For those of you not familiar with one of the greatest quotes of our generation:
What does this have to do with Wow? I am quite fond of comparing instance runs to sports, I think the analogy fits quite well: a team of individuals working together to accomplish a goal, all with their own strengths and weaknesses. So how does the quote fit into Wow? How many players think they're Iverson? How many think they don't need practice and can be ready for any run at any time? For the rest of us who could use some seasoning, there is a great way to learn the game: Pugs.
Pugs (or Pick up groups if you didnt know that already) are a common way for people to run instances when they don't know enough people (or have enough online) to fill all the roles for the content they want to run. A lot of players avoid them because you get such a wide variety of players, but I say pugs are absolutely the best practice you can get in the game.
To make another comparison, I play goalie in hockey, it is one of the most in demand positions, the one that if you don't have one, you generally can't play. As such, I am constantly gettting calls from our rink to play for teams whose goalies can't play. I play almost every game like that I can. Why? First, its good practice, more reps will make me a better player. Second, playing with different types of teams give me different experiences: strong offensive teams may give up more breakaways while strong defensive teams may force long shots with rebounds. Lastly, they need someone to play, if they didn't, the rink wouldn't be calling me. Almost the same statements could be made about pugs.
Some of you probably don't need the practice, its not the game you die for, we're talking about practice. For the rest of us, take a long look at pugs as a way to improve your own skills. Who knows, you may even make a friend or two and get a few gear drops in the process. They may invite you back for more runs. It may suck horribly and you may never want to run with them again. No matter what, its good practice.
Stay a while and listen.
12 years ago
3 comments:
If it weren't for PuG's, I wouldn't have completed most of the heroics I've run. I also wouldn't have learned some good strategies for heroic Gundrak, HoL, or UP which I then shared with my guildies.
I never turn down a pug and have rarely had a problem (well, except that one yesterday). I just realize that I'm taking a risk, but I'm not really risking anything important other than time (which I'm already wasting technically) and fictious money on repair bills.
@Fish
Wow you truly know what is going on with MAS even though you are a server away.
Let me say I agree 100% on your views.
@Barrista
You make some great points and I would agree with you.
In all honesty though, I do not run with PUGs. When I am on, I typically have things that must be handled within the guild or I already have a scheduled run. If I am not scheduled for a run, I review the guild roster and find the members who are leveling and I begin to form groups and run these individuals through to gear them properly and make sure they get a good feel of how we like to run in MAS.
That being said, it does not leave a lot of time available for running in PUGs.
And practice makes perfect :)
Although I don't generally run with pugs because when I have time for runs, I usually can go with guildies. I've had some bad experiences, so I tend to shy away from them. But then again, when I have been looking, they aren't in need of pure DPS goodness like myself.
And good analogy. I love hockey, so that was win. :)
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