Ailis in Hunterland

Last night, ten of us got together and hammered on Ulduar for a few hours.  We laughed, we talked, we made fun of each other, we got rowdy, and we didn’t down a single boss.

It was one of the best raids I’ve ever been in.

Progression is a hard word to define because every guild, every player, is going to have a different definition.  Is progression downing a new boss each time you go into a raid instance?  Is progression based on how quickly you can clear the raid?  Is progression based on how much loot everyone has?

I think it’s a little bit of all of the above with a dash of learning involved.  Last night, I feel like we progressed.  Even though we didn’t down a boss, we learned a lot.  We tried new things each time.  We learned what worked and what didn’t.  We moved people around, switched tanks, switched up healing assignments, died and did it all over again.  

And we had fun.

That right there is key.  Yes, vent got quiet when we pulled the boss, but the second we wiped, it got rowdy again as we all ran back, repaired, buffed up and got ready to do it again.

From my observations of late, I’m seeing people around me who have forgotten how to have fun with raiding.  To me, raiding isn’t solely about being the best, tackling the hardest instance night after night and pushing so hard your eyes bleed.  There’s a time and a place for that.  I’m all about hopping into a group that is going to push through an especially difficult piece of content, but I’m also just as happy to go run a much easier raid.  

Why?  Because it’s all fun to me.  This is a game.  The fate of the world does not hang in the balance and small countries will not explode if you don’t down Auriaya tonight.

No matter what your guild is – casual to hardcore – there are people at all levels.  People that are ready to blow Ulduar 25 out of the water and people that still need to run Naxx 10.  There are seasoned raiders mixed with new raiders.  For you seasoned raiders, never forget you were once a new raider as well and how great it was when you got advice from a seasoned raider (or were yelled at).  For the new raiders, step up and be vocal with your class leader about what your raiding goals are and where you think you sit gear-wise and skill-wise.  Don’t be afraid to ask questions and take every piece of criticism you get seriously, graciously and with a little bit of salt.

But above all, have fun with it.  Remember why you’re a part of this guild and the friendships you have with these people.  

Progression is the sum of all parts.  What part do you play?

Raid leaders must have it incredibly easy.  I mean, all they do is throw out a bunch of invites, move people around in groups, bark out orders, and profit, right?  They sit on vent bossing everyone around, dictating who gets loot and who doesn’t, and possibly even prevent you from raiding because you don’t meet some arbitrary raiding requirement they set.  Those bastards!  You pay good money to play this game so you should be able to do whatever you want, when you want to do it.

I am here to help.  

Here are ten easy things you can do to annoy your Raid Leader so much that they will realize their folly and grant you raiding passage and phat lewtz.

1. Badger Badger Badger

Vent is for yapping.  It’s for excessive yapping.  It’s for so much yapping that you turn on your computer speakers so you can hear yourself yap in surround sound.  Silence during a boss pull?  Pshaw!  That’s for the loser hardcore raiders who don’t know how to have fun.  Furthermore, you need to yap about completely random subjects, instigate arguments in vent that have nothing to do with the raid, or pull out the rudest, crudest, most pornographic jokes you can while your raid leader’s children are on vent.

Question every aspect of the boss strat, even if your guild has downed this boss ten times before this point.  Point out any and all flaws, problems you have with your role in said strat, and go over them again and again.  Beat that dead horse with as many sticks as you can get your hands on.

2. Everyone loves a pessimist

The boss’s health is at 5% and the tank, 1 healer and 2 DPS are all that’s left battling against the enrage timer.  What should you do as you lay there eating floor?  Encourage them?  Tell them they can do it?  Keep silent and let them concentrate?  Nope.  Morosely volunteer the sad truth that there’s no way; it’s a wipe and they might as well give up.  In fact, don’t wait until the group is in that situation.  The second anyone dies, start in on that.  You’re just being realistic, right?  You wouldn’t want anyone to foolishly think they could surmount this completely impossible situation.  And, hell, if you have to pay a repair bill, everyone should so just die already.

3. I got the stuff if you meet me at the place.

Scheduled raid breaks are for pussies.  You should be able to run to the bathroom, take a smoke break, or grab something to eat at any time you want to.  Doing it immediately before a boss pull when buffs are ticking is the absolute best time to employ this tactic.  Fifteen minutes is a good, round number to afk.  

Even better, sit on vent asking for someone to enchant the bracers you just got on the last boss and making the lone enchanter scramble for mats because you refuse to budge until it’s done.  Later on, after the raid is finished, replace that enchant with one better and link it in guild chat.  You will be loved and praised as an independent soul.

4. Do what now?

A fun trick after a trash pull is to immediately run to the next one ahead of the tank and the healers and despite the fact that four people died on the last pull.  This shows that you have potential leadership skills and don’t mess around.  Everyone else is just slow.  If anyone has the audacity to yell at you, blame it on lag.  Works every time.

Also, wait for the explanation of your role in a particular fight, then ask them to repeat it.  Twice.  Three times for good measure.  Then completely ignore said role and take over someone else’s.

5. MINE

You approach the boss and glance over to the Vent panel and see the little sound icon of your RL blink yellow as they prepare to speak.  Quick!  Interrupt them and start handing out assignments – especially if you’re DPS and have never healed/tanked a day in your life.  Do ready checks and buff checks as fast as you can because the raid leader obviously needs you to do these things.  Don’t bother asking if they would like you to take on that role for the run in an effort to alleviate any stress – of course they do!  Silly, raid leader…

6. Because it’s all about you.

You were just battle rezzed on the fly in the middle of KT.  You a) run immediately back to the fight, shooting out a quick thank you to the intensely focused healer or b) stand there dumbly and ask for cheap buffs before you go back to fighting.  Of course it’s b!  You cannot be expected to do your job and win this battle for the raid if you aren’t thoroughly and properly buffed this magical moment.  It doesn’t matter that you died because you didn’t move out of the void zones or because you were too close to the healer and chain ice blocked him.  You died, it’s the healer’s fault and you deserve buffs as compensation.  And if you don’t get your buffs then employ tip number 2 because there’s no way in hell KT’s going down now.

7. That’s totally a hunter weapon.

Initiate long and arduous conversations about why so-n-so doesn’t deserve loot simply because of their class.  Actually, lead off with an incredibly rude outburst, then move gracefully into said long and arduous conversation.  People will applaud your cleverness and sense of justice.  And even after the raid leader unfairly gives it to so-n-so, link the item you have in that slot with a sad face after the link so everyone will see how you were mercilessly gyped out of The Purple.  

Then do it again in guild chat.

8. I got it because it was cheap.

Show up to every raid five minutes late with 45% durability and at least two items unenchanted and one item with BC welfare gems in the sockets.  This will show that you don’t subscribe to the myths of full enchantments or the top quality gems.  You are the fish that swims upstream while everyone else goes downstream.  You are a pioneer!  Why go for +16 when +6 works just fine?  I mean, come on, ten measely points makes that much of a difference?  You’re frugal!

Don’t bother bringing any food, pots, or flasks to the raid either.  That’s why the rest of the guild leveled their professions, right?  They can provide all the consumables for you and spend their time sitting there staring at that stupid fishing bobber.  God that’s boring…  And while you’re at it, ask for a stack of bandages.

9. [W to] Raidleader: What the #@&!!$% was that?  Did you see Broccoli-head stand in the flame wall AGAIN? And I can’t BELIEVE Totem-boy keeps ripping aggro from Tanky-man!

Every time someone screws up, point it out.  Whisper the raid leader, yell in vent, type it out in raid chat AND guild chat but be sure to point it out so the raid leader notices.  They have so much on their plate that they cannot possibly be as observant as you are.  They will thank you for noticing the little things like the Shaman ripping aggro so the boss goes cavorting around the room.  Surely, they missed the Mage dropping his poison load in the middle of the raid instead of running to the wall.  

In fact, do the Raid Leader an enormous favor by stopping everything you’re doing and just standing there watching everyone else and making sure they don’t screw it up.

Never mind that you just got hit by a flame wall…

10. There’s a pea under my matress.

You do so much to help the raid.  You keep the Raid Leader’s job interesting.  You hand out assignments at the drop of a hat.  You point out everyone else’s flaws.  You make sure that all the loot properly goes to the correct class.  You take all those extra pots, flasks and food from everyone else to help them free up precious bag space.

You should get a reward.  Yes, you should.  Talk to your raid leader about it.  Better yet, talk to your officers about it.  Point out all that you do and ask for something in return.  And the sky is the limit!  Guild bank access, this drop from that boss, guaranteed raid spots in progression raids, I’m sure you can think of much more clever things to ask for.  Be sure to also point out that even though you don’t meet raid requirements, you should be allowed to go because of all the invaluable assistance you bring.

They will write songs about you.

Ah, it’s Monday.  With Monday comes back to work (well, for some that is), the beginning of a new week, and possibly a patch tomorrow.  Will there be extended maintenance?  Only time will tell!  But that’s not today’s post.

Anonymity is a powerful thing.  There are even items you can purchase to reinforce this concept.  When no one knows you in real life (i.e. can come knocking at your door to teach you a lesson, son), you can get away with any type of behavior you wish.  Get /gkicked because of your attitude?  Not really an issue, just go join another one.  And so on.

Now, I realize I can waggle my finger until I get a cramp and people are still going to act the way they want to.  It’s their right.  They pay $$ every month to play and, therefore, are entitled to behave in any manner they so desire.  And a lot of folks do, sadly.  I could write all day long about attitudes in this game because that subject could go far and wide.  I know many folks who are scared to ask a question in chat (general, trade or even guild chat) for fear of being harassed or made fun of for not already being omniscent.  I know people that brag all day long about what a great player they are and shun any type of advice whether it helps or not and actually go as far as to oftentimes snub a Raid Leader, GM or Officer’s authority.

We deal with such a wide span of age groups, thought processes, priorities, outlooks and general attitudes that it’s nigh impossible to not encounter some form of irritation and/or drama in any given situation.  That I could sit here and harp on until I ran out of colorful phrases.

But I’m going to throttle it down to a subject near and dear to my heart – raiding.

Whether you are a hard-core raider with a guild, a hard-core raiding pugger, a casual PvE’er looking to start raiding or someone who just dinged 80 and want to start raiding in WotLK, it is up to you to be a good raider and to have a good attitude.  Now, that’s not just good gear, good DPS/Heals/Tanking (although all those things help) – it’s how you conduct yourself, act in the raid and treat your fellow raiders.

It means showing up to a scheduled raid on time.

In my guild, we schedule raids (as much as we can) a week in advance using the in-game calendar so our regular raiders can figure out if they’re available or not.  This has made our progression raids a lot easier to form.  

If your guild, or the guild you run with on a regular basis, uses any type of calendar scheduling for their raids, first off, respond to the invite.  This will let the raid leader know your availability and, overall, how many to expect come raid time.  It’s also just a matter of courtesy to respond.  They’re extending an invitation to you, acknowledging you as a viable raider for that particular raid, and it will take you all of 30 seconds to click “Accept” or “Decline.”

If you do accept, show up on time or, preferably, early.  Be online on your raider that was invited ready to go – not in the middle of a dungeon crawl, not on an alt finishing up one or two last things, and most importantly, not on another raiding toon in someone else’s raid.  If you are going to be late or not able to go, let your Raid Leader know as soon as possible.  Don’t just not show up or not log on because, inevitably, they will delay the raid for about five minutes while they wait for you to show up, not knowing you won’t be there.

It means showing up prepared.

Don’t depend on someone else to bring flasks and buff foods to raids all the time.  You may have a generous alchemist or a generous cook in your guild that consistently shows up to raids with tons of goodies to hand out to everyone.  That is always welcome and truly fantastic.  That is their choice but you should never expect it or take it for granted.  Say thank you, offer to compensate them in some way or, even better, bring your own.  At some point, you will be in a raid without that person and then where will you be?  Get into the habit of having a few feasts or buff food in your bags along with a couple of flasks and elixirs.  If someone shows up and plunks a Fish Feast out, hey, bonus.  But you came prepared and raid leaders notice this.

Show up with your gear repaired.  That’s all I’ll say on that one.

It means taking pride in your character.

You can always be better.  You can always be a better DPS, a better healer, and/or a better tank.  There are better pieces of gear, better gems, better enchants, better rotations, better priorities, better….you get the point.  Don’t get to a plateau and then just twiddle your thumbs waiting for Ulduar to come out.  Don’t pass up on loot that is a slight upgrade in the hopes that something better might drop later.  I’ve been guilty of that in the past.  I’ll be after a certain item in an instance and will save my roll for the chance that it will drop and, inevitably, pass up on something else that is an upgrade for me.  And then my item won’t drop after all so I missed upgrade opportunities.

Don’t be that guy.

Grind rep for enachants and gear.  Show your guild that you care about your character and put in the effort to make them better rather than depending on the raid group to carry you through a raid and gear you up.

Another facet of maximizing your potential is to level your professions.  Level your primary professions.  With the release of WotLK, they implemented more profession goodies that you would be foolish to not attain as soon as possible.  All of these things are designed to make you better and who doesn’t like better?

Level your secondary professions.  Yes, cook and fish and make band-aids.  As stated above, this is part of being prepared and contributing to the raid group as a whole.  There are a plethora of buff foods for your spec so learn how to make those and make them often.  You may find fishing extraordinarily boring and see no need for bandages if you have a good healer.  Yes, you may be right but you never know and it’s better to be prepared and overcompensating than to come up short.

It means obeying the rules.

Even if you don’t agree with all of them, obey your guild’s rules when it comes to raiding.  Every guild has different rules  for when you’re able to raid, loot rules during the raid, and so forth.  Find out what those rules are as soon as you can.  If your guild has class leaders, meet with them when you hit 80 and let them know you want to raid.  They should get you pointed in the right direction as far as your build, stats, and gear.  Browse your guild forums for information on your class, raid strategies and any other rules that your guild has.

If you have an issue with a rule, don’t complain about it in raid chat or guild chat.  Send a note or a whisper to your GM or an officer outlining your issue with the rule in question.  Even better, come prepared with a solution or two.  Don’t just complain because you feel it’s unfair or unattainable.  The guild rules are most likely made by more than one person after a lot of discussion and are made for the benefit of the guild as a whole.  That said, not every rule is perfect and if you feel things could be done better, meet privately with an officer to discuss it.  That said, be reasonable, rational and, above all else, listen to the reasoning for the rule and any outside factors you may not have known about before you push forward with your complaint.

If your guild has set minimum requirements for raiding, find out what they are and not only meet them, but exceed them.  Don’t ask for special favors.  If you’re invited to a raid before you’ve attained the minimums, thank your class leader because it was most likely them who stepped in for you and requested you be included as a reward for the hard work you’ve been doing.  But don’t stop working because of it.  Still strive to meet the requirements and be the best raider you can possibly be.

It means being gracious, generous and forgiving.

Your raid leader doesn’t have the easiest job in the world.  There is a lot of stress that comes with herding that many raiders and you complaining in raid chat or on vent about that fact that you didn’t get a heal last fight or you need buffs right now or you can’t believe someone else got that piece of loot when you felt you deserved it or you don’t agree with the role you were asked to do doesn’t make their job any easier.  In fact, it makes them less likely to listen to any viable complaints you have.

The healers know when you’re dying.  The raid leader probably has a mod that lets them know who is missing buffs.  If you lost the roll on the loot drop, it’s just purple pixels and you’ll see it again.  You were asked to off-heal instead of dps for a reason.

Raids are about having fun and progressing as a group.  In my guild, we stress the guild as a family and a unit and everything we do, we do for the guild.  We progress as a guild, we grow as a guild, we try to gear up everyone as equally as possible.  That’s the way it should be in just about any raid situation.  Have fun – yeah it sucks when something you want doesn’t drop or you see it go to someone else.  I’ve been in that situation more times than I can count.  You sigh with disappointment and move on.

You also need to be generous.  Take a look at the people you would be rolling against on a particular item.  If it’s just a side-grade for you and a major upgrade for them, maybe let them have it.  I realize everyone has different thoughts on this issue and there are a plethora of situations this could come up but, if you’re in a guild run with the same people you run with week after week then consider adopting this policy.  You being the best geared player helps only you in the end; whereas having 25 folks that are all well-geared helps the raid as a whole.

It means being mature.

I realize this is a “duh” phrase but maturity goes a long way in a raid.  Probably a much longer way than you realize it does.  Holding your tongue when someone screws up and letting the raid leader handle the situation is an example.  Not coming down on someone because they’re new to this whole raiding thing is another one.  Being helpful instead of hurtful.  Being respectful of those around you and any real life situations you know about.  Assisting the Raid Leader if they ask for it.  If you’re assigned a task, jumping on it quickly and without complaint.  All of these are examples of displaying maturity.

You.

You can be completely anonymous when it comes to this game if you choose to be.  The choice to divulge any personal information about yourself is your choice alone.  However, even if you don’t divulge anything personally and, therefore, stand completely out of the way of any “real world” repercussions of your actions, it is still up to you to be a good player and the definition of a good player is not just good skill, good stats and good gear.  It’s a good attitude as well.  I have made many friends through this game because of how we treated each other during a random PuG.

The choice is completely up to you.  Do you want to be known as the guy that’s extremely good at their role but a complete ass to everyone around them?  Or do you want to be known as the guy that’s extremely good at their role and a blast to have in a raid?

All of that said, what is your definition of being a good raider/player?

No, this is not a joke.  A 10-man raid composed of members from the top Russian guilds on the RU-Гордунни (Gordunni) server managed to down Sartharon w/ all 3 Drakes up in a total of 76 seconds.  From the looks of the video, it seems they focused all their firepower on Sartharion and “ignored” the 3 drakes best as possible.  They downed him before Shadron even landed, leaving only one drake to actually kill, as the other two despawned as soon as he died.

Their group setup:

• 4 Fury Warriors
• 1 Feral Druid
• 1 Protection Paladin
• 1 Subtlety Rogue
• 2 Death Knights (Unholy and Blood)
• 1 Resto Shammy

Yes, you read that right, one healer.  Chain heals FTW!