What is your preference for a player to get a commendation?

[LunaFaye]

I give it to brd's that play foe, when I am on smn/blm. Out of 1000 bards I find maybe one, that plays foe and if it's just for 5 seconds, I'll give them the commendation. If we have no bard in the group I mostly don't bother unless I see extreme effort from the other dps or tank/heals.

[Astral145]

I adopted FFXIV's approach and base my decision on RNG... I close my eyes and push up and down on the D- pad multiple times while I sing the RNG song and where ever the curser lands when the song is over gets the vote.

[Gemina]

Whether I am running as healer or DPS, I try to give everyone an equal opportunity to earn a commendation. However as healer, it easier for me to evaluate everyone's performances since the amount I heal is a direct result of that. If I could design a points system and implement it to keep track of player performances, it would work something like this:

Awarded
-----------
Says hello/goodbye before and after instance: +1
At any point, takes time to explain mechanics: +1
Performs their duty adequately: +1
Does not take unnecessary damage: +1
Goes above and beyond the bare minimum: +2
Polite and courteous to other players: +2
Saves an instance that would have otherwise failed: +3

Deductions
-------------
Does not greet, or say farewell/thanks after clear: -1
Ignores mechanics or does not care to learn them: -1
Cannot perform the bare minimum: -1
Shows up unprepared: -1
Deliberately makes things harder for others, and inefficient: -2
Rude, belligerent behaviour towards others: -2
Causes wipe and does not care: -3 (-1 otherwise)

That's about the best I can come up with. If there is a tie, then no one gets a commendation. Have to be fair, yeah?

[Voltyblast]

As a tank, I usually commend the healer (especially when they heal me through a big pull or a bad pull by mistake)

As a dps, I usually commend the tank for keeping the aggro (I'm a blm)

As a healer, I usually commend the tank or the dps, depending on the situation (deaths, survivability, etc)

Can be exception, but this is my general mindset.

Also, words and chats or greetings doesn't automatically make commend-worthy: I learned that just because they say hi, it doesn't automatically mean they're nice. That's experience from life itself.

[YISUG]

good damage dealers

[Isala]

I give it to whoever made my life easiest, based on the role I'm in. That means as tank, that if the healer kept me alive, and blew everything up with Holy/Gravity/Bane, what have you, they're probably getting it. If they mostly AFKed and didn't even use Cleric Stance, I'm probably going to give it to the DPS that actually AoEd, and did damage. As a healer, I'll give it to a good DPS over a squishy tank. As DPS, I'll give it to my co-DPS if they actually did their job, over a terrible healer, and a tank that lost aggro to me. Again. With Quelling Strikes up.

[Chessala]

It depends for me. Usually I run roulettes either with my OH and 2 friends or at least my OH in the party. If the other 2 players both did well, we bwill split our commendations between them.

If I am alone or in a raid it really depends on player performance. I won't comment a tank just because he manages to hold aggro (that's his job anyway), I also take in account the positioning and general "messiness" of the run.

For a dps, I take into account them avoiding aoes, adaptability and self-sufficiency (carry a few spine drops/antidotes etc).

Usually there will be one that sticks out. If everyone sucks, none gets it.

[Aillith]

I main a healer, my partner mains a mnk. In the 2 years we have been playing together I have like 2000 comms, he has around 167.

For this reason I always degault to a random dps on my list. They just arnt given enough love.

If there is a greenleaf, I will give it to them.

If the party sucked - no one gets it.

If the tank or off healer really impresses me - then I might give it to them.

[Veridian]

I main a healer, my partner mains a mnk. In the 2 years we have been playing together I have like 2000 comms, he has around 167.

For this reason I always degault to a random dps on my list. They just arnt given enough love.

This, because it's very true dps don't get enough love. But sadly, even dps don't commend each other if they did a decent job. I think after getting the cold shoulder so often, most dps just don't commend much.

I've always believed tanks and healers generally trade commends. It's up to dps to commend each other. When I mained SCH, I get 1-2 commends just for doing my job. No such easy meals with being a dps.

I would give green leaf a commend if they performed well on mechanics.

I rarely give no commend at all, because if you think about it, you lose nothing for making someone's day a little brighter.

[SakurazukaSeishirou]

As a healer in 8 man content I will always commend my co healer if they were good - dpsing or at least taking all the healing if not.
Otherwise I would most likely comm a good tank or dps who remembers about their support skills. If everyone was great than the most friendly person (at least "hi" at the beginning)