I think I’m getting my second wind in FFXIV. Â I actually made progress for the first time in two months by completing Titan HM which is the last step I needed for my Relic. Â It took so long to obtain that I already have the Tomes of Mythology needed to Zenith (+1) my staff.
My plan now is to tackle Crystal Tower — the new “raid” added for players to gear up in prior to moving on to Coil (the original, harder raid). Â Apparently CT is very doable in a PUG via the raid finder. Â I tried last night to no avail for 30 minutes. Â Maybe I was queueing at a bad time. Â I plan to queue up tonight with guildies, and hopefully see even more progress by the end of the week.
I’ve mentioned this several times in the last few months, but I’m completely over the idea of raiding. Â That’s why it took me so long to get Titan HM down. Â Even in a perfectly good group with people who will carry me the whole way, I sit back and watch how they treat each other. Â Everyone is uptight, rude, and easy to read as a self-interested / self-serving / self-righteous (wanna-be) elitist. Â I was totally there myself a few years ago. Â Gotta get that gear! Â Gotta be the best! Â Gotta move to the next step! Â Gotta keep moving and making progress, go go go! Â Sheesh. Â If you really want to have a good laugh, watch the videos of the “best” raiding guilds in WoW and hear how they scream at each other.
I joined a PUG group the other day and sat there for one wipe. Â As soon as we died, the bickering started. Â It took maybe three whole seconds for me to log out and go do something else. Â I didn’t even have to think about it. Â That’s how I know I’m ready for a change. Â That’s why I haven’t gone back to WoW with some of my friends. Â That’s why I would rather play single-player games I got during the Steam sale.
Back to FFXIV. Â I think I’ll be able to do Crystal Tower and see the mid-tier content because of how easy it is, and maybe even casually gear up some mythology stuff with tomes, but I think that’s about as far as I’ll ever get in PvE. Â I’ll probably move on when EQN Landmark alpha starts. Â I’d rather dig holes, chop wood, hoard supplies, and build a city. Â That sounds relaxing and fun.
Contrast that to the One room in UO or camping mods in other EQish MMOs. It might not of been as epic script wise but it sure as hell built more community.
One-Boneroom
“If you really want to have a good laugh, watch the videos of the “best†raiding guilds in WoW and hear how they scream at each other.”
That’s how it is in any competitive environment where people care about ‘winning’, be it sports, gaming, or a career. So long as the intentions behind the actions are positive (the team winning), it’s not a problem.
The real problem is that today having a thin-skin is viewed as a positive(you’re sensitive), and there is this illusion that being competitive and pushing yourself and others is a bad thing. The real world still disagrees (top sports teams, top colleges, top jobs), and the thin-skinned still get left behind or passed up. The difference is today the media lies to you about it, and tries to sell you the story that being a semi-failure is acceptable.
There’s a big difference between treating people like garbage and wanting to win. You can want to win and bolster your team without treating people like crap. You can be serious and try hard, and expect people to perform, without being a dick. The elitist raiders put up with it because if they don’t they lose their spot, or know they can’t lose their spot and act however they want.
There’s also a difference between being sensitive and not putting up with people’s crap. I can and did raid with the jerks and was one myself for 2 years. Simply being bored and intolerant of that doesn’t make someone sensitive — it’s not like my feelings are hurt listening to people hate each other. I don’t find the activity fun, and the atmosphere makes putting up with it intolerable.
That’s all nice in theory, but more often than not doesn’t apply. Steve Jobs was a dick, and a large part of why he was a success was because he was a dick. Tom Brady is a total dick on the field, and a large part of why he is so great is due to that attitude. Nice guys finish last is true more often than not. It’s why when truly nice people are at the top, it’s such a notable exception.
I’d much rather surround myself with driven talent that isn’t PC vs a ground of ‘nice people’ that accept defeat.
I like the idea that end game in FFXIV is 8 people. You can get a group of just people you like and do everything. I do miss old school raiding, but against all odds I’m enjoying coil every week. It’s probably because I fell in with a really cool group of people and there’s really very little pressure to succeed. Things like missed silences will get you a good ribbing but that’s about it. When we were doing the new Ultima fight, one of the healers ran a big AOE right into the tanks/dps and blew us up, we all laughed about it for a few minutes before we could continue.
Congrats on your relic, Titan is a shithead.
Having 10 virgins yelping at each other is not in any way akin to Brady on the field. There is a difference between a tough leader and idiots screaming at each other. Keens right, this is do to sht community not some form of smart tough leadership and tactics.
I don’t really understand the comparison between real life and video games in this context. You play games for fun. How you derive your own fun isn’t really up for debate. It is a personal choice. Some people derive their fun from the competitiveness of “being the best” and thus put up with the obvious ego conflicts that arrive when you put a bunch of like minded competitive individuals in the same room. Others prefer to just be “casual” and enjoy the game for what it is.
Neither is wrong and none of us are in a position to decree that one is “better” then the other. To each their own. We spend our dollars for our own entertainment, not anyone else.
I certainly wouldn’t be raiding in WoW any more if that was the environment, that’s for sure. Being able to raid with good friends is a huge boon, and that very particular subset of players (Former hardcore players in previous expansions who now are a bit more casual) is basically the best of both worlds. My current guild progresses through heroics at an acceptable rate, albeit way slower than progressions guilds, and yet with almost no pressure or expectations beyond having fun.
That’s how my guild has worked for years. The guild is a bunch of friends in a community just wanting to do content together.
Yeah the elitist toxic behavior.
It runs communities into the ground.
I like league of legends, but the majority of people that play it ruin it for me.
Yet that behavior it does not happen in all coop games.
For instance Killing floor, payday 2, team fortress 2, mass effect 3 coop.
It makes me wonder. What exactly brings up this toxic behavior in the first place.
Why is it frequent in some games? Yet other games do not see it that much??
Certain game mechanics that are the cause?