Why are people so spectacularly bad at playing their classes?

[Silchas]

Respectfully...

To answer your question, this was not a thread entitled "How can we help players become better in groups". It was to create some sort of rant about some players with poor group skills. In fact, the Op at a point admits it was not a question, but rather a diatribe on his opinions of such players.

To go further, in your example of the RP coffee chat, such a topic would actually be acceptable since it's a general discussion about an item and place in the game. It's your assumption that you would look like an idiot that explains part of the problem presented here. Many players do indeed feel like "idiots" and "unwelcome" when crossing over into a different aspect of the game. They enjoyed many levels of doing their own thing which is not such a bad thing, then they get tossed into some unsavory groups that are unforgiving. If the experience is bad enough, they stay away from that play style. This has also been a problem with PvP in games. We want more players engaging in our play style, yet we make them feel unwelcome.

Think of it this way. You're on the job and you make a mistake in your new position with the company in a position you were encouraged to take. The boss screams out how lame you are and perhaps walks away in anger while shunning you in front of the whole department. What did you learn? Obviously, judging by the results of your mistake, you know you need more training and advise. Then you hit the company blog page and there is a rant about incompetence on people such as yourself thrown into that new position. Not very encouraging at all. You also enjoyed your old position and can transfer back at any time. What's the obvious move that many, not all, will take?

Human nature proves that most people will do what they are proficient and comfortable with. They need motivation and encouragement to go beyond that comfort zone in many cases. Not everyone is out for a challenge that diminishes their ego to some degree. That is why the "Praise in public; admonish in private" adage is so true.

Now if I were on the edge of attempting group/instance/raid content and read this thread, I might very well find my fears to be founded based on many of the opinions here. The fact is, a proficient solo player proves they have the ability to learn the game mechanics and perfect their play style. That means a cross over should be just another step, not some insurmountable hurdle placed in front of them. By belittling the accomplishments they made as a solo player we diminish their desire to be a group player. People like to feel like they are bringing something to the table rather than feeling like an goldfish thrown into the ocean.

The games became so solo concentric because many of the players (not all) engaged in group/raid content became so full of themselves. They applied some artificial level of high level skill and effort to something that is simply another play style. It's just another script in the game handled differently that requires interaction between classes. To admit that however requires a raider to humble themselves into accepting that it's not more difficult, it's just a different method of approaching encounters designed around that concept.

I will also note that the very nature of the mechanics of the game are also a double edged sword. Having raided for years in Everquest Live, the scripts became memorized and the actions almost automatic. This was because "X" amount of players needed/desired the rewards which required you to do the raid many times over. That created boredom with the seasoned players as well as intolerance towards the newer players that were less seasoned that bungled some of the encounters. Unfortunately, with repetitive content, this will always be an issue. Yet another reason for different paths to the same objective. (Skirmishes & Inspiration).

Excellent post.