Skinning Etiquette
As an avid reader of blogs, I've seen many stories about issues people have run into with other players in their random dungeon. I try to look at my play and make sure I'm not being 'that guy'.
Both my Hunter and Druid are skinners. I haven't had a skinner at max level before. I took skinning on both as a way to make money as I leveled them up. You kill a ton of beasts and it made sense to gather up some skins from them. My Skinning was maxxed very quickly on both toons. In fact, the Druid hit 450 skinning somewhere around Level 73 or 74. Skinning can also take the sting out of someone killing mobs you need for a quest.
Case in point, I was leveling on the Druid in Shaloazar Basin doing the 'Mastery' quest line. If you haven't done the quests, you have to kill 15 of certain types of mobs. When I got to the questing spot, I found these two Warriors working in tandem and clearing out the place. They were alternating Bladestorm cooldowns, with one 'tanking' and the other Bladestorming, then switching. I didn't have a prayer. But I was able to go around and skin all the mobs they were killing. To their credit, when they saw me, they left for another area, and as I finished skinning their kills the mobs started to respawn.
But I've run into a situation in a couple of Random Dungeon groups and I'm not sure what the best way to handle it is. Basically, the situation comes up when there are multiple skinners in the group. After the mobs die, it's a frantic quick click competition to see who can skin the mobs. Sometimes you'll even the skin, or Arctic fur, come up in your loot window only to see it awarded to the other skinner. This is especially important in the 'spider' instances like AN and OK which are a fantastic source of Nerubain Chitin.
Most of the time, I don't even know there is another skinner in the party until we've started the instance, and there isn't much time in the frantic pulling to discuss things. The easiest thing to do would be to inquire if there is another skinner in the party before we get going, but often times the run is started without much time to sort things out ahead of time. This is especially true when I run on the Druid who has to switch specs and gear right as he zones in. I dang near got kicked from a group because I questing as Feral but queued as DPS/Heals and got heals. The group freaked out when they saw I had 4k mana. I was able to get them to let me switch to my Resto Gear (11k mana) before they kicked me.
Then there is the issue of hanging back to actually skin the mobs. The rest of the party has gone on. It's less of a problem on my Hunter; he just does a little less DPS because he's spending time skinning. It's more of an issue on the Druid because by the time I’ve loaded the tank up with HoTs for the next pull, the other skinner has skinned all the mobs. If I hang back to have a quick click competition to actually get some skins, the Tank is at half health by the time I catch up to them.
I'm not sure what the best way to handle that is.
In a related issue, I've also had Rogues and Hunters get really upset when I need on a Blue for my Feral set. I quest, and solo, as Feral and group as DPS/Heals. I have yet to be assigned to DPS, and always get assigned to Heals. At the same time, I’ve had mages and warlocks upset when I win a spellpower item. I’m usually willing to defer to them on Cloth. It’s the only option they have and I would want a Paladin or Shaman to defer to me on Leather, so I should defer to Cloth wearers on Cloth. But rings, necks, and staves are fair game. Even at that, I usually defer if the item has it as I don’t currently have a Moonkin spec.
I get the impression sometimes that there are people who play WoW and to these people the other 4 members of their party are little more than AI companions there to defeat the dungeon with them and get THEM loot.
Comments
My process, as well as my husband's, is to just roll on gear concerning the role you're playing or announce that you'd like to roll for offspec. Some groups don't mind, and some might.
Just my 2 cents. :)
I finally dropped skinning for Jewelcrafting and use my little bank alt to buy me what leather items I need.
The pally tank guildie will often charge ahead to engage the next group while I'm still busy, he'll almost die, have to use lay on hands, and yell at me. My response is "why on earth would you pull without the healer there?" (I don't hear him complaining when I turn the leather into leg enchants for him without charging him for the mats.)
Nevertheless, I get that skinning can hold up the entire group, so often I leave mobs un-skinned to keep up the pace. I'm not thrilled about it, but it's the compromise that doesn't get the tank killed.
Its easy if you ask knowing the instance and the mobs thats there at the beginning of instance if anyone else is a skinner. If your the only skinner then its fair for you to skin anything thats skinnable. I've never been in a group that ever complained about skinning ever. But ive been in group where a skinner wanted to skin the mob and i just didn't have time to loot it and he wanted me to loot it so he could skin. No worries i just help him out and loot the mob or if im next to it. Im never in that much a hurry i cant stop for someone to skin or loot. I usually loot everything that crap adds up to a ton of money and the junk you pick up to vendor or sell.
I guess if there is more than one skinner you work it out between the two of you. Otherwise in all my Heroics i don't really care if someone want to skin the mob, be my guess and skin away if you want to.
But just ask at beginning of group zoning into instance and work it out from there. I have mining on my Paladin. But for all the nodes i see in some instance i don't have time to mine. Don't bother me if someone else want to. Often i'm the tank and dont have time to detour and mine node, so if someone wants to thats fine. One or 2 nodes not going to break my mining habit.
As for gear if your off spec man it depends of how you handle that, it can be tricky at times with dual spec. But often if you need stuff for off spec and something drops just wait and don't roll, but ask if anyone needs the item and if they don't they ask if they mind you roll need the item for your off spec or whatever since you can use the item as well. At least more courteous way to do it.
That said, my druid doesn't get to skin much when I'm tanking. I feel kinda bad if I'm skinning a half dozen mobs while the party is sitting there waiting for me to pick up mobs for them.
I might do a couple quick skins, but I only clean house if I'm dps.
It's gear, if its an upgrade, take it. Just don't take their spirit-less DPS gear unless you go Chicken full time, but as a healer go nuts
I've been a skinner on both tanks, heals and dps (my hunter was a skinner once, my pally is a skinner, and so is my druid), and you're right, people don't wait. Ever. Some will if you actually stop and ask, but more often than not your request will fall on deaf ears. In which case, I just skin anyway and if they die, I reckon that's their own fault. In which case, if they throw a fit about it, my usual response is simply "Well, I asked you to wait for me to finish skinning and looting. That you chose not to, despite your awareness that I was going to be skinning was your own decision and the consequences are your own responsibility."
I'm all for quick groups, but running blindly through the instance without even waiting for people to collect their loot rather defeats the purpose of running instances in the first place. If people are so impatient that they can't be bothered to let people finish looting, then I don't want to be in those groups in the first place, so getting kicked is perfectly fine with me.