Controlling the Crowd Control

I recently read a post by my friend Veneretio which dealt with "The Druid Complex." The premise is that druids felt, and feel, the need to compensate for whatever reason. You can read his post, in its entirety, by going here.

So let's talk about crowd control.

As a seasoned tank, I no longer focus on excess crowd control. I prefer to have at least a rogue, hunter, or warlock in my group most of the time, but usually I'm more concerned with player competency than class ability.

It wasn't always like that, though. Back when The Burning Crusade was first released & groups were just learning the level 70 dungeons such as Shadow Labyrinth it was hard to find a good, hassle-free group. It wasn't unusual to ask for a mage, rogue, or hunter to at least have one form of crowd control for the large pulls. But for the budding tanks who were a step ahead, because we as tanks had to be, the numerous forms of crowd control available were as much nuisance as they were beneficial.

Players want to use crowd control.

Many players feel they have something to prove. Nothing brings out this feeling like that of a class which, in the mainstream mindframe, brings nothing to a group except damage. This occurs most frequently with rogues & hunters as they are very popular classes. Aside from dealing damage, what exactly are these players doing 90% of the time? Picking their nose? Clipping their toe nails?

Blizzard has taken care to help address these issues over the years. It affected me personally as my rogue saw several changes to Sap. It used to be that the ability would remove a rogue from Stealth. Only rogues with a few points in another talent tree could Sap & return to Stealth. That was changed to make it easier to obtain those talent points. Then the talent was removed completely & all rogues were given this ability. As for hunters, the trap cooldowns were changed, but they were also allowed to place traps during combat.

When players such as rogues & hunters join groups, they know that next to nothing is expected of them. They are high in supply & easily replaced. They are completely disposable.

I'm just trying to help!

So hunters often ask for a target icon to trap, rogues often go ahead & Sap if there are no icons. This comes from an overwhelming since of, just as Veneretio stated, insecurity. They know they are disposables deep, down inside & want desperately to show how great of a player they are. They want to contribute their portion to the group — to belong, to earn, to perform.

You don't always have to help.

Just do your job. That's all we want & if we need you, that's great! I'm glad you're a capable player who is willing to go above & beyond your calling. However, there is a time & place for everything. Let me do my job, and then you can better do yours without having to nullify the experience. For some tanks just want a big mobfest for the thrill of it all. For some tanks, there's nothing else left in this game.

Editor's note: Writing this post made me realize a very valuable lesson in real life at the workplace: just do your job, not everyone else's.