Unrealistic Expectations

I would believe that to some extent we all suffer from having unrealistic expectations but the question is, are they really always unrealistic?

I am going to share some of the examples of my own unrealistic expectations and some others I see thrown around a lot, maybe you could share some of your own, or tell us what you consider to be unrealistic expectations.

Being Raid Ready at Release:

I remember when the expansion started I expected my guild members that wanted to raid to be raid ready within a week of release.  In all honesty I don't see how anyone that actually wants to raid would not be ready to raid after a week.  That is a week to level, a week to grind gear, a week to get gemmed, enchanted, reforged.  Sure, if you play once or twice a week that is extremely unrealistic but if you are someone that wants to raid, desires to raid, and is an active player, is it really all that unrealistic to be ready to roll after a week.  I don't think so.

As it would have it, this expansion was like every expansion before it, we sat around waiting on our healers to take their sweet ass time to get raid ready and even when we did first enter MV for the first time well more than a month after it came out most of the raid was still woefully under geared.  At least under geared when thinking these people had a month to get ready.  A month to grind the reputation needed to buy valor gear, a month to buy valor gear, a month to get the crafted gear, a month to grind dungeons to get drops, and still more than half the raid had done none of the above.

Some people still tell me that it was a lot to ask of a casual group and I had unrealistic expectations of my raiders but I do not believe so.  I believe even a casual player who desires to raid should have been ready after one week and even if not one week most definitely have been ready after one month.

What it really boils down to is the perspective of where you are looking at it from.  Perspective is everything, always will be.

Warlords:

So lets look at the wait for warlords.  I was expecting it to be out in march, or may at the absolute latest and here we are still without even a beta for something that should have been released already as is.  But those were just expectation and some might even call them unrealistic expectations.

But were they really unrealistic expectations?  Mists quickly became the best expansion in terms of content and kept up with the pace of it.  We had the staggered raid releases at the beginning to make it feel as if we kept getting stuff added, even if all that stuff was there already and just not activated.  Once again, perspective, it felt like stuff kept rolling out and how things feel are always more important than how they really are because people will remember how things felt, not how they really were.   That is where "rose tinted glasses syndrome" comes from, people remembering how things felt, not how they really are.

They released content patches and raid patches quicker than ever before.  So was it really an unrealistic expectation to believe that the next expansion would be sooner than later?  Was it really an unrealistic expectation to believe we would not go through such a prolonged time with no new content after we were treated to the best schedule of content release in the history of the game?  I don't believe so.

It makes me laugh when people say "warlords is not late, they never gave us a date so you can't say that" and things along those lines.  Yes, warlords is late, extremely late.  You can say we had unrealistic expectations because we believed that blizzard would keep to their word of quicker releases.  You can say we had unrealistic expectations because we were lead to believe they meant it by the excellent release schedule of this expansion.  But you can not say it is not late because they did not give us a date.  It is late, very late, because they led us to believe they were sticking to their word of faster content releases and using those standards to judge, it is late.

Was it unrealistic to expect warlords to be out already?  Absolutely not.  The only thing that was unrealistic was that we believed blizzard would not leave us in limbo for over a year once again.  But we were tricked into that by them doing such a good idea at the start of the expansion.

Item Level Requirements:

I must say I will be the first to admit I hate seeing people ask for 550+ for a flex run.  It really defeats the purpose of the run.  I want to bring my 510, 520, 530 characters in there, characters that need a lot of gear because that is what flex is for, gearing up without having to do LFR.  But is it an unrealistic expectation to expect people to have a number like that and still want to do flex?

I often hear people say, why would someone 550+ want to do flex.  These people believe that it is an unrealistic expectation to fill a group with 550+ players because no one at that level would want to do flex.  Not true, not even remotely close to true.  My main hunter is 570 and I would still jump at a flex 2 or flex 4 in a heartbeat.  I would not think twice if I got an invite to either.

I would do flex two because I am still trying to get the shaman trinket, any version will do.  And now with 2 additional upgrades any grade is even more desirable for me being I am still wearing a trinket I got from ToT heroic and that one can not be upgraded 4 times, it is still stuck at 2 upgrades only.  I've been wearing that trinket so long I am starting to see some rust on the edges and I think there is a layer of dust building up on it in some places.  The last time I wore a trinket that long was my greatness that I got at the beginning of wrath and wore until it was replaced by deathbringers will.  But it was still a great trinket even then and all inscription trinkets should last that long, but that is another unrealistic expectation all on its own, that gear will actually be worthwhile for an extended period.

I would do flex four because of the heirlooms.  Don't matter which character, which spec, I would still jump in one because I can use every single heirloom that drops because I play all 11 classes.  So yes, even at a 570 item level and all my other characters that happen to be over 550, I would still do flex.

And lets not forget the people that just want to run it for valor because with a decent group it is a nice quick run with decent valor generation.  And with everyone, even the best of the best, wanting to valor cap again, at least for the next 8 weeks, seeing people 570+ in flex just for the sake of doing it even if they need nothing is not unrealistic at all.

So how exactly can people say that someone asking for 550+ has unrealistic expectations for who would want to do flex?

Numbers:

When looking to pug for a normal run I would often ask for 150K from people if I know we are only going to do the first 10 bosses but if I know we are going for the last 4 I seek people that can pull at least 200K.  Personally I think that is a fairly reasonable requirement but I have been told that those are "heroic numbers" and I can't expect people to be pulling over 200K to get into a normal.

I personally do not believe it is an unrealistic expectation to get someone that can pull 200K for the later normal bosses and even more so garrosh.  On that fight more than any other, the higher the numbers the easier the fight.  Some fights stay the same, same dance, even with bigger numbers, that fight the dance card changes immensely with higher numbers.

The key however is, how is asking that people do what they should be capable of doing an unreasonable expectation?  Perhaps I am out of touch, perhaps I am asking too much, but I do not believe so.  I believe that any person in mostly normal gear, mostly upgraded at least 2 times gear, completely gemmed, enchanted and reforged gear, should be 100% capable of pulling over 200K with ease if you know how to play the character. 

That is why when I pug I do not ask for item level.  I never say looking for 550+ DPS, I say looking for 150K DPS, or 200K DPS.  I might ask what item level they have, but I would prefer someone in 540 gear that can pull 200K over someone in 560 gear that can't because that means one knows how to play their class (540) and one doesn't (560).  I need people to perform and that is all that matters.  So asking for 200K from people in mostly normal gear to pug in is not really an unrealistic expectation is it?  I don't care what that person said, he was just probably upset because he could not meet my requirements.  I do not believe 200K is an unrealistic expectation.  But of course, I could be wrong, but I do honestly believe 200K is not a lot to ask of a pug for normal if I want the last bosses to be easier.

So I have had my own unrealistic expectations I admit in expecting casual players to be raid ready a week into a new expansion.  I have been the victim of believing in blizzard and their hype to give me an unreasonable expectation of faster patch releases.  I can understand how asking for what might seem like high item level numbers isn't always really an unrealistic expectation.  And last but not least I have been accused of having unrealistic expectations by asking for a certain performance level that is, in fact, not unrealistic at all.

What are some of your unrealistic expectations, unrealistic expectations you were led to believe, things you believe are unrealistic expectations or times you might have been accused of having unrealistic expectations?