On the lack of humanity in our community.

[Apoptic]

first world problems

[Kallera]

I never said anything like static,community, fc or linkshell.

I said to straight up quit the game. I am not kidding here, if you get depressed from playing a game STOP playing. You are only making it harder for yourself.

You'll find plenty of people who didn't make that decision with an mmo, and often mention social connections such as fcs and lses as the reason.

Im not saying its wrong advice, I'm saying people oft don't make it as simple as that largely because of their playing experience beforehand.

[YukariOro]

Ok, first of all, I'm going to say one thing that totally contradicts what others are saying. Depression is NOT bad. It's not a four letter word, it's not even a curse word, and it's definitely not this fantasy evil that the Western mental health medical field has been trying to tell us. Depression is a natural human emotion. Just like happiness isn't bad, and sadness isn't something evil, depression isn't bad.

What is bad, is when you don't express your depression appropriately, or try to suppress it, or channel it inappropriately as this OP seems to have been doing. Taking out your frustration on others, treating others badly, because you're frustrated and depressed IS bad, but the emotion is not bad. I say this as someone diagnosed with Bipolar Type II. There are times when I'm playing FFXIV, where I get a mood swing, and suddenly I'm taking everything around me personally. Someone could be busy and not say hello when I say hello, and I start to think, "Oh my god, they all hate me." That's my problem tho, and since I know when I'm in my depressive moods that I overreact, I take precautions and even take 1 or 2 week breaks until I feel better. The one thing I do NOT do, is take out my mood on others. I have no right to treat others badly because I personally feel badly. And I think that is what bugs me the most about this OP, for all they talk about being victimized, they openly admit and most of you seem to have skimmed by the fact that they have abused others. I'm sorry, but two wrongs do not make a right.

I do agree with those who have said the OP needs to take a break. When you start to approach a game like a job and stop having fun, breaks are needed. Sometimes quitting is needed.

And I agree with those who don't understand about the OP being so upset at needing to change jobs for their static. Part of being a good team player is being flexible, and if you can't be flexible enough to adjust to your group's needs, even if that means changing jobs, you're not being a good team player, period. Tanking is not my favorite job in the game, but that hasn't stopped me from working on my PLD, because I am decent at tanking, if not great, and sometimes my fc needs a tank.

As for statics, I was in one on my server for a while with FFXI friends, for the first Coil. Finished turn 5 and people started to lose their tempers, it stopped being so much fun, and I could have gotten angry with them, I could have complained. Yes, some were acting out inappropriately even, but I can't fix other people. So I quietly told them, "Hey, I need a break from raiding, but I'll still be around." I ended up leaving that fc but to this day I'm still on friendly terms with them, because I treated them fairly and behaved myself, even if they weren't themselves behaving.

And my current fc doesn't do statics at all. They're very casual at raiding, though that doesn't mean they don't try the harder content, they do. What they do instead tho, is a rotation system for raiding, where people sign up every week and personally I find it works better, people don't always have to raid every week, especially if they're feeling burnt out and need a break. And someone is almost always available to fill in, for those who do need a break. It works much better I feel than statics, and helps prevent a lot of the burn out I've noticed going on with statics.

Personally, as a FFXI vet myself, I've always tried to treat people politely. I say hi, sometimes chatter, and yes I run into quiet groups, and sometimes I run into real douche bags, and if they're really bad, well I abandon group (though I don't do this very often). I did this recently with a recent Steps run where the tank pulled before we had people on cannons and no one was willing to help with snares or cannons when I kept calling that they needed attention. I could have raged, yeah, I could have pouted, but I want to have fun in a game, so I did something I rarely do, I quietly abandoned and left and went off and did the beastman crafting dailies.

Fact of the matter is, no one can remove your humanity from you in FFXIV unless you allow it. People treat you bad, you don't have to interact with them, you can leave. If you lose your humanity, it's because you made the personal choice to sacrifice your humanity yourself. You lost your humanity because you decided to act inhumane and associate with those who treated others inhumanely, end of story. You're not a victim, although that is how you tried to paint yourself in your original post, so much as an active participant in your decline, imo.

This is why I never have gotten heavily into endgame, not in FFXI, not in WoW, not in SWTOR, not in RIFT, and definitely not in FFXIV. I don't want to destroy my enjoyment of a game by treating it like a duty or job I have to fulfill. And I certainly don't want to ruin it for others by treating it that way. I can still enjoy endgame, though often as a slower pace, with casuals, and I do.

And yes, I'm sorry you had to go through those unpleasant experiences, no one should have to put up with others treating them that way. Just realize you have a choice in who you associate with in the future, and be more picky with those you do play with from now on, make sure they have not only their best interests in mind but yours as well, in whatever game you choose to play.

[MagnificentOxen]

tl;dr Astro tears.

[Mikhaill]

Eh...I may get thrown eggs at but I think OP is going a bit overboard.
I'm an AST main too and it does pain me a lot to have AST at the bottom of the barrel that I actually want to go back to main SCH because of it...
and seeing PF's not wanting us really does suck...It's because the job is in a tough spot.

Calling people inhumane is going to the extreme's....There was no reason whatsoever to toss any weapons of any job because of your static.
AST is going to get help some day. There are AST's that can clear A1 and A2 so just keep at it.

At the end of the day, it's a game...You play what you want and you try your best and have fun with it!
That's why we're all here, for fun. There are really bad people in this game, but try and find a static who accepts you and stuff.
If people seriously get pissed off and stuff over end-game then they weren't a good static/friends to begin with.
I do wish people could be a little more sympathetic and stuff but people are human, can't expect everyone to be nice which sucks.
Just gotta have to buck up and put your foot forward and keep going.

[Jahaudant]

There's a really great website where people like OP and Racist Au Ra guy are welcomed with open arms.

https://www.tumblr.com/

[Ashkendor]

Ok, first of all, I'm going to say one thing that totally contradicts what others are saying. Depression is NOT bad. It's not a four letter word, it's not even a curse word, and it's definitely not this fantasy evil that the Western mental health medical field has been trying to tell us. Depression is a natural human emotion. Just like happiness isn't bad, and sadness isn't something evil, depression isn't bad.

You're confusing depression (a medical condition) with sadness (an emotion).

[RaidenJetstream]

A little update on my story: changing to white mage impacted me too negatively. I had to leave my static. I discarded my Esoterics and Ravana canes after doing so. I lost a great deal of patience and understanding from the switch. I lost part of what made me who I am--ultimately, my humanity. The stress made me a liability. What made it worse was that I felt like I couldn't talk about it. I only wanted to be understood by the people around me; I frustrated myself because I knew that my concerns were too deep for them to relate to.

Dear gods, calm down.

It's a video game.

A

video

game.

You make it sound like it made you suicidal or something.

And at the risk of dehumanizing you, I think you have some issues with obsession if you get like this over video games. It's a distraction. A game. Nothing more. And I say this as someone who's in alex savage and has a static myself.

So chill. Have fun. Stop this.

Depression is NOT bad.

Pretty much every psychiatrist/psychologist would disagree with you.
Including my own.

Depression is a horrible affliction that can destroy people's lives and take them away.

It is the purest incarnation of 'bad'.

[Dante_V]

I have to agree with the people here saying take a break if it is affecting your personal life drastically outside of the game. Maybe cut yourself off from those who are toxic in your life. Even if the break is only a week. Just sometime to cool down. I understand your desire to not play a certain class anymore and the uphill battle facing the new classes. Do not let these people get to you. Don't let them make you want to throw away what you've earned or whatever. There are plenty of groups who are willing to take a AST to savage. Just take your time and find one. Keep your head up. The phenomenon of people being egotistical douchers on the internet isn't limited to this game as I'm sure you've noticed and isn't going to stop anytime soon even if astro is buffed times 1000 it will still exist. The problem here is with the people, not the class. Narcissism knows no bounds on the internet. But at the end of the day you just gotta do you. Do it to the best of your ability and do it until it's done. Surround yourself with ppl who will support you and your decisions and just keep practicing. My GF is currently managing with a AST in savage and often doing better than her healing partners most of the time so it is possible it just takes work and effort. The player defines the class not vice versa and generalizing the ability or performance of a player in lieu of evidence based solely on their class is an informal fallacy by definition. It's akin to judging a person on skin color instead of personal character.

Anyhow I wish you the best and good luck. I hope everything works out for you in the end.

[TouchandFeel]

Basic concepts that I follow for situations such as this.
1) People have emotions and you can't stop them from feeling. Don't judge a person based on their emotions but instead on how they act out those emotions.
2) If you are in a toxic situation and you can leave, then do so. It's not worth the time or energy.
3) It's much easier to have a good time and enjoy yourself when those around you are as well. Help others around you enjoy themselves and you'll probably have a better time too.
4) Treat others as you would like to be treated. If you don't like others being mean or rude to you, don't be mean or rude to others.
5) Real life and your own well being always take higher priority than a game.
6) Games are meant to be enjoyed. If you are not enjoying yourself overall, perhaps it is time to take a step back and reevaluate why you aren't enjoying yourself and whether you should should continue playing.