Tales from Duty Finder: Some make you laugh, some make you cry. Let's vent.

[HyoMinPark]

Did an expert roulette as a DPS and a DRK as the tank.

Healer: "You should really be using Darkside"
DRK Tank: "Not my style."

....it hurts.

[Azper]

Tonight I found myself in a Guildhest roulette on my WHM with a GLA, PUG, and ARC. We get one of the relatively early ones, where you head into the underground, ignore the adds, and smoke the big suit of armor boss. Takes like 3 minutes tops, right?

Anyway, to make a long story short, the boss basically ping ponged between everyone except the Gladiator. Once it was all said and done, he had this gem to say:

"I am not the tank."

...ho boy, did you pick the wrong class, sir. X.x

[HyoMinPark]

Haven't really posted a story here in a while, so here's one from last night. (I had the perfect story to post here--it was truly awful--but this story has made me forget all about it.)

Leveling my derpy NIN, I hit 57 and decide, since I'm leveling the "old-school" way of using dungeons (and not PotD), to queue into: The Vault. I really do hate this dungeon. Almost as much as I hate Toto-Rak and Snowcloak. Not because it's hard, but you always find bad players in here (and I just can't let go of that one time, while I was leveling AST, and was accused of not healing a squishy tank that used a total of ZERO cooldowns and stood in ALL THE BAD--even though I was OOM before the fireball phase because I had to spam Benefic II to keep him at 50% health--and his BLM friend kept telling me--very condescendingly, might I add--to "Learn to use heals, dollface." But I digress.)

We queue in (partied with an FC mate) with me on NIN, him on BRD, and our tank/heals are DRK/WHM. DRK is level 57 with HQ white gear on the left side, and a couple of dungeon drops for accessories with HQ white gear covering the non-dungeon gear. Overall, not poorly geared. WHM had Kinna weapon and I believe Lore or Alex gear...didn't check too closely. DRK said that it was actually their first time in the Vault, and I said no big. He had 3 mentors in there with him, so I told him not to hesitate to take it slow or ask questions. My FC mate and I were more than willing to give tips.

Anyways, we get our Protect/Stoneskin II, and we're off. First pull, already got my Huton up, about ready to use Katon, when I see the DRK use Flash.

I actually stopped for a second. Lost my ninjutsu. Did they...? Surely not... But then, they use Flash again. Followed by an Abysmal Drain (non-DA, since they weren't using Darkside). I can excuse the non-DA Abysmal Drain, since they're level 57 and have only had the skill for a level. But...Flash? No Unmend? No Unleash? No Darkside?!

We continue on to the first boss, the DRK continuously using Flash, and not using Unleash. Aggro is bouncing everywhere. I ask my FC mate in Discord "Should I tell them what they're doing wrong? Because this is bad...this is really bad." I know people are usually not very receptive to advice in DF, but after the first boss, I take my chances. And the person was actually pretty receptive to the advice! I informed them that Flash on DRK is about as useful as a BRD trying to use Cure (if Cure could be cross-classed by BRD). I tell them that pulling with Unmend, activating Blood Price, and spamming Unleash for the duration of BP will not only deal pretty good AOE damage, but also give them FAR more enmity than Flash. I also told them about doing Blood Price + Dark Arts + Abysmal Drain if they are taking some heavy hits during a large pull for self heals AND aggro generation. They thanked me for the tips, and they actually tried to improve. Granted, aggro was still kind of bouncing everywhere, but at least they tried, and didn't rip my eyes out for telling them they were doing things wrong.

I comm'd them because I was thankful that they were so receptive to advice, and actually tried to use it rather than being like: "okay cool beans" *continues to Flash all the mobs* Hopefully they will become a great DRK some day. :3

[Frowny]

Hyo, your story made me happy. It isn't often you see someone in DF try to act on advice they give. T...this is a tear of joy.

[HyoMinPark]

Hyo, your story made me happy. It isn't often you see someone in DF try to act on advice they give. T...this is a tear of joy.

I wasn't expecting them to perform perfectly (I did throw a lot of advice at them in a short period of time, after all...may have unintentionally overwhelmed them ^^;;; ), but the fact that they tried made me happy. I can probably count MAYBE on two hands the amount of times I've given advice out and people actually took it to heart and tried to improve (and didn't chew my face off).




EDIT: I remembered my terrible story upon seeing Muse's post about the Mage's-happy BRD. Even though it doesn't involve a Mage's-happy BRD, but rather, a MCH who refused to use his Bishop Turret.

The setting: Chrysallis. Really, I could just stop the story here, right lol

I'm on NIN, and a friend of mine is leveling her PLD, so we were going through her roulettes for exp (this was our Trial Roulette). We have newbie bonus, so I ask if people would like some tips for the fight (since I was wearing my crown). Three people pipe up about being new. One was a tank, the other a healer, and I think the other had to have been a DPS because my friend wasn't new, and the other healer had level 60 gear. Anyways, I give a quick run down of the mechanics (how to deal with the orbs, don't use LB before we get sucked in because we're gonna LB the tear, etc.) and we're off.

Well. It was a hot mess. The other PLD (who was new) decided he wanted to MT, so my friend switched to Sword Oath. But the other PLD was dead literally 10 seconds in. I looked after they were raised and didn't see a stance, so that was probably why. My friend is MT-ing, but the other tank pops Shield Oath and starts fighting for hate. First orb phase comes, and I remind people to alternate between red and black. Well, I'm alternating, and someone beside me runs into two red orbs, blowing them both up on me after I already ate one, so I die after the third one goes off. Couldn't even use Second Wind to try and save myself. By the end of the orbs, two DPS are dead, and the healers are running OOM. We have a MCH still alive, so I pray he'll notice and use his turret to regen some MP. He doesn't. DPS die one by one as the tanks are barely alive themselves. One healer manages to Raise the MCH, so I tell them (still laying there dead on the ground): "Can you promote your turret for some MP regens to help the heals?"

Response: I don't have Bishop Turret yet.

I figured that that was false, because there was no way that MCH didn't have access to both TP and MP regens before level 50, but I haven't leveled MCH so I only responded with "..." I checked after the instance: Bishop Turret is gained at level 50. Promotion is what? Level 42? The MCH was SYNCED DOWN for the fight, so they weren't a fresh 50. Seriously? Seriously dude?

Anyways, somehow the two tanks and two heals make it to the tear phase, but, since there's no one to LB it, it's a wipe. I reiterate the mechanics again for the newbies...or...I try to, because the new tank rushes in and pulls. We don't even make it past the first orb phase that time. I notice that the healers were already OOM well before the orbs, and they weren't DPSing, so I'm not sure where the heck their mana was going. Vote abandon happened after that. But that instance was a lost cause anyways. v.v

[MuseTraveller]

Once I got this bard in PotD who had mages ballad all the time. I kindly told them to please switch to Foe Requiem as it will boost our damage (we had spellcasters) and not hamper their dps. They listened and thanked for the advice. Happy tears were shed. ;_;

[Dzian]

I've noticed a trend in this thread by some of the frequent posters to point blame at everyone except themselves. I think some of these people should really take a look at their own play before pointing the fingers at others.

LOL I know I make mistakes and some fairly hefty ones at times and sometimes people question my actions for what seems like illogical reasons.

I Did mentor roulette yesterday Warrior Bard Ast and myself on ninja. warrior makes decent enough sized pulls I drop doton shadewalker tank start spamming death blossom and goad the bard for the quick knock spam. Warrior Slaps me XD. think he wanted the goad. hahaha

Few minutes later next bigish pull comes up repeat previous steps. Doton down shadewalker tank kassatku katon and into deathblossom spam. goad the bard again cos quick knock is killing his tp. War and Ast both slap me. no one is saying a word in party chat or anything its just emote spam.

3rd time it happens Ast slaps me. Warrior fumes and slaps me. even the bard slaps me this time.... at this point in time I just find it hilarious. so final big ish pull before the last boss comes up I think sod it and toss goad on the astrologian just for the hell of it

2 slaps again and this time the warrior comments what tha f00k??? I just laugh it off at this point.

warrior and ast died on last boss but myself and bard managed to kill it.....

warrior and ast slap me again make a noob comment and exit duty.

so yeah pretty sure all 3 of them were thinking I'm a dork for whatever reason and that for whatever I should have goaded the warrior not the bard but I really didn't care. bards quick knock hits a fair bit harder than overpower spam so seemed the better choice for me. especially given the warrior was shadewalkered so hate wasn't an issue.

Maybe I should have goaded the warrior instead but....
Oh well...

[bounddreamer]

....it hurts.

I did a fantastic EX roulette this morning with a DRK using a shire wep who used Darkside....and turned it off between pulls...and turned it back on when he was done with the pull. Between that and the fact he used cooldowns appropriately, I was able to dps about 90% of the time, making up for one of the dps with a 200 weapon.

It was so good. It warmed my poor battered tank heart, too used to seeing a complete lack of Darkside from DRKs.

[Mysterysword]

I did a fantastic EX roulette this morning with a DRK using a shire wep who used Darkside....and turned it off between pulls...and turned it back on when he was done with the pull.

Um, you're saying he only turned Darkside ON when he was DONE with a pull?

I mean, I get the basic concept of turning Darkside on and off between pulls, but I've never done it myself... just kept Darkside on indefinitely. Activating Darkside costs MP in the first place, so I always thought that turning it off and on would utterly defeat the purpose. Is that how it's supposed to be done? Flipping on and off? I honestly don't know.

Anyway, EX roulette drops me into Xelphatol as BLM, with a SCH, SMN, and WAR. You know what this means: AoEs to the ends of the world!

We got to the first boss with little fuss, and I messed up my rotation slightly because the stupid boss just had to aim the first AoE right at me, and then fly up so I almost missed my Enochian refresh. As it was, I kept it, but I had to resort to the Transpose-Swiftcast-Blizzard IV trick, which is annoying. All in all, the fight was a bit slower than I usually see them, to be honest.

After the fight, the WAR expressed amazement at how fast the boss went down. I expressed my amazement because I'd thought the DPS was slow, and it could've been faster if I'd been able to manage my Enochian Dysfunction. Perhaps my idea of a decent DPS figure is too high, or perhaps the WAR's was too low. But that's all about perspective.

Anyway, we got our first LB bar fill just as we reached the second boss. In between Fire IVs, I hastily asked if the SMN could LB instead of me, because Enochian is a flighty, flighty mistress who will leave me if I neglect her to cast an LB. I entertained fleeting thoughts of casting it on a trash pack instead, but hey, mobs were melting down between us all fast enough as it was. I'm pretty used to DPS ignoring requests to LB, though, so it was a funny surprise when the SMN actually cast LB right on the boss. All in good fun, doesn't matter. At least I had no more issues with keeping Enochian up when I wanted to, after that.

As a bonus, the WAR turned out to be intelligent and observant enough to not pull the second boss halfway across the arena from me. Every time I get a tank who does that and forces me to leave Ley Lines just to be in range for my spells, I want to start casting my Fire IVs on the said tank instead.

Got 2 comms out of that somehow, despite the SMN doing most of the legwork in trash packs. Gave him mine for being a great sport and casting LB so I didn't have to.

[bounddreamer]

Um, you're saying he only turned Darkside ON when he was DONE with a pull?

I mean, I get the basic concept of turning Darkside on and off between pulls, but I've never done it myself... just kept Darkside on indefinitely. Activating Darkside costs MP in the first place, so I always thought that turning it off and on would utterly defeat the purpose. Is that how it's supposed to be done? Flipping on and off? I honestly don't know.

All the DRKs I know turn Darkside off between pulls then turn it back on after you've gathered up all the mobs, and are standing in your chosen place to set down Salted Earth and begin dpsing the mobs.

What I meant was he activated Darkside after he was done pulling trash and began to dps. I probably expressed myself poorly.

Once you turn on Blood Price the cost of reactivating Darkside is negligible. When you hit that first mob with Unmend and start gathering the trash, Darkside begins to drain your mp. So if it's a long pull like gathering several packs in Xelphatol or GGL Hard, you're saving mp in the long run.