Fact: PUG Ditchers Used To Be More Annoying Than They Are Today

Not to say that I think people should feel free to ditch groups they got into and have progressed part way through the instance with, but I definitely think with the cross-realm LFG, there's a lot more flexibility than there used to be.

It used to KILL a group when the Tank or Healer would leave, especially when it comes to Heroics and having already completed one of the bosses in the instance. DPS has always been easier to replace, but there have been times where that wasn't possible either, so the loss of a DPS in the group killed the party, too.

But now any role can be replaced rather quickly and easily with just a little bit of patience.

Do You Commit To Stay For The Whole Instance?

I was listening to a podcast the other day (unfortunately I don't remember which one) and the hosts were talking about the new Dungeon Tool and how great it was, and about the types of parties they had been assigned to in terms of class balance and ultimate ability to quickly complete an instance.

One of the podcasters spoke strongly about his opinion regarding the quality of player who will leave a dungeon instance in the middle. He went so far as to say that if you could not finish an instance, then don't start it, because you're "screwing" the other four people in your group if you leave.

What do you think? Is it really a big deal to ditch PUGs these days?

And do you feel GUILTY when you leave, even if you know they'll likely find a replacement quickly?

Related posts:

1. What’s With All The Healer Ninjas??!!
2. To The LFG Tool: An Ode
3. To The LFG Tool: Some Laments

This entry is more about the things that I lament about the new LFG tool.

Ready Check For Random Dungeon

Like It? Don't Like It?

Now, don't get confused. Overall, I L-O-V-E the new LFG tool. I think it's a wicked upgrade to an already useful tool.

But, there are some things that "just aren't the same" anymore, and I can't help but miss them just a little bit.

Gimme Back My Global LookingForGroup!

The first thing I noticed about the LFG Tool upgrade that I didn't like was the fact that the LookingForGroup channel was now restricted to the cities, and if you moved out of those restricted areas, one couldn't "lurk" in it any longer as a way to find out what PUG raids were going on.

I don't know about you, but I rarely hang out in the city, and when I do, I'm probably doing something very specific and have most of my channels turned off to reduce spam. And when I'm actually interested in getting into a PUG raid, I'm generally out and about, doing Fishing or Jewelcrafting Dailies which take me out of the city.

I used to put myself in the LFG tool under something like the zone of Icecrown so I didn't get ninja invites, but was still able to keep a finger on the pulse of what was going on RIGHT NOW that I could get into with various toons. Now I've completely left the LookingForGroup channel because it's useless and spammy to me.

Don't Force Me To Commit

Space Goat Death Pose

Having to commit to Heroics *or* Raids, and not being able to pick and choose like we used to be able to do, sucks too!

I used to list myself for the one specific Heroic I wanted to do (daily, generally), and then I'd list myself for a couple of Raids as well. Whatever I got an invite for, I went to.

But now I have to commit to what I want to do - raid or do Heroics - and I find that a wee bit restrictive.

Although I do admit, the Heroics pop so fast these days that it doesn't make much sense to list myself in anything else when I list for Heroics. But I still resent being forced to make a commitment right from the start, as it takes away some of my "I like random things" joy. I've basically stopped listing myself for raids at all as a result.

Let Me Vote To Kick More People

In my Lowbie Leveling PUGs I quickly found that there's a limit to the number of people that can be voted out of a group.

So, in the Wailing Caverns run I had on my lowbie Paladin Tank, the guy who went AFK to girlfriend aggro (to do the dishes, 10 min into our run - yah, marry that one and keep bowing down to her, you'll be REAL happy together) got voted out, and then his replacement was a huntard who rolled Need on everything despite agreeing to our requests to only Need on what he'd equip himself, so he got voted out, and then a third person joined who couldn't find his way to us (and we weren't in the twisty part yet at all) yet rolled Need on everything that dropped... and we couldn't vote him out.

Now, I understand that the Vote to Kick feature can be abused if I were to bring three of my friends and myself into a group, and keep kicking anyone who rolls on anything for that fifth person, but when we're all virtual strangers from different realms, I don't see the potential for abuse as much. After all, it only takes one dissenting vote for the kick to not go through, and the tool "knows" whether we were grouped together to start, or randomly tossed together.

Is this Vote To Kick thing limited by time, does anyone know? If we were in an uber-long run, would we be able to Vote Out more than two/three people?

Related posts:

1. To The LFG Tool: An Ode
2. How To "Lurk" On The LFG Channel
3. How To “Lurk” On The LFG Channel

1. I can finally get into dungeon groups on leveling lowbies!
2. No longer do I have to be one of the people who get to the stone to summon (since 3/5 people in almost every party I was in didn't bother)
3. Getting into dungeons like Uldaman and Maraudon aren't hellish anymore!
4. Vote To Kick is brilliant!
5. Refilling spots after someone leaves is also brilliant!
6. No longer is it painful to be the "leader" of the group, especially when someone leaves. Not up to the leader to find a specific new person to fill the slot.
7. Yay for the Satchels of goodies!

I'm sure there's more about the LFG tool that I love, but right now, those were the top things that came to mind about it.

Heroic LFG vs Leveling LFG

LFG Tool, Random Dungeons

However, with my Lowbie LFG players, I'm getting more of a mix of roles - the dps/healer gets more Healer roles than DPS roles, but not by the huge margin as in Heroics. And the tank/healer lowbie I'm working on seems to be about 50/50 in terms of what role comes up for me when a dungeon pops.

It's kind of neat, putting myself into the tool and then getting the "roll the dice" surprise as to what role I'll be performing. Reminds me of the "cherry surprises" Mom used to make at Christmas time, where (to me anyway) the real surprise was whether it was a RED cherry or a GREEN one.

Always delightful :)

Your Random Dungeon Group Is Ready!

How To Get An Instant LFG Party: Solo

I'm sure this isn't a shocking surprise to anyone, but after partying with about 200 strangers over a variety of toons, I noticed this:

• If you're a DPS, it takes a few minutes (sometimes up to 20) for an instance to pop.

• If you're a Healer, it takes anywhere from 5 seconds to a few minutes.
• If you're a Tank, as soon as you put yourself into the tool, an instance pops.

Not at all shocking considering the vast majority of leveling players are DPS spec'd because leveling (though quests) with a Tank or Healer spec is significantly slower.

And of course, players can't dual spec until level 40, so even the wealthiest players can only switch gear around in order to handle different roles, whether they're inside a dungeon or questing out in the lands.

LFGing It With A Friend

I've used the LFG tool to complete parties in both the Heroic and Leveling ways, but because I'm so comfortable with dungeon PUGs now, I really only list myself as DPS if I've got another role selected as well - either Tank or Healer - so my experience may be different than yours, for sure.

After all, since I put myself in as either Tank or Healer too, I rarely have to wait very long for an instance to pop, and as a result, I purposely seek out DPS friends to join me when I list myself in the tool. This way, they can benefit from the fast-popping instance as well.

Plus of course, it's ALWAYS more fun to run a dungeon when you've got at least one friend in the party, isn't it? :)

I'm happy to hear from my DPS-only friends that the tool is pretty awesome for finding a tank and a healer for a 2- or 3-DPS party, too!

The Social Woes NewLFG Have Reduced

This upgrade of the LFG tool to be cross-battlegroup and intelligent enough to put together a proper party (you know, one with a designated tank and healer so it doesn't have to be decided after formation) has gone a long way to alleviate some Social Woes that have existed for quite a while in the game.

For example, a lot of behaviors that could be labeled "rude and lazy" aren't much of a concern anymore:

• You can continue to quest right until the teleport sequence is engaged, and nobody is inconvenienced (by having to make their way to the stone to summon your lazy ass).
• You can AFK in an instance without any word, or do stupid things like run ahead and get yourself swarmed and killed (and get kicked via Vote).
• You can leave parties right in the middle, even if you're a Tank or Healer, and the party rarely breaks up.
• Even people who roll "Need" on everything are only a pain for the first 10 minutes of them being there.

What Features Of The LFG Tool Do You Love?

I've probably missed some of the great features of the dungeon tool in my post, and I'd love to hear your thoughts on the matter.

Future post on the matter will cover the Laments I have about the new Dungeon Tool - because no matter how awesome it is, it'll never be perfect .

Stay tuned!

Related posts:

1. To The LFG Tool: Some Laments
2. Wailing Caverns via Dungeon Tool = Tests Galore!
3. Do You Feel Guilty Ditching An LFG PUG?

Well, yesterday I put a post up and a couple of back-dated sales pages for a couple of the guides I've released recently, and then I must have done something else because my blog then spun out of control and I got my hosting account suspended for using too many CPU resources and probably crashing one of their Database servers.

Oops.

Whatever I did, the friendly support staff helped me get the site back up and working and fixed up after all that, but in doing so they had to roll me back to a previous version and therefore my most recent blog entry was nuked.

So, sorry if you've come to the site from one of the Twitter links out there, only to find the entry doesn't exist.

Recent Updates To WoWGrrl's Play

The biggest recent update to my personal play on World of Warcraft is that just over a month ago, the guild I've been in since 6wks before the release of WoTLK underwent a merger with a slightly higher-progressed guild that was experiencing some of the same problems as us: Namely, low attendance on H.ToTC25 nights that stymied progression for a few weeks before the merger was debated and then finalized.

Yay For Rocket Packs!

Most of the core group from our guild came across in the merger, but we did lose a percentage of the rest of the team - those who had lower attendance or had issues with the new guild or were too nervous about the merger and how they'd fare in this new group, left on their own accord and found new homes, mostly without complaint.

I'm sure there were other reasons as well - I know one of my ex-guildmates took a break from the game for familial reasons as well, but I expect when he comes back he'll get rave reviews on his app and will have little problem getting in.

The Guild Chosen For Merger

I don't remember how it all came down - being a member and not part of the Officer core of my previous guild, I wasn't part of the discussions until it was time for the membership to place a vote on the issue.

(Yes, we had a guild meeting about the topic and had discussions posted up on our forums for people to air their concerns in advance of the merger being finalized. My vote was "Yay! Let's do it", I'm with ya 100%")

However, the hilarious part of the merger is that the entire Officer core of our guild was once in that guild, pre-BC and perhaps during part of BC as well. The Guild Charter was *written* by a couple of the Officers from our guild, and our rules had been very very similar with just a few differences.

So, in other words, the cultural expectation of behavior in the guild and in the raids were so near to identical that the merger itself went very smoothly, at least from my perspective.

In terms of the new Leadership, the Officer core is now 50/50 Ours/Theirs, although as time passes of course, it all melts into one big "us", at least in theory.

First Raid With The Merged Guild

The first raid night was very interesting. About 37 raiders showed up on time, at the door of ToTC, completely repaired and stocked up for a night's worth of raiding.

With the transition, two of our main leaders (probably the ones who wrote the Charters of both guilds and have been in Leadership positions for a long time in-game) decided now would be an awesome time to step down leadership and be one of the members. The first raid night must have been a huge relief to them as a result.

"Aren't you glad you don't have to decide who gets to go and who doesn't?" - I asked on the old guild's social/alts line.

"YES!" was the response from one, and "It feels weird to not be involved" was the response from the other. I think they both probably felt the same mixed feelings but both were obviously relieved about their new positions within the team.

After Six Weeks

It's now been about six weeks since the merger took place, and believe it or not, we STILL have 30-35 raiders show up for each raid. One night we actually had FOURTY-TWO raiders show up - attendance had to be taken in two snapshots since they couldn't fit everyone in.

Some people who came across with the original merger decided the raid team wasn't for them anymore for various reasons - generally because of pre-existing bad blood with one of the other guild's members, or unfortunately, because some people don't like the thought of being put on Raid Overflow... taking it personally or otherwise feeling like their joy of playing is being threatened.

In terms of progression, this merger was FANTASTIC for the regular raiders coming from our guild. As a guild our progression fight was Heroic Northrend Beasts in ToTC25, and due to attendance or raid balance issues it wasn't very often that we were able to make proper progression on the fight from week to week. People had stopped showing up for Progression Night and after a while of that, others started to leave, looking for a guild that was still actively able to suit up for Progression Night.

The other guild was having the same problem after an internal clique left en masse.

The first raid night with the new team, which was about 50/50 in mix between the two groups that were merging, the group took down the first three sets of bosses in Heroic ToTC25, stopping to struggle for the end of the evening only on the Twins fight.

Right now, we're still working on downing Anub'arak in H.ToTC25, but from what I heard the last set of attempts had him down to 2% (I was on overflow), so it's just about there!

Shammy And Racial Totems

Working On Changing Mains

This merger did put a bit of a damper on me at one point, but I'm a pretty undampable person overall - there are simply too many paths I could take in my life to beat myself up by continuing down the dampered one while it's actively being dampened for some reason.

In my case, I was working on advancing my Shaman to 80 and getting her geared up for the possibility of a Main Change.

Mainly, because I have tried Shadow a number of times and don't really enjoy it all that much, and as a result I'm a Discipline Priest with a PvP Disc offspec, and that's pretty restrictive in terms of being able to actually flex and bend like I believe a good raider should be able to do.

There are times, after all, where the guild needs a whole mess of healers. But then there are times later on in progression when the guild needs less healers and more DPS. I wanted to be able to contribute properly during both, while enjoying the whole experience.

So, I powered my Shammy from 72 to 80 then got into Heroics and Raids and geared her up as quickly as I could. Then the merger happened, so while I continued to advance the Shaman, I put her on the back burner until things settled down a bit in the new guild and I could see whether the Ele/Resto Shaman would be welcomed.

Since 3.3 came out, I've pounded through the Heroics and gotten enough Triumph badges to buy all the Elemental gear I could, plus a few pieces of Resto gear as well, and my gear is on par with the lesser-geared raiders on our team. I posted my app over a week ago but I'm not really sure what's happening with it quite yet.

I'll let you know once I find out what's going on! :)

How's Your Playing Going?

I'm sure there have been a lot of changes that have gone on in your play over the last couple of months - guild changes, guild splits, guild mergers, new toons to 80, trying of new roles... I'd love to hear how things are going in your world!

Tell me what you think about the new Dungeon Tool now that it's a few weeks old - is it working okay from your perspective, or is it annoying?

I'll write about my experiences in an upcoming entry!

Related posts:

1. Looking Back: From Social Guild To Raiding Guild
2. Applying For A Raiding Guild: What To Ponder
3. Why My Raiding Guild Rocks, Part One

CURRENT FOR PATCH 3.3!

Here's a complete Gemming and Enchanting Guide for Druid Tanks in WoTLK World of Warcraft.

This guide includes two sets of gem/enchant suggestions: One for the beginner and another for "pro" raiders

BONUS: Complete Materials Lists + helpful suggestions to help you reduce your raid gear-enhancing costs!

EVERY TANKING DRUID RAIDER NEEDS THIS GUIDE!

Feral Druid Tank

If you want to find a fast, efficient, friendly raiding team, read on!

Raiders Who Don't Waste Time Gem and Enchant Their Gear

Sure, gems and Enchants aren't NEEDED in order to get into raiding.

Lots of people get wicked gear upgrades, but then continue to raid week after week without enhancing that wicked gear. And yes, they're still invited into raids.

But if THEY are so poorly Gemmed and Enchanted, I'll bet you can tell what the rest of the group looks like, too!

Some entry-level raiding guilds overlook an applicant's Gems and Enchants initially, but then discriminate when it comes time to build in-guild raid teams. The well-gemmed and enchanted tend to only want to play with others of the same ilk, potentially leaving YOU on the outside.

Use this guide to shine up your gear the best you can before a raid guild application, or to shine up the gear of your new alt raider!

Shine up your gear to Awesome Raiding Guild standards and notice how your in-game social circles begin to change as playing with well-gemmed and enchanted players becomes your new standard.

Topics In This Document

Buy Now!

The Raiding Druid's Tank Gemming and Enchanting Guide

WoWGrrl's mini-guides are based on many hours of research, and therefore are comprehensive and specific, but I still keep them very low-cost. Your purchase helps support the hosting costs of the WoWGrrl.com website and production of future guides on various World of Warcraft topics.

I appreciate the opportunity to help you reduce your research time and increase your play time, while you help me keep my blogging and guide-writing costs down through your contributions!

Feel free to leave a note to suggest a topic you'd like to see covered in a guide!

Related posts:

1. Kitty Druid Gem and Enchant Guide for World of Warcraft
2. Death Knight Tank Gem and Enchant Guide
3. WoW Rogue Gem and Enchant Guide

Not only is it more chaotically challenging than regular leveling content or 5-player dungeon content, but it more solidly introduces the concept of teamwork within the game setting.

Self-Defense In Raiding, Defined

When I first think about self-defense in a raiding context, "staying alive" is what comes to mind.

Raiders Gather for their ToTC Raids

Those are dynamics that are also in play in Regular and Heroic 5-player dungeons as well, so there's a lot of practice available for any given raider in terms of that type of self defense.

Second up, I think of self-defense in a "something is on you, and you're not a tank" kind of way.

If that something doesn't one-shot you, or you have a chance to react to their making a bee-line towards you, self-defense tactics are the ones you use to keep yourself alive long enough for that mob to be downed or taken back by a tank (or by another less squishy raid member).

But ultimately, neither of these types of self-defense are what inspired this entry.

The one that inspired it is a third type of self-defense - that of defending yourself against your own raid members' and their (sometimes warped) senses of humor.

Someone Always Thinks It's Funny

Unless you're in a raid team with zero roster movement, you're always bringing in new blood to your guild raids, and if you PUG raid at all, generally over 50% of the raid tends to be "new blood", at least when it comes to your familiarity with them.

And when there's new blood, there's always someone who gets a kick out of using a skill or object that negatively impacts others.

For example, for the first time since January someone put down a Toy Train Set in our official raid last week. Of course it was destroyed immediately, and it was put down by someone brand new to the guild (not a veteran by any stretch), but part of me was deeply saddened.

Thankfully, our guild isn't filled with people whose humor is triggered at the expense of others, and has officership that is respected enough that when they say stop, folks stop.

Slow Falling To The Anub'arak Fight

Mages, Priests in ToTC: Slowfall/Levitate Your Friends FTW

In closing I'd like to say that the one thing I've learned about this phase of WoTLK raiding, especially in PUG groups with a bunch of strangers, is the one place I can defend my friends and stymy the guy who is trying to find laughter by laughing at them.

Slowfall and Levitate are your friends, Mages and Priests (just happen to be my two raiding toons). Cast them on your friends just before the fall to take on Anub'arak, and cast them on yourself.

Let someone else die if there's an annoying DK in the group, but above all else, defend yourself and your friends with just a few clicks.

That's my 2c on the topic anyway!

Related posts:

1. Looking Back: From Social Guild To Raiding Guild
2. Why My Raiding Guild Rocks, Part II
3. Helping A Warrior Tank Guildmate Exceed 490 Defense

Disc Priest and Ele Shaman

When I first got into Heroics in Burning Crusade, none of my friends were anywhere near geared well enough to join me, nor did they (yet) have the intestinal fortitude to work towards it as a goal.

When I first ventured into raiding, I tried to keep it casual and non-committal by staying in my social friends guild, but the playstyle and playing interest chasm grew and grew until I knew I had to make a change and take my chances on my social circles completely changing around me.

So, while my friends were still leveling up lowbies to max level and then switching to the next lowbie to level up to max level, I took my best-geared character and entered into my very first raiding guild. I left my non-raiding alts in the social friends guild, and life on World of Warcraft shifted just a little bit for me.

Relief From Frustration

The first day I was in my new guild with my Frost Mage, I got into my first Heroics-romping party.

You know - those parties where the group is so good and so fun and so quick that you romp through five heroics in no time and nobody finds (or gives someone else) an excuse to bug out!

Keep in mind, before this point I had been doing Heroics for two months, but I had been forced to PUG all of my Heroics because I didn't have a guild of Heroics-inclined players to draw from. And anyone who does PUGs knows how rare it is to find a Heroics-romping party via the LFG tool.

Having my first day be marked by being invited into this awesome Heroics-romping team certainly helped ease the guilt of transitioning to Raider status before any of my friends showed similar interests.

In fact, it was a huge relief to be amongst players who were excited at to continue advancing their favorite toon further in the game than just hitting the level cap.

Relief Turns To Joy

In the days and weeks that followed, I discovered that some of the very same things that my social leveling guild friends and I had long agreed upon as the road to success in World of Warcraft were valuable in a raiding guild as well.

Like how my friends and I valued the Fishing secondary profession - having discovered early in the pre-BC days that some pretty expensive things could be fished up. Expensive things that could either reduce the costs of advancing our professions ourselves, or could earn us a profit by selling to others who were advancing THEIR professions.

Or the value of Alchemy for its Elixirs and Cooking for its Buff foods in terms of lasting just a little bit longer in a fight, or outright surviving a fight we would have definitely died to. Even as a leveling lowbie we had learned that elixirs and buff foods often meant the difference between a graveyard run and VICTORY, squeaking by and using a bandage afterwards while hoping to hell for no more aggro.

Sartharion the Onyx Guardian

These opinions my WoW leveling enthusiast friends and I had developed on our own during our play time together were finally coming together in a way that paid big dividends for me.

The Dividends That Stepping Into Raiding Give

The main "dividend" that was "paid" to me for finally making the painful decision to leave my friendly social leveling guild to make the leap into my first raiding guild was this:

No longer was I one of the most knowledgable players in the group.

Now, you might not think this is a benefit initially (depending on the size of your epeen... I mean, ego) but look at it this way: If you're always amongst the best, what impetus is there to improve?

Another big dividend I got out of making the switch was that I finally got to get into a semi-organized team that didn't require a lot of MY time to put together. For the first time I could just sit back and do MY job and not worry about making sure there were people to fill out other jobs.

After all, I had tried in my previous social guild to motivate and encourage and organize the guild I enjoyed so much to try to "make it work" with them, but short of recruiting a bunch of people who weren't my friends (and thus negating the whole reason I wanted to stay in my social guild) it just wasn't going to happen, there wasn't enough interest.

The combination of these two dividend factors felt like JOY inside of me. Excitement for the game, for exploring, for improving and for learning.

I had been pretty frustrated before the transition, looking back on it now - but I guess frustration is just a form of discomfort that lets us know it's time to make a change in our lives!

Raiding With Friends Over Time

There is a happy ending to the story of my transition from a Social Leveling guild to my first Raiding Guild (which I was a member of for 4 months) and then now to my second Raiding Guild that I've called home for nearly a year.

Namely, a lot of those friends who used to be too scared to run Heroics in Burning Crusade finally did get into the whole Heroics and Raiding scene the summer before Wrath of the Lich King released. Some were bit by the raiding bug harder than others, but in general now, it's easy to find a friend to bring along to some raid PUG that is forming, because even my friends who don't hit a raid every week are well-geared from professions and Heroics badges and Enchanting and Jewelcrafting.

The One Thing I Like To Do For My Friends

There were a few of us in my friendly social leveling guild who played together for years before deciding to move to a raiding guild, but many who still remain in that social leveling guild.

Those of us who "got out" (so to speak, not like it's hard to /gquit) haven't forgotten our friends, however, and it brings us great joy to be able to bring our friends along to great raid and Heroics groups - to see them get gear upgrades and see their play abilities improve over time, and to hear them talk about the adventures with the rest of the social leveling guild folk afterwards.

Final Boss of AQ40

So yes, it took a while to get to this place I'm at, but it's been worth the wait and worth the journey for me, and I hope, for my friends who get to join in on fun runs they normally wouldn't have felt comfortable joining on their own.

After all, as I was aiming for in the beginning, it's a heck of a lot of fun to raid or run Heroics with someone you consider a Friend and not just some random acquaintence or complete stranger.

And isn't a large part of what makes World of Warcraft great the people and the social interactions involved?

I think so :)

Related posts:

1. Why My Raiding Guild Rocks, Part II
2. How To Get Into PUG Raids Without An Achievement
3. Why My Raiding Guild Rocks, Part One

Food For The Melee Pally

Using The Power Of The Light To ... Beat The Living Crap Out Of Things!

Buff foods, Elixirs, Flasks and Potions are a basic part of any solid raider's inventory.

No matter how good of a player you are, or how well you stack up on the meters in the random groups you get into, the simple truth is this:

Solid raid teams want to recruit solid raiders, and solid raiders use gems, enchants and consumables to improve their play.

If you don't use consumables because they are "too expensive", you might want to reconsider getting into raiding.

Prepare To Get Recruited By Quality Raid Teams

If you ask around in low-level raiding guilds, there seems to be a consensus:

"It's hard to get into a good raiding guild".

Remember: High-quality guilds are CONSTANTLY recruiting. Even when guilds don't list what classes they would offer invites to, ALL guilds are recruiting "exceptional applicants".

If you're new to 80, however, you probably haven't been exposed to the "Raider Mindset" enough to fully understand why experienced raiders consider Consumables an integral part of that "exceptional applicant" equation.

Do you know what consumables are best for your class and spec? How about where to find the most cost-effective buffs, and when it pays off to bring out the more expensive, top-notch consumables?

If not, do you want to waste the time looking up where to find it all? Or do you just want to PLAY?

I know my own answer - I developed this consumables guide in advance so I wouldn't have to waste time once I got to 80.

And I'm happy to share this guide and all of its knowledge with you, so you, too, can play instead of spending time waiting for slow, graphic-laden websites to load up.

About This Raiding Guide on Consumables

This document was written by WoWGrrl of http://WoWGrrl.com based on her own play experiences and online research with other great raiders.

This document is designed to help Retribution Paladins "shine up" their game, moving closer to the habits of experienced raiders.

As a result, getting into quality Heroics and Raid groups will be easier because quality raiders will notice the efforts you've put into your own contribution to the team, and will be interested in calling you back into more good groups.

The topics of this document include:

• The Retadin's Consumables List
  • Heroics and PUG/off-night raids

  • Official Guild Progression Raids
• The Easiest Way To Keep Stocked
  • Step One: Bag and Bank Management Addon
  • Step Two: Overstocking For Convenience Addon
    • Fixing The Bank Space Issue
  • Step Three: Addon Installation and Configuration
• Summary

Buy Now!

Raider Guide: Melee Paladin Buff Foods, Elixirs and Flasks

WoWGrrl's mini-guides are comprehensive and specific but very low-cost. Your purchase helps support the hosting costs of the WoWGrrl.com website and production of future guides on various World of Warcraft topics.

Oh, and it keeps me stocked with Dr. Pepper and coffee, so I can keep compiling the information into a readable format late into the wee hours :)

Feel free to leave a note to suggest a topic you'd like to see covered in a guide!

Related posts:

1. Awesome Melee Shaman Consumables Guide
2. Awesome Warlock Consumables Guide
3. Awesome Rogue Consumables Guide

Enhancement Shaman Consumables

Show 'Em What It's Like To Melee

Buff foods, Elixirs, Flasks and Potions are a basic part of any solid raider's inventory.

No matter how good of a player you are, or how well you stack up on the meters in the random groups you get into, the simple truth is this:

Solid raid teams want to recruit solid raiders, and solid raiders use gems, enchants and consumables to improve their play.

If you don't use consumables because they are "too expensive", you might want to reconsider getting into raiding.

Prepare To Get Recruited By Quality Raid Teams

If you ask around in low-level raiding guilds, there seems to be a consensus:

"It's hard to get into a good raiding guild".

Remember: High-quality guilds are CONSTANTLY recruiting. Even when guilds don't list what classes they would offer invites to, ALL guilds are recruiting "exceptional applicants".

If you're new to 80, however, you probably haven't been exposed to the "Raider Mindset" enough to fully understand why experienced raiders consider Consumables an integral part of that "exceptional applicant" equation.

Do you know what consumables are best for your class and spec? How about where to find the most cost-effective buffs, and when it pays off to bring out the more expensive, top-notch consumables?

If not, do you want to waste the time looking up where to find it all? Or do you just want to PLAY?

I know my own answer - I developed this consumables guide in advance so I wouldn't have to waste time once I got to 80.

And I'm happy to share this guide and all of its knowledge with you, so you, too, can play instead of spending time waiting for slow, graphic-laden websites to load up.

About This Raiding Guide on Consumables

This document was written by WoWGrrl of http://WoWGrrl.com based on her own play experiences and online research with other great raiders.

This document is designed to help Shaman "shine up" their game, moving closer to the habits of experienced raiders.

As a result, getting into quality Heroics and Raid groups will be easier because quality raiders will notice the efforts you've put into your own contribution to the team, and will be interested in calling you back into more good groups.

The topics of this document include:

• The Melee Shaman's Consumables List
  • Heroics and PUG/off-night raids

  • Official Guild Progression Raids
• The Easiest Way To Keep Stocked
  • Step One: Bag and Bank Management Addon
  • Step Two: Overstocking For Convenience Addon
    • Fixing The Bank Space Issue
  • Step Three: Addon Installation and Configuration
• Summary

Buy Now!

Raider Guide: Melee Shaman Foods, Elixirs and Flasks

WoWGrrl's mini-guides are comprehensive and specific but very low-cost. Your purchase helps support the hosting costs of the WoWGrrl.com website and production of future guides on various World of Warcraft topics.

Oh, and it keeps me stocked with Dr. Pepper and coffee, so I can keep compiling the information into a readable format late into the wee hours :)

Feel free to leave a note to suggest a topic you'd like to see covered in a guide!

Related posts:

1. Awesome Retadin Consumables Guide
2. Awesome Resto Shaman Consumables Guide
3. Awesome Warlock Consumables Guide

My Disc Priest Raiding In Heroic Ulduar

So I ask,

Why Do You Raid?

What is it about raiding that you value the most?

Is it the Loot Upgrades you get?

Is it how awesome the raid gear sets look like?

Is it because you've crafted and dungeoned for every single upgrade you can possibly get without setting foot in a raid instance?

Is it the team environment that extends beyond the largely-solo "leveling game" within World of Warcraft that grabs your interest?

Is it being able to explore each nook and cranny of the game, to be able to see or experience what's been developed?

Or, is it because you feel like you've done so much of what comes before raiding that you're bored with it and have since become interested in the "something new" aspect of raiding?

Or is there another reason I haven't mentioned that you'd like to suggest to be considered on the list? :)

(more posts on this topic being created, but first I wanted to hear back from you wonderful readership folk and then progress from there)

Related posts:

1. Awesome Melee Shaman Consumables Guide
2. Why I Raid
3. Elemental Shaman Pre Raid Gear Guide