People can claim whatever they want about "what Duty Finder is for", but the very fact that people argue about it leads to one inescapable conclusion: Whatever people WANT Duty Finder to be for, what it actually is is a mix of all kinds of different players. Hardcore experts. Fresh newbies that don't even know videos EXIST, let alone that they're expected to watch them. People with hair-trigger reflexes. People with Comcast- er, I mean, lag issues.

If you sign up in Duty Finder expecting to get a group where everyone knows the fight and you'll down the run in one or two attempts, you're being hopelessly naive. Can it happen? Absolutely. Is it likely? Depends on the difficulty of the instance. Most of the time, though, you'll have to deal with That One Guy who just can't dodge Plumes, or doesn't seem to know how to handle Blighted Boquet - and a lot of the time, it'll be Those Several Guys.

Given that it's a crapshoot, though, I find going into content blind while KNOWING that the mechanics are complex and difficult to master even when you know what to expect to be pretty rude to the other players. Essentially, you're putting these other seven players on hold while you figure this stuff out, and that's something you could have done ahead of time. How quickly would a raw player figure out the interplay between Fireball, Conflagration, and the Conflag speed buffs if they didn't know to expect it? Let alone the tactic of deliberately entering a Conflag when targeted with Fireball... These are pretty vital to know, though, and among the first things you're taught upon watching a T5 video.

Going raw and trying to figure out mechanics by personal experience costs valuable practice time - and is probably futile anyway, as the mechanics will be hastily explained to you by the party if they're indulgent, or you'll simply be kicked if they are not. You'll only be raw for as long as it takes for the party to REALIZE that you're raw. So, you've wasted the party's time, and not even succeeded at your goal.

While it's foolish to have any high expectations for the folks that sign on to Duty Finder, it's even more foolish to transform yourself into That One Guy on purpose. If you really want to experience content raw, there are two awesome, and pretty much universally acceptible ways to do it: get in on the content when it's fresh and new and EVERYONE is raw, or gather like-minded (or tolerant) players by using a Party Finder with your situation clearly spelled-out. The latter is particularly nice, as it's a good way to meet like-minded folks who will stick with you and who you can call upon for future raw excursions.