I can’t really say I’m elitist, but if I were to run chain heroics or join a 10 man or 25 man raid, I would definitely prefer to run with my guildmates than with PUGs (or Pick Up Groups). For one thing, it’s less painful and if you do end up wiping and dying a lot, it’s not that stressful since you know you’re on the same level as your guildmates. In a PUG, you never know who’s super hardcore and who’s casual. And if a hardcore player joins with a casual player, you know that their ideals will never match.
But just because I have a preference, it doesn’t mean that I won’t ever join PUGs. In fact, I believe that PUGs aren’t THAT bad. Here are my reasons:
1. You get to meet new friends. Well, that’s pretty much self-explanatory! World of Warcraft is played by a million people of different races (and I’m not talk about Horde or Alliance races!) It’ fascinating when you get to talk and bond with people who are so different from you!
2. It’s better than waiting for hours and hours for guildies to show up. If you come from a small, tight guild, you know what I’m talking about!
3. There’s always a diamond in the rough. Some of the best players in our guild, we discovered them via PUGs. Sure, there are a lot of noobs in PUGs out there, but there are also a lot of players with great potential! If you’re a guild who needs to recruit people, then joining PUGs are the best way to go! In a PUG, you’ll be able to gauge their skills and their personalities, too. Especially when you keep on wiping.
4. PUGs are always good for entertainment. If you get stuck with a noob PUG, just suck it up and enjoy the ride. Second to guild chat, PUG chat is probably one of the most entertaining things in World of Warcraft.
5. PUGs are an excellent venue for improving your skills. I speak from experience as a healer. If I always ran with my guild who are pretty much leet great players, I probably won’t learn much as a healer. I’ll probably just slack off, and heal mindlessly while I watch TV, hehe. But if you always join noob PUGs, you’ll end up trying your best to keep everyone alive!
So join a PUG today! But don’t say I didn’t warn you!
