Epic Gear = Epic Fail

I've seen a pattern emerge when running instances. Often when I'm in an instance with people who have all epics or especially a fair amount of raid gear, it ends up being a wipe-fest.

I have a theory that raiding, at times, changes a player's attitude. Some raiders become elitist in their approach to the game. I think the process goes something like this. "Dude, I cleared Sunwell and got my new sword! This is just a heroic 5 man - no problem." The next thing you know, the dps is pulling before the tank gets the chance, or pulling mobs of the tank because they think they can handle it. It may even be epeen thinking that they're better than the other players in the group, because they can always pull aggro. The result is that bedlam ensues followed by wipe after wipe.

Now this isn't to say that all raiders are like this. As a matter of fact, I think raiding in itself demands top performance. Especially from what I've read about pre-wrath raiding. I have had excellent runs with hard-core raiders who provided an excellent source of knowledge regarding class and game play mechanics as well as gear itemization and talent speccing. I suspect that the problematic raiders I mentioned previously are the minority, however, I have crossed paths with them on several occasions.

On the other hand, I have had incredible experiences with undergeared, lower level toons who know how to play their class well. My best example of this is my experiences in Shadow Labs. I lost count of how many failures I've had in there with level capped, well geared players. My first clear was with a group including only 2 70's. One other toon dinged 70 mid run. When inspecting their gear, green dominated. But we made it through without a single wipe. Why? Because everyone worked together and filled their particular role well.

It was satisfying for me to accomplish something that we were undergeared for...especially when we accomplished it so well.

The moral of this story (at least for me) is to play your class. Regardless of your gear or level, perform your role in the party. One example is to continue marking mobs even if you don't really have to - just to practice discipline and order. The result is worth it in my opinion.


...nobody ever liked the ball-hog on the court, even if he did get 53 points.