People and Parties:

Don't you just hate it when you're in a party and someone comes up to you and demands you let them into a party? I know I do, that's for sure.

I especially hate it when I'm on multiple computers, helping one of my lower-leveled toons reach that next level with my b-priest and people run up to me like a celebrity and go "Party!" "Party me!" "Help me!" Even after you've told them no several times.

It's annoying, it's stupid, and it's a waste of my time. If I say no, I mean no.

For those of you Shaiya players who actually know me, you also know that I have my own guild on the Lailah Light server. That kind of crap isn't allowed within my guild, so why do they think it's ok to beg and beg and beg if they're not in my guild.

For all of you players who get by only on P-leveling, here's a tip for you:

STOP IT!

Getting P-Leveled only robs of you that chance to actually learn what your character is capable of doing. Until you know your class, and what that class can do, there should be no reason to want to hurry up and get to that next mode.

Next person who asks me for a P-Level is gonna get charged 500 mil per level. Regardless of previous percentage. At least I'll be consistent.

On another note, since I mentioned my priest:

I have 2 priests. A HM Battle priest and a UM healer. I know my job on both. One's to debuff and kill, the other one is to make sure your sorry tanking butt stays alive. I'm not some hot little intimacy-symbol that you can order around. If you need a heal, I'll heal you, but I do it in the order of who's about to die first. If you end up dying while waiting, I will rez you when I get to it. Stop ordering me around.

If it keeps up, I'll start charging for my services, since people feel obligated to treat my priests like hookers.

200 mil for AoP. 100 mil, per person, for Prayer. 50 mil per dispel, per debuff on them. 1 bil per rez.

Think about it. Which would be more valuable and less time-consuming? Farming for gold, or letting me do my job? Would you waste 1b gold on something or even lose 2.5-5% (if you are a higher level of 55+), just by demanding or asking that I rez you? I didn't think so.

I'm dead serious on this. People who demand things out of me anymore is gonna get charged, and hard. I'm sick of these people demanding things in this game and expecting them to be given. The world doesn't work on handouts.

When I first started playing Shaiya, Powerleveling was almost impossible. I earned my toons' levels through legitimate means. By doing it myself. By finding leveling parties myself, or by killing by myself. What's wrong with you others who can't seem to grasp the simple concept of just playing the game?

And I don't want to hear that lame old-as-time excuse: "Well some people really don't speak English very well."

I have one simple answer to that: "I don't care."

Everyone and their mother, including those who don't speak English know the abbreviations "pls?" and "plz?" They should learn to use them, and maybe I'll think about being a little more considerate on who I let into my parties, or buff OOP, or rez.

It's gotten out of hand, and the only people who can fix this is the people who are doing it. So, do us all a favor and start fixing it!

My main targets are those nublets who come to the game only to get P-Leveled, or think they know more about playing a class than someone who's been doing it for more than a year now.

They tick me off. Sometimes, I wish I could just gouge out their eyes with a rusty spoon! Lazy, bossy, players who don't know how to just enjoy a game for it's play value. It makes me sick to see the ever-increasing number of people who resort to this.

"Well, I have money, so I don't need to level myself."

Horsehockey. It's people like those that are one of the reasons why the economy is out of whack. They throw money around like it's a child's toy, and don't care, so long as they level. It's also lazy people like that, that SUCK EGGS in PvP. I can't count the number of times I've been in PvP on my UM priesty with a fighter, or a mage, or some other form of class that has more killing potential than I do, and STILL ended up dying alongside them because they don't know how to use their skills effectively.

Since then, I've learned how to run like heck.

I'm not against partying with people at all. In fact, sometimes it can have its benefits. I AM against people who constantly beg for P-Leveling, or think that they know how to run a priest better than someone who actually plays one (and yes, I've run into people who have never played a priest before try to tell me how to do my job).

I kept good on my promise, though. Someone found me in Fedion leveling my fighter, and tried asking me to Plvl them to 30. I told them I'd do it for 4 bil (because they were at 22). They left me alone.

People Who Get Upset and Blame AGE For A Lost Ultimate Mode Character:

This is another ever-increasing infestation in all areas of Aeria Games Media. People who blame AGE about their UM dying off for good.

Most of these nubs don't have a case. Some people do.

Either way, it's annoying it's cluttering up the forums, and nobody cares. I've lost a UM. But I forked the money over to get it back. For Pete's sake, there's a TON of people who have played and lost a UM. You're not the first, and you certainly won't be the last of the people who join the group "Nubcakes Un-Anonymous".

There are some people who have a legitimate case against Aeria Games for losing a UM toon when it dies. On a rare occasion, a Resurrection Rune becomes glitched and the character gets deleted upon death. Aeria recognizes this, and, with all of the proper information, will restore your character, with a fresh resurrection rune free of charge!

Nobody wants to hear your QQ's on the forums or other modes of media about how much you think "Aeria Games sucks!" about having glitched runes. They're pieces of data. It happens. Not all data is flawlessly programmed.

Now, to victimize the people inflicted with the Shaiya version of Down's Syndrome: Those who piss and moan about dying WITHOUT carrying a rune:

Any newbie who asks, even people on their first day of playing, and their mother knows that you need a rune to resurrect a UM when it dies. Not always, if you happen to have a pocket priest of level 32 or higher with the spell Resurrection 2, but it's good to have one just-in-case. You people who think it's perfectly alright to hammer AGE when you play a totally optional mode and die while playing it, are wrong.

If you die on a UM without a rune, and beg for a priest to come and revive you, people are going to let you die. Nobody is going to care if you failed to follow instruction.

If you get deleted and decide to post on the forums about how much you think AGE sucks horse, people are going to flame you.

You have nobody to blame about this, but yourself. Aeria Games doesn't hold a gun to your head and say "Play a UM or else." That's just your imagination going wild from watching "Nightmare on Elm Street" a few too many times. Don't flood the forums with your crap about how torqued you are about dying.

Discourteous Powerlevelers and Grinders:

As I'm sure, there's a large number of you fellow players and readers who have tried to level a fairly new toon, in hopes to get it high enough to join in the PvP action.

Scenario:

You're level 15. A... Fighter. You go to Cornwell's Ruin to grind yourself up before map 2. Since you're a soloist, you're, well, alone. You get in there, and there's not another soul around. You get to grinding, and kill of a mob or 2, and are working on another one.

Then, out of the blue, some high-level guy comes in, sweeps aggro of all the mobs in the room, and kills them. INCLUDING the one you're killing. Then he runs off. No "Sorry for killing your mob.", no "Would you like to join my P-Leveling party?" Nothing. Just up and runs off without saying a word. Even if you've told him politely that he totally KS'd your mob.

Then he comes back 5 minutes later. Almost like clockwork, and does it again.

/end scenario

True, after a 2nd or 3rd time, of this happening, you can report him for harassment. The guy's not blind. You're obviously there, making a racket with beating the tar out of mobs for items, gold, and most importantly EXP.

No, he's definitely not blind or deaf. He's just inconsiderate. A regular player on a paycheck who doesn't care who he stomps out to get his fill of the purse.

Well, I'm sick of it.

These inconsiderate players have stomped on my grinder one too many times, as well as the grind spots of friends, guildies, and other people who are new to the game.

News flash: You're not the only person on the game, and you're far from the most important. One question: How would you feel if someone did that to you? You'd probably get upset and want to scream obscene profanities at them until the cows come home, right?

That's about how I feel, except I'd be screaming obscene profanities at you with one hand around your throat, and another hand wrapped around the handle of a running chainsaw, introducing a business proposal to your genitalia with the other end. An offer that it can't refuse. While spitting acid in your eyes and down your open-mouth into your throat and... Maybe I should stop, as you probably get the hint.

As you can see, if you're a faithful follower of my recent rants, that this is the group of players that piss me off the most. They don't bother to remember a nearly extinct phrase: "Common Courtesy".

Let's break it down for you, directly from Webster:

Main Entry: 1com·mon 
Pronunciation: \'kä-m?n\ 
Function: adjective 
Etymology: Middle English commun, from Anglo-French, from Latin communis — more at mean 
Date: 13th century 
1 a : of or relating to a community at large b : known to the community

In this sense: Something that everyone should know about.

Main Entry: 1 cour·te·sy 
Pronunciation: \'k?r-t?-se, British also 'k?r-\ 
Function: noun 
Inflected Form(s): plural cour·te·sies 
Etymology: Middle English corteisie, from Anglo-French curteisie, from curteis 
Date: 13th century 
1 a : courteous behavior b : a courteous act or expression 
2 a : general allowance despite facts : indulgence b : consideration, cooperation, and generosity in providing something (as a gift or privilege); also : agency, means —used chiefly in the phrases through the courtesy of or by courtesy of or sometimes simply courtesy of

Being nice, kind, and thoughtful of the others around you. Hmmm...

If you put the two together, you get phrases such as: "Hey, are you grinding here?" and "I'm sorry I killed the mob you were, we'll leave you alone from now on."

People think that they're tough just because there's a virtual world between the people that they play with. Well, you're only as tough as your toon is.

The game is showing a collective population theory: That the more in a group, the dumber the population gets as a whole. All it takes is a simple synapse to fire off and you wouldn't be so rude.

Some people make me wonder how they can live with themselves, waking up in the morning, knowing they're a handful synapses short of an entire brain.

In closing: 
Find another spot, this one's mine! If I see it in-game, I'll fire off on you with every drop of distaste I have.

Soothsayers...

These kinds of people never cease to tick me off. Whether it's about 2012, or the end of a game, or their favorite pair of underwear, these simpleminded people are always trying to spread panic and mayhem about the end of something.

I have a bit of news for you: Nobody cares.

Especially when it comes to the end of a game. If people are going to play a game because they think it's fun, then they'll continue to do so, regardless of what you have to say about it.

Nobody cares if you think they game is dying because prices went up on health potions. Nobody cares if the game is going to die because you can't reach that next level. Seriously nobody cares if your cat, Fluffy, is going to get hit by the garbage truck tomorrow morning.

Soothsayer:
"But it's true! The end is near!"

Thanks for the news, but I'll be the judge of that. If you think the end is so close, then you have several options:

1. Bail while you can 
2. Stay where you are, dig a hole, and wait it out. 
3. Do absolutely nothing and see if you die anyway.

I hate people who go around trying to draw attention to themselves like that. It only works for Jesus, Politicians, and Hippies. Quit trying to be the "Bearer of bad news" and let us continue our lives in peace.

This is part 2 of my series called Ignorant People of Shaiya. This one is based around people who whine about the economy.

Everyone who plays Shaiya knows that the economy is on a serious inflation trend. Most people are unhappy with it. Lots of people whine about it.

But those people who whine about it; What do they do to fix the problem? Nothing. Well, except blame the GS's and GM's about it. Most of the people who whine about it, whether they do or don't blame the GS/GM teams, have nothing seriously constructive to say:

Common Whining Person #1:
"ZOMG! This is all the GM's fault for our prices being out of whack! WIPE ALL THE GOLD NAO!"

Common Whining Person #2:
"The GM's need to pay more attention to the economy! It's their lack of attention that's causing the inflation! Force prices down by *insert proven completely useless, over-discussed method to reign the economy in here*!"

Common Whining Person #3:
"FFS! The economy sucks so bad that I can't even compete at the higher level areas! I quit until it comes back down! That should help some!"

Common Whining Person #4:
"Oh well, it's just too high for us to do anything about it, so I'm going to write a QQ post stating my thoughts of the economy while saying/doing nothing constructive to help the economy. Pessimism FTW!"

News flash people: It's not th GS/GM team's fault. It's ours, as players, who are fully responsible for the inflation. By buying and, sometimes, reselling items. By not attempting to do anything constructive to end the inflation, this only gives the people who are affecting the economy the most more ideas on how to do more damage.

If you want to quit the game because it's too highly inflated: Be my guest. Here's how I look at it for people who leave: That just increases my chances of becoming the best player in-game. Thanks for wiping out some of the grinding/PvP competition for me!

If you don't want to help the economy, then don't make a QQ post on the forums. Everyone cares about a problem that you obviously don't. Maybe you should joinCommon Whining Person #3 and leave for a while until you realize that there is something you can do about it.

Those who play Shaiya today can be divided into several categories:

1: The Greedy Bunch (this includes Buyer/Resellers) 
2: Those blind to economic foresight 
3: Those who will buy an item, regardless of price

Each of these 3 groups has played a role in the inflation, and I guarantee that every person in this game is a member of one of these 3 groups. Myself included. I personally fall into group 2, as I would always sell items on the low-end of the current economic trend, listening to the other people when I ask for a Price Check. So yes, in a way, I also played a rather small part in the inflation. For that, I apologize.

I bet those of you are reading, are wondering what I'm doing to help the economy. Well, I have several methods that I'm personally exercising:

1: I refuse to buy anything at too ridiculous of a price. Even if it's a piece of crap gear, it's still better than nothing in my book, and can be improved upon, therefore putting as little as absolutely necessary back into the economy. 
2: I use NPC's to buy my potions, accessories, mounts, etc. I also farm for the potions that aren't sold by NPC's. Using the Auction House is a redundant way to buy/sell items that NPC's do themselves. 
3: The gold that I DO get gets planned out carefully to help better my guild by the least expensive means possible, therefore putting even LESS gold back into circulation. 
4: I farm my own lapis, and sell the extras at significantly lower prices than the low-end price.

I'm pretty much entirely self-sufficient, relying on what others are selling minimally.

At least I'm now realizing my past mistakes. Even though it's probably too late for now. Yes, hindsight's always 20/20, but there's always a chance to start making things right. What are you all doing to help?

I originally posted these in the Rants and Raves section of the Aeria Games' General forums, but figured they'd serve me better if I posted them here. I'll be editing some of these posts as I go along, taking out some words and replacing them with others to make it sound less offensive (hopefully).

This particular post is called "People Who Talk About Bans and Want Your Pity For it".

These kinds of people amuse me. People who mess up in one way or another and QQ in the forums that their account got banned for one reason or another.

Person 1:
"GM! Help plz! I got banned and I don't know why!"

This is your common sympathy seeker. The guy who comes into the ShoutBox or makes a forum post demanding to know why they got banned and demand that their account get unbanned immediately. The solution to this problem is simple: Check your freakin' E-mail! Nobody else is going to be able to help you figure out the answer to your problem if you don't bother to take the time to look it up for yourself. It's not like anyone truly cares in the first place.

Person 2:
"Oh my god! My account got hacked and it got banned! I want it back!"

You have nobody to blame but yourself for getting banned in the first place. For those of you who don't know how you got hacked, the answer is simple:

1. You went to a 3rd party site for gold, items, etc and gave them your account information. This violates the ToS in the first place, so you got banned for 2 reasons there. 
2. You gave out your account info to someone who requested it. This is your own fault in the first place! Sharing your account info!? What the heck possessed you to do that in the first place!? Again, your fault for falling for it. 
3. Your password was so easy to figure out that they could get into it without too much trouble. Passwords should be something easy for YOU to remember. Not for someone like, say, a chimpanzee, to figure out. My password is encrypted, meaning it has "x" amount of letters, "y" amount of numbers, and "z" amount of special characters. Good luck finding it out.

Moral of the story kids: Make your info harder to obtain, and DO NOT SHARE IT WITH ANYONE!

Person 3:
"My offense wasn't that bad. People say or do worse in the game and none of them get caught!"

These kinds of people are the most amusing. These are the most commonly known people that come into the ShoutBox and spam the forums with their useless garbage. You want people to feel sorry for you for getting caught? Please. Any newbie with a lick of sense knows right from wrong, and knows how to avoid it. You just got unlucky. 
Does this mean you should try to perfect your technique in not getting caught? No. But then, a comedian said it best:

"You can't fix stupid." -Ron White

This just means you should try to be less ignorant about the rules of the game. Odds are, if you get banned and make another account, announcing your "GRAND RE-ENTRANCE" the GM's and other various admins are going to be watching you under a microscope.

Nobody cares if you got banned because you said a bad word, or bought gold, or even decided to sexually harass another player. You broke the rules, and now you get to suffer the consequences.

Nobody wants to hear the details. Go home. Period!