#0 - Sept. 28, 2006, 1:51 a.m.
On that note, please have a look. ;)
Raiding Tips
Taking part in dungeon raids can be an adventure and a challenge for those participating. Raid dungeons take careful planning, coordination, knowledge, capable leaders, and skilled participants to conquer them. We have created this primer based off of community feedback to provide players with some tips on how to best organize and run a successful raid.
Selecting a Raid Leader
The raid leader can influence everything in the guild from recruiting, guild gathering (herbs/mining/recipes), to global guild plans. A capable raid leader is a player who is highly knowledgeable about the game’s mechanics, layout of the dungeons, and the specifics of each class’s role in a raid setting. Having this knowledge will help them to be effective at managing and organizing players of each class. It’s important that they are capable in problem-solving, should any disagreements arise between raid members. It’s also important for the leader to be able to remain calm when things go wrong and encourage raiders to continue the battle.
It can be beneficial to designate several qualified raid leaders in the guild.. This can help divide up the issues one may face when taking on the large responsibility of being a raid leader. Having multiple raid leaders is also helpful during times when a key leader isn’t able to log into the game.. Alternate leaders can then step into the role and ease any anxieties that a group might feel due to absence of their normal raid leader. .
Create a Guild Raiding Calendar
Consider creating a calendar of raid times that takes advantage of when your guild has the most members available. Let guild members know well in advance when a raid is scheduled to occur so that they can plan accordingly. You can create a sign-up sheet and ask players to sign up in advance. That way you will know who is showing up and can organize the raid effectively. There are also free website calendar programs you can use on your personal guild web site as well. At the very least, it’s always beneficial to create a forum post with the raid schedule for members to be able to plan their attendance accordingly.
Raid Scheduling
It’s often a good idea to schedule raids around the times that the raid dungeons reset. You can see when each dungeon resets by following the link below. You should also try to pick times that align with the play schedule of the majority of the guild. Be flexible with your start and end times and be prepared to substitute people in and out as the raid progresses, since people may either arrive late or need to leave early from the raid.
https://www.worldofwarcraft.com/calendar/
Raids Spanning Multiple Days
Most raids can be completed in increments. Initially, when a guild makes their first attempt at progressing through a raid dungeon, it can often take several hours to advance from boss to boss. As the guild begins to learn each encounter and perfect their raiding technique, players will find that the time it takes to complete the raid dungeon is significantly reduced. Many guilds work toward this goal so that they can cut down on the time investment of a particular raid dungeon and also schedule in others.
It’s important to try and schedule raids with plenty of time to allow for completion, otherwise the dungeon will reset on its scheduled day and you’ll have to start from the beginning. Consult the Raid Calendar when planning your raids to help make sure that you can complete as much as possible before the time of reset. Most importantly, be patient with yourself and your guild if you find that it takes some time to learn a particular dungeon, especially if you’re at the point where you can’t complete the dungeon before its reset.
Selecting the Raiding Dungeon
Initially you want to focus on raiding dungeons that benefit and better equip the majority of players. Once you have built up your guild’s equipment and gain experience working as a group, you can work to take on more challenging dungeons.
Upper Blackrock Spire (UBRS), Zul’Gurub (ZG), and Ruins of Ahn’Qiraj (AQ20) are all good places to begin. Upper Blackrock Spire allows 10 players to be in the instance at one point in time, while Zul’Gurub and Ahn’Qiraj allow for 20 players. From there many guilds head to Molten Core or Onyxia. Both of these encounters allow for 40 players to be in the instance at one time. Once those dungeons have been mastered, players often challenge themselves with Blackwing Lair (BWL), and Temple of Ahn’Qiraj (AQ40). Last but certainly not least is Naxxramas, which currently, is the most challenging raid dungeon in the game. Blackwing Lair, Temple of Ahn’Qiraj, and Naxxramas also all allow for 40 players to be in the instance at one time. If you’re looking for a non instanced experience there are multiple outdoor raid encounters located in many points throughout Azeroth, These can prove to be fun, challenging, and random. Keep in mind, since the outdoor raid bosses are not instanced, you may end up competing with other players for the victory. You can follow the link below for more information on the outdoor raid encounters.
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/basics/raidarea.html#outdoor
Before Raiding
Add-Ons
While World of Warcraft comes with many raid interface options, some guilds prefer to use specific 3rd-party add-on programs. Check with your guild to find out if they have any preferences on what add-ons their members should be using. Make sure that anything your guild uses or suggests does not violate the Exploitation Policy before you install it. Also, make sure you’re careful when downloading programs from unknown sources and always make sure that you’re running the latest firewall and anti-virus software available.
http://www.blizzard.com/support/wowgm/?id=agm01716p
Voice Chat Programs
Some guilds also use 3rd-party voice chat programs to organize and run their raids. They typically create a specific channel for their raid and have members join the channel. The raid leader then gives instructions via microphone and players can listen through their headsets or speakers.. Make sure that if you decide to use these types of programs that you do not use anything that violates any of our in-game policies.
http://www.blizzard.com/support/wowgm/?id=agm01712p
Learning the Raids
Prior to the start of a raid, make sure that the entire raid party knows which boss encounters are on the agenda. If the raid leaders are familiar with anticipated encounters, make sure that information is shared with everyone in the raid. Most often, guilds will have a section in their forums or website strictly devoted to strategies for every raid dungeon and boss encounter for their members to use as a reference. Understanding the fight is always half the battle!
Raid Materials (Mats)
There are many items that can be useful to have when raiding, such as resistance potions, flasks, healing potions, mana potions, repair bots, and so on. These items are generally referred to as consumables. Some consumable items are most useful when given to a specific class, while others are items that everyone can take advantage of. In many cases, guilds will stockpile several items for their members to use. In order to have all the consumables needed for the entire raid party each week materials will often be collected and made available prior to the raid starting. At the highest level of raiding, this becomes very important.
Get It Put Together First!
· Make sure that guild members bring their required items to the raid such as: resistance sets, correct equipment, potions, bandages, reagents and so on.
· Make sure guild members have their required dungeon keys, if needed. Remind everyone prior to leaving for the raid location.. Example: “Don’t forget your Onyxia key!”
· Sometimes providing lists of items needed for each raid dungeon can help members better prepare ahead of time.
Repair Before Raiding
Make sure guild members repair all of their equipment prior to raiding. This point can’t be stressed enough. Having to place a repair bot shortly after a raid begins because a member or several members have broken gear can become expensive.
Having multiple repair bots is always helpful in case the need to repair arises.
Loot
Before raiding, each member should know, understand, and agree upon the loot rules. Having this aspect of the raid understood by all will help prevent loot disagreements.
Master Looter
Many guilds feel that it’s a good idea to assign a very trustworthy player the role of master looter. The raid leader can set this option by right-clicking on his or her character portrait and selecting the master looter option. The master looter needs to always have as much available bag space as possible since they will be the primary looter. Having a master looter generally protects the guild from the possibility of someone taking an item without the permission of the guild.
Starting the Raid
Determine an exact start time for the raid and start inviting people to the raid prior to the raid start time. This time can be used to make additional checks on supplies and allows people a chance to finish up anything they need to do prior to the raid beginning. Make sure all of the raiders are at the designated starting spot prior to the start time. It’s important to f