Since so many fewer players play healers as opposed to dps, I suspect it’s often a case of beggars can’t be choosers.

I will say that some trial leads don’t in fact take healers without the proper sets, an understanding of proper rotation, and the ability to perform appropriate mechanics. But I see that mostly in HM, where the lack of those things can be make or break for a group. In regular vet difficulty it won’t be so critical, and a healer without all of those may still enable a run to proceed that would otherwise be cancelled.

Fundamentally it is up to the discretion of the group lead, as long as their reasoning isn’t discriminatory on protected characteristics. A choice of build is not a protected characteristic.

As dps, long before the One Bar Times, I once tried to join a vAA being advertised in Craglorn. After I joined I was told Discord was required because “AA can’t be cleared on vet without voice.” This was of course blatantly untrue, even then, but it turned out the group lead was running a training run for a social guild and wanted everyone in voice. This is a very understandable reason. Fundamentally, though, their group, their rules, and I couldn’t join voice at that moment so I let them find someone else, although I wish they had been honest and not felt the need to defend that preference with transparently fallacious reasoning.

With one-bar builds I think many trial leads see the lower ceiling and would like to find someone running a higher ceiling build, even though the skill of the player matters more than the build. I’ve seen a one-bar build in the right hands top parse a regular DLC vet trial by miles over two-bar builds. But that doesn’t stop group leads from relying on general schemata and prior experiences of one-bar players translating to lower dps.

I was of the impression that all that matters is DPS - to the point of skipping dungeon/trial mechanics.
Sometimes even healers cause everyone runs Vigor these days.

I dungeon a lot and I encounter situations where the group doesn't even know what to do when mechanics kick in quite often.
I'd understand some new-ish DLC dungeon with low CP players, but older ones with +2k?
Trial wise, I think most ofen I see in the Maw with the twin boss. I had squads that would rather wipe and do it all again than do proper mechanics.
If you kill the bosses fast enough the mechanics wont kick in, eh?

Also, like Virtus have said, beggars cant be choosers.

Given my status as healer main, I'd prefer a secondary healer that actually heals, is equipped with base-game set, and knows the mechanics over a top-tier, min-maxing, addon-addicted DPS that doesn't know what to do other than deal damage, and when you tell them what to do, they dont even speak English.
Lucent Citadel did unholy things to me when it was introduced because of such DPSes.

Honestly, I've never been kicked from a group when using a 1 bar build. I haven't really done many trial runs with her as she's more my build when I just want to chill. But she did quite a few runs of DSR with zero hassle and no kicks. So I'm not sure why some players are getting regularly kicked. I did a lot of vet dungeon runs with my HA sorc and she was always a good build for surviving while I got used to actually playing the proper mechs in the harder DLC dungeons.

With the fake healing thing, I think a lot of DDs have a mindset where they value having a high group DPS to just burn through fights quickly enough to not do mechs or need heals. I don't think many players understand the benefits of real tanks/healers wearing proper gear.

I think the fake tank is noticed more than a fake healer. With fake healers it's easier for a DD to slot a heal for themselves/the group. Going from a real tank who can properly handle and taunt bosses to the fake idiots who run/die is always a mess. It makes a big difference if you have a fight with a stationary taunted boss where everyone can position and focus on their rotation or healing.

Whenever I do random vet trial runs in group finder, I never target someone in a one bar build to be removed from the group. On occasion I will live log the trial and if someone is performing exceptionally bad and they don't know the mechanics I will boot them, but I don't know anyone that specifically looks at a one bar build and just removes someone. People aren't actively watching you stand there and not bar swap, concluding you are a one bar build, and then removing you. If that is actually happening there is probably something more egregious going on.

As far as healers and tanks, they are just needed more. For most group finder trials runs you wait on your 2nd tank long after you've already got your 8th DPS.

CatalinaWineMixer2 wrote: »

There isn't anything wrong at all with running 1 bar builds. If anything they need a boost to compete with modern dps increases. The entire game does not revolve around dps despite what others will tell you. As others have pointed out, most people play dps. There are nowhere near enough tanks. Good healers are hard to come by. The ones that do are tired. I worry about the state of group finder lately. It's not as busy as it should be. Or used to be.

I do not believe in gatekeeping. Or criticizing people for playing how they like. I often join group finder simply to help teach others mechanics, good strategies, etc. Many of the vets and good supports have left the game and I find myself being solely in a support role when I play now. People just don't have as much patience in the Realm as they used to sadly.

The easiest way to find success is to have a proper group with good supports. Even dungeons, a real tank, real healer and 2 dps. With that, you do not need "meta" dps. There are isolated circumstances where you will encounter mechs that require everyone to fulfill certain duties such as the mirrors in Lucent Citadel. Or awareness from everyone like Maw of Lorkaj. In addition there do exist damage threshold checks. Where if something is not killed fast enough, it can result in a group wipe. This is common in places like Cloudrest where there are portal mechanics. Or Dreadsail Reef. Another example are execute phases where the group must cause x amount of damage in x amount of time.

Generally, almost everything in the game can be handled if people understand and follow the mechanics, rather than simply burning through them. It's really just an issue of time with some people. Many of them don't want to teach or spend more time on something they feel isn't going fast enough. And a lot of others believe that if you aren't running certain specific sets or certain builds, you do not belong in their group. This is simply not true.

In general, yes. The one place I would say one-bar builds actually do cause an objective burden that may significantly impact a run is in Cloudrest. I find it a reasonable request to at least limit the number of one-bar builds brought into a CR done on vet or any of the HMs. That doesn’t necessarily mean banning them entirely from the run, but it’s important to know if you’re about to walk into a vCR with half the group made up of one-bar builds. (You may be well aware of this, but just for people who may not know why one-bar builds are a particular consideration in Cloudrest specifically.)

That’s not because of dps—I’ve seen experienced dps in a one-bar build handily outdamage less experienced players in two-bar builds—but because of Voltaic Overload. When a one-bar build (as in locked to one bar) is brought into Cloudrest, the game preferentially avoids giving it VO and gives it to two-bar builds instead, which typically include the supports.

The actual impact of this burden varies depending on the level of the CR and the group composition. In norm the impact should be extremely manageable, if not outright negligible. One, two, even three one-bar builds won’t necessarily ruin a run even on vet, but the more you add, the more everyone else has to handle compared to no one-bar builds. I would understand asking for no or very minimal one-bar builds in the HMs (and even regular vet, depending on the group) for this reason. While they are technically still doable with a small number, it adds an unnecessary burden (especially to supports) on top of the intended difficulty of the mode. And it’s eminently avoidable—similar accessibility can be found with builds that use only one active bar but stack the back bar with passive buffs. Rakkhat, while nerfed, provides a HA option that isn’t locked to one bar. So one can still use a one-bar playstyle without using a build that actually locks bars. For werewolves, they may be a worthwhile case for an exception since they provide significant group buffs (including a unique damage buff), but that’s up to group lead. Additional WWs would be similar to Oakensoul in terms of added burden for no unique gain.

NovelliESO wrote: »

Whenever I do random vet trial runs in group finder, I never target someone in a one bar build to be removed from the group. On occasion I will live log the trial and if someone is performing exceptionally bad and they don't know the mechanics I will boot them, but I don't know anyone that specifically looks at a one bar build and just removes someone. People aren't actively watching you stand there and not bar swap, concluding you are a one bar build, and then removing you. If that is actually happening there is probably something more egregious going on.

As far as healers and tanks, they are just needed more. For most group finder trials runs you wait on your 2nd tank long after you've already got your 8th DPS.

Same. I never give anyone a hard time for what build they are running, as long as they are performing the role they are supposed to.

My job is to keep you alive and give you buffs.
Your job is to keep the boss off my back and not die instantly so there's something to heal.
As long as we finish the objective, you can run whatever.

DPSes queueing as fake tanks without any form of taunts are the bane of my existence.