Feedback: Oh my god, dealing with your GM is ridiculously frustrating.

[Vitruviansquid]

(post chopped up due to character limit)

(TLDR: Let me be clear. This post isn't about the 3 players, it's about the GM. I just incidentally have to describe my interactions with these three weasels to tell you about my interaction with the GM.

1. I am unsatisfied with the GM's inability to answer a question about the game's rules
2. I find the GM's ending our conversation abruptly and subsequently ignoring me without telling me that he'll be ignoring me to be fairly rude.)

Okay, so I submit the following ticket asking the following verbatim (names scrubbed)

"I just queued for a Dzemael Darkhold group. Got a group with [name], [name], and [name] after my 30+ minute DPS queue. These three people are in the same group, and all they did was run up to the room before the first boss and then leaving the instance. If you check my chat log, you'll see this is what they planned from the beginning.

Is this breaking any rules regarding manipulating the queues? Because now I have to wait 30+ minutes again to get into a dungeon, while they can keep screwing a DPS player out of a run."

Eventually, the GM shows up, and I'm going to type out this conversation verbatim.

[Vitruviansquid]

GM: "Greetings, Arina Jinki. I am Game Master Furlamseere. I am sorry to interrupt your gameplay. I am here to respond to the ticket you submitted. I understand you would like to report [name], [name], and [name] for leaving duty, is this correct?"

Arina: "not exactly"

GM: "I am sorry, can you elaborate on what you whitnessed today?"

Arina: "sorry, fighting a boss right onw, I'l be with you in 30 sec"

Arina: "so not so much just leaving the group as it is queuing up with the intention of not finishing the instance, and leaving in the middle."

GM: "I think I understand. I am sorry to hear that the group decided to leave and leave you with those angry monsters"

GM" Can you tell me if this happened at around the time that you submitted your ticket?"

Arina: "I submitted the ticket right after leaving the group."

[Vitruviansquid]

GM: Thank you for your time today. I feel I can confidently progress an investigation with the additional context you have shared with me. I believe I have enough information to progress my report on [name], [name], and [name] for their actions taken today. While I am here, are there any other concerns that I can address for you?"

Arina: "could you tell me if that's breaking the rules?"

Arina: "*what they did, I mean"

GM: "leaving a duty?"

Arina: "Queuing without the intention of finishing."

GM: There are many variables that need to be considered, to judge any action as a violation. I cannot really say if your situation was or was not a violation."

[Vitruviansquid]

Okay, so fair enough for the GM wanting to investigate further about punitive actions on the three people. But I still want my question answered because you know, it'd be kind of nice to know what's fair and what's foul in this game. By the time I could retype it, the GM has apparently closed the channel because I can't get a response. So I send a reply ticket saying:

"You kinda cut me off while I was asking a slightly related question =X

If, hypothetically, I wanted an item that drops off the All-Seeing-Eye in Dzemael Darkhold. Is it against the rules for me to queue up as a tank, bring my group up to the All-Seeing-Eye, then leave after seeing what drops, and repeating until I have that item I wanted?"

I get the canned response that basically tells me check Active Help or ask on the forum. No tells from a GM.

I send another reply asking if the GM is unable to answer the question or something, and again the same reply. No tells.

[Vitruviansquid]

So let's be real here. Your GM who is responsible for enforcing the game's rules, can't answer a simple question about the game's rules? I'd understand if he felt that was a loaded question (it's really not), but if that's the case, he can't even come out and say that he's unable to answer that question?

[QuinceTaru]

Its not against the rules to leave any duty for any reason. The reason ppl pull everything to the room before first boss is because its good exp also, im not saying its right to do in DF cause i dont think it is.

[Vitruviansquid]

Well, the "Inappropriate Behavior" section of "Prohibited Activities in Final Fantasy XIV" states, "Disturbances that do not fall under the harassment category but are intended to prevent or hinder game play for others are considered inappropriate" and "GM may take action to players whose play style prevents other player's game play"

To me, it seems pretty clear that what this group is doing is systematically preventing/hindering game play for different 4th players in duty finder over and over, and preventing an other player's game play.

But that's beside the point for this thread I'm starting about a particular GM's behavior. If the rule is so clear one way or another, how come the GM can't tell me this? How come the GM isn't allowed to tell me that he can't tell me? How come the GM is throwing away my tickets without so much as a "stop badgering me, I can't answer your question"

[Spoekes]

I looked that "Inappropriate Behavior" section up too, but the example cases there do not match with what happened to you.

As much as I want those ppl to get a penalty, I doubt GMs will do something.

I got this crap 2 times in DF, once they just abandoned without saying a word, the other time they were obviously throwing made up excuses and abandoned - both AV after first room full clears...

[Dererk]

If you ask me just joining via duty finder just to do the exp pull with 3 in a pre made then 1 random via duty finder dose seam trollish . So it should be agents the tos if it isn't already.
First room exp pulls are what party finders for

[Eloah]

If you wrote up everything the GM did/said, I don't think he did anything wrong. Maybe he could of indicate that the conversation was actually over but it doesnt seem like he cut you off at all. Also while what happened to you is bad/wrong, is it breaking the rules, probably not, was it a dick move, yes. And GMs cannot give there opinions on these kinds of matters, which, though it may not seem like it, was what you were asking them. People do things like this all the time, is it good for morale no, is it against the rules, not really. But unless the event is repeated, towards you, by the same person, it's really only a mild nuisance in the long run.