Okay, so i need to vent...bear with me, or don't... your call.

 

So i made a new char, a smuggler, did my thing on Ord Mantell. All was fine in the world, i get to the fleet, i decided to get my groupfinder on for some easy xp and bonus commendations. (we've all done it, don't Judge) By then i'm a scoundrel, which i fully intend to play as a healer. (having studied how to properly do that)

 

After a short wait, during which i did some stuff on the fleet, the window pops. For some reason i'm teamed up with 3 sentinels. Which is fine, this is the Esseless after all. Still, early in the FP, i ask my partners to select someone to go first, maybe he/ she can hold the agro, make the healing easy. No reply, but i manage, it's an easy FP afterall. If i don't toss a grenade i don't get mobbed much. (and mentally i pick the most eager one to be "tank")

 

I then notice that 2 of the sentinels are not wielding their second lightsaber, being me, i mention that. NO reply again. Normally it gets me at least a "Don't have a second lightsaber yet, NOOB" reaction. After which i kindly inform them

to check the backpack in their inventory. Again this being the Esseless, we manage. The mobs go down easy, the first boss takes a little longer, but who am i to Judge. A lightsaber hilts drops, i greed cause i'm a scoundrel, it's polite.

 

Second boss, three sentinel going at it like crazy, stealing agro from each other left and right. Al three losing health rapidly, when i'm not dodging mobs i heal them and myself and we win. A blaster pistol drops, and guess what 3 sentinels, i repeat 3 sentinels, all NEED, on my orange, nicely leveled blaster pistol. I need as well, naturally, but really what are my chances at this point, and indeed, that lovely pistol goes to the one saber wielding sentinel, i can barely keep alive.

 

At this point, i decide to frak it, and i log. See how they manage without my healer.

 

Anyway, this was me venting, if you made it this far, i'm sorry. Still perhaps you like to share your own horror stories.

Could be bots(there used to be quite a few bots running fps and needing on all gear), or just a real jerk multiboxing.

Some bads just won't learn. Why do bads always seem to gravitate to Sentinel...?

I feel your pain spearo. This is one of those reasons I wish that MMO's made playing a healer and tank mandatory sometimes. so the DPS players that really are clueless would have to get a clue, or at least appreciate playing the classes that far too often have to hold the group up.

 

But, if this is your first time healing regularly, The best advice I can give is "get used to it". not in a harsh way, but really...unless you end up playing solely with a fine tuned guild group (or even just a guild group that is decent enough to learn), you will get this allot.

 

On the flip side, the frequency of this bad style of play really makes you appreciate those who actually play well. You end up actually forming close bonds to those who ARE paying attention, and doing their job well. Comradeship at it's greatest.

 

Perhaps Im looking for the silver lining in the cloud...but really, it makes you appreciate a PuG tank when he can manage the adds and boss effectively...and DPS that can target appropriately, and peel mobs off of the healer. I like to call it the reality check. am I appreciating those with decent skill? check. am I appreciating those who are new but learn quick? check.

Yeah, unfortunately, this is not an uncommon thing. There are plenty of idiots who play every class and spec, who ninja loot that they don't actually need, and who don't understand how to manage fights. In the last few days while pugging flashpoints on various characters, I've had tanks in dps gear that don't even use their tank stance, I've had dps that attack CCed targets and spam their basic attack, and I've had healers that don't understand the concept of a "cleanse" after being repeatedly told about that specific mechanic and who refuse to use their spec's healing moves while relying on the basic heals that they get at like level 11.

 

While I would say it's not uncommon, I would point out that it's also not the rule, either. I've had more 'good' pug flashpoint and operation runs, where everybody knew their role and the mechanics (or was willing to admit that they didn't know beforehand, in which case we talked it out, made sure everybody understood, and then facerolled) than 'bad' ones. When you run into the bad ones, the best solution is to do pretty much what you did: leave, ignore the ninjas/bads, and requeue after a bit in hopes of finding a better group. It's easiest to do that as a healer or a tank; often, as a dps, you have to take your lumps because if you put too many people on ignore (or vice versa) there's a strong likelihood that you'll never be able to group again.

Edited March 2, 2014 by Euphrosyne

Some bads just won't learn. Why do bads always seem to gravitate to Sentinel...?

 

Don't generalize... please. I have Sentinel and Marauder. I know the correct kill order if fight mechanics don't change it: anyone who is hitting/shooting healer -> trash -> strong -> elite -> champion.

 

OP, you should just get used it. Believe me it could have been even worse experience. In Esseles you don't need tank or healer if you all damage the mobs and kill them fast enough. About that blaster pistol, they probably wanted it for T7. I've had even worse experience with one Marauder (who used only one saber): sniper rifle drops in Black Talon FP and of course this player Needs it. Try to guess who was the only sniper in the group.

may the force be with you.

Thanks guys, for the advice and the warnings. I'll take it all to heart.

some bads just won't learn. Why do bads always seem to gravitate to sentinel...?

 

cuz 2 saberz r bettr n 1 lolz

cuz 2 saberz r bettr n 1 lolz

 

Not if they don't use their second lightsaber. duhz. As two of the sentinels did, or rather didn't.

I very much appreciate that you prefaced your thread with "need to vent" I wish more people would do that since that is what many people actually wish to do around here.

 

That said..... IF you PUG...... you get what you get, and pretty much have to suck it up or stop PUGing.

Yep, been there myself. As a person who regularly plays tanks and healers, ignore, ignore and ignore. Dps are a dime a dozen. More than likely they'll be the ones complaining in General chat about queue times. Utilize that ignore function and move on.

 

Add to the plethora of reasons why dps queues are longer.

Had a guy in one of my early fp's that had a colorful mix of pretty much every type of gear. His reasoning behind it was that he 'needed each kind to be strong and more armor is better'.

 

Things like this don't just happen with low level ones either. Yesterday, was in a HM Hammer station and the Tank afk'd on the first big group so he was kicked by the dps leader. I abstained from the vote not knowing what his situation was (could have just been called away for a few mins) and knowing tanks were scarce at that time of night. Sure enough we had to run the entire FP without a tank. It was fun at first downing the bosses but disaster struck when we reached the final one. Couldn't manage it and wiped twice. It was at this point I noticed the dps leader had stopped queuing because he wanted to feel big and strong downing the boss with just the 3 of us. (He'd spent the whole time saying how proud he was about being able to do it) So in chat I asked if we could perhaps queue for a tank again given that we were losing. Next thing I know, the healer randomly kicks me with the reason 'lalalalalal'. I was going to whisper him asking why but decided that whatever response I'd get would be utter *****, like that run.

I feel all of your pain OP (& other posters with similar experiences). Whenever this happens I tend to inform the person(s) first that they're doing something wrong (whatever it may be). If they send me a snappy response or just ignore me, and continue to derp then they go straight on ignore.

That's not as bad as the FP I ran where the tank (a Shadow) had no stance on, wouldn't respond in group chat when being asked to turn a stance on and tank, and was using a single blade lightsaber. A level 50 btw which made me incredibly curious if they had leveled all the way to 50 doing that. I'd say that they were a fairly new F2Per and that that was MAYBE their excuse but, they were wearing old columni/rakata gear so I know they've been around for awhile.

By the way, you don't need to heal at all in Esseles. You should just dps to get the enemies down faster, ESPECIALLY when you see your team is full of terrible players.

 

That's not as bad as the FP I ran where the tank (a Shadow) had no stance on, wouldn't respond in group chat when being asked to turn a stance on and tank, and was using a single blade lightsaber. A level 50 btw which made me incredibly curious if they had leveled all the way to 50 doing that. I'd say that they were a fairly new F2Per and that that was MAYBE their excuse but, they were wearing old columni/rakata gear so I know they've been around for awhile.

Had a sentinel using basic attack 80% of the time in one of the CZ HM flashpoints, made me wonder how he managed to level

Edited March 2, 2014 by invertioN

I never queue for Esseles because it bugs out on the last convo every time and I never get to complete it anyway but I thought it, and BT, still followed trinity matchmaking? They've turned it into a tactical flashpoint where you can get grouped with any spec now?

Isn't the inspect window bugged and doesn't always show the offhand?

I never queue for Esseles because it bugs out on the last convo every time and I never get to complete it anyway but I thought it, and BT, still followed trinity matchmaking? They've turned it into a tactical flashpoint where you can get grouped with any spec now?

 

Correct.

 

The first flash points on both sides, Esse and BT do not follow the trinity. The subsequent ones are when it shifts to the trinity.

The Internet. You will never find a more retchid hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious!

Can't wait to start healing on my Smuggler...

Isn't the inspect window bugged and doesn't always show the offhand?

 

Yes but it's pretty obvious when a Sentinel is only using one lightsaber.

 

If I saw a group like that, I would just run. Run as far as my little healer legs could take me.

Yes but it's pretty obvious when a Sentinel is only using one lightsaber.

 

If I saw a group like that, I would just run. Run as far as my little healer legs could take me.

 

If your avatar is anything to go by, that ain't very far

I never queue for Esseles because it bugs out on the last convo every time and I never get to complete it anyway...

 

I don't know how well it would work with a group, but running it solo as an affection farm for my first companion, I find that, at the last conversation, if I pick an option and immediately alt-tab out of the game, wait four or five seconds, then alt-tab back in, I don't get the crash. Being paranoid, I'll do that through all of the choices including the go to Coruscant/return to fleet choice, and if I do that, I don't get the crash.

About that blaster pistol, they probably wanted it for T7.

 

It doesn't make it right, of course, but it makes se- Wait, T7 uses aim, yes? And if it was a blaster that a Scoundrel could've used it must have had cunning on it. Yeah, there's no rationalizing this. (At least on Imperial side, if this story happened with an Operative healer and three bad Marauders, it would be a blaster that Vette could use.)