Tactful ways to inform people that they're playing badly?

[TheForce]

Just an example out of hundreds of possible suggestions. I can agree sometimes facepulling works.

I mean...then why even bring it up?

See, if I was tanking and you said that out of the blue like that, that would piss me off a bit and I'd most likely just ignore you. That's a small nitpick and by even mentioning it you're giving off the vibe that I don't know what I'm doing/you think you're superior to me when you are not.

[TheForce]

I'm just another player, not an authority figure, so I don't say too much unless someone is consistently ignoring a vital mechanic. To be honest, unless you're on one of the few jobs I play, I don't know what your rotation is or what abilities you're using. I'm too focused on not screwing things up myself, which I unfortunately still manage to do from time to time, and I wouldn't want to be beaten up over it.

Hit the nail on the head.

[Gaethan_Tessula]

Equity has a specific meaning: equality of outcome.

This is incorrect. If you go to a union meeting where the union is demanding equity, it does not mean they are demanding to paid the same as the CEO (an equality of outcome). It means they want a living wage as full time workers and fair treatment by the employer as fellow human beings. Equity and equality in both the forms you mentioned are three different concepts. I used the word I used because it was the correct one, not to play linguistic tricks as you seem to be accusing me of in the next few sentences of your reply.

I was on your side because the other guy really started it, but when you came in and started proselytizing your cult is when you lost me. Now despite the fact I thought you were in the right initially, I'm actually more on the. side of the other guy than you because the differences in tact I have with him I can work by choosing or not choosing to engage.

Applicable to the thread at hand. Perhaps I should have used "fairness" instead of something more jargon'y, esp. since it wouldn't have changed the actual intent of my meaning any.

Proof in concept that how one approaches giving advice does affect how it's received.

So thank you for that feedback.

[Vahlnir]

I mean...then why even bring it up?

See, if I was tanking and you said that out of the blue like that, that would piss me off a bit and I'd most likely just ignore you. That's a small nitpick and by even mentioning it you're giving off the vibe that I don't know what I'm doing/you think you're superior to me when you are not.

Nah, I don't think that they were intending to come across that way. Personally, I didn't read it as such, and I'm a tank. lol I only wanted to clarify that sometimes things work a bit differently, which they acknowledged. It's not really a "small nitpick" though, imo. If it helps, it helps! People should never ignore good advice if it improves their performance. Well, as long as it is being given in a respectful manner at least. And if the person currently in question put it the way they did I wouldn't find it offensive. It'd be a genuine question or concern.

[Arngrim_Greyashe]

Whenever I play I usually just move to sarcasm, but you need to pick your words carefully otherwise you could be breaking the ToS. Trying to inform a player that they are bad is probably the hardest problem I have faced in this game. Normally in any other game I would just say a certain word a certain combination of words to address the bad player(s), unfortunately, like I said, you would be breaking the ToS, reported, and subsequently banned. I won't even say what word(s) I would use here, because I would also be banned on the forums.

This is something a deal with on the daily whenever I am playing this game. Usually pointing out their gear, inform them they aren't doing aoe, or saying "our dps must be low" - speaking in general should inform player(s) that something is not right.

It's unfortunate how ban happy players are in this game. Rather than gain constructive feedback, they'd prefer to try and get you banned for helping them.

[DenzelVilliers]

I don't tell people how they should play, if everything is fine and we are cleaning the Duty i don't see reasons for that. Unless they don't know some mechanics or skill purpose ( like some Tanks pulling adds by Provoke before ), so i give a tip the most friendly possible always using some kind of emote ( like: :3, :P, ), so that person do not feel offended and catch your tip.

People don't know how you talking by reading it, sometimes even doing a friendly argument it sounds offensive/arrogant, so emotes helps to prevent that kind of situation and misundersting.

[TaleraRistain]

If I've offered advice, I always make sure to ask if they want any first. If they say nope, I'm good, then that's it. But I don't often really ask. This isn't school. I'm not their teacher. I have no idea why people think they can dictate stuff to random people in a dungeon and it's not rude as hell.

Say you're standing outside tying you shoes and someone comes up with "Hey, want some advice on how to tie your shoes?" "No, I'm good" "But you could do that so much more efficiently!" "I'm fine" "You just don't want to learn how to tie your shoes PROPERLY!"

You wouldn't do it in real life. Don't do it with the anonymity of the internet. If it's something you just can't stand, initiate a vote dismiss if they're being disruptive to the party, or take the penalty and remove yourself. It's a PUG. You will probably never see these people again and why start drama when there doesn't need to be any? The only person you can control in life is yourself.

[Hash_Browns]

If I've offered advice, I always make sure to ask if they want any first. If they say nope, I'm good, then that's it. But I don't often really ask. This isn't school. I'm not their teacher. I have no idea why people think they can dictate stuff to random people in a dungeon and it's not rude as hell.

Say you're standing outside tying you shoes and someone comes up with "Hey, want some advice on how to tie your shoes?" "No, I'm good" "But you could do that so much more efficiently!" "I'm fine" "You just don't want to learn how to tie your shoes PROPERLY!"

You wouldn't do it in real life. Don't do it with the anonymity of the internet. If it's something you just can't stand, initiate a vote dismiss if they're being disruptive to the party, or take the penalty and remove yourself. It's a PUG. You will probably never see these people again and why start drama when there doesn't need to be any? The only person you can control in life is yourself.

Except you tying your shoes has nothing to do with a group effort where someone is clearly not carrying their weight. When advice is offered is usually because you're making someone elses job on the team harder.

[TaleraRistain]

Except you tying your shoes has nothing to do with a group effort where someone is clearly not carrying their weight. When advice is offered is usually because you're making someone elses job on the team harder.

If we let the game match us up with random folks, we're accepting that we're going to get people of all skill levels and playstyles. I've had some groups that were close to turning my hair white, but I agreed to the randomness when I signed up for a PUG. Want to dictate your environment, go with a premade.

[Hash_Browns]

If we let the game match us up with random folks, we're accepting that we're going to get people of all skill levels and playstyles. I've had some groups that were close to turning my hair white, but I agreed to the randomness when I signed up for a PUG. Want to dictate your environment, go with a premade.

When you do a duty roulette with 3 other random people, you are not signing up for a take-what-you-get deal. In fact, I believe it's quite the opposite. When you sign up for a roulette, you should be agreeing to give it your all out of respect for the 3/7/23 other players you're going into the duty with..

I'm not talking about situations where clearly people are new. I'm talking about situations where people aren't trying. People are coddled in the game enough as it is, and I refuse to accept the "You queued, so you gotta deal with bad" excuse.