Earthboundia wrote: ↑07 September 2022, 01:54My advice to new players is either learn all the various versions of finesse before even playing,
That’s over the top, and I believe an exaggeration of what is really going on.
I’ve got a ridiculously high rating now, but I started at 0 just like everybody else, and I learnt as I played. I certainly got complaints when I made mistakes (which I did a fair bit). However, fairly consistently the mistakes and the attendant complaints came when I was playing in games above my level.
So I avoided playing too much above my level. As an average player, I joined in games where other players were no more than good. When I was ranked good, I joined with strong players. (And I don’t mean one point over the rank minimum; I mean getting high enough to keep the rating despite typical fluctuations.) And so on up the ranks. That meant I had opportunities to learn from those above me, but I was also rarely asked to understand a difficult technique before I was ready for it.
And you can do things like start training games to explore higher concepts with your peers. Put what you are trying to learn in the description, so you can learn together.
You don’t need to know all the types of finesse to play at Strong rank. In fact, I’ve often said that Expert just means you know finesse and saves, and are learning bluff. Master means you know bluff, and are ready to learn trash bluff.
If you’re not prepared to learn to play well, of course you’re going to annoy people. And no, knowing how to play with your private group doesn’t count. You need to know how to play with the group you intend to play with. This is especially so if you’re claiming a rating well above your actual skill
in the play environment. (Kaladry, we can see that you’ve worked up to Expert, and then suddenly plateaued and more recently dropped below expert again. I’d guess that sudden plateau starts when your private group stopped playing here.) That rank is the only thing we have to set our expectation for how you will perform in a game, and if you can’t match it with your play, it’s going to cause conflict.
Now, all that said, there is definitely a toxic element in the community. I have red-thumbed a
lot of players, which basically proves that as far as I’m concerned. I don’t just red-thumb people who get nasty with me; I have red-thumbed players for toxic behaviour toward anyone. (Also for repeatedly demonstrating that they have no interest in improving their play; so, both sides of the coin there.) My experience is certainly more pleasant as a result, but I think also the experience of those who play with me.
So the bad element is there, but also should not be exaggerated.
