Kestrel’s Ten Commandments for Casual Groups

It’s time, I think, for some serious commentary. Because this is a blog targeted at "casual" players of WoW, the following is not intended to, and very well may not apply to, raiding groups. I’m talking here of 2-5 person groups doing "outdoor" quests, or non-heroic 5-person instances.

(It occurs to me that each of these could be a full-blown post in itself, but I’m lazy: I’d rather do one than ten.)

Full Disclosure: Forgive me, Elune, for I have sinned: I have violated all of these commandments, more than once. But not so much anymore.

I. Thou shalt be fully equipped before questing.

Don’t get to the instance, or right after the first fight, and suddenly realize you only have 200 arrows/bullets. Or only 3 Holy Candles. Get your pet’s food before you fight (or hope he eats mage food!). Empty your bags of the 27 gray items you picked up last time out, before you start killing trash in Ramparts or Scarlet Monastery.

II. Thou shalt use thy "MUTE" button as needed.

Neither I, nor anyone else, wants to hear you argue with your spouse, parent(s), significant other, or child(ren). Nor do we particularly want to hear you do the Dew, or slurp your slurpee, or guzzle your Rockstar. And I sure don’t want to hear you munching popcorn in my ears or crunching pretzels–and sure as hell NOT WHILE YOU’RE TALKING! Either use push-to-talk (and don’t talk with your mouth full, mmkay?) or figure out how the Mute function for your chat program or microphone works. Please?

III. Thou shalt always respect thy group’s loot rules.

Know before you start when to roll "Greed" and when to roll "Need". Just because your tailor alt can use that pattern, is not (usually) a reason to hit the Need button. Especially in a guild group (at least, this is the case in my guild and most guilds I know of), if you can use an item someone else won, and they don’t necessarily need it, he or she will probably give it to you if you ask nicely. After all, it’s generally to the guild’s benefit. And if you accidentally hit "Need" on a non-BOP item that you don’t NEED, insist on a re-roll. If you’re in doubt in a PUG on whether to roll Need or not, check this out.

IV. Thou shalt not loot during combat.

This does not mean you can loot if you aren’t fighting, but others are. "Well, I was just running by, and I have autoloot on and…" … and a green or blue pops up in the middle of everyone’s screen in the middle of their fight. What’s the rush?? The corpses aren’t going anywhere. And what if someone died and is running back? They may not even see the item pop up. If you have those little crossed swords by your portrait, leave that right mouse button alone.

V. Thou shalt not lessen thy tank’s ability to build or maintain aggro.

Rogues, don’t stunlock the MT’s target before he gains aggro and starts building rage. He NEEDS to get hit for rage to build! His job is to get hit, so LET HIM! For more, look here.

VI. Thou shalt use AOEs responsibly.

If you’re a hunter and use Multi-Shot and pull an extra mob, you better have a freezing trap down for it, or be able to kill it on your own. Casters, just because only one mob is engaged doesn’t mean you don’t have to worry about breaking CC on the other 3 with your fancy-graphics "Improved Raining Cats and Dogs."

VII. Thou shalt not break thy companions’ crowd control.

If there is a freezing trap down, or a sheep wandering, or an undead shackled, and you didn’t do it, then someone else did, and probably for a good reason. Depending on why your current group exists, it’s never a bad idea to practice those tactics you’ll eventually–maybe–employ in a Raid. That means, leave the CC mobs alone until the mobile targets are dead. If you DO break CC, say so, so someone (you hope) can intercept and save you from a wipe.

VIII. Thou shalt not cast DOTs indiscriminately.

I’ve been guilty of this (and I probably will be again, until and unless I move Osprey’s Shadow Word: Pain button somewhere else). You get an add, and it’s on your squishy butt. You haven’t learned (or didn’t remember) to run to your tank. Instead, you hit the aforementioned SW:P or some other insta-cast damage spell (which is probably a DOT). Or, you’re a ‘lock with a DOT fetish. I don’t know; I don’t care. Remember what happens when you DOT: YOU generate MORE threat, and move up on the mob’s hate list (maybe to the top, if you’re the first to cause direct damage). And then what? I try to put down a freezing trap, or the mage tries to sheep…and 1 tick later, CC breaks because of your ill-advised DOT. If you have to DOT, DOT responsibly!

IX. Thou shalt only praise thy companions in public.

"If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all." Obviously, this rule, just as all the others preceding, is situational. If the climate in your guild or group is such that everyone is observing Commandment X below, then good-natured ribbing after a bad-pull-wipe might not be taken amiss. If you feel you have to offer constructive comments during the excursion, then /whisper them. That doesn’t mean a friendly reminder from the MT along the lines of "Remember to let me get aggro and build a lot of rage before using stuns on the main target" is out of line.

X. Thou shalt, above all else, HAVE FUN!

Yes, this is a game. A virtual death (or two, or three, or ten) should not cause more misery for you or anyone else than the common cold. (Hell, by the time you’re up to 10 deaths on a run, you’re all probably giggling hysterically anyway! Just remember there’s a repair bill to pay.) If you aren’t having fun, the only fault is yours: You are making a conscious choice to continue the un-fun. If you’re not enjoying yourself, go do something else you will enjoy!