Raid Basics: The Raiders Manifesto

For years I've been waiting for a reason to use the word "manifesto" at any point other than when I'm stumbling around in my house alone gibbering it over and over to break the silence. It starts to sound strange at that point (I get a bit of a Gollum thing going on, but that's neither here nor there).

A manifesto is a declaration of intent. In this sense it's a list of actions that any raider must adhere to in order to be considered serious. I know I'm constantly spouting on about the evils of the "srs bznz" raids and, just to be clear, these are not the types of raids I'm referring to.

Win or lose, raiding can be a lot of fun, but a lot of that fun is dependent on the people you're with. You depend on them to act as a part of a team when the time comes, just as they depend on you.

Nobody likes the Boomkin that Typhoons a mob way out of the tank's range.

Nobody likes the priest that lets loose a Psychic Scream into a pack of tightly clustered enemies, only to find them coming back with many, many more.

Nobody likes the guy that spams the Recount meters, screaming "Lul gaiz I did 1st deeps!1".

Thus, here is a simple set of guidelines of the most basic raider obligations, in no particular order (leave me a comment if you think I've missed anything):

1. Know your role:

Note that "know your role" doesn't necessarily mean "know every last-aspect of your class inside and out before you even think about raiding". Everybody has to start somewhere, and people who are trying something new for the first time should only ever be encouraging, not belittled. At the same time, it is up to the person trying something new to have a basic idea of what they need.

A tank should know what abilities are important to them (Righteous Fury, Frost Presence, etc.) and a basic understanding of how threat works. Healers should know about concepts like overhealing, mana management and triage. Dps too need to understand the concept of threat, as well as knowing what rotation/abilities will provide appropriate damage in a situation, but also any utilities that may be called upon as well (eg. Spellsteal).

Like I said, you don't need to know every detail of your class, just enough to have an idea of what you need to do before it all begins. Some guilds are incredibly strict on these sorts of things - others will let you learn by doing (which, incidentally, is what we do).

A basic understanding of your role is the foundation for everything you learn along the way.

(by the way, we already have a list of helpful of helpful links for each class here)

2. Be Prepared:

Make sure you bring enough reagents for your spells, potions and food/drink to recover and make sure your gear is fully repaired before embarking on a raid. Missing something from time to time is fine, whether you just didn't realise you'd run low on reagents or your gear went yellow on the first pull, but I can assure you that a raider who has to go back to town for supplies after the raid spent twenty-odd minutes organising and summoning everyone then that raider isn't gonna get too many invites in the end.

One other thing: Be prepared to wipe. Whether you're on progression content or training new raiders or going for achievements, wipes will happen. Expect a huge repair bill during wipe heavy phases and don't stress out - I never laugh as hard at someone than when I see a raider start screaming obscenities and rage quitting and only one wipe.

Write this down kiddies (and I wish I could think of a more eloquent way to put this): Only obnoxious, arrogant f**ks expect to win all the time, so don't be one.

3. Be Respectful:

This one should be common sense, but for so many people in online worlds it just flies out the window. In any group, particularly raids, you must remember that there are other people with you who are there to enjoy the experience - they are not there solely for your entertainment. Here are some of the things to avoid whilst in a raid:

• Meter spam (it was a team effort; the team succeeded, not you).
• Generally being a nuisance (uncalled for typhoons, thunderstorms, constantly chatting during boss explanations, spamming annoying emotes, etc.)
• Criticism. Do not criticise a persons performance based on meters or what you think you saw. Feedback is encouraged, but do not be condescending ("lul ur deeps sux dued")
• For that matter, spell like an adult (no constant "lulz", "ur", "i r beet u in deeps", "pl0x", and so forth).
• For the love of Gawd, please stop frigging jumping!

Ahem. Raids are extremely difficult to get organised and running. To have a raid successfully start only to have 9-24 people pissed off at one person's behaviour, heh, believe me when I tell you that that person isn't going to last very long.

4. Have Fun:

WoW is not work. Raids are not a chore. This is not your job and it is not a responsibility for you or for anyone else to go raiding. We do it because it's fun or because it's a challenge or because it's simply funny. In any case, if you're not having fun then you're not doing it right.

So there you have it, basic guidelines for a good raider. Note that not one of these is "be awesome" or "know everything", nor are any of the guidelines considered a capitol offence should you go outside them. As long as you don't ignore them completely, you're a good raider.

One other thing I want to point out (because my guild members are entirely too paranoid about what I write :P) is that this is not being written specifically for anyone in the guild.

In fact, I can think of only a few instances where a guild raider has bothered me in some way, and I made myself clear to those people at the time. Harms Way are easily the best collection of players and raiders that I've had the privilege to spend time with and if I had something I needed to tell them, it wouldn't be said quite so publicly.

This is intended to be something of a handy reference for other people, be they budding raiders, aspiring raid leaders or other guild masters... and I honestly hope it brings them more fun moments.

-Ahz

The Uncredible Jerk image by Mark Lautenbach

Progression Update

As I mentioned in the last post, we took down Onyxia earlier today, which adds another notch to our collective belts.

Official Progression Standing:

Naxx --- CLEAR

EoE ----- 0/1

OS -------1/1 (+1)

Uld ------ 6/13

Ony ----- CLEAR *new*

VoA ----- CLEAR

ICC ------ 3/12

After an amazing battle (and equally amazing repair bill) Raggingruck took Onyxia's head to Orgrimmar to claim his prize. We all gathered in Orgrimmar as well, eager to see her head put upon a pike and dance around it for all to see.

Ruck turned in the head... and nothing.

"Perhaps it checks for it every five minutes."

So we waited.

And waited.

Until finally - after a long, uncomfortable silence - one of our guild members said:

"Hang on, doesn't that thing happen with Nefarian's head?"

We almost went on a Harms Way anger-riot through Orgrimmar.

-Ahz

Grit and Reminiscence

We took down Onyxia earlier today after about five attempts. I have to state, for the record, that it was the most epic encounter I've been involved in since my first Karazhan run.

I used to get this sort of feeling all the time from earlier MMO's, and even WoW back in it's earlier days. Monsters were freakin' monsters back then, not the simple loot-piñata mini-games most of WoW's raids seem to have become. The sense of accomplishment and bragging rights are essentially non-existent for the non-elitist (and we all know what I think about them).

Even though Onyxia is nothing to really crow about at this stage of the game, this was the first really complex raid Harms Way has faced and that is why it was so much fun.

Ten people joined forces to take down a colossal dragon. Some were scared and confused, some were bravely staring into the monster's eyes. All were in mortal peril just being near it... and we won.

This is what MMO's should be about. Not the gearscore, not the meters, not the phat lewtz. It should be about the challenge, the experience and the triumph that comes from a proper team effort.

Taking down Kel'thuzad at the end of Naxxramas was close, but at this point was a little too easy for us. The Lich King is our next big target and, whether or not we make it before cataclysm, we're gonna have a huge amount of fun along the way.

The only reason Harms Way has gotten as far as it has (and will continue further as well) is because of the sheer determination of it's members. So far, only he-who-must-not-be-named has managed to demoralise them and even so, it didn't last. The very next week they were ready and raring to go again.

They have displayed pure grit in situations that would have the regular jerks screaming and ragequitting - and it only does them more credit. I'm beginning to think that they've known from the beginning one of the most important lessons I wanted to teach:

The greatest reward is walking away with a story to tell.

-Ahz

Progression Update

The members of Harms Way have totally exceeded my expectations. So much so that I feel like a jerk for thinking we wouldn't be able handle what we managed to over the last two days.

Official Progression Status:

Naxx: CLEAR

OS: 1/1 (+1)

EoE: 0/1

Ulduar: 6/13

VoA: CLEAR

ICC: 3/12 *new*

These fine people, "scrubs" according to the typical trade-dwelling elitist, one-shot Marrowgar and quickly got the hang Lady Deathwhisper and the Gunship Battle. We were only stopped at Saurfang because we were short on ranged dps.

These "scrubs" didn't have the "appropriate" gear/gearscore, they didn't know the fights, they didn't have the achievements to PST you with. What they did have was a bit of determination. They also had more fun in there than the elitists do. Ever.

Enough of the evangelism (I'm perilously close to ranting again). It's a terrific start to the new month.

-Ahz :D

MTC Monday: Sporran

Monday is upon us once again, so that means it's time for another Meet the Crew! What's with all the taurens? I promise you, Harms Way is an equal opportunity guild (probably). On with the show!

Sporran

Tauren Shaman

(Restoration/Elemental)

Primary Healer for Core Team 1

Location

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Age:

27

Likes:

Keeping teammates alive, baiting the Alliance, the achievement noise.

Dislikes:

Rogues, losing Wintergrasp, Maraudon, gnomes (especially filthy gnomish rogues)

Most epic moment:

Single-handedly fighting off a catapult and four alliance members during a battle for Wintergrasp, keeping them occupied long enough for Horde reinforcements to arrive, who then smote them into a fine red paste. The final cherry on top was watching a panicked Alliance mage trying to escape the slaughter, and personally blasting him into dust before he got away.

Sporran is a healer you don't want to mess with. He doesn't seek the limelight or the "glory" of topping the meters - he's happiest when he is supporting his teammates in battle. With a versatile array of epic heals, well-timed utilities and genius totem usage, Sporran is not just an invaluable asset to Harms Way and the Horde in general - but a serial pest to the Alliance as well.

An expert of survival, Sporran has many tricks up his greaves to keep himself alive and fighting. Should you catch him off-guard, Sporran will drop his totems and give you the fight of your life. Or turn you into a frog... Whichever is funnier at the time. Of course, if all else fails and you do manage to get him down, there's always Reincarnate.

In short, Sporran is no squishy.

Finally, there is nothing Sporran enjoys more than a sense of achievement - in fact, he travels around collecting achievements like a gnome collects tauren hoofprints. Now that he's found a fresh and friendly guild to raid with, Sporran plans on taking his achievements to the next level.

That's it for this week, you'll have to wait until next Monday for more MTC goodness. If you're a member of Harms Way (and especially if you're not a tauren) and want to see yourself featured in MTC Mondays, makes sure you drop Ahzae a line!

Raid Basics: Healing and Silent Heroism

Raids are like cars.

I really wish I could think of a better metaphor, but I have a headache. I hate cars, really. It will become painfully obvious to any and all who read this that I don't know the slightest bit about them.

Think of the the raid as a car. The tanks are the chassis, protecting the occupants from the environment during any given trip.

The dps are effectively the wheels to make sure that the car can move.

Healing is the all important engine. Without it, your car is going nowhere, except maybe downhill (see what I did thar?).

Today we're focusing on healing. For anybody wanting to become a healer I always follow this exercise:

• Pick your favourite hero (Batman, Spiderman, etc.) and ask yourself, do you want to be a hero like that? YES/NO
• Think about how that hero is almost never thanked for their efforts, and always blamed when things seem to go wrong, despite it never being their fault. Still wanna be a hero? YES/NO
• Now think about the constant, everyday struggles that they have between saving people as a hero and fighting to keep the tiniest bit of "normal" they have in their lives outside of saving people. Think about the stress they're under, trying to manage these things all at once, including the point above... Still wanna be a hero? I mean, really? YES/NO

If you answered NO to any of the above, you're likely not cut out to be a healer. If you answered YES to all three, congratulations! You're likely not cut out to be a healer either. You're a fool and a sadist, and maybe, maybe, you have what it takes to be a healer but only the strongest survive in the world of healing. This is your first lesson, never forget it.

Basics:

As a healer there are three cards constantly in your hand that need to be managed.

1. Triage. This is the golden rule of healing. Healers need to decide on the fly who can and can't be saved. We also need to decide whether someone should be saved. Essentially, we decide in a matter of split-seconds whether you get to live or die.
2. Mana. The second most important resource on this list (the first being the hp of your group). Zero mana equals death, and this is something that the healers must manage alone. You can rarely blame someone else if you've gone OOM (out of mana).
3. Threat. This is an almost trivial thing for most healers, but you still need to know how it works. A healer pulling aggro is like having your car break down in the desert - you and everyone with are boned.

How to Handle Them:

Triage is the sole basic skill that can only be learned through experience. It is the downfall of many would-be healers as well and the cause of most of the stress healers have to deal with.

Say you're in a raid encounter and six out of your ten members, including yourself, have just taken severe damage. It's your responsibility to heal them all, but where do you start?

First, you need to understand the healing priority. Out of everyone in the raid, your priority list should be something like this:

1. Yourself
2. Other healers
3. Tanks
4. Anyone else whom you need to complete the encounter
5. Dps

There are also two main types of healers as well: Tank healers and Raid healers. The priority above is for raid healers. Tank healers simply ignore priorities 1 and 2.

I'll let you decide on why this healing priority is effective, and whether or not you wish to follow it. Knowing roughly how long any given member can survive against an encounter mechanic is the tipping point of triage and can only come with experience. If you've read this far without giving up on healing then we already know you've got the stones to heal - from here you have to take every opportunity you can get your hands on, whether you think you can do it or not. Challenge yourself!

Mana is relatively simple when compared to Triage. In order to ensure you'll have sufficient mana for an encounter, you'll need to do some studying. Do some research, find out what gear/stats/talents will most greatly benefit your healing style. Odds are that if you know these things, put them into practice and have gear roughly appropriate to the encounter you're facing (so gear that is slightly below the quality of gear that drops from said encounter) then there is nothing holding you back from doing your job perfectly well. Of course, knowing the encounter helps as well, but we've covered that off in triage already.

The other mana related issue is overhealing. Casting your biggest heal onto a target that has full hp (or soon will) is a waste of mana and can contribute heavily to raid wipes if not managed. Countering overhealing comes down to study again. Know how much mana each and every heal in your arsenal costs, how long it takes to cast and how much it will heal for and you can basically avoid overhealing completely - unless someone stomps your heal, but we'll save that for later.

Still here? The last issue is aggro. This is something that no healer ever really needs to worry about, though I must point out one thing: If you begin to heal as a tank body pulls (aggro's a mob by running over to it) the beasty will take one look at you and then rip your squishy body to pieces. Car breaks down, journey stops, everyone complains at you for over-revving the engine.

That's about all there is to know about raid healing. Check this post for links to your class to get help on the appropriate stats/gems/talents/etc.

Lastly, as a healer you will be the hero who remains unnoticed and unthanked - but you will begin to recognise other healers for what they really are, and they too will know you to be such a hero as well.

-Ahz

The Final Score for July - Progression Update

Yes, I know I'm posting this in what is now technically August. I maintain that I couldn't possibly post a final score if the month had not truly finished - I shall

fiercely dispute any claims that it is simply because I'm lazy *rage face*

Final Tally:

NAXX: CLEAR
OS: 1/1 (+1)
VoA: CLEAR
EoE: 0/1
ULD: 6/13 *new*

I must confess: I totally destroyed our Ulduar attempt today. Overenthusiastic screwing with calendar times in an ill-fated attempt to please everyone ended up seeing half of the raiders showing up at midday and the other half in the evening.

However, the guild - more determined than ever to fly in the face of my villainy - heroically beat down Ignis, Razorscale, XT, Kologarn and Auriaya with just a single wipe on the crazy cat lady.

A special mention must be made of Banakin who decided, being the professional meatshield (really) that he is, that the molten/brittle construct mechanic on Ignis was too complex and simply tanked every construct that spawned over in a corner. I swear that bull is near untouchable.

Again, big congrats to Rozie for scoring the VoA mammoth and becoming the envy of just about everyone who's ever been to VoA (it's not gonna be so easy for the rest of you... I have plans, oh yes) and of course a huge thanks to everyone who helped get the guild off the ground this month. I truly hope you're all having as much fun as I am :D

I can't wait to see what August will bring for Harms Way. As always, check your calendars and watch this space... I have a good feeling about the month to come.

-Ahzae

Please forgive the formatting in this post... something has gone amazingly wrong in the editor and I can't figure out how to fix it. Also, it won't let me use a frustrated face (>.<)