Ten commandments of being in a group
by Mike Schramm 
Aug 1st 2007 at 6:00PM
Reader Poga dropped us a line to this article he wrote for his guild about the "ten commandments of being in a group" (perhaps inspired by my ten commandments of dueling). Pretty much every group problem is in here, from stealing aggro to breaking CC to loot whoring.The pulling one is an especially good tip-- decide at the beginning of the run who's going to pull, and then only have that person pull. Can't tell you how many times, someone decided to just pull with an instant spell because they felt like it, and not realizing that another pull was already incoming. And I think the "not wear thy gear in vain" tip is an interesting one, too-- you should putting gems and enchantments on your gear already, just to make your character the best it can be. Seeing it as a way of benefiting the group is a new way of looking at it, but it's true as well.
If everyone followed these tips all the time (and even the best tanks I know sometimes forget to wait for mana), we'd all have better groups, whether they be PuGs, good friends, or raids.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Tips, Instances, Raiding, Guides
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
nav Aug 1st 2007 6:14PM
X is the most interesting. I've lost count of the times some hunter has run out of water and there's no mage in the party. I paid for mine, I'm a priest. I resent having to give out mine because I was prepared, because if I had to make everyone wait for my mana to regen to full on its own you'd be rightly annoyed.
Next up, I'm a good cook. I have stocks of food for just about every class. +stam for tanks, +atk for melee non-tanks, +mp5, spirit or +sp damage for mana users, and +healing for myself. I'll dish it out because it's worth it to avoid a repair bill. But WHY am I yet to meet another PUGer who ever has food on them with well-fed bonuses? It NEVER happens.
Learn to cook people.
Scruffy Aug 1st 2007 6:37PM
1) OMG. That reminds me of the time a 67 hunter guildie was running me and a couple others through ST. Then some dip from OUR GUILD says he has to go to help his friend RUNNING THE SAME INSTANCE.
PUGs though... unless you're willing to never group with them again or risk getting screwed out of gear because of "that one time..." just tough it out. Unless there's no chance of getting through.
2) Eh... cheap gems and enchants... it can be a bother trying to hunt down an enchanter with excess mats. Gems are cheap enough most of the time though.
3) YES.
4) YES. As a shadow priest, I know I'm far more disposable than a holy pally or a bear tank. I'll offer them cheap but helpful elixirs or food, never pull unless told to, never running ahead unless I know the instance, fighting out of shadowform on particularly tough pulls to help heal, tossing res after if healer is OOM and dispelling whenever I can.
5) YES. This pisses me off more than anything particularly when you're trying to teach some newbies about instances. Apparently, they see moon as the target. -_-
6) Yeah... sorta. Pulling with VE or MC at times.. but always with the tank's blessing and when everyone is ready.
7) Easier said than done. When threat is going up at 500 a second and just my dots are doing 400, it's hard to give the tank aggro back. Fade? Yeah, that helps a lot when threat totals are over 20k. I try though. Wait for tank to go at it for a bit, then join the impatient mage and steal aggro from him...
8) YES. If you have more than one type and can only have one on that player at a time, ask what they'd like. Less threat plzkthx. Totems? Depends on the shaman build.
9) YES. BOE? Greed (PUGs only; guild runs would probably be nice enough to let you have it if it's an upgrade). BOP? PASS and we'll figure out who can use, who needs it the most, and who can DE it if no one needs.
10) Yeah..ish. I won't ask for anything usually except for maybe vials if I'm out (which I then make potions for everyone to use). Still, if you're piddling around town while people are moving to the summoning stone, ask if anyone needs anything from in town. They should reimburse you, of course.
Oh, and I think there's one missing.
11) Thou shalt share procuring duties. If you're an herbalist (yo), see if anyone else is. If you're a miner, see if anyone else is. If you're a skinner, see if anyone else is. Better still, if you've maxed out the skill and they're still skilling up on the plants, ore veins, or beasts, let them do it and get the mats. I mean, if they're not a dick and decide to keep it.
jcgooch Aug 1st 2007 6:55PM
My biggest pet peeve is the one about not buffing your fellow group-mates. I can't count the number of groups I've been in where the pally, druid, or whatever, doesn't put their basic buffs on people. I do understand these things cost mana, but they benefit the group, and that's what should be important. Too many people are only concerned about themselves, though, and are not team players.
I don't get it. When I played a paladin, I always was looking at people's unit frames, going "OK, whose blessing has worn off?", and I'd refresh them accordingly.
These days, I'm always having to ask for the buff.
rick gregory Aug 1st 2007 7:08PM
And the converse of the stealing aggro issue...
12) If you're the tank thou SHALT have gear, spec and skills to generate threat appropriate for your level and maintain aggro .
Paw Aug 1st 2007 7:19PM
X - I will give the main healer a mana pot or two. He is keeping my butt alive, I don't see why I shouldn't help him out.
IX - If I am in a PuG because someone asked if I could help them get the quests related done, I will usually pass on most gear unless something drops I can really use, then I ask if I can have it. It was his run, after all. Usually, most poeple are pretty cool, realizing I let them have everything before.
Milktub Aug 1st 2007 7:34PM
A special addendum commandment ...
If you are being helped out with a run though an instance that is far out of your level -- STAY BACK.
Once I was taking a couple guildies through SM and a former guildmate/leveling partner who hadn't leveled this particular character, comes on. He finds out I'm doing a full SM run and have a spot open, and asks if he can come. I check with the others, and he comes along. Now, I was a bit concerned, him being a level 26 -- but figure that since I'm a 64 at the time, I'd have no problem just clearing an area, letting them come through, then clearing the next. Of course, the first thing he does is chang into cat form and start running ALL OVER, since "I'm such a high level that no bad can happen, right?"
ErsatzPotato Aug 1st 2007 8:30PM
Thou Shalt Not Expect a Summon by Meeting Stone or Warlock
If you can do the run you can get there under your own power and should make every attempt to do so. Your PUG is not "ready to go" if you ask the fifth member you were searching for to summon your sorry butt.
Stormsinger Aug 1st 2007 8:44PM
V. "Thou shalt not break CC... Unless thou havest a feral druid tank."
As a druid who spends a lot of time tanking when we need to "de-CC" a mob at range (almost always a sheep) there's always a weird pause. Like they are waiting for me to pull out my bow and... oh, right.. Yeah, I can shift out, Moonfire and shift back, but that's a waste of mana, time and, most importantly, RAGE.
So, if thou havest a bear tank... Wait until they finish off the current last free mob, turns towards the CCed mob and than pop it with a weak instant spell or just a bow. Ok, best case is to tell the bear tank you'll do this. Trust me, we really appreciate it.
Amandrel Aug 1st 2007 11:08PM
From 1: "Learn to cook, people"
And for the love of God, please level your First Aid and bring bandages to the raid. There will be times when your healer will either be OOM or otherwise preoccupied keeping the tank up, and you will need to take care of yourself. Typing "HEEL PLZ" in chat or demanding a heal over Vent is the surest way to move to the top of my Do Not Heal list.
Levi Aug 2nd 2007 1:40PM
How about, for raids at least, thou shalt read thine stratagems? Getting to a new boss when 3 out of 25 people know what is about to happen is pretty frustrating. Know at least the basics of the fight and search Youtube for a video. There will be one!