Perspectives

"Do not let what you cannot do interfere
with what you can do."
- John Wooden

Raid composition used to be a top priority because each class brought something unique as a benefit to the raid. In today's WoW, most of that has changed. Multiple classes crossover on that benefit, and as such, it's one of those things where Blizzard has made it for guild to "bring the player, not the class". Today's raid composition is entirely a lot looser than raiding in Vanilla or BC World of Warcraft. It isn't just skill, it's also knowledge of game mechanics and each raider's own class.

One of the most frustrating things I've found in this game is the inability of people to think outside the box. It's an old cliché "think outside of the box" but I'm really at a loss of how else to describe it. I suppose it comes from my direct disregard for the word "NO" or "You can't" because, frankly, I rarely take those words to heart. There are many World of Warcraft sites on the internet, and from scouring them, you can find a wealth of information on your choice of subjects. Specifically of interest to most raiding guilds, boss strategies, with diagrams, and other people's experience abound. I know of guilds that prefer to do things "blind" and some that always will, as they are the first ones there, on the PTR, hammering out the new encounters, while the majority wait for the content to be released and tidbits of news/tips/tricks.

This guild may use strategy xyz, but guilds are not all cookies cut from the same cookie cutter. Each guild and raid core has members that are real people. These people have strengths and weaknesses. The key to any successful strategy is to utilize those strengths and compensate for those weaknesses. The idea is to be able to re-group when strategy xyz doesn't work, and adjust to the talents/skills of the people and players on hand. Gone are the days of Player A, can you step outside because we really need a <insert class here> for <insert ability here>. Is it different? Absolutely, but that's what makes this such an interesting game; There is no "one method" that works for all guilds~ it isn't about what you do not have, but what you can do with the composition and people you do have. The next time someone suggests something, keep an open mind, and just remember, just because YOU haven't done it that way, it does not mean that it is impossible.