I've read a few complaints here about things that aren't really that bad. But there is one thing that irks me. People who ask for me to buy them donuts, Slimer sidekicks or suits.
Now, don't get me wrong. I have bought such things for other players in the past. But generally, these cases have been for long time teammates or friends with whom I have developed a strong relationship with.
Still, I get folks all the time who think because I've helped them in some way, and even plenty whom I haven't, ask me to buy them stuff.........
Hey, I just met you,
And this is crazy,
But buy some coupons,
For me, maybe?
I don't mind helping new or even experienced players out, but this is the quickest way for me to become turned off by a player. I get these requests frequently. It's the single most annoying thing I experience in the game.
Frankly, why would I do this? Why would I use my hard earned money to help someone I don't know play a game? When I choose to help strangers financially, it's going to be with truly charitable causes, like helping to purchase uniforms for under-privileged youth sports teams or my favorite charity, Saint Jude's Children's Hospital. It's definitely not going to be for playing a game.
When I first started playing this game, I joined a team and donated tons of donuts to help build it out. When my leader saw me donate donuts, he pestered me every day for more. Nothing I gave was ever enough. What was worse, he spent tons of donuts changing the team name twice a week rather than building the team out. As he continued to pester me non-stop for donuts, I became quite worried about whether or not my investment was safe. This guy didn't seem to sensible and was quite greedy and not in the least appreciative.
So I came up with a plan to salvage my investment from any bad decisions, like constantly changing the team name at a cost of 100 donuts at a time, as well as provide myself insurance that once the team was built out, I wouldn't get kicked to the curb. I was a new player after all and not as strong as many of the other players on my team.
When next my team leader pestered me for donuts, I explained my concerns and told him that his constant badgering had begun to make me nervous. However I did want to continue to help my team out. So I proposed he give me the steering wheel to the team and make me team leader. I would still give him full control in actually leading the team and I would just hold a puppet position as leader. In exchange, I would continue to pump donuts into the team. Now up until this point, all expansions on the team requiring donuts were done with donuts provided by me. The leader had also made donations, but all his donations went towards changing the team name, since the only time he donated was right before he would change the name. Personally, I had already spent around $500 on the team in a matter of 2 weeks. As a show of good faith, I was also willing to buy him a suit at a cost of $26 to myself. The other option was that he'd just have to be satisfied with the donuts I had already donated and not continue to pester me to continue donating at the same rate I had when I first started. I would still donate, but at a rate I was comfortable with instead of the lightning fast speed he kept demanding of me.
He agreed to the first option and handed the steering wheel over to me and I bought him a suit and donated enough to expand the team again several more levels. Then, I went to bed. When I awoke the next day, half the team was gone as well as the team leader. They had started a new team. When I wrote to him asking what was up, he replied he would return with the other members if I returned control of the team to him. I told him to take a hike. Later he asked to return to the team and I reluctantly allowed it, hoping he had come to his senses. But the rest of the team didn't return with him.
I went to sleep expecting by the next day, perhaps they would. Instead, I awoke to him having left the team again and taking half the team that was left with him as well. Again he tried to renigg on his end of the bargain and demanded I return the team to his control. Again, I told him to take a hike. This time, for the last time.
After that, I noticed several teammates were taking dives during fights with other teams. So I bought them all donut coupons as severance and dropped them from the team with an explanation for my actions and that if they accepted the coupons, they were agreeing to the terms of severance. Of course they turned those coupons in and then demanded to be allowed back on the team........ the same team they were taking dives in team fights on. Of course I said no and instead started rebuilding the team with friends who were either already playing or whom I pulled into the game by contacting them on Facebook.
Later I discovered my worries over the former leader of my team had merit because one of the players that left with him bought donuts to help expand their new team, just to get booted to the curb later. I believe that player's name was Bunny.
Most all went well from that point forward and my friends and I built quite a successful team. We built a loyal and competitive team and most of our players were pay players, but not all. Even some of our pay players were still running on a budget however and one of our players had a suit that was becoming outdated. I noticed after she had mentioned it several times in team chat. Another of our players asked me if he could help the team by buying some of them suits. He actually bought several suits for players throughout our time playing together. I suggested that he might buy one for the player who's suit had been outdated for awhile and he did so. 2 days later that player left for a stronger team. Now our teammate who had been buying suits for other teammates no longer does so. I can't blame him and fully understand. I have mad respect for him anyway and am much appreciative for all he's done for us. Should I ever leave the game, the team will go to him to do with as he thinks best.
So please understand, that just because a player might be generous, there is plenty of reason for them to not just go buying stuff for others, especially those they hardly know, when even those they do know may very well take advantage of it. They tend to spend money in the game to help themselves or their team be successful. Why would they spend money to help their competitors or potential competitors? We've been burned in the past due to our generous nature. (Don't let the name fool you. We're not really villains. We just play them on TV. But then, my monitor is actually a TV.)
Don't go asking others to buy you stuff in the game. It's bad form. If they can afford it, feel you deserve it, and have that kind of friendship with you, it might happen anyway. But asking for it is the quickest way to turn that player off from helping you in the future. Like I said before, we've been burned more than once through our generosity.
Instead, just play the game as best you can, show your loyalty to your friends and teammates, and who knows, maybe you'll be the recipient of someone's good will. Probably not, but maybe. I can assure you, you probably won't by pestering someone over it. If anything, you'll only arouse their suspicions.
Edited by King of Thieves, 10 May 2015 - 01:41 PM.