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| 6th. In the end, its all about the numbers. |
Last night I failed to bring the numbers. If you know the first fight in the Moshugan Vaults then you will be aware that to succeed (and to not hit the enrage timer) all your DPS are going to need to bring at least 44k to the table. What makes this screenie all the more significant is the priest at #3 swapped out of healing to dps when it became apparent we weren't going to do it. He should have stayed healing. Last night, I did not do what was required.
My hunter compatriot wasn't rocking the same spec as me, but was able to contribute (on average) 8-10k dps more than me per fight. The next question, as far as I am concerned now becomes: why?
Our gear is, if truth be told, pretty much comparable. He's Survival, I'm BM, but even switching spec last night to match his could not give a return comparable to his. I was told this morning by my husband that I failed to grasp a fundamental mechanic (you should always attack lions in pairs, never a solo lion even if it's the one charging for overload because of the damage reduction a single lion possesses) but even so... 10k. That's a MASSIVE difference. My Paladin mate also has a dps issue but a great deal of that cannot and should not be laid at his door because as melee, he has his work cut out to begin with. I'm at range, I can pretty much pick and choose where I stand and (assuming not encumbered by Chains) should have far more opportunity to actually do damage. The question remains: why am I not bringing the numbers?
I am as well geared as it is possible for me to be considering the circumstances of my rep position. I have maxxed Valor every week and bought items according to gear lists. I am optimally enchanted, gemmed and reforged. At this point, I am left with one very simple possibility. We apply Occam's Razor and the answer to my question becomes clear: I am the problem.
I get confused in fights and forget cooldowns. When I macro them I forget to use the macros. I spend more time concentrating on the floor and not stepping in stuff than I do putting dps into the boss. I am not capable of co-ordinating with the speed and dexterity of my hunter friend, who is not only capable of all these things, he can also tell me on Teamspeak when I should be moving when I forget I should. These are my failings, and no amount of gear and macroing will ever solve these problems. The only way I will ever improve my dps in these circumstances is by doing better than I did, and by learning to do things differently. I do not expect to be carried, and as GM I cannot be critical of anyone else until I am capable of doing so myself.
When I look at people complaining on the forums they are nerfed or that things are too hard, it makes me wonder if they have take the time to stop and think about all of these things. I also wonder, when I look at people who effectively leave characters because they 'don't work for them' if these people did their best and were able to take a long hard look at all the problems that there were to solve, and not just the ones that involved Blizzard making the game easier. I don't want an easy game, I need one that makes me think and demands I work it out and expects me to do the absolute best I am capable of. When my best isn't enough, it isn't Blizzard's responsibility to meet me halfway. If I want it, I should have to work for it. I shouldn't be able to buy my way to success either: I purchased a Tigers Deck this morning (as it is the last day of the Fair) as I know it is a major upgrade but with the knowledge that extra stat boost only means something if I make the most of it. Just having the numbers is pointless if you cannot maximise their potential.
I click my abilities and don't use a keyboard. I'm a keyboard turner. Both of these things I know are sub-optimal, and will require a major shift in co-ordination after eight years. I'll still get confused and forget stuff, and I'm not sure how I can cope in situations where I know every ounce of dps will count. The most sensible solution is also remarkably easy: I just don't pick myself any more. If there are better players who can bring the bigger numbers it is a simple equation: bring those people to beat the content. Then of course we move into a whole different moral predicament: should it be about beating the content at all? Should you not pick your pace over the need to run to the line? If everyone else is faster than you, there comes a point where it could become unfair to expect them to wait, where you could be seen to hold them back rather than be helpful to the overall cause. These are the problems you need to deal with as a GM. These are the things I must consider before our next raid.
I need to improve the player I am and what I an capable of doing.
There is a very good reason why L2P can be as abusive a phrase as it is. If you can, then it is likely you will never understand the issues that arise if you can't. Knowing you can't, and admitting that fact is often very difficult. Objectivity can often be too painful and it becomes easier just to either ignore the problem or blame it on someone else, and not yourself. The fact of the matter remains in this case: I am the one who needs to change, and I need to find ways I can do that which I can easily grasp and that will have decent, long term benefits to my playstyle. In the end, I need to pull my weight, and if I'm not capable of doing that then the solution is fairly straightforward. Blizzard tell us to bring the person and not the toon, but that only works to a point. I don't expect anyone else to change one iota of anything because I can't bring what's required at this point. The responsibility rests firmly on my shoulders. I just wish more people would understand that when you can't bring the numbers it might have something to do with the person playing...
