All the Small things Cont'd

I will share my thoughts about the remaining points that come up while I lead casual raids.

Enable a social and friendly atmosphere, but not let this hinder raid performance

This topic is where casual raiding and hardcore raiding diverges the most. In hardcore guilds, raids are very serious business and socializing is to be done outside of raid time.

Some players attend our guild's raids to socialize. The best approach for this is to emphasize clearing vent and chat on progression or difficult content. Otherwise let the raid chatter away, we're there to have fun after all. Sometimes the raid's social atmosphere will feel strange when it's too quiet; I'll end up cracking stupid jokes and sounding like an ass. Good times.

Social atmosphere is where the 25 man raids and the 10 man raids are different. Thee 25 mans have more assignments, buffs and more to pay attention to (even though I find 25 mans easier to play and lead). Basically I try to leave the floor open for discussion and when things go awry during a time where we need concentration, a good stern "Clear vent now" takes care of business.

Make appropriate assignments based on class/spec strengths & Consider assignments based on player gear and skill

Knowledge is key to being a strong leader. One can have all the charisma in the world but if you can't divide and conquer then you're just another player. While farming in-game and during downtime at work, I have spent hours of time watching videos, reading/watching alternate strategies, reading about how to do encounters with non-ideal groups etc. Everybody has their place in an encounter, and it's up to the leaders to put them in a position that favors their personal success and the raid's success. Sometimes raid progression and player progression will be separate, and one must choose the best path. I'll use an example:

We're about to try Four Horsemen. The Raid Leader needs to assign two people for staying on Lady Blameaux and Sir Zeliek. Two members in the raid have done this numerous times without a problem. One player is newer and has not done it. Their gear also isn't as good as the other two condidates.

Do I assign the newer person to the back to make them learn this encounter (and perhaps expect a wipe) or do I put the two experienced players back there?

For me, the answer isn't the ideal one. It depends. Will this person need to do it again in the near future? How strong is rest of the raid? Do we have enough time?

This part of using one's knowledge of the mechanics of an encounter and knowing a player's strengths/weaknesses to make a decision. Eventually everyone who plays certain classes and specs should play the difficult role in Horsemen, and I'll try to put them there when the time is right.

Another thought that I would like to add is that it's great to give interested people those difficult tasks to complete. As long as they are actively trying to improve then they should be given a chance. I recall co-leading a run a long time ago where a player was having difficulty kiting adds on Gluth. I asked in the RL channel "should I replace him? He's having trouble back there." The other leader replied with "No, give him a chance, he's improving." After a few wipes, this player learned the kite. I was surprised, this was so amazing to see. Since then I have tried not to jump into switching all positions immediately if there is trouble, give people a chance to work things out and it will be a personal victory for them and advancement in the raid's skill level.

Be able to concisely describe and summarize all encounters in a short period of time

From the long winded posts here, it seems that I may have an issue with being concise. The amount of time that I spend explaining fights varies. I keep a notebook and text file with summaries of all the encounters; it contains all assignments, fight progression and boss abilities. I admit that lately I have been winging all the 10 mans. I do a degree of prep for the 25 mans, especially for fights that require a divide (like Horsemen).

I used to have long drawn out explanations and discussion for fights when most of the group was doing these fights for the first time. Part of this is because we are a casual guild, many people don't watch videos of encounters. We explain assuming that they don't prepare for the encounters (however I expect that people do prepare). I'm now leaning more towards the "throw them into the heat of battle" approach. Perhaps a hybrid approach is best.

Things evolve. I started off in progression doing the drawn out explanations of the mechanics behind Horsemen. Now I just say "who has not done this fight?" then give a quick explanation to the new folks, often cutting corners "Just follow this target, stick together". There are strengths and weaknesses in this approach, the last thing that I want is to put a 25 man raid in a coma while explaining fights. Our raids are all about energy and momentum, and I'll occasionally sacrifice a "perfect" fight for enthusiasm.

Delegate the right tasks to other Raid Leaders

Delegation is another key to being a leader. If there are other leaders in the raid, use them. I know sometimes we like to do everything ourselves, but there is nothing wrong with asking for another's expertise to complete a fight (other Raid Leaders, or experienced players).

For example: When I tank Loatheb, I can't always see where the spores are coming from. I usually assign a Ranged DPS to call out which group should be getting the spores and the locations.

Conversely, I strongly believe that a Raid Leader should be able to lead a 25 man progression raid solo. Why? We're leaders, we should be good at what we do even if we're thrown into the fire.

If someone else is leading, assist without getting in the way

This is the opposite of the point above. If someone is leading, let them do their job. Be there for leadership support, offer help but when the tasks are set, don't get in the way, try not to interrupt.

Sometimes I wonder how to deal with certain cases. I have seen a leader make a bad assignment for a fight or explain something awkwardly. Sometimes I say something, sometimes I don't. I guess it depends on the magnitude of what is going on. I also listen to the other leaders and learn from their style. We all have a different style and approach to leading. I'll sometimes integrate qualities of the other leaders' style if it fits better for the task at hand. Smart people listen to all those around them and absorb knowledge and others' strengths.

Develop a consistent predictable system for kill order, groups, etc.

This is straightforward. For new people, just review your guild's system. I often forget to set groups based on group buffs ans group benefits. Having a good consistent system will be very helpful when we get to progression content.

Listen to suggestions, be able to modify strategy on the fly

Sometimes we struggle on certain fights, especially if we have non-ideal groups for certain fights. Then the alternate strategies will be brought up by the members of the raid (especially from the leaders). It's great to get suggestions when we're struggling, and to have good places to discuss it. Sometimes you just have to say "my strategy sucked, let's go with yours". I listen to all the incoming suggestions, and modify our approach. This is a combination of knowing the mechanics of a fight and acknowledging that there are so many ways to do it. It seems that the "ideal" way never works for our group, that's fine, we never get bored that way. It's important to listen and also be able to decline certain strategies (no matter who they come from). Decisions Decisions Decisions.

Have fun and keep up morale!

Everyone can get so caught up in trying to succeed, keep things under control and guild drama that you lose sight of why everybody is playing Warcraft - to have FUN! This is an amazing game full of exciting tasks to complete. There are struggles and many facets of the game and leadership that are not fun, but in the end it's worth it.