Double XP Event Brings Heavy Recruitment
– article by Paragon Pundit
ATLAS PARK, PARAGON CITY, RI – (BRXC) The forthcoming mystical event whereby rewards for heroes doubles has caused an unusual push for new recruits into superhero organizations, causing some recruiters to be more aggressive than normal.
“I really don’t understand how they could try to recruit me,” said Captain Catastrophe, a low-level scrapper who is known around the city as someone who cannot be trusted in teams. “I mean, I have this huge stinking X on my Hero ID that says ‘Do not recruit for a team under any circumstances’ and yet I’m sitting here in Atlas Park and I’m getting, like, five supergroup recruiters in the past thirty minutes. It’s really whacked.”
Catastrophe’s negative history with teams is so bad that even he has lost count of the number of times he has failed to bring down the villain Frostfire. “I really don’t want to dwell on it,” he said. “It’s really not cool.”
And yet he was fighting off supergroup requests by people who simply saw his name and saw his costume.
“It’s sort of, like, mad sick cool, and all, but then after a while it gets to be a drag.”
Ms. Liberty, a member of the Vindicators as well as leader of the Longbow division of Freedom Corps, says that she has never seen recruitment this aggressive before.
“Not too long ago, Paragon City officials issued bonus prestige credits for all supergroups based on the number of members in their organization. We thought that the recruitment at that time was intense. But for whatever reason, it’s even worse now.”
The mystical event, dubbed by many as the “Double XP Weekend”, happens when the planet is swept with a wave of mystical energy. It was believed that this energy comes from attempts by mystical beings to summon the lost city of Oranbega. The energy has no effect on living creatures or on most technology, however any kind of trans-dimensional technology is energized and magnified by this event. For trans-dimensional items such as the Hero ID cards, this event doubles all forms of rewards allocated. Therefore any kind of personal achievement or reward, or even a group reward is doubled for that period of time.
At first city officials were perplexed on how to handle this infrequent event. Some pondered a method of deducting the additional reward, or else to assess a tax for that weekend that would offset the additional costs. But a passionate call from the heroes convinced city officials to leave things as they are, since the additional rewards are coming with no costs the city.
It is believed that the citizens and operatives of the Rogue Isles experience the same event, especially since their Villain ID system was based on stolen Hero ID technology.
Meantime, superhero recruiters are advised to use caution when looking for new members.
“Most recruiters don’t have a clue as to the people they try to bring in,” said Ms. Liberty. “They see a cool name, they see a cool costume, or they just see someone without a supergroup tag, and they think that person is just eager to join with someone. They don’t know that person, and a thirty-second chat with them before laying in with the pitch won’t do. Sometimes that person doesn’t want to be a member of a group. Maybe they’re not as active as the group’s leader would like them to be. Maybe they had some bad experiences with another group. Maybe they’re waiting for a friend of theirs to recruit them. Or maybe they’re the kind of person that strips a group blind of everything they can get and then quit so they can sell it all at Wentworth’s. That’s happened a few times too.”
As for Captain Catastrophe, after turning down a few aggressive recruiters, he was recommended to join a new supergroup called the Noble Champions. But his admission was not without some limitations.
“The leader of that group says that I have to work on, like, my team skills and such,” he said. “But it’s, like, hey, if they can help me get past Frostfire, then I definitely owe them big-time!”
TIPS FOR RECRUITERS AND RECRUITED
Here are some tips on how to deal with an active supergroup recruiting drive.
For Recruiters:
No Blind Recruiting! Why should people accept a supergroup invitation by someone who is a complete stranger to them? Blind recruitment is one of the most annoying tactics in either Paragon City or the Rogue Isles, second only to RMT advertisers.
Get To Know Your Recruits! Go on a few missions with them. Find out who they are and what they’re like in action. Are they good team players? Engage in some discussion with them so you know what kind of person you’re dealing with. Maybe this is someone that you don’t want in your group. You’ll never know if you don’t talk with them first.
ASK FIRST! Don’t just toss out a supergroup invitation and expect people to jump at the chance to blindly join your group. Ask first if they’re looking to join a group, and then plug the advantages of your group. If they’re interested, THEN you can send the invitation, and you’ll have a better chance of having it accepted.
Keep The Broadcast Channel Ads Low. Sending out an all-purpose broadcast message to plug your team is cheap and easy… but if you send out too many of them, you could be declared a spammer. Send out only one ad every fifteen-to-thirty minutes and keep your message to a minimum.
No Means NO! If the person declines your offer, don’t try to put any more pressure on them. Be polite, be cordial, and don’t take it personally. At the very least ask if you can list them as a friend. Always keep the door open for them to come back and take you up on your offer at a later time.
For the Recruited:
Be Polite! This may be the fortieth recruiter you’re having to fend off today, but that doesn’t mean that you should treat him like an RMT spammer. Maybe they don’t know that you’ve been taking more hits from recruiters than from sniper fire in the Hollows. Maybe this is his first recruitment drive and he doesn’t know any better.
Don’t Be Afraid To Ask. If you’ve never been in a group before and you’re getting hit with a blind invitation, feel free to send a private message to the person asking them about the group. Who are they? Why should you join them?
Find Out The Requirements Of The Group! Some groups require that you stay active on a regular basis. If your superhero life is such that you can’t be as active as you’d like to, this might result in you getting kicked out abruptly. There might also be a dress code required, that you constantly wear their colors or wear a certain kind of uniform while you’re in group mode. Most groups also require that you stay in the group mindset until you achieve a certain security level. Bear in mind that once you reach security level 25, your own rewards start taking second place to the group rewards. Most of these things are not normally conveyed in a generic broadcast message or even in a recruiter’s speech. It’s good to know all of these things BEFORE you say YES to the offer.
Don’t Be Afraid To Say No. Let’s suppose you’re running a safeguard mission with some folks, you’re doing okay, and suddenly the leader of the team sends you a group invitation. Should you feel obligated to join them? No. But it would also be helpful if you politely told them why, that way you wouldn’t appear to be ungrateful for being on the team.
Use Your Tools Against Annoying Recruiters. If you’re up against someone who won’t take no for an answer, don’t lose your cool. Instead use the tools that all heroes in Paragon City (and the villains in the Rogue Isles) have in their arsenal. Use the “Ignore” and “Global Ignore” communication options to shut off the annoying citizen. If they continue to harass you through emails, you can also petition them to the officials, who can then take punitive steps to stop the harassment.
(Pictured above: Colonel John Helix Battlerock, a.k.a. "Battlerock X", relaxing in the Ski Lodge)
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