Saturday is going to be an...interesting day. Lemme 'splain.
This past Sunday I was at my cousin's engagement party, as was the rest of my family. As it often does when we're together, the conversation with my dad eventually turned to WoW. (Honestly, I don't think we've ever talked so much about a single topic together in my lifetime as much as we have about WoW over the past 14 months.)
To my surprise, he's decided to give dungeon-running a try. I honestly never thought he'd have an interest in this because when he started playing he was very intent on making sure that he could spend all his time solo. And his history has been that, even in games that have multi-player components, he's always stuck to the solo side of them.
In the 14 months he's been playing WoW, he's done a lot of research. He discovered addons on his own and installed several to help him out. He learned how to use Wowhead to give him a hand in completing trickier quests.
When he started trying to run dungeons he researched what it would take as a Warrior. He decided that he would try tanking and looked up what a tank's responsibility is in a group. He also figured out what kind of gear he could buy on his own (with gold) and what he'd need JP to buy. He read up on some of the dungeons and the basic strategies therein. He read up on how to use the LFD tool. So in that regard, I'm actually really proud of him. I've run with guildies that have done less...
But, WoW being the complex game that it is, and my dad still learning all those complexities, missed that to tank dungeons at max level (or any level above 30, really) a Warrior needs to be Prot specced. He was still running Fury, with a shield in one hand and a 2H in the other. I cringed inwardly when I heard this and tried my very best not to let it show on my face. I can only imagine the things other puggers were saying to him and my only measure of comfort was that he really doesn't pay much attention to the chat window, so he probably didn't see most of it.
Not surprisingly, he said that he hadn't completed a dungeon yet before everyone would drop or he'd get kicked. Although he got pretty close to finishing Throne of the Tides once. Apparently they got to Neptulon.
So looking ahead to Saturday...
Norfin and I agreed that if my dad wants to start running group content, it's probably time to bring him into the guild. He asked me if I could spend some time with him, in person, teaching him some of the fundamentals of group play, as well as some of the other things he just hasn't gotten a handle on yet, like the AH, professions, and dual-speccing.
So Saturday I'll be packing up my rig and heading down to spend the day there with him. I'm gonna bring him into the guild, get him on Vent, wrangle up some of the more patient members of the guild and try to run a full dungeon or two. Then I'll probably stay there after dinner for the guild's Saturday night raid so he can get a view into what insanity is at the end of the trail he's started down.
As quickly as it came, it was gone
5 years ago
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Sign me up to heal if you need. Unless that Norfin character wants to heal, then I can dps.
ReplyDeleteI must say, I'm really enjoying reading about your Dad's adventures in the game. While Arms tanking just SEEMS wrong on so many levels, in a number of games, it wouldn't be impossible or unheard of, and the fact that he popped on a shield with his face-basher just puts a smile on my face ^^
ReplyDeleteWhat? Family members in the guild? Unheard of!
ReplyDeleteGreat story...Im becoming quite interested to read about "your dad in wow"
ReplyDeleteThought about convincing him dps is the way to go? Might be a more relaxed introduction :)
Like others have mentioned, I'm really enjoying these stories about your dad. Perhaps I'm even a bit jealous!
ReplyDeleteI also kinda smiled at the thought of a Titan Grip tank.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit, at the regular dungeon level, I don't know how unviable it is. He's still in Plate, and as long as he had a shield and dropped into defensive stance, all he's (probably) missing is a few damage reduction and cooldown Prot talents. I'd have to look at the tree for a few minutes to be sure...
I may. Although I've always kind of taken a hands off approach with how he plays. By which I mean I'll help him do whatever he wants to do, but I'm pretty much leaving it up to him to figure out what that is.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny, too...while we were talking he mentioned how it appeared to him that ranged classes have it so much easier for damage dealing, being able to stand back and see everything. I informed him that that's usually true...the trade-off is their squishiness.
I'm the gamer I am because of my Dad. He's the one who got me heavily into it. I'm just glad I could return the favor this time.
ReplyDeletegl to your dad hope it goes well this weekend.
ReplyDeleteWho knows he may love it and be a big part of your future raids 8)
Very Nice! Hit me up as well if needed :)
ReplyDelete