PUG Raids these days

[CaptainCameo]

I've been pugging through raids since I could first do them, and I'm wondering something.

Are the raids getting harder, or are the people who play them getting worse?

I've finally broke my raid losing streak today, though barely, but I've noticed that for some reason, raids that we've been losing raids that we should easily complete.

Usually it goes the same way when we fail a raid. Everything is going well, we're doing awesome. There's no problem with the group. We've got the tank doing what he does, everyone else dealing out damage or running around doing something they should be.

Then all of a sudden, BOOM. Everyone drops like flies. No warning about it. It just happens. Either a roving wave of death, or a beholder disintegrates someone.

Why does this happen? Are raids programed to get harder half way through now? I've done Hox and Vod almost 20 times each, and it's getting annoying as hell to have nobody die on the walk up only to wipe about 3/4 of the way through it. What's the deal here?

[Phidius]

PUG raids have always seemd to fluctuate a great deal for me. As to whether it's gotten worse or not, I really couldn't tell. I've gotten into the habit of playing builds that only the uber elite would accept into their raids, as everyone else is too concerned with the possibility of failure.

And that suits me just fine.

[Thrudh]

Maybe it's you.

[sultanica]

i thought in the last update they updated some of the monster AI or something lilke that

[Tendare]

Raids fail like this because something happens in the raid that the group is not prepared for.
We run through these raids like clockwork. The work of figuring out the raid has been done and tested.
You jump in a raid and step by step you complete it succesfully while following a proven formula over and over again.

The difference is a good group of 12 people can adjust to the changes/ lag or whatever happens outside the formula and recover to complete, Ive seen it happen many times.

A bad PUG can't recover when obstacles happen and the proven formula doesn't work and fail every time.

The difference usually between a failure and a completion is a good leader/member who can assess the situation call out new instructions instantly rally the group and members who can listen, change plans, adapt and recover without panicking.

[Consumer]

Joined a VoD earlier today and the healer didn't speak at all on the way there, had to join and ask if I was tanking.

Later on we got most of the way to the raid and I notice a S&B Fighter, he wasn't intiming or tanking, just using a shield. I ask him to take it off and DPS a couple times but he ignores me. I ask the leader to have a word and the leader asks him if he needs it for DPS (doesn't just tell him to take it off). Of course he is ignored.

A Monk left half way through the run there and the leader didn't replace himor even put the lfm back up.

At this point I'm annoyed and ask if everyone can break DR. I got one reply (which was a lie anyway) from the whole party from a Monk that I new couldn't break DR as I had declined him from my own VoD earlier.

I get a tell from another party member who along that he also thinks it will be a wipe so I recall and leave.


I then get a several tells that I'm an Elitist ***** and that I should help newbs instead of leaving them. I had infact volunteered to tank, tried to sort out the DPS and checked everyone for appropriate weapons while explaining what they were. It's not my fault that newbs don't want to speak up and learn.



Joined a guild EVoN earlier, we took a PUG Bard, he never said he was new but didn't start fascinating bases until we were on the verge of wiping and people were shouting at him. We wiped and I didn't have time to run another (I was also lag spiked off the platform running back to help base 3, thank you Turbine).




Noobs need to speak up and not pretend to be invisible.

[Khanyth]

99.5% of my DDO experience, has been PUGS. 100% of my raids have been PUG Raids.

IME, PUG Raids work very well when any of the combination of these 7 things happen

1. You have a leader who leads and controls the group, not barking orders, but telling people what to do.
2. Before the party embarks on the raid, you have a leader who assigns tasks OR people volunteer to do tasks so people know what to do before entering the raid
3. People are honest with each other about their familiarity with the raid.
4. Further to #2, every group member knows their role.
5. Every group member accomplishes their role.
6. Further to #2 and #3 People who know what they are doing when assigned a task and are honest if they do not know
7. People help one another when problems arise.

You don't necessarily need all 7 of these to run a PUG raid, but it sure helps.