Dear SE & Yoshi P, please address the AFK players inside instanced content!

[OtakuChrash]

Please hear me out. I know this community often responds with hostility to criticism and negativity regarding FFXIV, but I this issue is severely impeding my enjoyment of the game. In fact, it bothers me so much that I want to quit playing altogether. You may say "go ahead, we'll be better off without you". Fair enough, but at least hear me out and maybe this will resonate with some people.

I cannot stand the 24 man content. I have played this game since August 2013. I have hated the 24 man content since it's inception in 2.1. The content itself is fun and interesting, nice bosses, nice design, great music! But the players, the players make this content something I truly detest. Every single time I run 1 of the 3 24 man dungeons I am forced to deal with trolls, AFK players, lazy players and more.

[OtakuChrash]

The worst of these are the people who expect a free ride. They intentionally get locked out of the fight to avoid doing anything. Even when inside the arena they can be seen standing around the edge literally doing nothing. Sometimes they do something, they auto attack, you can see them, casting no spells, doing no skills, just auto attacking.

I'm sure some people will say "just let it go, who cares". Well I care, I find it disgusting that someone can be so fucking selfish. When half your party is AFK, the other 4 then have to work even harder to just continue the fight as normal. How is this fair? Why must I and others work harder because someone cannot be bothered to carry their weight? Why should I help these people to get free loot and such when they can't even participate?
The problem comes when you aren't even able to kick these people.

[Kallera]

Iirc, truly afk players already get addressed.

[OtakuChrash]

They AFK the first encounter because 5 mins hasn't passed so you can't Vote Kick. They don't roll on loot until a battle has commenced so you can't Vote Kick. You can't do anything about them.

I just did Syrcus Tower for the weekly. It's reset day so you expect even a moderate degree of players. Instead we wipe on the first and second boss. I notice the healer isn't even in the arena. I call them out saying why aren't they playing. 2 other players chime in saying I am lying. We progress through Syrcus Tower with the SCH AFK the entire time. When we get to the end, he tells me he's reporting me for harrassment? Harrassment? Calling someone out for being AFK is harrassment?

How is this fair? Why is SE allowing these type of players to get a free ride, to ruin the fun experience many legitimate players are looking for?

[DragonFlyy]

In the 24 man content, I have seen a few trolls, but for the most part it's rare.
Lazy/AFK players, they are there but generally the content can be done with under the amount so it's not a huge issue. It's annoying, but doesn't stop the progression of the dungeon.

*NOTE these are my personal observations since the release of the 24 mans.

[Risvertasashi]

Truly AFK players are actually removed from the instance automatically.

...but I suspect you're complaining about those types that only auto attack (or even sit around with their weapon sheathed) while ignoring every mechanic, or as you mention, get locked out.

Unfortunately there's not really a good way to systemize a solution to that. It would be nice if players would respect other players in such content; right now I'm just avoiding 24 player instances entirely.

Lazy/AFK players, they are there but generally the content can be done with under the amount so it's not a huge issue. It's annoying, but doesn't stop the progression of the dungeon.

Yeah but this only applies when relatively few people do it. Ever since a certain patch I've had better luck with the fcob DF than CT DFs. Wiping again and again and then eventually vote abandoning cause too many people want to be lazy is bleh

[OtakuChrash]

Truly AFK players are actually removed from the instance automatically.

...but I suspect you're complaining about those types that only auto attack (or even sit around with their weapon sheathed) while ignoring every mechanic, or as you mention, get locked out.

Unfortunately there's not really a good way to systemize a solution to that. It would be nice if players would respect other players in such content; right now I'm just avoiding 24 player instances entirely.

What about some kind of rating system? Where we could give players a Thumb Up, Thumb Down depending on how they acted and then other players could see this rating easily inside content to know if that player is known for bad behaviour such as trolling, abuse, AFK etc.

[OtakuChrash]

In the 24 man content, I have seen a few trolls, but for the most part it's rare.
Lazy/AFK players, they are there but generally the content can be done with under the amount so it's not a huge issue. It's annoying, but doesn't stop the progression of the dungeon.

*NOTE these are my personal observations since the release of the 24 mans.

But this is my point. Just because the content can be completed with less people being active does that permit these players to stand around doing nothing? Maybe it's my server (Moogle EU) or my Data Centre (Chaos) but this experience is encountered with almost every single 24 man.

[Risvertasashi]

What about some kind of rating system? Where we could give players a Thumb Up, Thumb Down depending on how they acted and then other players could see this rating easily inside content to know if that player is known for bad behaviour such as trolling, abuse, AFK etc.

These rating systems have been done many times in a variety of environments. While it can be passable, they do have numerous issues (such as being subject to gaming, popularity contest psychology, and so on). I doubt SE would be open to implementing a system in a form other than the current Commendations system due to the abuse cases. SE also tends to very much be against public shaming.

[OtakuChrash]

These rating systems have been done many times in a variety of environments. While it can be passable, they do have numerous issues (such as being subject to gaming, popularity contest psychology, and so on). I doubt SE would be open to implementing a system in a form other than the current Commendations system due to the abuse cases. SE also tends to very much be against public shaming.

Commendations don't serve any purpose though, they're just another currency to collect. They can't be lost and 99% of the time they are given to the Tank/Healer regardless of performance. They aren't a measure of skill or how pleasant that person is. I understand there are downsides to everything but I really really wish SE would implement a system that could punish those who intentionally create a bad community, not once but the repeat offenders. The people who actively troll, actively try to wind people up or cause a nuisance.