Tales from Duty Finder: Some make you laugh, some make you cry. Let's vent.

[Ama_Hamada]

i..was that dark knight in your alliance oh my god i feel so bad im so sorry. i hit yes on the dismissal vote because when i looked at your status mid fight id see you 90% in cleric stance and i just had leveling horror memories as a newbie tank of being placed with synced down scholars who never leave CS and have me die in dungeons and because i saw my hp at 10% sometimes after tankbusters. i finally set up a forum account just to apologize

i apologize and i hope i didnt cause too much of hard feelings :+( i honestly have no clue how to gauge healer, or really any non-tank performance being relatively new like...2 and a half months and only maining tank. without parsers its hard to tell even when constantly glancing at aggro bars because of aggro reducing abilities or things like overhealing..

anyway good luck in your future endeavors!

This is why I encourage you to speak up sooner Lilyth, because it is not for the drg (even though you are talking to them) it is for the other 6 people. When someone does what that drg did, there is a chance people will just hive mind them. So that is the main goal when you speak to people, giving information for the other 6. So keep that in mind when you are talking to someone with misplace blame.

It is nice you made an account just to say this though, wish more where like you. Just note most SCH esp if they overgear content can heal just off eos and perma cleric, though some need to learn to drop it at times yes, I died in a1s cuz of this in 1 run.

You might find this funny:
https://youtu.be/P-EpQ_V5p1g?t=378
also a prospective what drives healers nuts that tanks do, if you play it from the start. For SCh if you run monsters out of flare it drives us nuts cuz it helps you take less damage while doing damage to the monsters:
https://youtu.be/L2wt7xb0HiI?t=254
UGH, do the reverse of this.

[Mysterysword]

i just had leveling horror memories as a newbie tank of being placed with synced down scholars who never leave CS and have me die in dungeons and because i saw my hp at 10% sometimes after tankbusters.

i honestly have no clue how to gauge healer, or really any non-tank performance being relatively new like...2 and a half months and only maining tank. without parsers its hard to tell even when constantly glancing at aggro bars because of aggro reducing abilities or things like overhealing..

First of all, SCHs can and do spend 90% or even 100% of their time in Cleric Stance, depending on the dungeon. If you're talking about any dungeon below level 30, then a SCH's fairy can easily soloheal through it and the only reason why a SCH would need to heal is because the rest of the party sucks and doesn't follow mechanics or use cooldowns.

Secondly, if your HP is at 10% after eating tankbusters, either stop MTing, or learn how to use your defensive cooldown abilities, or get better gear. It's not the healer's job or responsibility to shield you from hits 100% of the time.

Thirdly, if you don't know how to gauge a healer or DPS, then play those jobs. You'll also get to learn how other tanks play and see how bad tanking affects healers and DPS. I learnt how to tank and how to heal by watching other tanks and healers do it, seeing what to do and what not to do. When faced with an option to vote dismiss, I therefore don't judge people by my own biased past experiences with the job or role they are playing. There's really no excuse for your behaviour, but to prevent you from doing the same thing to someone else in future, you should take steps to prevent it from happening again.

[Meillquei]

So I have a self-fail story then a happy story.

First the self-fail story. It was around 1:30 AM and I only needed one more sticker for WT, so I decided to join a party for Bismarck EX. I questioned this decision because I was so tired.

And I'm ashamed to admit that I died twice in that run. From getting blown off the platform.

After the boss died, the mount dropped. I didn't have it, so I hit need. And I won it. I felt like such a horrible person because I was pretty much dead weight.

Sorry to that group that had to put up with me.



Now a happier story

Queued for expert roulette and got Baelsar's Wall. Our healer said she was new to the dungeon.

Our tank was great. He explained all the mechanics to watch out for and let her know when there was large add pulls. Everyone was super nice to each other. No wipes. Only one death the entire run.

I wish I could have given everyone a commendation. I was kind of surprised to get two commendations. I found out after that the BLM and healer queued together and I was kind of sad that they didn't commend the tank since the tank was going out of his way to help the healer.

After reading the horror stories in this thread, I'm glad there's still nice people out there

[Bongaboi]

First-ever run through Bryfloxx. Only one wipe, that was to the tank, and that was because tank pulled too far ahead of me on first pull for me to heal her. Also had an instance where I had no idea how to get out of being locked in on DPS or Tank. I click on a trash, boom, problem solved. Other than that, had to use Physick in one pull and final boss due to low MP. I thought there were going to be more wipes but it was just that tank pulling too far ahead. Decided to issue her a commendation for waiting for my MP to refill.

[Sonatia]

Okay, what's the deal with casters and ranged dps blowing level 3 Limit Break on a SINGLE BOSS? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I've always thought that melee's LB had the highest potency. Can't ranged and magic dps WAIT before doing that? I could understand if there was no melee or if the melee had been ignoring the LB altogether. But I just came out of A12 when the SMN used the LB3 barely 2-3 seconds after it filled up. What the heck? COME ON.

I need a macro to tell people off for this nonsense.

[HyoMinPark]

LB woes

You are correct that melee LB is the most potent of the three DPS LBs--the order being melee LB > caster LB > BRD/MCH LB. While I don't use the LB3 as soon as it fills up when I am on my BRD, if a melee doesn't use it by the time the boss is at 10% (and if we don't have a group so awful we may need healer LB3), I use it. No point in waiting any longer at 10%. One time had a healer from another alliance in Dun Scaith yell at our alliance's BRD because they used the LB when the boss was at 3%. I was just kind of like "...it's not even your LB, and if the melee aren't going to use it, why let it go to waste?"



Time for a story, or two, or three. We can start with my favorite of the week thus far: Reset Dun Scaith, featuring 3 Dark Knights and Some Questionable Healers.

I have found that I quite enjoy tanking Dun, so I decided that I would tank it this week when I ran it for my weekly Proto accessory. Plus, I'm on the light phase for my DRK Anima, so might as well get some light, too. Anyways, zone in, and all three alliances have DRKs. I quickly examine the other two to see if either have Grit up (one did) and what their gear looked like, and I catch them examining me, I'm sure for the same reasons.

I'm in Alliance C, and I am the second best geared DRK out of the three of us. A's DRK had a few Alex pieces, 270 pieces, and his 275 relic, so he was probably the best choice for MT, gear-wise. And he was a really good tank, I saw as we progressed through the raid. The other tank DRK had the 260 relic like myself, but most of his gear was a mixture of Unaugmented Shire and a few 230 pieces. No Proto accessories, but a couple 250 ones. I notice during Ferdiad that he kept using his aggro combo on him, and at first I was wondering if he thought that was the most potent combo for DRK (it isn't), but I later found out that such was not the case here.

Come Scathach, I pipe up in alliance chat that I will handle the add. Since I'm the second best in terms of gear, should probably make it easier on the healers. Especially since there seemed to be issues with them the entire run. In terms of my alliance, we had an awesome WHM, and then another WHM that spent more time keeping the floor company than healing (seriously, every other time I looked at the party list they were dead or had Weakness). The other alliances also seemed to be struggling with heals, because the MT's health bounced around more than a bouncy ball up to Scathach, and he came close to dying on Proto. And I don't know what was wrong with Alliance B, but the majority of them were dead before he started casting for Supernova.

Anyways, Scathach is going pretty well (surprisingly). First add drops, and I pop Grit and Unmend him, preparing to follow up with a DA+Carve and Spit to establish some decent hate before going into my normal DA+Souleater combo spam.

Alliance B's tank decides to Provoke him off of me.

Uhm. Okay. I get hate back instantly with my Carve and Spit, but really? I said I would handle the add. >.> When the second one drops, same thing. At this point, the MT dies to Scathach's tankbuster and subsequent damage right as the add dies, and since I'm already in Grit, I Provoke her off of whatever alliance member she was poking. Running to her preparing to Unmend, and Alliance B's tank is literally standing on top of me before they Plunge at her, and begin spamming their aggro combo. I'm already annoyed with them because they kept Provoking the add, so I just provoke her back, and follow up with a DA+Power Slash to establish my aggro. Alliance B DRK just continues to stand literally on top of me spamming their aggro combo as hard as they can. Original MT has Weakness, so they turn off Grit and go into OT status.

Well, the hands appear, and people ignore them (because she's at 10%, so obviously they think it's best to just ignore mechanics and burn her, as per usual). They go off, and literally everyone but a select few alliance members are dead. Somehow one healer survived (or they got lucky with Rez Immunity, or some other act of god), and they try to raise our (good) WHM. I'm literally almost dead, but they manage to get a Bene on me, and save my ass. Unfortunately, things still go south as they die to the next Thirty Souls since they saved me and forsook healing themselves. I notice some of the other healers throwing regens or shields on me, and we manage to get her down to 2% before I have to Living Dead. At this point, it's basically just the three tanks left; there may have been a couple DPS up, but her Thirty Souls took care of them quickly I'm sure. We try, but I hit Walking Dead, and right as she hits 1%, I die. Original MT tries to take over, but gets poked and dies. And then lovely B DRK dies. At 1%.

So we reset, and go back in. I repeat again that I'll grab the add, but this doesn't matter as B tank continues to try and Provoke it off of me. Original MT ends up dying again, so I go to pick her up. I end up dead because our good WHM was dead, and B tank finally gets his Glory Moment and tanks her until the Original MT takes her back. However, I was pissed because B tank was continuing to spam their aggro combo against me and the Original MT, so when he steals it from Original MT (who still has Weakness), I pull a douche move and Provoke her off of him. She enters add phase at that point so I couldn't keep her, but god. I usually despise tanks who do that, but I was so angry.

And Diabolos went the same way. We wiped on Diabolos Hollow (I said I would handle center meteor, and go into the center door--B tank, of course ,has to try and be big boy and follows me, fighting me for aggro on the Dahak) because people were popping the stupid orbs (not accidentally either), and lining up their Earth Shakers with the majority of the alliance instead of away from them. Anyways, B tank left after that, and I was relieved because it was annoying them trying to fight me and the other DRK for aggro when they were the least geared out of all of us. We get a PLD replacement, they take over MT, and we clear Diabolos Hollow with no issues. The Original MT let me handle the center meteor, and the door add, and I really wish I could have comm'd him, but can't comm people not in your alliance unfortunately. :/

And here I thought Tuesday Dun Scaith would be smooth... like someone from another alliance said after we wiped on Scathach: All the good players seem to be taking a break before Stormblood hits.



My second favorite story of the week is The Weeping City of Salt, featuring Players That Think Mechanics Are For Cars And Can Just Be Ignored.

Long story short, I ended up MT because the PLD kept dying (lack of heals or lack of proper cooldowns, I don't know, but after I took over on Forgall, they stayed in Sword Oath the rest of the run). We actually wiped to Forgall because people decided they didn't need to help kill the adds (that was why the PLD died in the first place, because 3 of them exploded). After I take over, adds show up again...and explode again. Alliance chat is blowing up with "KILL THE ADDS" messages. The Mini Boss Triplets appear (Succubus, Dahak, and Haagenti), and I take the Haagenti. However, Succubus was either stun immune or not stunned/silenced at all, because Beguiling Mist went off, and killed the majority of the raid minus the tanks and a few others. So we wipe on that phase as well.

Ozma was a disaster, too. DPS from another Alliance pulls, but I take back hate (PLD is in Sword Oath; I checked to see if they kept Shield Oath on from the Headstone). Everything is fine until after the Black Hole phase, when people, as per usual, mess up the meteors. We somehow manage to scrape through, but the people in my alliance continued to mess up the second set of double meteors, and I used Living Dead just in case. We clear with only myself, our good healer (because I was yet again blessed with One Good WHM and One Bad WHM), and two DPS alive in our alliance.

My friend, who was in the run with me, said to me on Discord "Please tank Calo. I don't trust the other two tanks to not turn her, and I would like to get out of her semi-alive, please." So I tank her, and she actually goes smoothly (except our Bad WHM kept dying, but that's okay). I comm the BLM in the group (the Good WHM lost my comm when they engaged in bickering with the Bad WHM during Forgall and Ozma, and I got tired of listening to them), and my friend and I leave without rolling on any loot (well, I didn't roll on any, because I wanted out of there).



And third favorite is: Ramuh EX for WT, featuring The Tank That Doesn't Know What A Tank Stance Is and Several Dead DPS.

Basically, the DRK thought they didn't need Grit. I steal hate from them around 80% (I was not applying DoTs, only keeping up my Straight Shot buff, and using Heavy Shot, Bloodletter, and Empyreal Arrow). I die to the tankbuster (yummy), followed by my friend (who was sadly standing next to me, so they got clipped with the buster, and then a final boop from Ramuh to finish them off), followed by our healer, and then a DRG before Ramuh just slowly finished everyone else off one-by-one.

Round Two: people ignore the adds, Ramuh kills us all with his ultimate.

Round Three was slightly better. No wiping to the adds, but I still stole hate from the tank (USE GRIT OMFG) and died. But at least we finally cleared. >.>

[ViolaCrossfire]

And third favorite is: Ramuh EX for WT, featuring The Tank That Doesn't Know What A Tank Stance Is and Several Dead DPS.

Heh, welcome to ramuh EX where tanks are clueless to the tankbust resistance and cleave everyone somehow.

[Lunaxia]

Question: when you get put with a sprout who is... beyond terrible, and doesn't respond to communication, what do you do?

I joined a 30 min in prog Qarn (NM) run as a healer the other day. I expected them to be anywhere from the second boss to the last, but they'd only just failed an attempt at the first. DPS /wave and greet me, tank is silently standing there, but that's not uncommon. We start the fight, and as you'd expect, things do not go well. Tank keeps losing aggro and dies over and over to the doom mechanic despite being told what to do, to the point that after the third raise I have to keep him lying there to conserve MP. We eventually down it, but the real problems come out on trash mobs. He cannot hold hate. At all. He doesn't touch Overpower, despite repeated requests from us in chat (he definitely spoke English, as he asked me for a raise because respawning "doesn't work.") I ask him to go into Defiance about five times, and he does! But without Overpower this is fairly useless, and he drops it three minutes later anyway. Noticing he isn't even holding aggro on his target, I check the battle log, and see he isn't even using his combo; just mashing random buttons, going from Butcher's Block to Skull Sunder and so on... both DPS and I try to help, but he completely ignores it and the trash takes forever to kill. I felt guilty, but knew there was no chance we'd make it through the second boss like this without a giant mess and the run taking upwards of 50 minutes, so I initiated a votekick that went through pretty quickly. A raid WAR joined us, I was able to stay in Cleric Stance for the rest of the run, and we finish in about ten minutes.

I did feel awful after, and I'm sure more patient people than me would have persevered, but it just seems pointless prolonging a run for someone who refuses to take on advice to the detriment of the group. I will never kick a player who responds/ tries no matter how bad they are, but I thought in this instance a kick might make them realise something was wrong where chat failed to get through. Was this the wrong thing to do?

[Driavna]

Question: when you get put with a sprout who is... beyond terrible, and doesn't respond to communication, what do you do?

You kick him, is the right thing to do when someone is preventing your group to clear a duty.

[Mysterysword]

Made a PF for Bismarck EX today. As with all my PF parties, I set the required ilvl at 200, because if you're level 60 and can't be bothered to buy ilvl 230 gear by now, I don't want you in my party.

Ended up with a WAR in left-side ilvl 230 lore gear, and ilvl 270 slaying accessories. Clearly, I need to raise my ilvl requirements even more now. Maybe ilvl 240 would be more appropriate. Here's a tip to tanks: if your base HP is barely 4k above my BLM's HP of 21k, and barely 1k above that of the melee DPS, you should not be tanking.

Of course they fell to their death when Bismarck flew away from the island too.