PuGs: Combat the Suckness

Everyone has their personal philosophies on PuGs–or pick-up groups. Some of my guildies actually refuse on a matter of principle to PuG. At all. Not one spot. Others have no problem with it–and do so daily to make sure they get their points for the day.

I fall in the camp of I won’t PuG all by myself, and certainly do not want to PuG a tank, or a healer. DPS is ok. For that–I want to lay out some pointers and tips directed more at the DPS PuGers. While certainly–these tips would apply to all of us, it’s the DPS that I feel really needs a bit of help.Usually I find that healers and tanks are a bit of a different type of player. As a generalized group:  they seem to know their stuff. That isn’t to say that there are not highly capable DPSers out there. It’s also not to say that tanks and healers are always good players that know what is going on. There are bad apples in every bushel.

It just seems that there are more DPS types that end up being complete tools in a pick up group. The anonymous nature of cross server queues and the internet in general makes for some astounding bodies of works that belong in the Ass-Clown Museum of Modern Art.

I’m going to go out on a limb here–and despite what I encounter in game quite a bit–I am going to assume that most players just don’t know how to act. Maybe they’re new. Maybe they have leveled out in the Wilderness the entire time and have never encountered anyone in a city, group quest, instance. Maybe they thought they were the only player in the game. Whatever the reason:  I am assuming that the player who will glean–and use–the information in this post is a good-hearted person that wants to get better–and avoid instant admission to the Hall of Dbaggery.

• When you arrive in the instance: Be repaired, have your food/water/consumables with you. Not all parties have a mage–and even if we do–you showing up demanding something to eat is just rude. Also:  It won’t kill you to say hello. I don’t need a vast introduction or how much your cat understands you–but a hello is nice, and tips us off that you aren’t a mouth-breathing idiot.
• Don’t queue for an instance if you don’t have the time. If you have to leave in 18 minutes for your job, psychiatrist’s office, or to pick up your kids from daycare:  Don’t expect us to rush through because you are trying to eke out one more run.
• Since the launch of Cataclysm, we have all been working on our CC. Trust me, it’s been a long time since I’ve had to pop form and root or hibernate a mob. It’s weird for all of us. If you are a class that has CC–we’ll expect you know how to at least find it in your spellbook. We’re ok with you not knowing how to use it like a pro. At least try, ok? If you’re having issues–check out Marv’s guide to CC here.
• If you know the instance or boss fight better than us–tell us! But tell us like a respectful human being.  “lulz!!!! n00bz” and other l33tspeak doesn’t really tell us what we did wrong–and assures me that if I met you in real life–I’d rather punch you in the face than have a beer with you. And I love beer–and hate punching.
• We have names.  I am not “tank”, and my friends aren’t “Shammy” or my personal favorite: “rouge”. If you can type “tank” you can type Bark. It is the same number of letters.
• Every group is different, but there is general accepted looting practices. Our groups usually goes with “Need if you Need”, and everything else is greeded.  Needing your way through an instance does not endear you to anyone.

While certainly not comprehensive–I feel that a bit of saying something can go a long way.

I mean–if one person reads this and says: “Oh! Ok! I just didn’t know” then I have been successful.

In a totally un-related note: if anyone sees Marv, tell him he’s due for a few posts. This is just getting ridiculous.