Counter to Elitism

[moriandrio]

Its a MMO it's not about skill of single players, whats important is the ability to play in a group. In 1.0 casuals been able to beat anything without any problems the only problem is that lots of random groups fail cause they just can't play together and don't communicate.

[Biggs]

My first reaction upon reading the thread title was imagining a group of people starting a LS and having everyone in it run around in the worst gear available at their level. They would always take the scenic route in dungeons, and never complete runs for anything in less than 5 mins before time runs out. Oh, and when stuff like darklight gear drops, everyone passes.

[EinSoFZ]

Not even going to lie, a little elitism is a good thing in my opinion. It makes things interesting and promotes healthy competition at times too. I'm not promoting the kind where well-geared players become snobs, but the kind where you're proud of what you've worked to get and kind of compete to stay on top.

I don't think handouts are the cure to elitism anyway.

[Alerith]

There is one foolproof way to counter elitism, and that is to simply not subject yourself to it. It is very possible to succeed in an MMO without joining a huge endgame Linkshell/Guild.

And the best way to promote a fun style of play is to make your own linkshell and invite others to. Do things together, have fun, but don't stress the numbers. If you want to take three monks, two white mage, one paladin and two warriors into Ifrit, by all means do so. You may not be getting the fastest kills, but you can certainly win.

Countering elitism is achieved by letting the elitists do their thing while not subjecting yourself to it, but bringing yourself from the level of a casual player up to a Midcore player, one who is laid back but willing to lead a group for the simple sake of having fun.

Because at the end of the day, any game is about the fun you had in it. Years down the road, your drops and leet gear may be totally worthless, but you will always have memories of good times. A rare piece of gear holds value in-game for continued raiding. Fun and good times hold real life value.

[KoujiGeki]

I'm sorry that i am a huge fan of gear swapping, but i will say i am one of the few who does not care what your wearing, unless your a filthy casual wearing full af, thats a whole different story. c.c

I mean while i Mine i wear my Dalamud Horn for the lols but notice i was getting a F^$@ ton of the items i was going for and the +1s.

[Yashnaheen]

I've never really found Elitism to be an issue in FF. You can't get in the best LS on the server unless you are up to the challenge, which includes gear. Find a group that is compatible with your level and playtime. I've never seen someone who was actually trying get booted from a pickup group though.

For example in XI, if a SAM showed up to bird camp full timing a Domaru and using a Gondo, he would be laughed at and booted. Because he is literally useless. If they show up with an NQ hauby and Askar pants, no one cares that its not a hauby +1 and kitty pants.

If you joined an AV speed run or Garuda in 1.0 and are wearing full AF you would likely not be invited to go again. You aren't up to the challenge. Throw in a couple relatively cheap double melds and a bit of GC gear and you can at least be worth the party slot. Now if you joined a Moogle PUG in full AF, you'll find no one cares because you can still fill your role in the party.

Basically, don't subject others to your inability to perform if you aren't able to perform. This way you may encounter a few assholes but for the most part if you can do the job no one cares.

[Siegtaru]

Elitism is mostly a matter of perspective and delusion anyways. There will always, always, always be players who think they're The Twelve's gift to Eorzea, or what have you. Even if these players, in your eyes and many other's, are not a very good player, in whatever aspect. Be it they're terrible to play with as a person, their play skill is awful and it is believed by fellow players in the community they were carried through content and didn't actually earn it (I knew many people like that), yet they still get this feeling of self-entitlement that, truthfully, is only factual in the imaginary world in their minds.

There will always be people like that out there, within the community of our MMO. Doing silly things as mentioned in the OP won't solve anything. It just gives people more reason to lord themselves over others, often for no true reason whatsoever.

I'd much rather play with someone who's unsure of themselves and willing to learn the game, than an elitest who believes they are never at fault when something goes wrong when grouping with others, and thus unwilling to ever learn and become better players. That's everyone's choice in an MMO; to choose to play with player A or player B, where B can sometimes be an elitest asshole who you really don't want to play or associate yourself with. Just don't play with those people. They deserve each other! ;3

[Thunderz]

This is a MMO

They make money from your monthly fee

How do they keep you playing the game?

Grind (drop rate, exp, crafting, etc)

The longer it takes for you to achieve something in the game means more $$ for SE

will they make it easier for you to obtain gear or speed up the leveling rate (jobs or craft)

Nope

If everyone gets what they want then whats the point of playing

[Reynhart]

The longer it takes for you to achieve something in the game means more $$ for SE

The longer it takes for you to repeat the same mindless events over and over waiting for a lucky drop, the greater the chances you'll get bored and just stop playing.

I've played FF XI since CoP, getting punished by the abysmal drop rate, boring events and insane number of items you need to get any gear worth mentionning. 6 years and two children later, I won't stand the same dumb system.

I really think that most players are like me, that they've reached adulthood, get a job, a family, and can't really spend 18 hours a day in the game just to bragg about a piece of gear...that will be useless several updates later, by the way...

I think SE need to find a way to keep those players in the game too.

As for the leveling system, it should be part of the exploration and missions. I really don't understand why every MMO I know just assume that scenario and levelling should be separated.

Offline games picked some mechanics from MMO, like grinding fest and ridiculous drop rate...maybe it should be the other way round, for once.

[Nayto]

This is a MMO

They make money from your monthly fee

How do they keep you playing the game?

Grind (drop rate, exp, crafting, etc)

The longer it takes for you to achieve something in the game means more $$ for SE

will they make it easier for you to obtain gear or speed up the leveling rate (jobs or craft)

Nope

If everyone gets what they want then whats the point of playing

Unfortunately their current direction is more focused on getting more people to play than making them stay longer...