Recently I attempted to get an article published on WoW.com. The fact that I can publish the article here means… well… anyways. If you happen to like this article there will be a better one on WoW.com at some point.
Preface
A Pick Up Group or “PUG” is defined as a body of players (or an individual) needing additional members to complete a group attempting to perform a task in-game. These picked up players, often referred to as PUGs themselves, aren’t always friends or known associates of the original group. This often leads to clashing play styles/manners/gear/skill/willing to be fair or even act like IRL you’re a human being and not a troll.
I have written numerous pieces warning against expecting a PUG-filled raid group to be successful and fun. If you are picking up an entire group for a raid then you are doing so at your own risk. If you have a core group of players and you want to pick up a few unknowns to try to get that next boss down, then the following are my recommendations on how to (and how not to) do so.
The worst ways to select PUG members
Choosing members based solely on class
Many Raid Leaders will go out of their way to pick up players of a certain class (i.e. hunter, mage, warrior, etc.) to fill out their raid. There are many logical reasons to do this including making use of all gear drops, relying on class-specific abilities to complete fights, and balancing the number of melee and ranged DPS in the group. This is 100% unnecessary! If your group is bad then gear won’t drop. If your group is good then you won’t need Bloodlust or Tranquilizing Shot. There are no fights that require a specific melee: ranged DPS ratio. By being picky about what classes get to come, you will feel more pressured to take sub-par players and pass up potentially great ones.
Gear = Skill
No it doesn’t. While it may seem very logical that great gear takes some amount of skill to get, this idea is not nearly as true as it used to be. Did you know that you can create a gear set from Emblems of Triumph, Honor, and gold that is essentially as good as gear from Icecrown Citadel 10-man?
A lot of players these days turn to an addon called GearScore for judging a player’s gear. The author of GearScore makes an excellent point, saying:
“A really sucky player with high GearScore will do more dps then a really sucky player with low GearScore. PUGs don’t have time for guild-type interviews each time they invite a player to their raid. PUGs usually have no idea of the skill a player has. So PUGs are forced to use the only factor they know, your quality of Gear.”
This is true, but only if you really don’t have time to do an in-depth inspection, which brings me to my next point-
Don’t pick up players the day of the raid
Don’t just grab the first person with gear/achievements and run off to the dungeon. Looking for players hours, or even days before the raid will give you a chance to take your time and find out if they are going to be an asset to your raid. Next I will talk about a few things you can do during this extended screening time.
The best ways to select PUG members
GearScore Alternatives
Before the advent of GearScore, we often had to look up players online via a character auditor. My personal favorite site for auditing is Be Imba!. Within seconds, you can see a player’s gear, enchants, gems, hit rating, defense rating, approximate optimal raids to participate in, and some pie charts showing what raids the character has participated in.
A close second choice is WoWhead.com’s character profiler. This shows you the whole character, including all of their stats, participation in various raids, their talents, achievements, and gear along with gems and enchants. If you really want to take the time to get down to every detail of a player this site will work, though with a bit more effort than Be Imba.
Ask a simple question or two about the dungeon you’re PUGging
Many PUG raid leaders refuse to use this simple tactic and I don’t understand why. Ask a tank, “When do you taunt Lady Deathwhisper off the other tank?” Ask a healer, “What do you need to look out for once Saurfang gets to 100 energy?” Ask a DPS, “Can you explain the spores mechanic of the Festergut fight?” These all have very simple answers which prove that they understand some of the game-breaking parts of the dungeon.
Offer PUGgers easy access to resources and info
You don’t have to know much about websites to make a free blog site and post or create links to videos and/or strategies. This can be a great way to assess who is committed to success. I have my guild leave a comment in response to a post about a fight we’re getting ready to tackle. This proves they actually watched what I posted by talking about a point touched upon in the video. If players are too lazy to do this they are too lazy to raid.
Create a list of reliable players
If you do find a great PUGger, add them to your friends list and put a short note about what you know they can do. So many people find good players and just say “thanks” to the powers that be instead of taking note of the player’s name. Make a list!
Conclusion
There is no reason that a PUG raid cannot be a fun and productive one. I know many players that are excellent raiders but aren’t in serious raiding guilds. They’re out there; you just have to look for them. If you are one of them, then my hope is that this advice will help you create and recognize a PUG group with a high chance of success.
Good luck with your raid, though at this point I’m hoping it’s less about luck and more about informed choices!
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