Patience over competence; it's more fulfilling than you think

[Arrukai]

While I know that positive threads will quickly drown amidst the plethora of negative drivel, I'm going to toss this up anyway. I went into Haukke Manor with my sister and two PUG members via DF. I normally tank, but this time, I was LNC and she was CNJ. Our tank was synced down to 31, but it was soon obvious that he was new to the role. He couldn't hold aggro very well and was slow retaking things on the healer. I actually thought he was trolling because he was so very bad when we started. However, I calmed down and gave him some direction, and the healer would sleep stray mobs. Our other DPS remained supportive and respected sleep throughout the run. We got to the final boss and killed her in our first try. The tank apologized for not doing well, but we all thanked him and told him to keep practicing; that's all it takes.

In short, have patience with your fellow players. Competence can be learned and practiced, and it's quite satisfying to see others do well. To others that have had bad groups, have some patience too and you'll find better parts of the community out there as well.

[BreathlessTao]

This is awesome. Hoping to see more and more such players who actually are willing to explain things to others. /thumbsup

[Crica]

i often wonder if the nerdraging players who quit after ONE wipe in dungeons are ppl who buy SINGLE PLAYER games for like 50bucks a pop and NEVER PLAY THEM AGAIN the FIRST TIME they die in them?

lol.. makes me giggle to think they do!

[hydralinsk]

I agree, well said.

You know, it's quite pathetic how some people act in this game. My dad plays this with me, and while he is quite bad, he is learning. This is his first MMO. He has played games since atari and the dawn of NES. Which means, he is more experienced than 90% of gamers today that think they are "good".


How has his experience been? He gets bullied, sworn at, threatened, and more. It's getting to the point today, where he literally told me "I'm just thinking of saying &#$& it because I'm not as good as everyone else."

This drives me nuts, for two reasons:

1) My dad has logged more hours of gaming than 90% of the people that play games. Guaranteed.
2) Everyone, at some point, was a "noob".

I have played several MMOs, and have played all roles. I know tanking is harder than DPS. I get that. I know healing is harder as well. However, in a 4 man dungeon, tanks can't do it alone.

Why is it that every tank that is good thinks he's god's gift to MMOs? You could be the best tank in the world, and you still couldn't do a lvl 30 dungeon by yourself. My point? TEAM. You are NOTHING without your team. And if these entitled tanks think they are good, let's run a dungeon together and see how far you get without my heals.

Tanks by themselves are USELESS.
DPS by themselves are USELESS.
Heals by themselves are USELESS.

Only when we work together, do we succeed. Why not try to educate your team if they haven't done it before instead of being an entitled little kid? Just drives me nuts. I want my dad to like this game, so he supports it and pays for it, and every time he wants to do a dungeon he is harassed for being "new", despite the fact he's been playing games for 30+ years. Kind of ridiculous.

I understand if it's end game content, and you don't want to spend 40 minutes just to die because of a noobie's mistake. This I understand, but what I'm talking about is in lvl 30 dungeons lol.

So tl:dr: To all the entitled people that think they are so good: you're not. Your team makes you good, not anything you do alone. If any of you ever group with me and you're a prick to the other people, you will not get healed from me. You will die, and I will leave you there to rot. And when you are lying there dead, and the 3 of us are alive and doing well, you'll finally realize that you AIN'T SHIT without your team.

To my tanks; the good tanks; the friendly tanks: I love you, and I will heal the hell out of you. And I thank you for taking the time to help out the new players that run with us.

[Arrukai]

Why is it that every tank that is good thinks he's god's gift to MMOs? You could be the best tank in the world, and you still couldn't do a lvl 30 dungeon by yourself. My point? TEAM. You are NOTHING without your team.

That is a very important point as well. A good healer knows when to heal and who to heal. A good dps knows how to moderate his dps not constantly stroke his epeen. A good tank knows how to control the flow of the fight but also when to ask for help.

TrystWildkey, that final point is something to keep in mind as well. If a fight goes badly, simply ask the group what you may have missed. A good group will know to pay attention as well because relying on one person to know all and see all is just shifting responsibility.

[Hawklaser]

How has his experience been? He gets bullied, sworn at, threatened, and more. It's getting to the point today, where he literally told me "I'm just thinking of saying &#$& it because I'm not as good as everyone else."

This drives me nuts, for two reasons:

1) My dad has logged more hours of gaming than 90% of the people that play games. Guaranteed.
2) Everyone, at some point, was a "noob".

He should keep at it, because of the points you listed. Just have to keep in mind tanks get more flak than any other role, and it is easier to see when a tank is struggling than any other role for the uninitiated. Double standards and all, people expect others in their party to be darn near perfect, but if call them out on their mistakes they get super defensive. Which is why it often takes a thicker skin to play a tank class consistently.

Why is it that every tank that is good thinks he's god's gift to MMOs?

The ones that claim that are usually only playing a tank to go through content at a faster pace or get a kick out of thinking they are important and powerful. Healers usually have more power than the tanks do, however healers also often have a much different mindset. Most tanks won't get very far if no one heals them, if its ever set up so the tank does not need a healer at all there is a problem with game balance.

[TrystWildkey]

Thank you!

I am an aspiring tank, and while I sometimes feel confident in my role, dungeons terrify me. I'm paranoid about letting down the team, or letting my healer get hit. It helps that most of the time my healer is my husband and can warn me if something is going wrong, but I won't always have him with me for help.

I'm bad at pattern recognition. Things others see quickly with regard to mob or boss behavior, often have to be pointed out to me or I'll never notice. But, once it is pointed out to me, I can adapt appropriately. Thank you for being a considerate player and helping everyone have fun. Hopefully, I end up in parties with more people like you!

[Seregil]

The most important thing to remember is this: Duty Finder will make you grey, give you an embolism, and devour any hope you may have once had for humanity. Use it in careful moderation.

That said, I am one of those tanks who is patient to a fault. I will explain, however briefly, boss encounters to those first-timers who may have never seen it. I'll make suggestions to the party when things go awry. And thankfully, rare as it may be, I've been grouped with folks who are willing to do the same, to tell me what I'm doing wrong and offer friendly advice if I'm screwing up.

The community in this game sucks, but every once in a while, you'll find that diamond in the rough that makes it all seem at least a little worthwhile.

[Arrukai]

I still have hope that as the MMO tourists and content locusts move onto the next shiny game (TSO and WS can't come soon enough!) that we'll start seeing more of those diamonds in the rough throughout the community. This game is unique from the recent releases in that it is truly what you make of it; what you sow is what you reap. That is, your group is not just about you; it is your team. Here's once again to hope that the soil will soon be more fertile!

[ZakarnRosewood]

I made this thread that also talks a bit about what the OP is implying.