We’re winding down now! You’ve got the gear, the enhancements and the consumables now. You’re just going to go in and just pwn everything in there, right? RIGHT?! Well, not necessarily. Raiding is very different from even heroic 5-man groups. In this post, I want to talk specifically what goes on in a raid, and what to generally expect.

(NOTE: these posts typically have links in them that go to other websites that delve into deeper detail than I will, in case you’re curious to learn about the nitty-gritty.)

It’s An Over-Sized Instance
If you’ve never attended a raid before, it’s basically any other instance you’ve been to before, but usually much more difficult and much much bigger. There’s more trash, bigger/badder bosses, and everything is generally much more challenging. If a group is going into a particular instance for the first time, there’s going to be wipes, frustration, and learning going on. Not to mention, the loot is usually much, much better than you’d get in even heroic instances.

Instead of just working with 5 people though, you’re working with 10 or more. The dynamic changes drastically. No longer are you just a small group of people tackling content you couldn’t solo, you’re taking on content that needs an entire team of people to do it! Everyone needs to be able to work together as one to even take out trash mobs. When the boss fights come up, things can get rather crazy for the first (few) times as people learn what they should be doing.

Know What You’re Up Against
Raid leaders will generally direct you as to what to do. Kryj, Gwid, Arch and other typical leaders will tell you when they’re pulling, who to take down first, and who needs to do what in general. It’s incredibly nice of them, but it can take precious time to do it. (Not to mention, some people learn better reading than hearing things.) If Karazhan is going to be your first raid, there are some really tough fights where you’ll need to know what to do, what positions to be in, when to run away, etc.

What I’m getting at here is that it will help you, and the rest of the raid, tremendously if you take a few minutes and read a strategy or two. It’s not required for you to know what to do blindfolded and your hands tied behind your back, but having at least a general idea of what’s going to happen will give you a leg-up and possibly help prevent those early wipes/frustrations that sometimes happen. Here are a few sites I go to and recommend for strategies:

• WoWWiki: Just type the name of the boss or the instance and you should be able to find a tactics guide fairly easily.
• Boss Killers: This site is great if you’re also looking for videos and the like in addition to just text.
• AmpWow: Another good site that also provides pictures for you to better see how placement needs to go.

Learn, Adapt & Be Patient
Even when you, if only briefly, read a strategy guide, it’s not quite the same as actually being there (relatively) in person. Boss fights especially will not always go as how you’ve read because there are so many factors that can effect the outcome of an encounter. (Gear-level, buffs, player/boss placement, adds, mistakes, etc.) So many times, even for seasoned raiders, a simple mistake is made that ends up killing everyone.

But we’re talking about new(er) raiders. When you first start to raid a particular instance, you may wipe, over and over again, until finally everyone ‘clicks’ and take down that boss. It’s important, especially if the group wipes, for players to recognize what went wrong, and how to improve if that same thing happens again. Sometimes, you’ll end up not only trying to make sure you don’t make a mistake, but compensate for someone else if they do.

Everyone has their own roles to fulfill, yes, but players also need to be flexible enough to support each other should the time come. (And, it will come sooner than later.) Eventually, when you raid with people long enough, you see how they play, how they react to an ‘oh shit!’ moment, and how they can support someone if needed. So, you’ll be doing a lot of learning when you first start to raid.

Listening & Patience
You’ll be doing a lot of listening, at the very least. Our guild uses Ventrilo for voice chat, which is infinitely better than trying desperately to type to someone to get out of a void before they’re killed. So while you’re in battle, you’re also going to have to make sure you can listen to commands/hints. The raid leaders will be barking at who to focus on next, healers may call out if you’re being effected by a debuff or are out of range, etc. Sometimes things can get heated, but take it all in stride as usually it’s nothing personal.

I also want to stress patience. No one clears Kara as a group and makes a full clear the first time. People can get frustrated when you spend almost half of the raid time wiping, releasing, running back, only to wipe again and start the process all over again. While you’re learning, while you’re adapting, you need to be patient in the mean time. I remember when I first when into Kara and wiped again and again at certain bosses. Eventually though, we got through it and now it seems like old hat.

Loot Rules & Courtesies
A big reason why we raid to begin with is the loot! There’s a problem that can sometimes come with loot though: drama. Drama absolutely sucks, and can come from loot ninjas, bickering over secondary sets, etc. So, guilds/groups that raid generally run some kind of loot rules. Our guild particularly runs a loot system called Suicide Kings. (Our members can access those rules, and the rest of our raiding rules HERE.)

In essence, we started raiding originally with 10 people. Those 10 people drew random numbers to become 1st-10th on a loot list. When a piece of loot drops, if number 1 wants it, they take the item and go to the bottom of the list. So, the list constantly changes because if someone desires something, they go to the bottom of the list then work their way up as others get loot. There are also secondary/third lists, but that’s best left to be read later on your own.

Lastly, as a courtesy to all raiding members, don’t loot trash until all of the fighting has been finished. The reason being for this is that if you loot something that needs to be rolled on, it pops up a window that can block buttons for other players. (Thus, sometimes, causing wipes because someone couldn’t click that one button that would have saved them.) Also, it’s usually a courtesy to leave the boss looting to the raid leader. (And they will typically wait to loot until everyone is alive and ready to discuss who gets what.)

How Long Will It Take?
For our guild at least, the standard time is three hours. Typically, we schedule raids from 8PM-11PM. If, at 11PM, everyone agrees to continue, then we usually do. (Typically to try to have a full-clear.) Of course, that’s how long it will take for a particular day.

It you mean, ‘How long will it take me to make it to a full clear,’ that really depends. I think for myself personally, I attended a Karazahn raid for the 4th-5th time before we finally downed the Prince. It really just depends on the group make-up.

But lastly, if you’re asking ‘How long will it take me to get every possible piece of upgraded gear in a particular raid,’ well, you may be raiding for quite a while, LOL. Arch will tell you first-hand that sometimes it seems like a particular item will always seem to refuse to drop when he’s in the raid that day, yet will drop the next day and will have to be dis-enchanted. For Kara, there are two tier-4 pieces that drop, but they won’t drop for every class, every time you down the bosses. So, You’ll be going into an instance time and time again before you actually ‘finish’ getting all of the upgrades you can possible get before moving on to the next.

Have Fun!
Most importantly, have fun when you’re in the raid. After all, if you’re not going to have fun at something, why do it to begin with? Especially with our guild, we raid because we enjoy it. We like seeing newer members blossom and progress and join the ranks of people who have successfully cleared a raid for the first time. If you take no other thing I’ve mention in the article home, please, take this one.

…….

Well now, we took a look at what to expect when you’re actually in the instance. (Hopefully, you’ll have a rough idea how the fights go by doing a little homework, too.) I know sometimes it can see like there’s so much to read/do just for raiding, but it’s all worth it in the end. Not only do you have fun with other players, but you get to experience new content. In the next post, we’ll be wrapping things up!

Tags: raiding, strategy, vent, wowwiki