Now I am the first to admit that I new to the whole MMO thing entirely. The first time I did an instanced dungeon or raid was the absolute worst. I had no idea about the whole tank/healer/dps thing and so went in blind - our party was wiped several times within the first few encounters. On top of that my internet connection dropped in and out, fortunately all bar one person were supportive and non judgmental - likely acknowledging that this was my first raid in the game.
Despite this, I managed to get through all following instances with no sweat. Brayflox's Longstop was another story, the general enemies (or trash - MMO slang it seems) scattered about the place was no more difficult than ever. It seems my equipment needed a bit of updating, however on my first attempt of Brayflox's Longstop we made it up to the last boss with minimal hiccups.
We had a few goes at this boss but ultimately it crushed us - I did ask for advice as this was how I had thus far managed to get through my encounters and discover the ins and outs of my role as 'tank.' Getting no good help, one of our necessary members decided it was not happening and dropped out, leaving our mission a failure. All ensuing attempts were similar, except with our group barely being able to get through the first encounter. No member was particularly helpful or willing to dish out advice or co-ordinate our party. Others dropped out, others were critical without advice - the game was quickly becoming disheartening.
I stopped playing briefly and fooled around in Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes however that was proving frustrating as well - I was about to drop games and re-enter the real world.
Despite this, I finally did get a good party that was willing to communicate allow room for error and complemented me on my ability to learn quick. After a relatively painless experience I finally managed to clear Brayflox's Longstop - managing to overcome the last boss (Aiatar's) more tricky mechanics and continued my Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn experience. Thankyou to the players that provided feedback, advice, had patience and gave support.
I'm looking forward to what further challenges await me in Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn - hopefully I'll find more helpful players that can support me through it and learn a few tricks. I feel a lot more confident with my abilities now than my disasterous first run, however I know there is still a lot of room for improvement. Although I don't feel like I've done bad being in only my second week on my first MMO ever. What I can say is overcoming the hurdle of Brayflox's Longstop and the tricky boss Aiatar (pictured above) actually gave me a sense of accomplishment, something I haven't felt playing games for quite some time. I felt a similar sense of victory after defeating Titan with a group today as well. I think this is part of the playing with other people. When everyone gets along and does their jobs right everyone feels a sense of importance and any victories are a celebration - rather than the lonely grinding or monotonous playing one might do to kill time by themselves all the time (yours truly) ((haha, I am a happy person despite this, I enjoy my games, but sometimes I think I play them a bit much - between work, writing, exercise, family - partner and daughter they're my greatest leisurely escape).
* Next update will look at my history with the Metal Gear Solid series as well as give my thoughts on the short but ultimately satisfying Metal Gear V: Ground Zeroes.
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