@ Ben, future smasher of endgame! (and anyone else interested in raiding but too afraid to ask!)

Ben, in The Thread That Shall Not Be Mentioned, you made a point about leaving end game to the experts and it requiring a certain level meaning that you may never go there for that reason.

I would like to demystify raiding in this thread. Raiding is like riding a bike - once you are taught you will not forget it, and eventually it will become second nature, like breathing and eating cake.

None of us are born raiders, regardless of how pro you think people like Bentmer and Richtor are, even they, like me, had their training wheels learner phase while getting to the leading of raids phase.

When I first started pve raiding I did not have a clue about aggro, standing in fires, game mechanics and all the things the raidleader yelled about. Sometimes some simple advice like reorganising raid frames, target of target, watching cast bars, repositioning your camera when running out of fires, not keyboard turning etc, are so simple to fix raid wipes - but if you have never been taught you will never have heard of any of them. My friend Mort once actually had to take me to a boss fight after the boss was killed and get other guildies to pretend to be the boss and the adds and explain everything because there was one part I just could not get. Once he had done that it seemed like the easiest thing ever! See, even hardcore raiders RP sometimes :P

I would like to encourage anyone who has questions about a particular part of a boss fight or just basic raiding 101 stuff to use the forums and ask away.

I myself have raided for 5 years and would be happy to help out, we also have people like Bentmer, Ironbars,Aife, Archy,Saralandrielle, Richtor, Kotsuru, Pnub (just off the top of my head and by no means an exhaustive list) who are happy to help you with any question.

I would like to think that we can get any person raid ready by theorycrafting and dicussing the raid afterwards and not being afraid to ask questions. I myself am interested in PVE but would love to learn RvR from you Ben because I really suck at it. Aife must facepalm when I pvp but I trust him enough to ask ridiculous questions and not get trolled (ok maybe a little but it is all in fun!!)

We should utilise the strengths of our pro PVE PVP and RVR'ers and help each other improve.

That way we can be truly inclusive and progress together as a guild. A case in point, the epic tale of Booie and the Manticores - as every tank knows, one of the trickiest most annoying pull in the game. But Booie perservered, we did not replace him as our tank but grabbed Archy and Aife who had tanked it before, got them in vent to explain the intricacies of the manoeuvre and let Booie practice. Sure enough Bam! manticores down, a new tank competent in leading a group in that fight. Job done.

If you do want to ask questions about fights post them in the forums and I will make sure I find someone able to answer/help you. There will be no laughing or trolling, just advice and help. Just don't get defensive or offended if people make suggestions about perhaps changing to suit the needs of the raid - this is just advice and not meant as a personal attack.

All I would ask of our padawan raiders is that they are willing to being 3 things to the raid:

1. Listen
2. Question if you really aren't sure
3. Practice what you have been taught and then give it your own style once competent.

I don't think simply not knowing a fight should prevent anyone from experiencing the full content of the game if they wish to put in the time to learn and are willing to improve as we go.

Nobody is born a raider, it happens slowly over time and with patience, and having the try try and try again mentatlity firmly in your head helps a lot. Only by wiping time and time again do you learn to down a boss, this is not a bad thing, it is just learning. As long as you follow instructions and learn from the last mistake you made, we will succeed in the end.


» Edited on: 2011-05-18 15:40:42

You missunderstand, I don't plan to venture into these areas because thats not how I pull enjoyment out of these games. My enjoyment comes from helping people find groups and things to do. To help see them grow and venture into the depths of the game. To build communities and watch them flourish. I personally don't care what color Greenscale's toenails are. But that doesn't mean you guys shouldn't. I simply don't have 4+ hours to sink into the game at one sitting. I'm lucky that I can pull off 3 on event nights. I've never been a dungeon runner, and I'll likely never be one. I occasionally try to help someone out because their down a healer but to me the fun in this game is in getting large groups of people together to go do something that nobody else does. Doesn't make dungeon running less important for those that want to give it a shot. It's merely that any way you look at it dungeons require a formula. They are coded in a way to require a certain mix of dps and healing and follow a repetitive pattern. Yes once you figure out the jinx your good to go. However in the months prior to that you're going to beat your face into the pavement. The blame game will likely break out and players feelings get hurt. I personally hate this phase. It's none of your faults that you wipe. It's part of figuring out how to do it. When we rode a bike for the first time we wiped out a lot. We bleed, we cryed, we pulled chunks of gravel out of our legs and knees. Thats part of the experience. Realize this and stop fighting one another. Propose ideas. If you don't like the idea then say so and we'll try to figure out what piece of the puzzle goes where. But in the end it will require a certain formula to be successful. Where you fit in the equation is up to you. I want to ask that EVERYONE stop playing the blame game. Don't tell us whats wrong, Share an Idea to be successful. Anyone can point out the obvious but a person who can take defeat and learn from it will be destine for greatness. Work together to overcome our trials and you will find success.

err my post wasn't about blame , it was about people feeling it was ok to ask questions and for help when needed. I had been whispered by a few people saying they'd love to join in on events but were unsure about the level of expertise needed. My answer was always - there is no level of expertise, come as you are and have fun because anything you need to know can be easily taught. I suppose coming at it from the angle of there are no barriers to joining in Raid Rift groups advertised in Gchat if that is what you feel like doing when you hit 50. (On a side note, I don't consider myself to be good at games, I just had good teachers :))

» Edited on: 2011-05-18 16:22:40