Hiya!
If you don't already know me my full name is Leivi Tailot. If you ever need to send me an email or give a /tell its Leivi. Other than that it’s plain old Lei.
What I would like to do in this guide is to give some of my insights on dance and entertaining in general. Most of what you will find here is game specific; some is garnered from real world experience as well. What you won't find here is a “
I wear a Master's title, but I don't think I'll ever be one, I still learn every day even from the rankest noobe. There are many great Master dancers in my galaxy of Bria, the aforementioned Sultrina and Sirii to name just two. (Sirii, I now at the moment you aren’t technically a Master, but you still are in my book.) What I am is a working dancer. I don't take center stage. I prefer the chorus line.
I started dancing during what I think of as “the
What I will do in this “guide” is present “my” take on Dance, entertaining, and social interaction. You might like some, you might not, that’s up to you. Take the grain and leave the chaff. There is no grand design here, just comments and observations as they come to mind. I'm no diva or prima donna and certainly no writer; I'm just one of the girls. I'm just Lei.
I think I should start out with my golden rule.
Treat everyone with respect.
Be it the year long Master Dancer or the first day noobe. We are all “real” people with the same feelings. No one is any better or has more worth than any other. This game is a great “equalizer”. Knowing this we should be careful on what we say and do to the others around us. It is very easy to get the wrong impression from a simple statement and feelings can very easily be hurt from what might be an unintentional joking remark. Remember it’s nearly impossible for the person on the other end of the keyboard to get the exact nuances of any statement or action we may make.
I use emotes quite a lot and tend to wear my heart on my sleeve. I am after all an “old” sentimental softy. As you begin to know people you can take more liberties, still, be careful! My oldest, dearest friend online is Kirah and even with her I strive to make sure she understands where I'm coming from. That being said I love to joke with people. After all is said and done we play this game to have fun. I tend to make myself the butt of my jokes. It’s a way of breaking the ice and if we can't laugh at ourselves we are way too serious.
What is the dancer’s sole source of income . . . tips. I know there are some of you out there thinking, ”Hey Lei, didn’t you forget about Entertainer missions?” I certainly try to. These so called missions are a joke if not a downright insult. They consist of going to a random venue, dancing for an unspecified amount and collecting a pitifully small amount of reward. It’s easier and much quicker to double up delivery missions between two distant towns on your planet but I wander OT again. This part is about tips.
My major point is, NEVER EVER ask for them.
At the best its bad form, in a macro its spam. There is no quicker way to get on an ignore list then to spam. Personally I think spamming should flag you and put you on the BH boards, but that’s just me.
How do you get tips? You earn tips. They are not automatically owed to you. Ours is a unique social profession and that means you should be social. I won’t go into the myriad ways of socializing in this guide after all I want to keep this short for you and not run on for pages. There are many good threads on the art of entertaining and on how to “read” a patron in the official forums. Maybe the authors will “wiki” them and post them on this site. Let me state just briefly good a start is to just say “Hi”, or my personal greeting “Hiya”. Please include their first name as well. This lets them know that you are talking to them and that it’s a good bet that you are ATK. In a lot cases this alone is enough to get you a tip in this day and age. Next ask them a simple question about their prof or about how their day has been. I f they answer in a
If you do get a tip, of any size (other then the insulting 1 credit tip), remember to thank them. Not every one is on the same playing field as far as cash goes. To a newbie a couple hundred credits might be hard to part with while an established “elite” class artisan will think nothing of dropping
Sometimes there is a lot of info scrolling by on the screens, especially in high traffic areas, so do yourself a favor and highlight key words. Use «ctrl+o» and bring up the options menu. In the chat portion add the phrases “tips you” and “heals you” in an appropriately contrasting color. This way you won't miss someone's generosity and will be able to thank them accordingly.
Also many Entertainers never tip when they should. This can be a ticklish situation and you should proceed with care. When we incur BF and mind wounds its very easy for us to “just dance it off”. We get dance xp by dancing, anywhere! (Of course to heal ourselves we need to be in an appropriate venue.) You will find you max your dance xp ages before you get enough entertainer healing xp to master. What I do is save my BF and wounds until I find another live Ent who is struggling up the healing xp trees and let them take care of it. This is where the ticklish part comes in. If I don’t know the Ent I will tip them. In fact I tend to tip any ATK in the place. If I’m not dancing I’m a patron and I will tip. If it’s an Ent I know I don’t tip. The reason being I don’t want to insult them. When you entertain with people you become friends with them. I personally dislike being tipped by friends.
So remember the tipping can go both ways and that no one owes you a tip, you must earn them.
As you climb the Ent trees and later Dancer (or even Musician) you will and should spend a goodly amount of time grouped. Grouping is a privilege and not a right, please keep that in mind.
When you enter a cantina find an appropriate spot and start to dance. Taking for granted that a group is already present a good attentive leader will usually invite you very soon after, unless they are busy with other activities like buffing, talking to patrons or similar pursuits. If you don’t get an invite after a short time ask courteously for an invitation to the Entertainer’s group. If a few minutes goes by and you don’t receive an invite try again. A leader can get quite busy and miss a spatial request. There is also a chance they may be /shudder AFK. At one time this was an extremely rare occurrence. Sadly in this dark time it happens all too often. The group may also be full. You can also try to /tell someone and ask who the leader is. Be polite! They are doing you a favor by either replying with the information or relaying your request. Once in the group get into the habit of thanking the leader for the invite.
We as dancers are lucky in that we may choose any dance while musicians that are grouped should play the same song. However try to perform an appropriate dance to whatever music is currently being played. Not only will it enhance your performance but it will also give a more unified look overall.
Some dancer groups will /bandflo others won’t. If you are a new dancer you may elect to turn the /bandflo off. You don’t get xp for bandflos unless you generate them. By accepting bandflos you enhance the overall visual appeal, but at the cost of reduced xp and action burnt.
You may also flo “under a bandflo”. When you see the system message “So and so has performed a Bandflo” immediately perform a normal flo and you will garner xp for it. Refrain from doing uninvited bandflos. This could be a breach of etiquette in your current group. Test the waters and act accordingly.
What if there isn’t a group or the current one is full?
Start one.
Anyone can start a group. Just be mindful of a few things. Be aware of your cantina. If a new Ent arrives invite them. The more dancers actually dancing the greater your xp will be. Also as leader you have the responsibility to be present. Don’t wander off to the bazaar to do a bit of shopping or go AFK for more than a moment. If you must leave, find a replacement. This can sometimes be more difficult than it seems. A lot of people don’t like the lead spot, me for one. (Lei has a hard time dancing and drinking Accarragm at the same time.) A lot of stuff is going on in a busy cantina and being a leader is just one more cross to bare. It takes an attentive player to make a good leader.
If you do find someone to take lead consider yourself blessed, because if you don’t you have a hard choice to make. Disband the group or play “tag”. Never, ever leave while you are still lead!
Disbanding the group will upset lots of people, but if no one took lead after you offered it, they don’t have a right to be too upset. You can also play “tag” a rather devious way of sidestepping the issue and one I have mixed feelings about (and don't in fact advocate). You just randomly pick someone and make them lead. The group is intact, but you probably ticked someone off big time. Also if the person is not aware they are leader they may log, go afk or wander off and the group is in the same situation as if you had done it. Like I say I really don’t advocate this practice (unless it’s between friends who often perform together and know one another’s habits), but it does happen often. I mention it here so if it happens to you, you'll be prepared. (Lei can’t remember how many times she’s looked up and down the 20 or so names in the group and not found an “L”!)
Don’t be surprised or offended if you invite a MD and they decline. When we earn that title dance and healing xp have little meaning for us anymore. We tend to do our own thing whether it be buffing or just stepping out into the solo spotlight. It’s no reflection on your group. If they do accept you should feel lucky, not that MD’s are above anyone else or you should kowtow to them, but for the knowledge and experience they bring with them. (This is provided they took the long road and not AFK’d in a guild hall with a combat medic dishing out mind disease for a day or two!) With a MD in group you have someone who can train and answer questions for you plus help get you that much sought after healing xp.
I think the main point of this thought can be best demonstrated thru a little story I heard from a friend of my RL brother.
The scene is a Saturday night poker game. The betting is fast and furious. Lando, a newcomer to the game turns his hand over and declares him self a winner with four kings. As he is about to collect his money he is stopped by another player, Han, who states that he won with his hand which consists of all low cards whose total value doesn’t add up to more then 13 and none of which match, called a Lollapalooza and that it is a special hand that beats all other hands, Period!.
All the rest of the players at the table agree that this is in fact true and it is one of the “house rules”.
Lando grumbles to himself but concedes the hand.
Play continues for sometime.
Lando finds that he has just drawn a Lollapalooza and bets fast and furious once more. The hand comes down to Lando and Han. With the betting concluded Lando triumphantly displays his “winning” Lollapalooza. As he is about to claim his winnings he is again stopped by Han who turns his hand over displaying a lowly pair of 2’s. Han states that his pair beat Lando’s unmatched cards.
What about my Lollapalooza, Lando asks?
Oh it’s a Lollapalooza all right, but another “house rule” is we only allow one Lollapalooza per night!
Kind of sums up everything into a nutshell doesn’t it.
This is good advice whenever you start performing in a new venue or with a new group of established Ents. Get to know any “house rules” they may have. This is good advice in NPC cantinas, but it is a MUST in this day and age of player owned venues. Ask if there is anything special you need to know. Don’t assume anything. You know what assuming does don’t you?
We have a couple “house rules” in our cantina of “Bishop’s Sanctuary”.
First off, treat everyone with respect.
A side note here. I think you may have noticed this part as an underlying theme in this entire guide. I can’t stress it enough. As entertaining is a social profession we need and must interact with others to perform our function. Treat others with care. Remember manners are the grease on the machinery of society. (Lei wonders if this is why she keeps falling all the time.)
No AFKing is allowed.
I recently logged on the other day and walked into find two people afk on our stage, one performer and one listening. After repeated tells to find out if they where in fact afk I was forced to ban them from the cantina. I did unban them once they where removed from the building. About a half an hour later one walked thru the door. I immediately invited her to our group and politely explained that afking was not permissible in our cantina so there would be no confusion or hurt feelings thru a simple misunderstanding.
If I need to go AFK Lei will run next door to a little private spot and stay there until I'm back ATK.
Please note AFking applies to patrons as well.
Remember to be on the same page with everyone else in the group to avoid any unintentional faux pas.
As I said earlier in this article we as entertainers will spend much, if not nearly all, of the “learning” portion of our careers grouped. We in many cases will continue to do this even after we Master, unless of course we decide to step out into the solo spotlight.
In the course of our journey to mastery of the craft we will need to train and be trained often. Training someone, of course, gives us apprenticeship or AP points. We all want the magic number of 620 ready and waiting when we finally gather in that final healing xp point to finish that long struggle up the two healing trees. My advice to Masters and very senior dancers: don't immediately jump in and train someone in the group when asked “can someone please teach me Dancing 1?” Let some of the more junior members take a shot at it. Many new dancers aren’t even aware they can teach a skill as soon as they learn it. What I usually do is let the person who made the request know that I will be happy to train them if no one else can. This way AP points get spread around. Trust me; there is no shortage of AP point for Ents. When’s the last time you saw a dancer running around shouting “Master Dancer looking to train Dancer 4444 and Entertainer 0044”? It has been my experience that I always have an ample supply of AP points just lying around.
While we are on the topic of junior members and grouping I want to mention bandflos again, temper this with what I mentioned earlier about “house rules”. New dancers should probably turn off bandflos when just starting out in the craft. To turn bandflos off type /bandfourish off. To reactivate them type /bandflourish on. The dancer initiating the bandflos will cause all grouped dancers to do the particular numbered flo no matter what dance they may be doing. This is great for finished pieces and nicely synced steps, but does hurt the new dancer in a few ways. Only the person who initiated the bandflo gets xp for it while the person accepting the bandflo does not, even though they still expend action. In our particular group of Ents we have a very relaxed outlook on bandflos and tend to let the dancer still in need of dancer xp do them even though we old pros will throw some in now and again.
To make your life easier and if you have the room on your toolbars put bandflos on one of them. If you don’t have room remember to type /b 1, /b 2, etc. This sure beats typing out /bandflourish 1, /bandflourish 2, etc. over and over again.
There are a couple schools of thought on macros; first that a “true” Ent doesn't use them. The second is that one of the entertainer professions can be mastered using only macros. The reality lies somewhere in between. In respect to the first group, macros are a tool; just that a tool. They are neither good nor bad in and of themselves. They should be used, not abused, like any other tool at our disposal. With regards to the second mindset; without any creative input you are simply paying $14.95 a month for the computer to play the game for you.
I should state I am no macro wiz, so you will not find a textbook on the subject here. There are many good guides in the official forum and hopefully will be on this site as well.
What I will try and do is introduce few basic macros that can make your entertainment career a little easier by automating some of the more mundane tasks for you. So with that out of the way let’s take a look at a few.
The first one is really easy. It’s a quick way to say “Hiya” (or whatever) to someone coming into the cantina.
/say Hiya %NT
Make sure you have the correct target before using it. It is some what embarrassing to say “Hiya” to “%NT”. The %NT in the macro will be replaced by the targets first name. Also make sure the target is a player. You can sound rather silly saying hello to some boffa treats. I use this macro when I first meet someone, but not much there after. The reason being SWG has, how shall we say, some rather unique names and I admit right up front I’m a yucky typist. Once you get to know someone you will most certainly have a diminutive for that character and the macro would not be very appropriate. My good friend Dbl might think I was being either very formal or that something was wrong if I always greeted her with “Hiya
This next one is a flashy little way to change clothes during a performance. I can't take credit for this one. I learned this little trick from the Master Dancer Shianse:
/smokebomb;
/pause 2;
/ui action toolbarSlot00;
I call this one “change”. To use it drop a dress, fleshwrap or similar item into the first slot (F1) on a toolbar. Then either place the macro itself on the same toolbar some place or call it with:
/macro change
Obviously you can get quite elaborate with items to change if you want to use a light bustier and a fashionably pleated skirt (a personal favorite of mine) tack on another line at the end:
/ui action toolbarSlot01;
Then put each item in a slot. This last line added calls the second slot on a tool bar (F2). You can add additional items to additional slots. Just make sure you don’t run the same macro twice in a row unless you swap out clothing items. It can err. . . be quite embarrassing.
Before I go any further let me make a quick table for you because the calls can be very confusing. The chart below will show you what toolbarSlot corresponds with what function key.
toolbarSlot00 = F1
toolbarSlot01 = F2
toolbarSlot02 = F3
toolbarSlot03 = F4
toolbarSlot04 = F5
toolbarSlot05 = F6
toolbarSlot06 = F7
toolbarSlot07 = F8
toolbarSlot08 = F9
toolbarSlot09 = F10
toolbarSlot10 = F11
toolbarSlot11 = F12
toolbarSlot12 = Shift F1
toolbarSlot13 = Shift F2
toolbarSlot14 = Shift F3
toolbarSlot15 = Shift F4
toolbarSlot16 = Shift F5
toolbarSlot17 = Shift F6
toolbarSlot18 = Shift F7
toolbarSlot19 = Shift F8
toolbarSlot20 = Shift F9
toolbarSlot21 = Shift F10
toolbarSlot22 = Shift F11
toolbarSlot23 = Shift F12
Don’t you just love how computer types don’t start with “1”! They have to make it difficult for us “normal” type people and start with “0”.
Until we get a /groupStartDance command to start all the dancers in the group at the same time I have a little countdown macro that at least helps get Kirah, Dranon and I off on the same foot. With a little practice it can work fairly well:
/gs 1;
/pause 2;
/gs 2;
/pause 2;
/gs 3;
/pause 2;
/gs GO
This macro merely counts down in group chat. All the dancers initiate the predetermined dance on “Go”.
As dancers we all want to look good and variety is the spice of life. We can easily double click on any item of clothing to wear it. However stopping to change an entire costume in mid performance can break the continuity of the piece as well as prove embarrassing if you are changing from a one piece to lets say a light bustier and hot pants (hawtpants on TC.../giggle ). So how do you do it? You use a macro of course, silly. The following is one I call “bhp” (black hot pants)
/ui action toolbarPane04;
/ui action toolbarSlot12;
/ui action toolbarSlot13;
/ui action toolbarSlot14;
/ui action toolbarSlot15;
/ui action toolbarPane03;
I put matching hot pants, light bustier, long uniform gloves, and dress slippers in Shift+F1, Shift+F2, Shift+F3, Shift+F4 respectively on toolbar 5. So why does the macro call toolbarPane04 and not 5? It’s that silly computer thingy again. I’ve included a little cheat sheet below to help you keep them straight. (Lei wishes computer types could learn basic. /sigh)
Toolbar 1 = /ui action toolbarPane00 = Ctrl+F1
Toolbar 2 = /ui action toolbarPane01 = Ctrl+F2
Toolbar 3 = /ui action toolbarPane02 = Ctrl+F3
Toolbar 4 = /ui action toolbarPane03 = Ctrl+F4
Toolbar 5 = /ui action toolbarPane04 = Ctrl+F5
Toolbar 6 = /ui action toolbarPane05 = Ctrl+F6
So the macro goes to the toolbar where my costume is, dresses me faster than I could ever think of doing by hand and the last line takes me back to the toolbar where my flos and flashy bits (as Roho, Roho Traideb, calls them) are located. I usually execute it by typing
/macro bhp
as I don’t want to waste toolbar real estate. This is a very flexible macro for many reasons.
Write several similar macros just altering clothing color and then call the macros from another macro for a very flashy look. Do something like the following and give it an appropriately short name like “hotfx”.
/macro bhp;
/pause 5;
/macro ghp;
/pause 5;
/macro lhp;
/pause 5;
/macro rhp;
/pause 5;
/macro yhp;
/pause 5;
/macro whp;
/pause 5;
/macro hotfx
This macro changes me into a different color combo then pauses 5 seconds and continues. The last line loops it by calling itself.
A variation on this macro is good for the combat professional as well. Just put in the appropriate armor and “
Ok let's wrap this macro thingy up. What’s the most asked for macro?
Answer: a buffing macro. The one I've include here is actually a
This first portion is a standard buff loop.
Buffmacro (macro name don’t include this line in the macro)
/flo 1;
/flo 1;
/flo 1;
/flo 1;
/flo 1;
/pause 8;
/macro buffmacro;
To use this you will either need frequent heels from a medic, a doctor’s action buff, or a double shot of Accarragm. You can of course change this around, alter the flos and the timing depending on your action pool. I can’t take credit for writing it you will find this macro everywhere on the forums. I did however combine it with the following two additions:
Patron(macro name again don’t include this line)
/setperform;
/pause 210;
/say %NT, your buff is done. You can /stopw now.
/dump
This part takes care of the setperforming, timing and stop notification and gets rid of the macros when done. Make sure you have the correct patron targeted; you don’t want to be buffing a chair, droid or a plate of synthsteak. The timing actually runs about 15 seconds longer than needs be. I always like a little cushion. If you change your flo rate remember to change your timing.
The following ties everying together into a neet little package.
Buff (macro name, I think you know what not to do)
/macro buffmacro;
/macro patron;
This is the unifying portion. It starts both macros with one command. Either place it in a toolbar are execute it with the line command;
/macro buff
Ok, well that was short and relatively painless. There is much much more that can be done with macros. I have barely scratched the surface, but there are a couple of handy tools here.
If you’ve read thru all my babbling and have gotten this far you’re either a masochist or a friend.
This guide could easily have had the subtitle “SWG an etiquette primer”. (Lei files that thought away for future use. . . “Lei’s Guide to Manners and Etiquette in the Star Wars Galaxy” . .. ROFL)
Before I close a couple quick random thoughts (aren’t they all?)
What does every new dancer need, besides healing xp that is? Clothes! What does every veteran dancer have trouble fitting into their inventory after awhile? Clothes! Hmmm. . . see any correlation?
We all like to change our appearance to fit our mood and our dance so in no time at all we build up quite the wardrobe. We also find that some clothes we once loved we no longer need, want or care for. Besides, how many times have you bought something only to try it on and find out “it just wasn’t you”? (Hmmm…maybe the devs good give us a 10 second “fitting room”…oops OT) Anyway this is where the great part of the “one size fits most” philosophy of SWG comes in handy. Lets not be wasteful lets recycle!
We can all tell the brand new player. Their noobe uniform is a dead
Talk to these dancers and see if they would like an outfit or two. It doesn’t matter what at this point most anything will be welcomed. Trade with them (chances are some noobes have never used the trade function and better they learn it around a kindly old pro then some power gamer who has no patience with anyone just learning the game). If they ask you what they owe you say nothing. Most of our old clothes tend to sit around taking up inventory space until we finally need to delete them to make room, so why not recycle them. If the dancer insists on doing something, tell them to pay the favor forward. Let them help someone else out when it’s their turn. This is also a great way to meet people and make GREAT friends. This I know for a fact! It also helps to perpetuate comradeship and strengthen the overall close bond I find that is prevalent through out the Ent community.
Use the “Ent” channel. You may or may not have this chat channel in your galaxy. We on Bria have a channel going pretty much 24/7 called “Ent”. The first entertainer to log on in the morning starts it, then after that whenever an Ent logs on they just have to type:
/chat join ent
It’s a great way to keep on top of things like:
• what’s going on currently
• impromptu parties
• planning events
• find someone to train or buff you
• relax, talk to friends and have a good time. (you should really join just to listen to Doasa Arsim, “king of the MTs” (you know we love you Doasa! )
Your galaxy may have a slightly different name for it. Ask around and check it out, you’ll be glad you did.
Like I stated at the beginning of this guide I had no grand design or master plan. What I wanted to impart were some of the tips and customs that I had learned over the course of my “career”. I hope there was an item or tip that was of interest to you. If there was then I was successful in my task, if not I need to work harder.
I would like to thank everyone for their encouragement and feedback. I received numerous PM’s, /tells, and
*group hug*
I know there are things I wanted to include when I started but have somehow slipped through the cracks in my brain. If /when I remember them or if something else comes to mind I may edit post an addendum or two if needed. Once again thank you for reading and your support.
*BIG HUGS*
