User:Xeeron/Guide to PuG leading

PuGing, using a pick up group, has become synonymous with horrible experiences in guild wars, vastly inferior to heroes and henchmen. It need not be that way. Almost all parts of guild wars can be successfully completed with pick up groups, even those consisting of bad or new players, if the leadership is good.

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Step 1: There is only one leader

And the leader is the person on top of the party list. There are two important corollaries from this:

1. If you are not willing to lead, don't be on top of the party list.
2. If you are not on top of the party list, shut up about leading.

Of course a party can expect the leader to have knowledge of the task at hand. Don't lead unless you know what to do. Furthermore, leaders should have basic knowledge of all guild wars classes to evaluate their party members builds.

Step 2: Pick the right team

You are the one with the invite/kick button, so if the party goes in without healer it is your fault. With heroes around, there is no excuse for having an important position in the party not filled.

Step 3: Have them ping the builds

Wise leaders always ask your team members to ping their builds. However, don't be arrogant! Your team members have just as much a right to see your build as you have to see theirs. So whenever you ask for builds, ping your own build first, lead by example. Do not kick because party members will not immediately ping their build, give everyone a fair chance to respond (try PMing them for a audible ping in case they have guild wars temporarily minimized).

Step 4: Correct the builds

If you see something horribly wrong, point it out to the person. Do NOT diss their build, simply suggest a better way to do it. Never ask people to remove a skill, always ask them to replace a skill, naming the skill you want them to run instead. If they disagree with you, listen to them, they might have a point. Also, never push your favorite build on people. Just because you think that Inspired Hex is the coolest hex removal ever, other hex removals are not invalid and the favorite might depend on individual preferences. Don't micromanage your team members every skill, just make sure they have the general tools needed at hand. Also, be open for new ideas: Just because you don't know the build it does not follow that it is bad. When asking members to change a build, consider that players know how to use their current build, if they had to change, they might suffer from lack of experience with the new build.

Remember, some people have not unlocked all the skills. If they don't have a skill, don't kick them for lack of it, try to work around it, almost all skills do have a close substitute.

Step 5: State clearly what your party is going to do

Before entering the mission, state clearly in team chat what you will do. E.g. "We will do NM plus bonus". It is one short sentence that can prevent misunderstandings later on in the mission.

Step 6: Kick people unwilling to listen

Don't be shy to kick people from your party. If you have asked them kindly to change a key skill and they refuse to listen, or if they are afk even after asked the third time, get rid of them. Better to spend one more minute searching a better member then one hour being angry at your team.

Step 7: Designate a caller

If you play a damage class, be the caller yourself. If you are not, designate one caller and make sure that person knows how to call and wants to call. Same goes for puller if one is needed.

Step 8: Use the map to direct your team

The leader should know where to stand, which group to aggro and how to pull. If you do not, don't lead.

Step 9: Praise your team members if they do good

Everyone knows that being praised does wonders for moral, so if people in your group do well, tell them.

Step 10: Enjoy playing with humans instead of NPCs

Yes, it is possible! Guild wars is not a single player game yet and following the 9 steps above, you can play with humans without most of the drawbacks.