Why PUG Raids Fail
March 25th, 2009
First I’ll define the term ‘PUG Raid’. There is a difference between a 25-man raid formed of experienced raiders and good friends, and a 25-man raid formed with 25 complete strangers. When I say PUG Raid I’m referring to a raid with 25 random people, or pretty close to that. Most of us have been in one at some time or another, whether it’s to raid Naxxramas, the Black Temple, or even a pre-TBC raid. These raids usually fail pretty miserably, and while there’s not much that can usually be done to improve the outcome, there’s several lessons to be learned.
Lack of Etiquette: Bringing unknown people in for their first raid often sets the entire group up for trouble. There’s a lot of etiquette involved in 25-man raids. All it takes is one Leeroy wanna-be to face pull and ruin the experience for everyone. When you have 25 people raiding together, you’re not wasting one person’s time when it goes sour. You’re wasting everyone’s time. At the minimum, any person invited to a raid should at least be known to have manners. When you invite someone to a raid, it is good to make sure at least one or two people know the person isn’t an ass.
Lack of Gear or Skill: Some people will never be able to dodge void zones, death and decay, rain of fire, or any other types of “circles of death” no matter how many epics they are wearing. There’s just nothing you can do. For bosses such as Archavon, if you bring in too many newly-dinged 80s who can’t play their class, you sometimes risk not being able to beat the 5 minute enrage timer. A minimum amount of DPS output and skill is required for raiding. While inspecting someone’s gear won’t tell you if they can avoid circles of death or do a reasonable amount of DPS, it’s the next best thing to having someone vouch for them.
Lack of Strategy Knowledge: If someone’s well versed in raiding etiquette, is a skilled player, and has good gear, this usually isn’t much of an issue. Some people will pick up boss fight mechanics on the first try, and some will need several attempts before getting it down. That’s just how the learning process works. When you bring together a 25 man raid, of which half are new to the fight, it is inevitable that many will not have the patience to wipe several times until the new raiders learn the strategies. For instance, if you have a PUG with half new players and half seasoned raiders, after three wipes on Anub’rekhan you’re going to lose many of the good raiders at the very least. And when you replace them, you’re going to have to teach many of the incoming people how the fight works from the very beginning. The only way to avoid this problem is to make sure the people you invite know the strategies – which often isn’t the case with PUGs.
PUGs work great for 5 man instances. Not so much for 10 and 25 man, it seems. Any raider who knows what they are doing will most likely be inclined to join a guild where anyone who does not possess raiding etiquette or a fair amount of skill is not allowed inside in the first place.
The Big Leveling Grind, Part 2: Leveling Faster
March 21st, 2009
Rerolling? Bored with your main and working on leveling a new toon? Here are a few ways to speed up the leveling process.
Heirloom Shoulders: These are bound to account, meaning you can share them with any of your same-faction alts. For 40 Emblems of Heroism you can ship one of these to your brand spankin’ new alt to increase XP gained from killing mobs by 10%. For example, you can pick up a Tattered Dreadmist Mantle and use it for leveling a warlock, a priest, a mage, and even a druid or shaman. When combined with the next tip, this will speed up your leveling a substantial amount!
Rested XP Gains: For every 8 hours spent logged out or in an inn or capital city, you will gain one bubble of rested XP. When logged out at any other location, you will gain one bubble of rested XP every 32 hours. Up to one and a half levels of rested XP can be accumulated this way. Any XP you gain from killing mobs is doubled while you are rested. While taking breaks from leveling won’t level you faster in real time, it will certainly cut down the amount of /played time that you need to endure in order to make the grind to 80. If you are leveling multiple toons, switching between them after your XP bar turns purple can shave off a lot of leveling time.
Refer-A-Friend: Whether you are bringing someone new to the game, or simply using a second account that you are paying for, this is another way to level an alt faster. When you are questing together with your recruited toon, you will both gain triple XP up until level 60. You also get bonus levels you can grant for every two levels the recruited toon gains. You can also summon each other once per hour. For a list of program details and restrictions, visit Blizzard’s website.
The Big Leveling Grind, Part 1: The Basics
March 18th, 2009
Wrath of the Lich King has been out for about six months now, and I still have no DPS toons at level 80. With two level 80 healer toons, and a smattering of 70ish DPS toons, I just didn’t feel like leveling any of them. So instead, I started leveling a warlock. Revisiting old areas can be fun. But I am definitely not looking forward to doing the Hellfire Peninsula quests yet again!
Here are some fun ways to break up your leveling grind:
Questing vs. Grinding. Some people swear by questing, and some attest that grinding is superior. I tend to do a balance of each. Find an area where you can do a number of quests, and kill all the mobs in the area several times. This way you can get XP and quest rewards from quests, while minimizing your need to travel. This is especially useful at the low levels before you get a mount.
Grouping. Be outgoing and offer those a hand who are questing where you are. You’ll all benefit from faster kills, fewer deaths and less downtime. It’s a great way to make friends, too.
Dungeons. If you can put together a good group, dungeons are a great way to break up the grind while gaining valuable experience playing your class. Depending on your server’s population, it might be difficult to get a group for a low level dungeon, but if you can it’s worth it.
Crafting. Crafting while leveling is a lot easier, and less expensive than power-leveling a crafting profession after you are at max level. Plus it’s a fun and profitable diversion once your XP bar turns purple.
Turn your computer off. This is the best advice of them all!
How to Survive Your First Dungeon
March 1st, 2009
My favorite part of leveling is doing dungeon runs, hands down. You get XP, some shiny blue items, and best of all – you get to develop your class/role expertise as part of a group. Whether you are a tank, healer, or DPS, dungeons are the best way to hone your skills; especially if you want to raid when you get to level 80! Here are a few tips to help you on your first dungeon run.
Pick a dungeon that’s suitable for your level. A quick way to find out which dungeons are available at your level is to use the Looking For Group tool. In the drop down box you will be able to see which dungeons are well suited to your level range.
Preparations. Repair. Clear out your bags. Stock up on food, water, potions, and elixirs if needed. Get any or all of the available quests for the dungeon where you are headed.
Bring a tank. The tank’s job is to keep all the mobs from going after everyone else. Protection-specced warriors and paladins, feral druids, or tanking-spec death knights are your friends here.
Bring a healer. Someone has to keep everyone alive, and that’s where the healer comes in. Restoration druids and shamans; holy paladins and priests.
Try to have a good variety of classes. Each class offers its own way to buff the group. Druids can buff Mark of the Wild, paladins have Blessings, mages have Arcane Intellect, priests have Prayer of Fortitude, shamans have Heroism, warlocks can Soulstone, death knights have Horn of Winter, and so on.
Don’t pull aggro off the tank. If you are a damage dealing class, give the tank some time to get aggro on the mobs before you pew pew. If you have any abilities which reduce your threat, such as Feign Death or Feint, use them regularly.
Ask before rolling on gear. A good way to prevent loot arguments is to ask before rolling on an item drop. If nothing else, it shows the rest of the group that you have good manners!
Ask lots of questions. If you are just starting out, dungeons are a great way to learn more about your class from other seasoned players. Ask and ye shall find!
Give constructive advice. If someone else in the party is doing something incorrectly, be tactful and let them know nicely.
Learn from mistakes. We all make them, the best you can do is learn from them!
Have fun!
Gearing Up For Ulduar
February 27th, 2009
Patch 3.1 will bring us Ulduar, a brand new raid dungeon, and with it lots of new epics including Tier 8 items. Item level 226 epics will drop on 25 man, and level 213 epics on 10 man. There’s many ways you can get yourself geared for this new instance:
Gearing Up For 10-man Ulduar
You will want to have level 200 epics or higher if possible. Level 200 epics drop in Naxxramas, Obsidian Sanctum, and the Vault of Archavon. One level 200 epic will drop off the last boss in every heroic 5-man Northrend dungeon. Additionally, level 200 epics can be purchased from emblem of heroism vendors, and crafted through many professions. Some bind-on-equip epics do exist and can be occasionally found – but not without a high price tag!
Gearing Up For 25-man Ulduar
With level 213 epics equipped you are ready to head into Ulduar 25. You’ll be getting these from Naxx 25, VoA 25, OS 25, Malygos 10 man, Kel’thuzad 10 man, as well as emblem of valor vendors.
What Type of Guild Is Right For You?
February 27th, 2009
What makes World of Warcraft en epic MMO isn’t just the awesome content. It’s the way it brings together many people from around the globe to work together in achieving common goals. World of Warcraft has all kinds of different guilds, organized by the players themselves, to enhance your gaming experience.
Roleplaying Guilds
If you’re into the roleplaying aspect of WoW, RP guilds (and servers) are the place to look. While RP realms are often lacking, there are still guilds out there that offer their members an opportunity to participate in RP.
Casual & Leveling Guilds
These guilds offer a more relaxed, laid-back atmosphere. These are a great way to find people to quest and level with, and run dungeons. Some casual guilds offer a limited amount of focus to raiding as well.
Raiding Guilds
The focus of a raiding guild is end-game content. Whether you’re a tank, healer, or DPS, raiding guilds demand a high level of experience with your role. If you’re looking to take on the biggest challenges available, finding a raiding guild is the way to go. Raiding guilds are often a lot more demanding, though some casual raiding guilds do exist.
Have a Happy PUG
February 19th, 2009
We’ve all had our share of pick up groups gone bad. Still, PUGs are an invaluable tool in WoW. Guildies aren’t always available to help every time, and PUGs are a great way to find people with common goals to work with. With the help of the Looking For Group feature and respective chat channel, you can be on your way to finding a PUG to help get you where you want to go. Here are some tips for having a happy PUG:
Ask in LFG but don’t spam
After joining the Looking For Group system, announce in the LFG channel what you are looking for. Be as specific as possible, with what instance and roles you are seeking out. Don’t spam the channel; a reminder every few minutes should be sufficient. Using all caps is also a bad idea.
LF Healer and Tank
If you’re a tank or healer, this will often help in finding a PUG. Healers usually seem to be in short supply in LFG, and tanks too. If you’re a DPS, having a healer or tank already in tow can help you get a group faster.
Decide the looting rules before you start
Are there several skinners in the party? Is there an enchanter who is going to DE? How will you handle rolling for off spec? It’s a good idea to get these questions out of the way before setting foot in a dungeon.
The fortune’s in the follow-up
If you think someone did a good job, after you are done you can whisper them and ask them if it’s okay to contact them in the future about doing an instance. Usually you will get a resounding YES! Once you establish a large list of PUG friends this way, you won’t even need to go into LFG sometimes. It’s all about who you know, and working with PUGs is a great way to get to know more people. (On the flipside, if there was someone who did a lousy job, you now know to avoid them!)
Gear, Progression, and Item Levels
February 18th, 2009
Have you just dinged 80 and think you’re ready to start raiding? Here’s a handy guide to prepare yourself, gear-wise. This assumes, of course, that you are already well-versed with your talent specializations and spell rotations.
As you leveled up on your journey to 80, you may or may not have done a lot of dungeons. If you do mostly quests to get to max level, you may either find yourself in pieces of green gear or Karazhan epics from months past. The best way to upgrade your gear as you level is simply to do dungeons. The dungeon quests as well as the bosses will provide you with a plethora of quality blues. These blues will then help you get better blues. Your primary goal before getting ready to raid is to obtain as high level blue items as possible.
If you had lots of gear from Tier 6 raids, and the Sunwell, this probably does not apply of course. But for the rest of us, doing each Northrend dungeon at least once will provide you with most of the gear you need to start doing heroics. Heroics will then give you many of the item-level 200 blues you’ll want before you start raiding.
What’s in an Item Level?
Viewable with an add-on, or on a website such as Wow Heroes, an item level is a basic measure of the quality of a piece of gear, compared to gear of the same color. Green quest rewards from entry quests in Northrend have an item level of 138, for instance. For the most part, an item level 200 blue is better than an item level 187 blue, and an item level 200 purple is better than an item 200 blue – assuming the stats being compared are similar.
Blue item levels in Northrend can vary from 155 to 200. Blues with item level 155 to 187 are obtained from regular mode dungeons. Heroic 5 man dungeons drop item level 187 and 200 blues, and the last boss usually drops an item level 200 purple.
Item level 200 purples are your entry level raid gear at level 80. You can get these from crafting, exalted reputation rewards, and emblem of heroism rewards. You can also get them from Naxxramas, Archavon, Sartharion, and the last boss in each heroic dungeon. Tier 7 set items are of this level. Having item level 200 purples is good preparation for 25-man raids, and 10-man Eye of Eternity, where you will obtain the next level of gear.
Item level 213 purples are your next step up. These drop on 10 man mode from Kel’thuzad in Naxxramas, and from Malygos in the Eye of Eternity. Items of this level will drop in Ulduar when it is released. On 25 man mode, you can get 213’s from Naxxramas, Archavon, and Sartharion. Emblems of Valor can be redeemed for 213’s, which drop from 25 man raid bosses. Heroic tier 7 gear shares this item level. Being equipped fully in 213’s will help prepare you gear-wise for the toughest of encounters currently available in Wrath.
Item level 226 purples are currently the best in game. These drop off Kel’thuzad and Malygos on 25 man, and will appear in Ulduar on 25 man as well.
Raid Looting Method Analysis
February 3rd, 2009
Nothing seems to cause drama quite like looting disagreements. While most looting decisions are usually pretty clear cut, all it takes is one bad decision to upset someone. While it’s difficult to please everyone, there are a few ways to keep loot distribution as fair as possible. Here’s a brief analysis of all the possible looting methods you can use for your raid team:
Group Loot: This is probably the worst of all the methods. You can let people roll Need/Greed on the honor system, but this is probably best saved for 5 man dungeons.
Loot Council: This is the system we currently use in our guild. Officers will look at everyone’s gear who is rolling, and determine who should get the loot. Most of the time it’s pretty clear cut, but sometimes it’s difficult to hand out an item without someone getting upset. Subjectivity plays a large role in loot council. Many factors must be taken into account such as how much time each member has contributed to raiding, how good their current items are, and if healers & tanks should get priority.
DKP: Taken from the term “Dragon Kill Points” this is a system used by many hardcore raiding guilds. You earn DKP by participating in raids, and use the points to bid on items that drop. It’s a fairly complicated system for a casual raiding guild to use, but more serious guilds swear by it.
Loot Ladder: With a loot ladder, if you win an item, you move to the bottom of the “ladder”. This gives people priority to win loot if they haven’t won any in awhile. The problem with this system is that it does not take into account the amount of time each member has contributed to the raid, and does not take into account how big the gear upgrade will be. Nonetheless it’s a fairly balanced, and rather simple system to use.
Which loot system is the best for your raiding guild? If you’re a hardcore raiding guild, DKP is probably the only way to go. If you’re a more casual guild, Loot Council or Loot Ladder are probably more feasible. If you’re a dedicated 10-man team, Group Loot might get the job done just fine.
Just remember: You can please some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time. But you can’t please ‘em all every time.
Specialty Bags and Where to Find Them
January 27th, 2009
You don’t need to farm stacks upon stacks of cloth to get the largest bags possible. All it takes is a visit to a few different raids, both classic and current – and a bit of luck, of course! At level 80, most of these should be a breeze even for a pickup group, so you should be able to farm them every week.
The Obsidian Sanctum: Sartharion drops a 22 slot Dragon Hide Bag in both 10-man and 25-man mode. This will require a full group of level 80 raid-equipped players.
Zul’Aman: Complete the intro quest to ZA “Promises, Promises…” and you’ll be rewarded with a 20 slot Tattered Hexcloth Sack. All you need to do is take down Nalorakk, the bear avatar boss. Every person in the raid can get one of these since it’s from a quest! At level 80, this boss will be a lot easier than at 70. If you haven’t tried him yet, why not give it a shot and get a 20 slot bag in the process?
Magtheridon’s Lair: Once a level 70 raid requiring 25 people, Magtheridon can now be defeated by a much smaller group. One lucky winner will go home with a 20 slot Pit Lord’s Satchel.
Magister’s Terrace: The Sun Touched Satchel is a 20 slot bag that randomly drops in both regular and heroic MGT.
Zul’Gurub: The panther boss High Priestess Arlokk has a chance to drop an 18 slot Panther Hide Sack.
Onyxia’s Lair: Onyxia drops an 18 slot Onyxia Hide Backpack which is not unique! You can get one of these at every raid reset, and fill your bank up with them! Considering that Onyxia can now be soloed by many classes at level 80, getting her down at every reset is a great way to get an 18 slot bag, a bunch of drops that can be disenchanted or vendored, and a bunch of gold!