Quote Originally Posted by Goji1639 View Post
I'm not cherry picking; I'm responding to everything and I've already responded to that point. "If all 23 people" is a moot observation; my using an essence doesn't affect what the other 23 people do, it only affects my output. I'm 1/24th of the raid and Skirmisher increases ONLY my output by 20%, so the improvement on the run doesn't make up for the time farming.

The cumulative effort gain is only valid in a situation like PF; where the cumulative effort is a prerequisite. Farming essences for DF, however, is always a waste of time.
You can perform all the mental gymnastics that you want, but that doesn't change the fact that not using an essence is less beneficial than using one. You aren't making a run worse, but you aren't making it better either. If you aren't willing to put in the effort that others are, don't expect them to respond positively.