Monday, October 12, 2009

Monday Morning Warcraft... kinda

Morning Blog Lovers!

It's another exciting Monday morning. I usually spend my first few hours of work on Monday getting caught up on my news from the weekend. Since it seems that I can't do anything but play WOW on my home computer, I usually get backed up a couple of days on my blog reading and email.

Thank you to everyone that commented on my first post, I was glad to get that out of the way. I noticed that the doctor decided to skip Monday Morning Warcraft, so I figured I would put something up.

Heroic Failure

So what is the deal with people leveling to 80 and going straight into heroics? I know that the nerf in leveling has everyone under the impression that they are a lot better than they really are but don't they realize that they are a drag on everyone else? It usually happens too that most of them leveled so fast that they don't completely understand their class or the game itself for that matter. I saw some dps this weekend that I can rival with my 71 druid or hunter. It makes me sad.

I usually try not to get annoyed or involved with this kind of group. I usually only run with real life friends, having to grab maybe one person out of the looking for group channel. This weekend was a little differnt. I have a real life friend who used to play the game. While he played he got a few family members involved and I got a chance to meet and play with them. Even though he hasn't played in 6 months I get invites from his family members to groups all of the time. I usually have a great excuse with farming or raiding but with my lack of heroics lately I finally ran out of excuses this weekend.

The fail

I am running around trying to get my dailies done and I get an invite from my buddy's niece for heroic TOC. I am automatically annoyed because I don't prefer Paladin healers. I try to get my Druid buddy an invite to heal but she already has a full group. So reluctently I accept the invite. Before I get a chance to type "hi"in the party chat I see a message from this shammy, "Oh man I think I can get a better tank than that". I don't really pay much attention to this. I assume that he is a noob and that he is looking at my hit points assuming I am acutally going to tank with 22k hps. My friend politely informs him that I am in my ret gear and sends me a tell apoligizing for the noob comment.

This shaman continues to run his mouth my whole ride there. Giving everyone tips about their class or role before we even get there. So as soon as I zone in I inspect his gear. Wouldn't you know, all greens but 2. I ask and he informs me that he is a fresh 80. I thought to give him a few suggestions but he seems like a know it all. So instead, I sigh again and figure there is no harm in trying.

The three champions come out and again it seems like someone is out to get me. (You'll have to excuse my lack of knowledge on names) We end up with a rogue /warrior/mage combo. Of course it is a quick wipe. No one seems to understand the concept of kill skull first or avoid the aoe.

We go a second time. The first whirlwind/poison combo and I watch all five of the health bars plummet. I don't really understand because besides the DK and me, we have all casters. The second time around both the shaman and warlock die. The shaman /yells "great healing noob!". I check my dps meter and see that he is barely putting out 1k dps so I kick him. Yeah I know what you're thinking, I am a huge jerk for kicking this guy in the middle of the boss fight but by this time it's him or me. Besides, it's a wipe anyway.

The lock and healer laugh at my annoyance after the fight. The DK had some choice words for me kicking his buddy. I informed him that people that are that bad should never comment on the play of others. Just like his friend he starts to critisize the healer and even throws a few shots at me. I link the dps meter and then kick him from the group as well. I would tell you what I told him after that but then I would get into my rant about tanking classes that don't tank and complain about you (gonna save that for future material).

I added a couple of hunters just be be sure that we had no more issues with the aoe. One of them was a real life friend so I knew that I had at least one other person in the group that wasn't a rtard.

At this point I have nothing left to complain about except the healer. She did a pretty good job considering. It just makes me nervous to see my hps go down that far before I get a heal. I do my best to help her out though. Since we all know that tanking as a pally is stupid easy, I get enough aggro then help her heal. We do fine all the way until the 3rd phase of the Black Knight. Both hunters died and zoned back in twice. After their 2nd death the healer died. I stood there and healed myself and the lock for the last 10%. I gave it a /flex and quit the group without looting.

I later apologized for leaving so quick and even offered to tank the next instance. That story isn't as interesting. I will say that I learned it's possible for a tank to lead a heroic Violet Hold in dps and have two people doing around 1k dps and still not fail.

Potts' noob guide to being 80

So I am going to try to help out and make my own noobs guide of being 80. I won't include the first point which is obvious. If this is your first toon I would suggest trying all of the low level dungeons when it comes time. I know that you level faster without and the gear is worthless a few level later but it's nice to understand the concept of how the group works before you get to the top level and embarrass yourself by not knowing what a tank is.

1. Understand your class. Read a guide and find a rotation. Understand all the spells and the tricks you may need to get yourself out of trouble.

2. Turn 80

3. Gear. Hopefully you have run a few instances before 80 and have a couple of pieces to start with. If not, there are enough craftable pieces out there to get a good start. Hopefully you have a profression that you can make your own or at least made some money to do so.

4. Run regular instances and do some kind of dailies. The money from the dailies can be put toward those craftable items that I was just talking about. Heck while you're at it you may get a cute little pet to go along with it.

5. Start heroics. DO NOT start them if you are not wearing mostly level 80 blue gear. I understand that there are some exceptions but with the craftables and boe gear there is no excuse to come to a heroic green from Howling Ford.

6. Collect a few pieces of badge gear, join a guild and start raiding. Yes join a guild. Find one that is just starting out. Actually learn the fights instead of getting me killed in a pug.

7. Have fun. That is why were here.

note: you can skip steps 3-5 if you have patient friends that want to run you through stuff. However you CAN NOT get around having to learn how to not be a noob. Only you can prevent this.

My suggestions to Blizzard

I realize that there is no real incentive to do a regular instance. Why do pointless grinding if you can go with a skilled group and ride them to a 4 badges a chance at a nice piece of gear? Maybe along with downgrading badges blizzard could do a badge system with regular instances. Offer one badge on the final boss of the instance. This could get the noobs off my back. I mean it's not like we aren't nerfing everything else.

10 comments:

Elleiras said...

Coming from someone who plays a paladin tank and a shaman healer, both in full T9 ...

... if a tank /I/ was running with decided to start "helping" me heal, I'd drop him.

For one thing: it's rude.

For another: unless things have changed significantly since I started playing a paladin, we can't block or parry while tanking -- so while you may have /thought/ you were helping your healer by casting a few Flash of Lights, you were actually making her job much harder than it needed to be by rendering all that block and parry on your gear worthless.

On a related note, paladin healers are the best single-target healer in the game, bar none. They don't do as well with AoE damage, true, but as tanks, we should love them.

Potts said...

I always get confused when people start their comment like that. If I am not wearing full T9 does that mean I don't have an opinion? Or is it your way of telling me that you have a more educated opinion?

I am by no means trying to take anything away from paladin healers. I meant that I personally did not prefer a paladin healer in a 5 man group especially when there is a significant amount of aoe damage. I have love for all healers. My personal 5 man preference Druid/Shaman > Priest > Paladin.

I exaggerated the story a little. It wasn't like I was standing there and spam healing. I am talking when 2/3 of the dps are about to die and a single target healer can't get to both. If I throw an occasional heal and keep someone alive, I don't see the problem. Even if I take a little more damage during that 2 seconds, I have more hps and plenty of other shields and abilities to compensate.

Elleiras said...

It's my way of telling you that I know what I'm talking about from /both/ perspectives: the tank's, as well as the healer's.

Ruhtra said...

Well, first let me say that I laughed some at that story. The reasons you list for not wanting a Paladin to heal is exactly why I do not want to heal as a Paladin in there.

Where we differ is in the reasons. I dispise that run because every fresh 80 wants to go in there and honestly if you stand in the green goo I am going to let you die.

I would have to wonder how the ranged managed to die? Did they not run from the zombies when they explode? It irritates me some because people assume it is a healer's fault that they died, but I got to tell you that if a zombie stops in front of you and starts to swell....pick your damn feet up and run.

Okay, as far as Paladin's go, the only class I bow down to at the moment (and only slightly) in regards to healing is the Druid. Druids can rock the heals, but other healers? Meh I would rather have me healing verses them, but again I have some experience so I understand the use of the hand abilities, beacon, and sacred shield. I have two hots and once I get my next piece of tiered gear will be rocking three hots. Single target healing the Paladin is second to none.

Multiple taget healing takes some work, but we can go with the best of them. One suggestion is for any Paladin in a group with a Holy Paladin is to keep your own Sacred Shield up. That pisses me off kids when you do not refresh that. It gives me a HoT to hand out to someone else. Beacon the tank and rain down the Light on the group and it is easy. It just takes some work.

I understand personal preferences though and it is best to go with what you think works best, but I had to say something for the Paladins who are holding it down.

Anonymous said...

I was there, but not there. Joey was getting so pissed LOL.

Ares said...

@Elleiras

lol...yeah...its totally rude to help your healer out when they obviously need help and cant keep the group up IN A 5 MAN HEROIC.

We aren't talking about a raid or a tank that is being silly and just healing himself when the healer isn't fail and is good to go.

We are talking about a healer that can't hang in a 5 man and a tank that is using his abilities to help his group succeed. That isn't rude, that is not being a noob.

I can't help but to be taken away by your retarded comment about how pally tanks are not suppose to throw a few heals out when the healer needs help. It blows my mind...

Its a fucking 5 man!

On a related note, paladin healers are the best single-target healer in the game, bar none.

/facepalm

Pally healers are great single target healers, I agree. Its the "bar none" part I have an issue with. Just because there aren't a ton of Disc priests out there doesn't mean that they aren't just as good as single target healer as a paladin healer.

WTFspaghetti said...

@Ares - lol

Potts said...

@Elleiras

I wasn't trying to be rude, I was honestly asking. I don't knock anyone's opinion and appreciate your comments. I always take the opportunity to improve and learn something new.

@Ruhta

Like you said, every fresh 80 in the game loves to go to that instance. Most don't even bother running it regular first. The ranged in this particular group died on everything you can. Poison, WW and zombies.

You're right sacred shield is important. I always keep mine up and remind the pally healer to use it somewhere else. Even soloing I keep it up in ret, mixes well with Art of war.

@ Ares

I was blown away too. This is 5 man heroics we are talking about..


@All Pally healers

I love you. I can't do a better job than you and that's why I tank. Just reminding again that I am talking about preference and not trying to hate.

What's my main Again? said...

I don't understand (and probably never will) how people can get to level 80 and do under 1100 dps. Even in greens. Gear isn't a substitute for bad players.

My rogue has seen nothing but bad pugs since hitting 80 and its very depressing.

P said...

this post gets my seal of approval.

Right up there with the guy recruiting for a pug that requires you link the achievement, that cannot link the achievement himself.