Raid Etiquette
Raid Etiquette
by Dythok Sun Jan 30, 2011 7:41 am
Whether you're in a pug, a hardcore guild, or a casual guild, there are a few basic rules that one should follow when it comes to raid etiquette. No one wants to invest their time, energy, and money and have a horrible time because other players couldn't be respectful to one another.
1. THE SIGN UP: If you have the option to sign up earlier for a raid, please by all means do so. The WoW calendar has evolved to become quite a useful tool, and when you sign up as accepted, tentative, or decline, you actually help ease the burden on the person who is planning the raid in the first place. It's good to know ahead of time if you're going to be short a tank, down a healer, or missing one of those core raiding buffs, so the raid leader can compensate ahead of time. Additionally, be a man of your word. If you are not 100% certain of your attendance, then select tentative. It's a slap in the face of your raid if you say that you will be there, then choose not to be. It delays your raid, and forces the raid leaders to scramble at the last second which isn't fair to them either. Remember, a raid is a commitment.
2. PREPARATION: Make sure that you are prepared before you start your raid. This means making sure your armor is repaired, you have all of your consumables, your gear has been enchanted and socketed, and you have an idea of the encounter you'll be facing. And by consumables, this means food, flasks, potions relevant to your role, and with the state of healing in Cataclysm, bandages. There is plenty of time before a raid to acquire all of these items. What you shouldn't do is arrive to your raid with a stack of gems, and expect a jewelcrafter there to cut them all for you because you couldn't do it the day before. That delays your raid, and you have to understand that one minute of your time translates into 10 or 25 minutes of the raids time.
3. BE AVAILABLE: You need to make sure to be both online and available so your raid can start on time. A good rule of thumb is to make sure that you will be done with any of your more daunting tasks, and not in a group (so you can be invited), 15 minutes before your raid starts. Again, if you are in the middle of a Heroic Halls of Origination run when your raid is suppose to start, you are telling the other nine people in your raid that your heroic dungeon is more important than the raid all of you committed to. I like giving myself that 15 minutes to grab a bite of something to eat, grab something to drink, maybe a quick bathroom break, or do a quick recap over the bosses we plan on taking on that night.
4. DON'T TALK OVER THE RAID LEADER(S): In the actual encounters, especially if it's a progression fight, communication needs to clear and concise. This means not talking over each other during the fights, during explanations of strategies, or the analysis of the encounters. We all understand that we all have good intentions, but if everyone starts talking in ventrilo at the same time, not only is nothing understood, but half the raid gets confused at trying the translate the gibberish and important information could be missed. It's also just as important not to talk over each other during explanations, especially if flasks have been used. I'm sure we'd all agree we'd rather spend more time doing the actually raid, and not having to repeat ourselves because we keep stepping on each others toes. Also, if you spend less time talking, it usually translates into more time listening. Listening is a good thing. I like listening. People that listen die less. I like dying less.
5. AFK: Oh the dreaded AFK, one of the raids worse nightmares. Again, you'll probably notice a theme, one minute of your time translates into 10 or 25 minutes of the raids time. And that time is further compounded if expensive flasks and foods have been used. I suggest a pair of guilelines when it comes to AFKs. First, minimize the AFKs you need in the first place. Do the bathroom break before the raid begins. Don't schedule dinner 20 minutes into the raid. Do your taxes after the raid is over. And second, if you have to AFK, make it clear that you ARE going AFK and for how long. "Brb" and "AFK a sec" aren't nearly as helpful as "afk bio" or "brb, dog escaped." In the first two cases, the raid has no idea why you're gone or for how long. In the last two examples, you gave an actual estimated time you'll be. And hopefully caught the dog in time. If you give your raid an estimated time, they can then choose to continues to clear trash, since you'll be back in time for the boss for example. Or they will see that maybe then would be a good time to schedule an impromptu raid break. Your AFK then changes from a waste of the raids time, to spending everyones time efficiently.
6. POSITIVE ATTITUDE: A lot of people actually neglect this one when they think of the do's and do not's of raiding, and I know from personal experience that this one is the most important. Everyone is working towards a common goal, to overcome overwhelming odds, which may indeed be incredibly challenging and stressful at times. And while you may become frustrated, you need to make sure that frustration doesn't boil over and scald any of the people you're raiding with. While you may just forget about it after the raid is done and over with, that person you burned will remember how you made them feel for a very long time afterward. You do not want to become that person that no one wants to raid with because you drag the mood of the raid down. You do not want to be that person that kicks people when they are down. Yes, there are ultimate truths that cannot be avoided, but you need to have faith and trust in the commitment of one another. Let me offer an example. One of the major healing/tanking plights is that it does have some psychological effects on you. You can put in 120% as a healer/tank and yet still fail, and people will die. It doesn't feel good at all. The absolute last thing that the healer/tank needs at that moment is to have salt shoved into that wound. Bring a positive attitude. Support each other so we can raise each others' game to the next level. Look for solutions, not scapegoats (or Draenei).
Ultimately, World of Warcraft is a game, and the goal is to have fun. As long as we respect one another for the time and the commitment we're willing to put in, the fun will come naturally. Hopefully this was of help to you all (and probably gave some crazy incite to how the gears grind in my head).
1. THE SIGN UP: If you have the option to sign up earlier for a raid, please by all means do so. The WoW calendar has evolved to become quite a useful tool, and when you sign up as accepted, tentative, or decline, you actually help ease the burden on the person who is planning the raid in the first place. It's good to know ahead of time if you're going to be short a tank, down a healer, or missing one of those core raiding buffs, so the raid leader can compensate ahead of time. Additionally, be a man of your word. If you are not 100% certain of your attendance, then select tentative. It's a slap in the face of your raid if you say that you will be there, then choose not to be. It delays your raid, and forces the raid leaders to scramble at the last second which isn't fair to them either. Remember, a raid is a commitment.
2. PREPARATION: Make sure that you are prepared before you start your raid. This means making sure your armor is repaired, you have all of your consumables, your gear has been enchanted and socketed, and you have an idea of the encounter you'll be facing. And by consumables, this means food, flasks, potions relevant to your role, and with the state of healing in Cataclysm, bandages. There is plenty of time before a raid to acquire all of these items. What you shouldn't do is arrive to your raid with a stack of gems, and expect a jewelcrafter there to cut them all for you because you couldn't do it the day before. That delays your raid, and you have to understand that one minute of your time translates into 10 or 25 minutes of the raids time.
3. BE AVAILABLE: You need to make sure to be both online and available so your raid can start on time. A good rule of thumb is to make sure that you will be done with any of your more daunting tasks, and not in a group (so you can be invited), 15 minutes before your raid starts. Again, if you are in the middle of a Heroic Halls of Origination run when your raid is suppose to start, you are telling the other nine people in your raid that your heroic dungeon is more important than the raid all of you committed to. I like giving myself that 15 minutes to grab a bite of something to eat, grab something to drink, maybe a quick bathroom break, or do a quick recap over the bosses we plan on taking on that night.
4. DON'T TALK OVER THE RAID LEADER(S): In the actual encounters, especially if it's a progression fight, communication needs to clear and concise. This means not talking over each other during the fights, during explanations of strategies, or the analysis of the encounters. We all understand that we all have good intentions, but if everyone starts talking in ventrilo at the same time, not only is nothing understood, but half the raid gets confused at trying the translate the gibberish and important information could be missed. It's also just as important not to talk over each other during explanations, especially if flasks have been used. I'm sure we'd all agree we'd rather spend more time doing the actually raid, and not having to repeat ourselves because we keep stepping on each others toes. Also, if you spend less time talking, it usually translates into more time listening. Listening is a good thing. I like listening. People that listen die less. I like dying less.
5. AFK: Oh the dreaded AFK, one of the raids worse nightmares. Again, you'll probably notice a theme, one minute of your time translates into 10 or 25 minutes of the raids time. And that time is further compounded if expensive flasks and foods have been used. I suggest a pair of guilelines when it comes to AFKs. First, minimize the AFKs you need in the first place. Do the bathroom break before the raid begins. Don't schedule dinner 20 minutes into the raid. Do your taxes after the raid is over. And second, if you have to AFK, make it clear that you ARE going AFK and for how long. "Brb" and "AFK a sec" aren't nearly as helpful as "afk bio" or "brb, dog escaped." In the first two cases, the raid has no idea why you're gone or for how long. In the last two examples, you gave an actual estimated time you'll be. And hopefully caught the dog in time. If you give your raid an estimated time, they can then choose to continues to clear trash, since you'll be back in time for the boss for example. Or they will see that maybe then would be a good time to schedule an impromptu raid break. Your AFK then changes from a waste of the raids time, to spending everyones time efficiently.
6. POSITIVE ATTITUDE: A lot of people actually neglect this one when they think of the do's and do not's of raiding, and I know from personal experience that this one is the most important. Everyone is working towards a common goal, to overcome overwhelming odds, which may indeed be incredibly challenging and stressful at times. And while you may become frustrated, you need to make sure that frustration doesn't boil over and scald any of the people you're raiding with. While you may just forget about it after the raid is done and over with, that person you burned will remember how you made them feel for a very long time afterward. You do not want to become that person that no one wants to raid with because you drag the mood of the raid down. You do not want to be that person that kicks people when they are down. Yes, there are ultimate truths that cannot be avoided, but you need to have faith and trust in the commitment of one another. Let me offer an example. One of the major healing/tanking plights is that it does have some psychological effects on you. You can put in 120% as a healer/tank and yet still fail, and people will die. It doesn't feel good at all. The absolute last thing that the healer/tank needs at that moment is to have salt shoved into that wound. Bring a positive attitude. Support each other so we can raise each others' game to the next level. Look for solutions, not scapegoats (or Draenei).
Ultimately, World of Warcraft is a game, and the goal is to have fun. As long as we respect one another for the time and the commitment we're willing to put in, the fun will come naturally. Hopefully this was of help to you all (and probably gave some crazy incite to how the gears grind in my head).
Dythok- Posts : 12
Reputation : 5
Join date : 2011-01-27
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