"Play what you want!"

[Fluffernuff]

Both is good. Play what you want is neither.

All right then. I thought the inital post was enough, but let's think a little more personally about this.


I have found, in my personal experience working with these sprouts(actually going out into the zones and using say chat like a filthy animal), that spouting jargon is about as helpful as using a different language. Meta or otherwise. I have to wonder how often you go out to communicate with these guys. Or is this Novice Network anecdotes? Regardless.

If we assume the sprout's perspective, "Play what you want!" is rather unhelpful by itself. Yet, if a player is asking that it leads to more questions- which is actually a good thing. It's far better to have an inquisitive and open mind than literally slapping them in the face with a 14 page guide. Or mocking them for daring to consider MCH... or SMN. because how dare they, right?

You see, I'll say again, you give them too much credit. Not because you should assume they are idiots, but because you assume they want knowledge. Knowledge you don't have the proper information to provide. Information that is, actually, much better provided if you answer a certain "problematic" response.

What do they enjoy? What are their end goals? What kind of roles do they enjoy? Any of these things are answered from breaking the ice with "Play what you want!" Or the player in question knows what that is already and... plays what they want. Either way help was provided.


You can't, and frankly shouldn't, tell someone what they like or should like because they asked. It can be overwhelming. Heck, the few times I've checked if NN has gotten any better, it's usually a fight because a mentor overstepped their bounds and started telling sprouts what they should play.

[Cenerae]

Without the player having a good understanding of what they actually enjoy in a given class, it's kinda hard to make any sort of realistic suggestion for them.

And ultimately, at the end of the day, they are going to wind up playing whatever they find fun. So encouraging newbies to try all the classes out a bit is hardly bad advice. It's not like they're going to hit 70 and be ready for endgame and *still* not have decided what they like.

Well, they *could* but it's unlikely.

[ThirdChild_ZKI]

For someone who's new, it actually IS to their benefit to simply find the right fit for themselves. And when you consider that you can switch jobs freely so long as they're unlocked, then there's hardly any penalty or concerns that may stem from telling someone to play what they want. It's what isn't said in the moment that may perhaps still be conveyed: Play what you want til you find something you enjoy and can become good at.

[Krotoan]

I've never responded "Play what you want" without clarifying what that means:

Play what you want, but what is it you like doing? Do you like helping people? Defending? Attacking? how do you like to do that? from afar? from close? do you enjoy being a badass or would you like to be a savior?

When people ask "what should I play?" they need to clarify what they mean. That question in itself is very unhelpful to anyone trying to assist. Are you asking what roles we need filled? are you asking what's fun to do? are you asking what is the "optimal" class/race/job to play for a certain goal?

[DamianFatale]

It is NOT useless. Try all of the classes, and when you find the perfect one, keep playing it. Don't listen to jerks that think that the world revolves around them. They don't get to make any class choice but their own, and they need to deal with it.

[usalia]

Well 2 much people cant understan that NOT all classes/jobs are as good.
Like in 4.0 you need to move mich more one bosses so blm is bad for now.play as him in savage is just stupid. But people do it and some defend it by saying this play what you want bs.

[Galgarion]

Of course you should play what you want. It's absurd to make a forty dollar investment plus a monthly subscription without the intention of doing as you please. Of course life is easier if you play as a support class or the flavor of the month DPS. What of it? If you don't find those classes fun, don't play them. Remember fun? Isn't that point?

[Wolfman88]

I guess people shouldn't play gatherers,crafters, or pvp because they don't contribute to clearing endgame content and are under skilled.

[Kazrah]

As someone who has never had any real preferences toward any job or role, usually anyone who has told me "play what you want" is usually someone I often delight myself with the wonderful thought of running them through a wood chipper.

When I was a new player, I was constantly told that, and normally when I asked what job was most desirable or least played, the response I always got was along the lines of "it doesn't matter, just play what you want". That was infuriating to me, and as a result, I wound up trying everything to see what I wanted to play. Not only did this confirm my personal lack of job preference (little to my surprise), but playing everything and trying everything--especially whenever someone said "oh, it gets better at this way off level" was time wasted not really going through the story and thus not being able to get into further content.

The lesson I got from this is that whenever someone asks what to play, I ask for details. What gameplay style do they prefer? What kind of aesthetic do they prefer? What kind of characters have they played in past games with class-based systems? Data, data, data, cannot make bricks without clay. Just make sure those bricks can be put toward something constructive for them like building their character rather than having them thinking about throwing those bricks at your head for giving them obnoxiously vague advice.

[CapricaLangley]

Well 2 much people cant understan that NOT all classes/jobs are as good.
Like in 4.0 you need to move mich more one bosses so blm is bad for now.play as him in savage is just stupid. But people do it and some defend it by saying this play what you want bs.

I love people with that mentality.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dh0m0pHBXSk ---> BLM 5000 DPS in OS3

People needs to understand that all classes perform well. Some perform good even if played badly when compared to other classes played badly. Some outshine others if played at top tier when compared to other classes played at top tier. But these percentages, the bad and the top tier, are the smallest parts of the game's population. If you are dedicated, you can humiliate other DPS with any class, even with machinist (See Aiuri Ai on FFLogs who has better dps than most other classes). Please, everyone stop with that nonsense.