Quote Originally Posted by Tamoa View Post
When you have been playing FFXI for 6 months total, saying something like this is NOT a good idea.
Thanks. That confirmed my first thought.

While even back in the day there were things at which you could just throw bodies, there were quite many more that required the people in your alliance to at least be competent, if not down-right good. And, yes, there were ways to cheat. But, the skilled players wouldn't use them because the whole idea was to prove yourself. It's also why people in elite armor do not absolutely mean an elite player. Because winning legitimately is not always required to win.

I used to avoid PUG's for things like DM (I did mine in a mixed Melee/Mage group) because you had no idea whether or not that one or two idiots would ruin the run. Now, I definitely won't join a PUG that is doing something hard. You usually get 3 - 4 players who don't have ws's, magic, or know how to use their JA's (have to love Thieves who never Collaborate even when the WHM is getting beaten to crap).

So, yeah, I'm not really looking for 'elite' players. I just want ones who can competently do their jobs. And, it would be nice if some of the new gear dropped from hard mobs which required you to actually use basic skills. And since I have been playing for longer than 6 months, I can say with assurance, the game did used to require more skill than it does now.