We got the blues

Those summertime raiding blues.

At least, that is what everyone keeps telling me. I see a different angle of the picture and perhaps it's my inherent cynicism, but I tend to think that the reason raids have been so difficult to put together lately is because people will always believe what they want to believe, regardless of what you tell them.

Over the past few weeks it has been insanely difficult to fill out a raid of any sort, even the progression raids in Ulduar that everyone claims they want to be a part of. Yet, if I decide to try to forge ahead with putting a team together fifteen minutes before start time, I have almost no shortage of people on and able to go.

My theory is that I have a lot of chickens in the guild who think that there are good workarounds to the rules about signing up and showing up or facing the consequences.

This is super-frustrating. Currently, I have decided to cancel any raid that doesn't have a full complement of sign-ups. Perhaps no raids at all will spur people to be serious about signing up for those that are on the calendar? Hopefully the officers will also refrain from putting things together at the last moment - otherwise we'll just be rewarding the lazy.

Leading from the rear

It has been my experience that most raid leaders are the strong, plated and potentially stupid types - no intellect there, but that's a good thing or why would they volunteer to take the main beating from everything their guild comes up against? Yes, I'm talking about tanks (okay, I'm talking about warriors).

I am not a tank, never have been and at the rate I am not leveling my paladin, I probably never will be. In fact, my first three characters to make it to 70 were my mage, my lock and then my priest. I have a thing for pretty girls in dresses, I suppose. (Don't tell my husband!)

So, it's my natural affinity for being bossy and believing that I am better at communicating than anyone else that landed me the position of raid leader. That, and I sleep with the GM. Don't ever let anyone tell you that doesn't work, because it totally does.

Of course, a mage being my main leads me to the situation of having to try to lead from the rear. I may watch videos from and read TankSpot.com more religiously than many actual tanks in the guild, trying to get a feel for what to tell my MT and OT to do when we come up against a new fight in an instance and I am giving the strategy.

But that can only get you so far. After all, I have never had a chance to hop onto Vent and sit down with any of those sexy sounding men from TankSpot and pick their brains about particulars. So what can you do to be an effective raid leader with a thorough knowledge of an encounter when your role is as simple as: Stand here. Look out for that. Heal this guy/DPS your heart out?

1. Use the hell out of the internet

There are a lot of good guides out there and they're not hard to find. Some of them will focus on a certain class, but that should be seen as a bonus rather than something to ignore. For example, I've been reading and re-reading some of the How To's over at Ferarro's excellent blog for paladins. Something that is key is to remember that all aspects of a raiding team are important and if I can find anything to pass on to my holy paladins about how to heal some of those encounters, I'm going to try to pick it out and make sure it gets said. I also like to look at as many different videos and written strategies as I can find. After all, we didn't get Ignis down using the TankSpot video strategy.

2. Build a good rapport with your tanks

This one is a no-brainer. Your tanks are the people in your guild that are actually out there on the front lines and taking the beatings and learning how to position bosses and when to call out for another tank to taunt off and which debuffs are just going to kill someone. Talk with them if you're not sure what it is they do and you're trying to break in a new off tank. Or do what I do and sit back and let them talk about what they do best. Along with this, if you have class leaders, give them an opportunity to pass onto other people in their class any tips or tricks they've picked up along the way. I am constantly reminding my fellow mages to decurse here, pop your mirror image there and never hesitate to cast slow on any boss that has a soft enrage.

3. Admit when you have no idea and allow for feedback

Sometimes the best thing a raid leader can do is shut up and let someone else come up with something. In our guild, we have that 'know when to talk' rule and something I've gotten into the habit of saying at the end of whatever strategy I give is: "Any comments, questions or snarky remarks?" This is true for progression most of all of course, but it's good to be mindful that taking a few minutes out at the front end of things to make sure that everyone is on the same page can end up saving you a lot of wasted time in wipes and running back. Along with this, if your strat isn't working, allow other people to share alternate ideas that they might have found in their own poking around online. When we were first starting into Naxx, one of the officers in the guild found a video from some Asian guild that enabled us to get Heigan down for the first time. (RIP safe corner exploit.)

4. ...

5. Profit - I mean, be patient

Seriously, having the right attitude can make all the difference in a raid. Being calm about questions and mistakes and wipes can go a long way towards making everyone comfortable with your leadership. Keeping in mind that any of my advice is geared towards guilds who are casual and happen to raid, you're probably trying to do this anyway. But for someone who is trying to lead from the rear, it can be really important to make sure you're not flying off the handle and screaming profanity and abuse every time something goes the least bit wrong. Having healed more than a few raids on my druid and priest alts, I know how easy it is to get resentful of a face-rolling DPS jockey screaming his displeasure over a poor turn of events when the healers honestly were doing the best they could at the time. I imagine tanks also know what it's like to have some person standing way in the back, where it's safe, snidely asking, "Well, how come the tank can't stay up?"

Whatever else you may or may not do, solicit feedback and advice from the people you're trying to lead. Sometimes you'll have to ignore their more idealistic views or wishes and make tough decisions; but the bottom line is that you have to have people behind your leadership from a mental and perhaps even emotional level in order to be effective, no matter what role you have a raid situation.

Screenshot #2

A raid leader's nemesis:


This would be the second week in a row that the server has crashed on us while we were trying to raid Ulduar. Most of the people online went ahead and hopped onto a RP server that is completely undeserving of our unwanted attention.

What do you do when your home server crashes?

Making an example

It happened this weekend during a Heroic Naxx run: I had to stiffen my spine and remove someone from the raid just before a pull of the Four Horsemen.

There's a strange disconnect between how I felt as I labored over writing our raiding rules, thinking to myself with satisfaction that 'That'll fix 'em! Anyone who doesn't follow these rules will be booted so fast their head'll spin!' and the sick feeling of dread mixed with indignation that knotted my belly just before I removed the troublesome raid member.

The fact of the matter is that I don't really want to have to be a hard ass. Who does? Sure it's funny to watch the stereotyped jerks that are a staple of any sitcom that takes place in a working environment (Dr. Kelso from Scrubs comes to mind), but to actually step into those shoes and be that guy? There's nothing fun about it at all. For one thing, there are no lines to have memorized. For another, the person you're laying the smackdown on is not an actor paid to look hurt.

I did it anyway.

The priest in question went AFK just before Instructor Razuvious. We pulled anyway and he came back partway through. Then he went AFK just before Gothik. We pulled anyway and he came back partway through and then exclaimed over Vent as if he couldn't believe that 24 other people didn't wait for him to come back. Then we got to the Four Horsemen, where we ran into a bit of trouble with people dying in the back and the raid wiped a time or two. As we got ready for the third attempt, I sent out a ready check. Everyone came back immediately, except for him. I said aloud, "Pull anyway," and my husband, who was tanking, did so. As he pulled, I removed the priest from the raid.

Scarcely a second later, I received a frantic whisper. "Dude! Invite me back! I need this boss!" Since I was busily spamming heals in the back, I made no reply. He kept trying anyhow. Some time towards the end of the fight I died and replied back: "I made my decision for this raid. You have been warned before about your AFK's and I acted as I felt was best for the raid."

Then he got angry and abusive. I informed him that he was welcome to talk to an officer but that I suggest he wait until they were done with the raid as no one would have time to discuss it at present. His ill temper and foul language escalated. I nudged my husband after the last of the Four Horsemen dropped and after a look at that, the troublemaker was removed from the guild.

My hands and voice shaking slightly, I swiftly explained the series of events over Vent and many people, already irritated with the priest's lack of respect, expressed their approval. A few got quiet - other people who had received warnings.

The rest of the raid proceeded smoothly. I didn't have a single person break a single rule. While I always assumed something along these lines would happen - someone would just keep pushing until they were forcibly removed - and that it wouldn't be a great loss to the guild - it would be someone new and arrogant and unlikeable - I somehow never thought it would happen so soon.

I'm very glad, in a way, that it did pan out this way. Now I've had a chance to stick with my guns and demonstrate that yes, I am deadly serious about keeping the rules and holding each raider accountable to what they agreed to. At the same time, I also begin to see why the Raid Leaders of hardcore guilds (or at least the few I've been exposed to) are so callous and seemingly cruel. You have to carry yourself apart from the petty concerns of whether or not people will like you and make the hard decisions and do what's right even when it sucks. This only sucked mildly, since no one was particularly attached to the priest who is no longer in the guild.

Moving onward, I can only hope that no one in the core group of long time guild members who have really established relationships with others in the guild ever finds a need to push me to the same point.

Screenshot #1

For lighter days, I thought I would do some screenshots. Most will be silly and, because I have a hard time ever shutting up, most will have some sort of explanation.

This is one my husband took of another mage and myself on a Shadow Labs run, way back in the day. Despite the fact that I'm a human and she's a gnome, I bet you can't tell which is which.

This was posted in our guild forums along with a line about him catching us with no makeup. Very. Funny.

The testing of our rules

When I came on board as a raid leader, the first thing I did was sit down with the guild leadership and work on writing up a list of rules that would govern the way we do the casual raiding thing. One of our craftier officers, who has managed people for a living, gave an excellent suggestion during this process. He said that whatever rules we put out for people to look at should also have a requirement attached to them - basically, that anyone who wanted to raid should sign on the thread that they read and agreed to the rules. This brings our few rules into the realm of 'enforceable' and thereby makes them worth having.

Because being casual and raiding is the aim, we had to consider what was important enough to us that we could enforce it without simultaneously shooting ourselves in the foot by disqualifying everyone from raiding within the first few weeks.

Our rules - without the extra paragraph of details - read more like points of what should be common sense (but so often aren't):

1. Raider sign-ups: Raiders must sign up in order to attend raids.
2. Don't accept what you can't make: We hate having to scramble to fill a spot 5 minutes after the raid was supposed to start and you're still not here.
3. Your time is not your own: We shouldn't have to wait on you so show up on time and ready.
4. AFK's kill: Don't AFK every 5 minutes. We have scheduled breaks every hour.
5. Know when to talk and when to not: Are you the Raid Leader? No? Then shut up and let me give the strat.
6. QQ about loot or raid spots will not be tolerated: If loot is all you're here for, go elsewhere.
7. Raiders will not be asked to raid instances they're not ready for: No, we don't want fresh 80's on progression fights.
8. The not very fine print: Say that you agree to this or you don't get to raid with us.

I'm a naturally rude person. You might be able to tell from my paraphrasing of those rules.

When I first posted the rules to the raiding forum I rather thought that there would be some negative feedback about the eighth item. There wasn't much, but the signatures didn't exactly come pouring in. Oddly enough, it was the seventh rule that raised the most hue and cry. Why? Because suddenly there was something people had to do other than hit 80, run a heroic or two, and sign up to be considered for progression raiding. (Progression being Ulduar - this has only been implemented over the past few months.)

Guild leadership decided to go with be.imba.hu for a yardstick rating system to apply to raiders. It seemed like an easy way to get an idea of where people were on getting geared up without having to individually armory each one and then attempt to analyze their gear and gems and enchants. It was also decided that progression raiders should have a rating of 450.00 or greater - not hard to achieve after going through Naxx a time or two. To make a long story short, when the dust finally settled, we lost about five people due to the blatant unfairness of requiring people to be geared for harder encounters.

That was our first test of commitment to our new rules. Now, not even two weeks into actually implementing the rules, I have passed out four reprimands to three different people. One raider is a hairsbreadth away from losing all raiding privileges. And I am struggling alone with what to do about raids that don't have a full complement of sign-ups. Should I start canceling them? Or accept last minute "I'll come's" from people in guild, thereby fostering an environment where people don't sign up because it's not really required? Not helping matters is that I did cancel a raid this week and an officer promptly stepped up to put something last minute together.

There is a fine line between enforcing the rules for the good of the guild and being flexible with some rules, also for the good of the guild. Right now, I am pushing for a probationary period both for new recruits and new raiders. But the bottom line for me is that I would rather go back to being a smaller guild with people who care about what we have going and who care about making it work as a team than in pursuing a path where I have to try to beat 60 other raiders into some semblance of shape. I would rather have a dedicated and tight-knit team of 10 to get through Ulduar and never see it on heroic than to beat my head against people who just want to skate through.

Obviously, it's far too soon to throw in the towel and a guild meeting to discuss raiding schedules has been called. It just seems like every time we act in the interest of making something easier or better, it adds another layer of complexity and another rough mile to stumble over until we find our footing once again.

How did I get here?

When I first started playing World of Warcraft it was in the late vanilla days and I swore up and down that I would never raid. The friend who had recruited my husband and me to the game was a raider and his brother-in-law was what you might call a hardcore raider. Everything we had ever heard about those old 40-man raid days sounded hellish in the extreme, between lag and loot scrabbles.

Burning Crusade came out right around the time my husband and I were somewhere in our early 50's. Changes - major changes - were washing over the game but we knew too little at that point to understand just how fundamentally things had shifted. Our idea of sweeping changes at that time was that the GM of the only guild we had ever been in just came on one fine afternoon, passed the mantle of leadership to an officer, said farewell to us and the game and quit.

My husband and I paused in our slaughtering of pigs out in Hellfire (trying to grind our way to 58 so we could start the quest lines) and speculated aloud over what this might mean. All our friends, real life and otherwise, were wrapped up in this guild and we were getting our first real glimpse of how unstable, how transient things could be in this world.

Two weeks later, through a series of events and the desertion of nearly all the original members of the guild, my husband was the Co-GM of War Within a Breath. We were, we decided, a casual guild, focused on leveling and being social. Over the next several months we hit 70 on our mains and some alts. We leveled new alts. Our real life friends went to raiding guilds and started decking themselves out in epics. Our in-game friends started to decide that being casual and social wasn't enough for them and they also went to raiding guilds, many of them following the former guild leadership. We went through round after round of guild drama and eventually lost the other Co-GM. And we eventually got bored.

When we at last decided to start raiding, we had perhaps 12-15 70's in the guild and several of those were our own alts. Nevertheless, we started down the raiding path. Our real life friends came back, not because we were starting to raid and they just couldn't wait to slog through Kara again, but because they got burned out on the hardcore raiding scene. That's where the dream began, of raiding without being hardcore. Of having a guild that could be social and still get epics.

Within three weeks of starting to raid, we had a full clear of Kara. Yes, it had been nerfed all to hell at that point, and yes, our hardcore raiding friend main tanked us all the way through, but we were jubilant anyway. All of us in our little tight-knit guild had achieved something big. But we wanted more. Wouldn't it be amazing to be able to easily put a raid together? Wouldn't it be astounding to move on to harder content, like Mags or Gruul?

The guild alliances picked up in earnest, as did the recruiting. Soon we were running Kara every week with two or three different raid teams. The third one was often comprised mostly of alts. Then our big break came, or what we thought was the big break at the time. The number one raiding guild on the server decided to farm Gruul and since not everyone in their guild was interested in revisiting such easy content, we were able to bring several people along and essentially get carried through.

I learned how to mage tank Krosh Firehand and how to ignore the constant stream of profanity from the hardcore types. Everyone was abused pretty equally by the raid leader and it seemed more clear than ever that casual raiding was the way to go. Still, we were getting more tier gear in working with this other guild so we stuck with it.

A few months down the road, we broke off that relationship. We were farming both Mags and Gruul with them at the time, but we were growing as a guild and they were making room for only about 5 of our raiders at a time and there were a lot of complaints. We decided to go ahead and strike out on our own raiding adventures. Because we had so much practice with Mags and Gruul, neither of those were much of an issue for us. But then we thought that we should go give Loot Reaver a try.

At this time we had recently absorbed another guild and had elevated a few people from there into leadership positions. One was an officer and the other was a raid leader. All of a sudden, there was this huge push for being more serious about raiding. Within a month the game lost all its sparkle, friendships were at jeopardy (real life and otherwise for myself) and we splintered. In the aftermath I was more than a little ready to throw in the raiding towel altogether. It caused nothing but drama, it wasn't fun, and we couldn't do anything but Kara anymore because we were down something like 17 people. And I was sick to death of Kara.

After a period of darkness, we eventually got another guild alliance going. Because this other guild was also pretty laid back, we were able to work through content at a reasonable pace. We downed most of Tempest Keep, moved on to SSC and tore through it, hit up Mount Hyjal and only faltered on the last boss. We even went and cleared a bit of Black Temple before Wrath hit.

Since Wrath has come out, we've of course cleared Naxx on normal and heroic modes. We don't pay much attention to any of the one-boss wonders (EoE or OS or VoA), but have been known to get those taken out. Now we're heading into Ulduar, amidst a string of bad luck (summer schedules, computer issues, and server crashes), so are still working on Kologorn.

I've also become the Raid Leader. Whereas I was an officer ever since my husband became the Co-GM, I recently felt it was time to step down from that position. Then I got suckered into stepping into a position we haven't had open since that horrible splinter back in BC.

Which brings me around to why I am even here writing this. It's been a very long and often convoluted path that has led me to this place in my gaming life and I have found it interesting to think back to that new-to-MMO's girl who was dead set against raiding and contrast that with who I am today - the major proponent for organizing a recently bulging roster of casuals into something that can work together well enough to more or less keep up with content as it comes out.