Not Power-Leveling... but Power-Bodyguard?

C

crookedmidget

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I have been talking with a few folks on the ethics of power leveling and something that I have done once or twice, Power-Bodyguard. Basically it involves a higher level Beastmaster that watches over the party, not really offering “cure support” (although the ability to cure is there), but to handle unwanted pulls (linkage), unexpected pops at the camp, and raises.

It can be taken a step further, and the BST can pull with Charm, and release the pet to the party when ready (yes, they will get full exp). This will increase the number of chains, giving exp bonuses.

My question is; Ethically speaking how does this compare with power leveling? I can see playing bodyguard being more ethical (I’m not saying it IS ethical) if the BST is reactive like in the first example. But, being less ethical than power leveling if the BST is performing duties in the second example. I think the power leveling ethics question has been beat to death on these forums and others, but what about someone taking the roll of your parties bodyguard?

Your input is appreciated. /bow

~Crook
 
Hmm...I think relying on a higher level for support at all is rather cheap. I am so sick of going back to dunes or something and having a Powerlevel. I think linking and deaths teach you important things that you couldnt gain elsewhere. If, as a puller, you always had one of these "Bodyguards" around, you are not going to care if you link all the time. When you finally dont, you are going to most likely be a bad puller. Part of the fun I get in this game is trying to make the BEST parties I can make or be in. See just how high we can get the exp/hour to go. Maybe Im just crazy, but a Powerlevel or Bodyguard? {No thanks!}

Fae
 
Well maybe that's the case, but if that would happen it's not liket he person will go "Oh no, I didn't care about how I pulled before and now I iz linking and dying. However because I learned not to pull a monster that is not near others I am forever frozen in the aura of suckness.My FFXI career is ruined for I can not learn how to pull a monster ever, oh my."

Right, PLer's don't do anything other then speed up your xp and get you out of hell faster. I'm sure -most- of us here are not retards, we all know how to heal or pull, and if not trust me you will learn, you don't really have a choice. I've done my grits going through dunes without PL, and even back in the day when peeps leveled to 30 in quifim instead of Kazham (which was heaven back then).

That being said, when I join a dunes pt and there is a PL handy, I really do not mind at all. It means 9/10 times we will have very very good xp, meaning I level faster and get out of dunes faster. Double pluses. I don't see why people have a problem with pling.. Yeah you all say then the noobs get higher and learn nothing blah blah blah.... well I'm sure pling isn't the reason we have rdm/nin 50+ for example, and you can only pl so high. And of course, if you even give a damn about the level 32 war/whm noob he must have been in your party or something, which should kind of warn you to the mental state of your party, and yourself if you stay in the pt

Overall.. I don't see anything moraly wrong with pling or body guarding. It's hard enough (in my experience) to get someone to do it anyways, so the few times I have the pleasure of a PL I am happy and glad for it. Dunes IS the area to learn about pting and how your job works in your pt. Which is fine. But it really shouldn't take anyone 10 frikin levels of death, delays, and regular dunes trash to do it. And what of the 84% of us who know already? Also, regardless if they don't learn in dunes, they'll learn in qufim (Dunes II) or Kazham (Dunes III -XXX gob train fest-) They can't avoid it.

I'm not a supporter of the "easy way", but really trust me, I'll be earning my god damn xp hard enough 50-75. Pling through dunes is like skipping the instruction manual for a game you've been playing for a year and a half now.
 
Sanjo Renomitsu said:
I'm not a supporter of the "easy way", but really trust me, I'll be earning my god damn xp hard enough 50-75. Pling through dunes is like skipping the instruction manual for a game you've been playing for a year and a half now.
Click to expand...

That sums it up quite well on a personal level, but if youve got new players in the PT it can hinder them for a while, not knowing how to play their jobs.

I kind of rather enjoy the dunes, where its not all that serious and people are just learning. It makes me laugh a lot. Granted I havent been back there in some time, but its a change of pace :roll: :wink:
 
I for one am not a big fan of powerleveling or bodygaurds, I do not go looking for such help but I'm not going to drop a party just because others in the party have this help, so I guess overall if you wish to do these things for ppl that is your busniuss not mine :)
 
As long as the person isn't getting involved in the fighting(except on a call for help) then sounds fine to me.

It's one thing to have someone cure you so you can get away with sloppy play, it another if they are just making sure you maximize xp
 
For the people that are against the body-guards, would that make the high levels that like to sit at the kazham and Delkfutt Tower zones and take care of trains a bad thing? They don't have to be there for you to get exp, and they do provide you with enough help to take out anything in the zone.

I can see the arguments against PLing in the dunes, because you start to learn your job then. Jobs change as you get higher, however, with the addition of new abilities/traits, coming from both your sub and your main. At a higher level, you might be expected to use a different sub than what you used at a lower level, like /thf instead of /war. You also spend a lot of time leveing that job, so if you don't learn something from 10-20, you can learn it later on. Tanks will learn to hold hate, whm's will learn to cure, pullers will learn to pull without links in qufim, kazham, and beyond.

I've powerleveled people before, but the only one's I've powerleveled are friends and LS members. I'd just do it while I was lfg, so that I'd actually be doing something rather than just sit in jueno with my flag up. It owuld only be to help people get past the dunes and it was only people who had already been through the dunes before, not just some newb who's paying me.
 
There is a difference between killing trains and Powerleveling. Honestly, I dont think throwing a PL to friends is a bad thing, but it is annoying when you are leveling a low job and EVERY party has a powerlevel. As Whm, I wasnt able to skill up as much because someone else was doing all the healing. I also wasnt able to learn to conserve MP as well, and now look at me, Id rather throw a Banish out than make sure someone has full HP.

I think the only place a PL is really something I would want is 1-10. At this point, there isnt a lot to learn and you just need to get to 10 quick so you can party. I am like Ryme, sometimes its nice to just go to a place with a low job and not have high expectations. Hell i have earned 200 exp in 2 hours and had a blast because it was so stupid that is was funny.

The excuse that you learn it later is not enough. I am now a 21 Whm, and I still dont have the job down. In fact I downright suck at it. I had powerlevels throughout my 10-20 experience. Even though I have Bard down, and Ranger, Ninja, Warrior, etc...doesnt mean I will be great at every job.

Fae
 
I am of the opinion that there is nothing wrong with a pwr lvl or a "Bodygaurd", as long as everyone in the party is an experienced player.

By that I mean, all of them have sub jobs and all of them have a job higher than the one they are curently using.

I also trade pwr lvls a lot, you get me 5 lvls on my thief, I'll get you 5 lvls on yer warrior.

If you do choose to pwr lvl new players, they will get to lvl 30 or so and be totally dumbfounded by what is expected of them in a party, especially a whm.

That is really the only thing I can see wrong with the whole ordeal.
 
Ethicaly it is no diffrent the PLing, the real issue of PLing is people on their first jobs screaming for a PL in city or begging a passing WHM to help them. The "help" does more harm then good, many important lessons and skills are acquired in the first few lvls, and they should be done without the help of others.

But say it is a higher lvl party of more experienced players who have a WHM friend handy who is bored. I see nothing wrong with this, I have PLed friends and have been pled while said WHM was LFG.
 
I find any form of help at mid levels pretty boring. Leveling is mind numbingly easy. Having an occasional wrench thrown in the works keeps it fresh.

I enjoy a link or two every so often to keep me on my toes as RDM. Nothing beats sleeping a link, debuffing the main mob, then kiting the link when it wakes up using Gravity until Sleep recast is up. XD Seriously, with a high level to just kill the link and go on like normal makes it the same boring crap over and over.

Some of my most entertaining party memories come from the really horribly bad situations, whether they ended well or not.
_____
Cythe - Rank 10
Hume Male
75 Paladin
 
I don't believe it's right to P/L at any time because you learn something new with every job. 'It's just a sub.' is never a good excuse folks. I'll take a p/l in the duens though. It really doesn't matter there.

Unless you're taking idiots along with you.

^^^^PAY ATTENTION TO THE LAST PART MORONS!!!^^^^^^^^^^^

On the otherhand... when that rare link *Unless you're in bat hell. >_<* comes along and someone squashes it like a bug to save your rep as a puller and your xp per hour you can't help but feel relief.

I rarely pull a link anymore, and knowing my pt doesn't have to handle it and I don't have to eat the death are both very reassuring things.
 
It's not THAT big of a deal. It's just like all the times I've sat at the zones to Selbina, Delkfutt's Tower, or Kazham and killed links and aggro for people when they got it. Do I ever ask for money though for saving their asses? Of course not. But I still do it anyways. Paying someone to stand guard over their party is kind of stupid, but some people go that extra length.
 
Thanks for the responses everyone. All very interesting and informative.. Now if you will excuse me, there is a RDM/MNK with a red question mark in West Sarutabaruta that need to get to level 30 by tomorrow. :lol:

Happy adventuring,

~Crook
 
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