Bad Groups

[Rasix]

people who die to various things on Ick, etc. 

I don't understand how people manage this. All of his shit is super telegraphed and has massive cast times.  Even with pursuit, you have so much time to put distance between Ick and yourself. 

Funniest thing I saw was a 7k DPS rogue just absolutely splat himself by opening up on Ick when the tank was  just engaging.  Tricks of  the trade, use it!

[SurfD]

I have ended up 2 manning ick with just Me as the tank and the healer left far too many times.    My personal favourite however, is watching him kill ranged dps with Poison Nova.  How the hell do you manage that?

[Selby]

Tricks of  the trade, use it!

"lolz it was on cooldown" is the most common response I get when I see a rogue splat himself like that.

As far as the HoT issue, if it's my warrior I've had zero issues as long as shockwave is up and I can get it off in a timely fashion.  My DK doesn't always have problems with that, but she's extremely squishy compared to my warrior and I've seen my health drop by 1/2 on some hectic mob pulls (I see it when healing DK's too).

[Paelos]

I wouldn't charge anything more than 2 mobs if shockwave was down. That's just a recipe for disaster if you don't trust your group.

[Khaldun]

Unless the tank is pulling like a crazy asshole, ToT is never on CD for me at the start of a fight.

[Rasix]

Just grouped with this DK winner.  562 DPS and every single ability was downrank.  This was in HCOS.  When the drake dropped, he of course wasn't going to have it, but the when he needed on it, the tank needed too out of spite.  I don't feed back for the guy at all, he didn't offer a single excuse and before he even rolled on the drake said something to the effect "Give to me" (in a matter that suggest that no one else roll, the drake is his by right).  Tank kept it and it seemed apropos that the DK ninja'd the orb. 

First super lousy dps I've grouped with in a few days.  Lots of underachievers (5.2K GS and you can't outdo my rogue?), but most weren't this bad.

As an aside, the last 3 HCOS I've been in, the tank has dropped before the instance even started.  7 emblems for finishing and no having to wait to queue again (or do you get deserter that early?).  Idiot proof instance too.  Even with that mammoth DPS drain on us, it was a cake walk, getting to the corrupter with something like 7 minutes left.

[pants]

As an aside, the last 3 HCOS I've been in, the tank has dropped before the instance even started.  7 emblems for finishing and no having to wait to queue again (or do you get deserter that early?).  Idiot proof instance too.  Even with that mammoth DPS drain on us, it was a cake walk, getting to the corrupter with something like 7 minutes left.

However if you're raiding ICC, you're only doing random heroics to get your 2 frost badges from the daily - so you don't give a damn about how many triumph badges you collect.  So if thats your driver, HCoS is a terrible waste of time.  Yes, its easy - but it feels like you can complete something like AN or Drak'Tharon in the time it takes to get through the lorelol at the start of the instance - let alone if you have a bad run and have to spend the first period running back and forth from 1 end of Strath to the other.

[Sheepherder]

Chromie teleports you.

[Selby]

However if you're raiding ICC,

This.  I have 400 triumphs and over 160 of the previous tier level.  I only do 1 heroic per day per character since I am maxed out on non-frost badge gear and only need frost emblems for the few pieces there left to buy (going for pants\gloves\shoulders of T10 now, makes me glad I already got the robe and headpiece).  I never drop group, but I barely even try on my mage and still pull almost 4500 average on the instances.  Boss fights I do care for, and the DPS there is outrageous.  And I end up carrying alot of people, which doesn't bother me one bit as long as they aren't doing stupid things like getting the entire party killed and causing us to run again and again.  The only thing that really annoys me is a tank dropping because something didn't go his way.  Yesterday, get 1st boss of H-UK down, tank rolls greed on roses with the rest of us.  Doesn't win them, immediately quits.  We spend 10 minutes waiting for another one, while we were pulling mobs to the 2nd boss just to keep from going bored.

Honestly, the raid weekly is where the true terrible players really shine through on how dim they are.  The sheer amount of 1500DPSers and undergeared tanks trying to do Ignis or XT makes me want to scream (forget about Marrowgar).  And it's like half of them have a 5200 GS too, so I don't understand what the effing problem is.  DPS boss down FAST, avoid shit you aren't supposed to get hit by, profit!

[Minvaren]

Today, tanking H Nexus...

- First healer DCs immediately.  5 minute wait before he exits, requeue.
- Second healer arrives.  Immediately starts the "goooooooooo" cheer, and after every pull.  Party doesn't back up when I pull Strongbeard.  Fears DPS into second group, healer eats a WW, wipe.  Healer quits group.
- Third healer arrives.  Party stays back when I pull SB, and healer stays out of melee range.  We blow through the rest of the instance.

...on a side note, does anyone understand the urge for the entire party to stand on top of you while you tank?  I try to pull things out of melee range of the casters, but half the time I blink and the entire party is on top of the mob...?

[Sheepherder]

...on a side note, does anyone understand the urge for the entire party to stand on top of you while you tank?  I try to pull things out of melee range of the casters, but half the time I blink and the entire party is on top of the mob...?

Several caster/ranged classes have melee range abilities for AoE that are a part of the optimal rotation.

[Minvaren]

...on a side note, does anyone understand the urge for the entire party to stand on top of you while you tank?  I try to pull things out of melee range of the casters, but half the time I blink and the entire party is on top of the mob...?

Several caster/ranged classes have melee range abilities for AoE that are a part of the optimal rotation.

Ah ha...  That does make sense.  So it's their fault for eating AoE melee range boss attacks, then.  My tanking ego has improved.  

[Evildrider]

...on a side note, does anyone understand the urge for the entire party to stand on top of you while you tank?  I try to pull things out of melee range of the casters, but half the time I blink and the entire party is on top of the mob...?

Several caster/ranged classes have melee range abilities for AoE that are a part of the optimal rotation.

Ah ha...  That does make sense.  So it's their fault for eating AoE melee range boss attacks, then.  My tanking ego has improved.  

And they are just terribad if they are actually standing in front with you and not behind the mob.

[Soulflame]

I'm getting tired of the bad tanks I get on the druid, and can put together 4T9 etc right now if I wanted to.  What's the stats needed for a bear?

[Selby]

What's the stats needed for a bear?

Hit and stamina stamina stamina and even more stamina.

[Rendakor]

...on a side note, does anyone understand the urge for the entire party to stand on top of you while you tank?  I try to pull things out of melee range of the casters, but half the time I blink and the entire party is on top of the mob...?

Several caster/ranged classes have melee range abilities for AoE that are a part of the optimal rotation.

Do mages have any of these? The only close range thing we have is CoC, and to the best of my knowledge we're not supposed to be using it. I'm just asking to see if I'm fucking something up here.

[Selby]

Do mages have any of these?

Not really.  Never use Arcane Explosion of CoC unless it is a serious issues like you're on a blood beast and it's trying to eat you.

[Rendakor]

Yea that's about what I figured, just double checking.

[Ingmar]

I seem to recall there are some corner cases where it is good to use arcane explosion, when the number of targets is really high it makes clearcasting procs more likely or whatever.

[Sheepherder]

Arcane Explosion is, or was, the highest DPCT AoE spell for Arcane after PoM -> Flamestrike.

It's also a good indicator of when you mage is as dumb as a stump.

[K9]

It's good for clearing zombies off you in CoT:Strat.

[Selby]

It's good for clearing zombies off you in CoT:Strat.

Pretty much all I use it for.  I find if I am AoE'ing in melee range of the tank, there are situations where I will do more damage, but the chance of yanking aggro and not having the tank or myself enough time to react are considerably higher, so I always AoE from afar.

[Rasix]

On my rogue (new main #4 for this expansion), I just love spamming FOK to clear out those zombies.  It's impossible to resist.  Inbetween the first boss and next wave I sprint around dropping zombies.  

3 groups in a row without a single tard although a paladin healer did manage to die before Devourer even got off the laser beam (I think the hunter mirror splatted him).  DK tank (DW and very good!) were left alive at the end. Ended getting the Scorpion due to the hunter and warrior already having and the tank actually passing.  You don't see that very often.  I was just there for the dagger (which now that I'm on my rogue, it never drops).

[apocrypha]

I have come across a horrible disturbing trend in random groups over the last few weeks... racist abuse.

In the last 2 weeks I have reported at least 5 people for overt and blatant racism, for no apparent reason. The people doing this have ALL come from the Stormscale server (this is EU) which is a high-population horde dominated pvp server. Instead of just calling people "n00bs" or "naabs" or "failtanks" etc, which I am used to seeing, the terms that are being used are specifically racist, which I find disturbing.

if I'm healing then it's easy to deal with. I make them wait while I report them and then I let them die repeatedly until they leave. This is particularly effective when I am healing on my pally since I can control who has or loses agro quite nicely    As DPS there's not much I can do except report them and try and get them votekicked, but with the 15-minute rule and the inability to kick people for at least 30 seconds after combat has ended this isn't easy.

I always try to see the best in people in my life, but sometimes this game makes it fucking hard to do.

[Khaldun]

That's weird, because I've seen something kind of similar lately. Not just in WoW, but also in Fallen Earth and Champions when I was playing those. I suppose in Fallen Earth it could have been someone roleplaying.  But still, yeah, it's like the kiddy assholes have moved into some new territory and it really makes me feel squicky.

[Merusk]

There's always been that segment of teenage pop that does whatever it can to get a rise out of people, or for attention.  Years ago that segment had settled on racisim and mysigonoy 'for fun.'  You're seeing it spread as those kids who were younger and looked-up to those original miscreants for being 'so cool' are getting old enough.  Yeah, it's only going to get worse as P.C. backlash also enters the picture.

There was an hour long discussion on how women were useless, sucked at WoW and games in totality and need to "go bak 2 da kitchen!" on my server Sunday morning.  This wasn't the first time I'd seen this discussion.

[Paelos]

There was an hour long discussion on how women were useless, sucked at WoW and games in totality and need to "go bak 2 da kitchen!" on my server Sunday morning.  This wasn't the first time I'd seen this discussion.

Making fun of women in WoW. The cliches about gamer nerds would have seem to have no ceiling.

That being said, most of the women in my alliance have been very good players. Two of my healers, and one of my dps are supremely awesome. Then, OTOH I had the 3 women who couldn't stop passive-agressively spitting drama over loot, NEVER got out of the shit on the ground, and would routinely kill the tank if given primary healing duties on their own. I'd say the odds were better than pulling in some guy though. Luckily they quit or went to the "hardcore" run.

[Selby]

Yes, in my experience women can be just as bad or great as any guy out there.  I don't tolerate the sexist or homophobic crap in my guild though, I call people out on it time and time again to the point where if they are saying it, they sure aren't doing it when I'm there (which is sadly very often).

[Sjofn]

Why, with their wide range of ability, it's almost as if lady gamers are people, just like gentleman gamers! 

But yeah, people have been dickheads about women on the internet/in the gaming scene for as long as they existed. Same with the homophobes. The racism still blindsides me though, although I'm sure that has ALSO been around and I was just lucky to mostly not see it.

[Paelos]

Why, with their wide range of ability, it's almost as if lady gamers are people, just like gentleman gamers!  

Yep.

But you still can't drive worth a shit.  

(I'm bitter over the Danica Patrick hoopajoop)

[Jayce]

Wait, gentleman gamers are people?

[Lantyssa]

Certainly.  Good luck finding a gentleman gamer though.

[Rasix]

Just grouped with a warlock that in HPOS:

• Got 22 stacks of the debuff before he died. Had a 19 stack that he got rid of miracuously passing by a boulder.
• Stood in Ick's explosives. Then died to Pursuit.
• Would bust out Rain of Fire on the last mob of an AE pack.
• Went AFK midway through the gauntlet.
• DPS'd every time he got brand.
• Hoarfrosted the healer
• Was in there in bad gear in the first place and was only not vote kicked because his healer was in the same guild.

Called me a "homo" at the end after I told him to stop DPSing during brand.   Hooray for crossrealm ignore.

[Selby]

• Was in there in bad gear in the first place and was only not vote kicked because his healer was in the same guild.

My DK just made 80 and is only in some 175-200 gear so that I can qualify for heroics.  I can't wait to get told how horrible of a player I am due to my lack of gear ;-)

Although, I'm probably not stupid enough to run H-PoS to begin with anyways ;-)

[Rasix]

Noticed I listed that last?  It just compounded the above.  Shitty DPS and doing everything wrong! WOOO WOO. 

Shitty gear doesn't matter if you can manage not to be a retard.  I've healed for HPOS groups where no DPS broke 2.5K.  Fights were slow, but they got through everything with little issue.  If the DPS is bad and you're doing everything in your power to kill yourself, well, then I tend to get annoyed. Good gear can help mask a terrible player.  But bad gear just makes them shine like the sun.  

As a side note, I've been gifted recently with a string of terrible shaman healers.  Didn't matter the GS, they were all just BAD.  Had one complain about how hard it was to keep the tank+melee DPS up when he wasn't casting chain heal at all.

edit: You won't likely make it into HPOS for a bit. However, the gear requirements aren't very high and it appears you can bypass gear checks depending on who you're grouped with.  2K dps there is fine. Hell, nothing there really is a burn fight if your tank/healer are solid.