What I am doing to get raid ready

Well, as the Defiant side is getting closer to getting a 10man or two formed, I thought I'd post what I am doing to get raid ready. Again, this is what *I* am doing, and I am far from an expert, but some people may find it helpful. Anyhoo.

1. First and foremost, I have read this:

http://rift.gaiscioch.com/tavern/18927/

I've read it more than once, and I think EVERYONE who wants to raid needs to. Fog gives a clear picture of where our heart should be, and where it should not be. We all need to understand that if we want to raid in the family.

2. I practice, and then I practice, and then I practice some more.

Getting experience with game mechanics has been crucial for me. Running T2s and DRRs (daily raid rifts) is an integral part of getting ready to raid for me. T1s and DXRs (daily expert rifts) will help, of course, but there is a leap in difficulty from T2s to raids, just like there is from T1s to T2s, and I feel like I need to be fairly competent doing T2s (for the most part *shakes fist at Plutonus*) before I can think about raiding. Plus, the more plaques of achievement I get, the better gear I can get.

3. I learn the minimum requirements.

See your character panel for hit/toughness/focus requirements. I aim for that, and if I am not there, I research what I can get to boost it. For me, it's focus, so I look at gear (gloves tend to have focus, as well as weapons), the focus planar lens available from the rift faction vendors, runes, etc.

4. I work on my gear.

I'm sorry if this is blunt, but going to a raid in a bunch of greens/blues (generally speaking) isn't the greatest idea. Drops from T2s, DRRs, stuff you can buy with plaques of achievement and marks of ascention, and the epic crafted sets are all things to look at and aim for. I set specific goals gear wise, and learned what I wanted, and then went for it. I have been trying to get two sets of gear, one for dps and one for healing, and I have two source engines, one for each. I've worked hard on those, doing DRRs daily for the Inscribed Sourcestones so I have been able to fill both belts with the rift faction vendor lessers. They help. A lot.

5. I learn my strengths and weaknesses, see how I am doing, and try to improve.

How do I know how well I am doing? Well, seeing if people live or die as I am a healer, but I also use a parser to see what my healing output and efficiency is, and what my dps is. I know you can't live on parsers alone, but they are a very useful tool. For example, I ended up dpsing on a boss fight last night, and my dps was only 374. That's not good for a dungeon, and would be horrid for a raid. I have to improve that IF I want to dps in raid. However, I know that my best role is a tank healer and healing is my focus, so I work on that first and foremost, but I also know I need to try getting my dps up too. (I use the Rift Junkies parser which is available on their site below, and very quick and easy to use, Adren uses ACT.)

6. I look at my role, my builds, my rotations,

It would be all well and if I wanted to play some less-than-normal build combination, and everyone needs to find their own niche, but if I want to raid, I want to maximize the tools available for my class. This means some research, and some trial and error - and it also means knowing what you want your build to be able to do. If I want to go for tank heals, I'm not going to be running around with a Shaman/Warden build.

7. I research - yes, this IS work.

I look up information on classes, builds, and raids on our forum, the rift forums, and some other forums. I also try to watch videos on the boss fights for any raid I know I am going to at least a couple times each, so I have some semblance of a clue what to expect when I go in. I'll include some links at the bottom of the post.

8.I talk to people

Yeah, I know you are all shocked, me, talk? But in all seriousness, I talk to people who have experience with the raids and get their thoughts/opinions, etc. That doesn't mean I am going to do things exactly their way, but hints like "Watch out, the ground AoE those plants do will also slow you." I find helpful.

9. I make sure I have the right potions and consumables on me.

I try to roll with 2 stacks of drinks, a stack of mana pots, a stack of healing pots, burning powerstones, burning manastones, elder tablets, and brightsurge vials at all times. I also have a medic, and now am keeping 3 Aspects of the Ancients on me in case it's a really bad night or for some reason, I have no planar charges. That may be overkill, but I have gotten called in to things at the last minute, and wiped a lot. LOL.

10.I give it a try

I've been lucky enough to do a few raids with a few guilds that I know. I've gone in on some raids where I have been a semi-effective member of the group - sometimes having success, sometimes not. (Darn you, Anrak, darn you!) Other times, I've been taken by the hand, told not to worry about doing anything, and just watched people kill stuff while trying to stay alive. Most of the time, I walk out going "Okay, so I need to work on this, and this, and THIS..." etc.

11.I have fun

Rift is a game. If I'm not having fun, I either need to take a step back, or stop playing it. Period. Raiding should not be tedious and horrible, it should be fun, although until we get things going, it may be a bit frustrating. (Have I said "Darn you, Anrak!" yet?)

Hope that helps. Please, add your thoughts/suggestions, etc. Again, I don't know very much, so I'd love to hear other people's thoughts. I was also sent a rather long email on how to get a guild raid ready by one of the members of a hardcore raiding guild, if anyone wants to see that, I can share that too.

And some good places for research:

http://forums.riftgame.com/forum.php - the Rift Forum
http://www.riftjunkies.com/ - Rift Junkies, I watch a lot of the raid videos on RJ, and I have the parser from them.
http://www.riftstrats.com/ - Rift Strats
http://rift.zam.com/
http://ciderhelm.com/ - his Rift raid stuff isn't quite complete, but so much good info on that site. If you want to tank...

» Edited on: 2011-09-27 12:03:52

» Edited on: 2011-09-27 12:05:18

» Edited on: 2011-09-27 12:12:28

excellent post hun! might should maybe be a guide perhaps even

Thanks. Edited to enable the hyperlinks.

Sounds like a plan! This is where I'll start

ok

» Edited on: 2011-09-28 23:28:05

Just a reminder, I said this is what *I* am doing, not what everyone should be doing. It does give people some suggestions on steps to take, as I know some people have asked. Also, Fog's post says a lot.

» Edited on: 2011-09-27 17:10:24

We need to make a distinction between a 'progression' raid and a 'farm' raid because I see people making assumptions that all raids are created equal. That is not true at all. A 'farm' raid is where you gear is better than the minimum requirements for that raid and/or you've had enough prior experience with the raid that you're comfortable with all the mechanics. Right now, if you have mostly T2 Expert loot with a couple T1 Raid loot then the Tier 1 Raid dungeons would fall under this category for the most part. When I say for the most part, I mean you may be on farm status for most of the dungeon except for a boss or two. A 'progression' raid is where your gear barely meets the minimum requirements and you have little or no prior experience in that dungeon. When I say minimum requirements, I'm not referring to only Hit/Focus/Toughness. There are certain DPS, Healing, and Tanking requirements for each encounter also which are not related to those stats. At this point, Hammerknell is probably the one true progression raid out there. The difference between the two types of raids is margin of error for successful downing of a boss. When you have a 'farm' raid, you can have a fairly large margin with which to work with. This can make up for 1> mistakes 2> inexperience 3> lack of optimal raid composition 4> lack of optimal gear 5> raid leaders who like to wear hot pink outfits. Ok, I made that last one up. Regardless, it is entirely possible to be fairly casual and participate in a farm raid provided you adhere to some of the points of what Olora has said up above. The one detail she may have omitted is that you must always be attentive and listen to the instructions given to you. Nothing is more demoralizing to a raid than when someone forgets to do something because they were not paying attention to the explanation. A progression raid is a whole different animal. Each boss has a minimum DPS requirement, a minimum Heal requirement, and a minimum Tanking requirement. No amount of willpower or want to can change that. If you can't do 16k dps to Murdantix as a raid, he will enrage and wipe you. Because most if not all of the people in a progression raid are undergeared, some min/maxxing is required in order to give yourself the best chance possible to defeat the boss. There is little or no margin for error in a progression raid. Oftentimes the deciding factor in success is the chemistry and teamwork of the raid group that has been together for a long period of time. This is why progression raid groups have little turnover. For it to be successful, continuity is important. Progression raids are by definition 'hardcore'. And they are by definition exclusive in nature because a> most people are not that hardcore and b> there are few openings available. If you are applying to a progression raid group then all of Olora's points are not only valid but necessary. Quite frankly, there is no room for someone to be carried in that type of raid. Thankfully, all of the Tier 1 Raids are no longer considered progression raids anymore. That doesn't mean they are easy, but due to the ability of people to craft or buy or dungeon/rift their way to very powerful gear, most players who have done T2 dungeons have more than enough gear to do these raids now. As a comparison, when we first killed Duke Letareus 5+ months ago, the majority of the people were in AP & CC blues and greens. Not E-AP or E-CC, I mean normal lol. Olora's list is a very good and comprehensive list. While it may appear quite long and intimidating at first, as you progress in raiding, they will become second nature to you. My suggestion to you is to concentrate on the points that you are most comfortable with or that you can easily do. Then gradually work on the ones that are beyond your means at this time. This list also gives you a very good idea of the requirements for a more hardcore approach if you find yourself interested in that area. Finally, please remember that while your playstyle is fun for you, it may not mean the same to others. If you find yourself in a raid where their playstyle is a bit more hardcore than you'd like, it may be easier to find another raid with others with a similar playstyle to yourself. We are a big family and there are many opportunities up and down the raiding spectrum. Sometimes you may need some patience with forming up a group, it does take time to set something like this up. P.S. Please stop with this stereotyping of hardcore raiders as 'elitist'. You can be snobby in any playstyle, whether it's raiding or just picking flowers in Silverwood. If a group of people choose to enjoy themselves with a more hardcore approach, that is their prerogative so long as what they does not hinder your enjoyment of the game. As long as they are not judgemental in their advice, these people can be a great help to the guild with their experience and expertise. We have many people like this in our guild who are more than willing to help budding raiders with advice. Don't be afraid to ask, I'm pretty sure they won't bite. ;)

Defiant side is small, not large. we can not be compared to gaurdian side no how no way.

In response to numerous tells, letters etc. that I have recieved... When looking at the difference between the G side and the D side of the guild one must keep in mind the size. The D side is growing ALOT. I feel like the G side of the guild is a bit to big for me. However, I like the D side of the guild because of the people in it not because of its size. That being said we have to realize not everyone is a raider. And that is a GOOD thing. Diversity is what seperates a good guild from a GREAT guild. The ones who want to raid arn't pushing anyone into raiding. They just want to know who else wants to raid in the guild. No one will twist your arm into going on a raid. It is up to you to decide what the end game content for you is. If raiding isnt your thing then that's cool. I for one will ALWAYs (reguardless if it benefits me) run dungeons with anyone. If i am busy at the time you ask I appologize but I WILL try and remember what you asked for when I'm done. When looking at what people are doing to try to gear up and get rdy for raiding (And alot of people are doing alot of hard work to get rdy, sacrificing time with family and friends and irl stuff to spend the time to get rdy) we cannot fault them for this. This is the way they CHOOSE to play. I don't feel like anyone is trying to change the D side of the guild. We're just asking if anyone want's to raid with us. Keeping it in the family as it were.

» Edited on: 2011-09-29 08:02:23

Great info. I still haven't got a char to 50, but I'm taking my time learning the game on each side and seeing what type of characters I really like the best. This has already made me, like some of our wonderful family ALTaholics, tell Rift we should have a few more char slots per shard. ;) I'm doing the slowly but surely figuring out the game thing. I honestly love all aspects of this game, but know due to some of my disability issues there are some things I just can't pull off like I used to in games. No matter, I'm still really enjoying this and I'll be looking at trying some progression through things at L50 to learn the end game and knowing me it will be with more than one char. BTW, thanks to all the awesome people here that share info and help in game. I've learned a lot and I'm sure others have to. GO TEAM!