Don’t let a group of DPS that don’t understand threat or aggro make your job harder. Give 'em a warning, then if they don’t get the picture, let 'em fall to the weight of their own idiocy.
Example: I’m healing BfD and a Warlock is constantly pulling ahead of the tank. As a result, I’m constantly having to bubble them, and I’m wasting a lot of mana that should be used on the tank. Finally, I tell the Warlock “I’m using more mana on you than I am the tank.”
I get the response “yea, the dps is real, lol”.
Ok, so from that point I stop healing the Warlock. It takes about 30 seconds before he dies. Then I get the whole “Why did you let me die?” spiel. I explain to them that they should be waiting for the tank to pull rather than jumping the gun.
“You’re just a @#$% healer”
Ok. You’re still not getting healed until you stop pulling mobs.
They end up leaving and we go on to finish the dungeon, 4-man style.
Don’t let DPS run roughshod over you. A lot of these players don’t realize that the game play has changed with coming from retail, and it’ll probably take a few healers giving them the business before they figure it out.
Edit: Don’t take the example given as the point of this topic. It was simply used to illustrate the attitudes a lot of DPS have when warned by their healer to throttle their damage output.
The point behind this is to open channels of communication between players, and to make sure those who play a DPS role understand that dungeons are a team effort. If the healer tells you they’re struggling to keep everyone alive due to your actions, it might pay to listen to what they’re saying.
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Typical BFA players thinking they can just pull everything and aoe down
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If you are DPS and need more than a HOT, you are doing it wrong.
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I always give a “stop pulling agro”, after that they die, usually gets their attention.
I don’t mind healing DPS’ers. It’s so damn hard to not aggro off the tank, I have tanked a bit and know first hand. If someone dies, it’s usually because I’m low on mana and politely tell them, “I have to save my mana for our tank; also you have to run back because my brez is also for the tank.”
That usually does the trick. As Durran mentioned, I am also adjusting from the BfA Mythic play style I have become accustom to, and so is a lot of people.
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Or you can have a tank like me that will kick those idiots. Yes, I will kick players who pull ahead of my chain pulling or who don’t follow target markings. Mana and efficiency is important.
After I kicked a rogue in RFK last night we actually ended up four manning it faster than when the rogue was in group. Constant drinking went to never having to drink again.
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I’m playing a Prot pally and can hold my own in regards to AOE tanking because of Consecration, Retribution aura and Righteous fury but frost mages scare me most in terms of how much threat they pull so I give them blessing of Salvation instead of Wisdom lol
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I am going to try to continue my journey while never kicking someone, but I feel like that might be an impossible, idealistic expectation. I was running WC as a bear and had two warriors constantly charging in before me. I don’t know if I should have threatened (pun intended) to kick them or not. Ended up befriending the healer and he and I ran a few other dungeons since.
It might just take those…exuberant DPS’ers a few deaths/runbacks for them to learn but like that takes time and I hate it when someone dies on my watch so not sure what the best answer is.
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A warlock shouldn’t be threat ripping in low-mid level instances. Tab dotting usually keeps you low enough mana that you wand the ladder half of fights to conserve for back to back pulls.
If the tank is either arms cleave tanking or tab sundering with demo shout, this shouldn’t be possible.
It’s very uncomfortable to feel like you need to teach someone how to play their own class in a PUG. They’re almost always going to not be receptive of the information.
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Would be nice for tanks to learn how to skull their primary target.
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You can always make a quick macro to help keep the tank’s target as your target.
/target focustarget
Use this and just have the tank as your focus.
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Why don’t all the other dps just use feign death? Noobs…
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Dps see a skull and think “oh that mob is dangerous don’t attack!” They also only let me hit a mob once before attacking. I only have one taunt man.
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I usually ask the tanks if its ok to aoe since I speced for aoe. They always say ok. Even if it isn’t. Poor healers.
I disagree. Usually when DPS pulls aggro it means they’re doing a good job DPSing. I have no problem with throwing an occasional shield/heal on the Mage or throwing a heal to the rogue along with a renew as long as I’m not OOMing in the middle of a pull. Generally speaking I want the DPS to go as hard as they possibly can. Dungeons clear faster that way. If DPS is targeting what the tank is targeting and letting the tank pull, it’s really not their fault if they pull aggro.
I never anyone die intentionally - the fact that some healers do that when DPS pulls aggro outside of rare circumstances is pretty cringe. The only time I’ll make a conscious decision to let a player die is when it’s a choice between healing them or healing the tank or if they do something suicidal like solo pull an entire room while everyone else is still drinking. And those situations are pretty rare.
I don’t want a good DPS to have to worry about occasionally pulling aggro. A competent healer knows how to deal with that, and it’s expected to happen every couple of pulls if you have well-geared and well-played DPS. Taunt has a short cooldown specifically for that reason.
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what part of my statement do you disagree with again?
Exactly this. In a good run, dps are going to be taking hits. A competent healer heals them through it without complaint. Doesn’t mean pulling every mob and eating huge damage, but healers should expect to heal the whole group, not just the tank.
On the other hand, if the healer is struggling, the dps should be savvy enough to back off. What the OP described is incredibly cringeworthy though.
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Im a healer, I don’t care. It’s a low level instance, the tank obviously can’t get enough rage to be an uber tank and a lot of classes are just threat mongers and no threat dump.
I just bubble and renew them and they usually can take care of themselves.
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When I let a crazy DPS aggro puller die… the 4 man does way better, always.
I do what I can to keep the mad DPS’er alive, but not at the expense of a OOM wipe.
They figure it out pretty quick.
Been doin this 15 years
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It will eventually sort itself out at higher levels. I tried explaining to a group yesterday that I need to have mobs hit me to gain rage. So if they’re not hitting me I literally cannot help you. Also taunt’s range in vanilla is melee range. I can’t taunt them from across the room like retail
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