We are now operating at 70% efficiency Captain

I have a distinct memory when I first started the game attending an xp party with the Tarutaru "Psychotic" and getting..um.."The look"... because I ruined every skillchain and randomly did weaponskills and couldn't understand more than half of what people were talking about. It was funny, considering I met him again later when I understood things, and he thought I was a good player. But back then, I couldn't understand weapon skills, I never had neck gear, or earings or anything other than basic armor. Not that I had no gil.. I just didn't understand it.

Now.. I do understand how things work. I can look at a few different weapons and make a decision.. I like this one over that one; or this has this advantage but that has another advantage. Or this piece of gear will give more MP but that gear will increase my attacks but that gear will increase my cure potency. There are so many possible permutations that to know the "most optimal" method for anything is a matter of testing, calculating and then analyzing the reports. Of course.. the other method... is to just.. try it and see if you like it while you play. And of course..there's personal preference. Somethings are just hard to compare against another when it comes down to brass tax, so the choice comes down to the user. And of course, the most expensive items tend to be the items that the most people decided was important to have in order to get the most results, so the additional choices include price as well as which aspect of your job you want to boost.

What I am slowing discovering is that there are in fact people who spend a great deal of time not playing the game but actually collecting data, parsing that information, and working on reports. I actually had someone say "we are 70% less effective now that I am using this Great Axe instead of the two normal axes." That said not only he had the ability to make that determination, but also it meant.. it was important to him. In another occasion as a white mage, the ninja tank examined me several times and gave me the comment "I've seen Galka with more MP than you have."

So I suppose the question is... can people enjoy a game like this at the same time as these "100% efficency please" people? I have had efficent and horribly INefficent parties both that were a fun place to be a member. At no point did I ever think or comment that "If I had extra 2 INT points, my MB would be better by 2%" but.. obviously others do exactly that. And it results in people pressuring others to obtain equipment and items that are horribly expensive. I went through that a lot as white mage, and I ended up stopping it entirely for a long time in order to obtain a fraction of what people told me I needed. But when I ran into the same thing as RDM, I completly rebeled against it. I will NOT be pressured by anyone to do anything.. except have fun. I'm sure people will grit their teeth that I have less equipment or wearing the "wrong" earing, but I am far from careing anymore.

I am kitty... I don't need a calculator to tell me if I am having fun.