So here we are at the tail end of LK and my casually hardcore guild is moving thru ICC ( 10 man) at a pass that is very pleasing to our guild. Those are Tues. and Fri. night for Grai to strap on the holy set and heal and laugh and joke and be silly with my guildies. The 3 or 4 other night I seriously play are for the alts. This odyssey of PuG progression went ahead full steam when Blizzard added VoA. The guild I was in at that time wasn't concerned with consistent raiding but would do VoA if we happened to have it on a scheduled raid night. So I started having a extra lockout or two, Grai and Fal being the only two at cap back then. Trade at this time would have people looking to fill groups. The chance for purples and a passenger mount lured me into what I had always thought of a dark dangerous place to go a PuG raid. I don't even remember now if it was successful or not. What I do remember was that I wasn't ridiculed and apparently had the skill on my toons to do my part of the raid.
So as the alts leveled I was faced with a dilemma take a very limited raid slot or PuG if I wanted them to experience end game. At this time I was raid leading for my previous guild so I wrapped myself in a altruistic ideal that I would PuG the alts so as not to deny someone else the opportunity to see that content on their main. It was during this time that I had inadvertently caused some “micro” guild drama by hurting someone's feelings. Shortly after that I choose to leave that guild and see if I wanted to join a true hardcore progression guild. I had a couple standing offers and good friend and old guildy saw that I was unguilded and invited instantly. I declined and told him that I wanted to wander a bit. I had multiple 80's by now and trade chat was always lively with people looking for spots in raids.
So a unconscious decision to raid everyone led me to hang out with most of the folks from my old guild. We decide right from the first that we wanted to raid but at our casually hardcore pace. Let me define what I mean by casually hardcore. Any of these folks could be in true progression guilds we know are classes and we adapt well to what the fights require. In this though we decided that our raids are about having fun and kicking ass, nothing can match the feeling of getting a boss with your friends that many of them haven't. For me it doesn't have to be my first kill for me to feel that “we” accomplished something together. So as we are progressing our raid leader asked us to define a main toon and main and off specs. The perfect solution for me Grai would belong to the guild primarily as a healer but if need be I can be the meat shield still. Woot 5 toons that could be free to PuG if the spirit strikes me.
The one that stands out as a fluke a freak chance whatever you wanna say is the priest. Between badges and crafted items he hit 80 moderately geared. The guild raid that night was filled and I was a alternate, so I bounce over to the priest figuring I'd do a random heroic. Well a 25 man ToC was forming needed ranged dps so I throw a whisper get a invite. Now he might have been 80 3 days at this point. What proceeded was a loot palooza for him and a 25 man ToC cheeve. That was the day that pugging to me became really fun.
Nowdays its a silly joke in my current guild that I'm off pugging something somewhere. I get asked how I get into normally good ones. I don't have a answer lol. I know normally that I generally know someone in the most random of random pugs. Be they old guildies or someone that I have pugged with before, One of the best recent memories also contains one of the oddest. A guildy and I were in a PuG for ICC 10 We were looking for a healer old guildie joined then left never a word. The good was the run we had 2 druid healers on insanely geared and one properly geared for ICC 10. The pug was truly amazing made it to rotface when time conspired to make us call it. Next day same guildy and I on different alts join a VoA 25 and the person building it was on a alt of his also. He was one of the tanks for the ICC group and I dont remember for VoA. But it was hey are you the same person from last night which lead to who was who's alt. Maybe that's the answer just network.
SO that a rambling journey of how and why I love to pug raids. Next Tuesday hopefully some new bosses our at least funny people watching. The gang is gonna go pugging......
