If a person was soloing a mob for experience, would you take your group in and kill the mob while that person was spelling up for the fight? Of course you wouldn’t. That person was there first and had the intent of killing the mob and was making the proper preparations. You would move on to the next mob or wait for the next pop.
Why should it be different if the mob has equipment? The rule of “first person there gets it” is just common sense. If that person is there before you, he/she probably has an equal or greater interest in the item, and you should be a good sport and either secede or help out. And if indeed you offer to help out, don’t try to use little tricks to obtain the item for yourself when it’s done. The only exceptions to this rule would be if that person was camping there every boot to twink the mob or had more than enough of that specific item, in which case is actually another equally serious problem…
What truly disgusts me is when people ignore this golden rule and decide to compete against the first person there for the item. Just because you may have an advantage over that other person (level, class, race, experience of fighting that mob, friends/guilds) does not mean you are entitled to that mob. Even if your interest in that mob is for someone else does not mean you are justified to it because of the “selflessness” of your actions. And just because you may be more capable of killing the mob or can get help faster does not mean you get to act like a bully and steal the candy from what you perceive as the disadvantaged little kid.
After all, was the other person there first? YES.
Did that person have the intent of killing that mob? YES.
Was that person making the proper preparations (i.e. asking people for help)? YES.
Why then would you choose to ignore these facts and attempt to claim that mob for yourself? Is a piece of colored text worth the distress caused and possible conflict involved? What makes it so important that you can’t just wait till next time to get it? Even if it is a rare, should you succumb to your own greed and screw another person over? If you do, you are only encouraging such behavior from others next time around.
Even if you don’t really know that other person, or realize that you will probably never group with him or her, does not mean you can steal their kill. Just because it is not a written rule in Sojourn 3 does not mean you should take advantage of that fact and ignore this truth. You are only unnecessarily adding to the tension in this game. A player is a person, regardless of which side they play on or which guild they are in, and should be treated with the same respect as you would want from others. Zones follow a “first group there” rule, it should only make sense that individual mobs should follow a “first person there” rule.
And just because you are a member of the group and not the leader does not mean you are not responsible for your actions. If you willingly aid a player who is competing for a mob against someone else who was there first and perhaps more rightfully entitled to that mob, you are also contributing directly to this problem.
Several of us have been here a long time and should know better. Several of us are more than old enough to act maturely. The worst part is how some of the more prominent figures will turn into hypocrites when the right string of colored text comes along. For such players I have absolutely no respect because they obviously have none for others, yet even I still know better than to stoop to their level of playing.
My reason for this post is because I’ve recently seen a lot of this occurring. This problem has always existed and I ask you all to reconsider your actions if they negatively impact others. Is there such importance in a silly item that you can get another time that you should ignore doing the mature and fair thing? A game is only fun if all players can enjoy it. There are a lot of great people who play on this mud, why not try being one of them?
-Kiyre
