Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Pee vee Pee!

I've been spending more time lately pvping. I'm sure lots of WoW players are doing the same.

Warsong Gulch and Arathi Basin PvP only requires a group of 10-15 which is fairly easy to put together. And for Alterac Valley the group of 40 is organized for you.

You don't have to really focus on group makeup. Although a few paladins, mages for cc (and lucky for me - priests!) and nice to have.

I do feel sorry for pugs, because for the majority of my pvp history I've pugged it. I know what its like to be steamrolled by organized groups.

With that said, it is worth your while to find yourself a group. PvP, at least for priests, is extremely more fun in an organized setting.

Other classes can get joy out of entering a bg, and although the group loses, they can check out the leader board and say "Hey I was #1 on Killing Blows!" While Blizzard has added a healing done column, if the team still loses its small consolation to say "Hey I was #1 on Healing Done!"

Although some priests who focus on dps may disagree with me here. My very purpose - support - only functions well in a organized group. In fact, I'd say it increases exponentially.

In pugs, you will be told (not so politely) to heal. It doesn't matter that for 60 levels you've been doing that and you've learned to prioritize who will live and who will die. No, you will be told to heal mages with no mana. You will be blamed for losing matches. And the very success of any BG somehow hinges on the fact you didn't heal a rogue who decides to try and fight a group of 5 people or a warrior with subpar gear facing tier 3. Then you have the constant dropping midgame for another bg. And Alliance seems to struggle at working together. As you can imagine pugs lose...a lot.

Counter that with an organized group. If I'm escorting a flag carrier, they won't run off from me if they are in need of heals. Warriors won't charge in to the fray unless they know I have the mana to back them. I'm not yelled at, and more often than not I'm thanked (this is not required but wow - for a support class it feels great to be acknowledged!). Rogues and druids try to ninja the flags instead of getting extra HKs. I have teammates that actually try to help me stay alive. And I survive long enough to actually heal people! And it comes as no surprise, we win more matches than we lose.

So for the priests out there who are tearing their hair out pugging it? Just like in PvE where once a priest finds a guild they never go back to pugging instances - find yourself a organized PvP group! You'll have a ton more fun I promise you!

3 comments:

Unknown said...

If it's any consolation, it isn't better on Horde either.

Anonymous said...

It's a two way street. As a mage, the few (since I die fast) times a priest has healed me in pvp, it was awesome. Nothing makes you feel like part of your team like being healed, imo. Joining an organized group is great for anybody.

And yeah, the level of teamwork tends to vary a lot. I've heard from some people that the horde can't work together, and that the alliance can't work together. Haven't found any pattern really.

Yane (Yet another night elf) said...

As a healer, I really feel bad that certain classes feel like they are getting the cold shoulder.

Unfortunately, I really have to prioritize who gets healed.

In PvE, its more simplified. The tank is going to get the heals in most situations.

In certain aoe situations the mages and locks get some priority but that's not often.

In PvP, I'm able to dole out heals to pretty much anyone because its not like the warriors are able to taunt off hate. If a mage has mana is just as likely to get heals from me as a warrior would.

About this blog

"I don't *need* to play. I can quit anytime I want!"

Search This Blog