Wynthea over at World of Matticus wrote a post yesterday about why she’s always checking the meters. She raises many good points about how she uses “the meters” to help her better herself in raids. I agree with many of her points, and believe she’s definitely on to something. However, I feel like playing devil’s advocate, and play the opposite side. Don’t get me wrong, I do believe that Wynthea is correct in many aspects, and in many ways I’m on her side, I just feel like stating the opposite approach to get myself (and you) thinking. I’m going to go ahead and say that you should go ahead and toss your meters away. Ignore them, don’t even look at them. Got your attention, didn’t I? Well, let me explain.
Before I go into why “the meters” are something you should stay away from, let me explain what I’m referring to. When I’m talking about “the meters,” I’m talking about any utility where a player’s performance is represented as a number, and then compared to other players in the same group. I’m talking about utilities that track everything from DPS to heals done. I’m talking about Recount, Violation, Assessment, WoW Web Stats, SW-Stats, DamageMeters, and other add-ons of a similar nature.
I can’t deny that in certain situations they can be tremendously useful. However, the middle of a raid is not one of those situations. These add-ons are most useful after the fight, for analysis. While raiding on my mage, I would save my Recount data after every boss fight, and crop out the relevant section of my combat log for WWS. After every raid, I’d sit down and look at the recap of each fight, and analyze my performance. I look at everything from the timing of my cooldowns to when I use my potions and trinkets. I could compare various item sets, and various spell rotations. I would use this information to better myself, and to perform even better at the next raid. Healers can use this information to better downrank their abilities, and to work on the timing of their heals, and the use of their cooldowns and potions. Tanks can work on timing their “oh shit” buttons better, and learn when to use their trinkets.
Few players in the game go out of their way to research their class, reading about each spec and how it works, and looking into the math behind their game. Few players optimize their item builds, and research optimal spell rotations. However, even fewer players go the extra length and analyze their raid style after the fact. When they do, it becomes clearly obvious that they took the extra mile. When I was raiding with my mage (pre Frost buff), I was a healthy 5% above the other mages in my guild (including equally geared fire mages). But that’s because I knew exactly when to use each cooldown, and each trinket, in order to maximize my DPS.
The biggest mistake with the meters is that people think they’re making the most progress by analyzing their raid style while actively raiding, when in fact you make the most progress and do your best work if you analyze the information afterwards.
I know what you’re thinking right now. You’re going to tell me how seeing your meters creates a need to achieve, and creates the sense of competition between you and the other DPS. You’re going to tell me that seeing yourself drop below your usual rank inspires you to give it that extra 10% and see yourself rise the ranks again, which improves the raid’s performance.
Well, I’m going to say that I think that’s a completely wrong way to approach the situation. I believe that it is the duty of every player in the raid to always bring their best game to each and every fight that the raid encounters. Not doing so would be letting the raid, and your fellow raiders, down.
There shouldn’t be an extra 10% to give, as you should already be giving it your all. You should be doing everything in your power to perform at your absolute best. If there’s an extra 10% you should be giving, then you’re not working hard enough.
Relying on the sense of competition to give it your all can easily end up with one (or more) of three problems. First of all, think about it, if you need that sense of competition to be your best, what are you going to do when you don’t have that competition? Are you not going to be able to give it your all? Are you going to under-perform? Being used to constant competition to enhance oneself only hurts you when you don’t have that competition.
Two, it can form unhealthy relationships. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve made many friends and had an absolute blast when we’re really close on the charts, and we’re going back and forth, and the competition is something that makes adrenaline pump through your body. However, think of the player who can’t seem to reach where they want to be on the charts. I’ve seen multiple instances where the meters have caused guild drama, and have even ruined friendships.
Finally, it can actually harm the raid. I’ve been in quite a few fights where two players were fighting for the top spot, and were blinded by the need to beat the other, and ended up ignoring the logistics of the fight and causing a raid wipe. In many fights DPS have various roles, and focusing on the charts too much can cause you to forget a responsibility you have, which costs the raid.
First and foremost, the meters should be the last thing a healer should look at. The only reason a healer should be looking at the meters is to look for sudden DPS spikes so they can proactively heal the player that’s about to pull aggro. Healers have a lot going on around them at any one time. They need to watch health bars, watch their own mana, track their cooldowns, track the other healers’ mana, track what’s going on in the fight, do downranking, and so much more. The last thing they should be focusing on is the meters in the corner of their screen. The healer’s job is to keep players alive. Knowing that you healed for X amount over the whole fight tells you absolutely nothing useful. Additionally, a healer’s performance can vary greatly based on their healing assignment, and the fight. The only thing a healer could possibly use a healing meter for is for benchmarking purposes, and even that’s a bit shaky, as situations change (tanks become better, or take more damage this one fight, etc.). And let’s not even mention how some don’t correctly track statistics such as Lifebloom blooming, and Prayer of Mending bouncing.
A few of you are probably going to tell me that you use meters to help track your overhealing, in an attempt to minimize it. That again is both class-dependent and situation-dependent. And in many ways, it’s affected more by other players than by yourself (someone throws a quick heal to a target you were healing). However, tracking overhealing is something important, but I state yet again that it’s something that’s better done after the raid is over, in order to analyze one’s performance, as opposed to watching it while the fight is happening (and comparing it to the other healer’s performance).
I considered not even writing this section, as it almost speaks for itself. However, discussing only two out of the three roles in a raid made this post seem incomplete. Honestly, I’ll be surprised if any tank out there can actually get valuable information from the meters (other than the threat meter, of course) while a fight is happening. Knowing how much DPS someone is doing doesn’t help the tank, knowing how many deaths a player’s had isn’t really helpful either. Even tank-related stats such as Damage Taken, Total Threat, and (for Druid and Warriors) Rage Generated are completely and totally unhelpful in a raid situation.
Again, quite a few of these statistics can be very helpful in improving oneself after a raid when you’re analyzing your performance (”Where did most of my damage I took come from? Should I get more dodge or more health? Why did I die? etc.”), but there’s really no reason to have any sort of meters (again, other than the threat meters) open while tanking.
When I tank, I look at only one meter (after the raid), and that’s “Healing Received.” I look at the healers who gave me most heals, and focused most of their time on me, and whisper them a quick thank you, and compliment them on a job well done.
In addition to each role not really requiring the meters during a fight, there are many reasons not to have the meters open on your screen. First and foremost, the meters are a “heavy” add-on. They take up a lot of memory, and are very active during the fight (as they sync with the meters of other players). I’ve found disabling my meters during fights has given me a 5-10 fps increase easily. While for quite a few people this isn’t much, those raiding at 20-25fps will notice a huge performance boost by increasing their fps. Some meters (such as Recount) are smart as to when they sync to minimize this, but they still take up a lot of memory, it just can’t be helped.
Another thing that removing the meters will give you is increased screen estate. I play WoW on two computers, with resolutions of 1280×1024 (2560×1024 if you count the other monitor) and 1680×1050. My brother plays WoW with a resolution of 1024×768. I’ve found that if there’s one thing that remains constant regardless of how much space you have, is that you never have enough space. With my UI setup, I aim for a minimal approach, but my screen can still look and feel really cluttered during a boss fight. I have threat meters bouncing over here, I have my damage meters bouncing over here, all my raid and their health bars and casting bars bouncing over there, all my incoming/outgoing information bouncing here, my buffs taking up that space, my cooldowns taking up space as well. You can never have enough screen space, and eliminating the meters will not only free up some room on your monitor, but also remove a HUGE distraction (don’t lie, we all feel that “oooh, growing and shrinking bars” feeling).
Additionally, you’ll find that you’ll become a better player overall, as not only are you focusing on the correct things during a fight, you’re doing the proper analysis afterwards. Plus, as I’ll talk about in just a moment, you’ll find that you’ll become much better at doing the role you’re assigned, and your guild will notice.
Finally, and to sum it up, the meters are almost never practically useful during a fight. They don’t provide immediately useful information (for any role), they take up memory, they are distracting, they make you lose focus of your goal, they can cause disagreements and arguments, and can ruin guilds who focus on them too much. The bottom line is that the meters are truly no more than an ego boost for whoever’s at the top.
One of the reasons I love my guild as much as I do is they way they approach this tricky dilemma. Most guilds use meters as a way to rank players, and use it as a means to remove players who are under performing. I’ve seen some guilds use it as a way to attempt to improve raid performance by offering bonuses (ie: extra DKP) to those on the top of the charts. If you’re in one of those guilds, and you’re happy with your system, then more power to you, I have nothing against that. However, I think the way my guild handles it is phenomenal, which is one of the reasons I’m in the guild in the first place.
The way my guild handles it is by thinking of each fight as a collection of roles. Basically, each person has a job. The performance of each person is determined solely by how well they did their specific job (or if they did it at all). True, for many fights a job can be something as simple as DPS the boss and ignore everything else, but every so often you get a special job, like “pick up the add that spawns”, or “dodge the bombs”, or even “CC this target at this time.” If you do your job, and you do it to the best of your ability, then that’s all the raid can ask of you. If we don’t kill a boss within the enrage timer, we may sub out some DPS, but that’s rarely based on how they did on the meters, but rather their gear level. We assume everyone is optimizing their spell rotation and pushing themselves to play as best as they can (given their gear). My guild simply approaches the situation with a simple yet complete question; “Did you do your job?”
I asked a very simple question over on Twitter:
“The Meters” (damage, healing, etc.), useful or not? Ditch them or keep them?
Anna from Too Many Annas replied:
[They are] situationally useful. Keep them, but on a short leash (so to speak)
Brendan from With That Said stated:
They are useful until you are repremanded [sp] for being too low. They should only be used as a guide to how your raid is doing as a whole
Chris from ChrisWeeden commented:
I’d say keep them. The data is useful if you look beyond the generic who did the most damage/healing.
Aurdon from I Sheep Things mentioned:
I vote keep them but turn them hide them during boss fights to keep you focused on other meters like omen
Softthistle from A Little WoW for Me had the following to say:
I like them so long as they’re not used in the wrong way - ie fighting for 1st position etc >_<
I’m sure you probably have a lot to say after reading my post. Perhaps you still vehemently believe that everyone should be using meters, and that throwing them aside would be a tragic mistake. Or maybe you used to believe that and after reading my post I’ve changed your mind and now you’re unsure or have switched sides.
So I ask you, what do you think about the meters? Do you use them personally? Do you recommend them to new players? Do you analyze your performance during a raid or afterwards? How does your guild approach this situation? Does your guild encourage them, or discourage them? Does it use them to rank players?
Let me know what you think in a comment, or in a blog post of your own!
While gearing up my Feral Druid, there was something peculiar that caught my attention. Keep in mind that other than that Kara run (which I was basically carried through, since my heals were insignificant at the time), I had yet to do a single instance. If I was a new player to the game, I would have zero experience with group dynamics, or working with a group at this point. I wouldn’t know the basics about waiting for the tank to get aggro, waiting for casters to get mana after a pull, or even what “marking” is. The idea of a “boss” would be something new for me, especially a boss with unique moves that I had never seen before.
This game almost forces you into groups if you want to get gear, so you don’t end up in a Kara group without knowing anything about running with a group. I remember grinding instances on my Mage to get minor upgrades, which affected my DPS and survivability so significantly. And gear that I couldn’t get in instances, I’d have to spend a lot of time working towards. I can’t even remember how many hours it took me to farm for just the [Frozen Shadoweave Shoulders], let alone the other two items in the set. And don’t even get me started on the primals needed for [Spellstrike Hood] and it’s companion. Not to mention the ridiculous amount of time and gold that went into powerleveling my tailoring up to 375 so I could make and use the full set. Now compare it to my druid.
I bought [Heavy Clefthoof Leggings], [Heavy Clefthoof Vest], and [Heavy Clefthoof Boots] from a LWer in Orgrimmar for 150g. I bought the gems ([Enduring Talasite] and [Solid Star of Elune]) uncut from the AH and had the guild jewelcrafter cut them for me. I spent a day doing AV for [Gladiator's Dragonhide Spaulders], and gemmed that up as well. Paid the guild LWer 10g for a [Stylin' Purple Hat], and he gave me 4 Heavy Knothide Armor Kits free. I hit him up a little later and paid him 100g for [Nethercleft Leg Armor] which I attached to the leggings. I bought [Braxxis' Staff of Slumber] from the AH for 30g, and I had [Dabiri's Enigma] from a Netherstorm quest that I stashed in case I needed a defense rating boost. I also grabbed [Strength of the Untamed] from the CE quartermaster. The rest of my gear was made up of random odds and ends that I had picked up while leveling or during my first Kara run (like [Bracers of Maliciousness]).
Without stepping into any instance, and without paying that much gold (<500g), I was already set with crit immunity, 14k life, and 20k armor self-buffed. I was basically ready for Kara. If you read my post from a few days ago where I talk about gearing up a new Druid, you saw that I could get a Druid to almost 17k health and 23k armor without even running a single normal instance!
It becomes increasingly interesting once you look into the respective play style of each class, and what’s required of them. I found that most of the time on my Mage I was spamming a single hotkey over and over, occasionally hitting another one to put it on cooldown, all while watching the DPS charts. Depending on the fight, I may switch target or move around a bit, but it all came down to spamming a button or two. On the other hand, my Druid required full situational awareness, and the ability to instantly react to a change in situation, whether that be a CC breaking that I need to pick up, losing aggro on a target, or even having to reposition or move around, based on the fight. I need to have my “oh shit” buttons ready, and need to be able to react to anything at anytime.
It’s an interesting juxtaposition, if you really take the time to think about it. The class that is simpler to play requires a lot more when it comes to gearing up, while the one that is harder to play and requires more attention (and, may I say, requires more skill?) and focus and reaction time, is significantly easier to gear in comparison. Hm… perhaps this is another way that Blizzard balances the game?
What do you think? Anyone else play any classes that they had an easy time gearing? Or the opposite, any of you found yourselves having to invest a lot of time towards gearing up your class? And how hard (or easy) would you say it was to gear yourself up? Share your thoughts in the comments, or in your own blog post (link back so I see it)!
The more I play a Feral Druid, the more I realize how much is different from the DPS role I’m used to. One of the things that really struck me last night when we were cleaning up Kara was the synergies between a Tank and people in other roles.
As a Mage in a DPS role, it was almost all about the charts. I’m not going to lie, but I considered myself an above average mage. I could not only bring the numbers in a raid, but I was also aware of the situation and reacting to what was going on (as well as doing my job). However, most of the time I was staring at the DPS meters and perfecting my timing of hitting my “3″ key. Every so often hitting another hotkey to start a cooldown. I loved healers who would heal me and keep me up when I took a random hit, and got slightly annoyed when I died and no healers were targeting me. In a few 5-mans, I admit, I even looked at the healer in the eye and said that I was watching their spellcasts and they weren’t even trying to heal me (which I really feel bad about now).
However, I now know what it’s like from the other side (DPS vs Tank/Heals). There is some sort of special connection that occurs between Tanks and healers that can’t quite be explained. And one that DPS classes can’t even come close to understanding. I’ve been leading Kara runs for a few lower geared people in our guild who are trying to work their way up to T5 (where my guild’s officially at) by organizing and running Karazhan raids. One of the people I help run through is a holy paladin, who often gets the assignment of healing me (the main tank).
When we’re all in the middle of the action and I’m hitting all my hotkeys and worrying about my positioning and what’s going on and just trying greatly to keep the boss pissed at me, and pissed enough that my DPS can unleash just that little bit more without worrying, I’m also constantly watching my health bear to make sure I hit that “oh shit” buttons when I need to. Being a tank means you’re a constant magnet for heals (obviously), but it’s still sends a tingle down your spine when you see your health bar topping off and noticing that one healer giving it their all just to keep YOU alive. It’s almost an instant friendship, and it’s hard to describe.
Since then this one holy paladin and I have become great friends, and I almost cheer to myself quietly whenever he’s assigned to be my personal healer in raids. I know I can trust him with keeping me alive, and I trust him to do his absolute best at each and every raid when he’s assigned to me. He makes sure my blessings stay up, and will put me before himself. Similarly, I offer him many liberties, giving him first priorities with Innervates (though as a Paladin he rarely has mana issues), and feeling a slight excitement when I’m the lucky one chosen to throw a battle rez his way. I also happily recommend him when we need another spot to fill a raid or a group. Additionally, when the shit hits the fan, I loyally run between him and oncoming mobs, and pick up whatever I can (at one time tanking 5 elite mobs in TK since our tanks dropped and they were running for the pally keeping me up).
So I must ask you readers out there; Tanks, do you notice yourself forming this kind of unique connections with healers? Healers, is there a similar synergy that you form with tanks? What about you, DPS, do you find yourself in a similar position as I was when I played my mage, or do you find yourself forming your own connections?
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