Dude, can you get on Teamspeak?
by Mike Schramm 
Apr 26th 2007 at 1:20PM
I can't remember the first time I was invited on Teamspeak (some people use Ventrilo as well-- I've got both free programs installed on my PC, just in case) for an instance-- for some reason, I'm thinking it wasn't until I got invited to a raid at level 60, but considering the way that things are now, I'm really surprised it wasn't earlier. Maybe it's just because almost every instance I run is with guildies, but TS is basically a requirement for grouping-- a requirement that most of us are happy to comply with, but a requirement nonetheless.Yakov isn't so compliant-- he says Vent is a crutch, and the fact that every group he enters asks him to "jump on Vent" is rubbing him the wrong way. He says a simple 5 man run doesn't call for using Vent, and that he'd rather listen to his music then his guildies chatting it up on Teamspeak.
I disagree-- not only is it more fun to chat with people on Vent (I tend to know the guildies I've talked to on TS better than the others), but it's just plain helpful, whether the instance is hard or not. If you're disappointed that your guild isn't asking you to come on more instance runs with them, and you haven't downloaded Vent or TS yet, that's probably why.
Of course, like all things, Vent can go horribly wrong. You can be annoyed by your guildies' voices (I'll just say that some people's accents are a little offputting and leave it at that), or like Yakov, you can rather listen to music then random guild gossip. But especially if you're a player just getting to the endgame where there's a lot to learn, jumping on Vent is one of the best things you can do to make sure you know what's going on when. It's not a difficulty thing, although coordinating a pull on TS is much easier than typing strat in the chat channel. It's more of a communication thing-- the more and the faster comm there is, the better you'll all be.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Tips, Guilds, Odds and ends, Instances
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
LanceG33 Apr 27th 2007 8:02PM
The guy not on Vent listening to music is typically the guy that wipes the group because he is too busy rocking out to actually type that a patrol just killed him.
Seriously, your characters would be shouting information and instructions during a fight . . . not scrawling notes on parchment.
Jellodyne Apr 26th 2007 1:34PM
Teamspeak is great -- sounds terrific, totally free. I run a TS server on my client PC for personal use, but I've been meaning to throw together some dedicated hardware just so it'll be up if I need to reboot or whatever. Not sure what the appeal of Vent is, I think it sounds like crap compared to TS. My guild uses XFire chat primarilly, but I won't load that bloated malware on my box so I'm somewhat in the outs, except usually everyone ends up on my TS server.
Kuzarron Apr 26th 2007 1:37PM
I've been in pugs where no one is on Vent, and I keep trying to talk to the group on Vent. I've also been known to key my PTT key when I'm talking on the phone...
James Apr 26th 2007 1:38PM
Getting on Vent when its a 5-man guild run is one thing. I never minded if it was guildmates and I halfway knew who they were, or had at least teamed with them before. What is starting to become more common is hopping on Vent for 5-man PUGs. That is irritating, and pisses me off when someone I don't know starts asking if we all have Vent, expects that we should have Vent and can we please get on Vent. I don't know these people, and I sure as hell don't feel like talking to them or hear them talking to me. It kind of feels like an invasion of privacy, and I really don't like setting up Vent for some random 5-man that could self-destruct on the second pull. To say nothing of the caliber of person I'm going to wind up talking to--PUGs all too often have an asshat or two, and I'd prefer typing to them to talking to them.
Mike Schramm Apr 26th 2007 1:42PM
Hmmm, well you do have a point about vent on PUGs. How interesting that while voicechat brings guildies closer together, it can also bring random people too close for comfort.
Robert Apr 26th 2007 2:47PM
Do you ever consider that PUGs, while fraught with danger, are an excellent way to meet new people - and if you're talking to each other on Vent, you're much more likely to become friends. I can't be the only one who appreciates the social aspects of WoW... and text chatting just doesn't do it for me.
Pandemona Apr 26th 2007 4:00PM
I know that as GM of my guild we don't allow new members to join unless they at least have vent installed and can listen. Talking isn't necessary....but the ability to listen through vent makes life much easier in raids. The point made regarding 5 man groups needing vent/TS is vali...for the easier stuff. but trying to organize pulls in a PUG Heroic SH without a chat program is like banging your melon against a brick wall...so even 5-mans have "exceptions" for vent/TS use.
Karl Apr 26th 2007 1:55PM
Generally speaking, I find that Vent or TS works well, even in 5-man runs. It can help if someone is new or even "newer" to an instance if they hear people speaking about an upcoming boss. Some people are reluctant to speak up about what they have not done. It can keep you from wiping.
My friend and I use Skype to talk when we are running together. It is a much higher quality than the others, but does cost a little more bandwidth and is limited to the number of people capable of being on at the same time (free version). It can accommodate up to 5 people without a problem. The issue here is that we generally do not give out our Skype information to strangers.
Vent and TS present a problem at times if people are asking to use your guild's server. I am not the guy paying for the service. Do I really want to release passwords and port information to a server that I do not administer? I simply tell others that I have client, but no server.
I don't blame Yakov for wanting to listen to his music, but I will say that if the group wipes because he was not paying attention to what others were saying...I would just rather not run with a person like that. He probably plays a hunter though, so all he does is shoot from afar and cause wipes anyway... :)
Karl Apr 26th 2007 1:55PM
Generally speaking, I find that Vent or TS works well, even in 5-man runs. It can help if someone is new or even "newer" to an instance if they hear people speaking about an upcoming boss. Some people are reluctant to speak up about what they have not done. It can keep you from wiping.
My friend and I use Skype to talk when we are running together. It is a much higher quality than the others, but does cost a little more bandwidth and is limited to the number of people capable of being on at the same time (free version). It can accommodate up to 5 people without a problem. The issue here is that we generally do not give out our Skype information to strangers.
Vent and TS present a problem at times if people are asking to use your guild's server. I am not the guy paying for the service. Do I really want to release passwords and port information to a server that I do not administer? I simply tell others that I have client, but no server.
I don't blame Yakov for wanting to listen to his music, but I will say that if the group wipes because he was not paying attention to what others were saying...I would just rather not run with a person like that. He probably plays a hunter though, so all he does is shoot from afar and cause wipes anyway... :)
Karl Apr 26th 2007 1:56PM
Generally speaking, I find that Vent or TS works well, even in 5-man runs. It can help if someone is new or even "newer" to an instance if they hear people speaking about an upcoming boss. Some people are reluctant to speak up about what they have not done. It can keep you from wiping.
My friend and I use Skype to talk when we are running together. It is a much higher quality than the others, but does cost a little more bandwidth and is limited to the number of people capable of being on at the same time (free version). It can accommodate up to 5 people without a problem. The issue here is that we generally do not give out our Skype information to strangers.
Vent and TS present a problem at times if people are asking to use your guild's server. I am not the guy paying for the service. Do I really want to release passwords and port information to a server that I do not administer? I simply tell others that I have client, but no server.
I don't blame Yakov for wanting to listen to his music, but I will say that if the group wipes because he was not paying attention to what others were saying...I would just rather not run with a person like that. He probably plays a hunter though, so all he does is shoot from afar and cause wipes anyway... :)
Ragbar Apr 26th 2007 2:00PM
I can't disagree more with #3 and #4. I'd rather everyone was on Vent for a PuG than for a guild run.
My reasoning...I know my guildies playstyle, I know what they can handle, how fast they pull, their specs, how they handle pressure, etc. etc. I do NOT know this with PuGs. If a sheep breaks, or we get adds, I have no idea who's gonna do what. I play a mage, if we get adds in a guild group, our healer will run towards me so I can FN and control the adds, our warrior will move to pick some up, etc. etc.
With a PuG, the healer will most likely sit there and die, not move, people break CC all the time, the tank will have no clue what's going on behind him, etc. etc. I'd rather have them be on vent so we can communicate effectively, get the instance done smoothly without any problems, and get out of there.
No one says I have to chat em up or make small-talk, just communicate effectively to get the job done efficiently and quickly. Besides, you never know what cool people you'll meet.
Mogal Apr 26th 2007 2:01PM
For a raiding guild and people running heroic 5-mans I totally feel Vent/TS is a necessity (to many things can go wrong that you need quick responce time to recover from)but for regular 5 man I am with you #3 I would rather just talk to then in /party chat and listen to music the PUG 5-man can be stressful enough.
Flit Apr 26th 2007 2:04PM
Any 5 man below the 70 instances shouldn't require TS or Vent. Each class has it's job, and shouldn't have to be told what do to all the time. yeah, the occasional "pat" or "mc" comes through quicker on vent, but other than that, it shouldn't be used in pugs (unless lvl70 or heroic).
If anything should be used in pugs more often, it's marks. PUGS never focus. Ever. no matter what. I've seen shammies cast Lightning bolt on the dragon boss in Ramparts while he's still flying around. No kidding. Me laughing my ass off wouldn't have helped those shammies play better.
John Apr 26th 2007 2:08PM
i hate vent and ts. frankly, i like a level of privacy and distance....even from my guidies....i hate my voice and i listen to talk radio when i play. (yes, i know, weird. i can multitask.) i'm a loner...i like my alone time....just a weird thing.
kcgb Apr 26th 2007 2:10PM
All the vent servers I've ever been on don't seem to use the Speex codec. Not a big deal, unless you play on a Mac, in which case you can join the server but won't be able to hear or say anything.
Now if the server IS using the speex codec there's no problem, but to enable Speex, it requires you to restart the server, something most people (especially in a PUG) aren't willing to do.
I doubt TeamSpeak has a problem with this, but I've never had a PUG where they use TS, only Vent.
Doyce Apr 26th 2007 2:17PM
My guild's fairly small and still working up through the mid-fifty instances, running only the five-mans. Despite not doing raids, we still use Vent for any grouping, and it's made things much easier and quicker for us. The orginal poster is right: it's about communication, and being able to simply say "sheeping the left warlock, pet on the right guy, tank the middle," then "adds on the left, moving the pet to them" without having to TYPE when what you need to do is Kill It And Move On.... that's just invaluable.
We rip through orange/yellow conning instances with nary a wipe, despite:
1) only one player whose done any of the runs before
2) a healing-specced shaman as the main and ONLY healer
3) a 100% arms-specced warrior with no shield tanking
4) ZOMG a Beastmaster-specced hunter as leading DPS
And it's definitely not because of our gear or something like that -- we're in nothing but greens and quest-originating blues -- it's because we can communicate and shift our plans so quickly through Vent.
GuyMockingdale Apr 26th 2007 2:21PM
I cannot hate it more when a PUG asks you to join their vent. Its not because vent is a useless tool, very early on when fighting new bosses and trying out new instances for the first time it was a huge advantage and it was also great for new raid encounters when you need to express directions quickly and make on the fly changes like a tank switch.
But only if PUG vent were so good, no no ... I think these vent rooms are created solely for entertainment of the person hosting the server. Either they are just chatty and no one cares, or they are overbearing players who think its better to control your every action ... "yo, guy. you should keep up slice n' dice, its very. i read so on a forum."
Super instructor is one of many of these PUG stereotypes that make logging on to a PUG vent a pain experience. Also I was never aware that so many girls played wow till I started joining these PUG vents, and why do they all sound congested? But not only do they seem to chatter constantly, but also you have that lonelyguy, who thinks he will strike up a relationship by telling this girl she is a great healer ...
Why do I log on to them to start with? I don't know I must be masochist ... you know who I am? I'm on vent but I say I don't have a mic .. I have a mic, and it works just fine.
Oldbear Apr 26th 2007 2:16PM
My guildies (friends) and I use vent all the time - if we're grouped or not. It is a great way to keep in touch across the miles, the seasoned players can bestow wisdom on the newer ones - Plus, the comedy that can happen just would not be the same in text...
John Apr 26th 2007 2:16PM
Besides, in a PUG, I don't want to be yelling at strangers who can't play. I ran Jintha'Alor (or whatever) with 2 PUGs this week - one was awesome, and the other one had no freakin' clue what to do. People running off, not waiting for any regens, pulling stuff, tanks not knowing what's going on, no heals, etc. - in that case, I'm glad my anger doesn't come through in my typing, and I'm not interested in giving verbal lessons to level 50s who have no idea what's going on.
In those cases, those are people who wouldn't do any better with VT or TS - they suck because they suck, not because we all can't communicate faster.
Seper Apr 26th 2007 2:17PM
I'm sure weve all had times like the following...
The other night we were in shadowlabs on the 2nd boss. I'm a druid and was DPS'ing. Our MT was a warrior. Well he got knockbacked and then MC'd and when he got uncontrolled he was stuck behind the door that opens when you down the boss.
If the group wasn't on vent I wouldn't have been able to yell out to your priest to start healing me when i started tanking him.
When our priest ran out of mana but our warrior was back and needed a massive heal fast. He spoke up i hopped out and instant healed him.
You lose precious time typign things. Not everyone is aware of the others situations. When our guild runs instances everyone notifys the others to when they need aggro pulled off them, when the MT has been feared etc etc.
I think most PUG's fail due to no communication.
Vent is a neccesity for any good player.