Raiding Basics

Things that experienced raiders never really think about because they've done it so long are obvious to all old school raiders. The ranks do contain a few folks that have never played or raided, and we're their first experience. I was thinking about this the other night. It's things most of take forgranted as common knowledge, but if you've never walked those steps, you don't know what the scenary is like.

First, let's start with gear.
Yes, it may be temporary gear, and you don't want to spend a fortune on it, because you have no plans on keeping it for long, but if you are raiding in it, there are some things you should do. At least put green gems in, according to your spec and what gives you the best advantage for how you play your character. The guild bank has some gems- they're on the second tab, and we have raw gems on another tab. If you need something cut, talk to Kheprii. If she can't cut it, at least we can look to see if we have the mats to help offset the cost. This is for any gear you would use during a raid. Main spec gear will get priority for rarer gems.

Enchants. These can vendor bought, free from someone leveling enchanting, or Dallorn - who's our guild enchanter. If you can't arrange to meet him, we can also make some vellums and send you the enchant via the mail. Again, something is better than nothing- it shows you are doing your best to maximize your abilities, in an affordable fashion. If we have the mats, we can assist but some enchanting mats aren't easy to come by. My suggestion is keep your greens and have Dallorn disenchant them for you and bank your mats. A few of the officers and members throw the greens in the bank, and we send them to Dallorn to disenchant. He's still leveling his enchanting. Stam, spell power, stats, if there is something you need, don't hestiate to ask him if he has it, or something comparative. If you are wanting the absolute best, just let him know and he can help.

Along the lines of enhants are the spell threads available for legs. Often the step down is a ton cheaper than the absolute best- again, something is better than nothing.

Gear- crafted items, heroics, figure out what you need and where it drops and throw a post up. Everyone needs badges =) http://www.wow-loot.com as well as EJ's site usually has a good list as well for immediate upgrades.

Glyphs- something benefiical is better than nothing. I'm almost maxed on Inscription. If you need something, let me know.

Raiding Etiquette

Promptness - Ok, this is something that can be irritating to the other members of your raid. Our raid times are posted in CST, so for example 6:30 CST PM ( equals 7:30 CST PM, 5:30 MST PM, 4:30 PST PM) is 1 hour behind of EST, 1 hour ahead of MST, and 2 hours ahead of PST. If the raid is supposed to start at 6:30, you should be online, ready with consumables at the instance at 10 til raid start time. Invites will more than likely start at this time. You should NOT expect a summons, as it's not always an option. We've been kinda lax on this, and that's fine. A summons here or there is nice, but please try and make a habit of being at the instance for your invite- it could determine whether or not you go.

Ranks- We have ranks in the guild. They aren't hard to understand, but let me elaborate a bit more. Swabbies are initiates- these players could be casuals or raiders, and should be noted that they joined to be such. Pirates are casuals. These people are here to raid when there is a spot, and for the community and atmosphere. Swashbucklers are raiders. Why am I going over ranks? It's because of priority in the raid.

1. Swashbucklers get priority. This guild is here to raid, and while we have a casual side, the basis was formed to raid.
2. Initiates who are here to be swashbucklers get second priority for raid spots. These people joined the guild to be able to raid with the guild. We need to know what these people are capable of and how they perform.
3. Pirates-these folks are part of community, and we love having them. They can't commit to raiding or they really don't want to raid. They are here for atmosphere, and maybe to raid when they have the opportunity.
4. Initiates who are here to join as a Pirate. These folks get the lowest priority rating.

Wipes (how do we deal with them)
We try to figure out how things went wrong. If it gets quiet, and we are having problems, we may be typing away. We may speak up in vent, and ask what's going on. This is only to figure out what happened. Don't take it personal. I promise it isn't personal, we just need to figure out the issue and correct it. If it's a wipe, run back. We are all running, don't expect a rez. If you don't know how to get someplace, ask. Everyone has to learn the way around sooner or later, and there's no shame in asking. Don't expect a repair bot- it's a luxury. Depending on the instance, there's usually someone close by that can repair you. If your durability is that low, say something. If we've all been wiping, odds are we all need to repair. This will save some time. We can all repair at once. You should have gold to repair. If you don't, speak up. It's not a great thing to admit to, but it beats checking raid durability and seeing you didn't repair. (Yes, raid leaders can do that ;)

Consumables
Flasks/exilirs/health potions/mana potions/bandages/food buffs/reagents
These things are things you should have in your bags. Food buffs- you will find fish in the guild bank on the first tab, some of it is cooked, and some isn't. Depending on what you need, there are many cooks in the guild. We can assist you. If you are pulling out buff food from the guild bank, keep this in mind because it has to be replenished. A donation would be nice, but regardless food buffs are easily available. There's no reason not to have one.

We have multiple alchemists in guild- if you need pots, talk to one of them. If it isnt on the AH, maybe they have mats, and can make it for you and cut you a deal, or maybe you can barter- or buy the mats and have the pots made.


Strategies
We do not raid blind. This also means that we don't take one strategy over another as the way it has to be done. You should be familiar with each encounter for the instance we are raiding. We can try to post strats, and links, but we can't guarantee what order we will be going through the instance in, due to composition.

Situational Awareness
You should know where you are. Lag happens, it sucks but it does happen and we all have to cope with it. You need to be aware you are standing in something icky, and you should be moving. This doesn't mean we may not warn you you are going to die. This kind of stuff can happen but strive to not let it happen to you. Make sure if you are supposed to be cozy to the tank you are, or if we are moving alot, and it's a high movement fight, you know where you should be.

Mods/Addons
Omen- this is a threat meter. This isn't here just to look pretty, it's also here for you to watch. We have some awesome tanks, but you need to give them a moment to get aggro. Alive and DPS > than burst awesome dps + wipe due to aggro pull. Let the tank establish aggro, and watch it closely.
Bigswigs/Deadly Boss Mods- this provides a warning and timers for different events in the instance. This can be very beneficial but don't believe it to the law. Timers can be off. Pay Attention. A little common sense can go a long way. If the timer says you have 6 seconds, but the guy turned red like an enrage, believe the guy turning red.