As of last night, I’ve now completed the first two instances in Warlords of Draenor a few times each. They were good as expected. We all know that Blizzard creates high caliber 5-man content. Not having done PUG 5-mans since Burning Crusade, it took me a while to warm up to the idea. WOW players don’t exactly have the best reputation when it comes to being open and friendly to new players in dungeons. After all, “link me your achievements and ilevel” was born here.
A Dip into LFG
While accepting that WOW is for the most part, old school questing, there are times when I don’t feel like running around to the tune of a quest log. Yet I need character levels to unlock various aspects of the Garrison. The other night I wanted to do something to get XP but wasn’t in the mood for quests. I decided to armor plate my sensibilities and queue up for a random dungeon.
It took roughly 30 minutes to get into a group as DPS which wasn’t a big deal. I rode around uncovering locations on the map and killing named mobs for lootz. That’s a favorite pastime of mine in WOD. Finding named baddies, elite and all, and taking them on for what their dead corpses provide. It’s either an upgrade or disenchanting fodder, and I need a lot of fodder!
I spy a a dangerous guy. I like hunting named mini bosses and elites to solo.
Luckily for me, I’d watched multiple videos on Bloodmaul and Iron Docks. More than lucky to be honest. THANK GAWD I HAD. I suspect that by now, the average WOW player is into their 2nd or 3rd character so the alts running around the game are better geared than newcomers and recent returnees. Their DPS mitigation and output is far superior, making normal 5-mans a cake walk for them.
Road Runners
People are powering through the instances like their pants are on fire or a gun on their mother. You barely have enough time to loot before the group races forward to the next encounter. Not a single word spoken in chat – nada. No explanations, words of caution given. Zip. Zero. You better know what you’re doing, are a quick study or can fake it ‘til you make it. If you die they’ll resurrect ya when they get around to it. It’s a white knuckle experience for a casual player. And don’t even THINK about watching cutscenes. I was in a party where someone was kicked over it and in another where they were told to watch it on YouTube. *Sigh*
A RPG story is playing out everywhere, linking quests to dungeons to garrison
You can choose to take your time and indulge in the show
I felt under pressure to do the DPS expected and what not. However, some of the encounters are too disorienting the first few times around to focus on it. I was more concerned about not being the one to die, not standing in the colored stuff, evading bombs, dodging fiery boulders on a narrow ledge, being aware of where to go and the DPS priority when multiple mobs are up but no one is marking targets. I can’t even IMAGINE making it through these mad dashes as a new player. OMG, I suspect it would be the first and last time.
As it was, I felt prepared enough to avoid being Leroy. I never died or came even close to it but my DPS was last or second to last. No one complained. They might have been glad I kept up, never holding them back and that was enough. For me, I’d like it to be better and to feel more confident at the encounters and the class, both of which will come over time.
I enjoyed the instances – gray hair inducing runs that they were. *Smile* If you want a more measured romp through the dungeons where you can enjoy the show, I suggest forming your own party of friends or guild members. And expressly state that you want to watch the cutscenes and take the time to listen to the various NPC conversations that take place around you. They’re really well done and there’s lots of cool stuff to see that you won’t have much chance to appreciate during a LFG mock-5 tour of them.
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