04-17-2011, 06:07 PM
Currently have an 85 Enhancement/Elemental Shaman (main in Cata and BC, raider), Blood/Frost DK (ex-main from WotLK, over 5k chievo points), 85 Holy Pally, 85 Beast Mastery Hunter, 85 Sub Rogue, 85 Fury Warrior, 80 Frost Mage, another 80 Fury Warrior (don't ask), 75 Disc/Shadow Priest, and a 70 Demonology Warlock. Those are on my main server, Twisting Nether. I also have a 56 Druid on Tichondrius that I haven't touched in a while.
So, you know, I have some experience.
And in my opinion, what Milk has stated about the game is completely true: some of the mechanics of your class just flat out don't get taught or come up during the course of leveling. Shamans forget they have Purge, Mages fail to realize they can Spellsteal, both forget they have interrupts. The incoming damage while they were leveling are so inconsequential that new players probably just ignore it, OR assume that someone else will do it.
Is PvP an answer? Can it teach people? It used to. I certainly didn't start using all the tools in my Shaman's particular kit nearly as well until I had some good ol' fun at level 60 AV. This was Burning Crusade, though, and people didn't have another two expansion's worth of padding to their abilities. PvP at lower levels is such a fucking joke now that most sane people just skip it unless they have some kind of fetish for getting one-shotted by Rogues. Which is a pity, because one of the most valuable lessons you can learn in PvP is how useful it can be to watch a target's cast bar and interrupt heals.
So it's entirely understandable that some players reach max level not knowing this shit. Does that excuse repeatedly refusing NOT learning it when it's apparent they should? Nope, not that either.
The fault is really with both Blizzard and the players; the former for not making any effort or encouragement to teach, the latter for failing to adapt. Even if you weren't taught, these aren't hard lessons. There are nuances to be sure ("Hey, wait to use your CC until the Hunter trap goes down, because his is a pain in the ass to use in combat"), but they're pretty basic.
The culture of shifting responsibility onto other people needs to go.
So, you know, I have some experience.
And in my opinion, what Milk has stated about the game is completely true: some of the mechanics of your class just flat out don't get taught or come up during the course of leveling. Shamans forget they have Purge, Mages fail to realize they can Spellsteal, both forget they have interrupts. The incoming damage while they were leveling are so inconsequential that new players probably just ignore it, OR assume that someone else will do it.
Is PvP an answer? Can it teach people? It used to. I certainly didn't start using all the tools in my Shaman's particular kit nearly as well until I had some good ol' fun at level 60 AV. This was Burning Crusade, though, and people didn't have another two expansion's worth of padding to their abilities. PvP at lower levels is such a fucking joke now that most sane people just skip it unless they have some kind of fetish for getting one-shotted by Rogues. Which is a pity, because one of the most valuable lessons you can learn in PvP is how useful it can be to watch a target's cast bar and interrupt heals.
So it's entirely understandable that some players reach max level not knowing this shit. Does that excuse repeatedly refusing NOT learning it when it's apparent they should? Nope, not that either.
The fault is really with both Blizzard and the players; the former for not making any effort or encouragement to teach, the latter for failing to adapt. Even if you weren't taught, these aren't hard lessons. There are nuances to be sure ("Hey, wait to use your CC until the Hunter trap goes down, because his is a pain in the ass to use in combat"), but they're pretty basic.
The culture of shifting responsibility onto other people needs to go.
![[Image: Bellesig6-1.jpg]](http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff137/catseye543/Bellesig6-1.jpg)