What to do with Runners..

I have always disliked runners, and today I saw yet another runner who wanted 1,5k for a trip to Beacon's Perch from Ascalon. I don't want to show superfluous offence, so i just sent a n00bish reply:



Odd enough he accepted my request..


When we got to Beacon's Perch after about 30 minutes and 6 deaths (the runner, lol), he peculiary enough asked me why I didn't pay :P




Obviously I didn't pay,
Pwned

Pwned I say! Pwned, by your brain!

Hehehe, that's good stuff.

Yay for you. Why do we care, again?

Yeah, you stick it to the man you. Fight the power yo!

hey thats only some runners, no need to be stereotypical. There are a lot of good runners out there, and I'm not one of the bad ones either. I (not saying IGN) always give free droknar runs just to help those who need to get there and to have them avoid scammers. But btw, its better to post the WHOLE conversation to see whats going on.

One time I was in Beacon's Perch and a runner was advertising "Running To Droknar's Forge 3k No Noob Business". After asking him what he tmeant by "Noob Business" he again replied in all first-letter caps "wtf do you think it means noob dont bother me" then he actually put me on his ignore list, just becuased I asked him a question in a civilised manner.

Oh, here's a screenshot. The guy didn't reply in all caps, but his ad was.


But I don't really think either case is as much a problem with runners as it is with humanity.

a lot of runners, especially in the ascalon/ upper shiverpeaks region are just trying to scam you out of ur money, but there are also some out there that want to help new players out. and then there are the jack---es lol.

I agree on this, I only hate runners who take gold for it. Sry for forgetting to mention that..

All the runner said, were on the pictures. If i was to show all the unesserary text between it would have been a bit long and confusing..

This was in old ascalon as my monk (okay i got healing i know) where i noticed someone saying he runned to somewhere for 500g, so just for fun i tried to run the same distance and made it withou problems. The thing i hate most with runners is when the chat only is people saying they run to somewhere

Question: did you, or did you not have a head on your character during that run?

'cause he said you could go for free headless, but I think once you bring your head along for the run, you owe the man his money ;P

Posting names is against forum rules. You didn't "pwn" this guy, you were just childish.

i don't get why people are against runners. I know this topic has come up many times, but I'm replying because there seems to be several people here supporting him.

Running is a service, just like a taxi cab driver is. In Guild Wars, sure you can fight your way through certain areas or run through certain areas with minimal difficulty at level 20. What I don't get though, is why so many people dislike runners. As far as I can tell, they do not affect your personal gameplay in any way unless you choose to interact with them (this excludes the spamming of running services because I think we are only discussing the act of running someone somewhere, not how they advertise. If we include the chat spam, you might as well you dislike the entire idea of trading within a game. Scammers is the same deal, people will try to scam no matter what subject matter we are talking about as long as a trade of goods or services is included, so let's assume we are talking about legitimate runners) Common arguments against runners I don't understand.

1. I dislike runners because they charge money for taking people places I can get to myself.

- Ok then, get there yourself. It really is as simple as that. No one is forcing you to join the runner's party and no one is forcing you to pay his fee. If you can get there yourself, do so but there is no need to discredit runners in general. The runner is providing a service which people who can't make it themselves can use to get somewhere. This is like saying you dislike a taxi cab service. Yes you can drive yourself somewhere, but for someone who doesn't have a car, they can get around still with no adverse effect to you. To address the money issue, they are providing a service, so you are paying them for it. That'd would be similar to saying you won't pay shoe-shiners because you could do it yourself.

2. Runners get noob players to high level places.

- My main response is, so what? Guild Wars is instanced based so in a mission, a lvl 9 at the iron horse mines does not affect you one bit unless you have chosen to include him in your party. No right-minded person would include a lvl 9 for that mission, but if you do it was your choice so live with the consequences. Furthermore, these lvl 9 players are playing the game their own way. Since Guild Wars basically allows you to finish the whole game with no human interaction, these lvl 3s in Droknars Forge aren't affecting you either.

In conclusion, I basically see runners as a service that is there but in no way forces people to use it. I don't see the reasoning behind denouncing such a service, so if any of you anti-runners would like to give me reasoning, that'd be cool.

Re: #2: The noobs will get to the high level places anyway.


You runner-hater carebears need to get over yourselves and realize not everyone wants to repeat the same missions over and over again. Not everyone wants to farm newbie Griffons for months. If you don't like runners, don't use their services. Stop sounding the trumpets of flatulence because they can do something you are unable to do yourself.

Amen to ShadowNife and Bast! Well said!

I agree with all 3 above me.

You forgot about the people that get run places because they can't get there themselves. The people who have no idea how to play the game and then end up on your team in a high level place. THAT is where it starts to effect you personally. I have no problems with the people that get run places who have been through the game before (okay, maybe a slight problem. The game is different for each class you play. How are you supposed to learn to be a good healer or explore the different possibilities of a necro through gameplay when you're being run places? That's another story though).

The people I have the problem with are the ones spamming up the districts with "Running to X for Xk", leaving the people who are new to the game firmly believing that the only way to get through to that place is to be run. The desert for example. That is quite a learning curve, suddenly you take a step out of Amnoon Oasis and you're swarmed with scarabs. You continue on like you usually do but something is wrong and you die. It seems impossible. But just before you heard about people running places. Perhaps the only way to get to your target is to be run. They learn nothing, they don't learn how to effectively use their skills and proper tactics to overcome that road block and someone just runs through there for them. It doesn't show them anything. When they get to wherever you're at, it hurts your game time because they still have the same mentality they did when they were in Ascalon.

Explorable Areas don't require you to be good at the game as much as be more stubborn than the monster population. Because Explorable Areas are so bland is probably a reason why running took off so quickly in the first place.

An additional problem is that none of the PvE missions really teach you all that much about the game, either. There are going to be good-for-nothing scrubs no matter if running exists or not. They will be carried through PvE by both runners and PuGs as many missions can afford to have a member or two be mostly useless.

Wow, I couldn't have said it better myself. I think that's the major flaw with running (aside from the whole laziness part) is the fact that it gives the impression that's the way the game is meant to be played. Next time you yell at someone for being a Noob, realise how they got that way.

I would guess that charging runners never ask how many times you've played through the game...just in case I hear the lame o' rific "I've played the game through 6 times already so I deserve to be run" excuse.

I have to admit the OP's story brings a smile. Since there is so much enjoyment for the runner to run, if I had the gold I think it would be just as fun to screw them up....sorry I think it would. And I don't think there's a darned thing anyone can do...hrmmm.

Let's not forget all the begging that goes on now in Droknar's. Ppl get ran there(lowbies I am assuming) but don't have enough to buy armor & start begging ppl for cash & materials.

And I guess you guys have no problem with the twinkers in ascalon & shiverpeak arenas?