Ask WoW Insider: Best way to get instance invites?
by Barb Dybwad 
Mar 9th 2007 at 3:30PM
It's time for our weekly edition of Ask WoW Insider, wherein we publish one of your burning questions for the WoW Insider readers to answer. This week's question comes from David, who seeks advice on scoring an invite to an instance you haven't had any experience running yet: Ok, here's my question that I'm hoping gets a good response. For starters, I played WoW when it first came out and was a hunter then after getting to level 40ish I decided to reroll as a paladin and got to 50ish. Then I quit playing WoW until just recently with the newest Expansion. Any pointers on how to learn the new instances because it seems no one wants to invite someone that doesn't know the instance. Everytime, I try to get invited with my new character (neither paladin or hunter) I get kicked because I explain I just hit where I'm told and people don't seem to like that idea. Any pointers?Can you folks help an instance noob out? What are your tips and tricks for convincing a group you've got the goods despite not having seen the inside of the dungeon?
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Filed under: How-tos, Instances, Ask WoW Insider
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Seper Mar 9th 2007 3:41PM
Go with guildmates... PUGS arn't good as it is and Guildmates are more forgiving.
I avoid PUG's like the plague and if I were group leader no noobs would be getting in unless the part the noob played was minimal.
Guildmates will always spend the time helping you learn. Sometimes you will get the odd nice person that will teach you the instance. I used too.. but then too many noobs did too many stupid things.
lizardkng Mar 9th 2007 4:06PM
don't say anything until the first boss pull.
just know where the portal is, so you don't have to ask...
once you get to the boss, chances are the group will have to deal with an explanation rather than LF1M
Robert Mar 9th 2007 3:55PM
The best way to do anything new is to research it as much as possible and then never tell anyone it's your first time. If you've done your homework, they'll never know.
Also hunters are the hardest class to get a group invite for. You should have no problems getting groups as a paladin but they will be expecting you to either tank or heal, make sure to find out what role they want you for and that you'll able to do it. (Don't sign on as the only healer if you're 41 ret without excellent healing gear!)
Galipan Mar 9th 2007 3:50PM
Well, I play a hunter, and no matter what the instance is, my role is always the same. Shoot from afar, freeze the ads. When I'm told that I can't come because I haven't been there, I make my role seem ridiculously simple and I'm in. With a pally just say, "what do you want me to do? I heal when people die, give buffs and hit it with my hammer...its that easy!!". Hope that helps =P
James Mar 9th 2007 3:59PM
Also, I wouldn't volunteer information about how new I am to an instance. I have a hunter now, but back when I was tanking instances, I never said a word about whether I had been in there.
Barring that, I'd go to Wowwiki or Thottbot and look up what you can on instances that are your level. You won't get every single detail about an instance, but you can at least have an idea of what you're getting in to.
I don't know how many teams are kicking you due to not knowing the instance, but you're better off not teaming with them. I've seen groups like that where one or more people are veterans, and then when a new player on the team makes even a minor infraction, the veterans freak out, or do the famous "...". Whatever. If they're that impatient, it won't be a good run for anyone.
But, again, especially with your hunter, don't volunteer info. Your role is ranged dps, so knowing the instance shouldn't be an issue. With your pally, if they ask, be truthful, and if at any time you're a healing or tanking class, whether you've run the instance 40 times or 1 time, its a good idea to ask what they expect of you, since your role is changeable.
vincenzo7 Mar 9th 2007 4:04PM
1. join a guild.
2. be good at playing your class.
3. don't be bad at playing your class.
Toolio Mar 9th 2007 4:05PM
In most cases, at least if you want to progress at a decent rate, PUGs are unavoidable. Everyone has been a 1st timer in a given instance at one point, so if you're getting a negative reaction from other players on a consistent basis I'd say you should change realms.
I'd never turn another player down for an instance if I was LFM just because they've never done it.
Another possibility is that you're a dirtbag and your reputation precedes you.
Atie Mar 9th 2007 4:08PM
Everyone is a noob at first. If you hook up with a instance group outside of your guild, and they are being "dickish" about your inexperience, then screw'em. Drop out and get into an new group.
Remind them that EVERYONE did a first run. People seem to forget that others may not always know what they know, or have similar experiences.
I never discount inexperience...I prefer to help and give pointers when asked or needed.
Seraya Mar 9th 2007 4:16PM
An idea I suggest is find out of there's a Ventrilo or TeamSpeak or other voice chat server somewhere that you can coordinate on. Even just listening to one person explaining your group's strategy is a huge help to group survivability and works very well for someone new to an instance, since it a) explains the encounter to the new person and b) refreshes it in the minds of the rest of the party.
Chris Mar 9th 2007 4:26PM
If you are 70, be a worthwhile spec.
AKA.
Warriors/ maybe droods tank
Pally/Shammy/Priest/maybe drood heal damnit
Freehugz Mar 9th 2007 7:02PM
Be social!
Join a big guild, make friends, be nice/social with people you pug with. People will bring you along just cuz they like you.
or... just lie about it, nobody will know until its too late, but like #7 said, be sure you know where the portal is
drew Mar 9th 2007 5:14PM
Just like Robert suggested, I'd research isntance strategies on sites like http://www.wowwiki.com or http://warcraftsearch.com/
That way you won't appear to be the new guy that causes the wipe. In fact, you can probably give the rest of the group a few pointers! :)
SilentBob Mar 9th 2007 5:18PM
Like the others said, try to hold back on the "I've never done this before" bit... for the most part, as long as you're not starting the pulls, just sit back and learn. If you're running your hunter make SURE you have your pet set to Passive, not Defensive and DEFINITELY not Aggressive. Also keep you aggro in mind, let the tank wail away on the target for a few (let some sunders get on if you have a decent warrior) and then start your attacks.
If you're running paly, helping with heals will make u friends quick and if you spot a wipe, DI the healer and you will probably become very popular very quick. Also don't forget your Judgements of Light and Wisdom when appropriate too.
Kyol Mar 9th 2007 5:19PM
All that said, though, I've gotta say, WoW is getting awfully insular. I'm (still, basically) on my first character, and only 46. Am I a bad player? No, I'm just not the type to come home and play straight through until midnight, either. But I've had no luck finding a good family style guild, and PUGs are almost nonexistant now that everyone is on their 5th alt, so they hook up with guildmates to run through the content as fast as possible.
Take a chance on a first time player for once, it's not a rush to hit the endgame for everyone.
Jacckk Mar 9th 2007 5:28PM
@ 10
Priests don't heal at 70. They DPS and regen your mana/health.
We ain't built for healing anymore. L2Invite a Pally or a Druid.
Genius Jones Mar 9th 2007 6:08PM
Every time? It sounds more like you only asked twice and got turned down both times. I've never had any trouble at all, and I always tell peeps if I have never done an instance. I just ask them to let me know before hand if there are pulls or places where I could ruins us by being careless. What I do have though is confidence in my class and how to play it. Honestly not one of the pre-karazhan instances in the expansion is hard enough to kick a paladin just because he's never been there. It's more likely that the PUGs you get are players who are too lame or inexperienced themselves to explain the totally simple strats that make it through these things.
Smithra Mar 9th 2007 6:01PM
It might have been useful for you to tell us what class you are playing (as opposed to the 2 you aren't...unless I'm misreading here). In general, I'm going to bet that it's not what you say, but how you say it.
There's a big difference between:
"Hey guys, this is my first run of Ramparts, so if there's anything weird I should know about, please give me a heads-up"
and
"Never ben hear b4, jus' tell me wut 2 stab k?"
I've found it not uncommon for people to ask pretty early "Who's been here before?" or "Is this anybody's first time?" I have yet to be kicked from a group for being a n00b.
Usually you can just wait until the boss fight to say "Never been this far, anything special I should know about this fight?" but early pointers on what to CC or who to stand away from and which guys have fear effects or which rooms are particularly dangerous might prevent you from accidentally wiping the party on a trash-pull, something that usually gets you more bad-karma from your teammates than admitting you've never been there before.
Smithra Mar 9th 2007 6:02PM
Also if you're a DPS Warrior or something, maybe they're expecting you to tank/lead and that's why you're getting booted?
Drom Mar 9th 2007 6:28PM
There are some simple ways to make sure that once you get an invite to a group you keep it.
1) Be Friendly & Outgoing. The first thing I do is give a quick “Hello guys” and maybe a “How’s everyone doing?” Sure it makes me seem overly friendly, but I’d rather come off like that now then come off as being too cool for school.
2) If it’s your first time, don’t feel you have to volunteer that information. I tend to wait till someone asks if it’s my first time. I don’t lie to a group, but I also don’t volunteer a whole bunch of information. I also don’t come out saying “Hey I always hit demo shout thunderclap when I open.” I always say it’s ok to not give up all your information at once. Now if someone does ask, that takes you to #3.
3) Be honest, always. If someone asks you if your priest is holy specc’d and your shadow be honest. “No, I’m shadow but I don’t have a problem healing.” Is an honest response. I get “Are you a prot warrior?” I say “No, I’m only 35 points into Protection not full Prot specc.” Honesty is the best policy. I don’t jump into a group and say that off the bat, but I always answer any question with an honest answer.
4) Don’t be a hassle. Don’t join the group and immediately say “I want [uber staff]. It’s the only thing I want from here so no one roll on it.” If you want to be in the group for long don’t come in with lots of pre-set rules and conditions. Now if the group really needs you, say it’s 1 am and you’re the only priest online then you can get away with this stuff (although I still find it rude). I would recommend avoid being a hassle to the group.
5) Be prepared to go. Repair your armor, have your items with you, etc. This ties into the Don’t be hassle. If you aren’t prepared to go and have to hearth back and force the group to wait or worse get into the instance and say after the first pull “My gear is red guys” you are not going to get invited back.
6) The final thing you can do you have to do the whole time your leveling and coming up. That’s protect your reputation. Be nice and polite while out in the world. Don’t ninja nodes, don’t run up and take other’s chests, and generally help those you see in trouble. I’ve never had trouble finding a group when people are online to play because I make sure that when I’m just running around I’m helpful and friendly. By protecting my reputation out in the game world even when I’m just putting around, more often than not people remember me from that time I saved them from X marauding mob. Or the time they were clearing to a chest and I came up but let them take it. The only thing you keep with you from level 1 to level 70 is your reputation, so be careful with it. It’s got a limited durability and it can’t be repaired very easily once it’s been damaged.
Annoula Mar 9th 2007 6:30PM
There's a very large difference between asking how to play and asking how to take down a boss. Bosses all have their individual quirks, but a pull is a pull.
For example, walking into an instance as a hunter, asking to mark a target for frost trap or checking if they want you to pull is legit and will never get you banned. Asking the best boss strategy is ok as well. You should know basic group strategy and your role there. If you can't seem to get a group because you're admitting to your noobishness.. lie. Sure, you may mess up and wipe and piss people off and possibly get booted... but then you learn you shouldn't use multi shot when there are sheep/saps up. Learn that yes, if you don't de-select your target you will break frost trap and yes constantly pulling aggro off the tank will make the healer want to beat you in the face. There are a TON of guides on-line to help you be a better player at your class, but the best way is to just do it. See what's helpful and see what's not. An easy way to tell is your sucess. If your run feels good, sucessful and doesn't involve 12 corpse runs... chances are you're doing a good job.
I've found some pretty great pug groups. I put all the notables on my lists. The people that suck and won't take direction go on my ignore list. The people that rock go on my friends list.