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Hiring Online Bodyguards? Why?
ForTheCity
Member Posts: 307
in PC Gaming
I stumbled upon the story weeks ago, noticing the online ad on a site and tracking it down to two people in Europe. I decided the best way to write about these different sorts of pro-gamers was to hire each of them and see how they did. The hiring process was very easy. Both used a site called fivesquids.com. I just paid the converted $7 or so through PayPal and received an email with instructions within an hour.
I started with 30 minutes of in-game time with Smith, a 15-year-old kid from England, who guided me through Battlefield 3's many multiplayer maps expertly, giving me advice as we played. It was obvious from the get go that I was going to be a challenge for Smith. I managed to die a handful of times before our first ten minutes in the game wrapped up.
It was an odd-experience, meeting virtually a person you paid real cash in the real world to play with. It also took me a bit of time to get used to the idea of having someone so fixated with protecting and healing me. Good to his word, Smith jumped between my avatar and approaching bullets more times than I could remember. When he didn't die for me, by accident or fluke, he was apologetic. As we played he kept up a constant patter of techniques and tips. Stay aware of your surroundings, he kept telling me. Know your weapon and its limits. Talk to your squad, he said.
While both serve a purpose, if you plan on hiring an in-game bodyguard you might want to know what you're getting from the service before you drop the $7 or so for 30 minutes of gaming.
If used right, in-game bodyguards aren't cheating, at least that's how I see it. What do you think? Would you ever pay someone to teach you how to play a shooter inside the game, or to protect you as you play?
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Things like this ruin gaming. First off all its not that fun if you have bodyguards. The whole point is for you to go out and get the kills yourself. Whats the point of playing a game where you'll have an automatic advantage. I'm by no means good at FPS but still.
Does anyone else think paying people to cover your virtual character for 30 mins is stupid?
Comments
Very stupid. Sounds similar to paid power-leveling services. Sadly there are probably many people willing to pay for a service like that. If you ask me it's definitely "cheating," to someone else it might be "convenience." As long as there are lazy, egotistical people in the world, people will pay for these services.
How is it power leveling? You still have to kill people to level up. Additionally, the person is also teaching you while playing. Any good player will level fast enough alone without someone getting in the way. I dont think you put a full amount of thought into this.
With that said, its an interesting idea, but I likely wouldn't pay for it. I'm just fine losing 100 games until I can really start dominating (or however it takes me to get used to the game).
The most absurd service I have ever heard of. You're pretty much renting a friend for x amount of time. Just play with your friends, join a squad, make friends online, something else!
I wouldn't knock any one from doing this, but I wouldn't do it myself. I can see how it would be good for some people though. I think my open mindedness about it comes from the fact that i've been playing Second Life for almost 5 years now. People pay real life money for crazy online interactions all the time. over 1 million USD exchanges hands in that game every single day.
I could see it working for an MMO more. The concept of it for a game like BF3 is pretty weird to me, but not too weird.
edit: I think you'll find that a lot of gamers, especially on these forums wont be open to most concepts that involve money beyond paying 15 months for the same non-upgated content. It has to be mainstream for them to accept it or at least not throw around insults.
A cheater will never know what true victory feels like.
I used to play an fps game 8 hours a day, sometimes...maybe 40 hours a week. I got so good I could go a whole day without losing a 13-20 minute match. Sometimes i let people get points to make the game look closer or if they were really getting discouraged I let them win so they would have hope. I was number 1 in the world 3 times for my class.
No one knows my name. Years later it just sounds like an empty grandiose boast. Only a few people probably remember because they hit the number one spot too themselves. My hands have healed, they are not stiff or sore like they used to be.
The only thing I have left of those days are memories, and the pride that I never stooped to hacks or cheats or other shady practices. It was all skillz learned through practice and quick reflexes.
Now that I'm older and my hands don't work as good, playing a game like APB I am just average. It's hard to be average because I want to be the best but I don't have the reflexes anymore. Maybe other 42 year olds don't feel they've slowed down, but for myself I know I have slowed quite a bit in the last 10+ years of gaming, even if it's just milliseconds. But I'll never cheat, that's just wrong.
Thats what i thought. You can just play with people online. If you play with them enough they'll start helping you out!
So spamming random people with "grp wit me pls!" would be fine, buy pay a guy to help you and wooooh suddenly its cheating? you know what cheating is right?
Apparently stating the truth in my sig is "trolling"
Sig typo fixed thanks to an observant stragen001.
Honestly? I'd expect a lot more of it in PvP land, just someone who wants to shortcut to dominance.
But it's no different from sparring with a skilled guildie, I suppose, except the latter is considerably cheaper :P
Self-pity imprisons us in the walls of our own self-absorption. The whole world shrinks down to the size of our problem, and the more we dwell on it, the smaller we are and the larger the problem seems to grow.
Then you obviously have never heard of the "rental services" that offer you the chance to play games with "hot girls". THAT, my good sir, is absurd.
This on the other hand? Meh. It sounds like both a "paid helper" and "tutor" situation. I don't necessarily agree with it, but then again at least the person is getting something out of it, and the "bodyguard" is trying to help and teach them to get better at the game. He isn't getting boosted in levels/kits, he isn't gaining some absurd advantage over the team, and its his own dang money to use.
I think you mean f'cking genius.
If someone can make money of idiots who want bodyguards or to play with hot girls (much better ways to play with hot girls).
Good on them.
while this seems retarded way spend money.. i see how it can work rather well.. i mean its no differant then paying a high level player a few gold ingame to help you get from lv 1 noob town to a lv 20 town for a quest where the trip wipes you out every time outside the game.
or playing say MO/DFO and paying a person/group/guild to safe gaurd you as you mine or travel to a town for trade...
its been done in real life for years (we call them mercs rofl) though in a fPS its kind of dumb.. last time i loaded up medic on BF2 i healed squad and non-squad mates when i could.. its all team play, paying someone to do it sounds kinda retarded to me.. BUT then again im normally a team player anyway soo id be doing it paid or non-paid....(fk all those years healing people in bf2 i could be bill Fing gates right now if people paid for them heals and res
)
The worst thing is: This doesn't even surprise me..