Raiding Etiquette

[Maxiim]

Ok, I feel the need to share some ideas, experience, and try and establish some sort of “raiding etiquette” in an effort to nip a few problems in the bud before they happen.

Put your raiding face on
The challenges we will be facing are going to be tough until we begin to get experience and gear in dealing with them. There are going to be wipes, huge repair bills, and a bitter taste left in the mouth after some of these encounters. But trust me, its times like these that make handing a boss’s ass to him that much more pleasurable. However the case maybe there will be a lot of prep work done by certain valuable individuals that will make a huge difference in these encounters and they need to be shown some respect. Behavior that threatens the integrity of the raiding group will not be tolerated i.e Leeroy Jenkins, causing wipes because of an altered state of mind, goofing off etc. This kind of stuff only serves to stress people out more than they already are, wastes valuable resources, and frankly disrespects those who put a lot of time in preparing and supporting the raid runs.

Along the same lines everyone has their “blonde” moments and that’s fine and that’s not what I’m talking about. I have targeted a boss before with the right click instead of the left click and had autoshot engaged…….yeah felt really smart after that wipe. Nuff said about that, I think you get the picture.

Be Prepared
]You should always read boss strategies and watch videos before raids until you are familiar with the fights yourself. Some raiders feel it is unnecessary because someone can always explain the fight. Explaining the fight and seeing the fight are entirely different. It isn’t that you can’t succeed by having it explained to you, but the explanations make a lot more sense when you’ve at least seen it once.

Websites like TankSpot and BossKillers are great places to find strategies. Tankspot has several well done videos.

Remember to have all your necessary raid items purchased and in your bags before the invites go out. Also remember to have your armor fully repaired. Have alternate gear in your bags and ready in case you have to switch up on different boss fights.
Buy anything you need ahead of time and not at the time of invites. Having to track down repairs, go to the AH, or run to your bank “really quick” takes longer than you think.

Pay attention
Nothing is more frustrating to a raid leader than someone who doesn’t pay attention. When raid leaders speak you must listen. An example of this is the Grand Widow Faerlina fight in Naxx. It seems that every time this fight is explained to new dps, at least one of those dps will kill the adds early because they didn’t hear they weren’t supposed to. Don’t be afraid to ask if you don’t understand something and need clarification.

Keep Your Trap Shut
Shhh!
There’s a time and a place for screwing around in a raid. i.e. during trash pulls or between pulls is perfectly acceptable and a great time to let our hair down for a few minutes and this goes for both raid chat and vent. But during boss fights “keep your trap shut” unless you are an officer, raid leader, or have been directly addressed by said officers or raider leaders.

This isn’t because those people like to hear themselves talk, although some do, it’s because we need the channels clear to give orders as things progress. Hard to tell someone to get out of the shadow hole, cast a battle-rez, pick up a runner, or switch dps targets when people are flapping their gums.

There should be no talking about how you need to get a new video card, which is the best, and how much they cost. Those are topics best discussed outside the raid. Raiding time is for raiding, not socializing.

Last but definitely not least….Common Sense
Things like:
• Don’t run ahead of the tank into an area
• Don’t initiate pulls unless asked
• Keep growl and all taunt related abilities turned off on pets
• Keep check on proper auras, presences and aspects
• And the list goes on……..

Bottom line, if you think it wastes your time, don’t do that to others. Treat them the way you want to be treated. Use your common sense and if you don’t have any find someone that does and have him or her tell you what to do.
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“Attacking is the only secret. Dare and the world always yields; or if it beats you sometimes, dare it again and it will succumb.”

William Makepeace Thackeray