Progression Raiding – Expectations

For those that know what this is you’ll probably realise how poorly named it is considering we are progressing through content already. Normally this event occurs only when we hit a wall on our regular raiding nights to allow the slightly more hardcore wipe bunnies to break down the barriers and help guide the rest of the guildies through the remaining content with slightly higher gear and more experience. This was an event which allowed raiders to stretch their legs a little and be focused more on getting new content down rather than the more casual aspects of War Machine raiding. It is expected that this group may spend an entire night on a single boss and not complain once as the people signing up love the hard stuff. In essence this team will provide the following:

1. Pathfinders for regular raid nights to determine when we should shift to new content
2. Adapt and adjust strategies for new content that works for us
3. Gear up to help support regular raiding nights
4. Wipes… lots of wipes

If you want to sign up for this team please contact the Raid Leader, or another progression raider. There are no specific requirements to get in , though the expectations as laid out on this page will apply.

What to expect in the raid

If you enjoy raiding but would prefer to be one of the crowd getting swept along in a sea of loot and laughs then this event might not be for you. In general the expectations for performance and raid awareness are higher as well as personal responsibility for things like chaining group healing CDs, interrupt rotations, tank and heal combo CDs, DPS reaction time, cycling personal damage intake mitigation, etc…

Some of the general raiding rules are twisted a little in this event:

1. The ban on strong language is relaxed (within reason)
2. Calling out/constructive criticism of individuals may occur so be prepared and don’t get offended (The expectation is you will put your hand up for fails before being told about them anyway)
3. Fluffy communication is removed for the sake of expedience (e.g. you probably won’t hear “Let’s not run that debuff through the raid if we could please, kindly and thank you, when you are ready”)
4. Remain respectful of your fellow raiders
5. Down bosses
6. Still have fun… but a different type of fun

The expectations for these raids is that you will all know the fights backwards and forwards with notes if needed and a very clear understanding of the role you have to play. In some cases you may not be getting the strategy we are using until that night and that may change as we get through the pulls and adjust. Although in general normal and heroic strategies are the same or similar in some cases role assignments and requirements may be different. Be prepared to adjust on the fly.

Be the best you can

We’re certainly not expecting people to be top tier raiders from World First raiders or streamers; however we would like you to be the best you can be at your chosen specs. The team will be pulling out all the stops to perform at a maximum level including basics like consumable usage, using personal buff food for better stats, changing talents and expansion/season specific attributes between bosses for the best output, researching a fight solely from your spec’s point of view in order to maximise DPS, being specific about gear itemisation rather than ilvl gear, and so forth. Take it with a degree of seriousness as you’ll find your colleagues will and they may be a little disappointed if you’re not. While this is just a game, consider progression as more of a sports team – don’t come to the park without your boots or you’ll kill the buzz. Everyone will know they’re running with someone who isn’t as committed which is not a nice feeling and it creates an awkward situation. If you need help with items, gems, chants, etc (e.g. can’t afford your boots) there are heaps of guildies only too happy to help. Not everyone has amazing amounts of time to spend getting together gold or crafting gears but that doesn’t mean we can’t be best prepared. But if this doesn’t sound like your cup of tea we completely understand. Progression, as with any other War Machine events, is completely optional. But it is important to understand the expectations before signing up.

Secondary specs and alts

As progression raiders it not required but helpful if you were to be ready to switch to a viable off spec if needed to better support our raid team. It definitely helps ensuring we have the right raid make-up for downing bosses. By viable we mean having the appropriate gear where possible, gemmed and enchanted as required (for specialised items), and something you are comfortable playing. E.g. some fights we’ll need to swap heals to DPS but would prefer to keep a decent spread of heals classes so you may be required to switch even though you have the highest heal output. As a benchmark you should be comfortable performing your off-role in a mythic dungeon. That’s not to say you need to prove this, but it’s a good guideline for personal performance and to be honest you should potentially be able to play multiple specs and classes if you are signing up for this event – that is the kind of confidence and knowledge that will aid you and the team greatly. We’re not pushing for prestigious rankings, so we don’t need to worry about eking out every little scrap of DPS however pure DPS classes should consider having viable alternatives. That being said we’re not going to tell you what off spec to play or force you to play it if you don’t want to, just be aware that getting the right comp for a night may mean having only limited spaces even in the face of flexible raiding e.g. there’s no need for 5 healers in an 11 man group. This is pretty unlikely to occur though, but it’s something to be aware of. Some of us may simply hate playing our off spec and will have no fun yet are very very good on their main. That is likely to translate into not performing in that secondary spec so that’s also something which will be considered. We’ll need to discuss this ahead of time so please bring this up when you want to join, and whether you intend to have a viable off spec. Just to be clear, my preference is not to have to switch people at all as we’ve chosen to play the classes we like to play, but sometimes it’s for the greater good.

Regular runs for progression raiders

War Machine has always been about inclusion rather than exclusion so the main purpose of this team is to help the rest of the guild get through current content. As such you should be attending regular raid nights with your mains to assist with clearing bosses. Bringing alts to these events unless needed for raid makeup should not be the priority (possible exception of Wednesday). Special exception can be made of course to very well geared alts that are used a lot in progression. To clarify, there should not be an expectation for us to bring our mains to progression night and then run alts through the regular Wed/Thursday runs to get gear. This would defeat the purpose of our progression evenings.

The purpose of the extra progression team is to benefit the guild, not to form A and B-teams.