PUGging, Still Occasionally Painful

ICC is cool. The three new 5 man instances are all very nifty as well. That lucky Haste wand drop from my first scamper through the first instance? Very very spiffy.

However, I'm a Priest. I have other alts I play, and even one other 80, but like some others I could mention, I'm a Priest addict. I have ... well, several of them. One made it to 45 or so on a PvP server before we made the switch to a PvE server (long, long before server transfers were an option). Made a Priest on my current server, got her to level cap (60 at the time). Didn't like being a NE, so made another Priest (because obviously, no race changes at that time) and leveled HER up to cap. I enjoy Priests and I know how to level them. And with each new Priest I play for a bit, I discover something new about how to level more efficiently and less painfully. Which is cool.

That said - I've pugged as a Priest in the past. Usually, it was horrifyingly painful (my first real experience with it was in Westfall on my second Priest on my current server, my current main - not in an instance, even, but out in the open). It became less so once I got a pocket tank of my own. When he's not available, however, I have broken down and pugged with strangers. And it's always been a matter of luck. For me, that luck has been horribly horrible.

Some players like the challenge of a really crappy group.

Hey, I'm all for learning how to eke out every bit of skill I can from myself, and forcing the trogs I'm with to succeed in spite of themselves. Yes, it's cool, it's satisfying, and it's a silent /finger to the lot of them. But there are certain instances where - really, actually, honestly - there's NO chance in hell it's going to work. Those PUGs who refuse to admit they might be doing things in a manner that's making things more difficult for all of us, well, they're a starting point. Then there's the PUGs that are trying to break through an instance they have no right being in.

... I was going to continue to whine and bitch and moan here. I'm electing not to.

Instead, I will mention the fabulous PUGs I've experienced with the new LFG tool.

I like PUGging again. Sure, it's a craps shoot. I've scored horrible, horrible groups with people who have no right attempting the instance they've specified (and I was unlucky enough to Random into their path), but I've also found some perfectly NORMAL groups of people who have - dare I say it - skill, and the interest to learn and improve on their own performance (so long as the rest of the group allows them to).

That poor DK Tank who was hoping to DPS in a group, but every time wound up being the Tank because no one else was accepting Tank as their option - he did an amazing job of tanking. Sure, the instance wasn't a toughie - it was VH, Heroic. But even so, his threat generation was great despite the DPS taking down the packs with impressive speed, he was on top of where portals were opening and he didn't turn bosses to face the rest of the group. He didn't let strike squads escape. He was friendly and talkative (I hate silent groups).

A semi-boring, because they were nearly silent the whole time, group of complete strangers that tore through HUP. A more entertaining but less skilled or geared group that, while not perfect, was actually trying to succeed, and was willing to babble away in party chat to pass the time as we sauntered through.

As a healing spec, I was popped into a group within about a minute when I went solo. With a tank spec in my group before hand, it was about equally fast. With a DPS instead of a tank spec, it could take about 2-3 minutes. As a solo DPS on my alt, 4-6 minutes, but with 2 DPS it started leaning more toward 10 minutes.

My biggest gripe is that when you're at the front of the queue and it's assembling your group for you and one of the DPS (it's always a DPS so far) is apparently AFK when the ready check window pops up, the entire thing vanishes and it tries to match you up again, separately, rather than popping those who were present into a group and hunting up that last straggling slot for you as you wait and can be assured of both your healer and tank.

Over all, however, I'm enjoying the new LFG PUG tool immensely. Now I'd say, "When the totally Random Heroic wound up putting my friend and myself into HOc, everyone in the group had unkind things to say when we finished loading, and I laughed," but the friend who was with me disagrees - because, see, she's one of about ... 100 people who play WoW who doesn't have a strong dislike for the instance. The 99 others are level 1 human warriors in Elwynn trying to fleece you out of your real life money and in game epics. (I don't actively dislike Oculus, I suppose, so much as some of my past experiences with in it - it's an instance that's oddly complicated and at the same time very straightforward, and the combination can lead to some frustration, especially when you're stuck with people who HAVE TO DO THE SPEED RUN NOW NOW NOW. Impatience ruins instances for me more than just about anything else.

Myself? I gave an ungainly squawk and then proceeded to giggle like an idiot when I saw the Oculus loading screen. And then said something ironically amused in group chat when I finished loading, I think. I'm pretty sure my friend rolled her eyes in exasperation at everyone else's less evolved responses to our plight. ;) And you know what? That was probably the highlight of my PUG night - the sense of comradery (sp?) I experienced with finding ourselves in Oc. Cept for my good buddy. She was the square peg.

<_<

>_>

(> '-')> you! <('-' <)