Evolve or Die

Ok, a little ranting here.

I see in the blogging community a lot of disenchantment and readiness to leave the game. Couple this with the recent loss of subscriptions and a game that is now an elder in the industry, we see a lot of discontent. I understand it, people will always have issues with game changes. I know I get irritated from time to time as well.

BUT! Evolve or die. The game as it is now, is very different from when it first came out 9 years ago. It had to in order to survive. Player bases change, the MMO culture has changed. Developers understand this and evolve the game in accordance with it's paying customers. That's business. I left other games with no hard feelings because I didn't like the direction the game took. Those games still have a following and still get profits without me. I am not offended. It is a business in the end no matter how individuals feel.

Recently we have seen changes in the pvp realms, and in the near future the raiding realms. The changes are not always easy to take, but they can be workable. How many old veterans remember when there was no cross server tech and had to wait for hours just to get into a single instance? I remember pre BC how hard it was leveling in greens and rarely seeing an instance, missing out on a lot of content. It's a lot easier now. The Flex system may give more people the opportunity to raid in a meaningful way. It does require a little work (god forbid that 4 letter word) of the player base to make acquaintances to build teams that meet when possible, but so what? Before he went to college, my son had created such a network of friends that he could fill any raid spot necessary to get a raid formed. This was due to his work. He knew that not everyone could be at a raid every time. Real life is real life. So he made his successes by doing a little leg work. In doing so he was a valued member of his guild and never had a raid canceled. That was because he felt that the game owed him nothing other than the opportunity of enjoyment. He did the work to make the game more enjoyable. This by the way while holding a 4.0 GPA in school, doing his chores and being productive. He wasn't lazy. No one told him to do this, he just did it.

What I'm getting at here is that by and large the game is there, but players need to work within the rule set or walk away. It's ok to walk away, but there are still so many opportunities out there to enjoy WoW.

It's time to evolve with the game. Run with the flow and see where it takes you. Keep an open mind, don't be stubborn. Give things a chance, you might be surprised. Yes there are times I bitch about mechanics. It's not that I'm opposed the the changes but just wish things would be tweaked to make them work better beyond theory.

This is my 2 cents for what it's worth.

Have fun out there!

Exploring Azeroth...Caer Darrow (Scholomance)

It's common for players in WoW these days to rush through instances and link into LFD to level and gear as they progress. Sadly, there is so much lore in this game which has been forgotton. One of the things I still enjoy doing is exploring and linking the past of Azeroth with what is currently going on. To this end, while I am out and about I really enjoy finding little tidbits and information during my travels. To that end, I think it's important for players to enjoy the rich world that has been constructed for them.

So, today while out doing a mining run with my Paladin Ahrius, I also was finishing his exploration of the Western Plaguelands. Lake Darrowmere was my last hit. Now, I rememebr back in the pre Burning Crusade days when Scholomance was one of the tougher places to roll through. It also had some of the heaviest concentration of treasures that gleaned tons of gold (well for back then anyhow). But few have returned to the outlaying areas of the instance. Now it may not seem like much...but there is a place here worth your time as a crafter to hit up, hence the exploration piece.

From the north side of Lake Darrowmere

Now before I get into the actual bonus of coming into Caer Darrow, let's take a moment for a quick history lesson which I got from the all famous WoWwiki. Please understand, everything here was lifted from WoWwiki for your information purposes only:

Ancient History

The island where the ruined town of Caer Darrow now sits was long ago the keeping place of an ancient runestone, known as the Runestone of Caer Darrow. The runestone served as an ancient monolith sacred to the high elves of Quel'Thalas. The artifact is said to have been erected by elven druids, a description which provides the only indication in lore that any high elves ever followed a druidic path. Runestones were later changed to have served as a barrier so that the Burning Legion would be unaware of the high elves' arcane magic.
The island has also been the site of one or more human fortifications dating back to the days of the empire of Arathor.

The Second War

During the Second War, the island was invaded by the Horde, the fortress sacked, and the sacred runestone captured. The stone was hewn into pieces which were used to create the Altars of Storms, arcane structures which allowed Gul'dan to instill magic into the Horde's ogre allies.
When Uther Lightbringer embarked for the isle on a mission of mercy to aid and comfort the survivors of the bloody raid, he was ambushed by privateers from Alterac. In the naval battle that followed, some of the sailors were captured; during questioning in Lordaeron's capital, they confessed their nation's treachery to the Alliance, leading to Alterac's eventual ruin.

The Barovs and Scholomance

Following the Second War, the fortress at Caer Darrow was restored; the rule of the island by the Barov family dates back to at least this time. The Barovs were extremely wealthy, owning the land which comprised Caer Darrow, Brill, Southshore, and Tarren Mill. Not content with their enormous holdings, the Barovs entered into a deal with the human mage Kel'Thuzad, leader of the Cult of the Damned. The once opulent House of Barov became the horrific Scholomance, a school of necromancy. The spirits of many of the island's inhabitants remain, seeking justice for the horrific wrongs committed there.

Fall of the town

The people of Caer Darrow survived within their small town for several months after the fall of Lordaeron. When the Scourge invaded Andorhal however, a large host attacked Caer Darrow. Aided by troops from Scholomance, it was then that the town finally came to an end.

Current State

The island and surrounding lake have become lifeless and still. Only meager fish are still able to survive in the murky waters and the towering fortress seems to suck hope itself from the surrounding air. Every year or so new students can be seen entering the manor, or graduates grimly sulking out. Only ghosts of the town's former inhabitants remain, only visible with the spectral essence given by the manor's former servants. The townspeople seem to be cursed to re-live Caer Darrow's happiest day for all eternity, the visitation of Uther the Lightbringer.

Ok, that was your quick history lesson. The cool part though was finding Magnus Frostwake in one of the outlaying buildings. He has a couple of really nice Alchamy and Blacksmithing recipes that are excellent for lower level gear. It is worth your time if you collect recipes or just need a couple of really solid pieces of gear to come out and visit the old spectre. He is a friendly sort as ghosts go, and his prices are...well reasonable heh heh heh.




Recipes worth your time if you are an alchemist or Blacksmith

  So, in the end, don't discount these old places folks, you just might be passing up some recipes or gear you never knew existed. In the end, Azeroth still has a ton of things to offer..if you look hard enough. It's no always about rushing to the end game, but rather the journey and the roads you take to get there.

Till next time, may your pockets be lined with gold, ans glory be brought to your name!

My return

Well, after a rather long hiatus I decided to return back to WoW. About 4 months ago I decided I had done everything I wanted to do in Age of Conan and shut down my Hyborian Rage blog. The game was as always an epic vista of beautifully rendered landscapes and epic battles. But, there just wasn't enough player base left to enjoy the game the way I used to. Furthermore, the community had become highly toxic. The final straw was that I ran a raiding guild there that due to interpersonal conflicts split and died. It was a good run, but I finally closed the gates to my Keep and retired my characters. I had become tired of waiting for game fixes and updated crafting systems so it was time to pack my saddlebags and allow my little town to live or die on its own. No regrets, just time to move on as many do in the MMO community.

Jump forward to now. My wife and I decided to revive a bank guild of ours and just make it our own little place. We don't have members, we don't have serious goals, just playing for fun. It's actually a lot more fun this way for us. We still interact with folks that we choose as friends, but we stopped dealing with the stress of guild management and social drama. Now we pick and choose what we want to do. No burn out, just having fun in a solo/couple guild.

So re rerolled most of our toons and started from scratch. Well, more or less scratch. We had some BoA gear and a small lv 1 guild with a couple of bank  tabs. Since starting over, our little project has gained us an additional 2 bank tabs and guild lv 5. Doesn't sound like much but then we don't play it as hard as we used to. The first couple of months back we didn't even work that guild. Most times I guild hopped on Emerald Dream trying to find that right magic or place. I met a lot of fun folks both Horde and Alliance. Many were very helpful and sociable. I just didn't get the same feeling per se. A couple of guilds wanted to power level me and get me up to their end game but it wasn't really in my nature to do so. So I drifted a bit and finally settled down with my wife to just run what tso people could do together.

To date, it's actually been pretty fun. On the pvp side, we both made prot warriors and rofl'ed at the nerd rage of being double shield slammed. I know a lot of folks hate this but to be honest, eventually it will get nerfed and some other class will be flavor of the month. In the meantime, we just have fun with it and she has been having a blast there when we work side by side.

So there it is. I have returned as the bedraggled stranger into Azeroth where very few remember who I am or what I have done in the past. I plan on writing more here again and hope perhaps a few will read up and comment. I suppose we shall see. But anyways, the doors to The Rusty Blade have been re opened and the bar is restocked. Hail to the old veterans, and cheers to the new folk!

Why roll on a pvp server?

Spinks put up an interesting thought today as to whether or not there is a need at all for separate pvp/pvp servers. Of course I had a Wall of text in reply to it. I'll let you guys figure that out. But a point is brought up. Why do pvper's roll on a pvp server if the majority of the time they just sit and wait for BG qeues? I like open world pvp. Can't help it and I wont apologize. What I do wonder is what the point of rolling on a pvp server if you aren't gonna go out there and mix it up? I know some will say the server is imbalanced. Got it. But then at least for WoW you can go to http://www.warcraftrealms.com/index.php and see the over all population snapshot. If its close to being equal then there is a chance for world pvp. And the world is a sandbox. Motivated guilds can find reasons to go out there and fight. A little coordination between horde and alliance GM's can produce some epic battles over perceived terrain etc.

But now I gotta be a little honest here. I have to wonder why anyone who only wants pve rolls on a pvp server. I mean there are a bunch of pve servers to go have fun on. The "my friends are here" theory doesn't hold out very well. That's more a minority than anything. Also, PvE gets the most attention from the Dev teams of almost all the RPG MMOs out there. It's what makes them money. Why even complain if PvP servers exist. You have a choice. You are responsible and hopefully mature enough to make a thoughtful choice. So in the end, it's nobodies fault but your own. Mind you, as a pvper I do not condone asshattery and go to lengths to squash it where I can. I don't believe in greifing unless I was griefed first. Same with camping. But revenge? HELL YES! That is what world pvp is about and you know it whether you want to admit it or not.

So...Question...Why roll on a pvp server if you are a pvper and dont intend to mix it up in the world?
If you are a pve'er seriously and honestly why did you roll on a pvp server and expect to be left alone?

Ok...my rant for the day

Elitism in PvP and PvE

"HAH your pve gear sucks! Why dont you GTFO of my BG scrubnub!!!!"

"Man vote kick this pvp leach, can't even take the time to learn the fight or earn REAL gearz!!!"

"God I hate trying to grind two sets of friggen gear for PvE and PvP"

Funny how it works, polarized communities of pvpers and pve'ers. Each thinking that THEY alone are the real players. Are they? NOPE. They can be experts in their particular fields of play just as much as they can be completely incompetent. Problem is, they are like angry siblings vying for who gets the most attention from Mom (read Blizzard). Lately there has been an argument about standardizing gear across the board. I have to call horse shit. That stinks of socialism for mediocre performance across the board. I see it already with gear grinds becoming alot easier to knock out. But each system is there to cater to a specific crowd in their own hardcoreness.

Look, iLV gear meant for lv 85 can get you easily into random BG's or baseline dungeons, but you have to push yourself to get higher. For PVPers it means getting into rated BGs and into Arena matches. For PVEers it means getting into baseline dungeons and possibly heroics, but NOT Raids.  Trying to get your feet wet to change things up is all good, but you won't really get anywhere unless you specialize in one thing or another. Both sides have a point. For PvPers its learning to work in the random chaos of the battlefield, there is no set UI response from opponents, things change at the drop of a hat. But there is a ton of flexibility on player actions, not forgiveness for stupidity but a flexibility in tactical situations. For PVEers its all about gearing and learning a specific mechanic and learning the fight with zero tolerance for mistimed abilities. It isn't easy and requires very analytical minds to complete the set boss fights. It requires understanding in detail a class spec to maximize within 99.99% of its Holy Trinity potential. Both types of fighting require significant skill and resourcefulness. Both require a cool headed leader that has complete situational awareness and can keep control of a situation.

In the end, I personally disagree with standardizing gear. I believe in Elitism here. I think there should be a difference between gear to signify the specialty given players have. It is a testament to their dedication towards their game hobby. Lets face it, if you don't want to play a gear based game, WoW is NOT the game for you. There are plenty of FPS games out there or...Minecraft etc. But Blizzard makes it's money banking on players wanting to have "tangible" rewards for their work. The company is still going strong on this formula, proof being them working on the next big expansion. If the formula didn't work, they would stop the development as a whole. So, like it or not, gear grinds are here to stay. I just don't think you should be rewarded for not doing your job in a different style of play.

I must recant a previous statement....

So yesterday I got Mhorgrim up to level 82 and then the inevitable Steel wall of slow xp to 83. It was a Blast though. I really enjoyed the hell out of Hyjal and I see subtle changes in the environment as a reward for my efforts. I pay attention to that you know. The neat thing was when the Spirit of the Ancients gave me that speech of cool guyness and how I am now charged with protecting Hyjal. I felt like I accomplished something. I know primarily it was solo work but I got pretty immersed within the storyline and its effects. I used to bitch about how I hated the phasing for quest lines. Here is the thing though, phasing allowed me to see changes in the environment that previously I didn't see. It meant I affected something with all of my questing. I know I was one of many that gave a bad rap to phased quests. I recant that statement from the past. After carefully reviewing the areas post quest line, I saw definitive effects on the environment. Why is this important? It meant I didn't live in a completely static environment. I think that's a big bonus. Now it does wreak hell on partners or groups. I got that, but really, just about every single quest is easy enough to complete. It aint that hard. In the end, despite a few flaws with phased quests, I am over all very happy with the immersive storyline.

On to other stuff,

I have learned everything I am able to learn from the Blacksmith trainers in the Major cities. I hit 82 really easy but is pretty tough getting to 83. Ran 4 dungeons last night with the guild which was very good for us as a guild. The fun thing was, my wife and I started running instances again together. I am used to her primarily being a healer so was a bit nervous when we had a member I hadn't worked with before heal for me as a newbie tank for the instances. Point is, it was a blast that we both had toons high enough to run together as a team again. She is enjoying her Boomkin blow the crap outta stuff so more power to her. We had a few hiccups though, I hadn't tanked these instances and didn't realize that compared to the easy mode crap I saw in Wrath and BC coming up through the ranks, I was in for a huge eye opener. Mobs hit a lot harder and I really wasn't geared enough for the instance. A couple of fights were a little more than spank n tank with some kiting involved. Ya I know, all you hardcore raider and heroic guys out there are laughin to tears. But hey I am still new to tankin in general. Overall, and with the patience of my guild we got through it and I started to learn what needed to be done in the future.

I am holding off for a bit on pvp while I turn serious attention to Mhorgrim's advancement. Most of my guildees are Military and therefor we are pretty tightknit. The problem of course is when one or more need to be out on the move for whatever reason. So its been tough to get enough people ready for not just heroics but also the future as 10 man crews. I doubt we will ever get to the 25man but maybe at least 10 man down the road. Anyways, when I feel Mhorgrim is progressed enough I will  hit back into pvp. Part of that of course is both Grimnhak and Damios are at level breaches where I would need to seriously concentrate on killing a couple of levels and getting the right gear since I don't own BOA gear as yet.

In the Real world, I will be moving sometime in late May, so around that time frame if I go silent for a couple of weeks its simply us moving around and getting settled.

Roleplayin', RP, ARPE, rpee.....good bad an ugly

Well, my weekend break is over with and I had a bit to read today amidst my hectic crazy work life as well as my online course work. I been busy ok? So here I am to write a bit more. Today I found this post on Sheep the Diamond and found it an interesting topic to discuss. First a bit of background. I grew up on pen and pencil roleplaying games. Yes, I was the Dungeons and Dragons nerd rollin dice all over the place when other teenagers were out getting plastered or playin football etc. Over time I got into deeper story line driven games like Vampire the Masqurade or Werewolf. Tried Sci Fi games but they werent as fun. I even tried the LARP scene though that felt kinda silly to me. Don't ask me why, it just wasn't my cup of joe. Then the mighty MMO came out. Holy crap! MOAR RPers!!! I thought I would be in heaven. No not really. It never happened.

So with all of the background in place, let us progress before I digress. See all of this comes back to motivations of why we play. If we look at the big 3 (rp, pvp, pve) we notice one thing, they all make fun of eachother and hate on eachother. But why does the RPer get the worst of it? Well, I'm guessin alot of it comes from the avid gankin PvPer.
 Unfortunately this is the stereo type of many RPers. Typically the most over used cliche is the tragic hero, you know that guy...stripped of all that is good, doomed to fail though noble in heart...blah blah blah. The worst of course is the guy who's total motivation is revenge upon (insert name, clan, race). Look that was wearing thin when Luke Skywalker was in town for Star Wars. Ok, cool back 20 years ago..but way out of fashion. The next one people stereotype out is the god moding, vampire/demon hybrid...totally whacked out axe murderer of extremes. *Yawns* yeah ok you can incinerate me with a stare, so can Deathwing. Cmon, we got enough of those types already built into the story. So this leads to the next stereotype..you know the tavern crawler and or casual reveler. So damned mundane they can never rise above barmaid or tavern owner. yay, really? And for the love of god, in a world of heroes, why do we have 50 or 60 hardcore heroes in a small village (Goldshire). Now finally the ERPer, you know the one, either the creepy guy lookin for a girl, or the creepy guy pretending to be a girl lookin for a girl. One must wonder why non RPers look at RPers with such derision.

But lets say you are an RPer, ever get bored acting out a totally mundane seen that has no plot drive or reason? Let me tell you, there isnt anything more annoying than this. It lacks substance so why do it? Really?
All of this drives the non RPer to hysterical, no breather laughter. It also makes the RPer a pariah. Now believe me, I'm not knockin RP. I love a good story driven set. But I stopped RP for the most part, and here is why. Aside from all the above cartoonish stereotypes which I actually have seen on a regular basis, I really HATE the ever so many folks in the RP world that want to ALWAYS be the center of attention. Drama queens the lot of em. This unfortunately drives many people away from the RP scene because it's seen as a dirty word.

I have actually become more of an Immersion player that enjoys aspects of rp, pve,pvp. Fact is, no matter what you do, to a small degree you are deep down inside an RPer when you play an mmo. Why? well you are taking on the different roles in a fantasy world. Yeah somewhere there is a tiny pin hole of RP light in you. It's ok, you don't have to admit it, but it is there. You love tanking? Guess what, that is a role...and you play. Like ganking some poor lil night elf out questing? Yes you are to a slight degree roleplaying, as an aggressive murderous pillager. That is a role.

RP is not thee's and thou's hell most people during Shakespeare's era didn't speak that way anyhow, and they certainly didn't speak in such language during the dark and middle ages. No, there wasn't the lol nubcak3s 733t speakers or slang which we use on a daily basis, but that's just the opposite end of the spectrum. Want a good taste of fantasy world speech? Check out the way R E Howard wrote. Good RP doesn't need to have a troubled tragic hero at it's center either. Background stories need not have elements of tragedy either. At the same time, the common person thrust into uncommon situations makes for one hell of a story.

So is it all wrong to be an RPer? Well, in truth its wrong for some people who pay into mmo's for a different reason. But it's just right for those who love to weave a great tale that will be remembered down the road. Just remember in the end, have fun out there, regardless of your interest in the game, and even more so, let others have fun as well. With that, I must end this post. Enjoy your day out there in Azeroth fellow players.

Music - Feelin the drums of Battle

Music, it sets the mood, it is in fact it's own language, it gets us pumped...ON TO WAR!!!! I love hearing music when I play WoW. But I have different types of music that I listen to depending upon what mood I am in and what style of play I'm working on. Take for instance PvP, I love pumped up music with driving beats and filled with rage or evil. Why? It makes me pumped up ready to go kill pixels. Some of my favorites for pvp are Rob Zombie (especially Devil's Rejects), Nickelback, Metallica from the 80s and early 90's, AC/DC and ManO'War. Some of it is because of Lyrics, some of it's because of driving sound.
When Raiding, no music. Seriously, I have to concentrate on my job as a tank or healer, music gets in the way of communication when I'm trying to stay alive and hit the rotations just right. Standard 5 mans though, I love to listen to classic rock from the 60s-early 70's and some good old fashioned Johnny Cash. I do the same for when I'm farming by the way though I add in alot of Dick Dale's guitar work, keeps me awake while doing tedious work. . RP, I haven't done much RP in a hot minute but when I do, I really enjoy Eastern European folk music, Middle Eastern Folk music and select instrumentals. Questing really depends upon where I'm at. See, the music score to Northrend was so cool, that when I am questing there, I keep it on the WoW loop. Other places, depends upon the mood that strikes me.

So, what music do you listen to while playing WoW and are there times when mood changes the types of music you enjoy while playing? Drop a line, let me hear what ya got to say! Happy hunting out there!

Day 17 ~ Your Favorite Spot 20 Days of Blogging

Azeroth, plenty of places to explore. Some interesting, some wicked, some downright desolate, and others...well damned beautiful. It's hard pinpointing a spot that I happen to love the most especially post Cata. You see, there are so many places I haven't seen yet or changes that are very important. Further more, Places where I couldn't fly before I now can so I find even more fun things and gorgeous views to look at.
Now back during Wrath, I really loved Dalaran. It was such a huge and Bustling City. People coming and going left and right. It's turning into a ghost town akin to Silvermoon City a this point which is so very sad, at least on my server Tanaris.

I still have a special love for the high cliffs and long entrance of the Howling Fjord into the Valgarde area in Northrend. There is just something spectacular and awe inspiring as you go through that mini fjord. The music score is incredible as well. So, combine the music score with the area and yup that's my favorite! Not only this but both in PVE and PVP this is a blast. Ever had a PvP fight there? Imagine on top of the Vrykul threat, you also have Horde and Alliance forces fighting each other as well. It's pretty intense. Anyways, just my thoughts for the moment.

As to what I've been doing over the weekend since I didn't post then. Since Friday I had been working on my PvP feral Druid Damios all the way into Sunday. Battle Ground after Battle Ground. Some wins, others epic fails, some total Stale mates but a blast to fight. I had gotten pretty handy with my Druid's stealth and hunting capabilities. I had been working pretty feverishly on his enchanting as well to bolster his fighting prowess. By far Arathi had been my favorite Battle ground as it takes some thinking and maneuvering. Then Sunday happened. See I had been holding off on leveling my PvE Tank Mhorgrim for almost a week as I thought my wife wanted to catch her Healing Shaman up to me. Well, she got to change from healer to DPS on her Druid and participated in some Cata dungeons. This hooked her and so now it's somewhat of a race for me to saddle up Mhorgrim and hot foot it in leveling him and getting him warmed up in some other instances to be competitive. Damios will always be there lurking in the shadows awaiting his prey so after some hard fought battles, he gets a break for now.

Mhorgrim level 72 last night and have cleared through my Saronite Blacksmithing so I'm pretty happy about that. Hopefully I will see lv 73 tonight or tomorrow night at the latest. My goal is to see him hit 75 by this weekend so he can wear alot of his newly crafted Saronite Gear. Yes, I'm pretty proud of this work I've done in Crafting. I know it sounds silly but really for me it's not just the achievement of getting my skill levels up. See, in the past I never could stick with professions development. It got too frustrating to pour all that money down the drain only to have substandard gear for my efforts. Well, least the gear I've made this time has been paying for itself. I like unlocking new skills anyhow.

Ok, that's my fast and furious updates for now. Catch ya all later.

Rant Moment

Originally I was going to talk about my pvp druid today, however I saw an article that got me all fired up. So, MMO Melting Pot as well as BBB brought up the topic of dealing with sloppy techniques and  crap attitudes in  low level instances .
 . Here is my thoughts on this:

I am seeing both sides give issues. People from ALL classes often wish to RUSH RUSH RUSH instead of practicing thier craft within the Trinity. I've watched my wife who is a competent healer get ignored by tanks who don't listen to her /oom broadcast. I've seen healers who panic over heal and burn aggro away from tanks, I've seen hunters pull mob's before the tank can even grab 1 GCD. Even with heavy handed use of macro sets this happens. The idea of teamwork has gone out the window because often players who Don't know each other, DONT care. Simple concepts such as watching your aggro threats, having that cute little Omen addon to practice for the heavier hitting instances are thrown out the window. I have two macros for party chat to let people know to wait for tank and healer and also for LOS pulls because somehow people have forgotten what those are as well. I hate it when my target markings get ignored. The excuse I get? "We ain't in ICC Heroics man..chill!"

I would chill, if I could trust the teams I'm with to act with just a slight modicum of professionalism. Instead it's like instance 101 training and babysitting for every pug we've been in. My wife hates it as a healer when I don't run tank because I always wait to make sure the party is ready for the next hit. I hate it when other people burn all their mana over healing and burning my aggro CDs because they aren't timing the damage spikes and coordinating their healing. As to DPS, some are smart, most are ass hats. I've run into both. Yes this is my Bitch session, I don't care. My real point is, how do you learn your class or learn to work with other classes when in fact you bullshit your way through instances? There is a saying "you fight as you train'. So ya, you may be awesome on one class in raids, but bringing up a new class it's important to understand their relationship with other classes and how their skills work both at low level and high level. For raiders trying to speed bag their alts up, get your guildees to do quick runs.

But then there are the "others" who simply don't want to listen. I expect mistakes in an instance. I expect sudden lag spikes between team members or the periodic DC. I expect people at low levels to forget food and water. I expect someone to occasionally over aggro. But because you'll almost never have to work with the same people in PUG again, attitudes go to shit. It's funny as my wife and I leveled together in instances, we would always offer to the good runners a spot to stay on till the next queue. 90% of the time we would have between 2-3 hangers on when they understood that the pace would be steady, not rushed. Attacks would be planned and rarely would we wipe with that pace line.

I'm no expert, and many times I would ask for assistance in attack planning for different bosses or a room with a shit load of casters. But basic tactics keep getting ignored. Things like, dps stand behind the mob to burn down quicker and avoid any parry or block. Healers knowing their average and crit heals, coordinating their time based upon what damage the tank receives. Tanks watching thier caster's mana and knowing when to pop their GCD's to best effect even at low levels or knowing when to best LoS pull vs. a charge. People have forgotten or don't care and it makes it harder for everyone.

Anyways, I'm hoping that as old hat as the lowbie instances are for many, that they remember to be courteous and work as a team. It makes instance easier to get through and more enjoyable. Anyways, for the time being, happy hunting out there.