How Not to Pug

So even though I raid with my guild for 25 mans, when it comes to 10 mans, we have a lot of choices. We can run with guild or set up our own groups. As for me, though I really want the title, "The Undying," and I have been invited to guild runs to attempt this - I still have to pug. Why?

Well, basically to make a long story short, all of our WoW friends got separated into different guilds. There are 6 of us and if you do the math, 6 people a 10 man does not make =X

Therefore, we must pug.

If any of you have pugged, be it for 10 mans, 25 mans or 5 man heroics - it can be a gamble. The person pugged can be really good or really crappy and sometimes it has nothing to do with their gear level.

This past week, I had the dubious honor of grouping with a resto druid. We needed a 2nd healer and he was the only healer that whispered but I regret ever pugging him. Why? Well, how shall I list the reasons...?

• Not following instructions: For Heigan, he had some experience and my boyfriend marked himself with a star raid icon so he could follow more easily. He got hit and stopped to cast regrowth on himself. Of course he died. This was right in the first dance when he was trying to cross over from zone 1 to 2 -.-
• Fail: 2nd try Heigan, he died yet again because he wasn't following. Instead he said over Vent,
  

  "Oh I always die on Heigan in this same spot, it can't be helped."

  Well, excuse me but yes it can be helped. Your movement of your character is something under your control! Even if you suck at it, just try! You might be pleasantly surprised by the results. Our holy priest said it best,
  

  "I think if you always die in the same spot every time, the problem is you."

• More fail: When he got a weapon as upgrade, he decided he wanted to hearth. Okay, fine I would be excited too if I got an upgrade but on top of it, he needed a summon because he didn't have flying skill! Since there was no lock, we had to zone out to summon him. -.-
  
• Wasting time: But that's not all, he forgot his offhand! So he got a portal to Dalaran and we summoned him yet again. This chewed up a lot of time. So our 10 man Naxx run that we usually clear in 1 day stopped at 3 wings cleared instead. Very frustrating night to say the least.

But it's a pug! Why am I being so hard on him? Well, pug or not, they are still players in this MMO that we all play and I believe everyone should follow common courtesy even if they are undergeared or inexperienced.

So if you are a pugger or casual player and you are pugged for a group. Here are some guidelines I think you should follow if you want to be invited back to a good group.

1. Be prepared: Make sure you are ready with all reagents, gear, etc. Don't make your party or raid wait up for you because you were not ready when you got summoned. Don't do quests or fly off somewhere else. Try to fly to where you have to meet, don't just afk and wait for a summon.
   
2. Carry your own weight: Okay so maybe you are a little undergeared, that's fine but make sure you don't hold back the group either. That means don't pull aggro, don't die in the fire, don't afk during boss explanations and just don't do stupid things! It will just reflect badly on you and can result in a kick from the group.
   
3. Take the initiative: It's fine if you don't know a boss fight but you can also take the time out to read up on the boss strategy or ask politely for an explanation prior to pulling the boss. You won't be blamed for not knowing something you never experienced but if you allow the group to go ahead with the pull and cause a wipe because you didn't know. Don't be surprised if people blame you for the wipe despite your ignorance.
4. Don't be greedy: Lastly and most importantly, don't be a loot whore either. If there is something with hit rating on it and you are a healer, let any caster dps take it over you since it is itemized for them. If there is mp5 on an item, don't take it over a healer if they need it. If you do, people will think either 1) you are so undergeared that any purple is an upgrade or 2) you just don't know your class and how to properly gear for it. Both options make you look like a noob, so don't do it.

If you are looking for a PUG, one good way to check up on their experience is to Armory them and look at their achievements. I like to use wow-heroes because there is a section that will show you at a quick glance their 10/25 man achievements and you can tell if they have done 10/25 Naxx. Here is an example from my own wow-heroes entry:
Pretty nifty, eh? If you mouse over on the icons, it will tell you what achievement it is but it is collapsed by default. So you must open up this section to see it for a character you are searching.

Till next time!