OK this is getting rather silly regarding hard mode Flashpoint GF

Won't work.

I play a tank. I love to tank. Just not in PUGs.

There is no level of temporary buff, nor level of money (even 1,000,000 credits per successful run), and no amount of commendations that would get me to tank a PUG. I don't need the buff; I can already faceroll everything in the game. I don't need the money because I know how to play the credit game. I certainly don't need the commendations because I tank for a guild that does respectfully well at endgame.

The way to inspire tanks to play their roles is... well, we tanks are already inspired to play our roles.

So the way to inspire tanks to play their roles in a group of randoms is for that group of randoms to learn how to play without sucking. That's the incentive. Make the experience fun for tanks instead of hell for tanks. Then we'll queue with you more.

Other tanks on this thread have already outlined the issues and what all you non-tanks need to do to improve... to inspire us to queue more.

But... as you said... we ain't never gonna see that.

I envision a tank/healer only flahpoint...maybe let a few dps in if they can pass a quiz or some kind of test.

edit: Test would be via pictures only obviously.

I snorted.

All you need is a tank and healer and 2 DPS companions. Any one of my companions, even the T7 I leave woefully under-geared, performs more admirably than at least 75% of the human damage dealers I've encountered via GF. Get a tank and healer together, queue up, see if the DD's don't suck. If they suck, vote kick and summon your favorite companion. Win.

Part of the problem here is tactical fps, I think. people level without ever learning how to play group content properly, or even use all their abilities effectively. They get to 50-55 without having to learn things like kill order, use of aoe in groups, use of cc and are in endgame entirely unprepared but not aware of how much they don't know.

These problems have been around long before TFP. TFP only allow baddie to keep being baddie.

This one even annoys me when I'm playing as a DPS. There I am on my Merc, my Death from Above perfectly aimed and starting to hit a large group of enemies. Only to be ruined a moment later by the knockback happy idiot that thinks bouncing silver and gold mobs a few steps further is the most epic move ever, the ultimate weapon that's going to win the flashpoint! (After all, if he keeps doing it every fight - so that must be his line of thought, right?) It's even worse when trying to line up an Orbital Bombardement on an Agent.

Although those obviously pale in comparisson to the annoyance it presents for tanks.
Now add in the situational awareness and rapid responses tanking requires, along with the default leadership role, wannabe-Tanks that jump in first, and all the other things that can ruin one's day when braving the groupfinder as a tank, and you have the reason they are so rare.

/salute to all you brave tanks.

the more I think about it the more I realize that we really do need to copy WoW in one respect. (well - future WoW anyways)

proving grounds. if group finder hardmodes/operations were unavailable to anyone who didn't pass the proving grounds - we may actualy make pugging more pleasant.

using knockbacks in proving grounds? automatic - go back and start over. I know it has its uses, but those situation uses can be learned later. I'd rather people learn NOT to use an ability like that first

Hehe yeah, Blizzard comes up with some good stuff. I couldn't help but smirk when I read about that upcoming feature.

I think its that the SI/JC think the knockback does 1000 times more damage than any other AoE.

All joking aside, I believe the really issue is the fact that SI/JC get the knockback at lvl 3 and it becomes part of their rotation and these knockback spammer fail to understand a proper rotation.

I think that we are now beginning to reap the rewards of a new generation of players who have leveled entirely in KDY. Because this "tactical" FP pops almost instantly all the time, no one is doing the regulars as they level up any more. Once they hit 50 or 55 queue up for a heroic FP, they want to try to zerg it like KDY & that just doesn't work. I tried to do a False Emp HM when I hit 51 over the weekend (operative healer) & both dps & the "tank" just tried to zerg everything down. Basically the only tactic they seem to have learned in KDY is jump in smash all the buttons, die & run back, rinse, repeat. I tried to explain crowd control, kill order & that a healer can't take a punch in a real FP unlike KDY, but they either straight up ignored everything I said or I got comments like "lol CC". After clearing half way to the 1st boss & already have 30k in repair bills, I just said "Sorry guys, I cannot heal the group & tank a gold & 3 silvers at the same time, good luck with the rest of your run" & left.

You reap what you sow & the seeds that we have been sowing in KDY are now coming back to haunt us.