Don't Let The Nasty Players Win

[GazaelNoxlucis]

To all those who are starting out or consider starting out in FF14:ARR, here is some helpful advice:

The game is wide and vast with a plethora of players of different shapes and sizes. With this comes challenges as you navigate through dungeons and the like with a group of strangers with varying skill levels.

This will be a fun challenge as each dungeon experience will be different, you will be required at all times to be on the ball and ready to give your team the support it needs to get through the level. EXP, sweet loot and commendations make the effort worthwhile. There is also no greater feeling than being commended by word from another player for your efforts.

Many players, especially for the newbies, will offer a helping hand. Simply mention at the start you are such and 95% will help you on your way.

[GazaelNoxlucis]

On the other hand, not every player has the patience of a saint, the maturity of an adult or the personality of a decent player. These sorts of players you will encounter and hopefully, these instances would be low in number.

These players will be nasty towards you (and others), display loathsome immaturity and make a name for themselves a players no-one would want to associate with. Dungeons are long and the chances they have to belittle you in between are many.

At no point, ever, should you let their behaviour affect you, how you see the game or how you view other players as a whole and/or the type of role they are. You are a valued player and you should never let those who seek amusement at the expense of others get the better of you.

[GazaelNoxlucis]

Everyone makes mistakes, from the newbies to the professionals. Yes, if you make a mistake, expect to be called up on it. However, your mistake should not be a target for abuse towards you. Real players will call you up on it and give advice on how to improve. Take their lessons and the lessons you learn through your own improvement and you will do fine.

Once you reach the top of your job, remember that you have the responsibility to help those who are new and/or struggling. Always remember to return the generosity of those who helped you became who you are on the new breed.

Never give in to bullying, abuse and trolling. Those who engage in that behaviour aren't players. Be a player, help others and defend others from bullies. Bullying is never acceptable and nasty players don't deserve to be accepted or respected.

By calling yourself a player, you are required to observe and enforce the rules of fair and generous play.

[RhoddODduw]

Edit your post to get around the character limit. Save spreading your message over 3 posts.

[KodiHivaer]

Never give in to bullying, abuse and trolling. Those who engage in that behaviour aren't players. Be a player, help others and defend others from bullies. Bullying is never acceptable and nasty players don't deserve to be accepted or respected.

Those people are as much a player as anyone else who pays to play this game, if the player is in duty finder, then chances are they'll never see them again anyway (Unless they're on that player's server, but then again there's also the blacklist)
You just can't go and tell players that nasty ones don't deserve respect and to just ostracize them because of their attitudes/playstyles, in the end you're just fighting fire with fire.

[ruskie]

You just can't go and tell players that nasty ones don't deserve respect and to just ostracize them because of their attitudes/playstyles, in the end you're just fighting fire with fire.

They deserve respect to not be treated as they treat others. Ostracize is what community does with toxic players. Attitudes can be an issue here but rarely are(this is usually an individuals issue with another).
Playstyles rarely are(I hate speedrunning but I won't go nuclear towards people that do want it(unlike what often happens in reverse)).

It's mainly how you treat others. If you spew vile things at every opportunity you deserve the respect to be ignored and avoided.

And just because you won't see them again(most likely - I have seen the same people in DF multiple times by now) doesn't mean it is OK by ANY strech of the imagination to consider toxic behaviour fine.

Yes they are players as much as anyone else. But they must also accept they are part of a greater community which has it's own norms and acceptable behaviour(outside of hard rules and so on).

To the OP: "defend others from bullies" sadly there is nothing much you can do that won't escalate other than a vote dismiss - any argument will cause more toxicity sadly.

Always be respectful and polite to others - and if things get out of hand blacklist or report.

[GazaelNoxlucis]

KodiHivaer: I guess I did get a bit carried away regarding those bolded sections, could've worded it better. This post kind of came on the back of having to deal with a player learning MNK and copping repeated nastiness from the tank. I understand that DF is essentially a random grouping from different/same servers but that isn't an excuse to bully, harass and troll players, especially new ones. It just makes it miserable for everyone involved.

Ruskie: Agreed with what you said. It's a community game so it's required that you go into the game knowing full well what is acceptable behaviour, there are human beings behind those controllers and keyboards. A vote dismiss is really the only option if the situation devolves to that point, but if the offender is a healer or a tank, I act as a 'supervisor' and try and get everyone over the line. Dismissing a healer/tank can lead to a long replacement time and it's not fair on the others.

[Bixby]

A lot of players in MMOs have a sort of defensive mentality that leads to catch-22 negativity. You hear about how nasty people can be, so you start with your defenses up, and it gets easy to interpret text (or a lack of text; they must be not talking because they're jerks!) in a negative light. Something goes wrong, words come out, and everyone else is already in defensive mode, too, so it gets bitey and spiky and just feeds more into that same mentality.

Don't believe it. There aren't nearly as many jerks as you'd think from reading all these bad experiences. The vast majority of experiences with people in MMOs are completely bland. Not good, not bad. You just do the thing you all came to do and move on. You don't hear much about the positive experiences, because feeling good doesn't inspire people to go post about it nearly as much as feeling bad does.

People have good days and bad days, good moments and bad moments. You'll have a far better time if you shrug things off, humanize people in bad moods, and hold onto optimism, than if you don't. You'll also, in general, be treated better yourself and contribute to a better community overall. Defensiveness breeds defensiveness.

It's also pretty much the only way to defeat actual trolls; don't give them the power to get you down and they can't win.

[Spawnie]

i agree with bixby encoutering a rude player isnt as often as u might think the nice players far outnumber the rude 1s..

ive seen a couple trolls abusing some1 for thier equips more in main roulette then anywhere else the abused person always fights back n i always say the same thing

dont feed the troll so no1 replies to him he eithier sulks and goes quiet or leaves instance so its a winwin