[Balor]

Firstly it is true that it is on any singular player to take accountability and responsibility for their experience, and set their expectations for their roleplay. However it is also on the part of the community to make it easier for someone to integrate into the setting, and find their footing.

When I first started playing SL2 if it weren't for well established players I would not have had any meaningful interactions or a desire to stay in G6, let alone Korvara. While there were issues with their complaints and suggestions. The fact that the unilateral consensus from some was "I'm having fun, why aren't you?"

Is disappointing. You're not being the neighbor Mister Rogers believed you could be.

[Rexan]

As a person who came to SL2 as a flat-out no one, no links to the community before hand, no real experience baring maybe, a days worth of play a year before I really settled in for the long-haul, me staying or going ABSOLUTELY depended on those two-three people who picked the nervous wallflower out of the crowd and pushed them to break their, well, wallflowering a bit.

Is this the exact same case one-for-one? No, not really. Should every player feel some weighing obligation that they NEED to help new players? Of course not. Especially when you consider how casual some people play SL2. But the way I see it is, if you're in a position where you can give a new player RP--even if it's using say, your role as a leader/semi-leader to give them a inane task for them to push towards. What's the harm? We certainly don't want to be seen as a community who leave their new players floating adrift in a sea of unfamiliarity, are we? Everyone can say 'Well I did just fine when I joined' but the point should be clear that you aren't them. And that's fine. But people have to be a little kinder to new players, rather then simply turning a nose up and essentially telling them to 'get good'.

I won't say I agreed with EVERY point that was made, but I also don't think writing it off as a nothing-burger is so very productive to this thread's purpose, either.

[Autumn]

It took being recognized by the PvP community when Demon Hunter was busted for me to finally get into the roleplay scene, the first person who had ever reached out to me to roleplay specifically was Xoveran, and then Fern and then everyone else. I trust that if there was no hand that was reached out towards me at that time, I likely would have lost interest and quit, but given those 2's interactions with me, it at least set a foothold I could maintain.

This is why I said what I said in my last post, I will say I am disappointed that many good points have been brought up already that have been dismissed into the abyss the moment they were brought up.

[WaifuApple]

When I first joined the community I was kept intentionally isolated from it by a group of people who'd brought me with them but had no interest - negative interest, even, in the community and the game's environment. Instead it was used more as a tool to tell their own stories to their own lore and headcanons, in private or seldom used spaces. It was not a very happy beginning, and one I rarely talk about to this day because there was a lot of bad actors and a whole lot of emotional manipulation stuff, but much of that has been and gone, now.

The first opportunity I was given to break away from this was a valentine's event - a shot in the dark where I could put myself forward as someone nobody even knew and take part in whatever main event was being put forward. I think it was, like, a blind date at the time - but that's not the important part. When it comes to getting involved and invested in the community, all it takes is one good foothold. It may be difficult to get invested in the community through standard RP, appearing one day when nothing substantial is happening and people are just going about their days. There's very little opportunity on those days to stand out from the crowd, and it's through finding an opportunity in which you cannot be ignored that you find a place with the people who took notice of you.

My suggestion to any new player that comes by is to seize the opportunity. If you find your way into the world and hear of a festival or an upcoming event of any kind that is open season, put your name in. You don't need to be competent - heck, not knowing what you're doing might get you a foothold with the people who jump in to try their utmost to help guide you. That gets you and people talking! Take a chance to make the most of any opportunity that puts you above the standard crowd of people. Eyes will be on people who sign up to be part of some competition, or to contribute a stall to a festival, etc. rather than standing on the sidelines.

This suggestion isn't saying this community is the most accessible out there, but there will be opportunities to pole vault. Just don't be afraid to be a little selfish and take an offered spotlight, and then if someone interfaces with you on that spotlight, check for a discord and get talking. Ask them how you were. Create that link, that bond, and you might find them introducing you to others, and things spiral from there.

People - many of us in this community - are shy, rather than intentionally wanting to ignore people. But once you get us talking, and you find someone who meshes, you'll go far.

[Mewni]

When I first started playing SL2 if it weren't for well established players I would not have had any meaningful interactions or a desire to stay in G6, let alone Korvara.

[Shujin]

I am probably one of the people that has been around for the longest, and still somewhat actively plays, or atleast I do only know of 2-3 that are basically from the old days. I often take longer breaks from the game to play other games, and everytime coming back to SL2 its a bit difficult to find footing in the RP again.

Be it for the general world lore having changed, people talking about more recent big events that you have absolutely zero clue about but were apperently world defining or other things. Everytime that happens I feel completly out of the loop and don't really know what to do, A bit lost and alone and lose Motivation. This is what I usually do when that happens and I assume to an extent does apply to new people too:

The Only real advice I can give you is to attempt and start low again, Don't attempt to make a Veteran character, or a troll character or something like that. The former you yourself will feel out of touch with as you learn the ropes, and the latter the community will more than careful around and if you get a stigma of "Just a troll", you certainly have a hard time.

Do not attempt to find "The Hotspot of RP", but just RP with whatever you come across and let it naturally flow, it might be hit and miss for a while, but especially as a new player, it will help you to get the ropes and grasp an understanding of the game. And even if there are a bunch of people you feel are unhelpful, like what I assume you do feel after your last post, there are a lot of people in game that gladly pick you up and help you if you put in a genuine effort from your side, and if you are like minded it will click. I too often attempt to pick up newbies and push them in whatever group I think they will have fun in. And there are others that do the same, all you need is a little bit of faith, that not everyone is gatekeeping. Cause thats the truth, its actually just a small portion, but they are a little more vocal which makes it feel bigger.

Another tip, and I know thats a thing many newer player run into is the "I make a cool edgy character, they are popular! Like Sasuke in Naruto!", while in theory true, Sasuke for example only works because he bounces off other characters and those characters enable him to be that way, So making such a character as a new person with no connections, will have a really hard time to float in. I would suggest just making a generally more open character, and not too complicated or reliant on specific other archtype of characters to bounce off on. Thats more for people who have no problem with being alone for the most part, or for someone who has his circle already, that will take him in for that. Not saying that was your issue, just putting it out there, cause I have seen it happen alot in the past and those people lost motivation for it, as they weren't well received.

If you ever read this, feel free to reach out to me in discord, I am not super active myself right now but I have absolutely no problems to point you to some directions, after I got an idea what you are looking for.

[Poruku]

This person brings a lot of valid concerns that I also feel. Most importantly the complete lack of mechanical hooks for rp.

SL2 is a grinding game with grinding mechanics and a pvp function thrown in. There's a very obvious lack of hooks and incentives to roleplay. Everything interesting about the rp relies heavily or entirely upon discord.

Anyone who is having fun, good for you. I have fun too. But there is this thing I keep hearing. "It's entirely up to you to go out there and make fun rp happen". I hate that sentiment, even though I subscribe to the idea. I'm someone who makes things happen more than the opposite. I hate wandering or afking in public in SL2 because it is very boring. That's why I play antagonists or characters with a specific purpose.

SL2 is an empty game aside from dungeons. It's built around the idea of being an adventurer. Korvara made exactly zero changes to that fact and literally asked the players to figure everything out. Because of that, everything is discord and the new player experience sucks. You need to learn all the systems and conventions, make a profile, etc etc, overcome many such barriers and then you're still supposed to figure out how to get fun rp on your own? When everyone is already a part of some group and you stand out? A serious pain in the ass.

Lotta valid complaints. Helping new players out IS our responsibility. However, I also think Dev needs to wake up and look at the rp part of his roleplaying game. These complaints are not new. He cannot keep leaving every single roleplay thing to the playerbase.

That being said, dm me on discord if you want help with profile, face icons, your build, or anything. Polkjm#0329

[Aleccia Rosewater]

On top of every other point I tried to make I would like to point out that Sig is densely packed with things to do while Kovara is mostly empty island. Disparity is a great way to confuse newcomers

Yes I get that this is the wrong setting for a high power character. After all such a setting would demand a completely different set of mechanics - and regularly create new story opportunities by making it easy to destroy the old. I didn't try to create a veteran or anything nor did I actually make the tourist I mentioned (as funny as it would have been). I even tossed out my first character concept - an elf diplomat - for the a lack of quality.

I eventually made a sailor/aquamancer with subtle christian overtones as I refuse to settle for the opposite extreme. Her magic comes from her mother who was known for being a witch and a heretic. (does the island even have heretics?) I wanted the father's backstory to be that he was a pirate but couldn't figure out how piracy would fit into the setting. I guess a fisherman is vaguely christian in a no-one-would-even-notice type of way so I went with that instead. This resulted in a character that I am very happy with but if I can't use this persona for sig then I might as well being it elsewhere

[Poruku]

This resulted in a character that I am very happy with but if I can't use this persona for sig then I might as well being it elsewhere

I guess one big tip I would give you is that it's certainly better for easing into things to be part of a faction, as the people there will help you in character if you start off as an inexperienced character, which will generally translate to assistance on an ooc level. For instance, showing you around the map, helping with grinding, etc.

When you play an unaffiliated character who has no connections with other characters from the start, you are essentially relying entirely on random chance to obtain RP, which isn't a very solid strategy for a new player. If you want to be unaffiliated, you could at least join a group like the wanderer's vale to connect with a few people.

[Moku203]

Sig is densely packed with things to do while Kovara is mostly empty island.

I will say, as someone who has been around quite awhile with on and off breaks for varying times. (I used to play in SL1 times, and remember old Cellsvich and Growth Based Stats) that G6 has far less to do than Korvara, yes, it's easier for newer players to jump into. but to say Korvara is empty island is a gross under estimate, there is a lot going on if you explore. (I know it can be hard to jump out and talk to people)

[quote pid='50338' dateline='1678715512']
I even tossed out my first character concept - an elf diplomat - for the a lack of quality.
[/quote]

In regards to this, I will say that making a character with any higher standing of power (Political or otherwise) is not really wise in Korvara, as everything is player run, and your character would have to be promoted to such a position within one of the four nations, or make their own outlying group, which can lead to issues on it's own.

There is also another mention of Christian undertones in another character, while there is nothing wrong with putting religion in a character concept, know that in Sigrogana as a whole (including Korvara) there are set Lore religions that wouldn't mirror Christianity 1 to 1, Korvara is in a special place where Religion itself isn't so "Mainstream" and most are player made, meaning they can be whatever you want (within the rules of course, I don't often put my feet down in there, so I don't know the lore or rules behind the dos and don'ts)

Going into my first few months in Sigrogana G6, I wasn't part of any community really, I played a young girl that a lot of people know now named Hinamori, a very unknown person at the time, mentally unstable, who had a breakdown in the square due to a fight breaking out and several mentions of her Madness Mantra, someone took pity on her and started talking to her about things, eventually letting her story evolve into what many know it to be now (I'll keep it secret for anyone who still wants to learn it organically.) 

so while yes, it does often fall on veteran players to extend that helping hand (which I myself as a vet have now done many times, both ICly and OOCly) you do have to put in a bit of effort to get at least somewhat noticed. to say it is 100% on the Vets to extend their reach is just as disingenuous as saying it falls on the new player to just KNOW where to go, and what to do.