Etiquette, team roles, and ... is it me?

I certainly agree with the posters pointing out that the Defenders would have been much more effective had they played more aggressively and leveraged their debuffs. However, in the grand tradition of the forums, want to nitpick one tiny item in your post:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quantumizer do the roles shift with such a drastically unbalanced makeup

I have a hard time thinking of teams as "balanced" or "unbalanced." I'd want to call that a Defender-heavy or mostly-ranged team, maybe, but "unbalanced" makes it seem like there's some optimal team makeup from which that team deviated, and I don't really feel that's the case. It was an unusual team, yeah.

One of the charms of the game is how all sorts of different combinations of ATs and powersets can achieve their goals if they play to each other's strengths. What you had here was players not playing to their own strengths, and not changing their play to mesh with yours.

Leaving is certainly a legitimate option. But it can be rewarding to show a group like that how to work together and maximize their synergy. It might be tricky to explain things without coming across as bossy, and the typing required is a pain, but sometimes those teams can really turn around. It's up to you whether you have the inclination and patience to step up and make the effort -- I know I don't always feel like it myself.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quantumizer Since this is an exercise in introspection, I warmly welcome all honest comments, even those that reflect negatively on my gameplay, manners, personality, intelligence, heritage, or personal hygiene

Can't assess your hygiene over the Internet. Personality seems OK.

> lowbie team, blind invite, all support, all new fotm
> expecting them to know how to play

Maybe I'm just a cynic, but I'm finding it harder and harder to find the patience to teach people how to play their toons rather than just walking away from a bad team. If I was feeling charitable I'd probably have checked their badges to see how old the players were. If all new, sure - I might have taken a shot at offering some guidance. But too many long-time players just can't play. But worse - think they can. There's no teaching them until they seek it out on their own.

From the team makeup and behavior it appears obvious to me they sought you out - a dps AT - specifically so you could carry their lame asterisks. You did the right thing by moving on.

Five players with the same support powerset on a team is usually the recipe for WIN! This is true even at relatively low levels. This team had everything it needed to roll right through a +2 mission except effective communication and teamwork. (Think about it, 5x stacked Emps, Stormies, Darks, Sonics, FFs, whatever. WIN!)

That said, I think it's okay to walk away, to decide that you're just not up to running the show at a particular time, particularly on a blind invite. But those times you do have the energy and patience to try to get a team working well together can be really helpful to others who might not know how to best play their powersets in a team setting.

Early in my time in the game, I would join PUGs and constantly open with Crushing Field ("there's lots of enemies there, it's an AoE, and I want to be helpful in defeating them!"). Death, and not just my own, I'm ashamed to report, was a constant threat as a result of my presence on those early PUGs.

I have so much reason to be grateful to those patient folks who helped me understand how to play the game more effectively. I've become, I hope, both less annoying on teams and more effective solo as a result of their work. I try to give it back when I can. I also recognize that sometimes I'm too tired/cranky/annoyed to be useful in that way.

(I also look at veteran badges to evaluate how much leeway to give to players, but keep in mind that sometimes it's not the veteran playing at that moment. Sometimes it's the child/girlfriend/boyfriend/whatever just trying out the game. Also with a new powerset such as Time Manipulation, folks really may not have developed a feel for the best way to be useful on a team.)

When I do quit bad PUGs I prefer to say something. It's usually something neutral like, "I'm going to go do something else."

Sorry to hear about the team but those things happen. You just deal and roll on and kudos for asking for advice rather than just ranting about it. It could have been a lot of things. Heck I once ran with the star for 9 hours one day. people who dropped due to time and stuff were sending tells asking if a spot was open to get back on the team. We rolled through a lot of content and some of the other players were literally singing praises of my superb leadership ability in broadcast. Two months later I was running with the star (rare for me, especially that super long time I just mentioned) and I could not keep a team together/alive at all. Some times things mesh and some times they do not.

Me, when I play my Em/Pistols defender (that was once part of an all defender team that kicked serious butt) I say up front that I stay near the back of the melee pack and shoot things in the head with a bit of healing and buffing going on when I can. So far no complaints.