Definitely a topic worth revisiting from time to time. Like we talked in game. I'm not where you are right now, but I've sure been there before. Hang in there buddy and let's see if we can talk and work it through.

LOL! Glad you got it right this time... or did you? :)

Well... I already sort of screwed myself over by joining up in an unsuccessful VoA pug. So, I'm learning the lesson. Albeit the hard way! /lol

Cool. Thanks for the reassurance Ron. As it turns out, Sarafin and I talked this morning and she had similar concerns. So we're going to alternate being the "committed" ones one weekend and on "standby." the next.

Hi Ecco, thanks for weighing in.

You're right that gear is only a part and I like your car analogy. But if we carry it one step further, race cars have to qualify before even being allowed to race. If they don't meet certain minimums, their inclusion in the race might not only be dangerous to themselves but to other competitors. What I didn't realize until yesterday was that I'd risen to the point where I'm pretty well qualified for our guild's race.

But now you introduce another interesting variable: That of preparation. Up until now, I've never spent much time studying fights ahead of time to know what I'm supposed to do going in. That's another factor I'll have to consider: Do I have the discipline and desire to put in the study prep time especially when you all know some of these instances quite well and I hardly know where some of them are.