Quite recently, Blizzard the creator of World of Warcraft has done something rather innovative to a 7 years old online game. They put together a mechanism to automatically matchmaking 25 random players from around the world to form a raid to slay dragons and more. This is a five times expansion of the existing 5-man party assembler. Traditionally, large scale raiding requires solid dedication of time, effort, sacrifices, and good networking skill. And it is handsomely rewarded within the game with a deep scene of achievement. Late last year, first time in Blizzard’s history, this aspect of the game has been opened up to the casual players. That includes Cynthia and I and some of our friends who now have the opportunity to see a part of the game that was used to be exclusive to only 2% of the player base. Now, any Tonk, Hick, and Sally can raid Deathwing – the final villain of this Cataclysm expansion – in a specially tune down version that is less demanding. OK. Deathwing may not be that elite in this LFR (looking for raid) setting. But it is the same not so sexy back we parachute onto (see picture above), elite or not! I often think that asking 25 strangers who may not have worked together before and to play a 90 minutes game is quite a feat – for Blizzard and for us.
Previously, I talked about the three roles that one can choose within the game. Similar to a football match, the melee players are like the strikers, always up close and personal with the goal. Mid fielders are like the casters throwing spells from the back. Both are constantly attacking. Healers in the game are like the defenders in a football field. Finally, goalkeeper is like a tank role in World of Warcraft. You don’t need many. One tank is required for a 5-man party. Two tanks are required for a 25-man party. Of these few roles, I enjoy tanking the most, partly due to its huge responsibility and the demand of a low margin of error. After all, you may have a few strikers by your side to pick up the slack when you miss the kick. When a goalkeeper misses the ball, the opposite scores.
After weeks of trying out the different roles in Dragon Soul (LFR), I have put together a tanking guide to help fellow tanks who are new to raiding. Unless there is a popular demand, I probably would not put up a guide for the other two roles. Because they are rather straightforward compares to tanking.
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