Expectations for Casual Raiding

Gentle readers, Crusader Manners is in the middle of a GM election. She is running against that pesky "None of the Above," but she working very hard to make sure that she is ready for the eventuality that she does not lose.

So today's post is something of an experiment. Crusader Manners is not a big fan of rules, per se. Rules imply external enforcement, which is unpleasant. She likes expectations, which require self-enforcement. So she has formulated the following expectations for casual raiding which should ease stress and increase performance, but she is soliciting feedback.

Expectations for Casual Raiding

1. We will have what we need. We will be in the right spec, wearing the right gear. We will be fully repaired. We will have our own potions, flasks, and elixirs. We will bring the proper reagents. We will have vendor food and drink in case there is no mage.
2. We will be on time. This means that we may have to log on before the posted raid time to make sure we have everything taken care of.
3. We will be gracious. If we have been on a raid already this week and someone else has not, we will consider making room for them.
4. We will be honest. If, in the analysis, we do not have the right gear or performance for a particular raid, we will voluntarily pass for a reserved spot on a less demanding one.
5. We will be prepared. We will read the wiki pages and watch the strategy videos in preparation for a raid. We will consider printing them out or taking notes so we have them at hand.
6. We will be awesome. We will be not raid while intoxicated, as this is not fair to the group. We will not cuss each other out during fights (we can take our fingers off the button and cuss away). We will offer constructive criticism.

As always, you may send your questions to crusader_manners@incendiaeternus.net for polite and sometimes timely answers.

Your Questions

Dear Crusader Manners,

First let me say, I'm a big fan; you've combined my love of WoW and my obsession with courtesy, so of course I'm all about your work.

Gratuitous appreciation aside, I do have a question I'd like you to weigh in on: When is it appropriate to post damage meters in a PUG?

I, natch, am super-elite and usually finish in the top 1-2, but I don't run meters because I'm secure in my DPS. That said, it seems an awful lot of people like to throw up meters whenever they want to brag, belittle, or bemoan... And frankly I don't think its important as long as the mobs are dying. Granted its useful to have metrics by which to gauge ones contribution, and from time to tome I even ask to see them so as to assess my own performance, but its gotten gratuitous and I think there needs to be some etiquette established with regard to this practice.

So what do you think is appropriate?

Best,
Hesta of Zul'jin-US


Dear Hesta,

Crusader Manners appreciates your kind words of support.

That being said, Crusader Manners runs her own DPS meter. She does not post data with it unless requested. That way, she has the information she needs when she needs it, and does not spam anyone else. If you find that Recount is hogging too much in the way of system resources, she recommends that you ask someone to whisper the Recount data, rather than announce it loudly.

It might be wise to simply redirect and ask people to help out by not spamming your chat frames with meters during raids. That way, vital information is not lost, opportunities to roll on loot are not missed, and no one is made to feel inadequate. Different classes and specs put out different types of damage in different kinds of fights, so comparisons of this sort are very unnecessary.

Random of Reflections

Crusader Manners had a bad time of it last night using the random dungeon finder.

She ended up in a partially completed HoR (just the running away apart was left) and the first thing the tank demanded to know was how the DPS of the newcomers was. Crusader Manners should have known that this was going to be a problem if that's what he was focused on, rather than his own tanking skills.

He then proceeded to call names, vote to kick a party member for low dps, and totally failed to keep aggro from Crusader Manners and the warlock. Crusader Manners admits to quitting the group after the third wipe, which of course was not cool at all.

The moral of this story is that you've got to focus on doing your job to the best of your ability before you can critique how other people are doing theirs.

The second moral is that someone should tell Blizzard that it would be really nice to not to waste your 15 minutes if you decline to clean up someone else's mess.

Crusader Manners will be answering another reader question before the end of the evening.

Note: Crusader Manners realizes that this post sort of contradicts the rule of blame she posted previously. The rule of blame doesn't quite seem to apply in this case entirely - but I don't quite know how to fix it. If the tank can't hold the aggro and the dps pulls back, then Arthas catches up and kills the whole party. In this one, everybody's got to be holding up their own end, or the whole thing falls apart. I suppose that's why it's called teamwork.

General Guidelines for Understanding Death

Crusader Manners has noticed that when there is a death in the party, people are fond of assigning blame for that death. It is extremely rude to tell someone else they are at fault for your death when they are not, so keep the following helpful general rules of thumb in mind.

• If the tank dies, it is the healer's fault.
• If the healer dies, it is the tank's fault.
• If the DPS dies, it is their own fault.

Stay in range of the healer. Don't pull aggro off the tank, or before the tank is ready. And don't blame anyone else for your own mistakes.

How to Behave in a Random Group

• Wait a minute. When you get started running the instance, people might need a few seconds. Many healers do not hang around all the time in their healing gear and spec. Some people have discovered that wearing junk gear is a good way not to end up in HoR and need to put on the good stuff. Everyone might like to eat. Quickly confirm everyone's readiness before beginning.
  
• Everyone defers to the tank. It doesn't matter who the party leader is. DPS and healers should wait until the tank is ready to pull. They should stand where the tank indicates. And if the tank says they don't want to do an achievement, then that achievement isn't happening. Further, DPS should make a point to target what the tank is focusing on. Your death is your own fault if you don't.
• The tank defers to the healer. This means that the tank needs to keep an eye on the healer's mana and the chat pane. It is the tank's responsibility to make sure they aren't pulling while the healer is low on mana.
• Be polite. "Please," and "thank you," are important! Put them before and after every request. A polite party member is less likely to be kicked when they make a mistake than a rude one.
• Don't demand or nag. If you need something, ask for it once. If you think that your request got missed, it's okay to ask a second time, but no more than that.
• Don't cuss in party chat. It may not be a big deal for you, or in your house, but not everybody playing appreciates your profound obscenity. Again, a polite member is less likely to get kicked than a rude one.
• Don't be selfish. Only need things you need for your main set, and agreed upon items for your off-set. Nobody cares about your off-off-set. Do not hit need on orbs - unless you are using them to make an item for your main set, you don't actually need them any more than anyone else does. If someone asks to need an item for their off-set, let them. "Might use sometimes" should still trump "going to sell that to a vendor." Also remember that an instance is not a competitive event, it is a cooperative one. You don't win unless everyone else does.
  
• Don't quit. Unless you've agreed as a party to give up, dropping group is really rude. It sends the message that you don't value the time of others very much. If you think you will need to quit, warn or explain first. Example: "My mom hates it when I put her off. I may have to go," or "If we wipe one more time, I will not be able to afford this repair bill. I can't do this anymore."