I think that today’s post will be a short one.  I want to take the time to single someone out for their efforts, someone whose focus in the game is unrelenting and also counter to the general culture of the game.

Without further ado I wish to applaud Loril.  Loril is, without argument, an outstanding champion of the new player.  I do not simply mean that she is helpful to new players, but rather that she actively and rabidly promotes the new player experience on the Realms of Despair.  For many of us the new player experience ends long before we hit avatar, when we begin thinking about buff gear and running with other avatars.  To try to recall 6 months down the road what things were important to new players is near impossible … never mind for those of us who have been around since prior to the Shattering.

Returning after a long hiatus I assumed that to some degree I would have a new player experience.  I have spoken with many other returning players and there is something that I discovered.  You can’t go home again.  You return to the game remembering where you left off, recalling the things you used to do.  Even after all the time away I had a tremendous recollection of commands and equipment.  I could look at someone else’s character and tell you what pieces were new after the time I stopped playing without referencing rodpedia or any other site.  That somehow Loril has actively maintained an eye for those gameplay elements that are important to new players is remarkable.

As a guild leader I genuinely desire to teach new players about the game.  Not just “how do I gear them up so they can go to Seth” … because runs have rarely been my primary source of entertainment in the game … but rather how can I be a comprehensively good player.  My idea of that means having as good a time checking out a level 10 area as an avatar one, not for the mad lootz but for the fun of figuring out the puzzles and seeing the creativity that people have put into the game.  I have sometimes failed but every time I talk with Loril I find this spark reinvigorated.

Does she remain an enigma to many players who are baffled by her focus?  Sure.  Those who simply play the game to experience a small amount of the content and amass text wealth to the exclusion of community and comradarie will have a hard time understanding how someone can spend so much time working with people under level 10.  Understand her or not her efforts continue to benefit new generations of new players, whether chasing sigil making bots out of the halls of knowledge or adding exit descriptions to the connecting forests and areas around Darkhaven.

To conclude today’s sermon from the mount, thank you Loril for your efforts.  I am certain that a great number of people benefit from your assistance and have no idea that you’ve provided it.