often at least two or three are playing when I go online. And nothing is stopping us from organizing an 8 player game; that's only a forum post and a couple of days away, to agree on some date we'll play at.

[WarBlade]

Even Lurker Lounge has a game setup forum, and several other Diablo II forums as well. The purpose of these are to remedy the problem you describe, and from my own experience, I'm quite sure they are.

Oh, I have effective remedies already. And of the options available none have me approaching BattleNet for games. ;)

Probably about half of my playing is Multiplayer actually and single player experiences these days are mostly a result of being on a less-than-56K connection in New Zealand while most of my 'companions' are about a third of the way around the planet. The pings can be unplayably erratic sometimes (case in point being today, although apparently I wasn't the only one experiencing lag).

[protoshoggoth]

Speaking of US West, I've been playing mostly passworded HC games on US West lately. I had an amusing experience with trading. I found good ol' bonesnap. It's of no use to me, so I thought perhaps I would trade it. I was willing to trade it for any sort of mana steal jewelry, even a lousy 3% amulet. (lv 32 non twink bowazon with no ms is a sad sight). Over the course of three days I found exactly zero interest in the item. Ah well, I figured, I guess everyone is twinked to the gills. Just to get rid of the thing, I made a game "free bonesnap". Well they came out of the woodwork! Five or six people joined almost instantly. I gave the thing to a lv 21 druid.

Okay, maybe 'amusing' was too strong a term for it, but there it is.

[Roland]

...the term "newbs", and all its variations, has taken on multiple meanings. It can be used in a derogitory sort of way, as was its original intent (or perhaps that was of a more jocular nature; *shrug*). But, these days, it just as much means "new, inexperienced character" as it does "new, inexperienced player". But, then, since you don't play on Realms, and haven't had as much experience with Diablo II, I guess you wouldn't have picked up on that.

Hell, I myself am so totally out when it comes to lingo and culture on the Realms, due to my (over a year now) inactivity on them, but I managed to pick up that little tidbit through the course of time. "Newbs" still does stand for "new player", but its meaning has taken on new sides these days.

Just thought I'd clarify.

[NuurAbSaal]

I think the meaning depends on quite a few factors :)

n00b is not the same as newbie IMO



ah, I remember the days when I had no clue what the omnipresent "k" meant, hehe, or "brb" and "tp"...

not to mention "wug" :angry:

Greetings
Nuur

[Jugalator]

Well they came out of the woodwork!&nbsp; Five or six people joined almost instantly.&nbsp; I gave the thing to a lv 21 druid.

Okay, maybe 'amusing' was too strong a term for it, but there it is.

Next time, try joining a game called something like "free stuff" or "free items", drop Mephisto's Soulstone and watch them gather like fleas to sugar. :P

It's pretty funny...

You could've dropped a really sucky charm and the same thing would still happen.

Ethereal Lenymo? Someone would surely take it.

It's funny how on one hand people are equipped to the teeth with uber gear, and on the other hand people are in need of anything. :) I usually join these games when I have found some unique/set item I don't need, although I'm starting to find people in these games a bit too greedy and not being polite. Not like they laugh at you for throwing out bad stuff, but they usually don't say "thanks". :( So I'll start giving away stuff in random games called stuff like "Act 2", "Diablo", etc. instead. :) People usually play in these games and are both of the level required to equip the stuff and probably more grateful. And I would also be positively surprised if a level 90 character suddenly joined my Normal Baal game and threw out a Goldskin, not expecting anything in return. ;) Treat others like you'd like to be treated yourself, hehe

[protoshoggoth]

It's funny how on one hand people are equipped to the teeth with uber gear, and on the other hand people are in need of anything.

That's the strange part. It's like there's no middle ground. In the trading channels, people laugh at anything less than 'uber' uniques, but in a game people grab at Cathan's Mesh like junkies in a smack factory. Somehow the idea of trading low-level items for OTHER low-level items never seems to occur to anyone on the realms.

Also, whatever strange thinking goes into people's evaluation of items isn't transitive. For instance, at one time 40 chipped ~ 1 SOJ. But when I tried to trade chips for 5k gold, or normal gems, I'd get no takers. However, I'm sure that if I offered to sell SoJs for (40x5k) 200k gold, they'd go like hotcakes. It just doesn't add up. (example as of a few months ago, before the latest round of duping reduced SoJ's to something approximating reichmarks in the late 1920's.)

- Protoshoggoth, proud owner of exactly one SoJ, which I actually use <-- (LOL noob).

[Jugalator]

- Protoshoggoth, proud owner of exactly one SoJ, which I actually use <-- (LOL noob).

Hehe, same here... I finally found a soj after around 2 years of playing. If someone would ask me if I shouldn't trade something for it, I would go on like Gollum about "my preciousss"... :) No way. :D