Default Chat Interface / Whispers

Since release, I've been hanging around the starter areas to offer a hand to the new players coming. I've found that almost all of the players ignore my messages. At first, I figured it was me. However, digging in further I think that the default chat interface is hindering our ability to reach out to new players.

With all of the messages pushed to one window by default, and the speed at which combat messages fill up the chat window - whether in the wild or at the training dummy, I think that most communication just disappears in the wall of text that is the default chat tab. There isn't any indication when you receive a whisper.

I'd like to propose that by default (since most new players aren't going to play with chat tabs immediately) there is a better indication of who is talking to them. There are many possible ways to skin the cat, but some ideas:

1) Separate combat messages into their own tab by default. This will prevent missed messages while adventuring in the scene.
2) Create a new tab when you receive a whisper. This should be able to be turned off through options as some players may not want that.

The game has a very high learning curve, which is part of the charm. But, it's also part of the charm for us veterans to lend a helping hand to new players to get them as hooked on the game as I am. A little tweak to the default load out of the chat window could go a long ways in terms of player retention and improve socialization over-all.

 

With the low population, it would benefit from a global chat, those of us who are not the chatty type can just turn it off, may be time to reconsider if it would be a welcome addition. (In game, not 3rd party.)