I agree with you: when I'm tanking I take it personally if someone dies. I've learned that it isn't always my fault as AOE's and other players aggressiveness can certainly take that control out of my hands. It still doesn't make me happy.
This part isn't directed at you Awesome:
As for being a Kin, if you've taken SB like most Kin's do, you should use the power to help your teammates. Like any power you've taken, if it can help you or your teammates with the "job" at hand you should use it. I don't expect anyone to spam it constantly even though I certainly miss it when it's not. We all get focused on what we're doing in the game, be it fighting or in conversation and PM's etc. that hitting the buffs can some times get missed as no one is perfect. Real life will also intrude. As long as there's an effort being made to being a good team member that's all you can ask/hope for. Not everyone in this game has been playing for years, nor do they all approach it with a min/max mentality.
If I'm teaming with a kin and he/she's not SBing me I'll send them a tell asking if I could get a hit when they have a moment. I'll also send a thanks when they do. If after the tell I still don't get a bump I'll look to see how long they've been playing the game. Newer players get slack. Older players, not so much. I don't leap to judgment right away, but I'll certainly make an opinion as the team moves forward.
When I'm a kin I try my best to keep the buffs up but sometimes the fight at hand gets distracting. Heals, FS, Transference and other powers will take priority at times which means your "Speed boost crack" will have to wait. I'll get to you when I can as often as I can. SB certainly helps in many ways, but it isn't the only way.
Conversely: If you've run off from the main group, sorry dude, but I'm not chasing your [censored] around to give you a SB hit unless I'm side-kicked to you, but that's all about self preservation
. If you don't wait for me to zone before running off and start whining about "SB plz", again you're going to have to wait because I'm sticking with the pack (see that part about self preservation). If the group's run off before I can zone and buff, don't whine for SB before I can even rejoin the group, you all will get your "crack" once I'm there. I can't SB from three rooms over no matter how much you'd like the game to let me. Give me time to get to the group and spread the buffage. If you as the player can't figure out that the Kin is no where close enough to give you that SB, maybe you're not as good a player as you'd like to think.
I had one team where the scrapper would stealth to the end of the mission as we zoned in and wait for everyone to fight to him. He would then constantly spam "sb plz" like it was some personal joke. Needless to say he was removed from the gift list.
