Building a Strong Community

There is an alarming trend within the Final Fantasy XIV community as a whole: there are a lot of people behaving like jerks. This trend is most apparent in the duty finder when complete strangers are suddenly thrown together to complete a task. Often the people you run into are great. They’re friendly, helpful, patient, and understanding. However, this is not always the case.

People are more and more often finding they are playing with someone who is rude and impatient, not to mention unwilling to play with anyone that isn’t on the exact same skill level as them. It can even go so far as the person being insulting, personally attacking other players, and dropping from the encounter saying “This isn’t going to work” without bothering to try. This is not an issue that only a handful of people have noticed.

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This is something that many of us playing have likely come across on our journey through the game. It is also an occurrence that has had many people question whether or not they want to continue playing if the community at large is acting like this.

As a community we can be better than this. Since the game is so new we also have the opportunity to nip this issue in the bud before it gets too out of hand. This can be achieved by the simplest of actions:

The game is only three weeks old and not everyone understands everything. The players who do know the encounters can educate newer players. This is not something that takes time away from anybody, it is just being civil with one another. These new players who are just starting out in the game are eventually going to be the same people we are trying to get into groups with. It just makes good sense to help out and have a player that has been informed and will provide a better experience for everyone in the end.

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There are always people asking questions. Most of the time they are being replied to with, “Just Google it” or called lazy instead of getting an actual answer. This has shown up frequently since the game came out. By now there are many people who have resources that they use for information. Instead of proclaiming somebody is lazy and taking the time to tell somebody to Google something, sharing these resources can help more. Many people are just starting out in the game and it does not make anybody lazy if they are asking questions that most of us have had in our own progress through the game. Taking the time to be civil with one another instead of rude makes the community stronger and helps to create more informed players who can in turn share the same information. Paying it forward, as they say.

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The dungeons and duty finder are a growing factor in the poor community we are establishing for ourselves. Often players find themselves being put into a group where there are one or more players who have been through the duty before, but are not inclined to help players who are running it for the first time. Not only this but many see a player not up to their level and drop things entirely. Being rude to players randomly met does not help either party when the waiting time can be so long. Not everyone has time during their day to spend simply going through dungeons just to help instead of progressing themselves. That certainly isn’t what I’m suggesting. What we do have the time for is treating each other like human beings. We do have the time to tell someone about quirks of an encounter when they haven’t done it before.

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We do have the time to try politely offering suggestions to help another player through something they are doing for the first time instead of harassing them.

However, just as many people and more are being helpful. Many people are going out of their way to help others and enrich the game. For that we can all be proud as a community.

We have the time to realize that the game is better and more fun for everyone when we treat each other with respect.

The problem is right now you have elitists and 'entitled' casuals duking it out.

Elitists want everything for themselves because they put more time into the game, allowing them to become special snowflakes in crowds.

Casuals want everything available to them equally, making nobody a special snowflake.

One of these groups will eventually leave because the game isn't for them, while the people who are just here to play a game will be left.

5 posts. Didn't read.

I agree.

I've had both good and bad experiences in the duty finder. Early game content, people were more often than not friendly and helpful. Though, as the trend goes when you hit end game content, people become set in their routines of running duties that they may neglect the fact that there are those new to them. Sure, you could check google or reddit for the answer you need, however only being three weeks in, information can be a little tough to get your hands on.

As a huge fan of the Final Fantasy series for many years, I was overjoyed when I discovered how magical FF14 2.0 actually was - and it brought me back to a simpler childlike wonder. After hitting endgame, it's a shame to see poor sportsmanship, bullying, and an overall failure to communicate. Let's upset the balance - a little friendliness goes a long way. Help someone out, and remember there is a person on the other side who enjoys the game just as much as you do, even if you're not on the same skill level.

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Originally Posted by Shigaru

The problem is right now you have elitists and 'entitled' casuals duking it out.

Elitists want everything for themselves because they put more time into the game, allowing them to become special snowflakes in crowds.

Casuals want everything available to them equally, making nobody a special snowflake.

One of these groups will eventually leave because the game isn't for them, while the people who are just here to play a game will be left.

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Interesting point. I agree but I'd add the fight also extends to people playing who refuse to improve and constantly play the victim and those who might not be super patient or nice but who gave it the old college try anyhow (being patient and explaining everything I mean). The breaking point on both sides is very close to the surface. For example: Someone dies because they failed to avoid mechanics that were explained patiently to them (for the second time lets say, to give them time to see it for themselves) and the other person says "What the hell are you doing!?" They then get mad and leave mid boss fight and then go on pontificating on the forums about how mean and nasty "elitists" are. Not referring to the OP here that's coincidence, believe it or not. Could both sides have handled it differently? Ya maybe, but either both sides are equally guilty of being a detriment to the community, or neither side is and it was a misunderstanding and a loss of patience by both parties.

I think it will be interesting to see how SE handles the diversity of humans.

I have done 17 duties. 2 of them had a tank that tanked more than one mob. I've had tanks afk in the very beginning multiple times, and I've had the great experience of kiting 2-3 mobs around like a restarts so my healer has a chance to live. It's very frustrating, but after waiting 2 hours, it's the cats that were dealt. Long story short, it's hard to control how people handle frustrating situations.

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Originally Posted by Claire_Farron

5 posts. Didn't read.

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Ah prime example. This is akin to saying "I don't care about community and I don't care so much that I refused to read your thread AND I had to tell you I didn't."

Now on topic:

Community is built in the world just as much as it is built in the interactions in Duty Finder. I have been pleasantly surprised by how helpful shout in most lower level zones has been. Not only requests information, but requests for help seem to be respected and well answered. It is the responsibility of every gamer to show respect to others. If you aren't interested in dealing with random people, find a closed group with whom you can be elitist or keep your attitude in check. If you don't want to make that run with the under geared newbie, it is on you to deal with the situation in a responsible manner. You can choose to not do the run or even ask the person to leave given you do so politely.
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I deal with bad players on a regular basis. I've been known to rage at my monitor when individuals in my party won't listen. Just because I am upset or angry it doesn't mean that venom needs to be throw back out at the world. Half the time the other person doesn't know better, the other half they just don't care. Instruct when you can, otherwise remove yourself or the other from the situation, but do so in a way that will maintain respect on all sides.

As I said on your blog post, the problem with Duty Finder is the anonymity it affords people when they interact with players from various servers. In situations where people would have become pariahs on their servers people who behaved in the manner you describe generally didn't get things done once they had a notorious reputation.

With Duty Finder, however, the servers will always find them somebody to partner up with; people who probably don't know them and don't know what they're like. Even if they did, what choice do they have? Rightly, Square Enix have made it impossible to blacklist or block anyone in anyway in the Duty Finder. Such power would be greatly abused; but it means people who are jerks repeatedly find themselves being involved with people when before they wouldn't. In this way Duty Finder is a catalyst for people who have the tendency in them to be disrespectful, not listen to advice, so forth, so forth.