Project Lore: Five dudes. Four cameras. One World of Warcraft.

Posted by Valaar on Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 - 54 Comments

Tags: Blackrock, burning crusade, lich king, mountains, naxx, naxxramas, obsidian sanctum, pre-bc, pugs, UBRS, wrath

Comments

By Sinank on Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 at 2:36 pm

I believe players are more experienced and well informed in wotlk then before. Most people have checked the online strat or have add-ons, that help them to prepare the fight.

By Ferrix on Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 at 2:40 pm

I beleive this is first, so wewt, also pugs are getting better raid wise because of the mass amount of content available. EX. a guild has 10 man naxx on farm. but not 25, so you go into a pug, with 24 other people who are also in guilds with 10 man naxx on farm, but not enough people for 25 man. Pre-wrath pugging kara was forbidden because 25s werent around till you pretty much became elitists, so alot of kara farming guilds only had 10-20 people raiding, and kara was the ONLY thing available until you fully cleared it a good 2 months for ZA. So because theres technicly 8 different raids you can do (10 and 25 man, mally,naxx,os,vault.) And alot of peoples guilds dont have certain things on farm, the people with skill pug with other people with skill.

By Gerandor on Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 at 2:40 pm

I have also felt rather good with pugging at 80, because people seem to know what they’re doing, but on the other hand i cant help but think that we’re only seeing the former lvl 70’s at 80, and we will see more and more ‘new’ players join the end-game scene. Ah well, it’s going to be fine

By Ferrix on Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 at 2:40 pm

Argh missed first by 20 seconds.

By Stu on Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 at 2:46 pm

Well as i started playing just before Wrath of the lich king came out i have no experience in the old school pugs but i have to say my first few pugs went really well even got a few piece’s of T7 from them. So yeh basically i guess they have improved

By Nextgener on Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 at 2:52 pm

Here’s the deal, the difference between Old school Wow-wrath is difference not by small steps but Leaps and Bounds.

To start off, you have 20 more levels to conquerer, where, by the time you hit 70, you should atleast have a full basic understanding of your class. by 80 there should be a full comprehension. Blizz has implemented experiences in games that take full of advantage of this, be it questing or dungeons.

I know what people are thinking “It’s Because Content’s Too Easy Dammit, Make It Harder!”. This is utterly False. Blizz has made it so content is as Easy/Hard as You want it too be.

Yes, you can do Raid’s/Heroics without Vent or such, but can you PUG Sarth 3D? How about Malygos in 6 minutes? Doubtful, because each Experience in wrath revolves around the Player’s, not the Player’s.

For example I had the most horrifying experience in Sarth last week. I pugged it on my priest and everyone wanted to try Sarth 3D. 3 People had Never done it and 2 DPS were in Green’s. Of course the experienced player’s who just came there outta sheer boredom and who’s guild had done it that week all commented with the basic “Your all just gonna die” comment (me of course). We did it anyway and can you guess what happened? If I put it up on youtube with the word’s “Most Epic Fail in Sarth 3D Ever” Title, I’d probably get a well over 2K view’s. After the horrid first attempt, we went on to kill the drakes. The thing is, No one had a clue what they were doing, 2 people died on drakes, those who Didn’t know were in a “WTF?” scenario half the time asking what to do. The Raid leader was an Freaking Idiot who didn’t Explain the Strat. If he had, thing’s might have gone alot more successful. But no, it was a total gear drag through. It took us 3 Attempts to kill Sarth reg. 3, Attempts! In the end 4 people were still Constantly being hit by flame wall’s and being hit by Tail swipes. No one learned a Freaking thing.

In the end, wrath content is as stands. If you Want it to be hard, make it Hard Yourself. But if you don’t have a Clue, your just making it hard on yourself and everyone else.

I like this alot better than past content, because it allows player’s to actually take time to Learn, rather being shunned for Not being 100% experianced in 1 section of the game and being excluded because he wasn’t sure How the fight went, or what to do. Imagine for a second if you could Only defeat malygos in 6 minutes, or if you could Only do Sarth 3D? Most guilds would Only be raiding Naxx while no one would be allowed to see those for a Looong time.

By Jesus on Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 at 3:05 pm

Okay, just need to say one thin. Its totally okay being a newbie…but one thing I hate soooo bad, is f-ing noobs!

U have played your charecter from lvl 1 to 80…from lvl 1!, to 80! and spent countless of hours doing quest, killing stuff and probably doing instances. Then why in the name of god do u totally suck at the game when you’re at 80? Ppl that dont know how to play their class or/and the game at lvl 80 should get a permanent band from blizz.

That was my 2 cents

By Faklenrin (shu'halo) on Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 at 3:30 pm

I think the problem is some people are buying gold and characters. I keep seeing phoney tanks in icebane crap with crafted epic and mismatched specced epics. Makes me sad that such stupid people can play this game. Blizz needs to implement an IQ test to be able to play wow

By Mark on Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 at 3:43 pm

It depends on how long the realm you’re on has been around, I think. New realms are empty realms, and those realms are the ones recommended to newbies. So, they fill with new players who have to learn the game from scratch.

By Jesus on Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 at 3:45 pm

Yeah but still…if u play from lvl 1 to 80, u have a good couple of weeks/months to learn the game. C’mon.

By Thorrhan on Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 at 3:58 pm

The trek from 70 to 80 in wotlk made me a better player, and I can say the same for others in my guild. Even though the majority of the players at 80 are experienced, there are some that personify the epitome of NOOB. For instance, I was running a PUG (aka, Please Understand Game) Heroic UK, and I was healing a 23KHP pally tank………that’s unacceptable. Worst part was that he wasn’t even Def Capped…this made my healing job much harder. A Healadin can only spam Holy Lights for so long. I admit, my pally isn’t fully geared, but I have an easier time when ‘m running with my guild.

- Thorrhan from Area 52

By Pauldy on Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 at 4:14 pm

I think mark is closer than any of the comments so far. This game is so expansive that anyone just coming into it without a coach is utterly lost. Sure you figure out how to mash they keyboard to get around picking up quests killing things equipping cloth armor on their pally because the +int made the blue bar so much higher so maybe they won’t run out of mana as fast.

So as your realm sticks around longer and more people get better at the game the content seems to get so much easier. The content didn’t get easier your players got more competent. Even vets learn things and have become even better players. No longer running around with half your gear enchanted and no elixirs for a raid. Food buffs being used to their fullest.

The first priest I ever leveled only had ~320 spell power at level 70. First time I went into the mechanar regular it was a disaster I couldn’t keep the tank up to save my life. We wiped twice in the trash mobs at the entrance. All because I couldn’t throw a decent heal out to save my life.

Now on a different realm but with about a dozen characters under my belt I have a level 69 priest with 797 sp because I understand now how to properly gear. This will shoot up pretty good next level when I get to dawn my epic mooncloth gear. For now I can heal most of the instances I have been in now by just refreshing renew, with the occasional flash heal. This is what makes the instances seem easier.

By Ommadon on Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 at 4:46 pm

I know how some of the lv 70 instances were from the dps side (ele shaman), and the lv 80 versions are not built easier. There will be times when I have tanked the place a dozen times, forget about some pat or something, and almost cause a wipe. The thing about current PUGs is that most places require you to actually think for yourself, thus creating more competent players and a less angry group.

By Sardit on Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 at 4:55 pm

trust me there are still plenty of pugs out there that do epic fail…

The thing changed is that through constant bashing and shouting even the idiots will now actually listen sometimes when you DO take some time to explain things.

Still plenty that won’t listen, but nowadays at least a portion will take the time to listen and follow your lead. They’ve learned enough to read the chat and follow points given there.

By Living Vapour on Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 at 5:22 pm

I’d say they are not getting better they are just better equipped like pre-bc people had shitty talents and crap gear in pugs and the instances where hard back then and time comsuming. now days we have more then vent we have hundrends thousands even, add-ons, new talents better gear able to be aqiured though profs. Like the best item you could make with a prof in pre-bc was a shitty as blue that took 100000x every mat in the game to make now in wrath i can make lv 78 gear thats good for that lv with 10 boran leather and some crystailzed element. The game changed a lot sence then and Blizzard made the game less time consuming easier. Face it game has Changed. and will keep changing blizzard will probably make it even easier still in later patches/expantions we just have to live with it and hope for the best when we join a Pug dont like it then don’t join that simple. i’m gonna repeat what i been saying for years now to wow players quit your bitchen you joined the group you don’t like it leave.

By james on Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 at 5:35 pm

i joined like very on of BC / begging of NR and ive nvr had PUG problems like maybe 2 like ever actually most retards i meet are guild noobs

By Sean on Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 at 5:43 pm

(No offence to younger players but…)

…the 14 year old kids you were playing with pre-bc are maturing now between, what, 16 and 18 years old, so…

(I’m aware of the fact that for every 14 year old turning 15, there’s a 13 year old turning 14…but shh!)

By Someoneyouhate on Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 at 7:03 pm

No, pugs are still terrible as ever. They are slow, full of noobs who don’t really know whats going on just “PEW PEW” and slap ur keyboard with your face, and 90% of the time they completely fail. I say they may seem better because the game has gotten easier by the patch. I bet 25 retarded monkies could down full naxx in under 3 hours So, no, Pugs are acutally worse. People suck. Get a guild.

By Ciarah on Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 at 8:01 pm

OMG Pugs are so cute!

By Josh on Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 at 8:09 pm

Wow, I detect a hint of… NERD RAGE!

Being a new player to the game, I can’t speak about the PuGs being better or not. However, I have fun even when I’m paired with a group that may not know all the ins-and-outs of the instance. That’s sort of what makes it fun really.

Figuring stuff out is supposed to be the point of these sorts of things. If everyone knew how to do it, then it wouldn’t be that much fun now would it?

As long as I’m still having fun playing the game, I’ll continue to join whatever group will have me. Ask me again once I’ve reached 80, lost all my friends, my wife, and become such a jaded WoW addict that my only enjoyment out of the game is telling other players that “they’re doing it wrong.”

By Taskun on Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 at 8:25 pm

I cant remember the last time we needed vent for vault or OS lol

By lawman30 on Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 at 8:29 pm

@Someoneyuhate

If the pugs others are in seem to be doing just fine and the pugs you are in fail 90% of the time….think it might have something to do with YOU vs. the puggers?!

I’ve pugged with guys like you. YOU suck. You complain about everything and you do so between every pull. You suck the fun right the hell out of this game for the rest of us. No one’s DPS is ever high enough. No one’s heals are ever fast enough. The tank can’t ever hold threat enough.

“People suck. Get a guild.” Your bu!!$hit, arrogant attitude is what gives guild raiders a bad name. Despite your grotesque level of stupidity in making the kind of post you did, you were AT LEAST smart enough to not drop your guild’s name and save them from thinking everyone in that guild is a giant D-Bag like you!

“I bet 25 retarded monkies could down full naxx in under 3 hours” You would make this bet because the retarded monkies you refer to would be your guild and the 3 hours is your record time for a full Naxx clear? Kudos, jerk!

Pugs ARE better. Your attitude is the only thing that’s worse!

By Qes on Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 at 9:23 pm

I think its just a simpl matter of listening/reading. Even the people who have no clue what they are doing, as long as they listen to instructions all is well. The game is meant to be fun. It is also alearning experiance so when you do a certain thng for the second time, you will know what your doing.

By Nebyula on Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 at 9:33 pm

@ I’m cool:

Which is more of a time waster?

Commenting on a blog about a game you USED to play, or submitting your thoughtful opinion on a CURRENT hobby of yours?

Hmm….

By Zantetsu on Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 at 9:33 pm

@ I’m cool:

Your whole statement contradicted itself if you read it carefully.

@ Valaar:
I’m gonna have to agree PUGs do seem alot easier but it could just be that like most have said people are just becoming more competent(sp?).

By I'm cool on Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 at 10:59 pm

yesb it iss me and IM JST mad cuz ic ant play vid game 4 funz lyke u guyz can bcuz i hab no lyfe n get adDDicted to trivial (sp?) tings like a D-BAG!!! SOPT HAVNG FUNZ W/OUT ME GUYZ!!!!!!2@2

By Kai on Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 at 12:11 am

I would never and have never pugged Naxx, Os or malygos, but I do pug VoA 10x/25x and its just the most awful thing ever. After 5 failed attempts at trying to capture wintergrasp because people can’t grasp the concept of teamwork and attacking the same part on the walls, the first pull of the trash you’re guaranteed at least 5 ranged will die just because of blatant stupidity, what I don’t understand is if you’re that desperate to get in to a raid that you have to pug when why not spend 5 minutes reading up about it?

By Egma on Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 at 1:15 am

I believe it’s that more people have more “xp” under their belts now a days, I mean back when WoW was really growing it was in the 8 millions in the 1.x days, two expansions later and its only up another 3 or 4 million meaning most of the low level characters are alts of people who have been around since 1.9 or before (reason I say 1.9 is because I started when AQ had just come out which was 1.9 and the box said over 6 million)

I know back in those days I had no clue how to do any class well, my tanking was horid, my healing not much better, and I didn’t understand about spell rotations to maximize DPS… my first char it took months just to get through the 50-60 range due to poor gearing, poor specing, and poor rotations.

Yes its true the game is a lot easier then it was back then with most the real group quests eliminated because Blizz wanted to promote people who don’t have friends still being able to play the higher levels without pure frustration of 1/2 the quests being group quests.

So to answer the question I think its a mix between people actually learning how to play and it being slightly easier.

By Egma on Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 at 1:22 am

As to Someoneyouhate’s comment, yes there are still bad PuGs, horid even, but as a whole PuGs have gotten better… it used to be “oh god I have to PuG for x gear, that means I am going to end up being the main tank and main healer since these kids don’t know how to do either”…

Back then getting a good PuG was like trying to hit a bull’s eye blindfolded after drinking a 12 pack of beer and being spun around 10 times.

Now a days getting a good pug is like trying to hit anywhere in the dartboard blindfolded sober spun around only once, you have about 40-60% chance of actually hitting.

By Norj on Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 at 1:40 am

There is very little (if any) crowd control required in Wrath instances, and overall the game is just a lot easier than it used to be. There have been many little changes to make the playing experience simpler and more straight-forward, so the overall learning curve that a new player experiences is shortened by a great deal.

By Killmickey on Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 at 1:59 am

I started playing somewhere near the end of BC’s life cycle, I’m still learning. I will join almost any PUG and is usually goes alright, but when I build one it sucks. I don’t know why but hey. My guild are al RL buddies, but I’m deployed so the time diff makes it damn near impossible to play together, but when I was home most of us were all in the same room, way better than Vent. Any I guess I’m just rambling.

@I’m Cool, I’ve climbed real mountains, been to counrties all over the world. I do way more than play WoW but I have to say it is the best game ever, behind FF VII.

By Magealitious on Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 at 6:20 am

Well the best example I can give is what’s happened to me in the last few weeks.

I’ve recently joined a PUG group, no, we’re not a raiding guild, we’re just a group of people who aren’t in raiding guilds who want to do raids, and don’t mind picking up the odd random person along the way.

We’ve cleared naxx 10 and 25, OS 10 and 25, VoA 10 and 25, and yes…we’ve done the impossible - we’ve downed Malygos in a pug!

So I believe pugs are getting better, after all - nobody really pugged beyond Kara in BC.

By Magealitious on Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 at 6:23 am

@ Someoneyouhate

Get a life mate…

By garg on Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 at 6:33 am

Players are not getting better, the game is just A LOT easier to play. The moment I hit 80 I stormed heroics in quest blues/lvl 70 epics and was bored instantly - there’s virtually no difference anymore between tanks (anyone remember the time when only pallys and to some extent druids were able to properly AoE-tank, when having a warrior tank meant that unless some form of CC was available you were almost certain to fail ?), our healers rolled with 1.6k+ spell power the moment they hit 80 (remember the time when spell power was differentiated between healing and damage dealing spells ?), if ever the need arises to use some form of CC I can do pretty much everything short of volley-ing without fear of breaking the CC and causing a wipe.

Strategy ? Coordination ? Planning ? These all belong to the past now. Everything is just a glorified DPS race nowadays. Apparently the ability to use your brain is not something Blizz believes to be a prerequisite to playing this game.

By Blaze on Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 at 7:39 am

I PUG Culling of strat timed on a daily basis and the groups handle it fine

By Pete the Geek on Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 at 8:02 am

There are a lot of things that have improved PuGs, most of which are from Blizz. Personally, I think the Armory is one of the biggest swings. Before, you had no idea what kind of player you were getting when you put together a PuG. Now, you can check out their spec, see what their stats are like, check their achievements to see what kind of experience they have, etc.

Plus, people know they’re probably going to get checked on Armory, so they’re more likely to either stay out of LFG until they gear up.

The other thing Blizz is brilliant at is dungeon design. The WotLK dungeons are far more accessible and entertaining for PuGs than previous installments. They’re all relatively easy to get to, none of them take all that long to complete, and with the whole “bring the player, not the class” mentality, you rarely have occasions where you have to drop a group because you just don’t have the right setup for a boss, etc.

By Eventime on Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 at 8:03 am

There’s no reason why a smart group of people couldn’t pug anything in game. My guild has a core group of 80’s, but most of us aren’t on at the same time so except for 5 man heroics guild raid runs are pretty much out of the picture. I’ve joined quite a few groups for naxx 10 and so far my only OS 25 pug I’ve been in was very successful (got my 7.5 gloves out of it too). I think it’s ridiculous when people refuse to run pugs because they don’t trust other players outside of their guild. Ever think that they probably are thinking the same thing about you? You could suck for all they know until you join up, and realize both parties are actually quite competent.

Give people a chance, seriously… If they end up sucking then don’t run with that specific person/group. That doesn’t make all pugs terrible.

By Glenlivet on Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 at 9:07 am

I would definitely say that the first four weeks after Wrath dropped were the best for PuGs, people knew their classes, and many bosses were dropped (first run on heroic HoL we managed to get the 2 minute Loken achievement). Now those initial 80s have progressed and are probably done raiding naxx and are waiting for the next level of raids, so the quality has dropped a bit (not too much yet).

I will remember fondly the days before I found out that HoL was hard.

By Krowtz on Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 at 9:46 am

@ Someoneyouhate

Stop being a douchebag - the only reason pugs ever fail is because of people like you with whiny condescending attitudes. As far as Naxx is concerned, the raid leader should be clearly explaining the boss fights before hand anyways so everyone is prepared. If you don’t want to do this then make sure people know the fights before inviting them into your pug. Being a geared player doesn’t give anyone the right to be a total douche.

By Kalcifer on Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 at 11:40 am

Some pugs are still as bad as ever but i have more slightly more patience. I pugged a OS 25 and it was terrible. The WORST raid/instance experience ever. Half of the people wiped on the first fire wall. After wiping about 3 times cos people kept getting in teh walls i asked how many people had actually done this before. everyone said that they had but i checked a few their achievements out and half of them didn;t even have the 10 man acheivement. I don’t care that you’re new to raiding as long as you listen and at least try to do it right. Someone ever had the guts to moan that the healers weren’t healing them enough through the fire. As soon as that happened i left the group. Two hours later i hear them yelling in trade for more people to join them. That’s a bad pug.

By Valaar on Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 at 11:46 am

@I’m cool and Someoneyouhate, I know your the same person as I can see your IP and email. So I’m asking you politely to please stop your spamming foul things on this thread. I’ve had to remove 3 of your posts. Thank you.

By unneth on Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 at 12:31 pm

One word, DBM boss mods have come a long way imo

By dagimp007 on Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 at 12:53 pm

there are alot of thing…
1.with DBM it pretty easy to get the hang of any fight..
2. there is always some one in a pug who knows every fight and can explain
3. most people have watch videos so they know the boss..
4. we are still pretty early in on WOLK so alot of the noobs haven’t reached 80 yet… when 3.1 comes out expect the return of crappy Naxx pugs

By Grido on Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 at 1:06 pm

I mostly Pug because my guild is not big enough to support constant runs, but I have found running running instances more fun in WoTLK because they are shorter and there is more information out there like this site to help you learn about your class.

I remember BRD used to take 4+ hours to complete and if you did not do many short instances to practice tanking, you would get the Noob title. Now I can level with my tanking spec and do short instances to practice my skills.

By Crownmorph on Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 at 1:25 pm

I’ve PUGed 25man OS meny time and it quite ezy. Instance I still come along some bad PUG

By Sathas on Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 at 2:03 pm

off topic but I’m the GM of a raiding guild without vent and we run every 25 man raid each week

we rarely have a wipe

By Someoneyouhate on Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 at 5:32 pm

My attitude is only a result of terrible experiances with PUGs. PUGS are a result of people who either

A. Don’t have a guild or is in a guild that talk about how everyone who plays this game is a nerd and those losers in their epics need a life.

B. Don’t play to often

or

C. Are bored and just want to do somethin

My point is PuG’ing is always dangerous. It’s hit or miss…and Garg said it, the game is alot easier. No need for CC, timing etc. Just smash your face on that keyboard. Full epics here I come.

@Valaar

I’m not , “I’m cool”.

And I’ve posted once. So you could not have removed 3 posts.

By Phoenix599 on Thursday, March 19th, 2009 at 5:16 am

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (PUGs)

The Good: Cleared a heroic in record time. No chat what-so-ever, everyone knew what they were doing, all loot rolls appropriate for class, everyone departs as friends.

The Bad: Wiped multiple times in a heroic. We choose to wait 20m for a healer to finally show who proceeds to tell the PUG that this is their first heroic, and then proceeds to tell everyone how to fight, as they fail to heal the group properly because they are under geared.

The Ugly: In the middle of a heroic and the tank (who is the leader) proclaims “Will be AFK for 8m, going to have soup.” I kid you not. Immediately put on ignore after we finished.

Bottom line: PUGs are luck of the draw, but my personal experience is that they seem to be gradually getting better.

By Subprime on Thursday, March 19th, 2009 at 5:48 am

On the contrary to the original story, PUGs are worse now than when WoTLK came out. I am on Fenris server and when the hard core raiders started to get to lvl 80, the PUGs where great. You had players who knew how to play their class, were paying attention, and could focus. Now all the hard core raiders have moved out of heroics and their guilds are running their main 10/25 instances as well as the alt 10/25. The players who are new and do not have a raiding spot are running PUGs and they are absolutely worse than ever. They try and run 25 man raids while still in greens and blues and bring 800-1200 dps with them. I have an alt priest that I leveled up outside of the guild to get the mains all the opportunity they needed to gear up. I researched and ran all the heroics I needed and got all the rep gear as well. Luckily now I am done and I have a spot in alt raids, so I don’t have to deal with those issues anymore

By Praezin on Thursday, March 19th, 2009 at 10:32 am

PUGs…I’ve always been a big fan of them. All thru leveling in pre-BC, I meant several of my closest WoW friends thru pugs. A few have even become close friends in RL. Yes, there were wipes and aggravation, but in all honesty PUGs helped me to become a much better player. Yes I read all the strats and how to really know my class, etc…but PUGs helped me to test out my stats/build, test my skills, and helped bring my game to the next level. Leveling my paladin (my first character), it gave me a better idea on judging when I need to back off on smashing things (ret) and help the healer with a few quick heals here and there or throwing a cleanse, etc.

PUGs also gives me the chance to really see what kind of players are out there, who knows their class, who knows the gear, etc. When my old guild needed to recruit healers, my pally tank was the first to offer services to run heroics/Kara to see how well a potential healer did.

I’ll never forget the time when I saw a hunter with some very questionable gear (he had gear with defense on it, a few pieces). during the instance, he got slammed by some of the ‘elite’ players in the group about him being a nub and whatnot. After the instance, I asked him a few questions about how long he played and all that, gave him a few pointers about his spec (he didnt even know what spec meant), and told him to ask me anything anytime and I’ll try to help him out. Over the course of the next few months, he asked several questions and I helped him as much as I could…now, after 2 expansions, he is a well to-do player geared in T7 and doing awesome, and after being gone so long…I ask him questions while I level my alt hunter from 70 to 80.

It just goes to show, that PUGs while it may be a headache for some, it can give opportunity to others to learn more and grow in their class, thus get more out of the game and have more fun.

By Prower on Saturday, March 21st, 2009 at 3:51 am

In my opinion its all down to who is leading, if the person who leads knows what’s what, and enforces that their voice are the only instructions to be followed you loose that cluster of three tanks doing diffrent tactics.

beyond that I think that tanks and healers are genuinly better at what they do and dps can hold their agro, I think genraly the comunity has grown more skilled with time.

By Mithritos on Wednesday, March 25th, 2009 at 11:48 pm

@Phoenix599

“Will be AFK for 8m, going to have soup.”

you just made my day

what always fascinates me is the different experiences that come together by asking questions like: “have players grown up? are pugs better?”

it’s subjective, random and sometimes completely arbitrary… it’s like asking: “how many times did you get the loot you wanted from boss xy or how long did you have to wait for it to drop” ppl are going to have different experiences all the times in wow, mmos in general and IRL…

without empirical things to argue with on such matters (for loot we have pretty precise percentage numbers for example) discussions like these here are pretty much smalltalk, and as wow itself should probably be regarded, plain fun

bb,
flo

By Eraisan on Saturday, April 11th, 2009 at 10:26 pm

Well, the first day i hit 80, i immedately bought 2 epics out of AH and filly cleared Heroic UP and VH easy. (Healidan) I then went on to do wintergrasp then VOA 10 man and 25 man clearing both first tries. THen i went on to clear 2 qaurters of naxx in a couple of hours. I didn’t know any of the fights coming in, and i didn’t even have a vent going with the groups, all in type chat. It was fine, It just seems like people aren’t as stupid anymore, since i have been around since Pre-BC. Including myself, there was a time when i would have freaked out trying to do these things. in one day i got a decent amount of gear and went from 2 epics to 6 and 7 including a leather healing peice no one wanted so they gave it to me. Not to mention replacing blues with better blues and greens with blues. PUG raids have never been more doable. Its a dream-come true for me since i usually can’t line up with guild raid times too much. I honestly have no idea what has come over WoW players to make them so much better all of a sudden, but I like it.

By Zan on Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 at 3:14 am

I joined a couple of months or so, and was lucky enough to join a guild run by some RL mates. I’d be very cautious about PuGging, since as I very well know I’m a newbie (lvl 77 now though), I’d prefer not to be the one to mess up and cause a wipe (especially with occassionaly effed up framerate that has chucked me off cliffs a couple of times!)

I have random-grouped a couple of times though. Some good experiences, some bad. The worst was for Uldaman, when the leader and one of the other players bitched and moaned while we were waiting for people, and when someone asked could their mate come along, the leader passed leadership and the guy kicked out the lowest-level there without even saying anything to him. Bear in mind this is someone who responded to the LFM and made their way there. Then everyone Ignored him. I told them to stick it, since that was a lousy thing to do, and left.

Saw them later looking for more members. Wonder why…

In the end, this is a GAME, for having fun. The self-important, arrogant dbags need to form their own guild FO UBRMITE and let the rest of us have a laugh.