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

[Kakiko]

Raba.
I get that we're all spamming the new content but that doesn't mean you get to go into Raba as healer and just.. not.. heal. Had two Astrologians in my group tonight who, while 4 or 5 of our alliance were laying dead, were both spamming Benefic on themselves or Malefic onto Hashmal. If they did get anyone up, they didn't heal them up enough and they died shortly thereafter. I died once to my own stupidity (misread the towers) but every other death I had was because I wasn't getting healed at all. The only major healing they did was for the spheres and beyond that, here and there but nothing significant. Just a rough, rough run.

Good news: Went into Sigma with someone I met in that run (who raised me the times I died) and we cleared after 1 wipe since we were all going in blind. What a fun fight!

[Avatre]

Okay, so two fun stories(both from the new dungeons too!).

Hell's Lid: Pretty quick run, second boss almost wiped up because healer moved to wrong spot(went closer to an AoE than they should have - naughty healer), the DRG didn't always move away from AoEs quick enough, and died a few time, and the tank died because healer died. Only reason we didn't wipe, I raised the healer, healed myself(I was only one alive at the time) and dual casted raise on the tank. Got off another cure, and just as I hit raise for the DRG, I die. Healer ended up raising me when they could and we finished that without a wipe. Right after the second boss the tank did the whole pull to the gate, healer couldn't keep up(I wasn't paying close enough attention to party list as RDM to be able to assist with healing), and so we wiped. Our only wipe, in a mostly blind run(at least for me it was a blind run).

Fractal HM: Went in blind, got another RDM as DPS, DRK for tank, and either WHM or AST for healer. Both healer and other RDM were allergic to dodging AoEs. RDM was also allergic to self healing. I was the only one who didn't die during that run, and I even had to move away from my controller for a few seconds twice to let dogs back inside during the final boss. Sure, I came close to dying(less than 1k HP remaining) but self healing, and dodging AoEs, kept me alive.

[Fresky]

Doing Aurum Vale and the tank was new. Took us a few wipes on the first and second boss but we got it done. During the final boss, the tank kept standing in bad breath. We asked him nicely to not do it but he didn’t listen it say anything. We cleared it in the end somehow (the run took 70 minutes). I feel bad for the healer.

[Rasikko]

Doing Aurum Vale and the tank was new. Took us a few wipes on the first and second boss but we got it done. During the final boss, the tank kept standing in bad breath. We asked him nicely to not do it but he didn’t listen it say anything. We cleared it in the end somehow (the run took 70 minutes). I feel bad for the healer.

What I want to know is, how did the first room go?

[Iscah]

I got into Wanderer's Palace with a new tank yesterday and they started fighting the first set of tonberries. The ones that are basically set decoration for the NPC adventurers to kill before the tonberry stalker attacks them.

Wanderer's Palace makes me paranoid at the best of times. I really really hate the tonberry stalker. D:

[Anarnee]

Ran a mentor roulette and got Ramuh EX.

I tried to teach people, we wiped to silly things and finally the other healer ended up leaving.

So I told them I would still help them clear it unsynced if they wanted an easier time (none of them seems keen on really learning it, and expected it to be easier for some reason.)

XD Got five of them their clear after wiping twice to adds.'

Edit: Lots of EX primals today in the mentor roulette! Got Garuda EX next. Had a MNK in his level 90 gear, and half the time wasn't doing anything. We got the clear though.

[SeriousxSarcasm]

Oooh, I forgot to share this one (long stories are long). It's actually a fun story for once lol.

Queued into Rabanastre on the weekend with a few friends (me on SMN, friends went duo healers WHM/AST). I've run this pretty much daily since it came out, the occasional lag problem, but I can do it in my sleep at this point. My friends not so much. XD So I'm kinda dreading the kind of people we could end up with as randoms, since I know it's not a very nice place for learning healers. My friends are bickering amongst each other when the queue pops so our party is treated to something that goes a bit like this:

AST: We're gonna diiiiiie
WHM: I'm tired... you can solo heal this
AST: You know I've never done AST here I can't
WHM: you'll be great. Also I'm not ressing you if you die
AST: @n@
BRD: wait, I thought dying was kind of the goal here
WAR: twelve help us (I'm paraphrasing... it was much ruder, XD)
Me: It's ok, I'll res you
WHM: Not saving any of you either

Barrier drops, me and healer friends go running with the party with battle cries for everyone to prepare to die (half the party /cheered rofl).

Cleared 1st boss no problem. Had to res another party's healers. Hashbrown is when it gets interesting. XD I dunno wtf happened, but half our party was dead almost at all time lmao. We were just getting hit by stupid things. RDM1/SAM would go down, then both healers would get booped while distracted trying to get everyone back on their feet for add phase, and in the time it took me to get them both up, WAR/RDM2 would get murdered and the RDM1/BRD would be dead to AOE before healers got their mojo back.

It was like an endless domino effect. Somehow, and I have no idea how, we always managed to juuuust squeak by on the DPS checks. After the 10th death our party just seemed to give up on being frustrated and embraced The Death Club. Even the pissy WAR was laughing by the time we got through it all. Also! Amazingly enough we didn't wipe on that run, nor did the other parties seem to pay us much mind haha.

The other DPS/healers are apologetic. Whatever, we've all had those off nights where stuff we usually dodge, suddenly we're getting hit by all-the-things.

One of the RDMs left right after we cleared Hashbrown, but everyone else was like "Who cares! We were promised death, and I'd say mission accomplished." Which was refreshing to see. People tend to get really salty in here, so it's nice to get a party where you can have fun even when things are going so badly.

Got MCH a minute later and WAR warned them to leave now if they're scared of dying. Other bosses went infinitely better (MCH died to 2nd trample. We almost wiped our party, people were laughing so hard while the MCH was embarrassed and everyone else celebrated them passing their initiation).

Unfortunately none of them are on our server!

Sorry I know it's long and rambly and doesn't really have a point, but just wanted to share a moment where our group had every reason to turn pissy/toxic and it just didn't. Was a nice change of pace.

[HyoMinPark]

Had an AST in V7N ask me what HoTs were when I asked them to please use them after we wiped 3 times due to me basically solo healing both tanks and the party (they were Di AST, I was Noct AST). After I told them that HoTs = Regens, they said they are used to shields and don’t know how to use regens.

....what.

[MoroMurasaki]

I have never done a raid tier as it released, I've always had a guide. Going through Sigmascape without a guide was both terrifying and alluring... but allure (and gear) won out so I went in on WHM.

I was ready for all manner of salt. Each time I would greet the party then also mention it was my first time and usually a few other people would chime in saying it was their first time as well. Jokes were made.

In O5 the only response to my "first time for me!" other than people indicating that they were also new was the DRK saying "easy fight no problem" but that DRK died more times than almost anyone else. Laughs were had. Cleared on the first pull. One comm.

O6 had notably less newcomers (for 8am EST on patch day so 3 hours in) and was notably harder. The OT turned himself into the monster and flew around our entire first attempt. I did virtually no DPS just trying to keep myself and others alive but we wiped to me and my coheal going OOM. Cleared the second pull after my coheal explained some things, people were pretty cool. Two comms

O7 was the most salt I'd seen thus far. Our MT started a 10 second timer right as the wall dropped and so our first pull was a mess. A RDM managed to kill my cohealer, myself and themself with one exploding rocket which ended in a wipe. The tank just kept pulling almost immediately even though we clearly needed to discuss mechanics. He then DC'd when we told him if he pulled again we weren't healing him. Gave him his wish, kicked him and cleared on the first pull with the new tank. Three comms!

Kefka. This group was the best yet. We wiped 3 times before downing him, had banter mixed into our mechs discussion and everyone was very encouraging. 2 people didn't talk but I think we were all new. Our first wipe was when everyone but a BLM was knocked off by the first ball. Great times. After that each time we wiped people would be in chat saying "hey we died slower, that's progress right there!" which was nice. My cohealer was great here too. Somehow I also scooped up the rareish 7 comms here too!

At the end of the day my fears going into this were almost entirely unfounded. People were really chill. So thank you chill people for helping to prove that the ffxiv community isn't a toxic cesspool like some people make it out to be!

[Minako_Nightsong]

I had a lot of fun this patch day. I jumped out of my comfort zone and went into the new dungeons totally blind as a tank. I really surprised myself by picking up the mechanic clues pretty quickly including that Hell's Lid last boss thing (No spoiler). Pat myself on the back I did

I didn't have the item level to enter Sigmascape or Byakko as a tank so I went as my main, bard. I enjoyed Byakko but I was pretty meh on Sigmascape because I only played some of ff1 and ff3 and ff7 is the only one I finished so I didn't get swept in by nostalgia so these fights were kinda, just there ya know? Used the duty finder for everything too. I think the funniest thing about that day was when I was in Hell's Lid and the Astrologian told the party at 10:41am that she wanted a quick run before the reset. The bard informed her the reset happened at 10 am and she replied, "It resets at 11, I have been playing this game since launch." (Mentor Tag too). She proceeds to get obliterated by three telegraphed attacks while typing this reply! Btw in my time zone, it does reset at 10 am. Rest of the run went very smoothly though and I tossed her my commendation for having to heal me.

The story is pretty good so far and Tataru never ceases to crack me up. I'm not done though.