RAID LEADING
By Eldeberon
INTRODUCTION
There have been some questions concerning how to be a raid leader, and some requests for information on the subject. It is for this reason I created this post. It is intended for new would-be raid leaders to learn more about what they need to do to be successful at leading raids and even what successful means. As such, this post is comprised of my opinions and my views, and that needs to be taken into account when reading this. My opinions are however, informed opinions and are based on actual first hand experiences at running raids as the guilds Raid Leader, from observing others run their raids, and from speaking to several very experienced raid leaders. I hope it helps members gain the confidence they need to learn to lead a raid, and to help them avoid mistakes, the very least of which is wiping their raid and failing to achieve any objectives.
WHAT IS A RAID LEADER
I am starting with the basics here just so I know we are on the same page. In my mind there are two types of raid leaders. There is the raid leader and the Raid Leader (note the capitals). A raid leader is anyone who leads a group of people to achieve an objective, usually for the gain of the raid leader. This is most commonly seen when someone announces in guild chat, The Corrupted Seahorse is up, come help me kill him! A Raid Leader is an individual who calls, organizes and runs a raid for the benefit of someone else, or the guild as a whole, with no intent to obtain anything for themselves. It is this kind of Raid Leader I will be addressing in this post.
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE A RAID LEADER?
There are several myths here.
There is no class that is better at leading a raid than another. Radalas is a warrior and is one of the best leaders, despite the fact that he has to often function as main tank while issuing ordersnot easy. As a wizard I was able to have more free time to read and send messages, but it was harder for me to look ahead or judge when to move the party forward. There are tradeoffs but the reality is that any class can lead a raid just fine.
You dont have to be experienced with the zones. In fact, the greatest mark of a RL is to be able to enter a zone alien to everyone and successfully raid it. Still there will be a sense of insecurity at leading a raid to a zone that others know and you dont. How can you expect to give orders in such a situation? Part of being a RL is learning to research a zone. You might know nothing about TOFS, so you learn. You go online and look it up, you talk to people who have been there, who lead raids there. You get a detailed map and study it.
You dont have to be high level to lead a raid. Once again, this stems back to the same idea of insecurity. How can you order a bunch of 58th level players around when you are 49? I had this same insecurity when I started and just let me say this is total crap. Level means nothing. You can be level 65, but if you have never been in a zone before, never seen a map of it, you are going to be on the edge of your seat listening to that 49th level player who has! And you will be surprised at how many people at high levels have never been to many zones and dont have a clue about them, who have never lead a raid, dont know a thing about it and are very happy you are there doing it. If you are the Raid Leader, no matter what your level, no matter what your experience, those in your raid will listen to you. Actually the most irritating part is that those in your raid who really are knowledgeable, who could run your raid better then you can, wont say a thing. Even if they see you walking into a wipe, they will remain quiet out of respect, and the fearyes fear, that they will insult you by making suggestionseven in /tells.
What you do need in order to be a good Raid Leader is the ability to think quickly and make decisions, the capacity to remain calm in a crisis, and to accept criticism, lack of support and even disobedience, and not take it personally. A Raid Leader must be in control at all times, and most especially of him/herself, and NEVER lash out at anyone. You also need raid experience and not just any raids, you need experience being in Dragonchow raids. Each guild is different and Dragonchow is down right unique. A common mistake I have seen is for new recruits to immediately attempt to lead a Dragonchow raid. They may have had raid leading experience at other guilds, but DC doesnt functions like other guilds, and before you can lead Chow, you have to become familiar with Chow and how we raid. More on this later.
POWER
The Raid Leader has absolute authority over the raid. His/Her word is law. Even if the raid is set up with a support team and there are multiple RLs, there will always be one RL who is supreme. It has to be this way in order to avoid confusion. In a crisis, RLs may give conflicting orders, and you need to know which to listen to. With this power however, come temptations that need to be avoided.
Swifthand has repeatedly stressed that Dragonchow is not a raiding guild. Which is to say, our focus is not on raids. Some guilds exist to raid. Some require you to attend a raid if you are online, and some require you to BE online to attend a raid or you will be deguilded. DC is not that kind of guild. Raids in Dragonchow serve one purpose and one purpose only, to provide added fun and enjoyment to the members of the guild. No one is required to attend, people attend because they want to. As such we are a milita, not an army. Everyone at a raid is there voluntarily, so as a RL you need to keep in mind that your job isnt to successfully get that epic item, or kill that dragon, it is to make playing EQ fun for your fellow guild members. Disorganization and dying all the time isnt fun, which is why we need strong RLs, but by the same token, an ironfisted tyrant who ridicules and demands stiff obedience isnt fun either. Remember that many people come here after a day of being bullied by their boss or teachers, and they want to get away from that and enjoy themselves.
BALANCE
The best Raid Leader then is the individual who can provide organization and direction without sacrificing the fun. In DC you need to let people enjoy themselves, you need to make sure they feel appreciated, you need to treat each and every member of your raid with great respect, yet at the same time you need to be able to make unpopular decisions and stand by them. Achieving this balance is not easy, but with time, as you gain the respect of your fellows, it becomes easier.
ORGANIZING A RAID
Step 1: What Kind of Raid
There are two kind of planned raids. Epic and Loot. Sarenia has a thread in the Raid section of the guild board entitled; Things On My To Do List. This is an excellent source for finding who needs what insofar as epic items are concerned. You can also run a Loot Raid, designed to provide general upgrades to the guild membership in general.
Epic Raids: these should be aimed at zones that provide multiple epic items for several classes, or targeted to help someone who you feel deserves the guild assistance. Be aware that those who you do not choose to help may become irritated with you, but keep in mind that as long as you are putting up the majority of the effort, and asking nothing in return, you have the right to decide who gets your help.
This brings up another important point. Never call a raid for yourself and avoid taking any loot (unless no one else wants it). If you are going to be a Raid Leader (with capital letters), it is best to avoid doing anything that can be viewed as selfish.
Loot Raids: this is aimed at zones like TOFS, Kael, HoT, UP, etc. While this form of raiding avoids your having to choose who you help and who you dont, it still has the problem of who gets what loot. With the Epic raid you designate in advance who the raid is for, with the loot raid you have to decide under the pressure of the ticking corpse clock who gets it or who rolls. More on awarding loot later.
RESEARCH
Now you need to learn about how to achieve your goal. The best source I have found for this is simply typing the name of the zone into the Internet search engine Google and looking for raid walkthroughs. These are usually long, detailed documents that cover the job step by step. Not all zones have these, but a great many do, and some are better than others. Kedge has a fantastic (albeit a little dated) guide, while I have never found a decent one for Chardok. Other resources are EQMaps, EQAtlas, and of course Dragonchows raid leaders, all of whom have their emails posted under the Roll Call section and who I am fairly certain would be happy to take a few moments and help you. People to consider speaking with would be, Radalas, Swifthand, Salavar, Macey, Ripto, Sarenia, Feanorr, Teroth, Klothe and myself. Each have expertise in different zones. Also under the section Encounter Specific Strategies on the DC chat board, you will find several reports written by experienced DC raid leaders. Print out your maps, and walk throughs and have them handy when raid time comes.
Step 2: Setting a Time for the Raid
Once you decide where and what you need to decide when. The best times to run a raid is Monday through Thurs after 8:30pm EST. This will provide you the highest turnout of guild members. Weekends seem great due to availability and excess time, but in reality most members take weekends off to be with their friends and families, or sporadically log on at odd times throughout the day. Before 8:30 EST on a weekday limits you to only the east coast and central members of the guild. West coast members need time to get home, eat dinner and log on, which is usually not until 8:30 to 9:00pm EST. So if your raid calls for maximum power and not too much time, then hold it on a weekday. If you can get by with an odd assortment of just a few people and what you really need is lots of timesay due to the fact that you need to farm something over and overthen choose a weekend. If you do choose a weekend make it early. This will hurt the west coast joiners, but you arent looking for maximum turn out anyway. Instead you want to get the zone before another guild does, so plan for around 11am, 10am or even 9am EST (but only if late comers can join you).
Step 3: Line up your Key Personnel
On raids that require you to have specific classes, like a rogue for CoM or Chardok, or a CoF mage for a Hole raid, or a wizard for Air or Hate. Line them up ahead of time. Catch them online, send them a tell and ask if they would be willing to come. If they are, explain that you cant hold the raid without them so they know you are counting on their being there and just how important their presence is. If they cant make it when you plan to hold the raid, find out when they can make it and set the raid time or date accordingly.
Step 4: Posting your Raid
Post your raid in the Raid Section of the board about a week in advance. Be certain to be very specific, clear and answer the following questions:
1. The raid name/target (Fear, Vindi, Chardok Royals etc.) Day/date/time/AM or PM/timezone (put all this in the posts title)
2. List level restrictionsif none then say so.
3. If resist gear is needed mention it and what kind
4. Designate a staging area. Where will the raid gather and launch from.
5. Who the raid leader is
6. Who the assistant raid leaders will be, and if possible, their designated responsibilities (of course you will need to have discussed this with them first).
7. Loot restrictions if necessary
8. Loot reservations (if you are holding the raid for the specific benefit of one or more people who you will be granting specific loot rights to for specific loots) you will want to post this information in advance.
9. Any important rules you want the raid to know. (keep in mind that all of this will need to be restated at the start of the raid for those who did not read your post.)
Dont assume anything from replies to your post. Almost every new RL goes through this. They get it into their head that they will plan a raid in advance. They will post a notice for the raid and ask people to sign up on the thread. Now in some more regimented guilds this works, DC doesnt function this way. The majority of the people in the guild dont even visit the boards! So either few people will sign up and the RL will give up on the idea, feeling that the raid holds no interest, only to log on and find an army waiting, or several people will sign up, but come raid time will not be there. All your well thought out plans of having this person tank and that person pull, will be destroyed, and if you are planning a raid that requires specific key classes this can ruin the raid completely and force you to cancel. So ignore those who say they are coming, for often times they wont, and just because people dont post, doesnt mean they wont show.
Step 5: Advertise
Contact an officer and ask them to post your raid on the MOTD about three or four days in advance. Remember that not everyone reads the boards so many people will learn about the raid from the MOTD.
Step 6: Explore/Prep
If you are not familiar with the zone, get familiar. Go there if possible and hunt it. Some zones like the Hole and Kael can be explored easily by creating a non-KoS character which you can use to just walk around and plan your route, see where the mobs are, the potential danger spots, and the potential safe spots. These non-KoS alts will also be invaluable for corpse runs if needed. Now with zones like Fear and Hate it is not really feasible to advance explore, but a zone like Chardok you can get a better idea of, just by doing some grouping there. You will be able to see the rate of respawn, etc. In addition to exploring, do any prep work. If you need port stones, get them, if you need keys, buy them. Also buy any supplies the raid will need like peridots for the clerics and pearls for a CoHing mage. Plan to recover the cost by keeping a portion or all of the cash loots.
Step 7: Arrive early
If possible move into position the night before so all you have to do is log on, and log on early. People get nervous if it is only a half hour before raid time and the RL isnt online yet. Particularly if it is one of your first raids. After a while, as you build up a reputation for being reliable people will know that if you post that you will be there, that youll be there. Until then, be early, and use this time to establish a raid channel and remind people that the raid will start soon, and answer any last minute questions like where they should all meet you. If needed this would be a good time to create a leaders channel as well.
Step 8: Dont Wait to Make Groups
As soon as people start entering in the chat window (and you should put /announce on so you can see as people join), jot down their names, levels and classes on a sheet of paper, and start thinking about how you will organize the groups. Remember to ask everyone to turn off /anon and roleplaying so you can see their class and levels. You might even request that they send you a tell with their class and level to make things easier on you.
You want to get people in groups as fast as possible so that people can start the buffing process.
Step 9: How to Make Groups
There are a number of ways to form groups and much of it has to do with the raid and the technique to be used. Some raids benefit from chain pulling, so you might have two monks and a cleric in your pull group and your Main Assist in another. And an AoE group requires a complete different set up. But for now I will go with the basic set up.
Group 1 is your Main Tank group. It consists of your main tank, the best healer, best slower, and your puller.
Group 2 is your Off-tank group and consists of your second best tank, your second best healer and your best crowd controller.
Group 3 gets your next best healer and anyone else left over
Rules of thumb:
Spread out the Healing
Dont over tax your clerics. Dont lump those people who you know will be getting the crap kicked out of them all in one group with one cleric. If you put your shaman, who will get aggro from slowing, and your chanter who will get aggro from mezzing and tashening, and your puller who will be getting battered, and your main tank all in one group, there will not be enough healing to keep them all alive. It is important that the puller and the main are in the same group so they can use group chat to communicate the pulling and tagging. It is also important for the shaman to hear the conversation to judge his slow (he is also a back up healer to the tank). The main chanter can work separately in the second group where a cleric will only need to watch him/her and the Second assist. It also helps to have the chanter able to easily communicate when they are having trouble locking down a mob so the off tank then knows to step in and do his job. The SA can also double as the chanters and clerics body guard.
Lump the casters together
Casters like druids, wizards, mages, necros, etc, should never get agro therefore they should require very little healing as a result you cover these groups with secondary healers like druids, and shamans, and in desperate situations with necros. This leaves your clerics free to be placed in melee groups where they will be far more needed.
OLD WAY
So to start pick your MA, (main assist), pair him/her with your best healer, pick your best slower, and your best puller and then fill in the group with what ever looks good, another tank, or a even a caster. Then single out your SA (second assist/off-tank) pair them with your second best healer, and your crowd controller, and fill out this group. Then if you have the numbers create another melee and healer group, then finally your caster group(s). If you have several high level clerics, casters can be spread out more.
You will notice that I never suggested balancing the groups for experience. First off, trying to balance each group so everyone gets exp is very difficult and way to much effort for a RL to deal with. Second it is unnecessary. You need to design your groups for reaching your goal not to even out exp. People dont come to raids for the experience anyway (or they shouldnt), so dont worry about it. Of course now with the new raid feature unless you have non-pop players in the raid, this is no longer even an issue.
Once made announce in raid or raid chat, that you are about to call out groups, so people will pay attention. Let them know that the first person named is the group leader and they they need to invite the rest. Then list them, Group 1: and the names. Be sure to write them all down on a piece of paper. The raid window is wonderful, but in a hurry you might not want to mess with it, and after the raid you will want a hard copy list to remember who was on the raid.
NEW WAY
With the advent of the raid window, an easier means of setting up groups is to pick those you want as group leaders, invite them to the raid, and then order them to pick up the people you want to have in the various groups and watch in the raid window as they fill in. As more people come, you just shift folks from one group to another. If you set your classes to specific colors you can see at a glance if you have a healer in every group etc.
One last thing. You can try and get a porter in every group. I have never been in a raid where the raid ported out, but there is always a first time, and it might not hurt to have this option as an alternative. Usually speaking, you never want people to gate or port as it makes regrouping very difficult, camping out in a bad situation is usually preferable. However, at the end of the raid it will be very nice to simply order all groups to port out and be done.
Step 10: Designate your Mains
Let the raid know who the Main tank, slower, and crowd controllers are, as well as the puller and the SA. You might even designate a Third Assist. Also designate your raid looters and grant them the power in the raid window.
Step 11: Set up the Rules of Engagement
Remember that many of these people havent read the post you mad, so go over all the important rules they need to follow to survive on the raid. Remind them what loots are reserved and for who. Explain the break-in process if applicable. Explain that they will be required to wait for an assist call or not unless you feel that is not necessary. Explain the responsibilities of the group leaders.
Group leaders are usually responsible for keeping track of their group. Making certain they are all moving together, and reporting AFKs and LDs directly to the RL through /tells or in a leaders channel. Making certain they are all buffed appropriately, and if not sending a /tell to the necessary person(s). (general group members should not make these requests). Questions and issues raised in a group should be handled by the group leader who alone will contact the RL if there is a need. The idea is to keep the RL informed of everything going on, but reduce the clutter of text the RL needs to read. Questions and statements to the RL should be short and replies should be expected to be equally as curt.
Step 12: The Launch
Communicate with your puller either through /tells or a leaders channel. A leaders channel usually consists of the puller, the main, the main looter and anyone who has zone or raid expertise and of course the RL. Give your puller the go ahead to start pulling and either grant him authority to advance the raid when he/she sees fit or have them report that the way is clear and move the raid up yourself. If you choose to let the pull or tank advance the raid be certain to let the raid know that they are to watch for this order.
Step 13: Getting out
When done, get out fast. The most vulnerable time is the port out. Raid members will be gating, and soon youre grand force will be weak as a puppy. Try to have a wizard with port fragments to punt the raid out, and he should have a full group and a port spell loaded to get everyone out once the last punt is made. Otherwise you need to fight your way out.
COMMUNICATE!!!
This is a mistake I have seen a lot with inexperienced RLs. You are the voice of the raid. Everyone is waiting on what you say. If you are off busy in tells with the puller and the looter and answering questions, the raid cant hear this. People get anxious when nothing seems to be happening. Sure youre busy as hell, but they cant see it. So you need to be certain to talk to the raid every so often and explain what is happening. Keep them all informed. It is hard to do when you are short on time, and most people are very patient of RLs, but it is often the difference between a fun experience and a bewildering mess. Also keep your tone light, good-natured and friendly. Always be polite. Ask people to please do this or that, dont bark orders unless you really have to, and then later when you have time explain why. Never yell at anyone in guild, or raid, or raid chat! As raid leader your position is one of immense power, a single word from you is very loud. If you are having a problem with someone speak to them in tells. Be polite and understanding, but firm. Most times the problem is a miscommunication, or ignorance that you can clear up with a quick word or two. If not, then with all due respect, explain that if they cannot follow your directions, then you will have to ask them to leave. If you do have to remove a member from the raid be certain to provide that person a means out, a punt would be the best choice. (I personally have never needed to ask anyone to leave a raid).
DEALING WITH LATE ARRIVALS
Every raid has late arrivals. This is one of the biggest problems with raiding. Sometimes it isnt an issue, other times it is a pain, and then there are times when it is impossible. It mostly depends on the zone, the number of people you have in the raid already, and the classes you have. If you have a CoH mage, you can establish a CoH group. Place the mage in a group with a porter, a wizard or druid and have them bind at the entrance to the zone. The group can only have 5 members. When someone arrives late, the porter gates to them, invites them into the group and the CoH mage summons them both back to the raid. Sadly most raids do not have CoH capable mages. Different RLs handle late arrivals differently, but my feeling is that so long as it is convenient to accept later arrivals, then let them come, but the moment it begins to slow down the raid and cause problems you should simply announce in Guild Chat that the raid is closed and that no one else is allowed in from this point on. The only exception to this is if the very person you are holding the raid for is late, or someone you desperately need is late, or you are just really short on people and need more.
LET PEOPLE DO THEIR JOBS
By the time players get to raid level they know how to play their character. Let the puller pull, the tank tank and soon you will find the raid is purring along on autopilot. Keep your puller and tank aware of the direction they need to go and remind them of the dangers ahead, and watch the loot reports to make certain that it is being handled properly, keep track of the AFKs and LDs, and at this point you can actually play the game and fight.
WATCH FOR PROBLEMS
Are people dying too often in group 3? Perhaps you need to move another healer there. Are casters in groups 4 pulling aggro? Speak to their group leader and have him remind them to wait longer before nuking or dotting. Are melees waiting for the assist call? Is the main calling for assist?
LOOT
Traditionally cash loots are kept by the RL to fund his/her raid bank. Each raid leader funds their own raids and should keep the loot (separate if possible) from their normal cash to be used on the guilds raids. Raids can be very costly. A trip to Air could easily cost over 10,000 plat. I once blew 3,000 on a simple raid to Hate. Port stones, coffins, peridots, pearls, keys, it all adds up very quickly when you are paying the way for 40 or more people. So any item that will just be sold, gems, jewelry etc, should be kept to pay the cost of the raid and future raids. A raid to Hate can pull as much as 5,000 plat, in only a few hours, but I will guarantee you will never get rich running raids. I personally lost thousands.
The rest of the loot needs to be quickly awarded. This is one of the hardest parts of leading a raid. It is up to you how you go about doing it, but the method I used was to ask for all raid members for whom the items was an upgrade to come to the Loot Manager and roll. They need to actually come close to them so that the rolls can be seen. If you are standing too far away you wont see the rolls. On particularly good items it is often best to determine for which class it would best serve. You wouldnt want a nice piece of plate armor with 25 intelligence going to a warrior when an SK could make better use of it. Or a haste item going to a caster. In this instance you might choose to limit the roll to those for whom it is an upgrade in a specific category like melee or int caster or chain wearers. And in rare situations you may wish to exercise your power to award an item to an individual. This should be done very rarely, and only for very good reason as it is surely to cause many people to be upset with you. But when you see someone as important as the main tank who you rely on for every raid, who is always there and who never gets anything, and you know they have a crappy breastplate and a truly excellent one drops, it is important that you accept a little harassment and make certain that your MT gets the item.
ADVICE
Listen to the members of your raid. If someone offers advice or a suggestion, dont assume they are suggesting you cant do the job. It is very likely they know something you dont but should. So listen and thank them for taking the time to try and help you. That said remember you are the RL and you decision is final.
BEING HEARD
If it seems people are not hearing you, try double typing, using the shift up arrow will repeat the last line you typed. Or if you are in a zone like Fear, where you are the only ones there, the Raid Leader can opt to speak in Shouts, which will stand out in everyones chat boxes.
REST
On long raids, plan for AFKs. Find a safe place and let everyone camp out for an hour, or if youre camping a mob, then let groups go AFK for 15-30 minutes so they can stretch, go to the bathroom, get something to eat.
FAILURE
It happensit happens a lot. Wipes are common. They are part of raiding. Things occur out of your control or knowledge, and sometimes you just screw up, but the fact is there will be deaths. It is important to keep in mind that success isnt achieving the goal with no casualties, in fact that is boring, success is when everyone has a blast. Getting your goal is a part of that fun, but even if you dont and people are happy with the trip, it is still a success. I know I would rather be on a raid that was fun that failed, than to be on a raid that succeeded and I felt like crap afterwards because it was either really boring or because the RL was overbearing and demeaning.
CALLING A RAID
If a raid gets low on people, or even if enough people to do the job dont show up to begin with, cancel it. Dont try it anyway just because you spent time setting it up. Reschedule it. It is better then killing people needlessly.
On the other hand when you call a raid and the people you wanted are not there, dont give up too quickly. Some people are late, well many people usually are. Also just because you dont have a 60 tank doesnt mean you can raid, let the 54 pally give it a shot. There are certain classes you really must have, and then there are those youd like to have. Try and learn the difference and discover how to improvise new strategies based off of what you have at the time.
WHEN THEY DONT COME
So you called a raid and few people came. Dont get discouraged. Dont take it personally. Try again, and give people more advance time. The second raid I held only 4 people came to. The next raid I held there were 25. So it happens, dont think people dont like you just because they cant make a raid.
RESPECT
It has to be earned. You dont get it by being level 65, or by being an officer, or by having an epic. You get it by proving you can do the job. By making sure everyone in your raid is taken care ofat your expense if necessary. You get it by sticking it out when you really dont want to, by calmly explaining something to someone, when what you really want to do is beat them senseless. By not making the same mistake twice. By making decisions instead of letting the raid hang lost. By standing up and apologizing for the mistakes you will make and not blaming members of your raid. By putting the interests of those willing to follow you ahead of your own.
Respect is like another character attribute, and you will be pleasantly pleased when you see the littleYou are respected more (2)message. And trust me, you will know when that message appears, and despite everything it will still surprise you.
I hope this helps, and good luck.
By Eldeberon
INTRODUCTION
There have been some questions concerning how to be a raid leader, and some requests for information on the subject. It is for this reason I created this post. It is intended for new would-be raid leaders to learn more about what they need to do to be successful at leading raids and even what successful means. As such, this post is comprised of my opinions and my views, and that needs to be taken into account when reading this. My opinions are however, informed opinions and are based on actual first hand experiences at running raids as the guilds Raid Leader, from observing others run their raids, and from speaking to several very experienced raid leaders. I hope it helps members gain the confidence they need to learn to lead a raid, and to help them avoid mistakes, the very least of which is wiping their raid and failing to achieve any objectives.
WHAT IS A RAID LEADER
I am starting with the basics here just so I know we are on the same page. In my mind there are two types of raid leaders. There is the raid leader and the Raid Leader (note the capitals). A raid leader is anyone who leads a group of people to achieve an objective, usually for the gain of the raid leader. This is most commonly seen when someone announces in guild chat, The Corrupted Seahorse is up, come help me kill him! A Raid Leader is an individual who calls, organizes and runs a raid for the benefit of someone else, or the guild as a whole, with no intent to obtain anything for themselves. It is this kind of Raid Leader I will be addressing in this post.
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE A RAID LEADER?
There are several myths here.
There is no class that is better at leading a raid than another. Radalas is a warrior and is one of the best leaders, despite the fact that he has to often function as main tank while issuing ordersnot easy. As a wizard I was able to have more free time to read and send messages, but it was harder for me to look ahead or judge when to move the party forward. There are tradeoffs but the reality is that any class can lead a raid just fine.
You dont have to be experienced with the zones. In fact, the greatest mark of a RL is to be able to enter a zone alien to everyone and successfully raid it. Still there will be a sense of insecurity at leading a raid to a zone that others know and you dont. How can you expect to give orders in such a situation? Part of being a RL is learning to research a zone. You might know nothing about TOFS, so you learn. You go online and look it up, you talk to people who have been there, who lead raids there. You get a detailed map and study it.
You dont have to be high level to lead a raid. Once again, this stems back to the same idea of insecurity. How can you order a bunch of 58th level players around when you are 49? I had this same insecurity when I started and just let me say this is total crap. Level means nothing. You can be level 65, but if you have never been in a zone before, never seen a map of it, you are going to be on the edge of your seat listening to that 49th level player who has! And you will be surprised at how many people at high levels have never been to many zones and dont have a clue about them, who have never lead a raid, dont know a thing about it and are very happy you are there doing it. If you are the Raid Leader, no matter what your level, no matter what your experience, those in your raid will listen to you. Actually the most irritating part is that those in your raid who really are knowledgeable, who could run your raid better then you can, wont say a thing. Even if they see you walking into a wipe, they will remain quiet out of respect, and the fearyes fear, that they will insult you by making suggestionseven in /tells.
What you do need in order to be a good Raid Leader is the ability to think quickly and make decisions, the capacity to remain calm in a crisis, and to accept criticism, lack of support and even disobedience, and not take it personally. A Raid Leader must be in control at all times, and most especially of him/herself, and NEVER lash out at anyone. You also need raid experience and not just any raids, you need experience being in Dragonchow raids. Each guild is different and Dragonchow is down right unique. A common mistake I have seen is for new recruits to immediately attempt to lead a Dragonchow raid. They may have had raid leading experience at other guilds, but DC doesnt functions like other guilds, and before you can lead Chow, you have to become familiar with Chow and how we raid. More on this later.
POWER
The Raid Leader has absolute authority over the raid. His/Her word is law. Even if the raid is set up with a support team and there are multiple RLs, there will always be one RL who is supreme. It has to be this way in order to avoid confusion. In a crisis, RLs may give conflicting orders, and you need to know which to listen to. With this power however, come temptations that need to be avoided.
Swifthand has repeatedly stressed that Dragonchow is not a raiding guild. Which is to say, our focus is not on raids. Some guilds exist to raid. Some require you to attend a raid if you are online, and some require you to BE online to attend a raid or you will be deguilded. DC is not that kind of guild. Raids in Dragonchow serve one purpose and one purpose only, to provide added fun and enjoyment to the members of the guild. No one is required to attend, people attend because they want to. As such we are a milita, not an army. Everyone at a raid is there voluntarily, so as a RL you need to keep in mind that your job isnt to successfully get that epic item, or kill that dragon, it is to make playing EQ fun for your fellow guild members. Disorganization and dying all the time isnt fun, which is why we need strong RLs, but by the same token, an ironfisted tyrant who ridicules and demands stiff obedience isnt fun either. Remember that many people come here after a day of being bullied by their boss or teachers, and they want to get away from that and enjoy themselves.
BALANCE
The best Raid Leader then is the individual who can provide organization and direction without sacrificing the fun. In DC you need to let people enjoy themselves, you need to make sure they feel appreciated, you need to treat each and every member of your raid with great respect, yet at the same time you need to be able to make unpopular decisions and stand by them. Achieving this balance is not easy, but with time, as you gain the respect of your fellows, it becomes easier.
ORGANIZING A RAID
Step 1: What Kind of Raid
There are two kind of planned raids. Epic and Loot. Sarenia has a thread in the Raid section of the guild board entitled; Things On My To Do List. This is an excellent source for finding who needs what insofar as epic items are concerned. You can also run a Loot Raid, designed to provide general upgrades to the guild membership in general.
Epic Raids: these should be aimed at zones that provide multiple epic items for several classes, or targeted to help someone who you feel deserves the guild assistance. Be aware that those who you do not choose to help may become irritated with you, but keep in mind that as long as you are putting up the majority of the effort, and asking nothing in return, you have the right to decide who gets your help.
This brings up another important point. Never call a raid for yourself and avoid taking any loot (unless no one else wants it). If you are going to be a Raid Leader (with capital letters), it is best to avoid doing anything that can be viewed as selfish.
Loot Raids: this is aimed at zones like TOFS, Kael, HoT, UP, etc. While this form of raiding avoids your having to choose who you help and who you dont, it still has the problem of who gets what loot. With the Epic raid you designate in advance who the raid is for, with the loot raid you have to decide under the pressure of the ticking corpse clock who gets it or who rolls. More on awarding loot later.
RESEARCH
Now you need to learn about how to achieve your goal. The best source I have found for this is simply typing the name of the zone into the Internet search engine Google and looking for raid walkthroughs. These are usually long, detailed documents that cover the job step by step. Not all zones have these, but a great many do, and some are better than others. Kedge has a fantastic (albeit a little dated) guide, while I have never found a decent one for Chardok. Other resources are EQMaps, EQAtlas, and of course Dragonchows raid leaders, all of whom have their emails posted under the Roll Call section and who I am fairly certain would be happy to take a few moments and help you. People to consider speaking with would be, Radalas, Swifthand, Salavar, Macey, Ripto, Sarenia, Feanorr, Teroth, Klothe and myself. Each have expertise in different zones. Also under the section Encounter Specific Strategies on the DC chat board, you will find several reports written by experienced DC raid leaders. Print out your maps, and walk throughs and have them handy when raid time comes.
Step 2: Setting a Time for the Raid
Once you decide where and what you need to decide when. The best times to run a raid is Monday through Thurs after 8:30pm EST. This will provide you the highest turnout of guild members. Weekends seem great due to availability and excess time, but in reality most members take weekends off to be with their friends and families, or sporadically log on at odd times throughout the day. Before 8:30 EST on a weekday limits you to only the east coast and central members of the guild. West coast members need time to get home, eat dinner and log on, which is usually not until 8:30 to 9:00pm EST. So if your raid calls for maximum power and not too much time, then hold it on a weekday. If you can get by with an odd assortment of just a few people and what you really need is lots of timesay due to the fact that you need to farm something over and overthen choose a weekend. If you do choose a weekend make it early. This will hurt the west coast joiners, but you arent looking for maximum turn out anyway. Instead you want to get the zone before another guild does, so plan for around 11am, 10am or even 9am EST (but only if late comers can join you).
Step 3: Line up your Key Personnel
On raids that require you to have specific classes, like a rogue for CoM or Chardok, or a CoF mage for a Hole raid, or a wizard for Air or Hate. Line them up ahead of time. Catch them online, send them a tell and ask if they would be willing to come. If they are, explain that you cant hold the raid without them so they know you are counting on their being there and just how important their presence is. If they cant make it when you plan to hold the raid, find out when they can make it and set the raid time or date accordingly.
Step 4: Posting your Raid
Post your raid in the Raid Section of the board about a week in advance. Be certain to be very specific, clear and answer the following questions:
1. The raid name/target (Fear, Vindi, Chardok Royals etc.) Day/date/time/AM or PM/timezone (put all this in the posts title)
2. List level restrictionsif none then say so.
3. If resist gear is needed mention it and what kind
4. Designate a staging area. Where will the raid gather and launch from.
5. Who the raid leader is
6. Who the assistant raid leaders will be, and if possible, their designated responsibilities (of course you will need to have discussed this with them first).
7. Loot restrictions if necessary
8. Loot reservations (if you are holding the raid for the specific benefit of one or more people who you will be granting specific loot rights to for specific loots) you will want to post this information in advance.
9. Any important rules you want the raid to know. (keep in mind that all of this will need to be restated at the start of the raid for those who did not read your post.)
Dont assume anything from replies to your post. Almost every new RL goes through this. They get it into their head that they will plan a raid in advance. They will post a notice for the raid and ask people to sign up on the thread. Now in some more regimented guilds this works, DC doesnt function this way. The majority of the people in the guild dont even visit the boards! So either few people will sign up and the RL will give up on the idea, feeling that the raid holds no interest, only to log on and find an army waiting, or several people will sign up, but come raid time will not be there. All your well thought out plans of having this person tank and that person pull, will be destroyed, and if you are planning a raid that requires specific key classes this can ruin the raid completely and force you to cancel. So ignore those who say they are coming, for often times they wont, and just because people dont post, doesnt mean they wont show.
Step 5: Advertise
Contact an officer and ask them to post your raid on the MOTD about three or four days in advance. Remember that not everyone reads the boards so many people will learn about the raid from the MOTD.
Step 6: Explore/Prep
If you are not familiar with the zone, get familiar. Go there if possible and hunt it. Some zones like the Hole and Kael can be explored easily by creating a non-KoS character which you can use to just walk around and plan your route, see where the mobs are, the potential danger spots, and the potential safe spots. These non-KoS alts will also be invaluable for corpse runs if needed. Now with zones like Fear and Hate it is not really feasible to advance explore, but a zone like Chardok you can get a better idea of, just by doing some grouping there. You will be able to see the rate of respawn, etc. In addition to exploring, do any prep work. If you need port stones, get them, if you need keys, buy them. Also buy any supplies the raid will need like peridots for the clerics and pearls for a CoHing mage. Plan to recover the cost by keeping a portion or all of the cash loots.
Step 7: Arrive early
If possible move into position the night before so all you have to do is log on, and log on early. People get nervous if it is only a half hour before raid time and the RL isnt online yet. Particularly if it is one of your first raids. After a while, as you build up a reputation for being reliable people will know that if you post that you will be there, that youll be there. Until then, be early, and use this time to establish a raid channel and remind people that the raid will start soon, and answer any last minute questions like where they should all meet you. If needed this would be a good time to create a leaders channel as well.
Step 8: Dont Wait to Make Groups
As soon as people start entering in the chat window (and you should put /announce on so you can see as people join), jot down their names, levels and classes on a sheet of paper, and start thinking about how you will organize the groups. Remember to ask everyone to turn off /anon and roleplaying so you can see their class and levels. You might even request that they send you a tell with their class and level to make things easier on you.
You want to get people in groups as fast as possible so that people can start the buffing process.
Step 9: How to Make Groups
There are a number of ways to form groups and much of it has to do with the raid and the technique to be used. Some raids benefit from chain pulling, so you might have two monks and a cleric in your pull group and your Main Assist in another. And an AoE group requires a complete different set up. But for now I will go with the basic set up.
Group 1 is your Main Tank group. It consists of your main tank, the best healer, best slower, and your puller.
Group 2 is your Off-tank group and consists of your second best tank, your second best healer and your best crowd controller.
Group 3 gets your next best healer and anyone else left over
Rules of thumb:
Spread out the Healing
Dont over tax your clerics. Dont lump those people who you know will be getting the crap kicked out of them all in one group with one cleric. If you put your shaman, who will get aggro from slowing, and your chanter who will get aggro from mezzing and tashening, and your puller who will be getting battered, and your main tank all in one group, there will not be enough healing to keep them all alive. It is important that the puller and the main are in the same group so they can use group chat to communicate the pulling and tagging. It is also important for the shaman to hear the conversation to judge his slow (he is also a back up healer to the tank). The main chanter can work separately in the second group where a cleric will only need to watch him/her and the Second assist. It also helps to have the chanter able to easily communicate when they are having trouble locking down a mob so the off tank then knows to step in and do his job. The SA can also double as the chanters and clerics body guard.
Lump the casters together
Casters like druids, wizards, mages, necros, etc, should never get agro therefore they should require very little healing as a result you cover these groups with secondary healers like druids, and shamans, and in desperate situations with necros. This leaves your clerics free to be placed in melee groups where they will be far more needed.
OLD WAY
So to start pick your MA, (main assist), pair him/her with your best healer, pick your best slower, and your best puller and then fill in the group with what ever looks good, another tank, or a even a caster. Then single out your SA (second assist/off-tank) pair them with your second best healer, and your crowd controller, and fill out this group. Then if you have the numbers create another melee and healer group, then finally your caster group(s). If you have several high level clerics, casters can be spread out more.
You will notice that I never suggested balancing the groups for experience. First off, trying to balance each group so everyone gets exp is very difficult and way to much effort for a RL to deal with. Second it is unnecessary. You need to design your groups for reaching your goal not to even out exp. People dont come to raids for the experience anyway (or they shouldnt), so dont worry about it. Of course now with the new raid feature unless you have non-pop players in the raid, this is no longer even an issue.
Once made announce in raid or raid chat, that you are about to call out groups, so people will pay attention. Let them know that the first person named is the group leader and they they need to invite the rest. Then list them, Group 1: and the names. Be sure to write them all down on a piece of paper. The raid window is wonderful, but in a hurry you might not want to mess with it, and after the raid you will want a hard copy list to remember who was on the raid.
NEW WAY
With the advent of the raid window, an easier means of setting up groups is to pick those you want as group leaders, invite them to the raid, and then order them to pick up the people you want to have in the various groups and watch in the raid window as they fill in. As more people come, you just shift folks from one group to another. If you set your classes to specific colors you can see at a glance if you have a healer in every group etc.
One last thing. You can try and get a porter in every group. I have never been in a raid where the raid ported out, but there is always a first time, and it might not hurt to have this option as an alternative. Usually speaking, you never want people to gate or port as it makes regrouping very difficult, camping out in a bad situation is usually preferable. However, at the end of the raid it will be very nice to simply order all groups to port out and be done.
Step 10: Designate your Mains
Let the raid know who the Main tank, slower, and crowd controllers are, as well as the puller and the SA. You might even designate a Third Assist. Also designate your raid looters and grant them the power in the raid window.
Step 11: Set up the Rules of Engagement
Remember that many of these people havent read the post you mad, so go over all the important rules they need to follow to survive on the raid. Remind them what loots are reserved and for who. Explain the break-in process if applicable. Explain that they will be required to wait for an assist call or not unless you feel that is not necessary. Explain the responsibilities of the group leaders.
Group leaders are usually responsible for keeping track of their group. Making certain they are all moving together, and reporting AFKs and LDs directly to the RL through /tells or in a leaders channel. Making certain they are all buffed appropriately, and if not sending a /tell to the necessary person(s). (general group members should not make these requests). Questions and issues raised in a group should be handled by the group leader who alone will contact the RL if there is a need. The idea is to keep the RL informed of everything going on, but reduce the clutter of text the RL needs to read. Questions and statements to the RL should be short and replies should be expected to be equally as curt.
Step 12: The Launch
Communicate with your puller either through /tells or a leaders channel. A leaders channel usually consists of the puller, the main, the main looter and anyone who has zone or raid expertise and of course the RL. Give your puller the go ahead to start pulling and either grant him authority to advance the raid when he/she sees fit or have them report that the way is clear and move the raid up yourself. If you choose to let the pull or tank advance the raid be certain to let the raid know that they are to watch for this order.
Step 13: Getting out
When done, get out fast. The most vulnerable time is the port out. Raid members will be gating, and soon youre grand force will be weak as a puppy. Try to have a wizard with port fragments to punt the raid out, and he should have a full group and a port spell loaded to get everyone out once the last punt is made. Otherwise you need to fight your way out.
COMMUNICATE!!!
This is a mistake I have seen a lot with inexperienced RLs. You are the voice of the raid. Everyone is waiting on what you say. If you are off busy in tells with the puller and the looter and answering questions, the raid cant hear this. People get anxious when nothing seems to be happening. Sure youre busy as hell, but they cant see it. So you need to be certain to talk to the raid every so often and explain what is happening. Keep them all informed. It is hard to do when you are short on time, and most people are very patient of RLs, but it is often the difference between a fun experience and a bewildering mess. Also keep your tone light, good-natured and friendly. Always be polite. Ask people to please do this or that, dont bark orders unless you really have to, and then later when you have time explain why. Never yell at anyone in guild, or raid, or raid chat! As raid leader your position is one of immense power, a single word from you is very loud. If you are having a problem with someone speak to them in tells. Be polite and understanding, but firm. Most times the problem is a miscommunication, or ignorance that you can clear up with a quick word or two. If not, then with all due respect, explain that if they cannot follow your directions, then you will have to ask them to leave. If you do have to remove a member from the raid be certain to provide that person a means out, a punt would be the best choice. (I personally have never needed to ask anyone to leave a raid).
DEALING WITH LATE ARRIVALS
Every raid has late arrivals. This is one of the biggest problems with raiding. Sometimes it isnt an issue, other times it is a pain, and then there are times when it is impossible. It mostly depends on the zone, the number of people you have in the raid already, and the classes you have. If you have a CoH mage, you can establish a CoH group. Place the mage in a group with a porter, a wizard or druid and have them bind at the entrance to the zone. The group can only have 5 members. When someone arrives late, the porter gates to them, invites them into the group and the CoH mage summons them both back to the raid. Sadly most raids do not have CoH capable mages. Different RLs handle late arrivals differently, but my feeling is that so long as it is convenient to accept later arrivals, then let them come, but the moment it begins to slow down the raid and cause problems you should simply announce in Guild Chat that the raid is closed and that no one else is allowed in from this point on. The only exception to this is if the very person you are holding the raid for is late, or someone you desperately need is late, or you are just really short on people and need more.
LET PEOPLE DO THEIR JOBS
By the time players get to raid level they know how to play their character. Let the puller pull, the tank tank and soon you will find the raid is purring along on autopilot. Keep your puller and tank aware of the direction they need to go and remind them of the dangers ahead, and watch the loot reports to make certain that it is being handled properly, keep track of the AFKs and LDs, and at this point you can actually play the game and fight.
WATCH FOR PROBLEMS
Are people dying too often in group 3? Perhaps you need to move another healer there. Are casters in groups 4 pulling aggro? Speak to their group leader and have him remind them to wait longer before nuking or dotting. Are melees waiting for the assist call? Is the main calling for assist?
LOOT
Traditionally cash loots are kept by the RL to fund his/her raid bank. Each raid leader funds their own raids and should keep the loot (separate if possible) from their normal cash to be used on the guilds raids. Raids can be very costly. A trip to Air could easily cost over 10,000 plat. I once blew 3,000 on a simple raid to Hate. Port stones, coffins, peridots, pearls, keys, it all adds up very quickly when you are paying the way for 40 or more people. So any item that will just be sold, gems, jewelry etc, should be kept to pay the cost of the raid and future raids. A raid to Hate can pull as much as 5,000 plat, in only a few hours, but I will guarantee you will never get rich running raids. I personally lost thousands.
The rest of the loot needs to be quickly awarded. This is one of the hardest parts of leading a raid. It is up to you how you go about doing it, but the method I used was to ask for all raid members for whom the items was an upgrade to come to the Loot Manager and roll. They need to actually come close to them so that the rolls can be seen. If you are standing too far away you wont see the rolls. On particularly good items it is often best to determine for which class it would best serve. You wouldnt want a nice piece of plate armor with 25 intelligence going to a warrior when an SK could make better use of it. Or a haste item going to a caster. In this instance you might choose to limit the roll to those for whom it is an upgrade in a specific category like melee or int caster or chain wearers. And in rare situations you may wish to exercise your power to award an item to an individual. This should be done very rarely, and only for very good reason as it is surely to cause many people to be upset with you. But when you see someone as important as the main tank who you rely on for every raid, who is always there and who never gets anything, and you know they have a crappy breastplate and a truly excellent one drops, it is important that you accept a little harassment and make certain that your MT gets the item.
ADVICE
Listen to the members of your raid. If someone offers advice or a suggestion, dont assume they are suggesting you cant do the job. It is very likely they know something you dont but should. So listen and thank them for taking the time to try and help you. That said remember you are the RL and you decision is final.
BEING HEARD
If it seems people are not hearing you, try double typing, using the shift up arrow will repeat the last line you typed. Or if you are in a zone like Fear, where you are the only ones there, the Raid Leader can opt to speak in Shouts, which will stand out in everyones chat boxes.
REST
On long raids, plan for AFKs. Find a safe place and let everyone camp out for an hour, or if youre camping a mob, then let groups go AFK for 15-30 minutes so they can stretch, go to the bathroom, get something to eat.
FAILURE
It happensit happens a lot. Wipes are common. They are part of raiding. Things occur out of your control or knowledge, and sometimes you just screw up, but the fact is there will be deaths. It is important to keep in mind that success isnt achieving the goal with no casualties, in fact that is boring, success is when everyone has a blast. Getting your goal is a part of that fun, but even if you dont and people are happy with the trip, it is still a success. I know I would rather be on a raid that was fun that failed, than to be on a raid that succeeded and I felt like crap afterwards because it was either really boring or because the RL was overbearing and demeaning.
CALLING A RAID
If a raid gets low on people, or even if enough people to do the job dont show up to begin with, cancel it. Dont try it anyway just because you spent time setting it up. Reschedule it. It is better then killing people needlessly.
On the other hand when you call a raid and the people you wanted are not there, dont give up too quickly. Some people are late, well many people usually are. Also just because you dont have a 60 tank doesnt mean you can raid, let the 54 pally give it a shot. There are certain classes you really must have, and then there are those youd like to have. Try and learn the difference and discover how to improvise new strategies based off of what you have at the time.
WHEN THEY DONT COME
So you called a raid and few people came. Dont get discouraged. Dont take it personally. Try again, and give people more advance time. The second raid I held only 4 people came to. The next raid I held there were 25. So it happens, dont think people dont like you just because they cant make a raid.
RESPECT
It has to be earned. You dont get it by being level 65, or by being an officer, or by having an epic. You get it by proving you can do the job. By making sure everyone in your raid is taken care ofat your expense if necessary. You get it by sticking it out when you really dont want to, by calmly explaining something to someone, when what you really want to do is beat them senseless. By not making the same mistake twice. By making decisions instead of letting the raid hang lost. By standing up and apologizing for the mistakes you will make and not blaming members of your raid. By putting the interests of those willing to follow you ahead of your own.
Respect is like another character attribute, and you will be pleasantly pleased when you see the littleYou are respected more (2)message. And trust me, you will know when that message appears, and despite everything it will still surprise you.
I hope this helps, and good luck.
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