This is the raid proposal that I had gathered up for Wrath Reborn. It reads like a manual and is boring to some. Make sure you have at least 15 minutes, but this is what I sent to the guild leadership. Names have been cut down for privacy purposes and this will only be posted for a week. All this was writen on 5/17/10 and since then my opinions have changed about some so keep that in mind.
Okay I have given this a little too much thought it seems. But I want to make everyone as happy as possible as well be as neutral as possible and this is the only way I personally can see it done. These of course are just suggestions and not meant to insult or condemn anyone. Examples are used and are not attacks so don’t take them personally.
We talked about a Core Raid group. While I believe this is a wonderful idea I also believe that some people will look at it as favoritism and discrimination. These people I will get to in a moment, but as far as the ‘Core Raid Group’ goes Ae has already handed me a list of who is top priority to be on it. It is as follows.
Ae: DPS Fury Warrior
Av: Healer Resto Druid *(a note is being placed here for Tank healer, more on this later)
In: Paladin Main Tank
Ya: Hybrid Shaman Healer
Fe: DPS Boomkin
Va: DPS Fury Warrior (If we can get him back into the guild)
Fa: DPS Ranged Hunter
Cattallie: DPS Melee Rogue
This was my initial list given, with notes that Go a new member to the guild would be put in the place as off tank. This task I do not believe he is ready for considering the amount of time it will take to get him to a comfortable point and the experience he has. Based on gear and statistics there are other suitable alternatives if they are willing to commit. Akeeba being one of them, having experience in 10man ICC respectfully, it would also be beneficial to the group to have a Death Knight. With this in mind another option for OT would be Om with some conditions. I am worried about his commitment to the cause but I have faith that if communicated with can overcome that.
Tanks aside I will move on to healers. While we have two spots filled already I believe we would benefit from bringing in Gr. Gr and In work very well together and are committed to each other in that aspect. *Here is the issue. Gr is a Paladin healer, Paladin Healers do best on single targeted healing not possessing any large group heal. Druids are good if not the best Group healers aside from Shamans. And while Av would like to tank heal I think it should be thought upon to see what would be the best for the core and possibly go group heals.
Po does not want to be a healer for core, she would rather DPS if chosen and I think we should respect her wishes. Az has been showing promise so it should not be an issue.
Ph would be beneficial to the Core because let’s face it, Priest buffs are awesome, however I am concerned about the inner workings of her character and think it should be researched. She runs out of mana frequently, and while the Druids in the party use Innervate at her request I think there is a way for her to not need it. I have run with Holy Priest and Hybrid Dic/Holy Priest and they at the level that Eve is at do not have this problem. So instead of sweeping her aside I believe we should look into her character more.
Mo would be a valuable DPS also in Raid rotation. He has the discipline.
Ve would also be.
Kr would also be another depending on the rotation of the raid if another Warrior is needed.
Recap: I think we should stick with 7 to 8 definite spots for Core. A guaranteed spot for certain people. Because if we base the Raid solely on who can accept the invitation first some key players will be cut out for reasons such as not being online when the invitation is given and missing out. Would you go into a Raid without In? There is potential for this, however if he has a guaranteed spot on the Inner Core we can fill in with the Outer core to give everyone a fair chance to alternate weekly. Working it this way would be fair to everyone.
Now speaking of being fair, there are some people in WR that feel that favoritism is getting in the way of game play. We know that there are couples in the guild and we welcome them openly however when you are in a serious raid this is irrelevant. Your role is your only concern respectfully. You have to trust in your tank, healers, and DPS to rise above all. If your partner is in the raid with you, no favoritism should be shown if they are being attacked by mobs, or are at half life. This is where you trust in your group. I cannot stop in mid fight and get a mob off of Fe, Ve cannot protect Eve at all times, and Av cannot take a heal away from tanks (If a tank healer) to heal Ae. We would be in this as a Team, a collective unit, trust has to be given.
Also animosity will have to be put aside. If we want to be better if not the best we need to push petty things aside and focus on the goal at hand. It doesn’t matter if a previous raid was wiped or a roll on something gained was objected to, if someone got pissed off at someone else and so on or if someone started a raid and didn’t invite a particular person. This is where communication comes in, if you choose not to communicate and tell someone what they are doing wrong or confront them about something you are not okay with then we cannot work together. This goes for EVERYONE. If you hold a personal grudge against someone for any reason then problems will occur. If you are not comfortable with participating with someone then other measures will have to be taken and noted on all party accounts. If you have a complaint or concern we have Officers for these things that would like to come to a resolution quickly instead of it snowballing into further aggravation.
A limit on raid times should be set. Not just for the start of the raid but for the end as well. I do not believe you can do it per fight, but to limit to 2 or 3 hours at first as we progress, weekends possibly longer. This will give an optional cut off point to where people do not feel guilty for going to bed or tending to something other than Warcraft. This also can be potentially worked into the week to make it easy for people who work/school in the early hours. There is nothing we have to do now that cannot be done when everyone is fresh and awake the next day.
Discipline is a huge factor in successful raiding. You have a raid leader for a reason and this must be enforced at all costs. It will be the raid leader that will research and learn the fight first and foremost and other members of core should also take the time to get to know what they are getting themselves into to prevent unnecessary questions throughout the raid. While it is okay to ask questions if needed this just may help for the understanding of mechanics. The raid leader does not have to be the tank. The raid leader should be one that has knowledge of fights or said fight “Fight Leaders?” Aside from the Raid Leader there can be an exchange of Fight Leaders in case in our circumstances the Raid Leader does not know a certain fight. These people should be delegated at the beginning of the raid so no confusion is had later. No one under any circumstances should talk over the Raid Leader or Fight Leader no matter what your rank or role. After the explanation of the fight is told there will be a pause for questions and possibly suggestions but this should not be abused.
Raid times we still have issues with. If you cannot make it to a Raid that is scheduled DECLINE it, if there is a possibility mark it TENTATIVE, and if you can attend ACCEPT. Do not just mark something to get the blinking question mark off your calendar icon. Also you have the option to revise your invitation, if you find that you are not going to be able to make it but yet can still log onto wow and tell someone, change your accept to decline or whatever answer is more viable. This prevents confusion when at the start of the raid and getting everyone grouped up and together. If you do not ACCEPT the invitation you will not have a spot on the raid roster. We will then pull from TENTATIVE that are online for the roles that we need filled. Not who pressed tentative first or have not accepted at all. Take initiative and look at what your response is to your invitation.
If you ACCEPT the raid you are bound to it and are counted on to be there. If you do not show up, you will be asked why and while we understand that things happen IRL that cannot be controlled however a consequence should be enforced to members that do this on a constant basis.
Your raid time is when the FIRST PULL occurs, this goes for everyone. You should be as stated in past guild meeting notes, repaired, stocked, and ready to go with all Potions, Elixirs, Food, Reagents, and anything else you may need on said raid. Being 5 to 10 min late will be acceptable but noted and if it is abused and happens on a constant basis consequences will be used. If you are 20-30 min late count on your spot being filled and the raid started. This is not an attack against you but a courtesy for the people that were here on time and ready to go.
Raid breaks should be on a reasonable timer and not a 10 min long smoke break after the fact of everyone coming back from a bio break. Save your non essential breaks for when the raid leader deems it a good point. When a break is taken be prepared, take the time to refresh your beverage or whatever else you need when everyone else does and not at the last minute.
Now here is where I’m going to jump back a minute. Keeping in mind all of the suggested rules above I think we need a 2nd core raid group and here is my theory. A Tier 1 Core Raid and a Tier 2 Core Raid. There are members of our guild that are not geared well for ICC, and do not have the raiding experience they might want. This is where Tier 2 comes in. The Tier 2 Core Raid will contain members that want to progress and get further experience but based on their gear and experience level and will start at Naxx. This will make it so the ‘lower’ geared players will be able to participate in their own Core group, thus getting raiding experience and progressing through content at their level. Also it will benefit the Tier 1 Core for when we progress into 25 man content. I think we will be able to merge into a 25 man ICC without issue given everyone’s progress. My recommendations for this Tier 2 Core Raid Group are as follows:
Go: Prot Warrior Tank
Th: Death Knight OT or Main
Az: Resto Druid Healer
Ba: Prot/Ret Paladin DPS/Tank potential
Om: Death Knight Melee DPS (if not in Tier 1)
Ca “Dog”: Prot/Ret Paladin DPS/Tank potential (he has experience)
Dr: Hunter DPS
Ph: Holy/Shadow Priest (if not put in Tier 1, might be good for her to evolve)
That’s as far as I have it. I did not research the whole of Tier 2. I am sure that other less serious members who would like to help can participate with Tier 2 but it’s just an idea that I am running with *Te, Gi, ect*. We will not be able to mesh the Tier 1 and 2 groups together even for Naxx unless it of the discretion of the member wanting to. I am afraid that combining forces will burn out and wear down the morale of Tier 1 and scheduling conflicts will come into play.
I hope you see where the Tier 2 Core would benefit the guild later in progressions. Also I believe that if we have set Core members in Tier 1 that they should be taken out of Rep Runs, It will not be needed and other members can gain the ring and beginning experience. Rep runs however are a very important part of the weekly trend we have going and should still be scheduled.
There is a lot of chaos going on in this guild and in order to rise above we need something set and time is running out. It would be nice to go into Cataclysm and strive for a server first, we have the potential.
So this is my proposal, it’s rough and can use a lot of refining. I welcome any ideas and suggestions to work with everyone. While I know there are going to be people that can never be happy my thoughts are this, if they are not happy with us, I think they should be where ever makes them happy. Thanks!