Common Courtesy

Final Fantasy XI Online has a lot of little courteous things that many people take for granted. These are all minor things that everyone should follow to keep everyone around them happy. Without common courtesy, we might as well all be playing World of Warcraft right now.

Courtesy in Parties

 * SubJob Eiquette: Train your subjob to the appropriate level. Having an underleveled subjob informs the party that you're inexperienced. or unwilling to play your best.


 * Language: Unless the whole party is doing so, keep language appropriate. No one wants to hear the F-word ten times in every sentence you type.


 * Equipment: Gear is obviously not as important as skill, but it's also courteous to your party to come with at least moderately good equipment. Go with what feels right for you. This includes appropriate foods and medicines, such as Echo Drops when fighting mobs that Silence.


 * Opinionated "Know It Alls" : What you may think is the best equipment for a job, or level, is your opinion. There is never "one" piece that someone "must" have before they can level . Each person playing the game is paying their dues, and learns by experience, so let them play how they deem appropriate. Your opinion on another player could be as simple as telling a WAR they can't level to 59 without a Haubergeon; that is an opinion and, as such, should not be given unless asked for.


 * Spell Casters: focus on having up-to-date spells for your level. Some spells are less important, but try to keep up-to-date as best as you can. "I'm too poor" isn't a really good excuse.


 * Knowledge Of Your Class: For example - If you are playing White Mage and were power-leveled to level 60; then not knowing how to Cure? Is a surefire way to get your party killed.


 * Leaving Abrubtly from Party: Don't go away without informing your party. If you do need to go afk, make sure you find a safe place to /heal first, and if you don't need to /heal, put a party member on /follow before you leave. This way, if something does start to get close to camp, you're party can run you away from it, and not watch you stand there and die while you are gone.


 * Disbanding With Style: A good rule of thumb is to give 20-30 minutes notice prior to leaving. If you absolutely need to leave immediately, tell them so, rather than faking a disconnect; it causes a long delay wondering if a DC is coming back or not. Most importantly, however; make sure that your party will actually want to continue when it's time for you to leave''. Nothing is more rude to your replacement than having them arrive to replace you and then your party shortly disbanding thereafter.


 * Concerning replacements: Don't leave a party without at a few minutes' warning and preferably with an attempt at finding a replacement.


 * Inviting Like Rock Star: Always ask in /tell and wait for a positive response before you send an invite. "Blind invites" are rude and aren't usually tolerated outside of Valkurm Dunes. In addition, please include the following information.

a. The level the party will sync to.

b. The goal of the party (i.e. experience).

c. The area of the camp.

d. Why you are awesome. (By the way - YOU ARE AWESOME!)


 * Set your Home Point accordingly: Don't have your Home Point in Whitegate when you're partying in Valkurm unless you have means to get back to your camp that would not inconvenience the rest of your party in the event of a K.O. This especially goes out to the tanks and healers - the most likely to die.


 *  commands can be irritating to party members - particularly Calls 1-3: Use softer calls like and to alert the party of statuses like {No more MP!}. It is a bit more acceptable to use the louder calls for situations like alerting an AFK member or in slight situations where the player is asleep.


 * Spam... it is not desirable: Often players turn off sound to avoid either the BGM or said calls. As is often said in this guide, Don't Spam. If  was not responded to the first time, it probably won't be responded to the 3rd or 4th times within 5 seconds either.


 * Don't Make The Taru's Cry! aka Don't Camp Others Territory: If the area you are EXPing supports multiple parties, great - but there are many places in most zones that can be used as an effective campsite. From a healer's perspective, especially in parties where there are multiple members "tanking", it's hard enough keeping an eye on who has hate (and thus who to pay close attention to) let alone another party sitting on your face, fighting the same mobs.


 * If You Are Pulling: After a break, make sure you ask in /party chat {Everyone}{Ready?}, and get an affirmative from everyone, before you pull. Missing one DD for the first minute of a fight might not be a big deal, but make sure you get permission from the party leader to pull in those situations.  Just because you want max EXP/HOUR doesn't mean your party wants to risk wiping for it.  It may seem like common sense, but never pull if the Main Healer is afk, just because you think they'll be back in time doesn't mean they will be...and nothing sucks more than having to drop huge cure bombs on people, taking hate, because they couldn't wait one more minute.


 * Puller Macros: Please write two Macros - "The Announcement Macro" to the party, and "The Actual" Ranged Attack macro separately . This allows the party to see your announcement, before you attempt to shoot. This avoids it being repeated in the chat log:


 * (i.e.: when " is out of range," "You cannot see the ," or "You move and interrupt your aim," etc. Watching "{Fishing}  {Everyone}{Ready!}) When you announcement goes by 12 times as you inch up on the mob... it is obnoxious. One announcement will easily suffice.


 * On another note, not all Job Abilities need to be announced, "Boost" being a perfect example.


 * The Non-Insane Party Member: If the Tank or Spell-Casters ask you not use a spell or job ability, because the party can not effectively handle the enmity spike; Please Respect This Request . If you don't have a party experienced in handling large amounts of enmity; using spells like Ancient Magic will kill the party.


 * Party members are likely to make mistakes. There is no reason to yell and curse at someone when they do something wrong .  Remember that it is just a game and that everyone is learning.  Yelling will cause most members to leave the party and/or /blist-ing you.
 * Be prepared to pull. If you end up in a party without a clear puller such as a THF or RNG, then more uncommon jobs like WAR or SAM should be prepared to pull.  Forcing a RDM or the NIN tank to pull because a damage dealer doesn't want to give up their ammo stat boosts is unacceptable.  However, be patient with those people that were not invited for the specific purpose...not everyone has a lot of experience doing it.  A SAM that's pulled three times in their lives is never going to be as efficient as a THF that's been doing it since day one.
 * If you're asking someone to pull that was not specifically invited to do so, and they have little experience, be clear in your instructions to them. Tell them what mobs you want, what they check as, and what NOT to pull before they go after their first mob.  Simply saying "omg, go pull WAR!!!" isn't a lot of help to someone that never does it.  Just because you've partied in a given camp 100 times before doesn't mean it isn't someone else's first time through.


 * After a battle is over, /heal!. Not much is more annoying then having an extended downtime as the main healer rests MP, while the tank stands there for the 5 minutes with 100/800 hp left.  /heal after a battle, save the healer some MP so the downtimes are farther apart.  Having a main healer does not absolve you from doing this...you will not lose TP if you have Signet/Sigil active, and if you did not think to renew it before you went out to party, that's not their problem.
 * Every status ailment does not need to be removed immediately. In any exp party, a healer constantly makes judgment calls on the most efficient use of their MP, and things like Paralyze, Poison, and Curse obviously take priority, and the Tank's needs trump everyone else's.  Your Evasion Down or Attack Down is just going to have to wait while they take care of more important things, like keeping your party alive.

Courtesy for Everyday Things

 * Avoid spamming anything, whether it's in /say, /shout, /tell, /emote, or /random; it's all very annoying.
 * Avoid spamming an advertisement for teleporting when there are other mages in the area performing similar tele-taxi services; it is rude and uncalled for. In high-traffic areas, many mages may also wish to tele-taxi. Your spamming will often cause them to start advertising free tele's just to get you to stop. The trick to preventing such spam is to wait in a high-traffic area and respond to another player requesting a tele-taxi service before your competing mages get a chance to make the same response. This can be done entirely in /tell and will not bother other players.
 * Don't put tons of words in your macros, just get the point across.
 * If you have Cure or anything of the sort, solo players often appreciate a buff or a little Cure.
 * Same thing goes for Raise: If you're not in a hurry, don't just run past a KO'd player if you have time to stop and give a quick Raise.
 * Likewise, even if you can't Raise, if you have a moment, give a little shout, such as "(Raise) (Can I have it?)(Thank you)".
 * 'Please' and 'Thank you' are nice words to use if someone just helped you.


 * If you're selling things in your Bazaar, please don't block the Auction House windows or the entrances to Mog Houses or other high traffic areas (This includes the entrance to Rolanberry Fields or Batallia Downs). Remember, other people need to get to these areas, too.
 * Likewise, if you're crafting items, it's a good idea to move over to one side of the shop so that others can purchase their components, too. One good idea is to move up against a wall or even go outside and find an out-of-the-way spot near the shop, but not blocking the entrance, so that others can enter and exit without tripping over your character. Once you've made your purchases, it's only polite to make room so that other players can also make purchases.
 * If someone is already harvesting from a Harvesting Point that has multiple items available, don't start harvesting from the same one. If they are standing there facing it, just pass by and wait for the next one to spawn.
 * If someone is already mining from a Mining Point, don't start mining from the same one. If they are standing there facing it, just pass by and wait for the next one to spawn.
 * When farming, try to select areas that do not interfere with EXP parties. Don't be greedy and chain all the mobs, when you know there are other people farming in the same area.
 * When fighting a mob for Experience Points, be courteous. If you clearly see another player is already preparing to take a specific mob, pull the next one . Stealing a player's claim ruins the whole experience for that player.
 * Do not annoy people who are fishing. There are a lot of things to watch and the last thing they need to do is tell you they aren't a fishbot.
 * When putting together an event, if you have not had experience with the event, make sure you do your homework before inviting other people to join . This means  having the right items/key items/jobs/skills and making sure all other quest/mission/event prerequisites are met . It is really annoying to get to an event and the person who scheduled the event doesn't have a required item.
 * Likewise, when joining an event, bring Silent Oils and Prism Powders when needed, rather than relying on the mages to Sneak/Invis everyone. Relying on the mages slows down the event, and may cause problems such as magic aggro . Also, remember that when a time is given to gather together, it's always best to be early than late.   If you are going to be late or not able to attend, please let the appropriate people know as far in advance as possible so that other accommodations can be made .  Many times events have to be canceled because people fail to show.  So make sure that if you say you are going to be there, you make all attempts to do so.


 * A good rule to follow when performing any action that involves more than yourself is to pay attention to your party log. Chatting away in /tells or /linkshell then throwing a fit when things go bad is not only extremely rude, but it can also get you added to many people's blist. If you're in Dynamis, an EXP party, Garrison, or anything outside of solo play, pay attention to what others are saying, asking and doing. Simply saying, "I'm not entirely sure, explain the rationale?" can help a party a lot more than nothing but silence when someone suggests an alternate method.

Courtesy for Large Events

 * If you are organizing an event which requires a lot of people, be very honest and clear about what is expected out of all participants.
 * Be sure everyone understands they may be replaced if they are late.
 * If the event involves popping an NM the order of popping should be random in order to be fair. If pop order is not completely random, all participants should be informed beforehand so they can gauge whether they really want to join the group.
 * Be sure that pure volunteers are properly appreciated and rewarded if appropriate. For example, when popping Hakutaku rare scroll drops should be free lot for volunteers only.
 * If you are receiving an award from an event, try to bring a friend who does not need the reward purely to help. Everyone wants their item, but this may be impossible to achieve in a reasonable amount of time when 12/15 people need it.
 * Do not leave an event after you have obtained your item unless you absolutely have to or have warned the organizers beforehand when you will need to leave.
 * Be prepared to accept a Raise. There may not be enough time or MP for everyone to receive Raise III.

There is a lot of courtesy in Final Fantasy XI Online, and that's what separates us from most other MMORPG's. There are probably a lot more measures of courtesy out there that aren't listed in these general guidelines. Don't hesitate to add anything you see missing.

Addendum for Respect
''I decided to write this addendum after an EXP Party invitation I sent was declined simply because I greeted the player with, "Hello!" instead of directly asking what the nature of the conversation was!''
 * Something I encounter more and more often in this game, it seems, is a total lack of respect from other players. Whatever your negative motivations may be, please remember to check yourself before you say or do something to another that isn't atypical of your character in real life.  This game is merely a chat/CG medium between multiple parties, and one shouldn't forget that there are real people with real problems not only in-game, but outside as well.


 * When someone is endeavoring in a combined or solo effort that does not require your time nor assistance, please feel just as free to excuse your unnecessary commentary if it is intended to belittle or demean that player. If someone is newly embarking on events you completed five years ago, don't take this as an opportunity to mount a soap-box and begin ranting about your own superiority, which anyone else could care just as less about.


 * Casinos. Love 'em or hate 'em, they're probably always going to be around, hosted by players with large amounts of gil who are generally looking to simply pass the time.  Nothing is more annoying than to see a flame party start over spam created by these things, resulting in even more spam, further diminishing the casino-holder's reputation.  If you disagree with the nature of Casino, or have preconceived ideas about what type of player participates in them, simply exercise your right to peaceful rectification with the /blist feature. FYI: /random is purely that!  There is absolutely no reason to repeatedly use it seeking a winning pattern!


 * In addition to party etiquette above, I would like to add a few things not mentioned. If you are invited to join an EXP party and have already affirmed your intent to join, do not retract your commitment (Especially if you were invited to tank or main heal!) simply because Joe Cool is dual-boxing with his 75 RDM today.  Also, if you are playing a highly-coveted job such as BRD, do not undermine the party leader with ultimatums on which camp or mobs to choose so that if such demands are not met would result in your disbanding from the party.


 * On the flip-side, if you invite someone to a party, do not leave them hanging because you invited too many people, or your buddy needed a party, and you thought it would be cool to waste someone's time. Step down yourself if you can, take the hit for being in the wrong.


 * When someone goes out of their way to help you complete a task that you could not otherwise solo through, at the very least offer them a monetary reward for their time. If you do not have the ends to pay someone to assist you, then by all means learn and employ two very important things that will get you farther than all the gil in Vana'diel: Courtesy and Respect!


 * In this game especially, Karma is a strict element. (What goes around comes around) Do not do anything to another player that you wouldn't want done to yourself. People will remember you and that could in turn effect the rest of your FFXI career possibly stopping you from ever getting to end game content or just enjoying the game in general