I gotta admit, I can watch something and not really "get it" until I get in there and get my hands dirty. Watching the Sinestra fight did squat until I got in there and started healing for that b***h.

I can watch and watch and read and read.

But until I actually SEE the fight firsthand...

This is even WITH the best of our players explaining.

I would agree, except the letter writer made sure to specify this raid was spur of the moment, and thus he wouldn't have forewarning to prepare. Since nobody was listening to his requests for help, I doubt he'd have much chance to look up more than the most rudimentary of strategies in between pulls/attempts. Even then, most of the time strategies for raid encounters vary based on group, and not hearing his specific role might have been the biggest hang up.

It's true that there are those of us who need to be in the thick of action to learn fights (I'm somewhat that way), but I don't think it qualifies as an excuse to get out of watching a video or looking up the fights. However I'm -NOT- saying that Tim or Gracandrea are guilty of this, so please don't take it that way. =P

Overall it's more of the attempt to read up and come into the raid with the ability ask questions (ext. "Which drakes are up for this week?) and have a general idea of what we need to do. I would rather spend 30 minutes reading up on a fight and answering questions than wiping for two hours. At the very least, coming into a fight with a vague idea of what will happen will save a bit of work.

@Sagretti

I respectfully disagree. Just because it is a pugged raid doesn't mean you can go in unprepared. Before you go into a raid, pug or guild run, there should be two requirements. You should be geared enough and you should know the strategy. If you do not meet these requirements, you shouldn't be joining the raid.

Also, while I agree that watching the video, reading on the forums doesn't necessarily mean you will be perfect on a boss, doing so can still help you and your raid a lot compared to just going in there blind and expecting the information to be spoon fed to you.

All this really saddens me as this just confirms my beliefs that the raiding mindset has completely changed. Before wrath, raids were always about the group being more important than any single person. People who weren't up to the task were asked to leave. I myself was asked to leave the raid by the raid leader who was my RL friend. But you know what? I didn't complain or whine on the forums that my class was underpowered or that raids were too hard. I didn't complain that I should be in the raid or that I was being treated unfairly. Instead, I tried to get better at the game and asked for another chance. Since then, I have been a member of a raid that has downed every boss in the game since TBC. Now it's all about everyone having their cake and eating it too. This guy expects nine other people to explain the fight to him when he could've just restarted his computer and fixed his vent problems. And if he got kicked for restarting, then tough luck. Try and get better at the strats and maybe next time you will be there for the raid.

@Sky

You take way too much for granted. Answer me this: When the people putting together videos are making videos, where do they go for strats? When someone can't find an answer on the forum, where do they go?

They find it for themselves. THAT is what the game used to be, not elites claiming superiority in video-watching. Too many people rely on others to do their dirty-work, including you.

If you want to be a true leader, you must ensure that your entire group is ready at each encounter, and if not, doing your best to make it so.

That's leadership.

I just wanted to add, I'm the first person to admit when I've messed up (and I do,because I'm human!)you may have a few wipes even after watching videos/reading, or whatever, but it just shows that you put effort into trying to get down the strategy. Also, these people put these videos together to help us so why not take advantage. Lastly, after seven attempts at a boss (and possibly before it got to that point), he should have taken matters into his own hands with a quick "brb" and read the strategy himself. Be proactive and rock out on fights! :-)

I disagree with Molly and think she's making a lot of assumptions.

As someone said, reading and watching videos only give you so much information. I think it's probably unusual for someone to get it on the first take from that, without being over-geared.

Not everyone takes in information at the same rate. Maybe you can read about a boss in 15 minutes, but how long does it take you to read about all the bosses in a dungeon/raid? And will you be using that information right away? If not, will you still remember it all?

The people you are playing with may or may not care. A non-hardcore guild doesn't necessarily mean they're lax on preparation, but either case is an assumption until you're told or ask. There is nothing inherently wrong with not doing your homework in advance, even if it causes wipes that you could be avoiding by studying.
Not wiping may be what you require to enjoy your experience, but it is not inherently so for everyone. There are some professional raiders who actually value learning strategies primarily by trial and error rather than adopting existing strategies from the start. While it's fine to have expectations, people should still keep an even head.

While your behavior affects other players, there is a large range of possibly acceptable behavior, and we also have to consider reality VS ideal. Some things you can change, while others you can not.
Someone may find it worse to spend twice as much time studying as playing, than to wipe, or possibly get yelled at and kicked by a group they're in. and the other players have to live with getting annoyed and having their time spent in this way after the fact. There is no single "proper" way to play this game. (Hardcore raiders may disagree. That is their prerogative; not mine.)

@Tom

I do not claim superiority over video-watching as you claim. I test encounters on the PTR and I build theorycrafting models for my class because I enjoy taking a mathematical approach to the game. I understand that this is not everybody's cup of tea, but if you do not want to go do these stuff, the least you could do is watch a 5 minute video of an encounter before joining a raid.

If Vent actually took the time to watch videos and take notes of at least the first 3 encounters in Bastion of Twilight instead of watching an episode of his favorite TV show at night then none of this would have happened.

Raiding used to be about dedication, but now it seems that people expect to see the content just because they pay their 15 dollars a month. And anyone who points this out can be expected to be called an elitist, basement-dweller, no lifer or worse.