Instance and Grouping Basics (WoW)  

This guide covers some basic information on grouping. Mostly it deals with instances though many of the points listed here can translate into just general quest groups as well. The audience for this isn't raiders, or even new raiders, but people who haven't grouped much or are looking for a little information on grouping. These can be level 13 players heading into Ragefire Chasm or level 70's who sprinted to the level cap and are now looking to run some instances or anyone in between.

That's not to say that some of this doesn't apply in raids, it's just to say that if you're reading this and thinking "That's stupid, in my raid it's X" then you probably don't need to read this guide. Hopefully someone who's made it fairly far in raiding will write a grouping for raids guide soon.

Note these also apply to at or near level groups. If you're having a level 70 run you through things then many of these won't apply.

General Tips

Forming/Joining a Group

The success of a group doesn't begin when you get to the instance, it begins when you initially form or join a group. Generally speaking, for a successful group you need a tank, a healer and DPS. For Low to Mid level runs, even off-specced classes can perform these roles. Whether they want to or not is a different story.

• Don't, at any point in the party, haul out the tired "It's my $15 a month I'll play how I want". That's sort of true, very true when playing solo. But keep in mind, in a group, it's the rest of the group's $60 a month and if you don't want to play as a group (which is what that comment implies) then you shouldn't be part of it anyway. It's fairly likely you'll get kicked (kicked out of the group) if you trot that bad boy out.

Inviting

• Do's
• When inviting strangers, always Whisper them first to ask them if they want to join your group. Be specific about what instance you're running and don't assume what their role is. Some priests are specced Shadow and don't want to heal, others may be willing to heal if not specced for it. So ask for what you need, like: "Sorry to bother you, are you specced for healing or would you be interested in healing an SM Cath run?". Not only is this polite, but a lot of players have add-ons that auto-block blind invites. That person may want to go with you but if you just invite without a whisper you're going to get declined.
• If someone says "No Thanks", thank them for their time and look for someone else.
• If you're finding people in the Looking for Group (LFG) tool be sure to check their notes. Many off-specs or hybrids will put in there what they're specced for or willing to do. It's annoying to have put that information in there and have people completely ignore it.
• For higher level instances, feel free to check someone's armory to see if they're geared well enough or how you would expect. Just know that some people have "Walking around town" or soloing sets of gear that they may have been wearing the last time they logged off and these aren't necessarily indicative of their actual gear. It can help, but you could also lose out on a really great tank that had low armor and avoidance because they had their DPS set on.

• Don'ts
• Don't wait until the group is formed to figure out who the tank and healer are (or figure out if you even have one).
• Don't berate people for not playing or speccing the way you want them to. If you needed a different role that they're not willing to fill you should have found that out beforehand (se Do's)
• Don't pester people to go with you. If they say no, they really don't want to go.

Being Invited

• Do's
• Ask what role they expect you to play before accepting the invitation. If it's not something you're willing to do, tell them.
• If you're not overly familiar or comfortable with the instance or with grouping in general, say so. Sure, some groups will drop you for your inexperience but that's probably a good thing as the run won't be fun for anyone. The groups that keep you are likely to help you out a great deal, raising both your experience level and your comfort level. It's just polite to let people know what to expect from you.
• Don'ts
• Don't accept an invitation if you can't give your full time and attention to the group. Sure, things come up occasionally, but if you know you're parents are going to call you for dinner in 30 minutes or you're babysitting a rambunctious terrier that is constantly getting into things you don't have the time or attention for an instance run. Keep in mind that every time you say "brb" and are gone for 20 minutes you're wasting 4 other people's time and too many of those can turn a 90 minute run into a 4 hour one.
• Say hi when you join the group!

Prepping For and Getting To the Instance

• Do's
• Make sure that you have all of the reagents, ammunition, shards, food, water, etc. you will need for the run. This includes appropriate food for your pet if you're a hunter.
• Make sure that your armor is repaired.
• Participate in party chat if people are trying to work out roles or blessings or whatever. It's very disconcerting to ask a party member a question and have them never reply (to reply in party chat, type /p and your reply) and lately, personally, I'll kick people who don't answer. If you're going to be AFK while you're on a bird or something, just say that.

• Don'ts
• Don't expect people to provide you with consumables or anything else you need.
• Don't expect (or worse, demand) to be summoned to the instance when everyone else is making their own way. It's one thing to say "Hey I need to get some reagents, I'll be there as quick as I can", it's another thing to say "Summon me when you get there".
• Don't berate people for their spec choices. If you have a Shadow Priest doing DPS and a Druid healing and you think you prefer priests healing don't yell at the SPriest for "Not doing his job"

Tips by Role

Tank

Healer

Crowd Control

DPS

Notes on Off-Roles

Tips by Class

Druid

Hunter

Mage

Paladin

Priest

Rogue

Shaman

Warrior

Warlock

World of Warcraft Wikibase™