Do you have the achievement?

A couple of weeks ago, while trying to put together a group for the 10-man version of Vault of Archavon, I experienced something interesting. I had a whisper from a DPS (I think it was a Paladin, but I can't remember), who we'll call Bob.

Needing extra DPS, I invite Bob to my raid group. The first thing he says isn't "Hi" or "Thanks for the invite" it's "Ask for achievement next time." Apparently he wants me to ask people whether or not they have the achievement for killing Emalon before I invite them to a raid to kill Emalon.

So I discuss this with Bob on the raid channel, and explain that I don't think having the achievement is the only indicator of being capable of killing him (I certainly didn't have the achievement BEFORE I killed Emalon for the first time, but I was capable of doing so). At this point, we get revelation number one: Bob doesn't have the achievement himself. So he wants me to apply a standard to the other members of the group that he wouldn't meet himself. Interesting.

After discussing this topic for awhile, we move onto the subject of gear. Back before joining my current guild, I ran the majority of the 10 man content with a Warlock and a Mage, plus whoever else we could get from our old guild or by pugging. Both the Warlock and Mage are good at what they do, so they can generally make up for one or two slightly undergeared people in our groups. It is at this point that I actually decide to check Bob's gear, and we get revelation number two: Bob's gear isn't fantastic. A handful of blues and a couple of level 70 PvP items along with level 80 epics.

I've done a fair bit of raiding with all kinds of people. I've played with well geared bad players and reasonably geared good players enough times to know that gear isn't everything. I've also dragged poor players through enough raids to know that having an achievement for killing a raid boss doesn't mean you were particularly productive during the fight.

Unless you're the raid leader, only worry about yourself. Your gear, your achievements, how you're playing. I'll worry about the group as a whole, and I'll kick people if they don't perform when required - I won't kick people or refuse to give them a shot simply because they don't have the best gear in the game and the achievements for killing every boss.