Why I Decided to Become an Elitist

[Kiedan]

In my experience part of the problem is everyone seems to have a different idea of what elitism is, for example I once got called an elitist for telling someone they didn't have to worry about getting Ilv 100+ gear for T5 since echo takes care of the dps/hp side. Meanwhile I also once told a steps of fate group they were terrible (it had been a long day, I'm usually not that blunt) after the boss was still 41% when it got to the end, pointed out everything they needed to fix, then ended up getting 6 commendations when we cleared 2 rounds later so apparently they were ok with that. Do I consider myself an elitist? By some people definitions for sure, at the same time the guy I asked to cheese his item level to enter echoed stuff would probably be boggled by the suggestion, so I leave that for other people to decide. In the end there will always be differing perspectives.

I logged in JUST to like the OP

I'm guilty of this as well. XD

[AlexionSkylark]

The thing is, I really don't think most casuals are looking for an easy win. That's what elitists do.

Problem is... "Jimmy Noob" wants to do T10. He goes on DF. 40 mins later, he gets a group. One wipe, 2, tank leaves. Replenish ranks. Waiting... waiting... waiting... other ppl start to bail. OK, this isn't going anywhere. leave group.

OK, Maybe on PF jimmy has a better shot. "T10 learning party, come join " on PF. 10 minutes... 20 minutes, some DPS joins. 30 minutes, 1 hour... 2... now party has 5 ppl lacking 2 tanks and a healer. Then people start bailing out. 2 mins later the group only has Jimmy and a BLM who's AFK. Disband.

OK... let's see the other PF groups.
"T10 farm party. 100 sol = kick"
"T10 clear party, know fight or GTFO"
"T10 farm, need EXP"

So Jimmy goes on the DF again. after one hour of waiting, he gets a group. One wipe, tank goes all "you guys SUCK" and leave. 4 people leave in sequence. Vote Abandon comes.

Now,... what's the ONLY option left for Jimmy, I ask of you?

[Dement]

The attitude that demands others watch a video before playing is selfish pure and simple. Many players wish to experience content the first time by actually playing it.Shocking I know, imagine that wanting to play this game instead if simply viewing it on You Tube....

I see this concept brandished about fairly often. However, I feel that the attitude that refused to watch a video before going into a fight with 7 other experienced players is selfish, pure and simple. Many players wish to progress in or clear content the 10th-50th-100th time they've played it. Shocking, I know, imagine that, wanting to win a fight instead of wiping in the first 15% repeatedly.

In all honesty though, I can somewhat relate to people who want to experience and learn the content without the use of guides. Unfortunately, when you're fighting 6+ month old content, you can't go into an experienced group and start wiping them to every mechanic cause you want to figure it out for yourself without suffering a bit of their animosity. If you truly want to indulge this desire to solve the puzzle by yourself then get caught up and be on the front line when the new raids come out. At that point, there are no videos to watch. The problem with "learning it yourself" is that some of the insta-wipes aren't exactly obvious. "Why did we wipe? I placed that meteor down exactly where and like the person before me did!" "Why did we wipe? suddenly I pulsed a giant electricity circle around me and everyone died." "Why did we wipe? I was dodging through the middle while the divebomb marker was still on my head" (All just examples of not readily apparent concepts from ONE fight). The moment you ask "Why did we wipe?" from someone who knows the fight, you may as well have watched a video.

Another common thread of thought I see is "all the parties in the party finder only want experienced people, I can't get experience". Then it's time to set up your own party finders and use the duty finder. As an example I first entered T12 last Wednesday. I had watched a few videos so that I somewhat knew what to expect. (Watching videos does not make for perfect execution but it gives you a little bit of warning of what something does, why something happens, or how something needs to be handled). If the party finder didn't have anyone interested within 30 minutes, I killed it and entered the DF expecting the worst. I did this over the course of 3-4 days whenever I played, which is only about 3-4 hours at late night (later than most EST players are playing so the pool of people was typically pretty small). On Sunday I went into a DF party that was able to see the full loop of the last phase twice and wiped at 20%. The next night I joined a clear party that was set up for people who knew the entirety of the fight. Fortunately, someone had already made such party but I was fully ready to make it myself if necessary. I also planned on kicking people if they wiped us repeatedly in the first three phases because that's not what the party was designed for. In about 3-4 hours a day, I went from never fighting Phoenix to downing it in under a week. There are ways to get experience.

The thing is, I really don't think most casuals are looking for an easy win. That's what elitists do.

Problem is... "Jimmy Noob" wants to do T10. He goes on DF. 40 mins later, he gets a group. One wipe, 2, tank leaves. Replenish ranks. Waiting... waiting... waiting... other ppl start to bail. OK, this isn't going anywhere. leave group.

OK, Maybe on PF jimmy has a better shot. "T10 learning party, come join " on PF. 10 minutes... 20 minutes, some DPS joins. 30 minutes, 1 hour... 2... now party has 5 ppl lacking 2 tanks and a healer. Then people start bailing out. 2 mins later the group only has Jimmy and a BLM who's AFK. Disband.

OK... let's see the other PF groups.
"T10 farm party. 100 sol = kick"
"T10 clear party, know fight or GTFO"
"T10 farm, need EXP"

So Jimmy goes on the DF again. after one hour of waiting, he gets a group. One wipe, tank goes all "you guys SUCK" and leave. 4 people leave in sequence. Vote Abandon comes.

Now,... what's the ONLY option left for Jimmy, I ask of you?

To keep trying in the means available to him which doesn't include joining parties that he is not yet ready for. Does it suck? Sure. However, all it takes is that one party that sticks it out for a while.

[Kumabear76]

It's more like they don't have a choice. It's either that or never finding a group, cuz NOBODY wants them.
N O B O D Y.

Hey, their arms aren't broke either. Instead of lying to get into a group, why not put your own PF up to ask for help? I've seen it happen quite a lot on my server. It works.

Or hell, maybe join a decent FC or LS. People who can't get groups for clears aren't completely blameless. Standing there screaming "no one wants to help me" and only making a half-assed attempt to try isn't going to do any good.

Now,... what's the ONLY option left for Jimmy, I ask of you?

Make friends? Socialize? Find people of similar interests to team up with? How about everything I mentioned in the first part of this post?

[AlexionSkylark]

Hey, their arms aren't broke either. Instead of lying to get into a group, why not put your own PF up to ask for help? I've seen it happen quite a lot on my server. It works.

On your server it might. Learning parties in Behemoth are doomed to not even fill up.

[Twilite]

No one autophantasmagically knows how to do everything the first time around, in an environment they've just entered for the first time.

[Purrfectstorm]

In my experience part of the problem is everyone seems to have a different idea of what elitism is.

The word "elitist" does get thrown around a lot with a whole host of other words:

- troll
- know-it-all
- too sensitive
- crazy
- hysterical
- etc.

This is a convenient way of disregarding someone's feelings, not listening, and refusing to make changes in one's behavior.

In response to other posts:
I don't think every player should do X, Y, Z. I don't think it's fair of me to dictate how other people play the game. However, I have feelings too and, as nice as I try to be, sometimes I get frustrated. Other players don't have to care about this if they don't want to but it's actually somewhat to their benefit (provided the frustrated player isn't taking it out on them with insults); if players don't get so frustrated, groups disband a lot less. I get a lot less frustrated when players take some initiative to improve (watching guides, being as geared as possible, asking for advice, etc.)

I actually think extremes are bad, either expecting every player to be on your level or not taking into consideration other people's time.

[AlexionSkylark]

Make friends? Socialize? Find people of similar interests to team up with? How about everything I mentioned in the first part of this post?

You say that like the server is filled to the brim with people who are in the same point of the progression, have similar interests AND compatible schedules. Oh, and are ALSO willing to socialize.

[Callinon]

The attitude that demands others watch a video before playing is selfish pure and simple. Many players wish to experience content the first time by actually playing it.Shocking I know, imagine that wanting to play this game instead if simply viewing it on You Tube....

While you're not wrong per se, the attitude that it's ok to show up to a party unprepared is also extremely selfish.

What you're saying when you do that is "my first-time experience here is more important than seven other people's time."

I agree that the first time experience is important. But walking into something like, say, T10 totally blind is just going to be a disaster for everyone. It's just a huge waste of everyone's time, and it's incredibly disrespectful.

[Kumabear76]

On your server it might. Learning parties in Behemoth are doomed to not even fill up.

You say that like the server is filled to the brim with people who are in the same point of the progression, have similar interests AND compatible schedules. Oh, and are ALSO willing to socialize.

I hate to say it, but maybe the problem in your examples is the player base on your server. :/