Dungeon Professionals: Finishing What You Start

by JR Cook - 9 years ago     show comments

Chances are every MMO veteran has been in this situation: You’ve sat in a queue for close to an hour, the dungeon is going ok but not great, and suddenly someone leaves. Maybe they drop some biting words about “noobs” and might recommend that you uninstall the game. Alternatively, maybe you’ve done that from time to time! That’s ok, we’re not here to judge. What we’re here to do this week is give some tips on how to make sure those dungeons get to completion and if not, at least make the disbanding a little less hostile and more productive for everyone.

Plan in Advance

By this I don’t mean to bring all of the necessary potions and meals for end-game content. Sure those are nice but not really necessary for the most accessible dungeons. By planning in advance I’m referring to making sure you have the time available to actually run a full dungeon. Many dungeons are short affairs these days, especially as gearscores go up, but you should never assume this to be the case when you enter a queue. You may have new players, you may have someone disconnect, or countless other things can go wrong. It’s a safe bet to plan for every dungeon to take about 45 minutes plus your queue time. That means making sure you have no other responsibilities, both in-game and outside of it, that may force you to abandon your dungeons. “Hey guys it’s time for my raid BYE!” has the same result for other players as any other excuse. As a rule, I’ve found that every time I think to myself, “I have time to tank a quick Heroic”, it is never a quick Heroic. This has led to many instances of an upset significant other who is tired of me saying, “I should be done soon”.

Additionally, take care of anything you can before you get started. Whether it’s important work around the house or simply the call of nature, knock out things that might interrupt the flow of the dungeon before it even starts. Sometimes things pop up that you can’t plan for, but it can be a little frustrating when someone leaves for a smoke break right as the dungeon starts after you’ve waited in a 45 minute queue. Remember, it’s not just your time but that of 4 other people now.

A 12 minute dungeon run sounds great, right? Just don’t go in expecting that with a Dungeon Finder group.

Fights are Scripted; People are Not

The only way to possibly know what’s going to happen during a dungeon run is going in with a full group of people you know well. Even then, something may come up that might throw a wrench in your perfectly-oiled dungeon machine. More commonly, you’ll get a new player or two that need a guiding hand through the encounters. There are many types of newbies that I’ll touch on in a later post, but always go in expecting to fill the role of instructor. If you’re not comfortable with that, just try not to go to the far opposite end of the helpfulness spectrum and chew someone out for not being as experienced as you’re used to. We were all new at some point and with Warlords of Draenor’s level boost, we have more new players at endgame content than ever. It’s our jobs as veterans to make sure new players feel welcome if we want to ensure that Warcraft sticks around for the foreseeable future.

If this is how a party member reacts to “Do you know this fight?”, be ready for anything.

Be Respectful

No matter how patient and helpful you are, you won’t always be able to finish every dungeon. You might have surprise company come over or an emergency come up. It’s alright to leave a dungeon, but you should always take the time to tell your party members. Simply dropping out may leave them waiting to see if you come back and when you don’t it might cause the entire group to fail. Even a quick “Sorry I have to go,” is a better alternative to dropping out without a word. Throw in a “Good luck!” for good measure to let people know that you’re not leaving out of spite.

You may also encounter situations where the group is just an objective failure. You’ve tried explaining the fights to new players but they’re not listening or people are simply not cooperating. Again, it’s ok to leave if you’ve given it an honest try, just be sure to give your group an actual explanation. “You guys suck” doesn’t actually do anything productive in the long-run because they will likely just brush you off and keep doing what they’re doing. Tell them what they’re doing wrong and make sure you acknowledge whoever was actually being productive. You don’t have to be a coach, but keep in mind that, despite slim odds, you may see these players again even in the Dungeon Finder; hopefully by then they’ve taken some pointers to heart and have become competent players.