Harvesting Etiquette

[Palum_Q]

Ok, first off I may have spelt Etiquette wrong.

I was just wondering how people treated others when they're out to farm/log/mine. I notice that if I see someone at a mining spot (or others), I generally stay away and let them use up the spot. However, I've noticed lately there are a lot of rude people and as I'm mining a spot, I see some guy just run in and deplete the spot.

I know there's no rule against it but I just figured it's common courtesy to leave you alone if you reached it first. I was wondering how people felt about this.

 

[Squirrelin]

This is a touchy subject. Unlike fighting mobs (where the first person to engage the mob gets exclusivity until they either kill it, get killed, or call for help), logging offers no protections/exclusivity. The other problem is, unlike mobs, there is only ONE logging point in a forest area. When a log is harvested, it'll re-appear somewhere else.

I've noticed some very odd things... I watched the logging point go from one tree, to an adjacent tree, to yet another adjacent tree, while one individual expected to claim exclusivity on them because he was able to get to all of them first. The randomness just isn't very random, and though people were, for a time anyway, not using anybody else's logging point, they weren't exactly taking turns with the logging points either.

A second problem (mild) was when I noticed one individual who would spot the logging point, run up to it, and then do NOTHING. They'd just stand there and not atttempt to log. I thought perhaps maybe they just needed to re-sort their inventory to make sure they had an open slot to receive the next log, except they did this several times. It's somewhat rude to others who are being polite by not encroaching on the logging point because nobody else can log (no other logging point will appear until that one is harvested). Maybe they were just new and didn't realize they were supposed to use a hatchet on it.

The last straw was the night that several individuals kept taking my logging points even when I was the first to arrive -- and this was common.

In frustration, I decided that: (a) the authors (Square Enix) obviously KNOW how to grant exclusivity when they want to because they do it with mobs, but (b) they don't seem to grant exclusivity in logging, and (c) logging isn't structured to where you can just go find another logging point... there wont be one. Apparently it was supposed to be a competitive event.

I've thus rationalized that if a person takes there swing and gets nothing, they shouldn't be upset if someone else wants to try a swing to see if they can't harvest a log... after all, there'll be a new logging point available as soon as the current one is harvested and everyone can keep logging. My guess is that if 2 or 3 loggers just went to the same logging points and took their swings, the sum total of logs harvested by the end of the night for each might likely be greater than they could get by trying to have any kind of exclusivity deal.

I now tend to play it by ear. If I notice that the pack of people logging are being nice about it, I'm all for that. But if people are aren't, I'm not going to get upset, I'll just accept it, deal with it, and log that way.

 

[Squirrelin]

This is a touchy subject. Unlike fighting mobs (where the first person to engage the mob gets exclusivity until they either kill it, get killed, or call for help), logging offers no protections/exclusivity. The other problem is, unlike mobs, there is only ONE logging point in a forest area. When a log is harvested, it'll re-appear somewhere else.

I've noticed some very odd things... I watched the logging point go from one tree, to an adjacent tree, to yet another adjacent tree, while one individual expected to claim exclusivity on them because he was able to get to all of them first. The randomness just isn't very random, and though people were, for a time anyway, not using anybody else's logging point, they weren't exactly taking turns with the logging points either.

A second problem (mild) was when I noticed one individual who would spot the logging point, run up to it, and then do NOTHING. They'd just stand there and not atttempt to log. I thought perhaps maybe they just needed to re-sort their inventory to make sure they had an open slot to receive the next log, except they did this several times. It's somewhat rude to others who are being polite by not encroaching on the logging point because nobody else can log (no other logging point will appear until that one is harvested). Maybe they were just new and didn't realize they were supposed to use a hatchet on it.

The last straw was the night that several individuals kept taking my logging points even when I was the first to arrive -- and this was common.

In frustration, I decided that: (a) the authors (Square Enix) obviously KNOW how to grant exclusivity when they want to because they do it with mobs, but (b) they don't seem to grant exclusivity in logging, and (c) logging isn't structured to where you can just go find another logging point... there wont be one. Apparently it was supposed to be a competitive event.

I've thus rationalized that if a person takes there swing and gets nothing, they shouldn't be upset if someone else wants to try a swing to see if they can't harvest a log... after all, there'll be a new logging point available as soon as the current one is harvested and everyone can keep logging. My guess is that if 2 or 3 loggers just went to the same logging points and took their swings, the sum total of logs harvested by the end of the night for each might likely be greater than they could get by trying to have any kind of exclusivity deal.

 

[Sculli]

Do not hit sumbit twice, do not double click submit, etc, double posts are 99.9999999% of the time caused by people clicking submit twice. Thanks.

 

[Dugrasse]

woes...

I haven't had too much problem with farming yet in the game. I haven't done very much mining, and there are always so many harvesting points in Sarutabaruta that it never really seems to matter how many people are actually harvesting there. The only time I have encountered grief with that part of the game was logging near San d'Oria. As Squirrelin has already pointed out, there is only one logging point at a time in the area and it can get frustrating with more than one person going for the point.

My main problem was I had one guy who was this low level character trying to log out there, and found that I was logging like mad, but he couldn't get near the points because he was too low level. Instead of asking for help from me he seemed to have taken note that I was helping out those in the area that needed it and decided to follow behind me as I looked for logging points. Once I found one he'd grab every mob he could around him and run straight for me, knowing I'd Provoke them away.

This happened three times with the same guy, so I finally got wise and asked if he wanted my help. He declined -- very rudely -- so I warned him I wasn't going to save him again....he died three times before he resorted to just yelling at me in tells from town.

My point being here that it doesn't really seem like it's the way that FFXI is made that brings in the farming trouble, it's the people. Every one point to log, harvest, or mine from you can generally use at least two or three times. I just wish there were more to make them easier to find, cause I'm a whole whack of lazy.

It really seems to be the people who mess up a perfectly fine thing. I mean, we could all just share... but, no, that's not the way it's always done.

 

[Porum]

I've just finished a whole wknd of harvesting and I was lucky in that I had very little competititon. When there were others around, they all backed off when they saw I was at a point and I did the same. This is something new as just a while back, most people would just start harvesting where I was...maybe they realize how crappy that is. Maybe they are reading the boards?

 

[Mattaru]

Usually this isnt a big deal while im out harvesting in saru until recently but i have come up with my own way of trying to get the goods as well as being corteous. Some possible scenarios:

1) Multiple spots in a limited area. Whne there are multiple spots nearby i usually wait for them to take a spot and ill harvest from the other or ask which spot theyd like to harvest.
2) Only one spot . If this is the case I either move on if they are closer or take turns takin a whack. They get a harvest i get a harvest until its done.
3) Few harvesters in a large area. Usually i try to work it out in a cycle such as i finish one area as they finish another then we trade. Or we stake out a territory that our are points that we harvest from and when they come back they are still the staker off of those territories.

Basically, instead of getting into foot races to the next spot there are better more polite ways of doing it. Or if they are beef ask if they wouldnt mind harvesting in Giddeus.

 

[Porum]

Heya Mattaru, I've seen you out and about in my recent Harvesting forays....may you be blessed with many Mugworts^^

In regards to your post, while i believe those are some good ideas, they are for a more patient person than I. While I do stay away from points that have been staked already, i'm not about to send /t to anyone asking them what the game plan is or what points they want...if it's free, I take it...if not, I don't^^ That's just my 2 gil

 

[Dugrasse]

I don't know, Porum. I think alot of the problems in Harvesting ettiquet could be avoid by talking to the people around who are doing it.

Not to say that we should have so silly universal "hi-ho" greeting for harvesters, but if you see a potential problem you could always talk it out. Besides, it's just another way to meet like-minded people in FFXI. Not everyone harvests in the game.

One of the things I tend to do is if I'm in East Ron. and I notice somebody logging and I'm not, I'll send them a tell if I find a logging point. It has made a couple people very polite to me when I am logging myself.

 

[Mattaru]

Heya Mattaru, I've seen you out and about in my recent Harvesting forays....may you be blessed with many Mugworts^^

In regards to your post, while i believe those are some good ideas, they are for a more patient person than I. While I do stay away from points that have been staked already, i'm not about to send /t to anyone asking them what the game plan is or what points they want...if it's free, I take it...if not, I don't^^ That's just my 2 gil

Usually asking is not even necessary its just kind of understood or you find ways to be competitive and polite at the same time. In fact the only time ive really had to talk to anyone was to ask about harvesting in Giddeus or talking to a freind about which spots he wants.

Yeah,..................i harvest alot. Ive had some bad luck lately though with mugwort. Ever since i got my field tunica, its too ironic.

 

[Palum_Q]

I don't know how many people farm with the blm and trains their enemies...but have you ever trained a group of yags (gobs, etc), only to have another high level swoop in and AoE weapon skill or spell your enemies..... like "Yes, Mr. High level in artifact, I am just gathering these mobs for your convienence...don't pull a muscle getting them yourself... I wouldn't want you getting a cramp..." sorry, I'm always afraid people are going to steal my trains, so as soon as I see a high level, I blast them right away. it's only happened twice, but it pisses me off when it happens. They can easily send me a tell asking me to split them up or something...but that would be rude to just take them.

And honestly, I don't look like I'm in help when I'm wearing a combat caster's cloak and there are trains of yag initiates/acolytes and scribes.... I really don't think I'm in too much trouble...

 

[Ecks]

Yes Palum, i absolutely hate that. I spent a good deal of time in Palaboro Mines training Guadavs in in the room that Zhi'Ghi spawns in. Most of the time i did have any problems. Being a Drk/War allows me to cast spells to pull mobs from the other side of the wall and train like 10+ at a time when they finally come around, then I can just beat them down while casting drain and aspir to keep myself alive, its a lot of fun.

But the thing that really pissed me off was while i was doing this, one time a paladin came in.. AF armor and all. I wasnt in trouble or anything.. but he used some magic or some skill that took like half the quadavs i was fighting away from me then continued to run off with my trains and train more of his own. After i finished off the few quads i managed to keep hate on I chased the bastard paladin down to a room where he had managed to amass an even larger group of quadavs. I killed whatever i could get my hands on. I was so angry. He had the nerve to ask me why I was killing them. I didnt blacklist him.. but I didnt talk to him anymore either. I told him before I left that he stole several of the quadavs i was fighting and not to do it again. I doubt he cared but oh well. I went back to my spot and continued on.