What Your Guild Might Ask of You in a Raid

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When you start raiding for the first time, the biggest culture shock many players face is the fact that the character style they’re used to playing might not be good enough for the raid leader. There are players who, as Paladins, Druids, Warlocks, or Priests might be required to shift their talent specs, their style of play or their location in the raid according to who shows up on raid night and how many players are going into the raid. If you want to be drawn upon as much as possible and to prove that you are worth the efforts of your guild leaders, you need to be flexible and willing (plus able) to adapt quickly.

How Will You Adapt

To be fair, some classes don’t need to adapt all that much. Mages, Warlocks, and Warriors are not going to be asked to change what they do. They have roles in a raid that don’t change all that much. They might be asked to get a certain ability ready or to make certain items, but they’re not going to need to move. A Warrior with Protection spec is usually a tank, and Mages and Warlocks are always DPS (though Warlocks might on occasion prove useful as ranged OTs for short spurts).

However, those of you out there with hybrid classes such as the Paladin, Druid, Shaman, or Death Knight (and sometimes Priest), will find that your role in the fight becomes much more fluid. In some fights, a DK or Druid might prove to be a more effective tank for resistance reasons while Shamans might be great at support in one fight and work as off healers in another fight.

The long and short of it is that if you have abilities that work for tanking, dps and healing together on your character, you should be ready to use any of them at any time.

How Will I Know to Switch

In a raid, once the fight is started, you’ll almost always have a set position to work on. You’re not going to be tanking for one trash mob, then DPS for the next and then Healing on a boss. But, between bosses or instances as a whole, you might find that the needs of your raid party change and that is when you should be willing to switch.

Of course, you need to be honest. If you know nothing about DK tanking (it’s a tough role), you should say so upfront. Everyone in that raiding party is going to rely on the tank to keep them alive (by staying alive). If you fail to do that one thing repeatedly even when you claim to know what you are doing, your peers may not be pleased.

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World of Warcraft Guides

10 Man or 25 Man? How Do You Choose?

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Raiding is a rite of passage for any World of Warcraft player. It demonstrates that you are not only at the top of the leveling scheme – a full Level 80 – but it shows that you are well respected by your fellow players in a guild and that you are well equipped and effective enough in your role to go in and be responsible for a key role in the defeat of major bosses.

But, these days, those new to raiding are finding that the content is more complex and numerous than ever before. Every raid comes in 10 or 25 man modes, there are new versions of old raids being added to the game all the time, and now with the advent of the Trial of the Grand Crusader, there are hard modes for raids, effectively creating 4 different modes for each encounter.

So, How Does This All Work?

The first thing to know is that 10 man raiding is very similar to 25 man raiding, even if you don’t get as good of gear and the bosses are much easier. More than anything else though, it is tremendous practice for a 25 man boss that might otherwise wipe you silly. It also makes it easier to practice for every raid. A smaller guild may only be able to get 25 people together once a week, but 10 people might be up for raiding 3 or 4 nights a week – and they can do so by practicing whenever the game allows.

So, what does all this mean for anyone that is interested in figuring out what is going to happen when they hit Level 80? To start with, you need to do 10 man raids first. It’s not just that 25 man raids are harder, there is a gear gap between dungeons and 25 man raids now that makes it impossible to go straight from one to the other. You’ll need to spend a bit of time working on getting the right ilvl gear in 10 man raids to reach the 25 man content.

Whatever your current position, if you are just starting out on raiding for the first time, take your time and learn what it takes to do it properly. That means spending your time learning about the different ways to play your character, different combinations of talent specs you can use, and how you might be used by your raid party leader.

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Mastering the 3.2 Raid Content in the Argent Coliseum

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New raid content can always be a little overwhelming upon first peek. Many people have no idea what they are supposed to be doing when they walk into a new raid for the first time and in the case of the Argent Coliseum, things were a bit tougher due to the prevalence of the fact that the encounters were only unlocked a week at a time.

Depending on when you’re reading this, there may still be some hard mode bosses that have not yet been defeated due to the lockouts. But, for anyone that feels intimidated by not having time to practice and get ready for their first 25 man encounter with Anub’Arak, there are some ways to get ready.

Reading Up on It

While many people may be behind the curve, there are a lot of players who are out there defeating new content as soon as it is available. Still others were defeating this content on the PTR weeks ago and they are even further ahead than most. As with any new content in the game, the first thing you should do is to go out and start researching what you can do to get started. This means reading up on the past encounters, the gear and stat needs, and whatever else you can do early to get prepared.

Keep Practicing

Even if you think you’re reading for the newest raid content and have defeated everything else, sitting back and waiting for a few weeks is a bad idea. Keep practicing, even when something isn’t available or you are forced to sit and wait for your guild to get into the idea of going after new content.

Take Notes and Be Persistent

The Trial of the Crusader is a tough raid instance for a few reasons. First, you need to adjust your strategies significantly with The Faction Champion, going into a PvP mode many of you may not be used to. Second, there are the Val’kyr that are just a chaotic mess. Strategy there is hard to maintain. Finally, there are a few million people who already think they know how Anub’Arak is going to play out – check that knowledge at the door. On 25 man mode or in heroic 25 man mode, Anub’Arak is something else entirely.

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The Three Essential Keys to Playing a Good Raiding Tank

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There are two roles in raiding that can be among the hardest and most stressful in World of Warcraft. The first is that of a healer. The other is that of a tank. A tank is responsible for maintaining the focus of encounter bosses and trash mobs throughout an encounter, taking major damage and trying to hold agro with AoE threat attacks and numerous other cooldowns all at once.

One small mistake from a main tank can quickly lead to a raid wipe. So, it’s important that a tank knows exactly what they are doing before taking on such an important role. For those interested in tanking for their guild, here are three tips to ensure you are prepared for the demanding position you’re seeking:

1. Practice Often

Step one is to practice daily – ensuring that you get a good feel for how your character operates and what is expected of you. If you leveled up your character under a different talent spec (e.g. an Arms Warrior), then switch to your tanking spec and start practicing with it in PvE solo play. You can run daily quests or play around with your friends while getting acclimated to the different abilities that your character has available to them.

2. Start Off Small

Never start out by trying to tank a raid, no matter how many videos you’ve seen and practice you’ve completed. You should start out small, and by small it should be very small. Go on 5 man runs in Outland and learn how to pull an encounter and hold them in place. It may only take your team 15 seconds to kill bosses in those early instances, but the practice you gain by learning how your character operates as a tank is vital. You’ll never be able to gain that experience effectively with 24 other players filling your raid channel with expletives when you get them wiped.

Even when you’ve gotten to the point that you feel comfortable running those early 5 mans, move on to the Wrath 5 mans with teams, even before you hit heroic. You shouldn’t do anything challenging until you feel comfortable in the role of the Main Tank. That might take a few days or a few weeks to accomplish.

3. Gear and Consumables

All the knowledge and preparation in the world is meaningless if you’re not fully geared and stocked for an instance. A good tank needs to be as maxed out on his or her stats as possible for the instance you’re running. This means you should have 20,000+ HP for any 10 man raids before Ulduar and 25,000+ HP for any 25 man raids before Ulduar. After that, scale it accordingly to the gear you acquired during those earlier raids.

The same goes for consumables. Choose your buffs wisely, ensuring you get the necessary boosts to your Attack Power and Haste that are needed to keep your threat levels high and reduce the impact of high level bosses.

If you can do these three things and spend a good chunk of time preparing yourself effectively for what it takes to be a good raider, you might find that your guild quickly elevates you to a status of prominence. Good tanks are hard to come by. Prove you worth and you’ll be welcome for plenty of content to come.

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Raiding Consumables – What You Really Need to Succeed in WoW

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When you start playing the raiding content in World of Warcraft, especially at the end-game level, you need every advantage you can get to ensure that you’re set for what the game can throw at you. This is why you must get your talent specs just right and have all the necessary rare or epic gear in place before raiding. It is the reason for having all your gem slots filled, your enchants maxed out and your glyphs topped off. And ultimately, it is why you need to stock up on all the consumables that will boost key stats while you are in a fight.

There are a few different kinds of consumables you’ll need to have in place for your fights. Here is a basic breakdown of each and what you should be looking for:

Potions and Elixirs

The potions and elixirs are multiple when you reach end game and will include everything from basic mana and health potions (of which the Runic variety is the best currently) to high level guardian and battle elixirs that will boost your key stats in multiple areas. It is important that you match your elixir needs to which class you are and what stats are most important.

For example, if you’re a Rogue or Hunter, you had better be working on your Agility while Warriors should use the opportunity to cap out things like Defense and Stamina.

Flasks

There are a limited number of truly useful end-game flasks. These flasks, which last for an hour in a raid and don’t disappear on death, will take the spot of both your battle and guardian elixir on the cooldown, so you’ll only be able to use it once. However, the Level 85 Flasks in the game, which include Endless Rage, Pure Mojo, Stoneblood and Frost Wyrm are all highly useful in raiding (even if they are rather expensive). Here is a listing of each and which classes should have them:

* Flask of Endless Rage – Increases Attack Power by 180 – Melee and Ranged DPS.
* Flask of Pure Mojo – Increases Mana Regen by 45 MP5 – Ranged Spellcasters and Death Knights.
* Flask of Stoneblood – Increases Max Health by 1300 - Tanks
* Flask of the Frost Wyrm – Increases Spell Power by 125 – All Spellcasters.
As you can see, having one of these flasks in a raid can be highly useful for anyone looking to get the upper ground on even the toughest of bosses.

Stat Food

The last category of stat boosting consumables is food. Food comes in many forms and in Northrend is either available as fish based or meat based options. These foods will allow you to boost certain stats according to the style of food being eaten.

In Wrath of the Lich King, more advanced food was added as well which requires special Spices to cook, only obtained through Dalaran Cooking Rewards. These foods will have better returns for those who take them into raids. On top of all those are Feasts which are made up of multiple different kinds of meat and fish.

Your statistics are incredibly vital to being an effective member of a raid. If you’re serious about boosting your raiding power and really knocking those mobs out of the park, make sure to bring along a good set of potions, elixirs, flasks, and food.

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Essential Strategies to Make Yourself an Elite Raider

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Raiding in World of Warcraft is a rite of passage. It takes hours upon hours of practice, dedicated focus on the part of you and your guild, and a very keen eye for the right gear, consumables, and strategies. But, those that master these steps soon rise to the echelon of their servers, drawing accolades from their fellow players in droves. But, how do you get to that pinnacle of raiding perfection? It starts with proper preparation and careful strategy.

The Right Group

Step one to any raiding strategy is finding a good group of people to go raiding with. When you go on a raid, you are with 10 or 25 people. This means that you are only a small part of a much larger whole. It is important to find players who are good at playing those individual roles and who are willing to take orders and learn along with everyone else. If you are starting your own guild, find four or five good players who will do their research and share with everyone else to be officers. If you are joining another guild, look for one that will cater to your play style and availability. The people you play with will have a tremendous impact on how well you develop as a raider.

Your Gear

Next up, make sure that you are properly geared for whatever raids you are attempting to go on. There are hundreds of encounters in World of Warcraft and many of them have specific needs for your gear. Your class will also have a profound impact on what you wear. Naxxramas for instance on 25 man mode might require a small bit of frost resistance gear for players with low natural resistances or low defense numbers. Make sure you are properly geared to keep from wiping your entire raid group around you.

Your Talents

Your talent spec is a vital part of who you are and will determine when you get chosen for a raid and how you are integrated into that raid. If you want to effectively play a role in a raiding group, you need to effectively choose talents that will help you excel as a tank, healer, or DPS accordingly. Check to see what your guild needs more of and then cater your build to those needs.

If you are a hybrid class, you should consider having a dual spec that allows you to switch between two high demand roles. For example, if you are a Death Knight, you may want to have a Blood and Frost Spec so that you can switch between DPS and Tanking if you are ever needed to tank in this role.

At the end of the day, being an elite raider is about practice and teamwork. You’ll never make it happen on your own, so find a good group of players you can count on and work with them intensely to build up your reputation and your skill level. Only then (and several thousand wipes later), can you start to call yourself truly elite.

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Proper Raid Progression for Your Guild

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Raid progression is a very important part of the end-game content in World of Warcraft. Rather than trying to figure out where you’re going on your own, Blizzard has pretty much set an order in which you should complete raiding content so that you have the next level of gear prepared for when you start up on a new raid. It also helps ensure that when you start on a new raid that your guild is ready for the content and has enough DPS and health to take down the boss without unnecessary wipes.

The Lower Levels

Lower level raiding content is more or less unnecessary any more. By the time you reach Level 80, old raids in Azeroth and Outland can be completed with fewer players and much more easily. However, that doesn’t mean you should ignore it. For new guilds and fresh Level 80s who never raided in Outland, these old raids can be a tremendously useful way to build your experience while not having to restart every four minutes from a wipe. You’ll be geared up without having to spend gold or craft anything and you can start practicing with your mods and your new team members. Try out raids like Karazhan and Hellfire Citadel to get a feel for the higher level of play.

Level 80 Raids

When you start out with Level 80 raids, you should have already gone through all the dungeons in Northrend as well as the heroic versions of those dungeons. You’ll find that if you go all the way up to Trial of the Champion, you can start getting a number of high level Epic items from 5 man content, even before you start raiding.

This will help you outfit you characters effectively so that when you first step into Naxxramas, you’ll be ready. Make sure when you do that, you start on 10 man raids and that you have at least all rare and epic gear. If you have any uncommon pieces you should go buy or craft something new.

After Naxxramas, you can raid through the Eye of Eternity and the Obsidian Sanctum, followed by Ulduar and the finally the Trial of the Crusader. However, keep in mind that before you even start on 10 Man Ulduar, you should have completed 25 Man Naxxramas, allowing you to progress higher with better gear. You shouldn’t play any content in Ulduar or higher without all epic gear.

Maintaining Progression

At a certain point, it can be hard to ensure you have all the gear pieces you need to reach the next level of content. In these cases, you should go to the Armory at www.wowarmory.com and look at your gear options. Look at what upgrades are available and if you can get them without going to the next raid. The more high level gear you gather for yourself before starting on the next step in the progression, the more fun you’ll have in that next raid because you won’t die nearly as much.

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How to Get Accepted By a Top Tier Guild

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Guilds are the meat and potatoes of the World of Warcraft raiding scene. If you’re serious about building and maintain a reputation as a top level raider in the game, you need to work on finding a good guild that you can contribute to on a regular basis. That said, it isn’t necessary to land a spot in Premonition or For the Horde right away. These top level guilds are more like professional sports teams with tryouts, detailed background checks and constant checking in on your progress. It can be stressful to live up to the expectations of playing for them.

Rather, you’ll want to find a good guild that will allow you to focus your energies into actually becoming better and not worrying about if others are becoming better. Here are some strategies for how to make yourself stand out, how to attract people you’ll enjoy playing with, and how to be sure the guild you join is for you.

Start Pugging Early

The easiest way to get into a good guild is to show that you’re a top raider right when you step in. To do that, you need to start raiding early and the only way to do that without a guild is by joining PUGs. These groups will allow you to get some experience, learn details on the instances early on and get a good feel for what you’ll be doing when you start doing this on a semi-pro basis.

Get Hard to Acquire Achievements

As a solo player, getting some hard to acquire solo achievements is a good way to show off who you are. For example, completing all the quests in Kalimdor or the Eastern Kingdoms before Cataclysm comes along and tears them all apart will be a major accomplishment. There are plenty of rare achievements and feats of strength that will make you appear at the top of your game and seem all that much more appealing to a raiding guild going through applications.

Join Guild Forums and Try to Add to the Conversation

Another very easy way to get an in to the bigger guilds is to network and get to know some of their members early. If you can get a referral from a member already in the guild, it’ll be much easier to get yourself positioned at the top of the guild. To do that, you will need to find where the guildies talk, what they talk about, and above all else, try to sound intelligent. Don’t just spout out random nonsense or get angry about everything – that’s not the kind of player most guilds want to pick up.

If you are truly bent on becoming a top raider in a world class guild, you’re going to have to prove yourself to the guilds before anything can happen. That means spending some time getting used to the idea of long, solo grinds, and spending long hours tracking down and talking about big WoW things with existing guildies. But, if you can pull it off, the glory and recognition that come from that new position will be well worth the effort you put in.

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AddOns Your Character Needs for Optimal Raiding

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When you start blasting through raiding content in World of Warcraft, one of the first things you will notice is that the interface provided by Blizzard to get the job done isn’t very good. After all, they just now got around to adding maps of the dungeons in recent patches – after 4+ years of content. So, if you’re serious about raiding with the pros, you’re going to need to pick up a few add-ons that will make your job a bit easier.

Many guilds even have lists of add-ons they require for their players so that everyone in the raid is looking at the same screen of information. So, it’s important that you start getting familiar with these add-ons early, even before you start raiding. If you can familiarize yourself with them when you are still back running 5 man dungeons, you’ll be ready to implement the strategies you need when you hit the 25 man raiding content.

Omen

This mod will take care of measuring and reporting your threat level and the threat levels of everyone in your party from their spells, attacks and taunts. You will be able to keep a close eye on where you stand so that you don’t pull agro from the main tank.

Recount

This add-on will keep track of the DPS and Healing numbers being dealt by each player and the totals being put out by the raid as a whole. It makes it much easier to know if you’re hitting the boss for as much as is necessary to beat the enrage timer.

Deadly Boss Mods

Almost every guild on the planet requires this mod because of just how helpful it can be. The Deadly Boss Mod will provide detailed strategies, timing and specifically necessary adjustments on screen for each boss. It will also do cool things like send a whisper to anyone that tries to contact you while you’re reading and it doesn’t burn your memory down so fast like other mods have a habit of doing.

Cooldown Count

Keeping track of cooldowns can be tough when you are trying to gauge the little clocks on the abilities. With cooldown count, you can watch and see exactly how much time is left before your abilities come back up.

SmartRes

This add-on will make resurrection much easier by coordinating it between all of your different rezzers. Instead of dual rezzes or someone wasting their spell, you’ll be able to save your time and mana, getting back from a wipe much faster than you would otherwise.

Even if you’re just starting to run instances, having these mods installed in your game so you can get used to them as you start playing this higher level content is a good idea. It helps you practice and prepare for whatever might happen when you start raiding for real. Just make sure to turn them off when you’re not in a raid so that you can save on memory and lag, and enjoy more of your interface while not in a raid.

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