Duty Finder Roulette Etiquette

[tinythinker]

Note: I am not suggesting there is any kind of official etiquette for the DF in FFXIV. Just curious about what I've picked up since joining the game/community (either from things people say on the forums, tweets, streams, in game, etc. or through their actions). Not saying everyone or even most would agree, but I've wondered how much these things have contributed to the reputation of FFXIV's community?

Anything you disagree with? Anything you think is missing?


GENERAL

1. ABC (Always Be Casting). In other words, due whatever is best for the group at that moment: buffing, getting enmity, healing, dealing damage, etc. Help keep the party alive and moving forward.

2. Accept PUG life. Unless you've got a 100% pre-made then you don't know the maturity level, skill level, experience level, etc. of your random party members. Sure, they may have a few jobs to the current level cap, but how frequently do they play? How did they get to that level? Do they spend more time on housing and crafting? Of course it can be frustrating when you have your own ideal way to play, and if someone is really rude, won't accept advice, has a different ideal way to play, etc., it can be frustrating. But that's part of DF. If someone is unbearable and enough fellow party members agree that individual can be vote-kicked.

3. Patience pays off.

Again, if someone is really making things difficult there is the vote-kick option. Some people may be lazy or arrogant, or just appear that way. You can find out by offering a helping hand. If they swat it away, you've got your answer. If they don't, your advice will make the game better for that player and everyone else they play with.

4. Other people aren't you.

Their goals, preferences, dedication to the game, etc. are theirs. Yours are yours. The trick to community is accepting that and working with it. If you're frustrated, you can leave, try to kick, complain, or try to help.

Two examples.

A person saying they felt bad that a clearly less experienced player quit at the last boss of the final story dungeon for 5.0. This person understood not everyone is at a level where dungeons are easy, yet the other player chose to quit.

On the flip side, a different person complaining that someone was going too slow and that people who can't handle big pulls or know all of the mechanics of a dungeon should use trusts until they can do fast runs in DF. Yet, not everyone wants to use trusts. Some prefer to play with others and experience new content blind. Or they may complete the main story on one job then try learning another (after their trust has de-leveled).

We can want things for or from other players, but we can't force them.



DUNGEONS

1. You pull it, you tank it. Pretty straightforward. Let the tank pull. If you want bigger pulls, try asking for them.

2. AOEs, please. Please learn which buttons are for your area of effect abilities and click them quickly during trash mob pulls of 3 or more. This helps the tank take less damage, keeps the healer from going out of mana, and makes the dungeon go by faster.

3. Don’t limit Limit Breaks to the last 5% of the final boss. A ranged dps limit break, for example, is super useful in really large trash pulls. (The expectations are a little different in raids, where people tend to leave LB alone so healers can use LB3 in the face of a pending wipe to resurrect everyone.)



TRIALS/RAIDS

1. There can be only one… main tank. Figure out who it will be before pulling and follow through.

2. Failure can be a great teacher…but only if you’re willing to learn. If you want to leave or vote abandon because of a single wipe, maybe 8 or 24 players instanced content isn’t the right activity for you. Work with others to see what went wrong and go again unless it’s clear that it just won’t work.

3. Mechanics aren’t just for cars. Entire alliances still wipe in level 50 content because people were ignorant of the mechanics or were goofing around. No harm done, but whether from a learning group, a visual guide, or both, strive to learn the basic mechanics. (Caveat: I often forget them myself, so this isn’t me putting myself up over anyone else.)