Has it always been like this or...?

[NekokoCatseye]

Hello there. My name is Nekoko Catseye and after a long and arduous journey I have finally reached Operation Archon and the end game content! The Cape Westwind trial was a bit rough, mostly because it took a long time to assemble a party and one of our healers never connected... but we finally emerged victorious and it was a great feeling.

The Castrum Meridianum was where it all went wrong... I should have sensed it when I noticed everyone else was geared far better than I and one of them was complaining about '45 minutes of cut scenes', but I didn't catch on until after the first few when I realized that I was missing out on every fight. No one else was watching the cut scenes and refused to wait for me while I did. As a Paladin I thought it was laughable that they could complete the dungeon without be, but apparently in an 8 man, everyone is expendable.

I asked them very politely to wait, explaining that this was my first time and I was just trying to enjoy the story I'd worked so hard to reach. I never expected the insults or laughing that followed as they continued to ignore my requests and allow me to be locked out of every boss. So my choice became to enjoy the cut scenes but not take part in any of the fighting, or do the dungeon but miss out on all the flavor that was supposed to come with it. Neither choice sounded very favorable and merely being forced to choose ruined the experience for me.

One of the party members in much less than helpful tone insisted I could watch the cut scenes in the inn later and that I was wasting everyone's time. Sure, and I could also look them up on youtube but that's not very immersive either, now is it? I couldn't believe that other players would push to the end game as I had and then not take time to enjoy the story.

But then the secret was revealed. These people had all done this dungeon over 50 times and was simply grinding out some obscure piece of currency with which to buy better gear. Apparently the payout was considerably higher as long as they had at least one new player with them. That meant, since I was the new player, I was boosting their gains by being mocked and shunned from enjoying my own first time experience.

In part I blame the creators of this otherwise wonderful game by making such an exploitable issue. Party members should not be able to initiate boss fights will others are watching cut scenes at the very least. Sadly, I fared no better in The Praetorium despite begging my so called 'party' to wait for me at the very beginning as I tried to enjoy the storyline. By the time I missed out on the fight with Nero I'd hate it and simply quit the dungeon. I hope those scumbags missed out on the bonus Soldiery, but I refused to play with people like that any longer.

So my question is... has the end game always been this way? Is there no one left who wants to play through the dungeon at a reasonable pace so I can appreciate the content I worked for? Is there nothing that can be done to prevent this sort of content and player abuse? Why does Square reward such toxic behavior? I was practically in tears when I left FFXIV last night and for the first time I actually wanted to cancel my subscription and uninstall. If this is the sort of treatment I have to look forward to, I shudder to think what people will say if I ever play with less that optimal gear or I don't perform perfectly as a tank >_>;

Sorry for splitting up my post, apparently there's a 1,000 character limit? Anyway, I appreciate anyone who reads all this, I just needed somewhere to rant.

[Viridiana]

Unfortunately, it has been like this since a few weeks after launch, really. Even though at the time it made little sense to be farming Castrum and Praetorium for Tomestones. Speaking of which, expect something similar when you go to do Praetorium.

Now, you'll probably get suggestions to form a Party Finder group to go through and watch the cutscenes. This is a valid option, though I don't see why it's people's first suggestion. Alternately, you can try normal Duty Finder again and hope for better luck. Sometimes you will get groups that don't mind waiting, but it's not something I would count on. That said, if you're one of the tanks, you can try finding another tank or some healers to stack the odds in your favor.

Edit: Seeing your third and fourth posts. . .

This is *mostly* true for Castrum and Praetorium. Though, you'll probably also get a rushed Garuda Hard Mode, too. Other than those, though, most dungeons wind up turning into speed runs as much as possible. Obviously, if you're a tank just reaching that content level, people shouldn't expect speed runs, but expect the occassional a-hole. Basically, your next few dungeons are probably the worst for this.

Also, for the 1k character limit, you can just edit your post to go past it.

[Wournsfeik_Untawhasyn]

The point of the reward is to get people who've done those duties in there again, as there's no gear drops in that duty that would bring someone back.

The issue you were running into is not the developers for trying to make sure you'd have anybody running Castrum and Praetorium at this point, it's on the players who felt the need to yell at you for the very thing they did when they first entered Castrum.

Praetorium isn't much better. Honestly, I'd suggest trying to get a Party Finder going on your server asking for a group, offering your first time bonus as a reward so that you can experience Praetorium without the vitriol if you're worried this will repeat itself.

(Also, you can edit your post to get around the limit)

[Zabuza]

Try to think of it from their point of view. If you already know what happens in the cutscenes and you've done the dungeon like 50 times, do you want to be forced to stand there for 40 minutes doing absolutely nothing because one player wants to watch the cutscenes? I agree that them mocking/shunning you was incorrect if they were doing so, but I don't feel you should be hating on them for going through the boss fights and finishing the dungeon either.

[Catwho]

You can edit the post after the initial to add in the rest of your text. It's a known annoyance of the forums. I wish they'd fix it.

Unfortunately, end game has been like this for over a year. SE has wised up and they did not put cutscenes mid-fight like that ever again. So for future trials past Praetorium, you'll be able to complete your story separately from the fight.

That said, there ARE some groups speed running those dungeons that will wait if you ask them very nicely. Some are jerks and will not - and those are the ones you encountered.

I would encourage you to find a good free company to run your content with. A good FC will queue up in Duty Finder with you, so that you can enjoy the cutscenes without dealing with buttholes. We'd take 6 people in to our Castrum and Praetorium runs so we would overwhelm any jerks who wanted to speed run.

[Caraway]

You should report people like this. Each and every one of them. They're a bane on the community and should be mocked fully. They're getting bonus tomestones because of you and they should be respecting the fact that you're new. Not belittling you.

Your first time is worth more than their 239587346th. I have harped on this on the forums since this game was launched. You'll actually find a lot of support for this mentallity within the game itself, but the people who think they're entitled to their shiney (which will be invalidated in three months anyway) are louder than those of us who are polite and rational.

The thing with the cutscenes is really only a big deal in a small handful of duties so you won't see this much once you're done Praetorium. But it's awful that you had to experience it at all.

Being that you're on Balmung, I'd highly recommend putting up a Party Finder group for it. There are a lot of people on our server who care and appreciate new people.

My partner and I experienced the same thing in Castrum when we started back at launch (from what I've heard it's gotten a bit better for those two dungeons if you mention you're new). So we just left the dungeon in the next one when the people whinged about us wanting to watch the cutscenes.

If you still need Praetorium, or want to experience Castrum properly... Let me know! I'd be happy to help out. My characters at that level are Cameron Caraway and Shiloh Caraway.


As for the character limit, you can by-pass it by editing your post after the fact. (I tend to put a stub comment in, then hit edit and type my actual comment).


Edit after the fact:

To the person above who said "See it from their point of view." No. There is no point of view to be had. When you select that roulette for the bonus you are acknowledging that you have XX amount of time to dedicate to it. When you then see a "bonus reward for new player" you should be even more helpful to the other people on your team because someone is new. They are the future of this game's continuing success and being giant twats is just going to scare away new players and kill the game. As I said above "your 34967th run is not worth as much as a player's 1st."

[monochromicorn]

Honestly, the only way to guarantee a slow run is fc or party finder. A way to try to do it is getting tanks and healers on your side, but you might be able to go through those fast enough with 4 i130 dps, so over geared dps might not even need the tanks or healers

[Wournsfeik_Untawhasyn]

This is a valid option, though I don't see why it's people's first suggestion.

The reason it's a first suggestion is with PF you can define the agreed upon parameters for the run before even setting foot inside the duty. In this case it's a simple one, you want to be able to enjoy Praetorium for what it was meant to be, not miss the entire gameplay of the dungeon or all the story of the dungeon, as the OP's luck was with Castrum.

I knew about the issue with Castrum going in and chose to suspend my disbelief so I could play with everyone and go back and watch the CS's later. But when I gave my wife the opportunity to experience correctly later, I noticed that the CS's include your party if you aren't watching them from your inn room.

[Viridiana]

The reason it's a first suggestion is with PF you can define the agreed upon parameters for the run before even setting foot inside the duty.

I should be clearer. I don't see why it *should* be the first suggestion. That is, people doing the roulette should have patience for newcomers. If you want tomestones that badly, go do something else that will get them faster. Otherwise, deal with the fact that you're in one of the most story-heavy dungeons and let people enjoy their story.

[Wournsfeik_Untawhasyn]

I should be clearer. I don't see why it *should* be the first suggestion. That is, people doing the roulette should have patience for newcomers. If you want tomestones that badly, go do something else that will get them faster. Otherwise, deal with the fact that you're in one of the most story-heavy dungeons and let people enjoy their story.

That's something I can agree with you completely on. Unfortunately, what should be the case and what is the case are very different things. It's why i do my best to provide those after me opportunities I was never afforded.