Some advice to people, in hopes to resolve issues

[MilesSaintboroguh]

LB's are for emergencies. Unless you are in a group that has it 100% down where you can assign exactly where and how the LB is to be used, or laid back content like dungeons or older trials where specified use will only save you less than 1min of time.

Again though, for emergencies so you don't wipe, is the ultimate time saver.

Unless you're doing Coil or Alexander, there's no reason to hoard your LB since it never resets after each boss fight. Everything outside of raids is very manageable and LBs should be used more often rather than saving it for a rainy day.

[OPneedNerfs]

The sad truth is, a large portion of those players this thread is targetted for won't come to the forums and read it. There are more than enough tips/hints in game that teach you how to play your class/job well.

The people this thread is targetting more likely than not just don't care for it. As long as they can constantly get away with doing the minimum or less, there's no reason for them to improve themselves.

As long as any checks are dependent on the group and not individually, they will never be gated and forced to perform better. And it seems the devs and this community don't want it to happen either as there are always arguments which bring in disabilities.

[Mycow8me]

So basically the next time i see someone whos simply not good ill direct them to this wall of text so they can improve their... ... reading comprehension skills.

[Laptopmenace]

I learned really fast how to efficiently play the classes I play. I got on to youtube, watched some of the top players in the game go through their rotation, and or watched them in a dungeon pov, all while turning the video speed to either 1/2 or 1/4 speed to study what they are doing and when they are doing it.

After watching a few times, you start to catch on to openers. CD usage, pots etc. Highly recommend taking the time to slow down a video and study some of these players who know what they are doing. Also, don't be afraid to ask them questions. Most players are willing to answer your questions if you leave them a comment under their videos

[Chessala]

Imo the best way to learn an MMO is PLAY. Do your low level content properly, don't cut corners and learn as you go along,. Everyone had a "first" MMO once and if they play thoroughly, they will get better with time. Most people first need to learn that, unlike single player games, their actions have consequences for other people. If by level 50 you still do not know what you are doing or don't feel comfortable, try a different role because it is very likely you are in the wrong role for your playstyle.

I've been playing MMOs for over 10 years now, I always always always start as a healer. If you have a feeling for it, it is the best job to observe mechnics without being caught in the stress of dps-ing. What many people forget is that dps have a learning curve too. Being able to deliver good dps is not a matter of randomly pressing your skills. "Rotation" is all I say.

Regarding healers, the priority of healing is wrong. Your first priority should always be yourself. Why? Well, if you are dead, you can't heal anyone. This might sound egoistic but it's true. Most tanks will have the ability to restore at least a small chunk of HP and if it's just a potion (which reminds me, EVERYONE should carry potions at any time, just in case!). That should give you enough time to drop some kind of heal on yourself and then the tank.

Also, never feel guilty of letting a person die if necessary. Due to the setup, in a standart party this is aimed at DPS. You have a lolclass, leave them dead. Constantly ressing them will only deplete your mana and keep you from keeping the other people alive. Every player should do their share of watching their HP (avoid AOEs, damn it!). Unless you go about senselessly dpsing or looking at the stars, a wipe will usually not ever be entirely your fault.

Cheers!

[MaloraYuki]

Every player should do their share of watching their HP (avoid AOEs, damn it!). Unless you go about senselessly dpsing or looking at the stars, a wipe will usually not ever be entirely your fault.

I agree that healers should be top priority but if the healers health is at 98% and the tanks is at 25% the tank should be healed fist, I have watched healers heal themselves if they take even the slightest damage and just let the tank die. Also yes dps should always be last priority I understand getting hit by an AOE once like oops wasn't paying attention, but if you are getting hit by everyone you shouldn't be healed because you are wasting the healers mana. if you are a dps you are last priority heal even more so if you are a ranged dps because you shouldn't even be taking damage unless it was that one oops or a room wide AOE that is unavoidable.

[Stormfur]

I'm gonna admit, when I started this game I really didn't know I had chosen a tank. For some reason in my mind I thought of gladiator as a DPS. So it took me getting to Haukke Manor for some kind soul to explain enmity and how I should be positioned, etc. etc. So I'm just going to say that if someone of any class isn't performing well - don't harass them about it - tell them what they could do better...nicely.

[KingOfAbyss]

TL;DR *joking here

Tanks must check aggro bar to make sure all mobs are square red on them. Avoid AOE's, use Cooldowns, position away from party whenever they can.

Healer must Heal Tank and themselves, check HP of other members and heal them when they can, send some DoTs when they can, avoid AOE's.

DPS must do.. Damage, Avoid AOE's.. position themselves appropriately if needed and.. check the aggro bar, in order to switch target if it begins to get to that flashing orange triangle. Use skills that lower aggro if they have access to it. (and hitting the same mob than the Tank helps a lot, instead of spreading, unless it's AOE Damage you are doing.)

All in all, use LB whenever you can, it's so rare that as a PLD I'll have the chance to use it, that I don't care much if I'm tanking. (unless specific spots and mechanics ofc)

If anyone is going to yell at someone in the party for not doing well, its the tank.

Ermm.. from what I recall through all my playtimes, I don't recall ever yelling at someone. You talk from your experience, sorry to hear you have encountered bad parties.

Even if we wipe 4 times, for me it's the timer that counts. Do we still have enough time to complete our mission? Yes? I continue. No? Well, we'll queue again, since we learned the first encounter and how to beat him.

Same Tactics than Raids.. We don't clear it on the first time, heck not even 75% down? No problem with me. we downed him 25%, next shot it's gonna be 50!

The same can be said from your post: you accumulated that experience by yourself. Some tips you gave are good, but I think if someone is interested into playing a Healer first because this is what makes them having a chill down their spines and excitement, so be it, they'll learn.

That's the biggest point here: Learning.

Everyone plays, they learn how to dodge, how not to send a HoT before a pull.. (they'll notice it very quickly ^^) etc..

It's call playing the game and having fun learning it.

For me, it's those that absolutely gets bored, and wants to rush through everything because they want to cap all in one day of playing, then complaining the next 6 days..

*For the capping, that's SE's fault though

My GF just started this game as a WHM. She's doing quite well, everytime we go inside a dungeon we warn others that's she's new. So far, we only receive good attention and care. Not everyone is a bad apple, some are happy to teach her some tricks, heck even me I receive tips, since I'm rusty in low-level dungeons (been too long that I did them)

So yeah, you gave some nice tips, I'll show that to my GF tonight, while explaining other points that she shouldn't care about.

When she's hit because she's busy watching our HP, checking her MP, and forget that AOE, I use a Potion on myself, use cooldowns if there's some ready on my bar, move around.. to ease it up on her.

She receives commendations, and that should be something, it makes her very happy
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For me, be it with 4, 8, 24 people, I'm paying this game, for what it is: a GAME. If I don't enjoy the runs, what am I doing there?

As long as we clear it; even if longer than omg 6 mins, and that we make mistakes, did I enjoyed my run?

Someone died? We wiped twice at that boss, but then learned and got it the third time? Hell yeah!!!

Was this run FUN for me? I spoke to those that are from other servers in it, and they responded, we had a good time, man, that's what this game is offering for me.

Shut up and keep my money!

[LineageRazor]

Some nice tips in the OP! I did feel that the tank portion was a bit thin, though, and there are several bullet points I'd definitely add:

- Understand Enmity. Learn which of your abilities best contribute to enmity and know how to use them to overcome the enmity generated by your companions.
- Watch the enmity bars in the party list to determine which allies are coming close to overcoming your enmity, and take action accordingly.
- Understand the enmity symbols next to the mob names in the enemy list: Large red circle, you are lead enmity target. You typically want this one on every mob you're fighting. Yellow up and down arrows, you have significant enmity but your allies have more. Focus on this mob a bit to get hate back; Provoke may be in order. Small green circle, you're on the enemy's enmity list but you have little or no hate. Focus on these to get hate back; if there are a lot of these, Flash, Overpower, and Unleash are your friends.
- Provoke is a poor tool for pulling mobs. It generates VERY little enmity. Shield Lob, Tomahawk, and Unmend should be used when pulling at range. Provoke has more range, but it's very rare that this is of any importance. Provoke should be saved for moments when your allies gain sudden amounts of enmity (such as a large aoe cure).

I've had people rage at me for using an LB at the start of a boss fight. "You're supposed to use it at the end!!!" they screamed, but of course they couldnt explain why...

Well, in a lot of games, including some MMOs, bosses tend to get extra nasty when they are low on health. By using the super attack, they're able to considerably shorten this "danger" period. That's probably why; they assume that the same is true here, when it isn't really. There are, of course, bosses for which you need to time the LB carefully, or you'll lose it because the boss is temporarily undamagable. Some bosses have periods when they have greater or lesser vulnerability, as well.

In this game, it's generally no better to use a LB at the end of the fight than it is at the beginning - and in many cases it's BETTER to LB sooner, so that the guage has a chance to start filling up again.

[KingOfAbyss]

- Watch the enmity bars in the party list to determine which allies are coming close to overcoming your enmity, and take action accordingly.

Nice answers as well Lineage ^^

I must convey that the enmity bar is not only for Tanks, but every role. If you see that you are about to give too much damage on one mob, you can make it easier on the tank and switch target.

That's even more true if the Tank is undergeared, just like myself against iLvl200.. Since I'm in the process of gearing up.

You can give me just a few seconds (one GCD at least) to generate a bit of aggro before a Dragoon can hit one mob, and a Bard another one.. >.<

*Jobs named can be traded to whatever