5 tips for surviving scenarios
Scenarios are like the palate-cleansing sorbet that comes in between courses at a fancy restaurant. They're not as involved as questing through zones, and they don't offer upgrades on a per-boss basis like heroic dungeons. But they also don't require a five man group to complete. Because there is no need for a tank or a healer, this means that the queue times for scenarios are usually ultra-fast.
And maybe it's because they don't have the loot tables or span of a heroic dungeon, but scenarios come across as a little more lighthearted and fun. It's not quite fluff content, because you do get valor points and a chance at some gear as well as gold. But it's not really something you need to farm for that one piece of gear you need for raiding, either. Scenarios fall somewhere in between, and because of this, sometimes people just don't quite know what to do once they're in one.
1. NPCs like it if you don't die
NPCs in scenarios are put there to help you out. In some cases, this means they're going to throw you a heal -- but they aren't just going to cast it on you. They'll place a green circle on the ground, and you have to stand in the circle to get the heal. It's an active process, and that means you need to be paying attention to your health bar. If you see yourself getting low and you see a green circle nearby, go stand in it and let the NPC help you out.
And just like any heroic dungeon out there, there is also stuff on the ground that you shouldn't be standing in. There are patches of lightning, there are puffs of ominous red clouds, there are rings of jade shards, there are rumbling patches of earth, there are traps on the floor. If you have ever fought a rare in Pandaria, it's likely you've seen plenty of these spell effects. Don't stand in them.
2. You are responsible for your own safety
The only person solely responsible for keeping you alive in a scenario is you. Just because you see a shaman, druid, priest, paladin, or monk in your group does not mean that they will heal you. They shouldn't have to heal you. Most damage in scenarios is easily avoidable by not standing in it, as mentioned above, or by using your class abilities to mitigate the damage.
This means interrupting, stunning, kiting, using potions, and knowing when and where to use other damage mitigating abilities. It means you need to watch your health bar -- bring some bandages and food to heal yourself. It means you need to pay attention to where everyone else is at. If you go running into a group of 40 angry hozen and die, you've only yourself and those incredibly irritated hozen to blame for it.
3. Save the achievements for your friends
Scenarios take three people to complete. If you queue up with two friends, you can easily work on the various scenario achievements to your heart's content. If you queue up with two random people, they may not be interested in achievements. They may just be running the place for gold or gear. And there's nothing wrong with that at all -- everyone's got their own reasons for running content.
If you'd like to work on an achievement with the two random people in your group, pipe up in party chat and ask if they'd like to do it. If they don't want to do it, don't try to force the issue. Just find a couple of friends and do it on your own time. It's not worth getting irritated about.
4. Pay attention and stick together
Don't run off by yourself. Most of the mobs in scenarios are easily able to be soloed, but some require more than one person to kill. For instance, there are mobs in the Greenstone Village scenario that will cast a bubble on a player. That player won't be able to move, and they'll keep taking damage until someone breaks the bubble. And if you're off by yourself, nobody will know the bubble is there, much less that they need to break you out of it!
Which is also why you need to pay attention while you're in a scenario. It's not just mindless killing of things, there's an actual purpose behind why you are there, and a story that plays out. If you see one of your group members suddenly taking a lot of damage, see if they need some help. The game will tell you everything you need to do during a fight -- you simply need to make sure you do it. If the game tells you to keep the orange away from that evil pirate hozen, you darn well better make sure the evil pirate hozen doesn't get his daily dose of vitamin C.
5. Talk to each other
Some of the best scenarios I've done have been with groups that simply started talking to each other from the get-go. If you haven't done a scenario before, pipe up and say so. If you run into a player that hasn't done a scenario before, give them a run-down of what's going on. If you've got a cool tactic for sneaking around some packs of mobs, let the people in your party know about it. Really, all you need to do is say hello!
What usually happens with groups like these is that the scenario will be smooth sailing -- and then people will stick around to run another one. If you've found a couple of good people, why not stick with them for another couple of rounds? And at that point, it's far easier to broach the subject of achievements. If you're working well together, why not try achievements out, too?
Scenarios can be astoundingly easy to get through, but if you're not paying attention to yourself and your surroundings, they can just as easily dissolve into chaos. Pay attention to yourself and what's going on around you, and use the low-stress situation to maybe make some new friends. There's no need to stress over the content, just relax and have some fun.
Mists of Pandaria is here! The level cap has been raised to 90, many players have returned to Azeroth, and pet battles are taking the world by storm. Keep an eye out for all of the latest news, and check out our comprehensive guide to Mists of Pandaria for everything you'll ever need to know.
