Quote Originally Posted by Jett-Rinn View Post
Last night I talked to my friend who left the game because of the toxicity in Dungeons and this is pretty much what she had to say.

"I watched all the videos on how to tank, I used all the current rotations, and made sure I watched videos on the fights before hand, then end result was people still telling me to kill myself or threatening to find me and my family and hurt them. I finally deciphered that "Bad" = you don't play the way I want, or I just really want to harass someone.

And honestly if you have to watch movies and learn sql formulas it isn't a game...it's a interactive spreadsheet with three frat bros who want to show their power over you. That's okay I can play FFXV and not have to pay to be threatened and degraded."

And since I have heard something similar to this more times than I can count...I'll just say nice job FFXIV has lost it's awesome community status to become League of Legends, and this is why we can't have nice things.
I think this is a bit ridiculous.

Firstly, the idea that a game shouldn't involve watching tutorials and such is absurd. It's akin to saying that poker is ruined because players need to know that a full house beats a flush, but is itself beaten by a straight flush. Tutorial videos for fights are, in effect, the instruction manuals for group play in an MMO.

Secondly, while I certainly don't know the whole story surrounding your friend, I must confess, I don't feel like I'm getting an accurate picture. FFXIV is my first MMO, and actually my first real computer game. I'd literally never controlled a game with a mouse and keyboard before FFXIV. I still get overwhelmed by basic combos at times, depending upon how many mechanics are going off. I haven't done much in the way of theory-crafting, and rely mostly on a brief dungeon guide video for any content I do. I say this, because I am the exact example of someone who is likely to experience criticism in dungeons. I know I've sucked before, I'm sure I'm not totally up to snuff today, and I'd bet money I'll take a step backward for awhile when 5.0 introduces new abilities (presumably).

Despite all this, I have never, ever been the target of criticism like this before. I've never been kicked from a party. I don't even know if I've been called bad. All the missed mechanics, all the sub-par DPS, all the screw-ups: never once experienced what I'd describe as strong criticism, let alone received threats. In fact, I can't even recall this sort of behaviour being directed at other players I've been in parties with, either. I've just never seen it. I mentioned this thread to my boyfriend, who has played XI and XIV for close to 15 years combined, and he can't recall seeing this at any point, either.

So for me, it's hard to believe some parts of your post. It just doesn't match the community I've seen. I don't run EX or Savage content (or even 8-person Raids), and I wouldn't be surprised if there's more toxicity there, but it very much appears to me that you're being hyperbolic, and likely also leaving out some key parts of the story.