Counter to Elitism

[Almalexia]

The higher the percentage of HP you deplete, the better the DPS, simple.

A parser does this. Many people already use parsers to "keep score;" isn't this the elitism you're trying to get rid of?

I'm sorry, but any strategy where the BLM is supposed to take hits is a flaw in the game. For a mage, taking hits means dying,

Taking hate doesn't necessarily mean taking hits, and taking hits doesn't necessarily mean dying. I'm wondering if you played the same FFXI I did, or maybe you didn't know any BLMs who broke out of their traditional role.

and dying can't be a strategy.

Now I know we weren't playing the same FFXI.

For a dynamic system, think "Gambits" like FF XII. You can design severals "If...then..." sentences and when a player fulfill one sentence, you give him points. Higher priority sentences will yield more points. I tried to translate FFXI gameplay with a gambit system, and, suprisingly, with 15-20 sentences per job, you can cover almost any situation.

I agree this could fulfill a bare minimum of expectation for a given job. In a vacuum. Maybe every job should have a mandatory tutorial so people would learn the basics.

But that's only the beginning. Would you consider someone familiar with the basics to "know their job?" I wouldn't.

Every WHM has regen and cure, but how many know when one is better than the other? Not many.
Every WHM can nuke, but how many know when to nuke? Only a few.
Every WHM generates enmity, but how many give a shit? The answer may surprise you.

If you are surrounded by good WHMs (I don't know why I am picking on WHM, it could be any job) you may take these things for granted--also, lucky you--but the average WHM doesn't know the finer points. Furthermore, the game doesn't actively teach new WHMs any of these things. If they had nothing more than a gambit checklist, people would carry them out for credit without understanding why/how/when these things are important. It's like those advanced combos in fighting game tutorials: sure, I performed the combo for credit, but when could I practically use this? The game doesn't say. I may as well stick to simpler techniques, right?

Ultimately, it comes down to the player's own inquisitiveness and desire to improve. Many players will do the gambits for credit and never learn a damn thing (if the gambits are meant to improve their game), but the people who really care--the people who want to "know their job"--will ask questions. Why use this spell? What's the best ability rotation? Why use gear X over gear Y? The answers are out there, but the game itself won't answer most of them.

Maybe I've gone off the rails and I'm no longer talking about mere competence. The step from competent to exceptional in XI or XIV is so small it's a wonder why more people don't take it. I don't believe a system that scores individual players would improve them unless they already had a mind to improve themselves, in which case the gambit is redundant.