With this, I want to lay out some suggestions and guidelines to keep in mind when you're grouped, regardless of whether it's with Avians or not. While I've titled this "...in WoW" the principles are going to apply to many other MMOs.
If you have additions or corrections, let me know and I'll modify as needed. After the document has been up for a while and fine-tuned, I'll del this thread and repost the list as a locked sticky.
Grouping Etiquette
Live by these and be remembered by Avian and non-Avian group mates as an effective and considerate group mate.
If you're the group leader:- Form a group with a common purpose. Whether it's tackling a particular quest or hunting a particular group of mobs, make sure the rest of the group knows the common purpose of the group, don't assume.
- Be flexible but stay focused. There's nothing wrong with tapping a few extra spiders in the area to help a group mate finish up another quest. But dragging the entire group to a zone three griff flights and a long run away is something that should be asked of the group and pursued only after the initial purpose of the group is met.
- Identify. Identify the main tank, backup tank, healer, backup healer, damage dealer, buffer, etc of your group based on the makeup of your group and their talent builds. If you have no priest but instead a druid and a pally, how do they know which is healer?
- Educate. If your priest is trying to be a tank, politely remind them the group is counting on them to do a particular job (see If you're a group member). Private tells may be the best way to handle this in nearly every case.
- Communicate, lead. In order to effectively do all of the above, you must communicate. Regardless of whether it's in-game chat or TeamSpeak you must identify yourself as the leader by leading and directing the action of the group, including looting and harvesting (See Looting and Harvesting). If you are uncomfortable with this or inexperienced in the zone, there is nothing wrong with handing the group to one of the others. Better to use that time to watch and learn so next time you'll be better able to lead.
If you're a group member:- Listen, respond. Unless you formed the group, be prepared to act under the direction of another. This includes targets, looting and harvesting. If nothing is mentioned about looting or harvesting, ask.
- Do your job. Expect to be in the front taking damage and making the bad guys mad at you if you’re the warrior or paladin. Expect to be a little further back from combat, ensuring that everyone stays healthy if you're a priest. Druids and pallys may be asked to backup a priest for healing or be the primary healer if there is no priest. Mages are widely recognized as big-time damage dealers but are more vulnerable at melee range so the tanks need to watch them and pull that aggro away from the mage. While the classes have their typical roles within a group, everyone will do those jobs a little differently based on their talents but it comes down to each group member realizing and remembering that everyone in the group is expecting and relying on you to do your job.(do I need class responsibilities?)
Looting and Harvesting:- Do not harvest or loot while anyone is in combat. Period. It does not engender trust and goodwill with your teammates if they're being beaten with a heavy club while you add to your stack of Dalaran Sharp. In addition to it being rude, if there is a green (or higher) item, a roll window may obscure their view. Please do not do this.
- BOP or Bind On Pickup Items. Unless previously agreed, do not roll on BOP items you need/can use them. It's best to wait until everyone has looted one blue before rolling on a second, regardless of your need.
- Harvest only when well out of combat. Very similar to the above point about looting. Your team cannot rely on you and will not trust you if you're facing the other direction picking Peacebloom or swinging your pick instead of your sword.
- Take turns harvesting. If you're the only skinner in the group you don't need to worry about sharing but it's not all that often you'll be the sole team member harvesting a particular item. You may ask to establish a harvesting rotation so everyone has an equal opportunity to collect resources.
- Greed rolls. I'm including this just as information. A greed roll is called by the group leader when no one in the group/raid has a real need or use for an item. It's called a greed roll because the intent is to simply vendor or auction the item for gold.
Some of these may seem petty but they are all important. The overriding rule here is communication. If you don't know how a leader or a group wants to loot, ask. This is particularly important when on raids and there are high-end items up for grabs.
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