Discussion on clearing content without your raid group.

[Ghishlain]

I feel doing content with PuGs is acceptable with the following caveats:

1. You're not hindering the group from collecting their loot by reducing the chest pool
2. I would inform your static of that intent and see their response

I personally don't mind my static members to go out and clear content after our raid week is over but I know some players may find that offensive. Yes, it technically doesn't affect them since you're already doing it past your raid nights but some players take pride in clearing content together as a group for their first time and I would gauge your actions around those nuances of your group.

[Penthea]

I was wondering about how people felt about the idea of clearing content in your own time, without any drawback to the group? Do you take the side of clearing it all together, or feeling like each person should be fine to continue their own progression, or even a bit of both? Please let me know, I'm eager to know more and see the sides!

My raid team raids twice a week, on tuesday and thursday. In the raid rules we specifically state to not kill any bosses we plan to fight until we have done both raids, and after that you're free to do as much and any raid content as you like.

One of our tanks frequently does additional raids in party finder after thursdays and it has honestly helped us a lot. Not only does he get gear which made his combat performance even better, he has been able to give us insight to bosses he saw before us or phases of bosses we had not reached yet.

I have to add that his attitude helps. He is a very helpful and perceptive player without an elitist attitude. In the past in another game I saw other players use their additional personal progress as a platform to be rude to others. But that's an attitude issue more than a raid progress issue.

In short, as long as it doesn't hurt the team in any way, I think doing additional raids in your own time is fine.

[Makeda]

One of our tanks frequently does additional raids in party finder after thursdays and it has honestly helped us a lot. Not only does he get gear which made his combat performance even better, he has been able to give us insight to bosses he saw before us or phases of bosses we had not reached yet.

I have to add that his attitude helps. He is a very helpful and perceptive player without an elitist attitude. In the past in another game I saw other players use their additional personal progress as a platform to be rude to others. But that's an attitude issue more than a raid progress issue.
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Oh good to note that. An added concern I had forgot about...

In the past for me... in fact a major reason why I've lacked a "static" in any MMO since 2011... was the results of people who PUGged ahead in poor form.

One fear is people that PUG ahead will abandon the group if they find easy progression elsewhere.

This is a two sided issue: Obviously that person is better served elsewhere... But it also becomes a major issue for smaller statics or statics where some members are still gaining gear or mechanics knowledge...
- Brain and gear drain can kill a group fast.

My old WoW raiding before 2011 kept having that issue. I stayed with them as it was my guild... but everytime I got a new tank 'geared and ready' they'd get poached by a faster progressing guild...

- So FC leadership can "panic" if they see members that look both "able" and "willing" to get poached away... There's no good way to respond to it... because why wouldn't that person jump ship? But if they do... everyone else is hindered, and you can be sure it will become a pattern...

Back in 2010... the more organized 'raider guilds' on my WoW server basically started circling my guild like sharks. They knew we knew how to train raiders... so anyone who hadn't been with us for years, but had been for more than 2 months... started getting whispers and in-game mails...
They'd back off just long enough to let us train a replacement DPS or Tank... and then jump in again... we did finally get past that... but drama between my 'raid lead' and my 'casual lead' is what finally did us in in 2011...

I very much remember the poaching though, and the constant dread we had that people would jump ship as soon as they'd used us to learn fights and get 'ahead' in gear...

[TaleraRistain]

If you're not hindering the group in any way and you're not breaking any rules that you were informed of and agreed to when you joined, it's none of their business what you do in your spare time.

I've always shaken my head at the chest thing. Loot lockout is fine, but I've never understood the chest reduction just because someone has cleared. The cleared person can't get any of the loot. But the game actively discourages you from helping your friends because just by joining them to help out you will hurt them.

[Hierro]

If, for example, your raid group does their raiding on tuesdays, wednesdays, and thursdays, and you cleared on friday? no problem at all. If your group is still in the middle of progging and won't clear that week, no problem then.


But if you cleared on wednesday and you guys were all close to clearing, then you're a bad person.