Remember that scene from Return of the King? Frodo has just about given up hope. He’s at the bottom of Mount Doom. Sam can sense the frustration coming from Frodo and then says:
Sam: Do you remember the Shire, Mr. Frodo? It’ll be spring soon. And the orchards will be in blossom. And the birds will be nesting in the hazel thicket. And they’ll be sowing the summer barley in the lower fields… and eating the first of the strawberries with cream. Do you remember the taste of strawberries?
Frodo: No, Sam. I can’t recall the taste of food… nor the sound of water… nor the touch of grass. I’m… naked in the dark, with nothing, no veil… between me… and the wheel of fire! I can see him… with my waking eyes!
Sam: Then let us be rid of it… once and for all! Come on, Mr. Frodo. I can’t carry it for you… but I can carry you!
And so he did. Sam starts carrying Frodo and begins climbing up one step at a time until they enter inside.
We all know how that ends.
The random dungeon tool
You’ve run into “those” players, haven’t you? The ones that don’t seem to try very hard? They’re sporting a full set of T9s and are firing spells that don’t begin to approach the potential of the player. There’s all sorts of reasons for it. Maybe it’s an alt they’re unfamiliar with. Could be chatting on the phone and distracted. Perhaps they just dinged 80 and are wearing an awesome flavor of blues and greens and decided to start gearing up as quick as possible.
The simplest answer would be that such players downright suck.
You don’t have to be spiteful about it though.
It doesn’t matter to me if they just hit 80.
It doesn’t matter to me if they’re an alt that doesn’t know what they’re doing.
It doesn’t matter to me if they’ve never done that instance (or any instance) before.
I’m willing to carry you.
As a healer, we’re in a pretty unique position of being able to support the entire group if we have the skills.
Bruteforce healing
Ever tried brute force healing an instance before? It’s exactly what it sounds like. The ultimate 5 man healing experience is when every DPS pulls aggro or the tank is simply not able to keep the threat up on all the mobs. Or if the tank decides to chain pull 3-4 sets of trash.
To top it off, you’re at 30% mana because they didn’t notice your mana pool before the trash pulls went off.
Bruteforce healing means you won’t be relying on so much finesse. There isn’t much emphasis on healing rotation or using the “right” spell for the right job. Damage is coming from all over the place and every action needs to be prioritized.
This is where you take the shotgun approach and hit as many AoE and preventative spells as possible. It’s a lot of fun for a Disc Priest.
Whether intentional or otherwise, if a DPS player pulls aggro, I will have their back. I’m willing to be patient and to explain encounters. I’m willing to eat a few wipes.
Unless it’s Oculus.
That’s where I draw the line.
Enter Wrath of the Lich King. The raiding scene in wrath mirrors pretty well that of BC but builds upon it. Naxxramas became our new Kara. Ulduar provided us deep lore and some decent challenges. and then came ToC (25). Trial of the Crusader offered an easy loot system (the tier available for badges alone), an instance with NO trash only bosses, and to be honest fight mechanics that weren’t terribly difficult. While it did require some coordination, I have seen more PUG groups successfully complete it then any other raid instance. The 4 bosses leading up to the final boss are gimmick fights like Hyjal was, with the final boss being a tank and spank get out of the way healers just heal fight. I’m not saying they aren’t fun, and as much as I hate to admit it Faction Champs is a blast watching my raiders run around like chickens with heads lopped off, but it just mirrors Hyjal a little too much as far as it’s placement in raid progression, content and general feel of the zone.
hear the murmurs in the crowd. I have some raiders in my group that think ICC is too hard, I’ve been in pugs with my hunter that people have done nothing but complain about the difficulty of the new fights. This is what I call the Hyjal / Sunwell effect. ToC gave us a certain level of apathy. Sure Heroic Faction Champs is a hell of a fight, but once you get the basic concepts down for it is it really that hard? ToC spoiled us with easy loot and fast content, and as such continued the cycle of Hyjal / Sunwell. The effect is in the disparity between two level of content on such a level that it is noticeable among the general population. So now I hear people complain that Marrowgar hits too hard, or Saurfang is tuned too high. Personally I love it. I love content that makes me think and re-evaluate my raider assignments. I love actually having to go through trash to get to that boss and fight mechanics that while they may not be new are interesting in the way they are combined and presented. I love going through cut scenes and NPC conversation and hearing the lore behind the raid zone and feeling like I’m in epic content. The difficulty will only go up as each wing and each new boss and it’s mechanics are unveiled, and personally I can’t wait. I’m also excited that the vast majority of my raiders feel the same way and not everyone is suffering from the Hyjal/Sunwell effect.
