Inviting players to return to more traditional playstyles.

Ade

Ade

;3
Hi everyone.

I played hundreds of runs during this year's anniversary event, and it has changed a lot since 2016. Pub parties regularly attempt to use more advanced tactics than they did ten years ago. ("Attempt" is the key word.)

Having played with groups ranging from absolute killer parties capable of finishing MAE runs in near-record times to the newest players the server has to offer, I can confidently say that advanced tactics such as playing with low HP or using Lieutenant Mantle make most public parties do worse rather than better. More deaths, more time spent rebuffing, more slowdown.

I think players' hearts are in a good place when trying to emulate the advanced tactics they see being used by highly coordinated parties, but those tactics continue to underperform in public games. This is because the proper use of the more advanced tactics requires a coordinated party to pull off consistently, where the run has been planned out down to each player's placement on every spawn.

If you aren't using that degree of planning, I invite you, especially if you're the FO, to try more traditional, "old school" tactics in your games, such as keeping the party healed, using both Jellen and Zalure (instead of just Zalure) - especially in later areas, and communicating with your party if Lieutenant Mantle is being used (instead of making them find out the hard way).

My absolute BEST runs were with highly coordinated parties where we were playing in a high risk, high reward style. My next closest runs used traditional playstyle where the party didn't try to overextend itself or use tactics it had not adequately planned for. The latter runs were a lot more fun and pressure-free.

Let's get back to playing like it's 2007. Outside of a highly coordinated party, it will wear a lot less on your mental stamina, and you'll likely get more overall hunting done.

Peace.
 
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I invite you to go with the times and adapt to the current environment. If you are not ready for that, then maybe it truly is time to stop playing pubs. Find some friends that play the way you want others to play and hang out with those. You can't really change the masses, and a post in the forums that is barely read will change it even less.
 
Exodia said:
I invite you to go with the times and adapt to the current environment. If you are not ready for that, then maybe it truly is time to stop playing pubs. Find some friends that play the way you want others to play and hang out with those. You can't really change the masses, and a post in the forums that is barely read will change it even less.
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The current environment is that public parties are playing less effectively than they did ten years ago because they are attempting to emulate behaviors without the planning and practice required to perform them effectively. If that is what you mean by "adapting to the current environment," then I will pass.

I still enjoy playing. I am merely sharing observations that have accumulated over a long time.
 
I totally hear where you're coming from, I've found myself kinda rolling my eyes at some people taking 3+ deaths in a single MAE run because they want to spam zerk every mob without knowing spawns. At the same time, asking people to not do those strats because they underperform when doing them is just as much putting pressure on performance as doing the high risk high reward strats in the first place.
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Like I said though, I see where you're coming from entirely. I'd be lying if I said that it doesn't bother me at all when a teammate single-handedly makes my lobbies a full minute or two slower, and that's totally fine as a preference. I will say though, slower lobbies are more thanks to people doing shit like using DP on 1-2 enemy mobs or not knowing ttf route than it is thanks to people zerking and taking a death or two. And ultimately, and this is the crux of the discussion for me, if how someone likes to play bothers me it's not their responsibility to stop playing that way it's my responsibility to either deal with it or avoid playing with them.

As this thread is bound to be divisive I would like to remind my fellow PSO enjoyers that this is the least important thing any of us could possibly be doing with our time we're just yapping because it's fun so be nice to eachother.
 
This thread is going to boil down to "practice-shaming", "they mean well but not in my pub", "fun is subjective", "adaptability", "you died? skill issue", "carry harder", "clang clang clang", "charge arms", and "cost".

Actually, what's faster, revive and re-buff now or actually playing like it's 2007? Add "Nostalgia" and "HHH" oh wait.

Jellen is good though, use it when your party fails you needs it.
 
From what I can tell, I didn't ask anyone to stop doing anything. I shared an observation that came from a ton of patient experience and mentioned there are other ways to approach the game besides just trying to copy what highly coordinated parties do.

So far, everyone who has replied to this thread has made assumptions on things I did not say. "What's new?" I guess.

If you're trying to emulate the greats and are face-planting over and over again, I'll still carry you. And I'll still have fun. I just wanted to share my perspective after doing this for hundreds of parties.
 
I think 'inviting' someone and saying 'let's [do thing]' are both pretty synonymous with asking but maybe that's just me. :lenny:

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I'm happy with what I said because it's an account of actual experiences, is non-confrontational, and I know in my heart I was being fair-minded. So I do not feel the need to defend it any further, and will leave the continuation of this discussion to anyone else who is interested or feels they need to be heard.
 
as has been said before, if someone joins a public game they forgo all right to publically complain about other players gameplay. I seriously dont understand why this is so hard to understand. Stop whining about people playing worse than you; if it bothers you so much that it gets brought up multiple times, then its time to find your own team.

It is nobody else's responsibility to cater to your playstyle, my playstyle, or anyone else's. If you're having fun then keep doing so, and if not then step away from the game for a bit. If people die in pubs, so what? Its called learning. Nobody here was just magically good at everything in this game one day, and pubs are the best place to learn. It seriously is not that deep and I genuinely cannot fathom why this concept isnt universal

Hiding behind saying that this is sincere every time it is brought up doesnt work, when the solution has been ignored every time. At the very least, people having this issue is a personal issue. If playing pubs bothers you, then dont. If you dont want to stop playing pubs, then stop complaining about people's playstyles.

For the record as well, I ran well over a hundred pubs and encountered maybe 5 Lieutenant mantles and maybe 5 df users that struggled. So, at least from what I can tell, this is not as big of an issue as it has been made out to be and is one that can be very easily worked around in numerous ways.
 
I apologize in advance, this is a long one.

Ade, I would love to offer you some insight from a "hardcore casual's" perspective, which is more or less what I would consider myself to be, and what I would potentially argue is the audience you're trying to appeal to with this forum post (despite me not necessarily fitting the mold perfectly as I always forget lt. mantle exists and I don't play HU either).

I recognize most of the faces in this thread, but seeing as I don't know anybody's particular playstyle or skill level, if you will, I'm going to be speaking just from what I know for certain, which is my lived experience so far on Ephinea. And just as a brief background; we've never talked before, and I've only ever seen you type in #general, so I don't necessarily have any horses in this race. I am not here with any ill will, so please keep that in mind when reading my response. I simply want to offer you how I view things as someone who doesn't do TA stuff and kinda just hangs around.

So first off, I understand everything you're saying in your post. I've had plenty of moments like this in my past when I used to be very hardcore into competitive gaming of all kinds. It can be frustrating when you feel that other people aren't playing in a way that's optimal, they're playing in a way that could be detrimental either to the community (depending on your interpretation of "detrimental", since I believe I've seen you say in the past that this type of gameplay has been negatively affecting Ephinea for a while now), or, broadly speaking, in a way that won't benefit others or the community for the better in the long term (which I believe I've also seen you say before). And this stuff always sucks when it involves something that you love and are passionate about, and I can tell you're a person of passion, because you love to fight for the things that you believe in and enjoy, and I respect that a lot.

So, what I CAN tell you is that conforming to someone's idea of how I should play the game is not something I'd be willing to do. I'm not the only person who has said what I'm about to say, seeing as I've heard it from other people directly, but I consider PSO to be my "retirement home" game now that I've finished everything gaming related that I cared about previous to this. This game is my chill, hang out, and not care at all time, where I just kick it in some pubs, hang with my friends, and enjoy the day. So while the thoughts of how someone would like other people to play is definitely a conversation I'm willing to hear out so I can be respectful of their time and their thoughts, it's not something I'd be willing to do in nearly every case (I'm sure there's an outlier there somewhere, but I digress). So imagine that but for hundreds or thousands of other players here on Ephinea. A lot of us are old, casual, in it for the kicks in grins, playing for nostalgia, enjoy swinging a big silly blade while at 3 HP, or simply just don't care, and it might be time to come to terms with that as painful as it may sound.

Now, I always do my best to be respectful of my fellow player and never join pub rooms that have room names that I'm unfamiliar with, as I'm almost 100% certain that the people in those rooms are there with intent and knowledge of what quest is going to be played and how best to play it, and that I would likely bog down the experience for everyone else (I made this mistake when joining a TE HP reset room not knowing what TE was). So I think it might be in your best interest to sort of mirror what I'm doing in a sense (although not identical, but hear me out), and maybe you shouldn't join any public games because the playstyle in there is potentially more than likely to be vastly different from what you're hoping to experience. It's simply not possible as one person to change the minds of the playerbase, I would argue the vast majority is just here to relive playing a game they loved playing when they were younger.

Sorry for the long one. I absolutely could have done this in maybe 80% fewer characters, but oh well. Again, I come here as a casual player who just wants to offer you his perspective.
 
I kinda wish we could go back to that, it was funner times. It's kinda hard to unlearn certain aspects of the game though. For Those new players though? they're already playing 2007 pso, not a thought in the world aside hit button and that's fine.

As far as us experienced players, just go with w/e the party is doing. If the FO isn't Zaluring? let it be, they'll get yelled at eventually by someone. Is the ranger DPing in episode 2 and doing 50 damage per mob? let it be they'll get filtered eventually. As ancient players we know who the good players are anymore. If you don't see those good players in your party just play "2007". that's the best take i can give on this. There is no fix to the situation because people need to make their mistakes before they get good, but also there's players in large swaths that do NOT want to think while playing. Do what I did, stop caring. It's easier on your brain. Don't try to teach, don't try to instruct the new generation. they don't care. they've got their own meta now.
 
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