Productivity Vs. Enjoyment

The linkshell I mentioned, GhostbearII, is often referred to by its members as a "home linkshell." While not unproductive (currently working on CoP), it's not a linkshell people look to when they specifically want to get something done. Its members have their HNM linkshells or their Dynamis linkshells, but when they want to enjoy the company of other players, they equip GhostbearII.

When I obtained rank 5 with my first character, we had no high level help. This meant alliance all the way, which took 10 hours. I could have gotten it done much more quickly with just me and a high level character, but with the alliance, I had a blast!

There is a balance between productivity and overall enjoyment in every MMO, one that must be tread carefully. While you can certainly enjoy yourself in a very productive group, generally, there's a choice the player has to make. Do you want a group of pros who barely say two words to one another but will level you three times, or do you select a party that might net you one level, but will have you holding your side in laughter the whole night?

Today was an excellent example of productivity vs. enjoyment. The first group I was in, the XP was slow. While this is partly due to the zone being overcrowded, had the group been better constructed or comprised of rank 10s who absolutely need to be equipped with the best gear money can buy at all times, we would have done much better. But in the end, I didn't care! They were great, funny people, and I felt that the monster killing was just something on the side. It was in this group that I met Psiax, an awesome mithra who I can't wait to group with again ^^ Psiax's FFXI page can be found here, as well as my links section, below.

Anyway, everyone in the group suddenly had other places to be, and I was left with the task of rebuilding. It took a little while, but I ended up with a very nice party with experienced players. However, I quickly grew bored. We chained very quickly, but there was no...soul, shal we say? Plus, one of the members was a little mean, particularly toward me....

For some reason, I went the whole day without taking a single picture, so here's one from earlier in the week. As you'll see in the picture, despite having a pair of very confidant tanks, niether were willing to provoke the monster from me after I had used Sneak Attack on it, early in the fight. This resulted in me basically tanking the mob for most of the fight. This happened frequently. Were they mad at me? Did they think I made a better tank than both of them combined? Ugh, people sometimes... (note: names removed, as I have no intention of publically insulting any player, and as always, hover your mouse for the caption ^^)