Core Raiding – Expectations
(This is a summarised version of the book of knowledge raiding guide).
Two phased raid night approach
There will be two raid nights, one on Wednesday and one on Thursday. Both of these raid nights will be 2 hours long. Generally speaking, Wednesday is the fresh start and Thursday continues on from that. The specifics of a night will be highlighted if possible in the calendar event posted in-game.
Sign Up Guidelines
- If you sign up for a raid and cannot make it please let the raid leader assigned know before start time
- If you need to leave early or will be arriving late due to external circumstances please let your raid leader know before the raid starts
- Leaving mid-raid because you ‘feel like it’ is not fair to others if it has an impact on the night. Obviously, actual circumstances requiring you to leave are not an issue (eg. this includes fatigue from a long working day)
- Sign up and bring your mains unless you have discussed bringing an alt
- Sign up with the character you’re bringing as this will impact the raid composition determined by the Raid Leaders
- Be ready for an invite 10-15 minutes early and head out immediately upon invitation to the raid entrance
Raid composition
At War Machine our priority is to ensure you have fun in whatever medium that is. As such your raid leaders are tasked with the responsibility of trying to ensure you get to play the class and spec you want for the general raid nights. In most cases we will have enough tanks, healers, range, and melee to get the job done. The number of healers required will be based on the size of the group and determined by the raid leader on the night. Notification of role changes for those people than can change (including alt options) will be given before the raid starts where possible. That being said, challenges with certain raid make-ups and bosses may come to light which might mean a switch mid raid. Most switching will be handled by members of the progression team and raid leaders which will be explained later.
Loot Rules
Loot rules are simple for the time being. Since loot is distributed by the “Personal” system, any unwanted loot you receive can be put up for a roll to the rest of the raid in the following way: Whisper the person designated to handle this (not the Raid Leader) with your item linked. These items will then be offered up for Main Spec, Off Spec and Transmog rolls, one at a time. The item is then traded to the announced winner.
Bind on Equip items follow the same rules. However, unclaimed BoE items may be donated to the guild bank.
In the interest of fairness you are allowed one each of main spec and off spec rolls, until all others of the same eligibility have theirs and then you may roll again. This simply allows loot to spread more evenly.
Gear Requirements
There are no enforced gear requirements outside of mechanic-specific requirements (eg. legendary cloak is required for the last 2 Ny’alotha encounters). As a ‘rule of thumb’ it is considered good etiquette and sense to be within about 15-20ilvls of the gear level that a raid encounter drops. This makes you an effective member, especially in smaller groups where each person has a bigger individual impact. Feel free to discuss with the raid leader or a Warlord officer if you are unsure about your current gear.
Preparation
Keep it simple: Repair, restock, show up. Don’t forget your bonus roll tokens!
Bring your favourite foods and potions and flasks, or ask someone who can supply – War Machine members and officers try their best to have a good supply of these consumables, so contributing to the overall stockpile of materials such as herbs and fish goes a long way. Most raids are catered for if everyone chips in.
For encounters, while there is no mandatory requirement to research every boss and know every detail of a fight, it is for your own benefit to have an idea how an encounter might work. Read the journal, watch videos and ask questions. It is the burden of the Raid Leader to put the most effort into research and spend the most spare time building strategies, but having others available who are clear on their and others’ roles helps tremendously.
Raiding Help
Raiding at this level is about having fun and many of us can’t do that unless we feel we are adding value. Not everyone wants to spend hours figuring out their perfect rotation or itemising for maximum performance, but there are some of us who love it. Use these people. If you feel you are under performing and not having any fun as a result please let you raid leader know on the quiet and they can arrange someone to run through a few tips and tricks with you, all on the sly. We’re happy to help anyone on anything and there are some pretty talented players in the guild that would be only too happy to share knowledge.
Our goal for Core Raid Nights
Fun… Fun is the name of the game, because it IS a game. Fun for everyone is a little different so the above guidelines are designed to make sure the raid as a whole has the best chance of getting some bosses down, looting up a storm, and having an enjoyable night with friends.
To facilitate this we need to adhere to the following rules:
- Listen to your raid leaders instructions at all times – feedback is definitely welcome if things aren’t working and you have useful input
- No swearing
- No calling out individuals for poor performance
- No blaming others or finger pointing – the Raid Leader likely already knows what happened anyway
- Constructive feedback should be taken as just that
- Respect your fellow raiders
- Have fun
For more detail please read through the ‘Are you ready to raid’ document