Drawing the Line Between Training and Results

Did you know dogs can identify smells thousands of times better than us humans? And the portion of their brain used in identifying and allocating scent is way more than what we use. It comes in handy during avalanche search and rescue operations. But even dogs can’t rely on pure senses to rescue people. They need to work with their handlers and train in a variety of situations. Training helps improve these skills so that they can get better at finding people.

Now let’s say your guild managed to pick up a new recruit. He’s a little under geared and is behind your main raid on a few encounters. One of the common reasons that I see for this is because their previous guild “held them back”.

Okay, understandable. It happens. It’s not uncommon for players to be in guilds that are behind where they think they should be in progression.

Regardless of that, they’re with your guild now and they need to be brought up to speed so that they can make solid contributions. One of the most agonizing moments for me is bringing in inexperienced players to an encounter that we have on farm. They claim they’ve read our strategies but still need a full explanation (which completely boggles my mind considering our strategies, placements, and all that are on the forums).

Best case scenario? Your new guy completely aces the encounter, fits right in, and helps your raid crush the boss.

Worst case scenario? They screw up their assignments, can’t seem to dodge a pillow for the life of ‘em, and don’t notice really slow forming pools under their feet causing wipe after wipe.

At what point do you go “That’s enough” and bring in the varsity? Your guild has to be able to hit that balance. On the one hand, newer players are going to need a minimum level of experience with the different aspects of the encounter. On the other hand, your veteran players are going to get understandable annoyed and irritated because they want to move on to bigger and fiercer bosses.

Advantages of training and gearing

Your recruits will get the exposure, experience, and gear they need to help your raid make a difference on the encounters that matter (such as the hard mode ones that they’re working on). The logic is that their skill gap between your current raiders and new players will narrow until they’re almost the same.

Raider frustration from wiping

Maybe they’re a slow learner. It’s been proven to me time and time again that not every player is going to pan out. New players have hit their skill ceiling and just aren’t able to improve anymore no matter how hard you try or what accommodations  are made.

Guild’s on the clock, right? Have to get going and kill some bosses!

Either way, a line needs to be drawn.

How do you find that balance?

One suggestion would be to set a hard limit on either attempts or time spent. If it’s clear they’re not getting it or you’re really pressured for time, then you can scale those conditions down to something that’s more suitable.

But, you do need to consider that the player being brought in isn’t the main cause of wipes for the guild.

It’s one thing to say that you’ve hit the 6 minute mark on heroic Ultraxion and the new player’s DPS is right at the bottom of the meters. It’s something else entirely when they’re able to dodge ice walls and survive longer than most of your raid during a wipe. If you’re going to sit them, do it for the right reasons.

1 thought on “Drawing the Line Between Training and Results”

Leave a Comment