WPR is moving into TDQ--How to get involved

[LinkTheValiant]

With the success of WPR's first TDQ run this past Sunday, many guildmates will have questions about participating in the future. This is natural and good. This run was a proof-of-concept, to demonstrate to ourselves that we CAN do it. Ultimately it would be nice to have a full 20-player team, but that's for the future.

In the meantime, Waxworks and I will be running TDQ each week now. We would be happy to have a full team of guildmates accompany us. Unfortunately, due to the nature of raiding, we will NOT be able to take anyone and everyone. Raids come with requirements, and while it is possible to fudge requirements in expert dungeons, raids will not permit this.

To put it bluntly, if you cannot perform you will not be raiding with us. This isn't intended to be elitist. It's a matter of necessity. Without performance we WILL NOT be able to clear raid content. Enrage timers will not allow for bad performance. Mechanics will not allow for bad performance. It is not FUN to wipe 15 times because that one person just can't execute. Don't be that person.

If you want to raid, this list is an absolute MINIMUM of what you need to do:

1. Be appropriately geared.

Yes, you will get gear from raiding. But you need a minimum of 400 hit (and additionally 400 toughness if you're a tank) to raid. If you have crafted rings, helm, and belt, have a four-piece world gear set with synergy crystal, and have 400+ hit, you're most probably ready to raid from a gear standpoint.

2. Have more than one spec

Bluntly, if you can fill only one role, you're not particularly useful. If you're not a rockstar $role, you're replaceable. Don't be replaceable. Make yourself a case of "that person can do anything, we GOTTA keep them!" rather than "okay, this person can do only $role, so we gotta structure our team around them". When you have 10 inflexible people, you can see the difficulty. "I can do only $role" is a very good way to move yourself to the bottom of the priority list.

Alternatively, if you really don't want to learn multiple roles, you do have the option of proving that you are the best possible choice for the one role you specialize in. This means you will need to demonstrate SIGNIFICANTLY higher abilities than other options within the guild.

3. Be competent at the specs you play

Tanks: Have 50k+ hit points. Learn to establish snap threat. The enrage timer begins ticking as soon as the boss is pulled, so every second not spent damaging the boss is a wasted second. It is YOUR job to establish threat immediately.

It is also YOUR job to be the first line of defense on interrupts, and to pick up adds as soon as they spawn. This isn't optional. You MUST be able to handle this as part of tanking basics.

Being able to handle mechanics while simultaneously making calls and directing the raid is a BIG plus.

Healers: Be competent, basically. Learn battle patterns and anticipate damage rather than reacting to it. Be fast on battle resurrects. Tell party members if they're out of LoS or range. Understand cleanse mechanics and when to hit your group cleanse.

Damage: STAY OUT OF THE STUPID. Make target macros and use them. Learn your class and be able to back up on interrupts. Be able to play a spec that has interrupts, purges, or AoE as the situation demands. Be competent at switching targets and following directions. Be able to parse a minimum of 8k DPS self-buffed over 4 minutes on a raid dummy.

4. Be able to dedicate an appropriate amount of time to the raid

TDQ is normally about 45 minutes long. My raid guild normally clears it in 30-35 minutes. However, be prepared for 90 minutes if necessary. We all understand life circumstances and emergencies. If your house catches fire, we aren't going to fault you for dropping. But it is NOT appropriate to ragequit just because of a chain wipe. Raiding is not for quitters.

5. Be sure you have consumables available, and USE them

Fitting in with everything else, consumables make up a small but significant portion of a raid's success. Have a guildmate make powerstones, oilstones, or whetstones for you. Have a guildmate make potions and vials for you. Have a guildmate make feasts for you. Don't be afraid to ask your guildmates for help with professions you don't have.

6. Do some homework on raid encounters before raiding

This is less important than the other points, but if you have some idea of how the encounter works going in, you're going to perform better. Knowledge is power etc.

7. Have access to the guild Ventrilo and be able to listen

It is not mandatory to have a mic. I don't expect you to speak to us or prove anything about yourself on voice. But I do expect you to be able to listen for calls and directions. Obtain Ventrilo, set it up AHEAD OF TIME, and know how to use it.

(And if you plan to do pickup raiding, I STRONGLY recommend downloading Mumble, Teamspeak, and Raidcall as well. This will save a lot of time getting it set up.)


Again, I want to emphasize that this list of items is not some super elitist BS. These are basic minimum requirements for successful raiding. ("Success" defined here as "actually able to kill raid bosses".) If you look at the list and don't want to try to meet those conditions, that's fine. Raiding is not for everyone. There's no shame in that.

How does this fit in with WPR's "no pressure" stance? Simple. We are not a raid guild. Our identity is not bound up in our achievements. We're 4/4 TDQ. Big deal. It's just something cool we have, like being the first guild to level 25. Nobody is going to be forced to leave the guild over inability to raid, or forbidden to participate in zone events or PvP. I'm sure you all have seen that I've been active in guild activities even though I do 20-player raids with another guild. This is just one more facet of WPR's identity, one that does come with requirements.

Finally, I cannot guarantee that everyone who qualifies for a raid slot will actually get one each week. Wax and I haven't figured out the numbers, but we may end up running two groups through TDQ rather than one. If that is the case, we will split the groups in such a way as to maximise both groups' chance of success. Group 1 will definitely be running on Sundays at 6-6:30 server time. If we have a second group it will run concurrent with group 1, or it will be on Tuesdays at 7ish server.

Feel free to talk to me in-game about it. You can find me on Whisperfoot or Rijndael.