Do you like damage and healing meters?

#0 - March 12, 2008, 10:14 p.m.

I'll admit, I do watch to see how I compare against others. But I think [particularly while pugging] people get too obsessed with the meters and forget they are part of a group and have a job to do. All they care about is where they are on the meter.

As a mage, I tend to pay attention to other mages more than I pay attention to other classes, so I'll use mages as an example. I see players that don't sheep, decurse, whatever; just because they don't want to stop the damage for 2 seconds. They don't let the tank get aggro, they pull aggro and don't keep track of their threat, etc.

What's your opinion on damage/healing meters?

Drysc

#45 - March 13, 2008, 12:25 a.m.

Aside from some of the inherent inaccuracies that exist with them, and the over obsession some have with the end result, I think some of them can be used to great effect for their statistical tracking and analysis. The end of the raid spam with the numbers of where everyone placed is inconsequential to me. If there's negative reinforcement needed, that isn't the way to go about it. If you want to see where you are, and let's face it it's kind of fun to see you're doing well, then go for it. I just don't personally see any benefit to putting up a spreadsheet of comparison. It only works to demean others in a situation where you're supposed to be working together. If you see a problem then offer some one-on-one help or advice, if there's a larger issue then your GL should be watching and be able to pick that out and deal with it appropriately. If you want to know how well you're doing, or how other members are performing, then use one yourself.

I've been known to post stats of course if someone asks or someone posts numbers that are far different than my own, but I think they're infinitely more valuable for analysis, breakdowns, and comparisons which can help lead to better and more efficient play. Just showing what "place" everyone came in at isn't helpful, and in most cases detrimental to the elements of group play. But that's just my opinion.

Drysc

#193 - March 13, 2008, 9:44 p.m.

Q u o t e:
This opinion appears to be shared by every CM universally; actually remarkable. I wonder at the possibility that part of Blizzard's interview process involves the question: "Are you mortally terrified at the concept of competition?"

If you want to be competitive that's great, I compete using meters all the time, but is it a competition when you're just calling out everyone in your raid and pointing out how well/bad they're doing without their consent? Does competition need to come at the price of possibly humiliating someone for your own goals? Maybe everyone in your raid is totally fine with it, or maybe they just say they are. You can have a competition by looking at your own meters though, and if someone is under performing there are better ways to let them know they need to step it up, or offer them some help.

Contrary to the actions of many of the guilds I've been in, most of the major aspects of the game are intended to actually be about co-operation, and not competition or selfish behavior.

Maybe the interview process takes into account maturity, selflessness, and compassion?

Drysc

#200 - March 13, 2008, 11:42 p.m.

Q u o t e:
Sometimes people need to know that they suck. Posting the meters in raid chat lets ppl know that they need to step it up or get gkicked.

And that's not possible to relate to them in a personal manner, through a whisper perhaps? Something that may actually help them instead of just trying to force them to do better through negative reinforcement? If you're not able to speak with people on a personal level about their performance, and have to result to passive aggressive behavior, then you should not be a guild leader.