How do you decide commendations?

[Ferrasper]

I give my commendation to the DPS the majority of the time since the tanks and healers get them a lot of the time. (The DPS need love too <3) I do however give them to the tank or healer if they are particularly chatty and funny. If no one talks though, I don't give it to any body even if they are the best group in the world.

[Wadoka]

Leadership and attitude. My first Brayflox Longstop, I ran as Paladin with an experienced and patient Dragoon who taught the fights as we went. Dragoon got 3 of 4 that run. He gave his comm to the healer

[Thaliss]

for me commendation depends on the run.

Normal run, nothing happens out of the ordinary and everybody does their part then according what I play I do this : tank<==>healer and dps<==>dps (in 8 man its healer/healer and tank/tank)

Then you have your troubled runs. Then I got for the most helpful, efficient, patient.

Rarely I don't give any commendation, but happens when horrid run and no one even answers or try to solve the problems.

[winsock]

I rarely give it to the dps. IMO if everyone in the group is adequately performing, the tank and healer usually have more responsibilities, and most mistakes they make are immediately noticible. There is more pressure when filling these roles. At the same time, healers + tanks are also throwing out dps.

I throw it to dps if:
i queued in a partial party and cannot give it to a tank / healer, provided the dpser wasn't significantly hurting the run.
They survived (or consistently survived) longer than every one and just barely scored a win for the group.
They stepped up to guide new players through content, took care of boss gimmicks (provided the tank / healer didn't have their own to deal with).

Dps really need to go above and beyond to get a commendation. By queueing tank or healer (with a few exceptions) you are already taking on more than a dps.

[Jican]

I base commendations on who made my job easier. It's fairly easy to see throughout the fight who did what. If I am healer, did I have to heal DPS a ton outside of unavoidable mechanics? Did the tank pop defensive cooldowns to mitigate damage? Did we have an AoE DPS that did the job? As someone stated earlier, you can tell who did their job and who was on autopilot the entire time. Being social doesn't mean much to me if we keep wiping. I want a fun experience, so my commendation goes to that.

[Benolan]

If the tank communicated and/or marked mobs and led the group well, them.

Else it's the DPS that knew how to stay out of the fire and follow the mechanics.

[Ashkendor]

As tank, I tend to give it to the healer as long as they weren't awful. As healer, I tend to give it to the tank as long as they weren't awful. As DPS, I tend to give it to the other DPS as long as they weren't awful. In eight man content, I'll commend my counterpart as long as they weren't awful. Are we seeing the pattern here? xD

If my "usual" was awful, then I'll throw it to a random DPS (as long as they weren't awful) because I know it's tough to pick up commendations as a DPS. If there's someone else that did something memorable, they get it. The healer that bails someone out with Benediction/Lustrate. The DPS that LB3's at a crucial moment. That kind of thing. If the group was 100% awful I have no problem with not giving a commendation at all.

A lot of the time I queue in a partial party (usually 2 or 3 of us from my FC) so I'm sure there's a lot of random DPS wandering around out there wondering what they did to get 3 commendations. xD

[Yumi_umi]

I just pick whoever is at the top of the list when the window pops up.
Idc who gets it as i just want tht free gil from the challenge log.

[EricCartmenez]

As someone who started as BRD, I pay attention to the DPS, and if they are doing well and making my WHM job easier, I give them a commendation. I also understand that as a MNK or DRG, it's harder to dodge as you have to be as close as the tank, so there are times you just can't get out of the way. I only give tanks and healers the commendation if they make all of our jobs extremely easy. I feel sorry for anyone that's run a dungeon with me as a PAL. I am awful at holding aggro. I ran Bowl of Embers once and couldn't hold aggro against a DRG! Not for lack of either of us trying, but I guess a lowly level 22 PAL was no match for an iLVL 90 DRG to Irfrit's taste buds. Anyway, I got 2 commendations that time, so I know that people either just commend the person still standing there (I tend to take my time leaving for some reason), or they just commend the tank. Unless you're going for the Golden Magitek, there's no reason to collect commendations anyway. I know I am. I will actually join very low level dungeons so I can look awesome just for the commendations. 200 to go. LOL

[KyrieBonvalet]

If I'm in an 8-man, I usually give it to the other healer or tank. If I see a smn helping out with raises I'll give them the recommendation. I also give it to new people, regardless of class, that state they are new and do really well. Example like a primal fight they've never done before.