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PSO Etiquette

Angel's guide to keeping people from hating you

Hey there guys and gals! It's your old pal Angel here, and this is a song about a whale! and this is a little list of handy tips to keep in the back of your head when playing in our pretty little cage: Phantasy Star Online! If you're new to the game or just plain rude you probably don't know that there are a few social norms that most players follow that just generally keep other players happy. I joke around, but I take the topics I'm about to talk about very seriously, and I've taken the time to go out on a limb and list a few of the big ones. So let's get started!

1. Claimed!

Have you ever been hunting a big item for god knows how long, just to have it drop and, before you can act, have someone else take it right from under your very nose? It's a stinging sensation that even a trimate can't cure. How do you avoid this situation? It's simple! Lay claim to your hunt! When the entire team has gathered, or when a new player joins the room, let them all know what the item is that you are looking for as well as what drops it! If another player cannot agree to your terms, ask them politely to get the fuck out.

if you're on the other end of this, try to be polite: if the item drops, let the player who claimed it know so they can come reap the benefits of their hard work. Aid your compadre in finding the item they want, if you want the item as well, ask them to help you hunt it. It may take a while, but a player who has just found an item they've wanted for a while may feel indebted to you and lend you their strength.

2. Banking

When a player needs to grab an item from their bank, they will usually create a room and name it "Bank." If a player is in this room, you should assume that their business usually calls for them to move the item quickly. Joining another person's bank room will cause their game to freeze while you connect, slowing their simple process down. Avoid this by simply not joining other people's bank rooms. If you feel that you absolutely must join that room, or that you're simply too lazy to create a bank room of your own, try not to interact with the person within the room that you joined, and keep these in mind:

That person is not there to sell you items

That person is not there to run you through a TTF

That person is not there to give you free gear

That person is there to use the bank, and leave

3. Trading

Trading on the Ultima server, until recently, was done entirely through drop trading and really required you to put a lot of faith into someone when trying to trade and obtain an item you want. Now the trade window is fixed, but there is still a little more to learn when it comes to trading. This sounds a little crazy I know, but listen and understand this: some people actually have anxiety and may agree to a trade that actually isn't beneficial to them simply because they aren't good at saying no. So what does that mean for you? How do you keep your trades clean and fair?

Don't gyp another player when you're making your offer or conducting your business.

If you know the item you're selling is only worth 20 photon drops and you continually try to lowball a person or bully them into taking that item for more than it's worth you are trash. If you know the item you want is worth 50 photon drops and you offer 30 photon drops and an item that is only worth 10 photon drops you are trash. If you deliberately try to sell someone an item that you know has little to no use or is weaker and less useful than they intend you are trash.

this is easily one of the harder concepts to grasp and understand because of course you want to profit and keep ahead as much as possible, so you want to use up any wiggle room that you have but I personally think it's just better to pay what an item is worth, or always be open to reverse a trade after it's gone through if your customer is unhappy with what they purchased. No one likes to feel swindled, so try not to be a buttface.

4. Buying, Selling, and Trading (B>,S>,T>)

Is the hunt not doing so hot? Spent hours looking for that one item you just can't seem to find? Got a few Photon Drops or other valuable items you're willing to part with? Sounds to me like you're in the perfect position to begin a transaction! But how do you go about doing it? It's simple really! Use the B>, S>, or T> commands to let other players know you mean business! (literally)

B> stands for Buying!

Lets say I wanted to buy a Psycho Wand. With that being the item in question here, I would simply set up a trade room: start a new room (any difficulty is fine, but keep in mind: players who cannot yet play on higher difficulties can't enter your room if you set it to a higher difficulty, thus limiting your business) and set the name as B> Psycho Wand, since Psycho Wand is the item in question here. The bait is set, create the room to cast out your fishing line and wait to hook a seller! Once someone enters the room, ask if they have the item in question, the tell them what you're willing to give up to obtain it. Remember! Don't lowball other players when presenting your offers! Once the two of you have settled on an agreement, commence the trade! You can go with the good old fashioned drop-trade method, or use Ultima's new and improved Trade Window!

Need a little extra Photon Drops? Got a fresh item begging to be sold? Have no fear!

S> stands for selling! It's virtually the same concept as above, except this time, you're fishing for buyers! Create a room (whatever difficulty you like) and set the name as S> "insert item name here"!

T> stands for trading! This command is used when you wish to exchange items for goods rather than using Photon Drops. This command is very rarely set by itself, and usually follows the B> or S> commands. To add trading to the mix, simply type B/T> or S/T> when you go to create your room. This lets players know that you are interested in trading as well as buying or selling. Easy right?

5. Is This Seat Taken?

There will come times when you happen upon a party of players that is 3/4 full. Sometimes people reserve spaces for friends or other players to join them in combat. If someone tells you your spot is taken, don't be rude, don't catch an attitude, just apologize and leave. I know for me, it sucks to have to tell someone they have to go just because their spot is reserved for someone else. Don't make this process any harder than it has to be.

6. Unwanted Medical Attention

If you've played in a room on Hard level or higher, more or likely you've come across someone who may run around with their HP dropped to a ridiculously low amount wielding a large yellow greatsword. I like to call these people, Flow-ers. What you may not know, is that they may or may not have intentionally dropped their HP in order to use the Wave attack on their weapon, the Dark Flow. What you want to do is avoid healing this person as best you can. If you are injured and need medical attention near this person, resort to swallowing as many mates as you can to fill your bar without filling theirs. Now, you have to understand, that healing someone who is purposefully dropping their health to use this attack, can leave them defenseless with low health. This may lead to them being one hit by their current prey.

Now, no one is perfect. We have all panicked every once and a while after taking major damage and the first thing we want to do is heal ourselves. RESTA! Oopsie, you've gone and healed a Flow-er. What happens now? You may find yourself on the receiving end of a curse out. Have no fear, simply apologize to that person and try to avoid repeating that same mistake.

Now this part is important, if you are on the other end of this and are healed by accident, remain calm. You are alive and I can almost guarantee the world has not ended. Try to avoid saying mean or hurtful things to that poor fonewearl whom's range reached a little farther than she expected. Be creative and use your wits to find a way to drop your HP back down to an acceptable range without hurting your fellow player's feelings. Don't be that douchebag that gets super upset because you received a little unwanted love. Stay clam and slay that monster another way.

7. Relaxing on the Beach

Many of us know the irritation that comes with having to shoot down those little rats with wings on the beach of Respective Tomorrow (RT) and there sure are a lot of them. That section is easily one of the most dreaded areas of the PSO world simply because of how long it takes to take out a series of irritatingly evasive enemies. Keep this in mind, the more that are helping out, the faster this section will go. Don't leave your teammates to clean up the beach while you go relax somewhere because you are too lazy to shoot a few flies. This causes the process to be even longer than it would if you would stay and continue to help. Press on brave hero and this part will be over before you know it.

8. The Ever Illusive 4 Way Photon Blast

This is easily one of the more important things I will teach you, so listen up! Of all of the players on Ultima server, maybe 30% are ever on the same page when it comes to doing a 4 Way Photon Blast. This is either because of a lack of knowledge of PB, or a lack of communication, so here are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to releasing the energy of your floating little companion.

The main goal of a 4 Way Photon Blast is to sligshot energy into Mylla & Youlla (Twins) and give the entire team an incredible Level 80+ Shifta and Deband.

When someone calls out a number between 1-100, what they more or likely want to hear is where your Photon Blast Meter currently is. Depending on how well you type and your current fighting situation, it should take anywhere between 1-3 seconds to let your team know how much energy your Mag has built up. Simply type the number next to the yellow meter in the top left corner of your screen and you'll make everyone a whole lot happier. The meter is located in the top left corner of your HUD, peep it.

Keep in mind that Forces (usually) do not build Photon Blast as quickly as other players. The tradeoff for this is that Forces have the ability to imbue teammates with Shifta and Deband up to level 30 by themselves. Try to be patient with them while they build Photon Blast.

Okay so is eveyone at 100? Yes? Yes? Yes? Yes? Good, what happens now? Now the fun starts.

Players should now begin to call out the name of the Photon Blast they are about to use. This portion of the process is severely important as it lets everyone else know what Photon Blast you will use, as well as what Photon Blast NOT to use. Become familiar with the different names for each Photon Blast as well as their original names. Heres a quick list to help you out:

Farlla

hrc22f.jpg

otherwise known as the Snake or the Serpent, or even sometimes the Dragon.

Estilla

Estlla_art.png

otherwise known as the Dolphin, or the Fish

Golla

Golla_art.png

otherwise known as the Deer, or the Stag

Pilla

Pilla_art.png

otherwise known as the Mage, or the Tower, people usually know the real name of this one so I haven't heard many nicknames for him

Leilla

Leilla_art.png

otherwise known as the Lady or the Woman, or the Healer

and finally, the most important of the bunch

Mylla and Youlla

Myllayoulla_art.png

otherwise known as the Twins

Now, back on track, the name of your Photon Blast should be called out to let everyone know what you intend to use. The purpose of this is to bring everyone in the group to the same page before the blast is initiated. Always remember to wait at least 5 seconds after you call the name of your blast before you use it. This wait period is crucial to having the blast go successfully. It allows other players the chance to object and stop the blast from happening before any Photon is wasted. If there is a problem, or if you need the other players to wait, quickly tell them before the blast is started. Everyone NEEDS to be on the same page here in order to get your super-powered Shifta and Deband, so be patient!

Everyone is at 100 and I'm not, what do I do?

I will let you in on a secret lad, you can Donate your Photon to the Blast even before you reach 100. On your keyboard, (if you're on a desktop it is usually located directly above the arrow keys, if you're on a laptop, it may be located on the far right of your keyboard) there is a key labeled "End"

Press the "End" key during the period after someone has used a Photon Blast and before the animation for the Blast has started to donate your photon! The timing of this is crucial, you must press the key while the other players are doing their poses. If the animation for the Photon Blast has started, you will not be able to donate your Photon and you will miss out on the benefits of obtaining high powered Shifta and Deband!

Location Location Location

Where should a Photon Blast be done? I'm glad you asked stupid idiot. There are certain areas where Photon Blasts should not be initiated due to glitches within the game. I could list them all for you, but it's much easier to just say this:

Hallways and other tight spaces

These places are very bad for Photon Blasts. Because of their height or restrictive area, hallways may cut off the range of the Photon Blast, denying its benefits to certain players. Take the time to move to a new, wider area before you initiate the blast! ALSO make sure that all four players are in the same room before you start it! A player can be 2 inches away from you, but outside of your room, this causes the game to think they are in a different area and they will not receive the benefits of your blast! Be patient with this game's mechanics and you'll do just fine!

ONE MORE THING.

The Photon Blast Mylla and Youlla are the gift that keeps on giving. If you happen to be dead at the time someone uses the Twins, you can donate PB to be brought back to life! This is especially useful in dire situations where a Force is not available and your team is out of Moon Atomizers and really needs your help! Don't be stingy with your Photon Blast!

9. Don't Beg for Things

Trust me when I say, there is nothing more irritating than a beggar. I know, I know, you're new to the server and you need help! There are certain ways to go about doing this, and trust me, repeatedly asking high level players for items will do nothing but irritate them. If you want help, here's how you get it:

Earn It

I know that sounds crazy, but hear me out. Putting a little bit of struggle into the game when around higher level players may invoke a sense of pity in them. I know I personally hate to see a new player struggle with a friggin saber as they go into higher levels. If you impress another player, they may find a few items in their little toychest to dish out to you and help you along your way. It's sort of a respect thing I like to think but what do I know? What will not work, however, is following another player around saying things such as, "u have items for me?" or "can you give me good weapons?" It will simply irritate that player, and even if they had weapons to give you, they will probably not want to give them to you now. Be patient, work hard, and people will reward you!

10. Weapon Slang

Have you ever seen players saying things such as 100/0/0/50/50? Of course you have, well if you are anything like me when I first started out, you haven't the slightest idea what the hell that means. Let me break it down for ya noob!

each weapon can be imbued with attributes! These are stats that will allow the weapon to deal extra damage against it's respective foe. The categories are as followed,

Native / A.Beast / Machine / Dark / Hit

With that knowledge in hand, we can apply this template to any weapon, allowing you to state the stats of the weapon. Let's say for example, I have an Excalibur. The Stats for my weapon may be something like this

Excalibur

0/0/45/50/40

Keeping with the template, this means that my Excalibur will deal a 0% bonus to Native enemies, a 0% bonus to Altered Beasts, a 45% bonus to Machine type enemies, and a 50% bonus to Dark type enemies-- as well as having a 40% hit increase. The higher these percentages, the more damage they will deal to their respective enemy. Players may often ask you about the stats of your weapon either out of curiosity, or out of interest in your weapon, meaning they may want to buy it. If you are against this, simply tell them the item in question is not for sale.

Alright morons. I'm pooped but I'm willing to bet you learned your butt off today. I could talk for ages about how to shape you into a beautiful member of PSO society, but there are some things you'll just have to learn for yourself. I may update this list with more things in the near future but for now, just keep these in mind and you'll do fine!

Welcome to Phantasy Star Online Ultima!

Edited by Angeldust
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tl dr ...
nah... i'm joking... btw... the level of S/D is 81, a simple explanation as follows:
The S/D level is based on the MAG IQ with the following formula
(IQ1 + IQ2 + IQ3 + IQ4) /10 +1 = S/D level
Take into account that the PB gauge acts as a 100% of the IQ, so if you donate 30% of a 200 IQ, that would be 60 IQ
This is because if you have 0 IQ, you still get S/D level 1
I'd love to try a 4 way PB with 0 IQ on all mags, an almighty S/D level 1

:onion108:

Edited by Soly
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I love you Angel *w*, I had a few issues, could you write about "S>/B>" rooms too? I made a few and always had somebody entering and ask for ttf 30 times.. x-x.

About begging for items... some peoples just say "Give me that weapon you're using", not nice!!!

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For the PB chains, the best way is to designate a player who will do a simple countdown saying "2" > "1" > "Go" or just "2...1" > "Go" to make sure the chain works out as intended. I've had way too many botched PB chains thanks to people in a rush who just say "Go" right off the bat, which can go wrong every now and then for various reasons: lag, someone typing or accessing a menu, someone getting knocked over when enemies are around (desync can make this even worse) ...

Of course, obviously it's even better when you use Skype, Teamspeak, Ventrilo, Mumble and any similar program.

Edited by El Socko
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You earned a stickied post. Nice!

Thank you Kajex <3

I love you Angel *w*, I had a few issues, could you write about "S>/B>" rooms too? I made a few and always had somebody entering and ask for ttf 30 times.. x-x.

About begging for items... some peoples just say "Give me that weapon you're using", not nice!!!

I'll have to put that in there as well!

Well I think I have pretty much done the complete opposite of all this lmao

we still love you... sometimes

also maybe something for fos who put there most used techs in the 2nd command 3 thingy shit idk lel and they always use pb by accident

i dont even know how anyone can play a force without using keyboard only to be honest, it just feels awkward without using the numbers for your spells

and thank you all who took the time to read this, I know I talk a lot XD

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