Fun in PuGs - Dire Maul North

Well, it was an adventure that began with the level 45 tank saying, "I'm not sure if I'm high enough level for this dungeon."

Of course, the dungeon finder wouldn't throw you in a dungeon you're not high enough level for, geared and knowledgeable enough for is a different story.

Dire Maul North, along with all of the other Dire Maul dungeons, is the place where you learn how to deal with pats, but especially in Dire Maul North. They're everywhere.

So there was me on Audrid (healing up the place), my partner in crime on his hunter, a mage, a kitty druid, and a paladin tank.

Come to find out that our tank friend may have thought he wasn't high enough level just because he's a total newb. I say this with the kindest of intentions, but no one but a newb has a prot pally with half Intellect gear on, I don't care how low level.

We're talking Shield, Breastplate, Necklace of the Elder, Pants, and Ring. I could have forgiven all this if he hadn't basically refused to replace his intellect ring with the new Ring he won. We gently suggested to him that intellect is not the best tanking stat. He didn't say a word and just quietly kept plugging away, even though aggro was everywhere and he was quite squishy.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. We made it through with a scarce 2 wipes. It was a successful PuG, but I wonder how much farther our paladin friend will go if he continues to sacrifice his tanking stats for a little more mana, let alone what kind of hell the more cruel type of puggers will put him through if they don't just kick him off the bat.

End of the day, I have no room to speak. I'm a pally healer who wears half cloth, but at least I'm not wearing Strength gear so I can have stronger heals. /flex

The Dungeons: 1-5

The first dungeon I set foot in on Audrid was actually Deadmines. I ported in to find the group already ahead of me, the tank nearly dead and pulling more, the balance druid calling me out for not healing while I wasn't even in the dungeon yet. I was level 16. This was my first dungeon on this toon. I was not about to cope with the abuse that I could feel coming if I decided to stay with this group. So I said a quick word about not pulling before your healer is there and bailed.

Hello 30 minute deserter debuff. Goodbye happy fun healing time.

That one didn't count. I call for a do-over.

So the first dungeon I completed on Audrid was Ragefire Chasm. You have to try really hard to mess that dungeon up. Sometimes, when I look back on it, I feel jealous of all those years the Horde had keeping this instance to themselves. It has to be the best starter instance ever. Deadmines for a beginner is much, much harder, imho.

Dungeon number two was Deadmines. I was nervous so I started out warning the group that I might be a little shaky on the heals, and asked them to please bear with me. It turned out I had nothing to worry about. This was another smooth run with kind folks to boost my fragile healing ego.

Dungeon number three was Wailing Caverns. An hour and a half of Wailing Caverns, because I was the only one who had any kind of clue how to navigate, which means we got pretty lost. But everyone stuck with it and we had some playful banter as we went through, as well as a few bio breaks. Although this was not as painful as some WC runs I've had, I still absolutely hate this instance, almost as much as I hate BRD, but that's another story for a different time.

Dungeon number four was another Wailing Caverns. This one went much more smoothly since I had just done it I remembered where everything was and was able to guide us through.

Dungeon number 5 was Shadowfang Keep. Oh, how I love to hate SFK! It's my favorite and my least favorite dungeon all rolled up into one. We did just fine all the way up until Godfrey. When we wiped 3 people bailed including the tank. The next tank in new exactly how to handle the Godfrey fight and taught us. It was beautiful and I can't thank Notapally of Echo Isles enough for being such an awesome tank and being patient with this newb healer who didn't know how to do it.

At this point Audrid was level 21, and looking pretty awesome in her kilt. All in all, not too shabby for pure pugs.

Stay tuned for dungeons 6-10, coming soon.

Quick pug stats: Tanks - 2 Warriors, 2 Bears, 2 Paladins.
                         Ranged - 3 Hunters, 2 Mages, 1 Balance Druid, 1 Warlock.
                         Melee - 2 Rogues, 2 Warriors, 2 Kitty Druids, 1 Paladin, 1 Shaman.
                         Wipes - 1 to Godfrey in SFK.