This is my PUGS SUCK rant.
I will readily admit that I'm not in a progression guild, I've still not been to Naxx, and I've not run all the heroics yet -- I'm just a slow progressor (I can put about ... 10 hours a week into the game).
One of the reasons that I've not been to all the heroics I would like, is that the PUG heroics groups that I've gotten into SUCK ASS. Almost all of them.
Granted, sometimes I'm with a group that has run H Nexus a bunch of times and it's a breeze, but then I'll get 3 dpsers (I'm still a tank) and none of them do above 1k dps. Zero. I must say that most of the healers I've run with have been pretty good, seems like they know they have to gear up a little after dinging 80 in order to run heroics -- just like tanks.
Now this isn't really a rant against DPSers, although they have been the ones that have given my pugs trouble. Really it's about how alot of the time, these instances are really not as easy as you think they are -- and that gear matters ALOT. To all classes and specs.
With the tank gear I have I feel set to tank H Utgarde Keep and the Nexus. I have not tried anything above and beyond those both because I want more stamina and because I fear the pugs.
Even in H UK and Nexus I've got dpsers who refuse to CC and they just want me to take all the hits from all the mobs (which I can do provided the healer is awake). I've got hunters misdirecting and pulling when I'm not ready -- but they just want to move quickly. And, and this one drives me batty, I've got people wanting to start boss fights without even checking to make sure that all members of the party know what the deal is.
Random screen shot. =)
Yes, indeed, there are a bunch of those bosses that can be considered tank and spank fights, but really there are some really great strategies to ensure that everyone survives the fight without adding to the repair bill. Stack up on Prince Keleseth in order for the adds to be easy for the tank to grab and so that it's easy for everyone to pound on whoever has been iceblocked. But, noooooo, the healer and the mage HAVE to stand at range because they are what? Uber? I don't think so, if you were uber you wouldn't still be farming H UK. And so the mage dies. And so the healer is iceblocked when I need a big heal and I blow my CD for Lay on Hands on myself (which, I'm glad to do, but it could have been avoided by just a little strategy, just a little planning).
Same thing with Keristrasza, the final dragon boss in H Nexus. This one can actually be really rough if people don't know it at all. I ran it the other day with a rogue and a fury warrior who both said they knew the fight and didn't need the run down. When the ice debuff hit, the one where you "jump around" alot -- BOOM both dead. "WTF?, wth wuz that?" (sigh) We all wipe and I explain it to them, and the second time around we get it right. But come on people, it only takes a few extra seconds to simply explain most fights -- if you've NEVER been in the instance, even on normal, then you really do need to hear what happens.
And the final boss in H UK, Ingvar the Plunderer. I really hate that fight because so many groups just want to tank and spank it -- and, truly if people are geared enough, then it's not too bad, but if people are even slightly unprepared then it's a full wipe guaranteed. [If anyone is reading this and has a foolproof way to deal with this boss -- other than "just heal through it" -- please let me know.] So many people think they have the uber-answer to this guy, but for the most part there are still bodies on the floor at the end of the fight.
So, yeah, just like in The Burning Crusade when they lowered the reqs to get into heroics, and everyone thought that were ready and able -- it was a wipefest. People need to know the instance and gear for it.
And speaking of gearing .... the interview process is getting a little weird. I get DPSers asking me about my hp and forgetting to ask about my defense. I even try to turn it around and ask them about their dps and INVARIABLY they lie about it. I had a ret pally tell me that she was 2k+ dps on my recount showed her barely topping 1.5k. Honestly 1.5k is fine for the lower heroics, why bother with the lie? And since when is 22k hp too low for the easier heroics? I've been turned down a number of times for that. (sigh) It's just tiresome to me.
But I will continue to put myself in LFG, and I will continue to build my friends list, and I will hope that the 10 people in my guild will get their toons heroic-ready. But my faith is shaken. Just like in TBC.
How I wish I could have been hanging out with the first round of 80s and blasted through this content -- but, alas this was not to be.
Hope it's better out there for you than it's been for me. QQ.
Adios.
P.S. And I DO know that one possible way to get around my problem is to get my arse into a larger guild, one that can put together heroic groups easily on the fly -- but I really like my small family-like guild.
