On Sunday night, we encountered some turbulence during our Broodtwister reclear. While it’s not a difficult fight, it’s still a delicate encounter where small mistakes can snowball into wipes. My Weakauras were acting up due to a combination of Heroic and Mythic markers targeting me (think two different sets of markers), but I managed to troubleshoot and resolve the issue the next day. During the raid, I had to quickly identify my mark and move to it, which wasn’t a big problem since I instructed the team to get to their markers first, and I’d fill in the remaining spot as a Ret Paladin with plenty of mobility. Still, we had a few wipes due to miscommunication and panic, despite having previously killed the boss twice.
The main issue arose during the second canister break. Our original strategy called for breaking four eggs (two worms and two parasites). However, we found it challenging to manage interrupts on worms and handle parasites at the same time due to our group composition lacking enough knockbacks and grouping abilities. To address this, we adjusted our strategy to break only three eggs (two worms and one parasite), which was far more manageable and had worked for us since.
Unfortunately, one player decided to freelance during that egg break, opting to go for the fourth egg instead of following the plan and standing off to the side.
Fortunately, our raiders were skilled enough to adapt, and we managed to destroy the worms and quickly rotate to the parasites, finishing the encounter successfully. I think the adrenaline and focus fueled by the unexpected change helped us power through. However, despite the success of that pull, I immediately addressed the freelancing issue after the fight, instructing the player to never deviate from the agreed-upon plan again.
The player pushed back, arguing that their actions had “saved” the pull, which resulted in us killing the boss, so what was the issue? The problem was not the outcome—it was the process. The team simply played better during that pull, and their freelancing did not solve the core issue. Deviating from the strategy causes unnecessary chaos and confusion. A raid plan is not just about what can work once; it’s about creating a repeatable structure where everyone knows their role and can execute reliably, week after week so that it becomes routine. As a musician, I know that when things get committed to memory repeatedly, it becomes a habit and your mind can focus on other things.
When running a raid, I don’t need players going off on their own. If there’s a flaw in the strategy, I’m open to feedback, and I can make adjustments—outside of raid time or in between pulls. What I can’t tolerate is someone deciding mid-encounter to abandon the plan. This isn’t just about that one pull; it’s about building trust. If I can’t rely on someone to follow instructions in a Heroic fight, how can I trust them during a high-stakes Mythic encounter?
This isn’t about punishing mistakes, but about understanding why we have a strategy in the first place. Strategies are designed to minimize risk, keep the raid organized, and ensure that everyone is on the same page. Freelancing in the middle of a boss fight puts that at risk and can throw off players who are following the plan. Just because it worked once doesn’t mean it will work again, and it’s not a sustainable approach to raid progression.
I always encourage open discussion and strategy tweaks—just not in the middle of a pull. If anyone has questions or suggestions, bring them up outside of raid time, or in between pulls when we have time to pause and discuss as a group. These discussions help refine our approach and build a better raid team, but sudden changes mid-fight only cause confusion.
Yes, Cutting Edge players can adapt to on-the-fly changes, but we are not there yet as a team. It takes time to develop that level of synergy and trust, and we’ll get there. For now, the key to our success is consistency, following the game plan, and building the foundations of reliable execution.
After the raid, I reiterated that we can always discuss strategy changes. However, we can’t afford to improvise during live encounters. If we can’t trust everyone to stick to the plan on Heroic, it will be impossible to progress in Mythic. My ultimate goal for this group is to push into mid-tier Mythic content, but we need the right foundation and teamwork to get there.
For anyone interested, Last Call is looking to add a Warlock and a Holy/Disc Priest to our roster. We raid Sundays and Mondays from 5-8 PM Pacific. Feel free to check us out here on Guilds of WoW.