Interesting post. I'll go ahead and set out both my general thoughts and my thoughts specific to this situation.
First, as to the specifics. whms generally don't marcro Benediction. Why? Simply because there is too much of a chance of mis-keying the macro and setting it off when you don't want to. Not only does it lose you a two hour ability, it potentially messes up the battle you're in (whm gets hate, mob moves, skillchains miss, sata misses, whm dies a horrible death and other similar, minor, unimportant consequences). So, most whms don't arrange for access where it can easily be miscued. As a consequence, it's not something most whms can get to in 2 seconds, unless they've planned for it in advance (e.g., Fenrir, where I'd expect to get some grief if I DIDN'T macro it). And yes, it's very easy, in emergency situations, to mistype, miskey, mis-scroll, mis-select, etc. I think everyone miskeys a lot more than they want to admit - it's just that with whms it's usually far more noticeable.
Now to a third point as to the specifics of the situation. It's Yhoater or Yuhtunga - meaning the parties are level 25 to maybe 32. Which means people are still learning their jobs. lol, give the poor whm a break! Seriously, when I think of the high comedy that is a level 30 party with a newly leveled 30 thief doing its first SATAs, the possibility that a whm won't be familiar with bene at that level is very real. I'm seriously trying to think how many times I used benediction from 12 to 30, and I can remember maybe about eight times times, if that many - and only about four of them stand out in my memory, because I was politely told I shouldn't have used it - while I was lying facedown in qufim etc. Give your poor whm a break! ^^
Next, with raises, each person probably lost about 3 mobs-worth of experience, and the 10-15 minutes it takes for one mage to raise a party and get it healthy (unweakened, hp back, mp back, buffed) - which the whm is doing, pretty much nonstop from wipe to next battle, sometimes in the face of silence (while those dead are either stewing or, more likely, off getting snacks, going to the bathroom, etc.) or in the face of anything from polite questioning to boorish and venomous second guessing. Do you think the whm was all that happy either?
Most good whms absolutely hate it when anyone in their party dies - many of us take it as a personal failure if a single person dies, even in the face of links, bombs, aggro from badly selected camps, etc., and we try to learn from those so it doesn't happen again. It's called learning from our mistakes, and it's how most good whms get to be good. This one owned up to not using bene - is there anything more that could be done that is at all constructive? I don't really think so.
Finally, as to the job itself and the flame. As a general proposition, one of the reasons I love being a whm is because I hold the primary responsibility for the health of my party in my hands. rdms, smns, brds, blms may backup cure, buff, debuff, but when it comes to the party's over health and our ability not only to survive but to get good, steady experience, if I'm in the party as a whm they're looking to primarily to me to keep us all healthy and going strong. And as a general proposition, if I make a mistake, it seems much more likely to be noticed, because it is much more likely to have a direct and, potentially, severely negative impact on the party. This is why whm has never been boring to me. And if things really go south, we're the ones who are trying to keep everyone alive and fighting or, sometimes, to salvage things by reraising and raising, sometimes in very hostile situations. That's why whm is exciting to me. It's why other jobs mostly are boring to me.
One unfortunate consequence of this is that if things go south, a lot of times the whm gets the blame. In lots of cases this is deserved. We are not perfect, we make mistakes. In other cases, others' mistakes are of such a nature that we are not able to retrieve the situation. Links, camping where there are aggressive pops, inappropriate target selection, overnuking, skillshcains not coming off, whatever. And frequently, when others make mistakes, they also own up to it or the mistake is properly identified and there's some sort of educational process. Sometimes, however, (and fortunately, not as frequently as it used to be) whms do seem to be singled out for a bit more than their fair share of it. So please, give your friendly, helpful whm a bit of slack when you can. ^^ My question here, for example, is whether anyone else who didn't use their 2-hour in an appropriate situation would have been singled out for a flame. My thought is, prolly not.
As a final, humorous note - I still very fondly remember that time long ago when I was a 15 blm full of pi$$ and vinegar, anxious to try out my new -ga spell! So, at oasis in the dunes, I very proudly used it! Score: Leeches 6; Party 0! Bodies lying everywhere, and my party telling me just exactly what they really thought of my new Stonaga spell! Their comments on my wonderful new spell were very colorful and vocal, and made a lasting impression on me! It's actually quite humorous to think back on... now... I think...
It was also a mistake - one that I learned quite a bit from, thank you very much! But, thank gawd, it never made the flameboards till now ... ^^
Sincerely,
Firebrand
This is news to me.
