Why is it so common to join extremes without watching a guide first?

[Gemina]

Typical foray into an EX trial for me goes something like this:

Beginning stage - Totem count 0-5: Study a guide extensively, fail all mechanics anyway. Very likely will wipe the raid.
Intermediate stage - Totem count 6-10: Understand most mechanics at this point, but still cleaning up. Less likely to wipe raid, but still a high possibility.
Damage Dorito stage - Totem count 11+: At this point, I am capable of teaching the fight to others as I have a full understanding of all the mechanics. I can still make mistakes, but am more likely to die to someone else's error. I will also allow myself to start rolling for any dropped mounts at this point. I don't roll on mounts during the learning/clean up stages.

Guides helped my awareness level of the mechanics. But I need to participate in the encounter in order to break it down. I will never learn an unknown mechanic through a guide, or by being told where to go. I would much rather rely on my own reaction to the mechanic, than someone else's. This helps to ensure that I still don't get clipped by the damage anyway.

In short, the guides aren't needed. The majority of the learning takes place inside the encounter regardless.

[ReynTime]

Typical foray into an EX trial for me goes something like this:

Beginning stage - Totem count 0-5: Study a guide extensively, fail all mechanics anyway. Very likely will wipe the raid.
Intermediate stage - Totem count 6-10: Understand most mechanics at this point, but still cleaning up. Less likely to wipe raid, but still a high possibility.
Damage Dorito stage - Totem count 11+: At this point, I am capable of teaching the fight to others as I have a full understanding of all the mechanics. I can still make mistakes, but am more likely to die to someone else's error. I will also allow myself to start rolling for any dropped mounts at this point. I don't roll on mounts during the learning/clean up stages.

Guides helped my awareness level of the mechanics. But I need to participate in the encounter in order to break it down. I will never learn an unknown mechanic through a guide, or by being told where to go. I would much rather rely on my own reaction to the mechanic, than someone else's. This helps to ensure that I still don't get clipped by the damage anyway.

In short, the guides aren't needed. The majority of the learning takes place inside the encounter regardless.

That's because any well designed game teaches you through the experience of the challenge. The idea that players should be expected to watch guides or it's "griefing" is one of the dumbest things I've ever read in gaming communities. That's like admitting one thinks the fights are poorly designed. But even the harder fights in the game are designed to be learned.