How do you decide commendations?

[Herrored]

If someone did something noticeably good, obviously they get the commendation regardless of class. Similarly, if someone was friendly & fun during the duty then I'll give it to them regardless of class.

When I'm DRG I tend to give it to other dps because I know the commendations come less often for dps.
When I heal, it's usually the tank, especially if they're efficient in pulling and can take a hit while I lay down some dots.
When I tank, it's usually the healer, or possibly the melee dps if I see them doing their job well.

All of those are subject to people being excluded for screwing up.

Also, as a side note, sometimes I wish we could give out "condemnations" or the like for when someone really pisses me off.

[VanilleFang]

I give my comm to whomever I feel deserved it the most. This may seem obvious but it just seems that everyone just gives it to the tank if they are the healer, the healer if they are the tank, or the other DPS. I heal 99% of the time but that doesn't mean I'll be giving my comm to the tank. I think it's easy to see if your DPS' are actually doing their job properly and to be able to determine who is doing the better job. But it mostly comes down who I find the most enjoyable to play with. I actually find that the more I play the less likely I have been to give it to the tank.

[TheMoonflow]

Normally just give mine to a tank, but it can be situational.
I've given it to DPS before when they have impressed me.
Or a fellow healer for covering my ass if I screw up.

[VanilleFang]

Edit: My brother and I use the same account, I didn't notice he already posted in this thread lol.

Depends.

As a healer its pretty easy to tell a good tank from a bad one and a good dps from a bad one (damn DPS who can't dodge AoEs. I curse thee). As a SCH I find it more obvious when DPS aren't doing their job, not only with poor mobility but also with poor damage output since I switch to DPS a lot.

One's who fail at dodging AoEs, have bad enmity control and/or run off without the group are "bad" players and never receive my commendation. Unless its part of a speedrun strat (sac pulls. Tank running off to pull a mob).

[JonBigwood]

I give the commendation to the player I think did the best job. Along the run sometimes you see if someone does especially well. Sometimes there is more than one, or there is nothing special to remark and it's hard to choose.

Usually when you play as tank you notice more the healer's performance, but you can also notice a very good DPS, some runs are very different than others just because good DPS. If I didn't notice anything special, I usually commend the healer, it means he has done well his job if there have been no incidents.

As a healer you notice more how everybody is doing. If there is another healer that does nice I tend to commend him, you notice that easily, or the tank if he does well and no DPS has excelled.

When you go as DPS you notice more the other DPS performance, especially in 4 player content. You can see easier if he uses the DoT in a class that should use them, what rotations he does (if he plays a job you also play), if he uses the buffs, etc.

[Gorshum]

I base it on 1 of 2 categories: If someone was social and friendly, they will usually always get the commendation from me. I've ran the dungeons 100s of times, I don't care if you have a slightly more efficient rotation than the last person I ran with. I care if you make it more interesting and fun for me. The only thing that changes between dungeon runs are the people, so make it interesting.

That being said if nobody is social I will usually not hand out a commendation at all unless someone really stands out to me. Like if I'm healing and the DD are quicker than the tank to try to get adds off me, they will likely get the commendation. Or if the tank is really knowledgeable and explains things to newcomers, they'll get the commendation, etc. The sort of "mvp" commendation is a last resort to me but if I do give it out, it's because someone did something I don't see often and specifically made my life easier.

I don't like handing out mvp commendations very often though because I would rather encourage people to be social than purely to be good. If I wanted good teammates with no social interaction I would play a single player rpg.

[TsubasaHana]

Mainly by the mistakes they do, or if they actually listen what needs to be done.

There's some DPS that like to tank, they throw themselves at mobs... There's the tanks that can't keep aggro... There's the DPS that don't know how to AOE... There's the newbies that are mute... There's the tanks that don't know that in this game you need to evade certain things... There's the AFK player that like to be carried.

The one that does less stupid things get my commendation, or none at all. Most of the times I give them to a good Tank, a bard that actually play something, or a DPS that didn't take unnecessary AOEs and did attack. I already saw a lot of players and did a lot of dungeons so I know when a player is doing above average. A tank that use stone skin and protection, a DPS that have swiftcast n/or resurrection, a healer that don't doze off when everyone is at full HP and actually stoneskin in the free time or DPS.

[Sensu]

It depends on the role of the DPS. If it's a BRD that plays songs when he needs to, or a MNK that silences attacks, a DRG that used Leg Sweep at the right times for stunning a boss - If I notice that I'll give my commendation to that person, it's the small things. Another good reason to give a dps a commendation is when that player stays alive the longest (on a fight like Titan in Roulette, if I end up solohealing, 1 (or sometimes 2) tank(s) and 1 dps alive, that last dps can have my commendation. You managed to not fall off on Titan, and you never died either! Well done!

[VanilleFang]

snip

I personally hate when tanks use Protect. Hate it.