I don't understand...

[Tristaynia]

Play how you want (prior to high end raiding at least).

The vast majority of specs will still come to 80% or so of the best cookie cutter versions and are more than adequate for the majority of content. It's less about the spec but what you can do... the previous poster mentioned someone using a terrible rotation (or in that case one spell over and over). That's when people will get annoyed.

As long as you're working your spec as hard as you can and not being lazy, people usually don't mind.

Again, this is before raiding level and I can't speak for 'serious' PvP either.

[Kolfinna]

Sports analogy time:

You can do whatever you want on your own, or with friends that put up with your shenanigans. But once you move out of that field on the back lot and start playing with strangers, you're going to be playing with people that want to win. If you can't perform [sports-skill] at at least a minimum level, you're a burden to those around you.

As you involve more people and go into bigger arenas, more is demanded of you. In your community scrimmages, not-tripping over your own feet is usually enough to get by, but if you sneak onto a minor league team, you better be able to manipulate [sports-object] with a degree of competence, or, at best, you contribution to the team will be as their cheerleader.

At the highest levels of [sport-competition], when everyone's wearing super-expensive [sport-gear] and doing everything they can to help their team defeat the endless hordes of the rest of the league, if you have a self-imposed handicap in [sport-relevant activity], there's just no way you'll be on the same level as everyone else.

If you never intend to play with strangers that have any aspirations of moving out of this town and joining the big leagues, then sure, play around however you want and have fun. But the more you involve strangers and the more difficult the content, the more your shenanigans will waste their time and ruin their fun.

(Side note: I don't actually know much about playing [sport-ball]. If anyone more familiar with the topic could make a better analogy, feel free!)

[Tristaynia]

Actually a rather good analogy!

[Trisian]

I like the sports analogy, but unfortunately it does not apply to Rift because the players are still (like it or not) customers, and paying 15$ bucks a month. They have a right to play the way they want to within the confines and rule set of the game. You cannot simply "cut" a player you dislike and send them back to the sandlot. So to keep with the sports analogy theme, Rift is like playing professional sports while the mascots run around the field getting in the way, and worse yet some of those mascots fill vital roles on your team.

[Assassins]

I like the sports analogy, but unfortunately it does not apply to Rift because the players are still (like it or not) customers, and paying 15$ bucks a month. They have a right to play the way they want to within the confines and rule set of the game. You cannot simply "cut" a player you dislike and send them back to the sandlot. So to keep with the sports analogy theme, Rift is like playing professional sports while the mascots run around the field getting in the way, and worse yet some of those mascots fill vital roles on your team.

mascots are easily dealt with

[Rhiss]

I still play the game the way I want to play it. I do not make many cookie cutter type things. Or at least i do not think I do. I am very much enjoying what I make, and although people are like "REALLY" "thats what you are using" Im fine with it.

i have three specs for each. My Rogue is my least favorite to be honest.

My main is a Dom/Warlock/Necro and although I do have a Chloro/Dom/Archon spec, and a Dom/Storm Caller spec, I prefer my first one. She works for me!

My Alt is a Warden/Cab/Sent and she works well too.

I think you can still play the game you want too, but there will always be the flavor of the month builds in absolutely every game. But it does not mean everyone plays them. I tend to be more attracted to utility or hybrids, which may be solid for me, but really turn off other players.

[jazzbrownie]

So what, in your opinion, is the cutoff for being carried? When the next lowest DPS is doing 5% more DPS than you? When the average of all (other) DPS members of the raid is 50% higher than what you're doing?

When you're a necro doing 250dps in decent gear in a T2. That's being carried. (My autoattack does more dps than that.)

[Marikhen]

So because this player wants to have a rotation that involves no thought and play how he wants to play, I should have carried him instead of vote kicking him from the instance? I am not saying you have to spec into the exact top tier raiding spec to do all of the content but at least consider when "playing the game how you like" your decisions are affecting at least 4 other people. Play how you want by all means but please make sure its at least semi efficient.

Without knowing what sort of content you were in I'm forced to presume it was an Expert mode dungeon since that is approximately the default reference for most posters referring to dungeons as opposed to raids.

That said, doing barely more DPS than a 51 point Bard is inexcusable for any DPS member. I'm thinking it's not even all that excusable for Support since my cleric's "Support" build, which was heavy on support and light on DPS, could easily push 300-400 DPS single target, and more AoE, while my rogue's Nightbard Support build pushed 500-600 single target and 500-1k AoE in T1s.

I'd have told him to shape up, ship out, or get booted myself. Any complaints about how he should be able to play however he wants will be quickly met with responses of, "You can play however you want to within the context of your environment. Your environment is this group, and the context is playing to win. You're not playing to win."

I tanked with 13 Saboteur in 1.4, and I'm looking at using a 26 Beast Master build for tanking (at least content my warrior is over-geared for on a "for fun" basis) now, so I'm no stranger to odd builds or trying to figure out new play styles and rotations in the middle of a 5-man. If something isn't effective enough for the content, however, I'm going to stop doing it and switch to something that I know is. Anyone who doesn't do that as soon as they realize what they're trying to do will never be effective enough is a moron. /shrugs.

You gave him his shot and he failed it. Case closed.