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Ask WoW Insider: Proving your worth
This week on Ask WoW Insider, we've got an interesting question about how to get along with PuGs in game. As you might already know, in patch 2.3, players will be able to see everyone else's spec simply via the Inspect screen without leaving the game. This information has already been available on the Armory, but in 2.3, it'll be just one click away. And that's got reader Mylittleponykiller worried:Hello. I play an MS warrior, currently specced for PvP, but I also tank for pugs in non-Heroics and offtank in Karazhan when needed. I do a fine job, and often on the journey from 1-69.99 I was mistaken for Prot when I tanked instances (as Fury). However, in 2.3 I know that I will get kicked out of/not invited to PuGs if I am not Prot. I have spent hundreds of gold and many hours getting geared to tank and to DPS, and now it seems half of that might just go to waste. What can I do to prevent this from happening or at least prove myself as a tank to PuGs (even though I have over and over again)?Interesting question. First of all, readers, would you kick a warrior out of the group if he was there to tank and not specced Prot? When you have the ability to see someone's spec at a click, will you use that information to determine what other players can and can't do in your groups?And if so, what can those other players do to "prove" that they can tank, or main heal, or do DPS? If you are going to make judgments based solely on spec, what can "offspecs" (haven't heard that word in a while!) like Mlpk do to "prove" that they can fill their roles?
Reviving the pugs
Relmstein recently talked about many people's least favorite concept in WoW: the PUG. The premise, it seems, is that because raiders don't need the gear, they are not running with pick-up-groups, and those that do need the gear tend to run with their friends. The looking for group module is therefore filled with people that don't have a friend's list full of associates willing to help them, and those that don't have the experience raiders do.Now here is where I have to agree and then disagree. On one hand, it is true, raiders tend to not run the 5-mans, at least in my experience, because they already have the gear. But there are plenty of excellent players out there that don't raid. While raiders are working to be the best at their particular class for a specific purpose, it's awfully elitist to assume that just because I raid I am therefore a better player. A commenter on the article mentioned a very valid fact: being a good player doesn't only mean that you know your class inside and out. There are also the other pieces to consider, generosity with loot, patience with new players, the ability to communicate with the group. And also, who's to say that there aren't raiders out there that enjoy running instances with people they don't know simply for the joy of helping others?Relmstien goes on to say that the changes to the reputation requirements for heroic keys and the addition of daily heroic quests will go a decent way toward luring the better players back into the 5-man instances. I'm not so sure about that, seeing as how heroic badges will be dropping in the 10-man instances as well. I don't know that there will be enough incentive to bring players back to the PUG.
Officers' Quarters: Reinforcements
Every Monday Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership.According to the latest additions to the patch 2.3 notes, obtaining all the available bag slots for your guild bank will cost you exactly 16,111 gold. So it's no wonder people are concerned about recruiting these days (though in fairness I received the e-mail below prior to any guild bank info going public). But seriously, somebody has to cough up all that cash . . .Hi! I have read through your officer's quarters blog since day one and have enjoyed a lot of helpful information from each episode. I know you have touched on guild recruitment in the past, but I think it was a more direct response to a, in my opinion, small demographic of Wow guilds. I am the recruitment officer for a guild (shameless plug incoming: <Malleum Majorem> Lightning's Blade server -- www.malleum.com) and we are working VERY hard to get our second Kara group running in order to get into 25-man content. The biggest problem we are having is getting people to join. I think every guild, aside from the huge "everybody knows they are the best" guilds, has this same issue. We work hard to get people into the guild that share the same goals and philosophies. I have been broadcasting in the recruitment channel for weeks and it seems I get 1-2 people a week who ask questions. We consistently do all of Kara (except Illhoof and Nightbane, still earning those) every week. Do you have any fresh ideas or inner thoughts that can help me and my fellow recruiters around Azeroth get the numbers needed for progression? Thanks eternally :)-Evean<Malleum Majorem>
Ask WoW Insider: Instance etiquette
It's time once again for Ask WoW Insider to publish one of your questions for the community to answer. Last week we heard a ton of great ding stories, and this week we examine a possible breach of instance etiquette. Pelia on Greymane writes: Last night I was leading a PUG into DM East and about 10 minutes into the instance our mage says "hey guys, i g2g in 20 minutes..." Since we were just starting the instance, I dropped him and instantly started looking for a replacement that would be able to run the whole instance with us. The mage was surprised and said "I said 20 minutes!" Should I have let him stay in our group until he really needed to go? The group had just formed, so I didn't really feel I owed anything to him. Plus I couldn't use the LFG tool/channel if he stayed since we already had 5 people... I figured I owed it to the rest of the group to find a 5th person that was in it for the long haul... Was I being a good leader, or a jerk... or both? What say you, readers -- did the mage commit an instance faux pas? Most of us have rushed to complete a dungeon whilst an exasperated significant other/parent/child/spouse/friend waited for our tardy asses to show up somewhere, but what's an acceptable limit for a "gtg soon!" announcement? Would you go into a dungeon knowing you had to replace a member part way through?Our kingdom for your questions! Please send us what you'd like to know for next week at ask AT wowinsider DOT com.
Ten commandments of being in a group
Reader Poga dropped us a line to this article he wrote for his guild about the "ten commandments of being in a group" (perhaps inspired by my ten commandments of dueling). Pretty much every group problem is in here, from stealing aggro to breaking CC to loot whoring.The pulling one is an especially good tip-- decide at the beginning of the run who's going to pull, and then only have that person pull. Can't tell you how many times, someone decided to just pull with an instant spell because they felt like it, and not realizing that another pull was already incoming. And I think the "not wear thy gear in vain" tip is an interesting one, too-- you should putting gems and enchantments on your gear already, just to make your character the best it can be. Seeing it as a way of benefiting the group is a new way of looking at it, but it's true as well.If everyone followed these tips all the time (and even the best tanks I know sometimes forget to wait for mana), we'd all have better groups, whether they be PuGs, good friends, or raids.
Forum Post of the Day: Are Tanks A Dying Breed?
I think we've all been there. Waiting and waiting and waiting for a tank to be LFG so you can get your 5-man underway. Random /tells to every druid in your level range. Plaintive cries in the General channel. Wondering if you should just switch to an alt. Why oh why is it so hard to find a tank for a 5-man these days?A few theories are floating around. They are all PvPing. Or they get snatched up in guild based 5-mans and don't have to resort to pick up groups for their runs. Or they are frustrated with getting stuck with big repair bills and groupmates that don't understand the basics of managing their own aggro.What do you think? Do you find it hard to get a tank into a pick up group? Are you more willing to put up with a poor tank just to get the 5-man together? Shouldn't there be more tanks available since the tanking enhancements that druids and paladins received in the expansion? Or is this just more crying by players who need to make more friends in-game?
Paying it forward in PUGs
How much, asks Tobold, do you owe a pickup group? He uses the example of Seaforium charges on locked chests-- they can "cost" up to 5g in mats, so is that too much for the engineer to contribute to a group of people he basically doesn't know? Potions are the other big question, but I'd expand it to include everything you bring to a pickup group: just how many times do you need to wipe in a pickup group before you're free to ditch them and move on?I happen to be pretty much like Tobold. I'm not rich in the game or anything, but the money doesn't mean much to me (this is, after all, a videogame), so I'm more than willing to pass out potions at bosses, or stick with a PUG until my gear is red. I guess there are some things I wouldn't spend on a pickup group-- repair bots are just too expensive to use among people you don't know, and while I'm often willing to give lower level enchants away, the higher level enchants I usually save until there's a guildie around that I know can and will use it.Tobold says, rightly, that groups are "worth" much less in WoW than earlier MMOs-- because you literally can solo all the way to 70, a lot of bad groups can be avoided, whereas in older games, you had to suffer through a lot of bad groups just to level, because there was no other way. But of course it is still just a game-- a good social experience is worth way more than a potion or two, and you never know if the Warrior you give an Onslaught Elixir to today might end up being your main tank tomorrow.
Forum post of the day: 500 ways to help your PUG win
I know -- you don't like PUGs. I don't like them either. But sometimes your guildmates and friends just aren't online and this is the only time you have to do an instance run. So sometimes, PUGs are a necessary evil. And while this thread hasn't quite made it to 500 suggestions (or even close) and it has the same trolls as every other thread, there's some good advice to be found there. The most insightful hint may come from Tseric, however, who recommends:Clearly define targeting and kill order/progression. It can turn any rag tag band into a functional unit!All I've got to say is functional units ftw.
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Revenge of the pugs
New five-man instances can only mean one thing -- the return of the classic source of amusement and frustration, the pickup group. It's especially interesting when raiders, who are used to perfect coordination and military-like precision, end up running an instance with, say, a priest who they hate from a rival raiding guild, a warrior who forgot his shield in the bank, and a warlock who clearly bought their Tier 3 character on eBay and is having difficulty figuring out that Searing Pain is not the greatest spell to spam. Such people often overestimate the coordination of their teammates -- like my mage friend who got us all a free trip to the graveyard while attempting to master something he called the "Flamestrike Pull" in the Blood Furnace. Since I've mostly been running with said mage friend, who is in a different guild than me, our instance runs have been semi-pugs -- someone from his guild, someone from my guild, someone we found by spamming general chat all stuffed together. It took the raiders among us some time to get used to the five-mans again. Wait, we can sap and sheep things? A pet can off-tank? We can pull without a hunter? Ooh, a chest -- wait, do we have a rogue to open it? Plus, the bosses usually only drop one item, and someone who's been through Naxx is probably not psychologically prepared to die to a lot of orcs AGAIN. Nevertheless, most of my pugs have been good. I've met old acquaintances on new characters and made mental notes of people I'd like to group with again. We had a group today that was so good we went straight through Slave Pens and the Underbog, and were preparing to go through the Underbog again when we realized that we were all sick of fighting spore bats and agreed to meet up later. It's also dang satisfying to see gear drop that people can really use, without a giant fight over class priority and DKP, and watching as everyone slowly replaces their epics with blues. Well, except the tank in Dreadnaught. Those shoulders are way too cool to replace. What's your pug experience been like so far? Do you hate doing instances without strategies and Vent, or are you welcoming the new content?
PUGs 101
Chevalie of EU server Defias Brotherhood wrote up this handy post on how to best participate in PUG groups - likely after running a few too many bad PUGs. Sadly, I'm quite certain that the people who really need this advice never bother to read these things....
