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

[Avatre]

I agree. I've never heard of it or heard anyone complain about it before either. Pretty amusing that someone actually stews over something so trivial.
I was under the impression that the tank usually walks away with the coms unless things went badly and the healer had to step up. Didn't realize DPS com entitlement was a thing. Honestly, I feel that mentality completely goes against the point of commendations (not that there is much of a point).

Only time as a DPS I feel entitled to the comms is when on RDM I prevent wipes by throwing out res after res to the healers who keep dying. Do I get the comms? 1% of the time.

I always give the comms to the person I feel did the best job(be it a sprout that actually knows what they are doing, or actively seeks knowledge; or a veteran who was on point the whole time)

[msfakefur]

- Do they not know the unspoken etiquette of commendations in a solid 4-man rando group? Tank + Healer. DPS + DPS.

Never heard of this etiquette before. I alway commend the tank who had the patience to go through DF or the healer that I had patience with my poor dps

[HyoMinPark]

At the end of every dungeon (roulette) where the other DPS snubs me (DPS) on commendations, I'm always trying to figure out why the other DPS would be so spiteful.

- Did they just forget to commend? Inexcusable. If they can find the Loot button they can find the Commendation button.
- Did they commend the healer or tank instead? Why? They're guaranteed to commend each other, usually. They're set already.
- Do they not know the unspoken etiquette of commendations in a solid 4-man rando group? Tank + Healer. DPS + DPS.
- Didn't they see me deftly burning TP on those massive trash pulls with AoE rotations? They think only casters can AoE well? How often will they see a melee as not-sucky at AoE as this?
- Are they embarrassed about dying that one time, and assume I won't be commending them? Hogwash. Next time it could be me on the floor.
- Are they jealous I outdamaged them on the most recent boss? I personally love getting outdamaged, it means the group's going hella fast, and that I have more to learn.
- Are they displeased with my damage output relative to theirs, because their class just happens to be really strong/weak right now?

TL;DR:

What is wrong with you DPS players and commendations?
Get it together.

Hate you guys right now.

??????????????????

No one is obligated to commend anyone, tanks, healers, OR DPS. Commendations are a completely optional thing, and in no way mandatory. Sometimes I commend, sometimes I do not. Sometimes the commendation goes to a tank, sometimes to the healer, and sometimes to my co-DPS. Sometimes I commend a party member based on skill. Sometimes I commend based on glamour. Usually my commendation goes to an individual that bothers to respond to my "Hello!" at the beginning of an instance. Other times, the group was so bad I don't commend anyone, or the player I was going to commend does something to lose said commendation. If I'm about to hit my commendation challenge log for the week, and I happen to be rolling a level 70 job, I skip a commendation to get the experience on a job that's not level 70.

Point is, no one is obligated to commend anyone in a duty. It is an optional courtesy one can choose to participate in. At the end of the day, no one can see your commendations but yourself, and they aren't something that strangers tend to care about. I honestly don't care about if I get commendations or not; used to I would get miffed for busting my butt carrying a group/saving a group from a wipe and leave with nothing to show appreciation for my efforts, but now I just don't care. They aren't a reflection of your skill, so don't really treat them as such.

- Do they not know the unspoken etiquette of commendations in a solid 4-man rando group? Tank + Healer. DPS + DPS.

Literally nowhere has this ever been the norm for commendations. I don't know where you got this from.

[Paladinleeds]

snip

It depends for me.
When I'm on DPS:
- Did the tank or healer do an amazing job? Right, I'll commend them (it's usually easier for me to gauge tank/healer performance as I main it)
- Was the other DPS total garbage? If I'm on DPS and you perform abysmally as a DPS, I won't comm you. I've been known to refuse to comm groups who have been awful (though I've probably not been perfect either). OK-ish runs will still usually result in a comm being issued though. Please note that one or two deaths, doesn't count as abysmal performance to me. It would be things like Larryzaur's "Basically, Dragoon" video, where you ignore everything like AoE etc, in the pursuit of top DPS.

When I'm on tank/healer:
- Did the DPS do something amazing (such as keeping everybody topped up on TP/MP, targeting the right mobs, or me dying as a healer, RDM gets me ressed quickly, then heals the party until I can get back in the fray, etc)? Then they'll get a commendation. However, because I don't use a parser I can't judge based on your damage output.
- Was the tank/healer passable? They'll usually get the commendation unless the DPS did something amazing.

Sometimes though, things like a new player who has shown an amazing affinity for picking things up quickly and learning from it, will result in other guidelines of mine being bypassed.

As for your "etiquette", that's not an unwritten etiquette at all. It's just what you want to see, if I'm being brutally honest.

[LukasRavenholme]

on the rarest of occasions I am blessed with a party where everyone is outstanding and I wish I could commend them all.

At risk of expounding on a throwaway rant I posted in a vent thread and making it seem like I'm actually busted up over not getting commendations on every dungeon run (I'm not)...

I agree 100%. From my own perspective any group that can stay vertical and plow through a dungeon at a brisk pace and not botch mechanics is such a group you described. They're very common, thankfully, and often I wish I could commend all of them. Been in some horrid DFs, though, so my bar is set pretty low. I don't think a DPS needs to be top-tier for a commendation. If their TP is going down sharply on AoE pulls, that's a selling point. If they're keeping up with the group and firing buffs off frequently, selling point. If the boss is dying hella fast, selling point, etc.

However you cannot commend everyone, sadly, and you have to choose one. This is where the previously-mentioned "etiquette" comes in. The fact that a dozen folks have so quickly stated that they

Never heard of it

confirms some of my suspicions as to why I haven't received them sometimes. More often than not, I do walk away with a single commendation as DPS. This tells me that more than likely, more people have heard of this "etiquette" than not. And it's a little comforting that some folks may have just not known.

It's true that DPS are almost 100% disposable in a dungeon run (except on DPS check mechanics). If a DPS disconnects during a dungeon run, you can keep going. If both DPS disconnect, you can probably keep going. Not much is expected of DPS, so from my POV as a fellow DPS main, I commend DPS who don't take this for granted and put forth the extra effort regardless of how unnoticed their efforts go by the group at large. It's easy as a DPS to hit the cruise control button and faceroll through a dungeon while the others are busting their rears. We hear about those guys all the time in these kinds of threads.

Palace of the Dead, as another example on commendations, you just commend whoever you thought may have been the most clutch. It's almost always a healer in that case.

8-mans, I usually commend one of the healers (the one without death weakness) because I straight up can't DO what a lot of those healers do. I've tried 8-mans as healer and just can't keep up. To this day, not sure whether or not most of those wipes were my fault or not. Occasionally, I'll commend the other melee DPS in an 8-man if they stay alive and/or handle the LB perfectly, and if they don't run away from my DRG tether, which happens...frighteningly often.

[Cemil]

- Do they not know the unspoken etiquette of commendations in a solid 4-man rando group? Tank + Healer. DPS + DPS.

No i dont.
My list as DPS is:
-always Healer if the Run was ok
-Tank only if the Healer was bad and he was doing his Job ok
-DPS only if Healer+Tank leaving immediately

If the other DPS is rly great,nice i like fast runs but DPS is a easy Job in DF

Edit:

Palace of the Dead, as another example on commendations, you just commend whoever you thought may have been the most clutch. It's almost always a healer in that case.

I never give a comm. in PotD.
Its easy for all Jobs.

[missybee]

Do they not know the unspoken etiquette of commendations in a solid 4-man rando group? Tank + Healer. DPS + DPS.

I'd be willing to place a sizable bet on it being this one...considering I have never heard of this "etiquette."

I was under the impression that you gave your commendation to the person you deem most worthy? Or, conversely, you could not commend if you feel everyone was scrubbin' it up real good?

[LukasRavenholme]

I think everyone's getting upset about the "etiquette" thing. I must clarify, it's not written in stone. It's if everyone performs roughly equally well in the group and the decision is difficult/can't decide.

Really, no one's heard of this? Crap, I've been commending DPS for years with this idea, provided they weren't a hindrance on the group and/or acting like jerks.

I will endure the mocking comments, and for the sake of the good DPS out there running roulettes, I won't stop commending you.

Dies in a pile of dragongirls spamming /furious emote, while holding a /thumbsup

[Taika]

I think everyone's getting upset about the "etiquette" thing. I must clarify, it's not written in stone. It's if everyone performs roughly equally well in the group and the decision is difficult/can't decide.

Really, no one's heard of this? Crap, I've been commending DPS for years with this idea, provided they weren't a hindrance on the group and/or acting like jerks.

I've never heard about this either and it makes no sense to me. If someone is playing exceptionally well (or just really well), they get my commendation. If I'm a DD and I get a DD that does more DPS than I do, I usually give it to them unless the tank or healer was exceptionally good. If I'm a tank or healer I will give it to an exceptional DD (in DPS and party support), a tank who does smooth and big pulls and does proper DPS, or a healer who handles both healing and DPS well. If all party members are average or worse I don't usually give it to anyone. If all party members are really good and I'd like to give it to more than one person I thank them in chat for great performance.

[Mysterysword]

So SAM as Trials Roulette, a few days ago, dropped me into Chimera.

The WAR told the DRK, "you MT". Fair enough, if a little odd since WARs have no DPS stance at 50. What's not fair was the DRK refusing to respond or pull or do anything besides stand there blankly. The silence stretched on and became awkward. The WAR didn't step up to do anything either, presumably still waiting for a response.

Finally, the WHM (it's always the WHMs who are impatient jerks, of course) threw out an instacast Aero spell without a word. Being the gallant sort, the RDM took aggro off the WHM and gamely tanked while the WAR got their shit together.

We survived and killed the thing, no thanks to any of the aforementioned tanks or WHM, and I gave the RDM my comm for tanking. RDM tank best tank.