Speed Running by Accident??

OBJnoob · March 2023

So this is just a story of something that happened to me and I wanted to hear everyone's opinion.

Context: I'm a PvPer who ques as a tank to do my random daily dungeon on normal. I don't have ESO plus active and haven't purchased many DLCs outright, so the list of dungeons available to me is pretty minimal and pretty easy.

So there you go. Yes I fake tank and yes it's to skip the que. I do try my best to be a good tank though, aside from the gear. I taunt, debuff, try to group things, and do decent damage.

I loaded into Blackheart Haven and stood there for 5 or 10 seconds looking at the CP levels of who was on my team and waiting to see if they started out across the docks or wanted to swim to bypass some pirates. Nobody, at this point, said they were looking for gear or trying to do the quest. But we did go over the docks, and I noticed two players were being slower than myself and the healer. I paused at the end of the docks and waited before doing the big pulls at the base of the wrecked ships. We made it through this as a team and did the boss who kicks people off the deck. I took him into the little room so nobody got kicked off the deck. Killed him... Had to go around and finish off some adds before using the door-- which is normal at this point in this dungeon I think.

When I went through the door I just kept going. I don't run through areas from boss to boss... But I was melting these low level mobs, so I guess I was going pretty fast although killing literally everything as I went. At a point I did realize the two were still lagging behind but I honestly just thought they were slow, and I'll admit I didn't want to wait because I didn't know why they were slow.

Made it to the next boss, Atarus the Masher or whatever... And did actually wait about 30 seconds to see if anyone else was coming. They didn't come. I pulled. At the exact (basically,) time I pulled one of the two typed "stop being in combat please I'm doing the quest!" But it was too late. The healer and I killed the boss, during which time the other person had said some other things... "Oh great," and "looks like it's time to make another character."

The last thing seemed especially over the top to me and when we killed the boss I typed "oh relax." To which they responded "I'm a completionist." And I said "well you can do the dungeon again... I wouldn't have done that if I'd known, I'm sorry."

With everyone caught up now, no longer having a reason to go slow I guess, we completed the dungeon as a 4-man. Before starting the final boss I stopped and said "sorry again," and they said "it's okay, not your fault, I'm a completionist."

After the dungeon the healer, who'd kept up with me all along, whispered me and said "you have nothing to apologize for, you were nicer than some people would've been," and this made me laugh because I thought to myself man this fellow must use the forums.

But so I guess I just want to ask if I did anything wrong. I could've said something better than "relax" I suppose but the thought of this person making a new character because they didn't get some Blackheart Haven achievement first time through made my eyes roll. In the end it was very amicable, so that makes me happy.

But ultimately if you enter a dungeon and you have some special goals in mind shouldn't you say so in the beginning?

Araneae6537 · March 2023

People who need a pause or to kill additional enemies for a quest should say so and in my experience, most groups are accommodating. That said, I think it would be unreasonable and discourteous to expect a random group to wait for a player to listen to all the dialogue, read all books, etc. (not sure if that’s what they meant by completionist). I like to do a complete run of a dungeon too, but I arrange a private run with friends for that!

IMHO, the only thing you could have done better would be to ask if they were doing the quest when you noticed the delay. I don’t think you were wrong to not, but I will often ask when in similar situation to know what is going on, if there is a problem or something I can help with.

I am of the opinion that the tank should set the pace, with reasonable consideration for people doing the quest or grabbing chests, but not a completionist run. I get salty when I’m the tank and some DD runs ahead — of course I can’t be as fast in heavy armor and I’ll need that stamina for blocking and it deprives me of being able to do my job of initiating pulls and setting up fights. Worst was when I queued for Tempest Island needing the quest (which I announced) and pledge and the group ran ahead and killed the first boss, negating my ability to complete either. I wished them good luck and left.

OBJnoob · March 2023

Yes thank you, those are pretty much my thoughts as well. It's been a long time since I did the Blackheart Haven quest but the only parts where you have to wait, to my memory, are in the beginning where you need to loot a disguise from a barrel and after Atarus the Masher you need to wait for the 3 little enemies to jump down and confront you.

As far as I know we did both of those things... And/or allowed time for them. I do think the other person mustve been looking in every corner for treasure chests and listening to every piece of dialogue because again... I was killing AND looting everything.

The toon I'm playing is a NB. He runs pretty fast, but I intentionally drop refreshing path down every hallway so my teammates get major expedition as well.

Like I said, the guy was friendly and reasonable enough in the end and I think I was too. I guess the experience just gave me a bad feeling because YES I would've been accommodating had I known. So I do feel a little guilty. But at the same time I don't think I can be expected to drag my feet through something that, at least for me, is extremely easy.

Soarora · March 2023

Not your fault, I think you were actually pretty nice. Waited to see if people were grabbing quest, taunted, etc. Personally I would’ve stopped to let them catch up once but if they’re constantly far behind and I don’t want to be there then…

They absolutely should’ve told you they were doing the quest, that’s on them. I’m beyond tired of people not communicating in dungeons. I can’t read their mind! And even just seeing if someone picks up the quest doesn’t always work because it could be the 10th time someone’s done that dungeon quest, or it could be the first time, or they might not care about the quest lore…
Even with explaining mechanics if people clearly don’t know what they’re doing. It’s gotten to the point I straight-up won’t explain them unless someone asks or it’s impossible to go forward because it’s a waste of time and energy typing out the mechanics for someone who won’t even follow them afterwards. In contrast, I always thank people for communicating and try my best to make the run enjoyable for them. It feels rarer and rarer these days.

SilverBride · March 2023

OBJnoob wrote: »

At a point I did realize the two were still lagging behind but I honestly just thought they were slow, and I'll admit I didn't want to wait because I didn't know why they were slow.

The thing to do at this point would have been to ask them why they were lagging behind the group rather than just keep rushing ahead. But they bear some responsibility too for not announcing at the beginning that they were doing the quest.

Both sides could have handled it differently but I do think more of the fault falls on the lagging members for not letting the group know they were doing the quest at the start.

OBJnoob · March 2023

@SilverBride Yes. Well quoted, and well said. I agree I couldve asked. I suppose I probably will next time.

I would not say I was "rushing" though.

On console many of us don't have keyboards. I do not, and as such I avoid typing when I can. My guess is that this is the real cause of our issue. Why they didn't ask me to go slow from the start, and why I didn't ask why they were going slow.

MidniteOwl1913 · March 2023

Well in my opinion it's pretty hard to tank or heal the party when you are 2 screens ahead. I heal mostly in normal randoms and yes sometimes the DPS are really slow. But a support role isn't worth much if it's not supporting. Did you check the map to see where they were? That can sometimes tell you why they were lagging (for future reference).

OBJnoob · March 2023

Checking the map is a good suggestion, I can do that next time for sure. I do kinda take exception to the way you describe support though-- as though tanks and healers only exist to augment a DPS experience.

I tanked more mobs than they dpsed, I tell you that. You can argue what I was "worth," if you want to, but I think the discussion should center around communication and making needs known. They weren't "worth" a lot to me either, under the circumstances.