Guild Wars 2

I don’t pretend to be an expert but I know what it takes to run a dungeon. For many, dungeons seem to be frustrating but with a well-coordinated group (even if no one knows how to run a certain path) it can be a fun and rewarding experience.

I was a bad dungeoner and I’ve also had my fair share of bad pugs but in time I came to learn. Based on these experiences, I just wanted to share some simple tips when it comes to dungeon pugging.

1) Come prepared with every weapon type available to your class. You’ll need the right tool for the right job- be it DPS, support, melee only, ranged only, etc. Even if you don’t know the dungeon, you’ll have what you need to succeed.

2) Let the group know that you are new and not experienced. Ask for directions-never assume. If you yourself cannot lead a group smoothly to the end, you are still considered inexperienced.

3) Appoint a leader and listen to him/her well. Keep your eyes on the chat for directions. It doesn’t help if your group is all over the place doing different things. More often than not, you’ll wipe.

4) I won’t get into build specifics but let it be known that dungeons are about group cohesion. By this, I mean that you must think of the group before yourself. If you have skills that can protect the group, use it. If you have skills that increase group DPS, use it. Many don’t realize that buffing your group increases your overall survivabilty and DPS, making dungeons a lot faster and easier.

[Ex: Guardians using Wall of Reflection to negate 100% of ranged damage and increase DPS. Warriors using Banners and Shouts instead of Signets.]

These, I believe, are the most quintessential elements to succeeding in PUG groups. If you guys have anything to share or more tips, feel free to add to the list.

A corollary to 2):
In fractals, learn all the fights before progressing to later tiers. If you make it to 20+ and do not know the mechanics, do everyone a favor and go back to the lower tiers. Not knowing basic mechanics sub-10 and some of the additional mechanics 10-15 is forgivable, but at 20+, each player is expected to know what they are doing.

As none of the other dungeons have similar progression mechanics, this applies only to fractals.

That number 2 post is like soo important. I mean I dont know how many times someone doesnt speak up and the run takes twice as long. It just ends up resulting in a kick. SO JUST ADMIT YOU ARE NEW, then people could explain. If they dont want you then no time i wasted, and you look for a new party

Good guide, thanks! I am getting into dungeons atm – done a bit of AC, CM and CoF and a few levels of fractals. The most important things seem to be to come well-geared for survivability, flexibility and group support, listen to the leader, and be open if you are new to the dungeon. Those basics are serving me pretty well and I’m having a lot of fun.

One other thing is how to tell if you get into a bad PUG before things hit the fan. Multiple undergeared uncommunicative members, rude leaders, and leaders that boast about how much they know and/or how great they were in WoW all seem to be red flags. In fact, if I see them now I just make a polite excuse and leave before we even start.

In addition to number 2.

If you’re new to someone, and someone gives you instructions, kittenING FOLLOW THEM. If you’re new, that’s fine I’ll tell you what you need to do. But for kittens sake, if I tell you to do something and you just sit there and don’t do it or go “why?” then I’m probably going to kick you.