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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsBreakfast Topic: Do you actually enjoy PUGs?
by Josh Rose 
Jan 30th 2011 at 8:00AM
We have all heard a friend or a guild member share a PUG horror story. Most of us even have one or two of our own. Prior to Wrath of the Lich King, WoW was not very PUG-friendly. There was no random dungeon tool, trash was not the AoE-fest it was in Wrath, raids didn't have normal and heroic modes, there wasn't a lot of 10-player content -- the list goes on and on. However, unless you have had a truly sheltered existence in WoW, you have joined a PUG. Surprisingly enough, sometimes PUGs can even be fun and rewarding.
I have my fair share of PUG horror stories, but I have had a couple of great moments in PUGs. In BC, I joined a PUG Mag's Lair and ended up meeting members of a new raiding guild I got invited to after I saved the raid from wiping. I met numerous friends while tanking dungeons, both in the leveling process and heroics. I even started using the random dungeon tool again since 4.03 so I could get exalted with Gilneas prior to the Cata launch. With some of the AoE tanking nerfs and the tanking changes, I was actually enjoying tanking heroics wearing complete DPS gear. I even did a couple of successful PUG achievement runs to try and finish off a few remaining things, so I could focus entirely on new content. Most importantly, I was having fun while pugging.
Do you have good PUG stories? Do you actually like or even prefer to PUG? Or do you avoid PUGs like the plague?
Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Guest Posts
Reader Comments (Page 5 of 9)
Lilliah Jan 30th 2011 9:14AM
Has anyone else noticed in the Cat dungeon finder runs that the tanks are doing higher DPS than tanks did in Wrath?
For me, random dungeon finder is a love/hate thing. Sometimes it's a beautiful experience and the whole group feels the love -- a worthwhile experience. Other times, gripe gripe gripe.
I enjoyed reading the comments above and this article. Thank you.
Lilliah Jan 30th 2011 9:24AM
Edit: I meant to say that the tanks are doing more DPS than the DPSers are doing. haha. In about five dungeons this last week, every tank had out DPS'd the rest of the group.
snuf42 Jan 30th 2011 11:10AM
If you are looking at overall DPS on recount, this is pretty common. It has to do with how the vengeance mechanics work currently.
Chokaa Jan 30th 2011 9:17AM
In Wrath, I had no problem with pugs. Before the rdf it was -Tank LFG daily heroic, and I met a LOT of cool people on my server doing them. With the rdf, I would make cash fist over hand selling queues. I would pug the 10m raids, until we started working on heroic LK, but I had a lot of fun doing them.
In Cata, though, The first few heroics I ran through the RDF were kinda shitty. I'm a DK Tank, and the amount of shit people place on tanks doing new content, *shudder*. Being expected to know every boss' abilities and the pathing of all the pats, and getting blamed when something goes wrong.
HOWEVER!! After learning the dungeons and knowing most of what to expect, I've actually welcomed the responsibility of informing people what does what and how best to keep it under control. I've gotten a couple addons to help with marking and with CC orders (PugLax, I
Chokaa Jan 30th 2011 9:22AM
Hmm, it cut off the rest of my comment! Let's see if Ican remember it...
(PugLax, I
Chokaa Jan 30th 2011 9:24AM
Whatever. The TL;DR version is Pugs in Cata have made me better, cause I've had to relearn the CD rotation that I haven't used since OS3D in naxx gear, and I loved pugs in wrath for the ease and access, and the quick cash.
Veverothe Jan 30th 2011 9:23AM
I love PUGs! That doesn't mean I enjoy them more than a guild run, but I don't think of them as an avoidable or unnecessary evil like most of my guildies. I rather suck it up and play than log off right after login because there's noone on to play with. Yes I do get annoyed, pissed or even a bit angry when we wipe a lot due to outright stupid mistakes or laziness. But since dieing in WoW is pretty much only a time delay (I guess plate-wearers may be bitter about the repair costs), I treat it as nothing more than an indicator how well the run went. One wipe per hour? Totally acceptable. Two to Four, needs work. More... better talk the group into abandoning/switching the dungeon.
That's the bad part of 'em. The good part is how I don't have to waste time searching for a group, since the DF does that for me, how I get nice gear, good exp and the occassional awesome group. This is especially true for low level and non-hero dungeons. Maybe the trick is to blend out the bad parts, so the overall experience turns out alright. As a nice sice effect I learn to play my class. When leveling you don't learn jack, maybe except some lore and the map. But nothing on how to play your class (effectivly). Now when the tank decides to light up all four candles in BFD? That's how I learn to heal...
zubbiefish Jan 30th 2011 9:25AM
Hopping into the RDF for a Heroic has been a valuable experience for me. Wrath era dungeons made me impatient and were, at the end for sure, a badge farming treadmill that I just wanted to get done as fast a s possible. Now, I've had to re-learn patience. The slower pace has actualy made dungeons feel like an accomplishment.
I spent the better part of an afternoon in Heroic Stonecore with strangers. Progress was slow, bosses took many attempts each. We got all of them down, eventualy, and it felt better than downing any raid boss (after Ulduar) in Wrath.
Besides the accomplishment aspect, RDF has made me a better player.
razion Jan 30th 2011 9:32AM
Relatively, yes!
I know people give PUGs a really bad rap, but I can say that the bad group compositions I've gotten are few and far between. Very rarely do I get the Go Guy or the Gear Complainer guy. If it's any other of That Guy kind of variety, I can usually just ignore them until the run is over. And even if I do get the either of the two of them, they will quickly find out that they just don't need to say anything--I'm plenty geared and, as they will find out, go plenty fast as well. I haven't gotten anyone who has said anything a second time in a dungeon with me: they're too preoccupied running down the hallway after my undead's plate-covered tushie to worry about anything else.
Itanius Jan 30th 2011 9:35AM
I really don't like PUGs, but if you're not part of a giant, active guild then they're a necessary evil if you want to progress through instances.
Peter B. Jan 30th 2011 9:37AM
I pug 5-mans and as bad as it is, I do enjoy it for one simple reason:
I couldn't write some of the stories which happen in pugs. They're just so ridiculous that it defies logic.
Quick example of a non-disaster story: 80-something mage in BRC yesterday had a spirit trinket from Dire Maul on. Dire Maul! Spammed ice lance and blizzard at all times. He also spoke in all caps and made no sense.
Tanked another instance with him to save him some queue time.
Tim Jan 30th 2011 9:39AM
Not sure if I did it cos I liked it or because all my friends were doing it and I didn't want to be left out. Oh, wha? Oh! You're talking about pugs! Sorry...
Carnotaura Jan 30th 2011 9:46AM
A couple days ago, when I was DPS-ing my DK in Halls of Origination the belf pally tank stopped the group b4 we'd even started and demanded everyone choose between him and me because the alpha bracers might drop and he was tired of losing rolls. Considering his importance and my expendability I was surprised when the group told him to get stuffed. He left and we immediately got a Tauren pally who did splendidly. And of course the bracers never dropped. Anyway point is pugs can be awesome as often as they are awful.
LeftVentricle Jan 30th 2011 9:41AM
Typically, no. However, I really enjoy pugging when I either overgear the instance or I am stuck in a group of newbies. Mostly because New people are typically more patient, friendly, and accepting of wipes and re-strategizing. I find pugs tolerable if I am running with a friend, or two.
Twilytgardnaery Jan 30th 2011 9:45AM
It amused me, reading through others' comments and seeing this one or that one leveling their hatred of pugs solely at this role or that role. Tanks are jerks. Healers are incompetent. Surprisingly few indictments of dps standing in stuff.
I've all but given up on doing on-level pugs. As someone stated earlier, as a tank, everyone expects you to know everything, to fix it if they face-pull, and handle all the interrupts alone (not kidding, this has happened to me, and I'm a prot pally; the ONE tank class that has to wait for 4.0.6 for our 10-sec-CD, off-the-gcd interrupt). Corla in BRC fears? My fault. Any one of the three casts on Ashbury gets through? My fault. Inferno jump? Chain lightning? And that's just the bosses.
I'm terrified to even try healing because during all the changes, I was working on a second moonkin, so I haven't had any experience of my own, and I watch how people treat healers who need to drink often, or worse yet, if someone dies.
I do still occasionally dps on my shaman, but even that can be a headache with the minute cooldown on hex and people not understanding how not to break it, or when it's the right time to break it. Tanks breaking sheep before hex, and me having to rehex, then wondering why I can't CC my mark on the next pull (which, of course, is executed before I can type 'hex on cd').
LFD would be a lot less awful if everyone could just take a chill pill before zoning in.
Trilynne Jan 30th 2011 9:47AM
Avoid like plague. I play WoW mainly to play with friends, so I'd much rather wait for friends to be online than play Russian roulette with the RDF.
Darky Jan 30th 2011 9:50AM
Ahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!
Oh wait your serious?
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAH!!!
lookinginsetx1977 Jan 30th 2011 10:10AM
I try to avoid pugs like the plague, unless there are atleast 3 or more guildees with me. What makes me sick about pugs are tanks who don't mark and DK dps who break CC with that darned DnD. As a warlock, it is my job to either fear or use my succubus to seduce the mobs, if not both, and when we get a DK in the group, they don't watch what they are doing and end up breaking the CC and they don't care. Sure, there are some dungeons I have done alot of times, but there are 2 I haven't done all the way through even on regular, and 1 (Grim Batol) I have done on regular and not on heroic. Just sucks that due to poor choices in the Random selector, I don't get my VP and JP for the day.
Bart Jan 30th 2011 10:01AM
It depends...
Sometimes I get a nice friendly PuG.
the other 90% of the time I'm stuck with 4 idiots who make us wipe, blame other people, can't get out of the fire, never use CC and throw verbal abuse at eachother.
TBH I'd rather take the 20 minute cooldown...
Animaneth Jan 30th 2011 10:09AM
What is this PUG thing you refer to? The LFD you are talking about? My server is small and my faction is the lowest populated one, so PUG == LFD and I only see 40 minutes queue. And when I join the instance it's more usual than I wish, that the experience becomes a frustrating one.
By no means I am an amazing player, no I'm not. But after almost 3 years of playing my mage, I learnt not to stand in the fire, kite stuff that is following me to kill me, and switch targets when needed. Now when I join a heroic with the LFD it's always the same. Crappy tank thinking "Imma gonna pull all like in utgarde keep! /flex" all while the healer joins with dps gear (yes, tree druid with dps feral gear...). No sorry, I refuse to wait 40 minutes to spend either 2 hours to finish everything, or the tank leaving saying that everyone sucks when in he is in dps gear...
However, that's my Cata experience with pugs, but during Wrath, I xferred to another realm for a while to play with some friends. In that server I replied to a LFM message in trade chat, the group was trying to do ToC10 and a guildie left earlier. I joined them, in 30 minutes we cleared the last 3 encounters I thank them and as soon as I was leaving, they asked me to stay because they were going to try some achievements in ulduar. I stayed, and we got half the achievements for Glory of the Ulduar Raider that night, next week we did the other half.
TL;DR: pugs could be awesome or a nightmare, but after cata hitted only nightmares.