What's the point of being elite at your job?

[Outfoxed]

My thoughts exactly. Also re-emphasising the following quotation below because I want to figuratively make a poster out of it:

If people will build a $300 million transatlantic cable to shave off 5 milliseconds, then theorycrafters will strive for any increase in damage output, even if it is .0012%. We'll even make guides or posts on how to play our classes well. Even if I do better than that other ninja, I'll still help him out if I can.

I dont have anything against minmaxing. In case you couldnt read, I'm for larger rewards from minmaxing. You know instead of scraping pennies off the floor like a peasant, you actually get paid for your hard efforts

[scarebearz]

I dont have anything against minmaxing. In case you couldnt read, I'm for larger rewards from minmaxing. You know instead of scraping pennies off the floor like a peasant, you actually get paid for your hard efforts

Decent DPS are already doing far more damage than typical "good" players, it's not just "5 or 6 dps".

From the things you've said, it sounds like you've not even played with any "very good DPS" players to be honest.

[Nightz_End]

Try to do A1 savage missing your best player and prove me wrong

I'm pretty sure missing ANY player from A1 savage would be crippling, but that's a faulty comparison. Teamwork is still essential to the game. You want SE to award you for your supposed elite playing skill? Maybe they'll make a new mount called the "High Horse" and you'll be one of the few to unlock it.

[elemental10]

It's just a game. You're good at it? Great! You're better at it than these groups of people? Great!

In the end, a game is just a game. We should play it for fun instead of comparing ourselves to other players. It'll be a lot better that way.

If you want to do that... there's always PVP and other games focused on that kind of thing.

[FreyrPrime]

Heh.. We'll see how many players make it past Savage-Faust, and then you'll tell me how important it is to be "Elite" at your DPS

[Kuroyasha]

Heh.. We'll see how many players make it past Savage-Faust, and then you'll tell me how important it is to be "Elite" at your DPS

When I woke up this past morning and heard people were getting rekt by the faust I thought "Faust? isn't the name of the boss Oppressor? What the heck is a....wait...wait...the add? the add?!" I had never payed attention to the name of the add b4 today. lol

[ArtificialxSky]

Hmmm, you know, I'm curious what brought this post on. I've always been pretty satisfied with the skillcap and find that, even if, during the beginning of encounters, there are players that match me DPS for DPS, I usually win out over time because I know I've put more time practicing and drilling--in my case--DRG.

Was there a specific situation you found yourself in, Outfoxed? Perhaps you exchanged some choice words, with another rival or player you don't like, over performance? I'm curious.

And further, I believe there is quite some pride to take in the fact that you so effortlessly execute the "dance" of various fights; that you are always a couple, maybe even more, steps ahead of the mechanics as they come. There really aren't that many people that can do that; it proves to be too chaotic, or they lose focus whereas you might stay razor sharp.

And finally, are the DPS gains so marginal as what you've described? I know you're using hyperboles, but even a 10-20 DPS win is pretty good! At least, it satisfies me.

A lot of people have reacted negatively to this post, but I would really like to understand your thinking here, as I feel I may be able to relate.

[alphamax112]

We need to know that most of the game development cost came from subscriptions. Subscriptions from casual player > hardcore player, given their numbers. Yoshida's goal is to minimize the gap between casual and hardcore players. Being elite means u have to dedicate most of your time to study your main class, which means u are a hardcore player.
In Yoshida's point of view, hardcore players and casual players yield the same subscription amount per month. So why does he want to give even more DPS reward to an elite who will bump the "standard" DPS requirement to the limit where a casual player can't reach? They will get frustrated and quit the game. They will lose even more money than the amount they lose when the hardcore players quit.
And there's a third party DPS meter, which will make u more famous as a reward

Sorry for my bad Engrish

[Ryaz]

I look at it this way. It's a game. There's nothing in it that makes you "Elite". If you're really good at the game, grats, I'm also good at the game. It doesn't make me any better than anyone else and I'm not going to look down on others and lord it over them, especially in a PvE game. That's just basic human decency. If someone isn't doing well, I'll give them tips, especially if they're willing to learn. I won't bring up anyone's dps numbers if the content is being cleared (unless they ask) or we're failing dps checks and need to know why. The only time I'll be bothered by them is if they cop an attitude. And honestly, I'd rather play with a non-optimal but friendly and fun player than an someone who only cares about numbers any day, especially if they're focused only on their own. It's fine to try to push yourself to new limits, I try to do that all the time (I would spend hours on Test a Dummies when playing The Secret a World trying new builds and rotations), but I see no point in making this a contest of who's better. That's a great way to kill a group's morale, not to mention suck the fun out of the game for others.

[FrejyaAthenes]

While I'm not as...passionate on the subject, I can kind of see the OP's point. There are millions of people in this game and it's easy to feel like you're just one in a crowd even if you excel at what you do. It doesn't matter if you're a hardcore raider, an avid pvper or just a casual adventurer, in the end you're likely to end up as just some guy who'll be referred to mainly by role or class in whatever party you end up as. Even the personal satisfaction you get from mastering how a specific class/boss works can ring hollow when you realize that all you're doing is parroting what others are doing and it doesn't have any actual benefit besides maybe shaving a minute off of a fight. Yes, it's a game and people want to have fun, but at the same time people want to be rewarded for their efforts, because it affirms that the time and work put in meant something.