Some quick tips for you PuGers

So true! We've been reading topics like these for a year and a half now, pugs won't change get over it, if they could they would have by now. Casual players often don't have a very broad understanding of the game and you will find them most in pve pugs. That's just the way it is, but it adds to the charm if you don't expect miracles.

Hey here's a tip from me... Leave during a deep run with me and prepare to get blacklisted.

Yes, because people should be blacklisted because they err=007. Of course, Phaern is immune to err=007.

On a more serious note, PuG are, by definition, bad groups. A "good PuG" is a relative term. Don't try to improve it, accept it.

But as I said, it'll all be a moot point in a few days.

Alright you crazy puggers, here's how it's done. If you can't follow these rules then you need to pug off.

The 10 Golden Rules of Pugging it.

1. Take all the wammos you can find. Imp: Must have mending and frenzy.
2. Take 2 healer monks who like to use healing breeze a lot. Imp: Must have mending for themselves. Also, they shouldn't have any points in DF, must be in Smiting instead so they can dish out awesome dmg w banish.
3. Don't take a rez. Your build will be much better without it.
4. Aggro as many mobs at the same time. It improves the chance of a gold drop.
5. All Eles must bring firestorm, searing heat, teinai's heat, and breath of fire.
6. Ritualists should bring duplicate spirit and weapon skills since they stack well.
7. Avoid assassins and mesmers as they are clearly noobs or they wouldn't have created those classes anyway.
8. Yell at other players if they don't play exactly as you'd like them to. It helps build camaraderie, improves their play, and prevents rage quitting.
9. Always type in ALL CAPS.
10. Don't waste time waiting for people to change their builds. Get a full group and just go.

Pugging is pugging hard because there are so many rules to doing it well. Contact me in-game if you need a demonstration.

For Sarcastic comments, please type "/end sarcasm" after them. Otherwise, you will find yourself the target of serious flamege for the moronic thing you said.

I cant wait for heroes. I honestly will pack a Dual Hammer Warrior build (me and Koss) with an Assassin and an interrupt mesmer.

Then all this whining = over!

The fact that people can't detect sarcasm is really pathetic =/

You have taught as well.

And as an addendum... If someone asks after joining if you would prefer them to take any particular builds and you ignore them, don't blame them for not having the build you want...

On the OP's list, there are exceptions:

There can be times when discretion is the better part of valour. If the enemy is dangerous to be close to (Titans setting people on fire, Afflicted about to die, anything with a heavy reliance on PBAOE effects) you may only need one person to hold aggro - and if you only need one, why should the healers have to heal all of them? The others can act as reserves, emply ranged weapons, and jump in to deliver the occasional adrenaline/skill chain/whatever spike when they get the chance.
Some ranged damage professions may have skills that require them to get close - Throw Dirt, elementalist Wards, and so on. These should be left until after aggro is gathered on the frontliners, yes, but once aggro is gathered the frontliners can benefit from having some of these classes reasonably close. Furthermore, a Ranger or even a caster, with sufficient use of defensive skills, may be able to hold something off for long enough for the real squishies to get out or for the warriors to intervene, which may be better than the alternative.
People have already commented on this - some people's builds are set up for disabling rather than outright damage, and there's little point to disabling something that's about to die anyway... Furthermore, some builds may be significantly more effective against a target other than the called target (for whatever reason), and in this situation it may be best for them to target their preferred prey. After all, it's all adding pressure to the enemy healers, and the extra damage, even on a different target, may mean the difference between the enemy healers being able to keep the spike target alive...

Oh, and as another exception: NEVER keep beating on a target with Mark of Protection until the mark goes away!
This one I'd agree with, although it does provide evidence for some of my notes on #2: Isn't it better to have pretty much anything, even another caster, being beat up on than your healer(s)?

HERE is a nice guide that has addressed this.

PUG's? Who plays with PUG's? I know that I don't, and when Nightfall comes out, won't ever have to again. Which is awesome as.

If you play with PuGs expect bad groups.

/The End

I thought it was pretty obvious.....

Far more assuming are the comments seen in mission areas:

‘W/Mo lfg, I don’t need healing’

My all time favourite

What is the point of this thread?

Statements of the obvious, and 'sarcastic contrary advice' are a waste of space.

Maybe obvious to you and I but not certainly not to all!

Been in any PUG's recently?

I think it's obvious to everyone. Sorry to say, but my 8 year old cousin understands this. If an 8 year old can, I'm sure anyone who play GW can.

> 2. Ranged damage, STAY RANGED, GET AWAY FROM THE FRONT LINES

Keep in mind that "ranged damage" isn't synonymous to "ranger"... unless you cookie-cutter of course, but cookie cutters would be better off playing alone with henchies, rather than ruining PUGs IMO.

The real rule is: Squishies stay away from the front lines... but don't take that as a request to draw aggro toward the back lines.

I suppose my biggest tip would have to be to the 'tanks' in a pug. A tanks role to is help protect the casters and so forth in the party. As such to see then take the initial aggro is all well and good, but then they rush past the oncoming warrior types and go for the casters themselves. Leaving the warrior type mobs to rush into the casters and cause all sorts of annoyance.

Please tanks learn to HOLD aggro. Keeping those 1 or 2 warrior mobs busy while the rest of your party deals with that squishy monk ultimately makes PUG's much more effective.

When taking my warrior through both chapters I would insist on being the only warrior on almost all missions simply because I cannot trust the other warriors to hold aggro correctly. I good example of this was when doing the bonus for Riverside Province. I would try to pull single groups of mantal away from the tower and the other wammo in the group would always insist on rushing in rather than pulling and so aggroing a hell of a lot more. I mean come on, your aggro bubble on the radar serves many purposes. ONE of which is to let you know how far you can go before aggroing something.

So in short if you join a PUG as a 'tank' please take a primary role of holding aggro with other warrior types and let the casters/rangers deal with those pesky backline mobs, they will generally kill them much quicker if you holding the aggro of the warrior type mobs.

i think that was sarcasm. i took one of my mesmers through sunjiang district in a group with 3 sins and i was 1 of 2 mesmers...no monks or rits...got masters.