Pug FTW! And Pug FTL :(

This week has been an interesting mix of Pugs.

One of Memento's Guildies, Takkarian, is working on the Shadowmourne quest line... Kind of. We don't have enough people to hold a pug-free ICC 10 man, so we sure as heck can't do a 25 man. So Takk finds a pug for  ICC25 every week that he can, hoping to pick up the blood that he needs.

I'm BrewMastering on Ann, minding my own business, happily Zooming along on a racing ram, when Takk says that some DPS dropped group, and if I would like to come, I would.

They're on Rotface. There is one other person in there that has the Shadowmourne quest, and Mr. Paladin already has the blood from Rotface, and since Takk already has the blood from Festergut. It's a win-win situation. All we have to do is successfully smash Rotface's head into the floor.

I generally don't like to get pulled into the middle of raids, but  there are some really good looking items that drop from Rotface (Namely Corpse-Impaling Spike and Dislodged Foreign Object), Takk needed the people to down Rotface so he could get the blood, and It's Sunday evening. So I go.

I think that 20 out of 25 people had no idea what they were doing in there. We wiped 3 times, because people weren't getting cleansed, the kiter kept getting hit by the Big Ooze, and no one was focusing heals on the kiting tank. The second pull was so much fun though. As soon as we walked in the door, the Pally tank does his I NEED AGGRO NOW thing, and I cast slow. Rotface runs over to where I'm standing and smashes me in the face, thinking that I'm the tank. I spend the entire fight dead on the floor. Now, dying once is acceptable, we regroup, figure out where we messed up, and fix it. Twice is sort of miserable. Third time, we get a little farther, and we still get smashed in the face, probably before he hits 80% health.
The raid leader calls it. There are no BOE's or Saronites to roll on, I get no frosties, and I now cannot do ICC 25 during this lockout. Thank you fail pug of failness. You are Abysma-Terribad.

Monday night rolls around, and there's an ICC 25 pug that I want to get in on my priest! Score, There is another guildy or 2 in there, and figure it's a good place to be. Asherrylie can use a lot of upgrades from ICC 25. (A LOT!) I can't go. My GS is "Too Low" even though in 10-man I've healed Dreamwalker, and Healed through Sindragosa (still not successfully, but we'll get there eventually). This dude doesn't even have the balls to whisper me back to tell me I can't go, instead he says it in Raid chat to my guildies who are trying to get me a spot.

I find a raid that is a 10-man looking for "Exceptional DPS", so I get on Ann and hoof it over there. Mara is on, so we both team up to try to win at this run.

Let me tell you that it was amazing. Darkened Cross from Hydraxis-US, you made our night. We got through the first 6 bosses without a hitch, and Mara and I learned some new phrases "We've got some Angry cloth Shoulders here, if anyone wants them".

We get to PP and wipe like 3 times, but, it's a Pug, and we kept getting blown up by oozes, it happens and Professor is a pain in the butt anyways. Mara and I have a hoot of a night, laughing at how much fun this is, and how this is probably one of the best PUG's we've been in in a very long time. We're practically rolling on the floor before we get to log off for the night, and we were on kind of late for us... but it was totally worth it.

Who I am

What is the name, class, and spec of your primary dps?
Annmariah, Mage. Currently Arcane, but Fire at heart.

What is your primary dpsing environment? (i.e. raids, pvp, 5 mans)
Raids. 5 mans if I'm lucky and I need to grind emblems, but usually only raiding.

What is your favorite dps spell/ability for your class and why?
Living Bomb! What's a better spell than turning your target into a bomb and having them explode on their friends?

What dps spell do you use least for your class and why?
Ice Lance. I loved using it for that short time I got to play as frost, but now I have to freeze them, then blast them in the face, and it just doesn't happen enough.

What do you feel is the biggest strength of your dps class and why?
Huge amounts of damage. Amazing AOE dps. Generally killing things faster. Also, we have a low learning curve, I think.
What do you feel is the biggest weakness of your dps class and why?
In a raiding situation, only one spec is currently "viable" it is doing tons more dps and there is generally no need for any other specs (at the moment, it's Frost and Fire that don't get any love) and I don't really get to play the spec that I want to, while still doing a good job as a DPSer

In a 25 man raiding environment, what do you feel, in general, is the best dps assignment for you?
Blowing up the boss. I have a pretty short attention span, so if you ask me to do more than one thing at once, then it's certainly being a glutton for punsihment. Plus, I'm a mage. If I'm moving, I'm not doing any damage

What dps class do you enjoy dpsing with most and why?
Warlocks. It always feels like a competition when I am DPSing with a warlock, it's a mental thing, I suppose. Also, they have the crit debuff for the boss that I don't get as an arcaine mage (which I don't have to remember to put up as a fire mage either!)

What tanking class do you enjoy dpsing with least and why?
As much as it's overrated, I have to say Death Knights. It's really hard (at least on my server) to find a good DK tank. Also, I don't think they get aggro in the best way for me as a mage.

What is your worst habit as a dps?
Not switching off the boss to adds.

What is your biggest pet peeve in a group environment while dpsing?
Dying. More specifically, it's dying because DPS aren't doing what they're supposed to (including myself)

Do you feel that your class/spec is well balanced with other dps?
As arcane, Yes! I do a "normal" amount of damage when compaired to everyone else. It's easy to gear for.
As fire? No. any fight where there is movement there is many moments where I'm losing DPS that I just can't get back. Gearing is hard, I have to figure out what the magic haste number is for Fire (which I still haven't figured out)

What tools do you use to evaluate your own performance as a damage dealer?
The boss dying. Recount. Fatality (If I died because of my own fault, or someone elses)

What do you think is the biggest misconception people have about your class?
That it's "easy" to play a mage. Sure, it's easy if you just want to play it, but if you want to play it well it takes time and effort.

What do you feel is the most difficult thing for new dpsers of your class to learn?
Hit balance. You need very little hit as an Arcane mage, but the full 17% as a fire mage. It's all about balancing out your gear.

What dps class do you feel you understand least?
Probably the Paladin or rogue, but that's because I've never leveled a toon up in those classes.

What add-ons or macros do you use, if any, to aid you in dps?
Mik's Scrolling Battle Text (useful for Procs) and I use nUI's built in cast timer (It has a latency feature like Quartz does). Also, I've macroed all of my cooldowns to my main spam button as an arcane mage. (PoM, Icy Veins, Trinkets, Arcane Power all to Arcane Blast)

Strength over other stats or balanced stat allocation, and why?
Again, it depends on the class. As arcane, All I need is Spellpower, really. If I go back to fire, I have to balance things out to be useful.