Perfect analogy lol

The only parties I have been in that didn't have a PL were some parties that I made by myself and a couple other ones. I enjoyed them. It is not really fun trying and taking your time to optimize your party leveling gear only to have it not matter at all because the party has two PLs and you need no real setup at all. At the same time I certainly can't force people to not PL because it's their choice and other people might be enjoying it.
This is part of the reason that I only log in at weekends nowadays (if I have time) so that there are enough people around at my timezone to build my own parties..

I used to think that having PL made party members careless and not interested in participating in the mechanics of the fight, you know like the old days where you setup a skillchain, mages try to MB, offtank provokes when needed etc, but quickly realized this happens regardless of having a PL or not xD So i really appreciate anyone who brings a PL to ease up on those yawn inducing parties.

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Powerlevelers don't make a party lazy. If anything they help rejuvenate a group's energy - less down time means more fun. Clearly if people are incapable of performing skillschains and magic bursts then someone casting a cure from outside the party isn't going to help that. And people who are powerleveling are usually doing it themselves on a second character - a character that had to get high enough to pl in the first place, so they should have some experience with the game (and let's face it, most of us are playing for the nostalgia factor... So if we don't know how to play a game we've been playing for ages, again, I don't know what to tell ya...).

This particular OP was pretty clear about what the problem is for them:

Safety buffer = not fun for them. That probably means risk = fun. That's a common feeling.

I enjoy many things in FFXI, but I struggle to find most PLed parties fun. Not just "this would be more fun without one," but "I'm frustrated and disappointed because I feel like I'm playing a game I don't like." However, I'm not here to be another person asking for some sort of curb on PLing. I just want other players to understand that yes, some people really aren't having fun, and to consider being up-front about bringing one, especially when inviting a WHM, especially when you don't need the WHM at all. If you're offering them the spot to help them out, there's no reason not to say what you're doing.

I also have encountered fewer PLs since the Level Sync change, but far from zero.

I find wanting faster exp and levels hard to understand myself. That doesn't mean people shouldn't want it. I'm not trying to be contrary. It genuinely feels pointless to me, and my goal in saying so is to communicate.

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/t Lyrisse for CoP help, upcoming groups, or names of people on same mission. PLD, DRG, RDM, WHM available for 40/50, Sacrarium KI.