This is a simple game: You throw the ball, you hit the ball, you catch the ball. You got it!
– Skip, In Bull Durham
Last month our guild recruited like gang busters so that we could do 25-man content without having to pug. On our guild web site we describe ourselves as “Casual Raiding Guild”. It’s a phrase I’m not too fond of (hmm, I probably shouldn’t have written it then, eh?).
The problem is that most people tend to think that casual means lackadaisical. In our guild casual just means you can raid when you want to. We try to have a set schedule, but it can change. We don’t min/max our raid composition. We try to bring our best players and make sure we have enough tanks, healers and dps. And most of all we have fun.
Just because we aren’t hardcore, doesn’t mean we are not raiders. Whether you consider yourself hardcore or casual there are basic things you need to do if you’re going to raid.
- Be on time. Try to logon at least 15 minutes before the raid start time. Ask the event leader what the start time means. Does a 9:00 pm start mean 1st pull or invites going out?
- Use a raiding spec and raiding gear. PvP gear just insn’t balanced for raiding. Also, there are a lot of talents that work in PvP but are useless in raids.
- Repair your gear. You should always start the raid with freshly repaired gear.
- Bring everything you need. Don’t rely on other classes to provide you with the things you need to raid. This can include things like,
- Water
- Bandages
- Buff food
- Flasks
- Potions
- Elixirs
- Ammo
- Pets
- Gear sets
- Know the loot. Know which items are an upgrade for you and where they drop. When a boss goes down you should already know what he might drop and if you can use it.
- Gem and Enchant your gear. All of these stats not only buff you, but they buff the raid.
- Use flasks or elixirs. Again, like the gems and enchants they buff you and the raid.
- Make sure you have all of the required addons and ensure they’re working.
- Stock-up ahead of time. Most guilds post their raids days in advance. Try to get what you need before raid night. There’s nothing worse than going to the AH minutes before the raid and not being able to find what you need.
- Learn the encounters. During boss fights we have people designated to call out things like lava waves and mutagen injections. This helps, but you should learn to recognize these things on your own.
- Have fun!
None of the things I listed are hard to accomplish. They’re all part of the raiding mindset. Don’t just raid, be a raider.
[…] a series on raiding etiquette. This will in part be an extended version of a post I made called Don’t Just Raid, Be a Raider (and no, I’m not talking about the football team in […]