So a mechanic just turned half of your group from being participants in a fight into rapidly expanding clouds of vapor. There are two basic approaches at this point. The first is to realize that victory is now statistically unlikely, so you might as well just make the wipe complete and make sure everyone’s ready to try again in a moment. Take a breather and then get back into it. The second, however, is to gear up to really make a hard push because sure, half of the group is dead and the boss is at 40% health, but maybe you can pull this off.
These two viewpoints are often at odds with one another, of course; the people who recognize that the wipe is now inevitable would prefer that the party just finish it up so you can try again, but the people who want to keep at it didn’t hear no bell. And let’s be real, when the second group does clutch out a victory, it’s pretty hype. Whether or not it’s worth it is another story. So which do you do? Do you keep fighting as long as your health hasn’t hit zero, or do you accept that it’s just time to reset and start over?