Hood Today

Perhaps one of the most vexing things in World of Warcraft nowadays is the strain of leveling a fresh character. Far too often, when using the Random Dungeon Finder in the early levels, we are confronted with a very serious problem: the ignorance of individuals on the other side of the computer who do not know their roles. These are the vile, slimy individuals to whom the blame goes for atrocities such as leading to the entire group's demise during boss fights or on simple pulls of so-called "trash" monsters. Often these allegations are not unfounded. All too often, however, the wrong person is blamed, choice words fly across the chat log, and someone leaves the group, forcing another poor soul to be chosen from a pool of waiting individuals who simply wish to get to level 80.

For those of you who do not know, groups for regular dungeons are made of five people. Five is the maximum for any group other than a raid group, which functions differently. Dungeon groups need five people if the group is of-level for the chosen dungeon, which is also known as an instance. Roles that are present in a dungeon group are present in raid groups as well. Raid groups are groups that are larger than five. They are capable of entering special "raid instances" which are designed to be more challenging to players. They often have grueling requirements for damage and healing output as well as damage mitigation in the group members. This is all of course math-laden and is based on group composition and balance and whatnot, not something to be discussed here. I wish only for there to be no confusion regarding the term "raid" when it is mentioned.

In any case, back to your basic, average dungeon. One person must be the designated "tank." The tank's job is to control the monsters that are currently engaged in combat, to keep
all damage, or as much as possible, on themselves. This is a complicated task, and this is the role that is most prone to failure, despite Blizzard's best efforts to give every class capable of tanking devices to keep monsters fixated on themselves. Tanks are titanic beings. They often have little damage output (it varies depending on situation and class) but have massive hit point pools and gratuitous amounts of armor and a little something called "avoidance," which divides into Block, Parry, and Dodge (one can assume, given those terms, what each implies). Of course these numbers fluctuate based on gear, but that's irrelevant here. What matters is that this keeps them from taking as much damage, or avoids the damage entirely.

Still, the tank's burden is a terrible one. Often, it is the tank that is blamed when things go awry. As a person who has tanked instances, I know this well. Generally, however, one is not at fault for a "wipe" of a dungeon. A wipe is, as the name may suggest, when everybody, or most everybody, dies in a dungeon and is forced to run back in. While this may seem like a martyrdom of sorts which may inevitably lead to death, the task of the healer, another necessary individual, must heal the tank, and any others in the group who are unfortunate enough to be damaged in the course of the instance. Healers are mystical creatures to me. While once described to me, by a player, as the easiest "job" in World of Warcraft, they never cease to strike me as saviors and saints. This is likely because I play a melee character and I quite often wind up toe-to-toe with something five times my height. Delivering hit points to characters from afar, healers are necessary to any group. The healer is perhaps the only person in the group who is never blamed for anything, save for when he is blatantly failing at his job.

The other three individuals who make up the group must be dedicated towards damaging the monsters that are currently engaging the party. These individuals are known as "DPS." DPS stands for damage per second, a measure, some think, of one's aptitude in every
aspect of life. Damage is dealt by spells or melee attacks cast by these individuals. It is the sole responsibility of the DPS players to defeat the monsters present. While this may seem easy, it has its difficulties. Other than knowing combat ability rotations, one must know where to physically place oneself in relation to the monster in question. Generally this is only important on bosses, who often project area-of-effect abilities that often prove lethal to anyone who is caught within for too long, or have abilities that target specific, non-tank players for massive amounts of damage. There are also other downsides to playing a damage role. Players who choose this role are a dime a dozen, especially if they pick classes that can only do this. This means longer wait times for instances, harder to find raid slots, and so forth. It also means that this is the role that unsavory individuals take. It is the most enticing to the slime of the human race. It offers big numbers that fly up on a screen, an array of flashy moves, and a gloriously misplaced sense of confidence and accomplishment. And while I do play a damage-dealing role in most instances, I assure you that I am at least capable of moving out of hazardous areas, keeping myself on the proper side of the boss, and performing any other tasks such as destroying things I am supposed to destroy other than the boss. Competence is key in any dungeon or raid group.

However, more than that, friendliness and manners will get you everywhere. While you may not have to speak the King's English to get access to World of Warcraft's chat function, proper speaking habits or at least clear communication is a must for almost any group to function well. One doesn't have to be chatty, of course, but at the very least polite. While anonymity may be a shield against targeting by other anonymous individuals you may group with, keep a few things in mind. These aren't computer-controlled NPCs that you play with on World of Warcraft. These are other, real people who are on the other side of the internet. They
are individuals who have lives and concerns and cares. They have kids, girlfriends,
boyfriends, parents, siblings, everything that you may or may not have. It's important to keep
that in mind. And, with that taken into consideration, spare them the spike in blood pressure and know your role in a dungeon group. If you aren't sure, ask for help. You'd be surprised about how many good people there are out on World of Warcraft, among the seething
cesspool of thirteen-year-old boys who think that the game is a measure of their masculinity. While the stigma of World of Warcraft, as someone once told me, is that it is an attraction for such people, I occupy a space in a guild of at least forty individuals who are, at the very least in some cases, tolerable. Most of them are pleasant or even a joy to be around. So when in doubt, reach out to your fellow player. We were all noobs once. Even if someone laughs at you or calls you a "noob" or something similar, it's just a game. Seek help online. There are plenty of resources for the World of Warcraft player.

Politeness will get you far in this game. It may not initially seem like it, but communication and manners, just like in real life, can open doors in World of Warcraft, be it to a dungeon group or a raiding guild. Just keep positive, and remember those who were friendly to you. That's what the friends list function is for, of course. And if you play Horde-side on Bloodhoof and you want to learn a few things from me, feel free to add Deghar to your friends list. I'll be more than happy to share any of my knowledge with you. Farewell, my friends, and as the Tauren say: "Winds be at your back."

The Lingo

Faceroll : \f?s-r?ll\ verb: The term "faceroll" is used rather liberally at times in the World of Warcraft. The term itself derives from the idea of applying one's face to the keyboard, and rolling it back and forth in an attempt to hit multiple buttons and to hopefully defeat one's foe. Facerolling is attributed to classes which supposedly take no skill to play, such as rogues,
warriors, or whatever you feel like hating at the point in time used.

Ex: "Tanking? Man, this is just glorified facerolling." "Man, that rogue, I bet he just facerolls."

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