Asking why

Can't take a quest? Can't hand one in? Can't hit that creature, or use that object, that ability, that helmet? Type /c why. It works out what you are asking about and tells you what the game knows.

The names in the examples below are only examples.

With something targeted

Click the creature or character first, then type /c why.

You:  (target a quest giver)  /c why
Game: About Commander Durek (level 8):
      - 'Gearing Up': needs level 6 (you are level 4)
      - 'Back to Basics': finish 'Reporting for Duty' first

What it can tell you about a target:

• A quest giver: which of its quests you cannot take yet, and why. And any quest of yours that it receives but that you cannot hand in yet, with what is still to do.
• A creature you cannot attack: because it is friendly to your faction, or because it is running back to where it started (it is "evading") and cannot be hurt until it arrives.
• Something you cannot use: what the game is waiting for, such as a quest step.
• A creature that dropped nothing for you: whether the loot went to someone else because they hit it first. (The first player to hit a tough creature tags it, and only their group loots it.)

With nothing targeted

Type /c why on its own.

You:  /c why
Game: Quests nearby you cannot take yet:
      1. 'Gearing Up': needs level 6 (you are level 4)
      2. 'Back to Basics': finish 'Reporting for Duty' first
      Quests you cannot hand in yet:
      3. 'Reporting for Duty': Kill 3 Yetis (1 of 3)
      Type /c why <number> for more detail, or /c why <quest name>.

/c why 3 then gives the whole answer for the third one.

With a name

/c why and the name of a quest, an ability, or an item you are carrying.

You:  /c why Gearing Up
Game: You cannot take 'Gearing Up' because:
      - needs level 6 (you are level 4)

You:  /c why Rapid Strike
Game: You cannot use Rapid Strike because:
      - it is not on your action bar; put it there in the abilities window

You:  /c why Gauntlets of the Wilds
Game: You cannot use Gauntlets of the Wilds because:
      - needs level 12 (you are level 4)

It looks for a quest name first, then an ability of your class, then an item you carry. If several match, it lists them and you pick with /c why 2.

A quest, step by step

/c why quest explains the quest you track, one step at a time: what each step counts, how many are left, and where the creatures or things it needs are. /c why quest 2 is about the second step only (as the quest tracker numbers them). For another quest, add its number: /c why quest 3480 2.

You:  /c why quest 2
Game: About step 2 of 'Reporting for Duty':
      Kill 3 Yetis
         It counts when you defeat: Yeti.
         Still to do: 2 more (1 of 3 so far).
         - Yeti: 3 in this area, not near you (the closest is 140 m away).
      Where to go: Yeti (Northern Wilds, Frost Cave).
      If it still does not work, type /c bug and tell us what you did.

Where a creature is, it says one of: near you; hidden from you until you do something (and what); in this area but not near; all defeated for now (they come back); only in another place; or that we know of none in the world (then the step cannot be done yet, and it says so). If we already know about a problem with the quest, the answer ends with it and what you can do.

If you then type /c bug, that quest is the first one offered, and your report includes this answer.

When the game refuses to start a quest or to hand one in, it says why in the System chat, in one line: for example, that the quest giver is not nearby, that a level or a quest before it is needed, that the quest is not finished yet (and which step is still to do), or that the bags are full. The same line is repeated no more than once every few seconds for the same quest. /c why quest gives the full answer for a quest.

Problems we already know about

/c known lists the problems we already know about in your current quests, with what you can do meanwhile when there is something. /c known 3480 is about one quest.

"A condition we don't fully understand yet"

Quests, objects and abilities can have many kinds of requirements, and for some of them we do not yet know what the original game meant. When that is the reason, /c why says so instead of guessing:

a condition we don't fully understand yet

If you know what it is, or you can do the thing in the original game, please tell us with /c remember (how).

When nothing is wrong

If the game cannot see anything in your way, /c why says that and suggests /c bug:

Game: Nothing stops you from taking 'Gearing Up'. Talk to Commander Durek.
      If it still does not work, type /c bug and tell us what you did.

That is exactly the kind of thing we want to hear about: how to report a bug.

Everything you can type