The Solo MMO Player has noticed that many WOW players have great gear they don't know how to use. And the reverse is true--many people look down their noses at folks who don't have the latest & greatest gear but who know how to use it to the max to get the job done. The ignorance about gear amazes the Solo MMO Player. So many folks just rate gear on whether it is green or blue or purple or whatever. There is a lot more to it, folks.
The Big Bear Butt's been made aware that the gear he has that is perfectly adequate to getting through Naxx is considered sub-par. Now this is a man who really knows the game. Let me quote him in full,
"If you’re not getting any of the new gear, you’re still able to do your job at the same progression level exactly the same as before. This seems to be a point that is escaping a lot of people, at least on my server. I’ve seen an explosion in pickiness. People looking for more people to join a simple 10 person Naxx pug… that must be in Conquest gear or Trials loot. Seriously, you’re begging for people to join you, but they’ve got to be in the best casual gear out there to even qualify?"
This "great gear a player doesn't understand/adequate gear that gets the job done is sub-par now" diocotomy is causing trouble at the guild raiding level. Let Cold Comfort the raid leader explain what he's running into,
"For content that is well-understood (Naxxramas for example), I don’t really care what level your gear is at, so long as you meet the minimums required to take down the bosses. Even being slightly under the minimums is OK if you have a few strong people willing to pick up the slack. So long as you pull your weight, I’m not going to force you to re-spec or have every slot enchanted. Your GearScore is just a guideline, not a threshold below which you won’t get into a raid. What I cannot tolerate is people who show up well geared without knowing anything about the fights, and continually ask for instructions before each boss encounter."
By the way GearScore is an addon that allows one to mouse over a player to look at their gear instead of having to make a trip to the Armory or Quick Armory.
A tutorial about gear and what it all means is obviously very necessary. I'll see if I can dig one up.
UPDATE: No luck on finding a general gear tutorial yet. We may have to write one. Meanwhile, the Greedy Goblin and his group proved once again it isn't the gear you wear, it's how you play the game. Reading the Comments is very interesting!
http://greedygoblin.blogspot.com/2009/08/ungeared.html
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