Quote Originally Posted by Doozer View Post
I've seen a lot of people during mechanics that put markers on some and an actual stack on another think that it's okay for the AoE people to stand in the stack. Though I would say it's either a coincidence or because of the influx of new players that probably refuse to learn anything, regardless of level.

I had a tank in a level 70 dungeon with less HP than me as a MCH and when I suggested they upgrade their gear they said they were working on it, I guess implying that they wanted gear from the dungeon, but they passed on tank gear that dropped. I said they can buy i385 stuff from shops and they said they were broke. Somehow. Then they called me an elitist for saying their poor gear affects everyone, etc. etc. but I only pointed it out because I've seen so many players lately with piss-poor gear (saw a PLD in Syrcus Tower with a Weathered Ring, for example) so I felt like I had to start intervening to tell people to upgrade.

Sorry for going slightly off topic there, but I think it has to do with a lot of people not understanding and refusing to learn what MMORPGs are about.
I'm not trying to derail your point about players with poor gear... but I will say this much. You can unlock the Crystal Tower raids immediately upon clearing the main scenario dungeons, and you can't start earning poetics until you do your first runs of those dungeons. Accessories aren't given out much as rewards up to that point, and even at level 50 you're still better off spending your early poetics on a weapon, chest and leg gear than on a ring.

I ran into this myself when I first hit level 50 playing on an alt with a friend who recently came to the game, and did hit level 50 still wearing some of those weathered accessories they start you out on at level 1. I COULD have spent gil on something form the market board, but also knew that it wouldn't really take me that long to replace my gear by cleariing content and getting tomestones, and if I had a high enough item level to enter, that would be fine.

This doesn't excuse the player who passed on gear that would have been an upgrade. But there is a reason you might run into people at level 50 still with some of their gear being lower level.