Define a good player

[Shurrikhan]

One who can keep the final win condition (e.g. clearing the encounter, by whatever means best achieves that as quickly as possible) in mind and remember to always process backwards from that, but can also readily identify all or the vast majority of nearer win conditions applicable to him (cost balances, sync, uptime, cleave, etc., etc.), and can maintain the focus necessary to execute appropriately upon most of them.

In other words, if it doesn't at least indirectly clear the encounter more assuredly or quickly, it's not relevant, but anything that does cannot be dismissed just due to preconceptions or nearer win conditions; the nearer win conditions should be reconsidered to ensure they're the best match for what's actually necessary.

If a player can understand and make use of that, they tend to be a good player, whatever the game.

[Darric]

A good player... - doesn't get an elitist attitude on every single player he meets just because someone doesn't use things 100% perfect. - adapts to the situation accordingly, with clear objective taking priority, depending on how his job-related kit allows it (like RDM being able to cast emergency heals/rezz). - isn't defined by how much skill he's got in terms of clearing difficult content while being sour and brash to other people but how positive he can interact with his teammates. I'd almost add that a good player sometimes needs to stay silent in cross-world parties so things don't go out of hand.

[RamothElggur]

Good Player:

Not beein a liability! that means: "He knows the job(s) he is playing with a fair amount, capable of adapting, good attitude, thinks more about the team effort and not just himself. Points out mistakes or other things like discussing mechanics etc. without breaking out in a rant of insults."

capable or critisizing people properly, aswell as reactiing properly when receiving some.

If it so happens that there is somebody who simply holds the group back, capable of pointing that out in a neutral way without an outburst of rage. (If the pointed out person feels offended, it is not the Players Concern)

You cannot always be Mr. Nice guy or whatever so soemtimes it is nessesary to rais up yout voice to make the point clear. (as above not inan outburst of rage)

[Pastahnak]

A good player is me! And if you don't think so you can talk to the person that pays my sub... Me!

[Claviusnex]

I don't define "good" as based on what level of an instance a player has completed. As an older person with the slower reflexes that come with age I am getting too slow for thing like Ultima but still consider myself a decent player for the content I play. I consider a good player someone who can generally hold their own in group content. When they make a mistake, as we all do, it is such that the other players can cover for it and the perpetrator is back to contributing quickly.

[Vurtney]

Are we defining a good player in the context of this game or overall? If latter then there's more to being a skilled player. It's being a skilled performer no matter what you do and this carries into your activities, including gaming.

You might think: "but there might be people only skilled in games" but that's not really true, is it.

A skilled performance in gaming, experience and time spent gaming excluded, is the following acts performed:

Controlled and co-ordinated performance
-Smooth, co-ordinated execution of actions that comes naturally.

Goal oriented and efficient performance
-Your actions, social included, have a purpose and goal in the context of the game. You know what to do, why, if and when, efficiently.

Consistent and accurate performance
-You can repeat the same actions in the context of the game repeatedly with the same or better results. You strife to learn patterns to gain better understanding of your task and role.

A skilled player is ambiguous. Much more than can be put into words. There are so many factors that come into play when talking about "skill".
What is skill? Is it a deep understanding of actions and performing said actions, resulting in an outcome, in a way that we interpret as skill?

We can go even deeper but i have a fever and cold. Was nice to ramble though. Typing this on a phone is a pain.

[silverlunarfox]

There was a post like this back in december....I will post the same thing here that I posted there...


The willingness to learn, to teach, and to aid others makes one a good player. We all start somewhere.

[KaivaC]

Good responses thus far. I was just curious. Also going through a lot of things in my personal life, so it's been kinda beaten into me to take a break and stop being over-critical of myself. So, I'm taking a break. As for the few questions about what qualifies as a good player...there is no single answer to this. It's your own personal opinion on what a good player is. You don't have to follow anybody else's definition on this: it's what you personally feel is a good player in FFXIV.

[NewAgeDoom]

Summoner mains. Totally not biased. ^^

[ChaoticCrimson]

Summoner mains. Totally not biased. ^^

Well, we summoners are generally a cool lot, without bias :P

Anyway, while I do feel like "good" is a very subjective term, I'll just say I agree with the sentiment that anyone who is willing to learn and ask for help when needed, help others and give advice when they can, and just overall have a good attitude will probably go pretty far. Skill is a nice thing to develop, and one should always strive to do their best and improve, but it's far from the only thing a player should concern themselves with. Yeah, you can do well numbers-wise, but if you're chewing out your party members for little-to-no reason and/or not listening to them when they need you to do something, you're going to be causing a lot of problems.