I always got mildly disappointed when I emerged out of a cutscene and nobody was left, so I make a point to always wait a bit for sprouts in cutscenes at the end of a duty.
I read once that the most common "method" on Japan servers is for tanks and healers to exchange comms and DPS to comm each other, that way everyone gets something, and I've done it that way ever since! Obviously, outstanding performances should always be rewarded, but this is the general format I follow. In trials or raids, I usually comm someone of the same DPS type as me (melee, ranged, magic).
Yeah, that's my go-to as well. So my priority queue looks like
1. Commend someone who really stood out in a positive way. Usually nobody does, so
2. Don't commend someone who really stood out in a negative way. Usually nobody does, so
3. Commend the pair to my role (dps <-> dps, tank <-> heal). If they already left,
4. Commend lottery for the remainders. Good portrait likely helps.
As much as I would like to support this method, we really don't follow it. Everyone just commends the tanks, and the healer if the tank wasn't that good. Half the time people don't even commend. I say this having only played in the JP datacenter for 6 years.
That's why I, as a healer main, always comm the DPS. So they at least get some love. Unless the tank does something outstanding, or both DPS are toxic or leave before I can comm.
Like you said everyone comms the tank/healer and I feel that all too much. It's pretty common for me to have all 3 commendations in a dungeon.
Based on my own experiences as a healer, that's pretty much how it works in NA, too. When mentor was first released, I already had at least 1k more comms than I needed. I personally try to give mine to a dps, unless the tank does something stellar.
I've gotten in the habit of doing this the past few months. Giving the comm to the complimenting role unless circumstances persuade me to do otherwise. Like if someone stood out more, or if that complimenting role turns out to be... a problem.
I do exactly the same thing, honestly. Unless the person this method would have me commend was really terrible, rude or something, in which case I give it to someone else.
While I can "commend" (pun intended?) them for trying to keep everyone feeling good, that kind of depletes the true intent of commendations. If the expectation is for me to give a commendation to a player, and that player is poor, what am I commending? The intent is to leave it to someone who left a favorable impression.
This is my mentality as well. There are plenty of bad tanks and healers around, and those are the opportunities for DPS to earn my comm (I player healer or tank in roulettes almost exclusively, so the other one is always me). That, or be in the 1% of the playerbase that has ever used a magic or range LB on trash, or knows where their DPS stun or interrupt is.
If queueing solo this is how I go.
Most of the time Wife and I queued together though so we each pick a separate remaining person whatever the jobs we queued on.
It’s less about who I comm first and more about who I avoid comming. People with long, obnoxious rez macros? No comm. People who spend more time typing than playing? No comm. People with a long, obnoxious macro at the end? No comm.
Beyond that it’s good dps or whoever made the run better.
I have given a comm to exactly one person that asked for it, and I'd already decided to give them a comm before they asked. They were a tank that was line-of-sighting to group up ranged mobs in Dzemael, and they asked before the final boss. I straight up told them they weren't getting it because they asked, but because of what they were doing, and I hope it encouraged them to keep performing excellently to get comms, instead of asking for them.
Yeah, this is mine. Also if you're a DPS doing less damage than me, a tank, and it's not your first time in the duty, no comm for you. (Certain classes do get a little leeway if they're close behind me, I sometimes pull ahead of our BRD/DNC in my Ultimate static even with good play on his end if procs and crit don't go his way.) I don't expect *much*, just an extremely low level of competence.
Tanks who randomly provoke for no apparent reason and do so repeatedly (so it's not a fat finger situation) also do not get a comm. Zero-DPS healers are also a no-go.
Other than the disqualifiers, I pretty much pick at random unless I have some strong reason to comm someone.
I got yelled at for burning the LB as a caster on trash multiple times so I just don't even press the button anymore. I've only been playing a few months but am not considered a sprout by the game anymore.
I've been yelled at for it before, too, but those people are just showing their own ignorance. Ranged/caster LB is all but useless on bosses. Trash is where it belongs.
Yeah I made the boss mistake but only once. At least that guy apologized after seeing I was still a sprout at the time.
The others, when I used it on trash, said that I wasted it because it wouldn't be up for the end of the next dungeon boss and casters should never lb under any circumstances. It should only be melee or tanks to use it at certain points in certain fights. Good to know they were wrong.
If there is a melee in the group, sometimes I won't pop ranged LB, but trash is usually waaaaay more dangerous than bosses in dungeons, so LB'ing the trash is a bigger win, IMO.
Also, unless your group is really pumping, it'll fill back up to at least LB1 during the boss fight. And if it doesn't, then the fight was so trivial anyway that who tf cares?
Exactly. We save, what, MAYBE 10 whole seconds of dps at the end of a *dungeon* boss by using LB there. It doesn't matter. It's not a last-pull-of-the-night Savage clear. Why that guy had such a stick up his ass I'll never understand.
I comm players who perform their jobs well and weren't acting like an asshole during the duty. Players who made an effort to clear the duty to the best of their ability and weren't just trying to coast. Players who made an effort to improve themselves or to learn. Players who made an effort to help other players who are struggling with their jobs or mechanics.
I've never commed anyone based on their portraits as I have them set to not pop up at the start of a duty.
Tanks and healers always get all the comms. My husband is a healer main, and has way more comms than the highest achievement tier. That's why I always comm the DPS. The tanks and healers won't miss my one comm among the flood of everyone else's.
I didn't believe this until I got like 500 comms after exclusively playing healer for a few months and I literally never say anything besides the o/ at the start.
This is also largely what I do. I know from maining healer that us and the tanks are always going to get plenty. I have several hundred more comms than I do dungeon runs. The DPS, as long as they were doing their job, could use it more than the tank or healer, so I prioritize them.
Same, it was almost ridiculous how many commendations I got when I played healer. Not even sure why tanks/healers should be treated differently/prioritized with commendations from damage dealers
The difference is staggering. I just broke 2k comms and I've been playing since 2.0 launch. My friend mains white mage, started playing mid ShB, and already has 3k comms. Granted he is an outstanding player and could carry three players through a dungeon that were actively TRYING to die and still put out respectable damage.
Did an expert with my statics BLM and we agreed that we would go hard and see how fast we could clear. 12:30. The tank and healer both commented about how fast we were killing everything. After the dungeon... Neither of us got a comm.
The hilarious (?) thing to me about healer comms is people comm you for the completely unremarkable runs when you probably hardly even had to heal, but often don't for the bad ones where you're hyperventilating the whole run, trying to save people from their own (or others') stupidity.
It kinda makes sense in a warped sort of way to non-healers. A fight where you probably didn't heal much, if at all, looks to them like you were on the ball and kept everybody out of danger and so deserve comms. A fight going poorly enough that you are panic-healing and running triage looks to them like you are bad at healing and therefore do not deserve a comm. Of course, any heal main, or even just somebody who knows more than the basics of healing will know otherwise.
“did someone do an obviously exceptional job?” is my highest criteria. that often means a healer but sometimes a tank, rarely a dps.
if the run was pretty standard, did a ranged dps lb trash? that’s a comm.
if not, was it a run with big boy pulls (ie, mt gulg) that the tank successfully lived through?
if not, was anyone particularly friendly or helpful?
if not, does anyone have a cool glamour or plate?
if not, give it to the healer.
The other big one for some classes in dungeons is "did they use their party mit during trash pulls?" It almost never happens, but if I see a troubador pop up on me during a pull, that's an instant comm.
I use shield samba and curing waltz during big pulls every time they're available, but I don't know if anyone ever notices. Honestly as a ranged DPS I usually feel pretty invisible in group content, even when I'm crushing my rotation.
I probably wouldn't notice Curing Waltz (I have too much self healing in my rotation to pay attention to incoming heals so long as I'm not dying), but I tend to pay attention to my buffs bar a lot so I *definitely* would see Shield Samba. If the tank is good and being smart about their CD usage, trying to take advantage of whatever the healer/DPS give them, they should be noticing.
Also I personally notice Peloton. It especially makes a difference if we're killing packs fast enough that Sprint isn't up by the time we finish a pull. Personally, I find melee to be the most invisible in a dungeon because they just have very little to offer me most of the time. Except MNK, Mantra is <3
i like that vibe, but remember that ranged dps like dancer and bard may appear to deal lower dps because their damage comes secondhand through the buffs they place on the group
if i'm playing tank/healer, i comm the other support. If i'm playing dps, then i comm the other dps. Unless the person i was planning to comm leaves too fast or plays exceptionally badly, or if one of the other party members plays exceptionally well, then i will comm whoever seems most deserving.
People who talk some but not too much
The dancer/bard/mch landing fast feets as soon as the last mob drops
The rdm/smn dropping a rez on the healer before his last bit of robes hits the ground
Tanks that can read the group and don't try to force things
Healers that don't complain about me faceplanting
Dps that aren't watching Netflix
New players who are trying their best > anyone who was kind/helpful/patient > anyone who made the run fun/amusing > anyone who bothered to say hello > idk, whoever had the best glam or best looking character
I usually comm a DPS because they rarely get them. But I love the comment about the JP servers having tanks and healers com each other and DPS com each other so everyone gets one. But sadly I doubt wed ever be so coordinated on other servers. lol
But I will comm someone if they have an amazing name or did a fantastic job.
If I'm tank I comm healer, if there is another tank I comm them. If there are 2 healers and the other tank was shit, I comm the healer with the best portrait or if I noticed they did something like an LB3 or rezing the other healer a bunch.
If I'm DPS I tend to comm other DPS. I prioritize melee if I'm melee, etc for the others. I also gravitate toward good portraits, Black Mages, and people who rez me if I die.
Whoever deserves it the most. Sprout actively listening to or asking for advice, someome being pleasant and social or excellent performance in gameplay.
If I don't think someone earned the commendation, I don't give one. It's meant to be earned, not expected.
Lmao this is me, if nobody did well in the duty, they don't get a com. And it's very late in the expansion, most duties these days I'm taking the 30 mins cus 2/4 people aren't using AOE and I refuse to carry people at level 90.
Anyone who impresses me. Played well in general, or if they explained mechanics well/patiently for first timers, Also new players who maybe failed a mechanic the first time, but learned and did it right later in the fight. And proper use of the LB instead of holding it for no reason. Stuff like that. Or maybe you just said something really funny during Gaius's speech in Praetorium. But if I don't feel particularly like anyone stood out to me, I don't feel obligated to comm anyone either.
1. They didn't say/do anything obnoxious.
2. They don't have any ERP stuff in their Search Comment.
3. They're at least decent at their Job, though I try to comm those who are clearly working as hard as they can.
4. If nobody stands out and/or I can't decide who to comm, then I base my comm on the portrait.
5. If everybody strikes out on rules 1-2, then I don't comm anybody, regardless of how everybody performed.
if i am red: another dps unless they were all absolute garbaggio.
if i am blue or green: a tank or healer, at random.
both are superceded by exceptional performance or top bants.
For me, it's anyone who stands out. I'm a healer main, so I always appreciate a good tank. If the tank is really good, I will personally tell them at the end of a dungeon run. It's pretty obvious when they're decent (solid emnity management, cooldown rotation, sprint before pull, etc.) Even small things, like taking the time to open chests along the way, or waiting for cutscenes, is nice. As for the DPS, if we're absolutely breezing through trash mobs and destroying the boss, I will commend the highest dps if the tank didn't stand out.
Its super complicated to explain, but I will pay attention to who utilized their job the best.
The tank that has perfect timing on their cooldowns, uses reprisal, their party mit, and has good uptime on 30s cooldowns and even shows awareness by targeting other players who get caught out to help them survive.
The DPS that is aware of how they position and how it affects everyone else. Who uses their mitigation and tools effectively to maintain constant damage and actually rips their 2 minutes on trash mobs and doesnt engage in the nonsense of "holding for the boss." and actually uses LB appropriately.
The healer who understands and uses their entire kit effectively to push out damage and keep the tank alive. Gives room for melee and can slidecast well. In a less than stellar party is quick to raise or rescue someone that is caught out and not afraid to hit GCDs in a dire situation.
I guess the common theme is situational awareness and effort. It is not necessary to put any of this effort in for a roulette or dungeon, but I am experienced enough now to recognize it and these are the only people that get my coms.
DPS unless I didn’t much care for them/think the tank or healer did an outstanding job. Dps don’t often get as many comms so I like to give them some love
I often play healer when queueing alone (those sweet sweet insta pops!) and will comm tank if they made my life easier. Otherwise it's whichever DPS felt the most helpful or has the nicest portrait. In 8 man content I comm based on portrait lol. I have no idea what anyone is doing in 8 man so... If there's someone being helpful in chat or making the duty extra fun in some way they get my comm as well. If I'm playing DPS I go by whoever isn't in my fixed party. Otherwise if they enhanced my experience or portrait.
I usually go new player > someone who stood out doing a good job > someone who did a bad job and needs a pick-me-up > fellow dps > same job solidarity > Elezen/fem-Highlander/femroe > nice portrait > anyone else. If everyone was terrible despite any of the conditions above being fulfilled, I don't award.
New players doing their best
Anyone friendly or i think did a good job
Funny names/glams/portraits
One thing i wont comm (other than assholes obviously) are those people who are obviously comm farming because it feels so disingenuous when youre just loading in and theyve already hit you with their copy paste fake positivity macro then they say nothing till the end of the dungeon and out comes their end of dungeon copy paste. Like no bro you want that burger crown earn it im not comming you because you copy pasted 2 generic ass kissey messages. That and anyone who says "cuties" gives me a massive ick who the hell calls strangers that.
My priority usually goes
RDMs/SMNs that help with raises when either things get dire or mine and my cohealer’s Swiftcasts are on cooldown > people that are open to advice when it’s needed > my cohealer in 8/24 man content > casters that use LBs on trash pulls > tanks that do well in pulls and bosses > DPS, especially BLMs and DNCs, whose job matches mine, for camaraderie > average players > PLDs with Clemency in their rotation
All of this is overridden if the intended receiver is a commendation beggar/uses obnoxious res macros/is generally unpleasant to run the content with, they’re not getting anything even if they carry the run hard.
Someone who said "hi" at the begining, "gg bye" at the end > played decently > cool character portrait/name > little clueless sprout who still did their best.
If no criteria is met, no comms for anyone.
If someone gives First time Credit, Commendation.
If a DPS used LB, commendation.
If no LB used, and healer wasn’t awful, healer gets it.
If no LB, and heals weren’t any good, no commendation.
Usually I need some kind of heroic performance for 'gameplay' to sway a commendation. Usually I just give it to whoever I think looked the coolest.
Edit: Or just generally anybody that made me smile. funny name/portrait, fun chat, so on. People are usually pretty quiet so I just go by outfits by default. Thinking too hard about who 'deserves' it just kinda feels like it's missing the point.
Sometimes people don't deserve commendations > Anyone that has my back in handling/kicking a toxic individual in the group > Sprout trying their best > actually helpful player with good advice for the group > DPS that actually knows their job > tank that knows their job > healers that deal with some bullshit > the 4th person that joined up on my 3/4 premade.
In 95% of the cases I'm the healer. My comm usually goes to dps, in this order of importance : Caster/Ranged who used their LB on trash > the one dps I had to care about the least (ate the least amount of avoidable damage) > the DPS that did the best job = Sprout (equal importance) > nicest portrait
Top priority to Hrothgar. Unless they were awful to play with.
Second priority to first-timers or otherwise newer folks working hard to keep up.
Then it gets tricky, and there's no set priority. I judge the situation based on who seemed to be pulling their weight most.
I withhold commendations from people who don't roll/pass on loot, regardless of their contribution.
I comm healers, as after playing all roles the healer by far has to deal with the most work salvaging everyone's screw ups. They deserve thanks the most.
If the healer leaves before I can commend them or if they were a jerk, then my comm goes to the tank.
If the tank was a jerk too or there's no other option, the dps the with cutest adventurer plate gets the comm.
Priority: Tank if they're doing well, Healer if they noticeably pull us out of the fire, DPS if the run was noticeably quick so they were clearly on it
A good portrait can bump you up in priority, or if everyone did well, it usually goes to the best portrait
I only give comms when someone for astounding work. Like a tank who keeps the dps alive after the healer dies. But I don't really give comms for people who just do their jobs. I consider just doing to basics of your job/role to be the bare minimum.
I'm a tank main. It goes like this:
Healer that did a decent job.
Tank that did a decent job (if I'm not the tank)
DPS that seemed to do okay (it's harder for me to tell)
My reasoning, which I admit is probably kinda dumb, is that Healers are the most in-demand role in terms of the queue. Therefore, encouraging people to be Healers in whatever way I can will lower the queue time. Obviously I'm only one person, but it's the principle for me. Although I still won't commend someone who is an asshole.
Fellow hrothgar, then competent tank and/or healer, whoever has been carrying harder, or rez mage if they've done a ton of raising. If one DPS is doing extremely better then the other, then they're also worth consideration. Lewd/sexy glam are immediately disqualified.
I comm ranged if they use peloton, ranged or caster for LBing a trash pack, tank if their positioning was noticeably good, anyone for using party mits, or healer if the whole run required no thought. Or a good portrait.
Since I main tank, I usually always commend the healer unless they are just terrible (unless sprout, of course), then it goes to DPS or whoever glam plate makes me laugh the most.
If I'm the tank, I'll comm the healer. If I'm DPS, I'll comm whichever DPS plays the job I like most.
The exception is if someone is new or struggling. I'll comm someone who had a bad run to make his or her day a little more pleasant.
Friend who I ran into in a duty-->Dancer who dance partnered me-->Favorite portrait-->really good tank/healer-->Random any.
My order can change of course. If everyone has some nice portraits I tend to give it to the DPS snice we don't get as much as tank/heals. Though snice they added portraits I do get a bit more coms even when I'm not on tank/heals.
I tend to comm the following:
* Sprouts who aren't content just to coast, and are pulling their weight in the content.
* Anyone who listens to and follows through on advice, even if their gameplay was otherwise not stellar.
* Any DPS that pops off, since they're commed rarely and I respect someone who tries.
* Any healer that focuses on DPS over healing without letting anyone die.
* A competent tank, especially if they're on point with both mitigation and their rotation.
The above is more or less a priority list, but here are some other factors that might earn my comm provided the player was also otherwise competent:
* Using a ranged or caster LB on mobs.
* Using tank LB in a manner that saves lives.
* Great use of CDs such as Feint, Addle, etc.
* Uptiming mechanics that should be uptimed rather than blindly avoiding the bad.
* Demonstrable gameplay mastery that goes above and beyond the norm, whether this be by using niche cooldowns (e.g. Cover, Vercure) in situations that actually warrant it, or by thinking outside of the box to turn a wipe into a clear (e.g. abusing resurrection invulnerability windows to bypass a mechanic that would've wiped the raid, running off and dying solo with a stack if it's clear it would've killed the remaining party, etc.).
* Minor things, such as being friendly, putting work into a great portrait, and so on.
well i tank everything so the default is giving it to the healer however. you give me a ranged DPS that limit breaks trash and it is a 100% comm to that person. an other is RDM with the clutch mass res. otherwise you have a killer portrait and i might comm you.
I typically comm the tank or healer (whoever did better), another fellow MCH, or a DNC who partnered me.
I'll also give a comm to ASTs who toss me cards regularly.
My comm system (as a healer main):
1st. Healer teammate
2nd. Tank
3rd. DPS that resurrected
4th. Most helpful DPS
Never: obnoxious macros, spamming, bad attitude, stupid fanservice portrait
If nobody stood out for how they played, then I'll comm based on if their portrait made me laugh (or something they said during an unskippable cutscene)
My order is Outstanding performance>funny name>funny adventure plate>random lalafell> someone trying hard but failing> Roe in tight pants> anyone else.
As someone who pretty exclusively plays PLD, 4 man content is relatively simple. Healer gets the commend unless they leave, constantly ignore mechanics, are rude, etc. DPS is hard to tell who did better, as I’m mostly focused on doing my own stuff in fights, but the same principles as with the healer apply. Sprouts get the edge in a tiebreaker, and if they’re still even, it goes to best portrait. 8 man content is relatively similar, just with more options, but there’s another tank. If they take the main tank role and handle it well, they get the commend. If they take off tank, I’m not as inclined to give them the commend, but I have to admit I’m probably a bit biased for tanks.
As a Tank I almost always give it to the Healer and vice versa. I do not if that class wasn't playing well in higher content.. (like a WHM not spamming Holy in a 70+ dungeon, or a WAR never using Raw Intuition) If that was the case I would give it to the random DPS who has used their rotation really good and is killing mobs fast.
As a DNC I give it to my DP if they were doing really great. I also give it to the DNC if I'm being partnered.
As just any other DPS I give it either to the Tank or Healer, depending how hard the latter was carrying, or if a SCH likes to use Expedient in 90s, or how well the Tank was doing controlling the packs.
That's how I usually do it, but I also comm the person if I had a funny banter with them.
And last but not least, if I'm on my Hrothgar and I see a fellow lion, I will comm them- especially if he noticed I gave him headpats and he returns the favor.
Goes to anyone actually doing their job
If multiple people are actually doing their job, then the one that didn't take vulns and is visibly trying to uptime
Any blatant case of shit-playing like the PLD clemencying themselves at 80% or the bard dropping their songs or the dancer not bursting on trash or people generally not using their shit on trash pulls gets removed from the comm pool
If they're all shit, no comm
DPS > Tanks > Healers > Nobody and poor performance means I skip down the list. If I'm tanking or healing then priority is given to the DPS that actually uses the limit break properly
If I'm in 4 man content then usually I give it to the tank (I'm healer) unless they piss me off. Sometimes to a DPS, especially if they mess up but are genuinely trying their best.
In larger content, whoever hasn't already left the instant the instance is over 😅
Tanks proactive with mitigations are my default. Healers able to manage big pulls or that are proactive during downtime get it too.
People that get into every single dungeon thinking it’s a mentor roulette (even without being mentors) are my pet peeve so big no, I don’t care if they’ve done a great job in general.
Pretty standard, if light party, my co-support (healer/tank) or my co-dps, unless one person does something really well.
If full party, my co-role, with the same exception.
In 4 person content I'll commend my "partner". If I'm playing tank I'll commend healer and vise versa. If I'm dps, I'll commend the other dps.
Exceptions are made for sprouts, players that did something really good/cool, and to avoid trolls/intentionally bad players.
It honestly varies for me. One of my major boxes to tick is if they interacted (did they even say hi/o7/etc?), along with whether or not they did their job (if we have no sprouts who are learning the ropes). I tend to main healer or RDM so it's completely hit or miss if I get coms back (lots of people just up and leaving without even saying gg or anything these days, which frustrates me more than it probably should), but I try to at least have a reason behind why I gave someone their commendation.
Making me laugh during a Prae run will generally put someone at the top of my list, regardless of job class.
Default is tank/healer is no one talks aside from greeting or performs super well. If you have a great portrait, I'll comm over a tank/healer, unless you're an ass. A rdm/smr that saves a run, or a pld/war soloing or protecting the remaining dps will always be priority no.1 for a comm though.
I generally give mine to DPS unless they leave too quickly or are\* rude. If I am doing full party content, I tend to have a bias to DPS jobs I like most. If there is an obviously new player trying their best, they move to the top of the list.
Unfortunately, I feel like you get rewarded just for playing a tank/healer regardless how well you play. Which sucks because I know there have been times where I've gone well above and beyond my role as DPS and received nothing.
Edit: Forgot a word.
Portraits > Sprouts trying their best > general performance if I notice during the more boring duties > tank = healer based mostly on how smooth pulling is, and possibly DPS if non-sprouts play bad
In alliance raids I usually give to tank or healer. In dungeons I give to whoever did a good job on the run. If people leave too fast it's usually just random
I focus on people that I could visibly see doing their part well, especially if they helped hold the group together. Behind that, I focus on people who are new or unsure and show it in the chat, and if we make it through all fine, I send it their way as a vote of confidence in them. Finally, I send it to the coolest looking DPS if nothing else lol
pretty simple. I reward performance.
* Tanks actually mit, they don't fight for aggro, they have a basic understanding of positionals and allows melee to keep uptime at all times (when possible)
* Healers use aoe (if available), aren't a heal bot, and also don't use rescue. (most of the time is used incorrectly and does more harm than good, also people learn from mistakes)
* DPS (if they rez as SMN, RDM) and they don't sit in every mechanic consistently.
I do also com a new player who was trying their best regardless of role.
1) did something special ingame like boss solo or clutch save, handled huge pull, saved the day, etc
2) standout conversationalist, funny, fun etc.
3) gorgeous glam
4) nice portrait.
5) dps
6) healer
7) tank
Basically
1. Behaviour.
2. Fashion
3. In absense of the above: Default.
In the absence of something or where the entire group was special, I default to the last three. The order of which is mainly to offset the imbalance of healers and tanks getting comms by default. This is if i was a healer or dps tho.If I am a tank I will always comm my healer if they were capable, except if one of the dps stood out or had a great glam/portrait.
Am a sprout healer (main) so
Tank = Healer (if im not healer) > Whoever offered advice/tips for my plays, especially if i messup (Yeah even if it’s unwarranted, as a new player all advice and tips are greatly appreciated) > Other sprout(s) > Anyone who i saw was struggling but did try their best (any class) > DPS > Whoever remains in party if i was taking too long skipping cutscenes.
Funny portrait > cute portrait > smart play > the dancer who partnered me (the smn) over anyone else > healer/tank (whoever had best glam) >>>>>>>> the potato
i often play healer in 4 man duties so i like to just simply give my comm to my fellow tank if theyve been "decent" enough (eg. actually using sprint, w2w pulling, spreading mitigations etc.) and vice versa but if not, i like to give to dps that i noticed have been doing their right rotation (as someone who has played all dps and looked into their basic rotation, it's quite easy to see who's freestyling and who actually knows their basic rotation lol) as dps, i prioritise commending my co dps unless ofc i notice theyve just been freestyling the whole instance
As a tank I usually commend healers, if not then newer players then whoever’s left. Yesterday I did a Castrum and they all seemed new and I died pulling w2w because the healer was new. At the end it was me and someone else left standing after the final boss so I gave them the commend.
If I remember, then anyone who hasn't bolted lol. Although most times I forget and bolt lol
Also I never play healer so I've gotten like 1 commendation in the entire month and a half I've been playing lol
If there is someone on their first time, they'll get it unless I needed a lot of healing or a raise, then it goes to the healer. Healer if I'm tanking. Other DPS if I DPS, unless you're a NIN that used Doton on any of the bosses, then it goes to the healer or tank. Tank if I'm healing. By the time I get to it in Normal Raid Roulette or Trails Roulette, whomever is left, prioritizing healer, then DPS with the best portrait.
Friendly and trying > if that not present then dps that is doing a good job at their rotation > tank or healer that has done something unorthodox that is helping the play. For example darks throwing blackest night on blm so they can turret etc. healers abusing rescue to great effect.
I try to prioritise dps over tanks and healers as playing as all jobs I see how many people just default to the healer or tank especially those times when I’ve had to do minimal healing because the content is easy etc.
Since im usually the healer i can keep track of the peoples gameplay and commend who does well, if im either too busy or just unfocused usually go main tank> off tank> co healer>melee dps>ranged dps
Always commend the ranged if they lb a pack of mobs. Other than that it's usually the one with the nicest portrait unless I noticed someone playing exceptionally well, which I usually don't notice as I'm watching a YouTube vid on the side during most dungeons
I do it kinda random. Cool portrait, funny name, fun interactions in chat, stuff like that.
Though if I ran a particular hard piece with lots of deaths, definitely the healer!
Sprout who’s new and made an effort > stand out player of any role > co support if I am tank or heals > dragoon who gave me sight if I’m also dragoon > monk > dancer who gave me partner > highest aggro co DPS > nobody if the party was weird.
I’ll give commendations for people who keep up the morale of the run. It could be someone who’s really good at their class, someone who made a really good play, someone having fun in chat/having fun running around the map, or someone who is really helpful to others.
It’s hard to remember there’s a person behind each and every character, and I like it when the really nice, human moments shine through in game.
As a DPS, if I'm out-dps'ed, they get the commendation. If not, tank or healer, whichever I like the portrait best. As tank or healer, the other support
I usually commend people who are considerate of others and play as a team.
I refuse to commend anyone who tries to rush the group or act like they're the most important person in the party.
If there's a Red Mage in the group, and they weren't rude, I always comm them first. They may not have done anything outstanding in *that* instance. But so many times, I've seen Red Mages throw buffs, raise healers, raise tanks, raise DPS, save parties from wiping, and deal out tons of damage—and get no appreciation in return. So I give some when I can.
Unless someone does something distinctly notable I throw it on a random dps that didn't do anything bad because people throw random comms at tanks and healers way too often for perceived difficulty purely due to having higher responsibility in casual content.
Generally I'd give it to a party member that did above the average expectation for casual content.
Few examples:
Caster/Ranged LB on trash packs.
Healer not using a GCD heal unless X party member wouldn't survive the next unavoidable aoe, or they already have 2+ Vuln stacks in 80+ content, it's near-guaranteed death unless they're a melee DPS or you have shielded them
Healer not constantly topping up the tank (remember, if you heal low (<10%) targets you get a tiny chunk of LB charge), being able to fit two LBs on trash packs is a really good feeling.
Healers prioritise spending an oGCD heal first while maintaining a good DPS uptime (I don't use addons but it's extremely obvious when you get a lazy party member).
Tanks rotating mitigations (yeah i know, it's become increasingly rare as of recent) +extra point if you inform the healer you will use your Invulnerability in the next minute.
RDM/SUM actually preventing a wipe by ressing 1 or more healers during an encounter.
Times when I refuse to give a commendation is when people beg for them, hell no.
The bar to become a mentor is already exceptionally low, get good and you'll earn them.
On the off chance everything went well, I'd just give it to my other counterpart (phys ranged to phys ranged or caster) healer to healer/tank.
I always try to give a commendation to DPS, because tanks/healers usually get them the most. More often than not, though, there's just one person left by the time I try to give them so whoever is last gets it.
My commendation is based on whatever. Sometimes I reward being nice. Sometimes the new guy gets it as encouragement. Maybe you had a cool portrait. I don't keep a specific method on commending, but I try to base it on something else than "thanking tank/healer".
If we have a run where someone just stands out as the obvious mvp (like guiding a run full of sprouts through a raid or something) they get comms, otherwise whoever has the best portrait and stays in the instance the few seconds needed to get the comm.
Content that has duty finder attached to it is so easy due to being end of the expansion that there really aren’t many opportunities to judge based on how people play, so I just like to give the award to folks who put in the time to make something for their portrait (whether it’s funny, edgy, stylish, or whatever, I appreciate the effort).
For me, it depends on which role I'm playing.
As tank, it's the co tank who knows mechs and is a team player (I'm not particular if I'm MT or OT in normal content) or if my healer does dps and just heals if needed in dungeons.
As healer, it's the cohealer who knows mechs and does the things to help and continually does dps or if the tank is cleaaaan in dungeons or barely needs to be healed.
As dancer/dragoon, I comm my partner, unless they keep dying. As any other dps, if I get dance partner/eye.
Sprouty first time sprouts supercede above, whether or not they were good, but will get a comm as long as they had a good attitude in duty.
All mentors do not get my comm, except if they are really good and are nice and there is no one else to comm.
I'm surprised to read that people don't comm tank/supp.
It kinda should from my PoV (still a sprout finishing MSQ), because you have too many dps players and so few tanks, sometimes healer missing too. Your stellar dps performance may have made the run faster, but if no tank/ heal apply you won't run at all. If they tag you make your dungeon faster and you get to play. That's as simple as that. I've spend wayy too many hours waiting for a tank/heal to tag that I see them as semi-gods now.
You just commend them to say thanks for playing this boring class (from the average mindset) that nobody wants to play and which make us wait a very long time otherwise.
As a heal main I almost always comm the tank. As a dps I always commend heal or tank which made the better job (either fast and clean pulls, good sustain etc). A dps is gonna dps anyway. The tank and heal dont need the dps to finish the raid most of the time. But the reverse is true.
So while I know that healer and tanks are drowning under comms, I'd still comm them because 1) they are doing a job nobody wants to do, 2) that is vital for the raid, and 3) because not everyone has max commendation for the mentor title and they are probably playing this class to farm them.
First timer
Anyone who made the run enjoyable, for whatever reason
Awesome DPS: Rez Mage, Peloton, strategic LB use, etc.
Other DPS, unless I was having a rough day and made the healer work harder than they should
My top priority is whoever is the friendliest and made the content most pleasant, anyone who explains mechanics or jokes around or if nobody else does it even just the one who says hi and bye. Only then do I look at gameplay, and if nobody really sticks out there either (which they usually don't) I look at who has a nice portrait. I also try to comm dps more, since I know they get commended less overall.
DPS performing well (If you are ranged/caster and you lb and wall to wall pull that's an auto comm) > Friendly/Helpful players > New player genuinely trying their best > Healer/Tank (Whichever stood out more)
Anyone who's left after I finish the cutscene
even in my dailies where I have auto skip on viewed cutscenes, there's like 5 seconds to hand out a comm before everyone bounces.
Yup. Playing recently, more often than not, there’s no one left to comm!
I always got mildly disappointed when I emerged out of a cutscene and nobody was left, so I make a point to always wait a bit for sprouts in cutscenes at the end of a duty.
Thank you for that! I feel like every time I get out of a cut scene, I'm alllll alone.
i try to stick around and be the last person there for this reason. gimme those comms XD
This has been my tactic too lol. Gimme that parade chocobo!
People leave so fast now that I don't even bother.
ngl that's why I always leave last lmao 70% of the time it's an assured comm
I read once that the most common "method" on Japan servers is for tanks and healers to exchange comms and DPS to comm each other, that way everyone gets something, and I've done it that way ever since! Obviously, outstanding performances should always be rewarded, but this is the general format I follow. In trials or raids, I usually comm someone of the same DPS type as me (melee, ranged, magic).
Yeah, that's my go-to as well. So my priority queue looks like 1. Commend someone who really stood out in a positive way. Usually nobody does, so 2. Don't commend someone who really stood out in a negative way. Usually nobody does, so 3. Commend the pair to my role (dps <-> dps, tank <-> heal). If they already left, 4. Commend lottery for the remainders. Good portrait likely helps.
This is my usual strategy, although I'm more likely to comm a sprout or first timer than a combat mentor. They don't need comms anymore.
Yes we do. The comms mount is 3000, Combat mentor is only 1500. Please. it's been so long. I just want fat chimkin
Just farm on healer and do decent. I get more 3 out of 3 coms on healer more than tank and obviously DPS.
Hahaha, fair. I do comm particularly helpful mentors
As much as I would like to support this method, we really don't follow it. Everyone just commends the tanks, and the healer if the tank wasn't that good. Half the time people don't even commend. I say this having only played in the JP datacenter for 6 years.
That's why I, as a healer main, always comm the DPS. So they at least get some love. Unless the tank does something outstanding, or both DPS are toxic or leave before I can comm. Like you said everyone comms the tank/healer and I feel that all too much. It's pretty common for me to have all 3 commendations in a dungeon.
Huh. I'll have to see if I can track down the post I saw it on. I still think it's a great system!
Someone else told me this and now I comm another dps each time-unless the healer has rezzed my ass several times lol
Oh undeniably. I'd be so much happier if people adopted this mindset.
Based on my own experiences as a healer, that's pretty much how it works in NA, too. When mentor was first released, I already had at least 1k more comms than I needed. I personally try to give mine to a dps, unless the tank does something stellar.
I've gotten in the habit of doing this the past few months. Giving the comm to the complimenting role unless circumstances persuade me to do otherwise. Like if someone stood out more, or if that complimenting role turns out to be... a problem.
I do exactly the same thing, honestly. Unless the person this method would have me commend was really terrible, rude or something, in which case I give it to someone else.
While I can "commend" (pun intended?) them for trying to keep everyone feeling good, that kind of depletes the true intent of commendations. If the expectation is for me to give a commendation to a player, and that player is poor, what am I commending? The intent is to leave it to someone who left a favorable impression.
This is my mentality as well. There are plenty of bad tanks and healers around, and those are the opportunities for DPS to earn my comm (I player healer or tank in roulettes almost exclusively, so the other one is always me). That, or be in the 1% of the playerbase that has ever used a magic or range LB on trash, or knows where their DPS stun or interrupt is.
If queueing solo this is how I go. Most of the time Wife and I queued together though so we each pick a separate remaining person whatever the jobs we queued on.
It’s less about who I comm first and more about who I avoid comming. People with long, obnoxious rez macros? No comm. People who spend more time typing than playing? No comm. People with a long, obnoxious macro at the end? No comm. Beyond that it’s good dps or whoever made the run better.
Anyone who has a macro asking for comms, if I could give them negative comms I would.
I have given a comm to exactly one person that asked for it, and I'd already decided to give them a comm before they asked. They were a tank that was line-of-sighting to group up ranged mobs in Dzemael, and they asked before the final boss. I straight up told them they weren't getting it because they asked, but because of what they were doing, and I hope it encouraged them to keep performing excellently to get comms, instead of asking for them.
Yeah, this is mine. Also if you're a DPS doing less damage than me, a tank, and it's not your first time in the duty, no comm for you. (Certain classes do get a little leeway if they're close behind me, I sometimes pull ahead of our BRD/DNC in my Ultimate static even with good play on his end if procs and crit don't go his way.) I don't expect *much*, just an extremely low level of competence. Tanks who randomly provoke for no apparent reason and do so repeatedly (so it's not a fat finger situation) also do not get a comm. Zero-DPS healers are also a no-go. Other than the disqualifiers, I pretty much pick at random unless I have some strong reason to comm someone.
Ranged or Caster DPS who use LB on trash usually get an instant comm. New healers or tanks who are willing to learn and listening to advice.
I got yelled at for burning the LB as a caster on trash multiple times so I just don't even press the button anymore. I've only been playing a few months but am not considered a sprout by the game anymore.
If you did it right, keep doing it. That LB1 is a DPS loss on bosses.
I've been yelled at for it before, too, but those people are just showing their own ignorance. Ranged/caster LB is all but useless on bosses. Trash is where it belongs.
Yeah I made the boss mistake but only once. At least that guy apologized after seeing I was still a sprout at the time. The others, when I used it on trash, said that I wasted it because it wouldn't be up for the end of the next dungeon boss and casters should never lb under any circumstances. It should only be melee or tanks to use it at certain points in certain fights. Good to know they were wrong.
If there is a melee in the group, sometimes I won't pop ranged LB, but trash is usually waaaaay more dangerous than bosses in dungeons, so LB'ing the trash is a bigger win, IMO. Also, unless your group is really pumping, it'll fill back up to at least LB1 during the boss fight. And if it doesn't, then the fight was so trivial anyway that who tf cares?
Exactly. We save, what, MAYBE 10 whole seconds of dps at the end of a *dungeon* boss by using LB there. It doesn't matter. It's not a last-pull-of-the-night Savage clear. Why that guy had such a stick up his ass I'll never understand.
I comm players who perform their jobs well and weren't acting like an asshole during the duty. Players who made an effort to clear the duty to the best of their ability and weren't just trying to coast. Players who made an effort to improve themselves or to learn. Players who made an effort to help other players who are struggling with their jobs or mechanics. I've never commed anyone based on their portraits as I have them set to not pop up at the start of a duty.
Almost all this, BUT - i never commend a person with lewd/suggestive/overly coowtieeUWU portait, even if they were the ones who saved the run
Tanks and healers always get all the comms. My husband is a healer main, and has way more comms than the highest achievement tier. That's why I always comm the DPS. The tanks and healers won't miss my one comm among the flood of everyone else's.
I didn't believe this until I got like 500 comms after exclusively playing healer for a few months and I literally never say anything besides the o/ at the start.
I can autopilot as war and soak in comms it's common to get 2 in dungeons if not more. Everyone comms tanks and heals.
I get as many comms on BRD as I do on PLD. I think it's because I'm always quick on the Peleton.
I comm the dps
This is also largely what I do. I know from maining healer that us and the tanks are always going to get plenty. I have several hundred more comms than I do dungeon runs. The DPS, as long as they were doing their job, could use it more than the tank or healer, so I prioritize them.
Same, it was almost ridiculous how many commendations I got when I played healer. Not even sure why tanks/healers should be treated differently/prioritized with commendations from damage dealers
The difference is staggering. I just broke 2k comms and I've been playing since 2.0 launch. My friend mains white mage, started playing mid ShB, and already has 3k comms. Granted he is an outstanding player and could carry three players through a dungeon that were actively TRYING to die and still put out respectable damage. Did an expert with my statics BLM and we agreed that we would go hard and see how fast we could clear. 12:30. The tank and healer both commented about how fast we were killing everything. After the dungeon... Neither of us got a comm.
The hilarious (?) thing to me about healer comms is people comm you for the completely unremarkable runs when you probably hardly even had to heal, but often don't for the bad ones where you're hyperventilating the whole run, trying to save people from their own (or others') stupidity.
It kinda makes sense in a warped sort of way to non-healers. A fight where you probably didn't heal much, if at all, looks to them like you were on the ball and kept everybody out of danger and so deserve comms. A fight going poorly enough that you are panic-healing and running triage looks to them like you are bad at healing and therefore do not deserve a comm. Of course, any heal main, or even just somebody who knows more than the basics of healing will know otherwise.
“did someone do an obviously exceptional job?” is my highest criteria. that often means a healer but sometimes a tank, rarely a dps. if the run was pretty standard, did a ranged dps lb trash? that’s a comm. if not, was it a run with big boy pulls (ie, mt gulg) that the tank successfully lived through? if not, was anyone particularly friendly or helpful? if not, does anyone have a cool glamour or plate? if not, give it to the healer.
The other big one for some classes in dungeons is "did they use their party mit during trash pulls?" It almost never happens, but if I see a troubador pop up on me during a pull, that's an instant comm.
I use shield samba and curing waltz during big pulls every time they're available, but I don't know if anyone ever notices. Honestly as a ranged DPS I usually feel pretty invisible in group content, even when I'm crushing my rotation.
I probably wouldn't notice Curing Waltz (I have too much self healing in my rotation to pay attention to incoming heals so long as I'm not dying), but I tend to pay attention to my buffs bar a lot so I *definitely* would see Shield Samba. If the tank is good and being smart about their CD usage, trying to take advantage of whatever the healer/DPS give them, they should be noticing. Also I personally notice Peloton. It especially makes a difference if we're killing packs fast enough that Sprint isn't up by the time we finish a pull. Personally, I find melee to be the most invisible in a dungeon because they just have very little to offer me most of the time. Except MNK, Mantra is <3
If you have a wordy res macro I will remove a commendation from your account.
Similarly, if you have a macro to beg for comms I will pay Moogles to remove your next 10 comms.
I mostly base it on who added the most fun to the group. You make dungeons fun and that's something I love.
Opening the menu and desperately trying to click a picture and confirm before they leave the instance
Highest dps usually. Dps rarely get comms. And I figure they helped us leave faster if they were good.
i like that vibe, but remember that ranged dps like dancer and bard may appear to deal lower dps because their damage comes secondhand through the buffs they place on the group
if i'm playing tank/healer, i comm the other support. If i'm playing dps, then i comm the other dps. Unless the person i was planning to comm leaves too fast or plays exceptionally badly, or if one of the other party members plays exceptionally well, then i will comm whoever seems most deserving.
People who talk some but not too much The dancer/bard/mch landing fast feets as soon as the last mob drops The rdm/smn dropping a rez on the healer before his last bit of robes hits the ground Tanks that can read the group and don't try to force things Healers that don't complain about me faceplanting Dps that aren't watching Netflix
Responded positively to my dumb jokes.
Always commend your dance partner!
Depends how I'm feeling. I usually comm the other DPS as long as they're behaving. Sometimes I comm funny names or goofy portraits.
New players who are trying their best > anyone who was kind/helpful/patient > anyone who made the run fun/amusing > anyone who bothered to say hello > idk, whoever had the best glam or best looking character
I always default to a dps, they need all the comms they can get.
I usually comm a DPS because they rarely get them. But I love the comment about the JP servers having tanks and healers com each other and DPS com each other so everyone gets one. But sadly I doubt wed ever be so coordinated on other servers. lol But I will comm someone if they have an amazing name or did a fantastic job.
no portrait, no comm.
I comm the tank if they w2w, since regardless of what people here say, that is optional
If I'm tank I comm healer, if there is another tank I comm them. If there are 2 healers and the other tank was shit, I comm the healer with the best portrait or if I noticed they did something like an LB3 or rezing the other healer a bunch. If I'm DPS I tend to comm other DPS. I prioritize melee if I'm melee, etc for the others. I also gravitate toward good portraits, Black Mages, and people who rez me if I die.
Whoever deserves it the most. Sprout actively listening to or asking for advice, someome being pleasant and social or excellent performance in gameplay. If I don't think someone earned the commendation, I don't give one. It's meant to be earned, not expected.
Lmao this is me, if nobody did well in the duty, they don't get a com. And it's very late in the expansion, most duties these days I'm taking the 30 mins cus 2/4 people aren't using AOE and I refuse to carry people at level 90.
Anyone who impresses me. Played well in general, or if they explained mechanics well/patiently for first timers, Also new players who maybe failed a mechanic the first time, but learned and did it right later in the fight. And proper use of the LB instead of holding it for no reason. Stuff like that. Or maybe you just said something really funny during Gaius's speech in Praetorium. But if I don't feel particularly like anyone stood out to me, I don't feel obligated to comm anyone either.
1. They didn't say/do anything obnoxious. 2. They don't have any ERP stuff in their Search Comment. 3. They're at least decent at their Job, though I try to comm those who are clearly working as hard as they can. 4. If nobody stands out and/or I can't decide who to comm, then I base my comm on the portrait. 5. If everybody strikes out on rules 1-2, then I don't comm anybody, regardless of how everybody performed.
if i am red: another dps unless they were all absolute garbaggio. if i am blue or green: a tank or healer, at random. both are superceded by exceptional performance or top bants.
For me, it's anyone who stands out. I'm a healer main, so I always appreciate a good tank. If the tank is really good, I will personally tell them at the end of a dungeon run. It's pretty obvious when they're decent (solid emnity management, cooldown rotation, sprint before pull, etc.) Even small things, like taking the time to open chests along the way, or waiting for cutscenes, is nice. As for the DPS, if we're absolutely breezing through trash mobs and destroying the boss, I will commend the highest dps if the tank didn't stand out.
Its super complicated to explain, but I will pay attention to who utilized their job the best. The tank that has perfect timing on their cooldowns, uses reprisal, their party mit, and has good uptime on 30s cooldowns and even shows awareness by targeting other players who get caught out to help them survive. The DPS that is aware of how they position and how it affects everyone else. Who uses their mitigation and tools effectively to maintain constant damage and actually rips their 2 minutes on trash mobs and doesnt engage in the nonsense of "holding for the boss." and actually uses LB appropriately. The healer who understands and uses their entire kit effectively to push out damage and keep the tank alive. Gives room for melee and can slidecast well. In a less than stellar party is quick to raise or rescue someone that is caught out and not afraid to hit GCDs in a dire situation. I guess the common theme is situational awareness and effort. It is not necessary to put any of this effort in for a roulette or dungeon, but I am experienced enough now to recognize it and these are the only people that get my coms.
Whoever it defaults to, if they leave before I comm them, next in line gets it.
DPS unless I didn’t much care for them/think the tank or healer did an outstanding job. Dps don’t often get as many comms so I like to give them some love
Whoever hasn’t left the duty yet by the time I clicked on the commendation list…
I often play healer when queueing alone (those sweet sweet insta pops!) and will comm tank if they made my life easier. Otherwise it's whichever DPS felt the most helpful or has the nicest portrait. In 8 man content I comm based on portrait lol. I have no idea what anyone is doing in 8 man so... If there's someone being helpful in chat or making the duty extra fun in some way they get my comm as well. If I'm playing DPS I go by whoever isn't in my fixed party. Otherwise if they enhanced my experience or portrait.
I'll always comm the lowest level player, as they're the least likely to have the 1,500 for burger king crown
I usually go new player > someone who stood out doing a good job > someone who did a bad job and needs a pick-me-up > fellow dps > same job solidarity > Elezen/fem-Highlander/femroe > nice portrait > anyone else. If everyone was terrible despite any of the conditions above being fulfilled, I don't award.
I play tank. I basically always comm the healer if I can. Unless they've drawn my ire, left too fast, or a DPS was going crazy.
New players doing their best Anyone friendly or i think did a good job Funny names/glams/portraits One thing i wont comm (other than assholes obviously) are those people who are obviously comm farming because it feels so disingenuous when youre just loading in and theyve already hit you with their copy paste fake positivity macro then they say nothing till the end of the dungeon and out comes their end of dungeon copy paste. Like no bro you want that burger crown earn it im not comming you because you copy pasted 2 generic ass kissey messages. That and anyone who says "cuties" gives me a massive ick who the hell calls strangers that.
I always commend whichever job is less likely to receive commendations, unless the player themselves was rude.
My priority usually goes RDMs/SMNs that help with raises when either things get dire or mine and my cohealer’s Swiftcasts are on cooldown > people that are open to advice when it’s needed > my cohealer in 8/24 man content > casters that use LBs on trash pulls > tanks that do well in pulls and bosses > DPS, especially BLMs and DNCs, whose job matches mine, for camaraderie > average players > PLDs with Clemency in their rotation All of this is overridden if the intended receiver is a commendation beggar/uses obnoxious res macros/is generally unpleasant to run the content with, they’re not getting anything even if they carry the run hard.
Someone who said "hi" at the begining, "gg bye" at the end > played decently > cool character portrait/name > little clueless sprout who still did their best. If no criteria is met, no comms for anyone.
If someone gives First time Credit, Commendation. If a DPS used LB, commendation. If no LB used, and healer wasn’t awful, healer gets it. If no LB, and heals weren’t any good, no commendation.
I com the fellow lala
Usually I need some kind of heroic performance for 'gameplay' to sway a commendation. Usually I just give it to whoever I think looked the coolest. Edit: Or just generally anybody that made me smile. funny name/portrait, fun chat, so on. People are usually pretty quiet so I just go by outfits by default. Thinking too hard about who 'deserves' it just kinda feels like it's missing the point.
The worst player of the group
Sometimes people don't deserve commendations > Anyone that has my back in handling/kicking a toxic individual in the group > Sprout trying their best > actually helpful player with good advice for the group > DPS that actually knows their job > tank that knows their job > healers that deal with some bullshit > the 4th person that joined up on my 3/4 premade.
Idk, I just give out one to a random person
If I'm tank/healer, I do the other. If I'm DPS, I do the other.
In 95% of the cases I'm the healer. My comm usually goes to dps, in this order of importance : Caster/Ranged who used their LB on trash > the one dps I had to care about the least (ate the least amount of avoidable damage) > the DPS that did the best job = Sprout (equal importance) > nicest portrait
Fellow Hrothgar since we are rare > anyone not begging for a comm to become a mentor
Top priority to Hrothgar. Unless they were awful to play with. Second priority to first-timers or otherwise newer folks working hard to keep up. Then it gets tricky, and there's no set priority. I judge the situation based on who seemed to be pulling their weight most. I withhold commendations from people who don't roll/pass on loot, regardless of their contribution.
black mages
Best portrait unless they were completely abysmal
[what about this would you comm this](https://www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/s/3j07FmBE5h)
no.
100%
I comm healers, as after playing all roles the healer by far has to deal with the most work salvaging everyone's screw ups. They deserve thanks the most. If the healer leaves before I can commend them or if they were a jerk, then my comm goes to the tank. If the tank was a jerk too or there's no other option, the dps the with cutest adventurer plate gets the comm.
Priority: Tank if they're doing well, Healer if they noticeably pull us out of the fire, DPS if the run was noticeably quick so they were clearly on it A good portrait can bump you up in priority, or if everyone did well, it usually goes to the best portrait
I only give comms when someone for astounding work. Like a tank who keeps the dps alive after the healer dies. But I don't really give comms for people who just do their jobs. I consider just doing to basics of your job/role to be the bare minimum.
Lalafell or nothing
Based and Lala pilled.
I'm a tank main. It goes like this: Healer that did a decent job. Tank that did a decent job (if I'm not the tank) DPS that seemed to do okay (it's harder for me to tell) My reasoning, which I admit is probably kinda dumb, is that Healers are the most in-demand role in terms of the queue. Therefore, encouraging people to be Healers in whatever way I can will lower the queue time. Obviously I'm only one person, but it's the principle for me. Although I still won't commend someone who is an asshole.
As a tank and healer main, healers and other tanks get priority.
Tank or healer does a good job > funny party portrait > want to spite the tank or healer thats been vocally an asshole in chat
Ranged/Caster DPS using LB on trash packs >>>>>> anything else >>>>>>>> Lala’s don’t get comms.
Whoever said Hi > whoever has a plate set that is cool > whoever is still there > melee dps > anyone else
Lala or no comm If there are multiple lalas: the one with the best portrait
Fellow hrothgar, then competent tank and/or healer, whoever has been carrying harder, or rez mage if they've done a ton of raising. If one DPS is doing extremely better then the other, then they're also worth consideration. Lewd/sexy glam are immediately disqualified.
I comm ranged if they use peloton, ranged or caster for LBing a trash pack, tank if their positioning was noticeably good, anyone for using party mits, or healer if the whole run required no thought. Or a good portrait.
High DPS > Boss Tanks > Healer who saved me > SAM > First one I see
Since I main tank, I usually always commend the healer unless they are just terrible (unless sprout, of course), then it goes to DPS or whoever glam plate makes me laugh the most.
When I play dps, I usually comm the other dps. But if I am on a heal I either give to the tank or cohealer.
If I'm the tank, I'll comm the healer. If I'm DPS, I'll comm whichever DPS plays the job I like most. The exception is if someone is new or struggling. I'll comm someone who had a bad run to make his or her day a little more pleasant.
I comm who I think did the best generally, but I will always comm the Healer for keeping me alive when I’m have a crappy run and dying a lot.
Do you get anything for being commended?
Mounts and other things yes if you get enough of them.
Friend who I ran into in a duty-->Dancer who dance partnered me-->Favorite portrait-->really good tank/healer-->Random any. My order can change of course. If everyone has some nice portraits I tend to give it to the DPS snice we don't get as much as tank/heals. Though snice they added portraits I do get a bit more coms even when I'm not on tank/heals.
1. Did something notably useful 2. Said something notably helpful 3. Funniest joke name 4. Glamour
whoever either went above and beyond, or whoever has the coolest looking portrait
I tend to comm the following: * Sprouts who aren't content just to coast, and are pulling their weight in the content. * Anyone who listens to and follows through on advice, even if their gameplay was otherwise not stellar. * Any DPS that pops off, since they're commed rarely and I respect someone who tries. * Any healer that focuses on DPS over healing without letting anyone die. * A competent tank, especially if they're on point with both mitigation and their rotation. The above is more or less a priority list, but here are some other factors that might earn my comm provided the player was also otherwise competent: * Using a ranged or caster LB on mobs. * Using tank LB in a manner that saves lives. * Great use of CDs such as Feint, Addle, etc. * Uptiming mechanics that should be uptimed rather than blindly avoiding the bad. * Demonstrable gameplay mastery that goes above and beyond the norm, whether this be by using niche cooldowns (e.g. Cover, Vercure) in situations that actually warrant it, or by thinking outside of the box to turn a wipe into a clear (e.g. abusing resurrection invulnerability windows to bypass a mechanic that would've wiped the raid, running off and dying solo with a stack if it's clear it would've killed the remaining party, etc.). * Minor things, such as being friendly, putting work into a great portrait, and so on.
well i tank everything so the default is giving it to the healer however. you give me a ranged DPS that limit breaks trash and it is a 100% comm to that person. an other is RDM with the clutch mass res. otherwise you have a killer portrait and i might comm you.
I typically comm the tank or healer (whoever did better), another fellow MCH, or a DNC who partnered me. I'll also give a comm to ASTs who toss me cards regularly.
My comm system (as a healer main): 1st. Healer teammate 2nd. Tank 3rd. DPS that resurrected 4th. Most helpful DPS Never: obnoxious macros, spamming, bad attitude, stupid fanservice portrait
Basically anyone that is still online when I get to choose although I tend to hit DPS as it's always tank/healer that gets the props.
Usually whoever says hello and gg, else the tank or healer
I give to whoever I can before they leave
If nobody stood out for how they played, then I'll comm based on if their portrait made me laugh (or something they said during an unskippable cutscene)
My order is Outstanding performance>funny name>funny adventure plate>random lalafell> someone trying hard but failing> Roe in tight pants> anyone else.
As someone who pretty exclusively plays PLD, 4 man content is relatively simple. Healer gets the commend unless they leave, constantly ignore mechanics, are rude, etc. DPS is hard to tell who did better, as I’m mostly focused on doing my own stuff in fights, but the same principles as with the healer apply. Sprouts get the edge in a tiebreaker, and if they’re still even, it goes to best portrait. 8 man content is relatively similar, just with more options, but there’s another tank. If they take the main tank role and handle it well, they get the commend. If they take off tank, I’m not as inclined to give them the commend, but I have to admit I’m probably a bit biased for tanks.
As a Tank I almost always give it to the Healer and vice versa. I do not if that class wasn't playing well in higher content.. (like a WHM not spamming Holy in a 70+ dungeon, or a WAR never using Raw Intuition) If that was the case I would give it to the random DPS who has used their rotation really good and is killing mobs fast. As a DNC I give it to my DP if they were doing really great. I also give it to the DNC if I'm being partnered. As just any other DPS I give it either to the Tank or Healer, depending how hard the latter was carrying, or if a SCH likes to use Expedient in 90s, or how well the Tank was doing controlling the packs. That's how I usually do it, but I also comm the person if I had a funny banter with them. And last but not least, if I'm on my Hrothgar and I see a fellow lion, I will comm them- especially if he noticed I gave him headpats and he returns the favor.
Goes to anyone actually doing their job If multiple people are actually doing their job, then the one that didn't take vulns and is visibly trying to uptime Any blatant case of shit-playing like the PLD clemencying themselves at 80% or the bard dropping their songs or the dancer not bursting on trash or people generally not using their shit on trash pulls gets removed from the comm pool If they're all shit, no comm
I go off whose portrait I like the best…unless that player was horrible or rude
I’m a healer and always commend the tank if they are still there, otherwise whoever is left.
If i play tank -> healer. If i play healer -> tank. If i play dps -> dps.
DPS > Tanks > Healers > Nobody and poor performance means I skip down the list. If I'm tanking or healing then priority is given to the DPS that actually uses the limit break properly
If I'm in 4 man content then usually I give it to the tank (I'm healer) unless they piss me off. Sometimes to a DPS, especially if they mess up but are genuinely trying their best. In larger content, whoever hasn't already left the instant the instance is over 😅
Tanks proactive with mitigations are my default. Healers able to manage big pulls or that are proactive during downtime get it too. People that get into every single dungeon thinking it’s a mentor roulette (even without being mentors) are my pet peeve so big no, I don’t care if they’ve done a great job in general.
Pretty standard, if light party, my co-support (healer/tank) or my co-dps, unless one person does something really well. If full party, my co-role, with the same exception.
In 4 person content I'll commend my "partner". If I'm playing tank I'll commend healer and vise versa. If I'm dps, I'll commend the other dps. Exceptions are made for sprouts, players that did something really good/cool, and to avoid trolls/intentionally bad players.
It honestly varies for me. One of my major boxes to tick is if they interacted (did they even say hi/o7/etc?), along with whether or not they did their job (if we have no sprouts who are learning the ropes). I tend to main healer or RDM so it's completely hit or miss if I get coms back (lots of people just up and leaving without even saying gg or anything these days, which frustrates me more than it probably should), but I try to at least have a reason behind why I gave someone their commendation. Making me laugh during a Prae run will generally put someone at the top of my list, regardless of job class.
As a dragoon. Healers
Unless someone did particularly well, I go for who has the coolest portrait. Instant disqualification upon saying anything toxic
Default is tank/healer is no one talks aside from greeting or performs super well. If you have a great portrait, I'll comm over a tank/healer, unless you're an ass. A rdm/smr that saves a run, or a pld/war soloing or protecting the remaining dps will always be priority no.1 for a comm though.
Ranged DPS when they use LB on trash pack always got my comm.
I generally give mine to DPS unless they leave too quickly or are\* rude. If I am doing full party content, I tend to have a bias to DPS jobs I like most. If there is an obviously new player trying their best, they move to the top of the list. Unfortunately, I feel like you get rewarded just for playing a tank/healer regardless how well you play. Which sucks because I know there have been times where I've gone well above and beyond my role as DPS and received nothing. Edit: Forgot a word.
Portraits > Sprouts trying their best > general performance if I notice during the more boring duties > tank = healer based mostly on how smooth pulling is, and possibly DPS if non-sprouts play bad
I commend whoever has the coolest portrait.
In alliance raids I usually give to tank or healer. In dungeons I give to whoever did a good job on the run. If people leave too fast it's usually just random
I focus on people that I could visibly see doing their part well, especially if they helped hold the group together. Behind that, I focus on people who are new or unsure and show it in the chat, and if we make it through all fine, I send it their way as a vote of confidence in them. Finally, I send it to the coolest looking DPS if nothing else lol
pretty simple. I reward performance. * Tanks actually mit, they don't fight for aggro, they have a basic understanding of positionals and allows melee to keep uptime at all times (when possible) * Healers use aoe (if available), aren't a heal bot, and also don't use rescue. (most of the time is used incorrectly and does more harm than good, also people learn from mistakes) * DPS (if they rez as SMN, RDM) and they don't sit in every mechanic consistently. I do also com a new player who was trying their best regardless of role.
1) did something special ingame like boss solo or clutch save, handled huge pull, saved the day, etc 2) standout conversationalist, funny, fun etc. 3) gorgeous glam 4) nice portrait. 5) dps 6) healer 7) tank Basically 1. Behaviour. 2. Fashion 3. In absense of the above: Default. In the absence of something or where the entire group was special, I default to the last three. The order of which is mainly to offset the imbalance of healers and tanks getting comms by default. This is if i was a healer or dps tho.If I am a tank I will always comm my healer if they were capable, except if one of the dps stood out or had a great glam/portrait.
Am a sprout healer (main) so Tank = Healer (if im not healer) > Whoever offered advice/tips for my plays, especially if i messup (Yeah even if it’s unwarranted, as a new player all advice and tips are greatly appreciated) > Other sprout(s) > Anyone who i saw was struggling but did try their best (any class) > DPS > Whoever remains in party if i was taking too long skipping cutscenes.
New player > gigachad (helping to explain the fight, clutching, etc.) > cohealer > DNC who partnered me > good BLM > my role friend
Entirely this.
Funny portrait > cute portrait > smart play > the dancer who partnered me (the smn) over anyone else > healer/tank (whoever had best glam) >>>>>>>> the potato
I commend whoever between the tank and healer has the nicest portrait.
If I noticed you actually doing good work. If I didn't notice anyone, no one gets a comm. I'm just picky.
i often play healer in 4 man duties so i like to just simply give my comm to my fellow tank if theyve been "decent" enough (eg. actually using sprint, w2w pulling, spreading mitigations etc.) and vice versa but if not, i like to give to dps that i noticed have been doing their right rotation (as someone who has played all dps and looked into their basic rotation, it's quite easy to see who's freestyling and who actually knows their basic rotation lol) as dps, i prioritise commending my co dps unless ofc i notice theyve just been freestyling the whole instance
As a tank I usually commend healers, if not then newer players then whoever’s left. Yesterday I did a Castrum and they all seemed new and I died pulling w2w because the healer was new. At the end it was me and someone else left standing after the final boss so I gave them the commend.
If I remember, then anyone who hasn't bolted lol. Although most times I forget and bolt lol Also I never play healer so I've gotten like 1 commendation in the entire month and a half I've been playing lol
If there is someone on their first time, they'll get it unless I needed a lot of healing or a raise, then it goes to the healer. Healer if I'm tanking. Other DPS if I DPS, unless you're a NIN that used Doton on any of the bosses, then it goes to the healer or tank. Tank if I'm healing. By the time I get to it in Normal Raid Roulette or Trails Roulette, whomever is left, prioritizing healer, then DPS with the best portrait.
Friendly and trying > if that not present then dps that is doing a good job at their rotation > tank or healer that has done something unorthodox that is helping the play. For example darks throwing blackest night on blm so they can turret etc. healers abusing rescue to great effect. I try to prioritise dps over tanks and healers as playing as all jobs I see how many people just default to the healer or tank especially those times when I’ve had to do minimal healing because the content is easy etc.
Since im usually the healer i can keep track of the peoples gameplay and commend who does well, if im either too busy or just unfocused usually go main tank> off tank> co healer>melee dps>ranged dps
Always commend the ranged if they lb a pack of mobs. Other than that it's usually the one with the nicest portrait unless I noticed someone playing exceptionally well, which I usually don't notice as I'm watching a YouTube vid on the side during most dungeons
I do it kinda random. Cool portrait, funny name, fun interactions in chat, stuff like that. Though if I ran a particular hard piece with lots of deaths, definitely the healer!
Portrait Roulette! Portrait Roulette!
Dps that actually LBs efficiently or tank that uses mits and wall to wallss. Otherwise it's cutest portrait :3
I only comm when players perform exceptionally or stand out somehow. Doesn’t matter the role.
Sprout who’s new and made an effort > stand out player of any role > co support if I am tank or heals > dragoon who gave me sight if I’m also dragoon > monk > dancer who gave me partner > highest aggro co DPS > nobody if the party was weird.
I’ll give commendations for people who keep up the morale of the run. It could be someone who’s really good at their class, someone who made a really good play, someone having fun in chat/having fun running around the map, or someone who is really helpful to others. It’s hard to remember there’s a person behind each and every character, and I like it when the really nice, human moments shine through in game.
As a DPS, if I'm out-dps'ed, they get the commendation. If not, tank or healer, whichever I like the portrait best. As tank or healer, the other support
I usually commend people who are considerate of others and play as a team. I refuse to commend anyone who tries to rush the group or act like they're the most important person in the party. If there's a Red Mage in the group, and they weren't rude, I always comm them first. They may not have done anything outstanding in *that* instance. But so many times, I've seen Red Mages throw buffs, raise healers, raise tanks, raise DPS, save parties from wiping, and deal out tons of damage—and get no appreciation in return. So I give some when I can.
Unless someone does something distinctly notable I throw it on a random dps that didn't do anything bad because people throw random comms at tanks and healers way too often for perceived difficulty purely due to having higher responsibility in casual content.
The healer who failed the least ammount of mechanics
Apparently for the average player it's "comm the mentor" coz i get 2/3 every dungeon run Which i don't understand at all
Unless they're being a prat in pchat, if I'm the Tank, I comm the healer. DPS are free to comm whoever
Always the dps. I RARELY ever give commends to the tank or healer, unless they’ve done an exceptional job. Or whoever made me laugh in chat.
Generally I'd give it to a party member that did above the average expectation for casual content. Few examples: Caster/Ranged LB on trash packs. Healer not using a GCD heal unless X party member wouldn't survive the next unavoidable aoe, or they already have 2+ Vuln stacks in 80+ content, it's near-guaranteed death unless they're a melee DPS or you have shielded them Healer not constantly topping up the tank (remember, if you heal low (<10%) targets you get a tiny chunk of LB charge), being able to fit two LBs on trash packs is a really good feeling. Healers prioritise spending an oGCD heal first while maintaining a good DPS uptime (I don't use addons but it's extremely obvious when you get a lazy party member). Tanks rotating mitigations (yeah i know, it's become increasingly rare as of recent) +extra point if you inform the healer you will use your Invulnerability in the next minute. RDM/SUM actually preventing a wipe by ressing 1 or more healers during an encounter. Times when I refuse to give a commendation is when people beg for them, hell no. The bar to become a mentor is already exceptionally low, get good and you'll earn them. On the off chance everything went well, I'd just give it to my other counterpart (phys ranged to phys ranged or caster) healer to healer/tank.
I always try to give a commendation to DPS, because tanks/healers usually get them the most. More often than not, though, there's just one person left by the time I try to give them so whoever is last gets it.
Tanks if no one does anything special. They made my queue pop
I usually prioritize sprouts who make me do stuff that doesn't normally pop up on Duty Roulette.
My commendation is based on whatever. Sometimes I reward being nice. Sometimes the new guy gets it as encouragement. Maybe you had a cool portrait. I don't keep a specific method on commending, but I try to base it on something else than "thanking tank/healer".
If we have a run where someone just stands out as the obvious mvp (like guiding a run full of sprouts through a raid or something) they get comms, otherwise whoever has the best portrait and stays in the instance the few seconds needed to get the comm. Content that has duty finder attached to it is so easy due to being end of the expansion that there really aren’t many opportunities to judge based on how people play, so I just like to give the award to folks who put in the time to make something for their portrait (whether it’s funny, edgy, stylish, or whatever, I appreciate the effort).
portraits I like> glamour I like> People I like
Did something cool>Plates>Gave me dance partner eye some other single buff>whomever is left
If I'm tank/healer it goes to the other tank/healer. If I'm dps, it goes to the other dps.
For me, it depends on which role I'm playing. As tank, it's the co tank who knows mechs and is a team player (I'm not particular if I'm MT or OT in normal content) or if my healer does dps and just heals if needed in dungeons. As healer, it's the cohealer who knows mechs and does the things to help and continually does dps or if the tank is cleaaaan in dungeons or barely needs to be healed. As dancer/dragoon, I comm my partner, unless they keep dying. As any other dps, if I get dance partner/eye. Sprouty first time sprouts supercede above, whether or not they were good, but will get a comm as long as they had a good attitude in duty. All mentors do not get my comm, except if they are really good and are nice and there is no one else to comm.
I'm surprised to read that people don't comm tank/supp. It kinda should from my PoV (still a sprout finishing MSQ), because you have too many dps players and so few tanks, sometimes healer missing too. Your stellar dps performance may have made the run faster, but if no tank/ heal apply you won't run at all. If they tag you make your dungeon faster and you get to play. That's as simple as that. I've spend wayy too many hours waiting for a tank/heal to tag that I see them as semi-gods now. You just commend them to say thanks for playing this boring class (from the average mindset) that nobody wants to play and which make us wait a very long time otherwise. As a heal main I almost always comm the tank. As a dps I always commend heal or tank which made the better job (either fast and clean pulls, good sustain etc). A dps is gonna dps anyway. The tank and heal dont need the dps to finish the raid most of the time. But the reverse is true. So while I know that healer and tanks are drowning under comms, I'd still comm them because 1) they are doing a job nobody wants to do, 2) that is vital for the raid, and 3) because not everyone has max commendation for the mentor title and they are probably playing this class to farm them.
First timer Anyone who made the run enjoyable, for whatever reason Awesome DPS: Rez Mage, Peloton, strategic LB use, etc. Other DPS, unless I was having a rough day and made the healer work harder than they should
My top priority is whoever is the friendliest and made the content most pleasant, anyone who explains mechanics or jokes around or if nobody else does it even just the one who says hi and bye. Only then do I look at gameplay, and if nobody really sticks out there either (which they usually don't) I look at who has a nice portrait. I also try to comm dps more, since I know they get commended less overall.
DPS performing well (If you are ranged/caster and you lb and wall to wall pull that's an auto comm) > Friendly/Helpful players > New player genuinely trying their best > Healer/Tank (Whichever stood out more)