With the new looking for group / dungeon finder tool, and as a result of moving to a new server and participating in a huge number of random groups, I have seen two trends tend to present themselves in the players that show some semblance of competency in groups (note that the names are not the most fitting, but in a conversation with a colleague this was how they became described):

• The “Aware” Player
  This is the type of player that understands mechanics, has a solid idea of what is expected, is able to pay attention to what is going on in the group and react accordingly, and just generally exhibits the traits of a player who knows what is going to happen. Unfortunately, this player seems more aware of what is going on around them than what they are actually doing, resulting in mediocre damage output/healing/tanking at best.
• The “Capable” Player
  This is the type of player that really knows what their class can do and is able to pull off feats that make you stop and say “wow,” even if they are a result of the player’s own mistakes or lack of awareness in an encounter. For example, the warlock who isn’t well geared but still pulls damage numbers comparable with the other warlock in the party who is notably better geared. Often this type of player is referred to as a min/max’er.

The Conundrum.

Naturally there are numerous other types of players in the game. The question I want to examine, however, is which of these two specific types would you prefer to have a group of? The players who seem to know what is going on but don’t put out the damage needed to get past an encounter unless everything goes flawlessly, or the players who may get caught in a fight mechanic but can blast away at a boss with enough force to equal two “aware” players?

In the perfect virtual world we would have a blend of the two types of players. Even in less than ideal conditions we should end up with a blend of the two types. What happens when, however, there is an entire group comprised of the “aware” archetype as presented here? The simple answer: content does not get cleared unless everything goes perfectly.

Personally, I kind of like having a group comprised of the players who may be irritating at times, who may be constantly caught in fight mechanics that could be avoided making the healers work overtime, but who can produce such an overwhelming force that there is no question the boss will go down if the healers can keep them alive.

In short, if you give me a group of nine other people who can pay attention to their own cooldowns and abilities, who can maximize the damage and healing they are capable of (regardless of how they choose to spec and play their character), and who are consistent in their abilities then I’ll show you a group that can, and will, clear any content in the game. Sure it will be frustrating at times, especially for the healers and tanks, but is it really any more or less frustrating than a group of the other type of player?