Raid Guide
From Invicta
Raiding can be an extremely rewarding experience, but it requires a great deal of planning and preparation to pull off successfully. Coordinating twenty-four people to successfully accomplish a goal can be trying in any game, but if the endgame raids are as buggy as I understand them to be, its going to require a superhuman amount of patience to pursue.
The following information is necessarily long, but if you intend to raid with Invicta, it is imperative you become familiar with it. I've tried to break it out into sections to make it a bit easier to digest and some sections can be easily skimmed.
Contents |
The brightest heaven of invention: So you want to be a Raider?
Mindset
There are endless discussions on the "mindset of a raider" which range from the ruthless to the unrealistic. In the end, the mindset of a raider depends on the mindset of the guild or guilds involved. With Invicta, someone who participates in the Invicta Raiding Group should be level-headed, patient, attentive and driven to succeed. It is likely that we will wipe more than a few times when we first start on a new endgame instance. There are situations in which its taken four or five days of attempts to find success for some guilds. I've a feeling we'll do better than most, but you have to be prepared for things to go a little rough going. Even after we have an instance on "farm status," things can still occasionally go wrong. You have to be prepared for that and be patient.
Get set up for Ventrilo
We don't need to spend time before or during a raid helping you get set up on Ventrilo. Do it well before you join in on raiding, when folks have the time to help you. Our Ventrilo information is located here.
Learning your Class
This is a big one. From my perspective, being knowledgeable about your class can overcome just about any obstacle, be it a lack of high-end gear or a lack of speed at the keyboard. Research your build and your class on Invicta's forums and on the FunCom forums, speak to your Class Prefect and other members of your class, and grab a guildy to test out any theories you have. Invicta will never require you to take a specific build, though what role you play in a raid may be dictated by the build you've chosen. The important thing to know here is what your abilities do and when to use them.
Gearing up
Being an efficient player is primary to success, but being geared up will certainly help as well. Fortunately, gear is relatively cheaply purchased via in-game Auction. When purchasing gear, try to replace anything you have that is lower than you level. For example, if you are level 80 and you are wearing a level 70 chest piece, it is time to replace that chest piece, even with an item that appears to have lesser stats. There is reason to believe that the amount of bonuses an item gives to you degrades when it is of a lower level than your character. If you cannot find something suitable through Auction, contact one of the guild Armorsmiths, Gemcutters and Weaponsmiths to find out what materials they need to create an upgrade for you.
Becoming a Member of the Invicta Raiding Group
To indicate your interest in Raiding with Invicta, you'll need to become part of the Invicta Raiding Group. Becoming a member is relatively easy, just reply to this thread and your humble raid leader will handle the rest.
Raid Signups
Raid signups are handled through our Raid Calendar. Instructions on how to set yourself up so you can sign up are located here.
Review the Tactics
There will be a post detailing Tactics for each endgame raid we attempt. Make sure you read up on it and have a decent knowledge not only of what you will be required to do, but what the rest of the raid will be doing. Tactics will be reviewed before each boss, but it is intended to be a review, not a full description of the encounter.
Raid Lockout
All Endgame raiding zones have a lockout timer that resets each Tuesday morning at midnight eastern (0400 GMT). The lockout timer basically identifies each boss you kill and prevents you from being able to take on that boss again for the duration of the timer. So, for example, if you're in a raid Wednesday where you down the Champion, you won't be able to participate in any raid that is working to down the Champion until the following Tuesday morning at midnight. If you know you've got a raid to go to after Monday night with Invicta, best thing to do is not commit yourself to another raid. It'll mean you'll get locked out of being able to come to ours. And if you're not looking to raid with Invicta, frankly, why are you here?
Terminology
There are a lot of terms you may hear in discussions or barked out during a raid. Here is a list of the most common terms:
- CC - Crowd Control. This is any ability that allows you to control what the opponent is doing. Included are knock-back abilities (knock an opponent down), stun abilities (making an opponent stop attacking very briefly) and fear abilities (making an opponent run about willy-nilly).
- Booming - This is when you use an ability to knock back an opponent or multiple opponents, so called by the sound the PoM's Repulse makes. When you are using this form of CC, call out "Booming" on Ventrilo so that others do not waste their own knock back abilities by trying to use them after you've knocked people down.
- Stunning - Another form of CC, where you make an opponent stop attacking for a very brief moment. This should be called out on Ventrilo as well, to ensure there's no overlap with other stuns/roots.
- Fearing - The third form of CC, where you make an opponent run around like a chicken with his head cut off. Typically, you'll need to not only call out that you are fearing, but what you are fearing, as doing damage to a target negates most fear abilities. Fears should be used only in extreme circumstances in a raid situation, where you can be sure your feared targets aren't going to run off into mobs the group hasn't aggro'd yet.
- DPS - Means Damage per Second. DPS can refer to how much damage your character puts out or it can refer to classes or feat builds which are focused towards increased damage output. For example, DPS classes are typically Rogues, Mages, Tempests of Set, Dark Templars, Conquerors and Tempest Guardians.
- HOT - Heal Over Time. The vast majority of healing spells in AoC do a little healing every second until the duration of the spell wears off. There are a few Immediate Heals, but when you hear someone referring to a "hot" they're talking about heal over time spells. These spells typically appear as buffs on their targets.
- DOT - Damage Over Time. Some abilities will place a debuff on the target which does a specific amount of damage every second or so. When you hear someone asking for "more dots," they want more damage over time abilities used on the target. More loosely, this is sometimes used to refer to any debuff, whether it does damage or not.
- add - This is a mob that enters into the fight unexpectedly. When a mob enters a fight, call out "add" on Ventrilo to let folks know so we can adjust accordingly. If the mob is on you, call out "add on <name>," using your own name (yes, use third person here, since its not always obvious who is talking on Vent).
- mob - Technically, any NPC in the game, though its usually used to refer to non-bosses.
- aggro - Aggro is the term used to identify a mob that is attacking a specific person. For example, "I have aggro" means that the mob is attacking the speaker. "Careful with your aggro" means to dial back dps and aggro-gaining abilities so the Main Tanks or Off Tanks can get a firmer grip on the mob.
The dreadful note of preparation: Preparing for a Raid
Prior to showing up for a raid, there are a few things you should have already done:
Take care of Real Life
Before you settle in to your comfy chair, go take care of anything that will later call your attention away from the raid. Use the restroom, make yourself a snack, feed the cats, walk the dogs, etc. While the unexpected will always arise, it’s good to take care of the things you know you can deal with in advance. Most raids are going to run for several hours. We'll look to take 10-minute breaks every couple of hours or after major boss fights, but plan ahead for sitting at your desk a while.
Consumables
Show up to the raid with at least one stack of each sort of potion you need. Soldiers will need at least health and stamina potions, while casters will need mana and health. If you are main tanking a long dungeon, you may want to bring two stacks. Also, don't forget plenty of food and water buff consumables. We'll be aiming to supply these to the raid through our alchemists, but bringing your own never hurts.
Be On Time.
Raid invites will generally begin 30 minutes before the raid is to start. This is not the time to finish off a Gathering Quest or make one more turn-in... this is the time spent getting into the group, getting groups organized and making sure you have your consumables ready. After fifteen minutes, if you are not at least in the raid group, we're going to start looking for replacements, first with the alternates who might be listed for your spot and then by making requests of people who didn't sign up. While I recognize RL happens, I can't hold up 23 people for the one person who's anxiously trying to get his cable bill paid so he can get online. We will begin the first pull at the time designated for the raid.
Review the plan
Once you are in the raid and at the location, with all the consumables you need, take any extra time to review the tactics thread for the instance we're doing.
Relog
About ten minutes before the raid, go ahead and relog. Even if you almost never experience memory leaks, its best to try to make sure you don't run into your first one while we're beating on a really big-assed dragon. AoC is notorious for these problems, so make sure you do it. Usually, the raid leader will call for a mass relog 10 minutes before the raid starts.
Let Slip the Dogs of War: The raid itself
Alright... you're ready to raid. Let's roll!
Keep it Positive!
This is my personal mantra and I take it very, very seriously. No cursing at your fellow players or even going so far as "we'll never succeed with this stupid tactic!" Though I welcome criticism, during a raid is NOT the time to pipe up with negativity. I can't count the number of raids I've seen thrown off their rhythm because one or two folks decided to get grumpy. I have and will halt a raid in the middle of whatever we're doing and kick people who aggressively forget this rule, even if it means the raid not being able to continue.
Follow instructions
This should go without saying, but do what you've been assigned to do and be prepared to stray from the plan if called upon to do so by the raid leader. Mistakes will be made and I'm not going to be a hardass if you screw up or forget something, but I will remind you of what you need to be doing if it happens.
Keep down the chatter and focus
Raids are intended to be fun, but they're not usually the time to sit around and socialize, either on Ventrilo or in a chat channel. I would strongly recommend having a specific tab set to Raid chat, group chat and whispers, so you're not distracted by flames in OOC or an amusing conversation in guild chat. When you speak in Ventrilo, make sure it is pertinent information. Typically, it'll be something like "add" when we get an unexpected mob rushing in or "add on <name>" when you are the one the add is going after (yes, please refer to yourself in the third person... some folks have very similar voices and its sometimes hard to tell who's who, particularly in the chaos of a fight). For the most part, the Raid leader should be the main one talking, particularly when reviewing tactics for a boss fight or when killing trash mobs. Other examples of when to speak up include booming, stunning and fearing mobs, as well as when your toon dies. Obviously, during breaks, feel free to chatter away, but be prepared to break off the conversation immediately when the break is over.
Take notes
This is particularly important if you've been assigned as a group leader, but important for anyone in the raid. Take notes of who the Main Tanks are, who Off Tanks are, who the group leads are and who your groupmates are. If your group has a specific role, take note of that as well. Group leaders will be expected to keep track of who gets epic loot from their group and post it in the post portem in the forums the following day.
Know when to engage
In most situations, the Main Tank will be the one to pull a mob, particularly a boss. From time to time, a Ranger/Trap pull may be necessary, but otherwise, do not start attacking mobs until the Main Tanks or Off Tanks have started attacking. If you are directed to pull, then pull. If you are not designated to pull, don't. There may be times in which you'll need to watch for a graphic signal before you start in on a mob. For example, when a Guardian is tanking and you see a white shield appear over the head of the mob attacking him, it is likely time to start dealing damage. Prior to that, the Guardian doesn't likely have all that great a hold on the creep and you might pull aggro.
Announce your death
If you are a Main Tank or Main Healer and die in a fight, announce it over Ventrilo or the raid channel. Again, remember to use the third person when referring to yourself ("Aurelius down!" not "I'm down"). If you get a Furious Resurgence rez from a Conqueror, announce that as well (ex "Aurelius is back up!"). ===Don't ressurrect===Do not resurrect until everyone is down. This means you! It is possible that a healer is sitting on a Furious Resurgence opportunity and can get the raid back up and running without having to go through the whole instance again. Wait until the Raid Leader calls for everyone to res. This also has the added bonus of everyone rezzing at the same time, in case the rez point is outside the instance and in a pvp zone.
Use Furious Resurgence wisely
Conquerors can use Furious Resurgence to resurrect people in a combat. Mainly, this is used to bring back critical people who go down in a fight, such as Main Tanks, Main Healers, Wolf Kiters and the like. If we're obviously going to wipe, go ahead and use it on a healer who's gone down, but tell them on Vent that its for wipe protection, not to try to save the fight. Once the fight is over, they can use their FR to rise up and resurrect the rest of us.
Going afk
It happens. You didn't have to go five minutes ago, but you're about to wet yourself now. The husband just came home and is demanding at least cursory attention. The water main breaks. Though we will have breaks at regular intervals during raids, sometimes, you just have to afk, even in the middle of a fight. Here are some basic guidelines to afk:
- If its not an emergency, ask on Ventrilo. If we're between pulls, its likely we can pause a few moments for you to take care of business. Let the raid leader know how long you expect to be afk. If it is an emergency, just announce it on Ventrilo and go, even if you have to speak over the raid leader. Remember to speak in third person.
- If your unexpected afk lasts for more than 5 minutes, you may be replaced, subject to the whim of the raid leader. Unfortunately, a lot of this depends on just how deep into an instance we are. If we have to fight all the way back to the beginning to get someone into the instance, its unlikely we're going to try to replace you.
- Hide when you are afk. Obviously, in the middle of a fight this isn't going to be possible, but if you afk during a break or any other time, hide your character. Unhide when you get back. This is our little "afk indicator".
Fortune made his sword: Loot
Invicta uses standard need/greed rules. If you get a purple in a raid by winning the roll, you cannot roll need again unless you are the only member of your class or everyone of your class has a purple. Everyone can always roll greed on any item. If there is any doubt, hold your roll and ask on Vent or in raid chat.
Summary
Alright, that's the basics. Each instance will have its own set of tactics, but this is the general information you'll need to know about raiding with Invicta to make our raids efficient, professional, successful and, most of all, enjoyable for the guild. I know some of this stuff may seem a bit more hardass than what you're accustomed to from me, but I want Invicta to be the premiere raiding guild on Cimmeria. We're a bit behind on that race, but I'm expecting everyone who gets involved in raiding with Invicta to catch us up to other guilds and surpass them, while maintaining all the other aspects of play we enjoy as well.
