10 Commandments of Dungeon Crawling
Grouping is an essential part of any MMORPG. Most of the time, you have your basic classes – the tank, a healer or buffer and three to four other support classes that add damage, buffs or crowd control. Each person in the group has to know their class role in order to make the group work efficiently. They also must remember the 10 commandments of a group.
1. Thou shalt not covet thy tank’s aggro
You are not the tank. No matter how much you want to be, you are not. Your job is to be a supporting role and not to take all of the damage. Give your tank and healers a break, let the tank take the beating.
2. If thou covet thy tank’s aggro, thou must runneth to thy tank
Running away when a mob pays attention to you is a very bad idea. Your tank is a melee class, you may not be. If you run, then your tank has to turn around and run after you. Instead of running away, go to the tank and let them get the hate off you.
3. If thou spankest it (and thy tank did not) thou wilst tank it.
In World of Warcraft, I had a macro when my Mage sheeped a mob. It was a simple warning to my group “I’m sheeping (target). You spank it, you tank it”. That saying is good for any group when dealing with pulls. The mob isn’t yours to engage unless you are specifically asked to. Let your tank worry about who engages a mob.
4. Thou wilst control all pets at all times in thy group
Every game I can think of has either a pet system or pet class. You ultimately control your pets in the game world. This is double in a group. Make sure your pets are well controlled and don’t add extra grief on the rest of the group.
5. Thou wilst protect thy healer
Healers/buffers/debuffers – no matter what you call them, they keep your group alive. When you know it’s a sticky situation or a sticky pull, make sure your healer stays alive. Pull the mobs off them if you can and run them to the tank. Yes, this is the only time you can break #3. If you spank it (and save the healer), you do not have to tank it.
6. Stayeth out of fire and glowing stuff
Fire bad. Glowy stuff bad. It’s usually some sort of damage over time or life threatening dot that murders you in three seconds flat. If there is glowy stuff or fire on your screen, get out of it.
7. Thou wilst not go “afk” for an hour
It happens. You have to tell a group “Sorry guys, I will be right back”. Life is more important than games and that includes a restroom or drink break. Don’t go away for a long period of time if you can help it. If you know you are going to be gone for more than 5 minutes, it may be time to throw in the towel and tell the group to find someone to replace you.
8. Thou wilst be prepared
Get it out of your system now. I know, “You are not prepared!”. There, I did it for you. Being prepared for a group means you have everything you may need whether that’s in-game items or a glass of water. It will also probably keep you from breaking #7.
9. Thou shalt not call thy group names or nerd rage
All groups can go bad, no matter how well you know each other or how often you play together. Pick up groups or pugs have the largest potential to go horribly wrong. Don’t get frustrated and take it out on your group. It’s just a game, it happens. Instead of calling names or blaming someone, just leave the group and do something else. It’s not worth getting nerd rage over.
10. Thou shalt have fun
The most important rule is this one. Having fun keeps things casual and keeps the game what it is – a game. Enjoy yourself and if you stop enjoying yourself, go do something else that you will enjoy.