The mobs kept coming but the warrior was slow to approach. He was steadfast in his resolve to do things his own way and not keep pace with the group. The Draenei Priest watched on, casting holy prayers and hymns as quickly as she could while the rogue, mage and death knight fought the oncoming dragonkin without aid of their tank.
“Why don’t you keep up!” demanded the mage, dumfounded.
“I’ve seen far better tanks then you!” exclaimed the rogue frustrated. He had been somewhat tanking the instance, his agility saving him more often than the tank’s mighty taunts.
The warrior sneered at the group and with a hauty tilt of his head laughed at them. “You’ll do it my way or not at all. Do you really think you’re going to get another tank? I know how hard it is to get us.”
The priest was shocked and angered. How dare this human assume he was irreplaceable. “We can get someone else easily. You’re not hard to replace.”
The warrior scoffed at her but the other three companions in the instance nodded their agreement. With a haunty remark the human left the group, even as the dragonkin, unmindful of the drama, continued to pour from the portals towards the prison doors. However, much to the groups relief a paladin appeared between them. Shield raised high, he lost no time in rounding up the scaled enemies and they were beaten back. The rest of the battle to defend the prison went smooth and as the Priest made her way out of the instance she marked the tank from earlier as someone to avoid.
It’s a bit theatrical, but the frustration and shock is true. I had gotten a group for VH and we had a warrior tank. However, he rarely did anything to pick up adds. He would approach and hit them. A few times mobs would be coming from portals and instead of running to them, he’d turn and run in the opposite direction!! Any threat was usually generated by tricks of the trade from the rogue. Now the warrior wasn’t squishy. He also had the patient title so I know he’s been doing heroics. However, he was simply BAD at tanking. And when members of the group got tired of tanking and nearly dying because I could barely keep up on my priest, he got testy. And he told us how hard it was to get tanks and that we’d have to deal with him or else.
I called him out on this and told him that he was replaceable. I’m not going to be collared by some arrogant tank who cannot do his job. I will not be held ransom. So he leaves the group instantly between trash spawns. The rogue ends up tanking with the death knight. Both of them kind of ping ponging mobs and killing them as they wail on the door to the prison. However, it is maybe only three minutes in when a prot paladin comes in. He not only keeps pace, but he’s on the ball with getting to portal locations and picking up the mobs. The instance finishes without any hitches.
So I look to that first tank and I mock him. He thought he was a diva and could grab the group by the balls and do whatever he wanted because we might be desperate for a group. I know in some times of the day a dps might wait 25 min for a queue to pop. However, our group wasn’t going to be played like some desperate, starving animal to a bowl of food.
I see a lot of tanks complaining about groups running ahead or pulling before they can touch a mob. I know they get frustrated when they don’t quite control the group like they want. And I know as a healer, when things are rushed I get frazzled. I’ve been in groups with guild members obsessed with speed runs and they get a tank and basically don’t let him get a chance to do much of anything unless it’s a boss. I’ve been in groups where one dpsing mage was so good at kiting and cc that he was pulling without issues and ‘tanking’ mobs to the point that TWO tanks left the group. Refusing to cooperate. On one hand, I did think the mage should have calmed down – on the other the tanks should have just kept going and not played diva and kicked a fuss.
I guess from experiences of my own and what I’m used to – I’m used to having to keep pace with the pack. Slow or fast. And I think that anyone should be willing to doing it too. Maybe its not their comfort zone. Maybe they cannot quite do it. But if the group is working and you all want the badges (which is why I’d assume you’d use the LFG over running with friends and guildies) – why not keep with it till the end? If you leave early you’re probably going to (1) Kill the group (2) delay the group (3) just cause issues all together. Well all of those kinda happen.
I laughed about it in a previous post, but what happened in my HoL when the tank hearthed and left group mid fight on Ionar? Again it had been a diva tanking (pld this time). The mage in that group had made some comment and the tank had taken offense. They continued needling each other till the final boss and then I’d noticed he was hearthing and then left. Do you think the group survived? No.
Its not just tanks I’ve seen do this. As dps, I’ve encountered healers doing this too. Leaving group because they don’t get things going the way they like it. The LFG has a G in it. Group. Also known as a team. Everyone needs to work together on it and when you stomp your foot and insist its your way or the high way, you’re going to have trouble. And when it she majority, its better to just go on with it. If you’re uncomfortable with the direction the group is moving, its fine (I think) to voice it. But heavens, please, don’t throw a tantrum when they say no and don’t. If you’re a healer and you’re oom – they’ll find out the hard way. If you’re a tank and you cannot pick up threat, they’ll find out the hard way. If you're dps and you can’t burn it all down fast enough for the healer to keep everyone up – they’ll find out the hard way.
If you’re a mage, for heavens sake, don’t refuse a group a table and say they’re just pugs and not worth a reagent to drop a table on. Don’t try to excuse that you’re not going to give them biscuits because its going to despawn once you leave the instance. Don’t be that ass in the instance who becomes so hated the other dps try to kill you. And refuse to pull or get anything done. You were brought in as part of a team. And you’re ALL working together. Yes, they can buy the water, but your reagents are just as cheap and feed five. Be gracious and don’t be an ass and drop the table and don’t be that guy who the group is spaming “vote to kick” on.
As you see, I’ve had a string of bad groups since my last post. Enough to frustrate me enough to rant on it. PLEASE – if you’re using the LFG – stay in group and don’t be douches. Work with the group, not against it. And be polite.
Some other reading that I found on this:
http://www.wow.com/2009/12/23/in-defense-of-ignorance/
http://thebigbearbutt.com/2009/12/22/the-journey-to-the-dark-side-aint-complete-but-its-slouching-along/
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