I'm somewhat unfamiliar with the way things are done in Lusternia, so maybe this is normal. However, it's hard to keep motivated when the guild I'm apart of is so detached.

Basically, I felt that the Ur'Guard were very unsupportive and unresponsive to a newbie like me, with the exception of a character named Kayde. If she wasn't around, rarely would my questions get answered. General questions about the realm were usually aimed for the Collegium, but guild and class specific stuff were restricted to the guild. Geomancer and Nihilist novices that I briefly spoke with didn't seem to have the same problem.

Is this common? Is there a way to gauge how a guild treats their newer members before making a character, or will I basically have to jump from guild to guild in order to get this information?

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. I've heard the Ur'Guard are typically pretty good with Novices, though I've never had a Ur'Guard character. Was this just today, or is it something that happened over time?

Actually, I had an Ur'Guard alt once, I had to wait an hour before they were going to even start my novice lessons, so, at about 1:30 in and no one starting yet, I just said forget this and suicided the alt.

Asking here on the forums about the various guilds can be one way to gauge things. However, it can also come down to random luck. Sometimes people aren't around to help, and sometimes the ones that are around just aren't willing or able to help.

Who knows? Maybe the Ur'guard don't want members that have to be coddled when they're young because they won't grow up big and strong! Maybe they're all out on a raid killing puppies and children!

I heard the same thing, too...you can ask on CT if all else fails, most people are pretty knowledgeable about novice issues, even some class-specific things like armor and swords, and who knows? maybe an ur'guard who switched guilds would be able to help you with class abilities...or there's always the scrying pool.

my ur'guard alts have had similar problems, probably except when Shikha was around. It really does depend on what times you are around, as it is possible to be around in any guild when noone is there that would help you

I am sorry that you are having problems with your guild. Although I have never had an alt over there, I can't comment specificially on that guild. The game can be very frustraiting to first time players as it isn't your typical smaug mud, Godwars, whatever format. It could be bad timing with no one being around to help on questions, but if you really like the guild and want to stay there, you do have other options. You can ask on the novice channel ... Spindle, Bobbins and the like are generally very helpful with questions. You can ask on your collegium channel with cgt, do a quick gwho and send people tells. Most people are very helpful to new players regardless of the organization ... as a warrior guild, you could do a help Ebonguard, help Serenguard or help Paladins (the warrior guilds in the other cities) to see who is on as a novice aide and ask them specific questions about your skills/abilities.

I know in the Paladins, novices can follow GHELP SELFTRAINING (or something similar) as well as there are scrolls which tell about what the skills do...even looking through GHELP ORIENTATIONS (which guided people in teaching novices) would help them also, but its knowing where to find the information so finding even one person online that can help you would be sufficient. Fact is most people dont have time for novices, and those that do obviously cant be around 24/7

Of course it's also about first impressions, no one wants to teach a slow novice, so if you seem to be one they might just pretend to not exist or ignore you or something, it's unfair but it happens.

aye, or they may just be busy elsewhere. The day I passed up on mentoring Aletheus will haunt me forever

This is so very true. Teaching novices can be a huge time investment. I want to be sure the novices I teach are both 1) intelligent and 2) going to stick around. Nothing sucks more than to have spent an hour or so with a novice just to never see them again afterwards.

Generally when a guild fails, the collegium is there to quickly pick up the slack. Should that fail, there's the newbie channel. There's very little reason any novice should go unaided unless it's at one of the times in Lusternia where's there's only like 30 people around. Even then, try again in a few minutes or start going through the help files, the forums, which is full of awesome information if you look for it, or the mainpage itself.

Also, make some friends in other guilds. Getting to know other people in other areas will help you a lot.

Basing 1 character's experience in 1 guild is not a good basis of judgment for the rest of the guilds in Lusternia, or even that guild itself. You sound pretty pissed off but you don't need to be. Give it a couple more days. If you are still unhappy with your guild you have the option of leaving and joining another, or making a new character.

Actually, I felt this way as an "older" member of the Blacktalon. Often, I felt that I was the only one to reach out to novices in the middle of totemcarving. On the other hand, however, a lot of older members can be busy with bashing, are already helping other members, and the like. That is why it's their job to send regular members - not necessarily older, but who know a great deal more than a novice - out to help. That's what Emar did, anyway. (Ried always received tells of, "Can you help the Fledgling with his lessons?") Glomdoring as a whole was pretty good about answering collegium questions and the like, though - at least, before I took my break.

However, I also see where Lawliet and Rika are coming from. Having made alts that never lasted past novicehood, I'd be frustrated too if I were their mentor and had wasted x amount of time on them. So it's just a matter of proving to them that you're dedicated and will hang around. Work hard and they'll notice you.

By the way, as a Serenguard, my intelligent novice retention to novice intake ratio is very, very low.

I've gotten the sense that question answering, especially through channels, happens at a slower pace and frequency in Lusternia. I think this is quite honestly a big function of mechanics - between the different planes (novices can't send tells directly to people not on prime, and we have no idea who's even around, beyond basic GW) and the lack of channel history (eg GTELLS or CTELLS to see the last 20 tells on a channel), it's very easy for both novices and older members to just plain miss the communication.

Actually, this is probably my biggest confusion with Lusternia - why is there no channel history, when other IRE games have it? Is there, and I'm just missing completely how it's done here? It's so frustrating to have to go through my buffer to catch things I keep missing.

The other games have channel history? Huh. That would be useful.

CGT is an all-access channel. If a newbie talks on it you can hear it and reply in kind. Newbie channel is the same (and most people are listening to newbie to answer questions).

Also newbies should be taught that messages are likely to get an answer rather than tells, especially if they see someone talking on CT but can't answer via a tell. So all that confusion can be avoided with a paragraph in a help file they read.

I would like a gtell or ctell though. That seems pretty cool.

Yeah, I noticed that too with the ur'Guard. I'm not a true novice, but I am clueless as to what I'm supposed to do after novicehood though. So mainly I've just been bashing and questing. Slowly.

Have you looked at GHELP INDEX? Usually scanning through the guild help files gives you a good clue where you're supposed to go and when.

I imagine the ur'guard try to breed self-sufficient people and individuals and don't bother with the spoon-feeding.

Yes, except the files are written contradicting themselves. Such as GHELP Academy (which is what the troopers do) says that they start with GHELP Combat. But that file says it is for Grunts. And then I was promoted to Ops, which comes after Combat, even though I never completed the Combat portion.