Why are Statics so difficult sometimes?

[TyrTry]

Hello beautiful people!

This is partly a rant/vent/humor topic, so hang in there!

About 3 months ago, I set down with a few of my FC members (members I've known for a few years), and decided it was time to make our own static (I've tried statics in the past, but never found one to my liking or couldn't make the time allocated).

Now, we set ground rules and agreed on meeting times. And it wasn't before long until everything exploded into absolute chaos.

We set times in which we could meet (95% of us are working adults), annnnnnnd people would skip out or had an appointment or fell asleep or grandma died or grandma revived. This happened many times typically with the same people. Grandma must have died at least 16 times.

It took us several weeks to complete one tier of Delta savage because of the countless absents and people not learning the fight on their own. Finally, when I said something about possible removal of certain members from the static (not the FC, just the Savage group until they were ready) things really hit the fan. People started to point fingers at each other, saying "so and so was doing this" "so and so was doing nothing" "so and so is being a power troll" etc. etc. I honestly felt like I was back in middle school.

The FC started to break a little after the confrontations and members started to leave from the static as well as the FC. I lost some weight and hair (not really, but I felt like I did). I'm not sure what went wrong, but I've been trying to accommodate for past mistakes and trying to modify times and changes to help each static member. I just don't understand why the process had to be so difficult, and I was wondering if any of you had your own static horror stories or challenges before you finally got one settled int the ground.

[Valkyrie_Lenneth]

Because people are difficult.

[AppleJinx]

Consider the carebear attitude the devs have towards this game's playerbase and the average skill and motivation level of average players are you really surprised that it'd take time to find a static that's right for you.

[TyrTry]

Consider the carebear attitude the devs have towards this game's playerbase and the average skill and motivation level of average players are you really surprised that it'd take time to find a static that's right for you.

Surprised? Nope! That's why I wanted my own. The issue lied with people not commenting to the times that they themselves decided and the inability to study a fight before hand. My issue was more of the matter of incompetence. "It's only a game" is all good, but when you put 6-7 other people behind, that is where the tension starts rising.

[Lambdafish]

Because people are difficult.

You took the words right out of my mouth.

Finally, when I said something about possible removal of certain members from the static (not the FC, just the Savage group until they were ready) things really hit the fan. People started to point fingers at each other, saying "so and so was doing this" "so and so was doing nothing" "so and so is being a power troll" etc. etc. I honestly felt like I was back in middle school.

The FC started to break a little after the confrontations and members started to leave from the static as well as the FC. I lost some weight and hair (not really, but I felt like I did). I'm not sure what went wrong, but I've been trying to accommodate for past mistakes and trying to modify times and changes to help each static member. I just don't understand why the process had to be so difficult, and I was wondering if any of you had your own static horror stories or challenges before you finally got one settled int the ground.

Honestly, you have to bear some partial blame for that, unfortunately. Like any kind of management that deals with looking after a group of people, static management can be stressful, difficult and out of control sometimes. Confrontations could have been dealt with better, problematic behavior dealt with responsibly, strictly, and privately, and ground rules made absolutely clear. For any issues that occur, particularly attendance, the person in question should be approached and talked to about their options privately, and in a respectful way in order to try to find a resolution that benefits everyone.

Treat this as a learning experience on how to run the static in the future, and thinking of some ways in which you can prevent the problems in the future is the best advice I can give.

[Kitfox]

Don't raid with friends or significant others. Raid with people who fit your schedule and goals. You'll become friends eventually when you run with the same people on a weekly basis, but it can take a while to find the right people (months). Compromising on every front, missing raids and trying to accommodate people because they're friends or FC mates is a recipe for disaster. Set boundaries and stick to them. If someone isn't showing up, isn't motivated, isn't skilled enough or has different goals than the rest of the group, you must absolutely replace them. There's no point keeping them around, they're bad for the group and the group is bad for them. Nobody's going to be happy that way so there should be no hard feelings letting them go.

Starting a new static from scratch definitely takes some effort, but the clearer you are about your goals and expectations, the easier it is for other people who join to know if the group works for them. When you find the right people it's a ton of fun though, and you might not have to worry about "management" for years if the people stick together.

[Raven2014]

That's why FC's based static tend to be (not always, but most of the time) a drama pool. I know this may sound counter-intuitive, but the best statics I have tend to be a collection of 8 strangers. We tested each others, confirm that we have same goal, drive, and skill level. We don't talk much outside of raid, but most of the time we respect each other times, and that means showing up on time, pull your weight, study the fight on your own ...etc... If someone don't show that respect, then it's usually a pretty cut and dry case of removal. Go to most Static Recruitment posts on Reddit or Discord and you'll see most group post those same requirement.

The problem with forming static with people you know well, or "too" well, is they tend to think because of the familiarity, they can "slack" without consequence. Kinda how in real life, you love your family, you like to hang around and such, but if you gonna put resource out to run a professional business, then the same family members tend to be the worst employees. It's much better to actually hire "professional" who actively looking for the job, and aware of the afford required to retain that job without any kind of familiar entitlement.

[RiyahArp]

Savage isn't fun for most people, and rather than tell you straight out it isn't fun and leave, they make excuses until it blows up.

I mena, ffs look at these answers. What kind of videogame or endgame is it where the best advice is NOT to do it with friends or guildmates?

[Alaray]

Savage isn't fun for most people, and rather than tell you straight out it isn't fun and leave, they make excuses until it blows up.

I mena, ffs look at these answers. What kind of videogame or endgame is it where the best advice is NOT to do it with friends or guildmates?

Consequently, I do the content with close friends and fc members.

The only revolving door issue and clashes have come from recruited people who didn't mesh with us, or expected one of us to quit so they could fill that role instead of the role they signed up to be.

It's a more casual environment, the vast majority of us were brand new to raiding/raiding in FFXIV (this was my first tier, just in general, never raided before and never tanked before but I took the chance when it came up from a friend). Going into it, I did highlight to them that if I underperformed or didn't fit well, that they should feel free to remove me/ask me to leave the group. That never occurred, luckily, and we all ended up meshing quite well together with our goal more surrounding improvement and becoming better players than extremely fast progression.

(Granted, a lot of people miss days/can't make it and it's been a struggle to get the entire group into God Kefka, but it's a hectic time for a lot of schedules and we're pretty much of the mind "Life > Video Game" provided there's some heads up if it'll be a conflict so we can contact reps and so on).


Have we progressed slower than most? Yes.
Have we missed raid nights/had to call many early? Yes.
Did we start a bit later into the tier than most? Yes.
Are we having fun and still working towards our goal? Yes. And this is the important point.

[Miste]

It's because people LOVE making up lies and excuses instead of just being honest.

This tier alone I have had three people claim to be "hospitalized" or have "serious health issues" and cannot continue to raid as their reason for leaving a group.

Three within a month. Totally separate players. Two different statics. Hospitalized/Serious Health issues and cannot raid anymore for many months. I mean it seems a bit too common in my opinion lol...

If I smell bull I can usually find it too since there are some easy ways to see people are likely making up lies... coughfflogscough. It is very funny how people think you won't know they were making up lies or in general when people assume others are so naive or gullible, like if you don't care that people are going to find out you are lying might as well leave the group normally and not make bull excuses.

It made me decide on a new phrase: "Raiding from hospital bed is new meta", because all these players continued to raid even after claiming they needed to be hospitalized for serious health issues...in one case literally the NEXT DAY after they said it and the others within a few days.

I would still have at least some respect for someone for simply disparaging the group then leaving, at least they were honest and not lying and making up excuses. Liars go to zero respect for me pretty fast. I don't understand what is so hard about being an adult and simply saying "Sorry, the group just isn't working out for me." It seems so darn easy, but it seems 80% of the time people rather make up a lie.

I am extremely jaded by now since I have raided every tier in this entire game so far, but I dealt with statics where people wouldn't even say when they would be late or cannot make it and leave everyone in the dark waiting blindly for up to 30+ mins wondering if they are going to show up and usually it would end up some crazy excuse or they didn't even care to explain at all.

I understand this is a game, but the other human beings you are supposed to be playing with are NOT a game.

We have lives too, we have responsibilities, we value our time, and making us wait around for you when you couldn't be bothered to let us know is rude. With smart phones and discord and text messages there just isn't many excuses that will fly for not at least taking 10 seconds to type "can't make it" so that you aren't leaving 7 people waiting for you and wasting their time.

People will only trust you for so long if you keep making up crazy stories where every week it is something else and you are missing for the 3rd week in a row at least one of the scheduled raid days. "I'm at the emergency room, my car broke down/blew up, I was in a car accident, family member died, friend died, my pet died, my house is on fire, the police are SWATing my neighbour"....I've heard them all and it seems to me certain people really have the worst luck in the entire world where tragedies are befalling them every week.

I think some people actually believe that the more serious the reason the more believable it is....but to me it is the opposite: the more serious the reason the more unbelievable it is ESPECIALLY if it seems like every time they are MIA with zero notice it is somehow always a serious incident.

So my advice to OP is: don't continue to play with these types of people. They won't change and they will just keep coming back with excuses. It will drag you down and anyone else who actually cares about doing the static content together.

They are the types that will be like "Oh, it's just a gaaammee, why are you taking it so serious LOL" when they are simply too self centered to realize that they are wasting the time of the other human beings in their groups and it has nothing to do with it being a game or not

I made my own static recently and put my foot down about late/absent issues. Basically the rules are if you are going to be late by over 10 mins let us know ASAP, if you can't make it let us know ASAP, and if these two rules are followed then you are fine even if you are late or absent sometimes due to whatever. If it becomes a pattern of you being late or MIA with zero notice to the group then we might have to replace. Obviously if a serious issue occurs where you had no opportunity to alert us it is fine, the main thing is IF it becomes a constant pattern.

Because people are difficult.

Basically this.

In my experience they seem to rather want to jerk you around, be flaky, and see how much they can get away with instead of simply just leaving the group if they are not committed and they make things WAY more difficult than they need to be with their lies and excuses.

Don't raid with friends or significant others.

I don't agree with this.

It is possible to have a significant other and/or friends who have the same goals and can play together well.

My boyfriend and I have raided together on this game since 1.0 and for every tier since 2.0 launch. First coil we were tank/healer, and from second coil allll the way till now we are a healer duo. Him on SCH and me on WHM (then AST later).





Disclaimer: I am not saying people do not sometimes have legitimate reasons, they do, but if you call in sick every week to your sports game meet? You're likely gonna get dropped for them to get a new team member unless you prove you have a legit reason for it, because people aren't often sick every week unless they have a special medical condition. Once in awhile people can accept that something happened, but when it becomes an every week or every few weeks thing people obviously get suspicious.