Matticus

Matticus is the founder of World of Matticus, a World of Warcraft blog.

State of the Jesters: Entering the Emerald Dream

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It’s official, raiding has been suspended until the next raid tier. I tried my best to keep it going but with turnover higher than normal and the constant wipes on Zskarn, it was felt we were doing more harm than good. A few players ended their trial and a few of our veterans wanted to take some time to play other games for a bit before returning for Emerald Dream. It sucks because we only killed Sark once and those of us who patiently waited on the sideline won’t have a crack at it. We’re currently at a roster of 22 , and I’ve been diligently looking for players. I have to be honest and transparent with them during our trial conversations about where we’re at raidwise. Many of them understood the situation we were in. Since I’m recruiting specifically for the next raid instead of for right now, this opens up the recruiting pool significantly. The recruiting communities seem to be a little more subdued at the moment with not as much activity going on, but I suspect that’ll ramp up in the next few weeks as players are looking to return. This feels like the precursor to Season 1 Vault of the Incarnate all over again. The plan is to bolster our ranks back up to 27 to 30 players or so. We finished US 300 in Aberrus, but my projection is that we’re going to drop down to US 400 – 500 range for the next tier. If you’re looking for a raid team (or community), come check us out!

In a change of pace, we did schedule one of our raid nights to step into the PTR though. There was a weekend where normal Emerald Dream was available and we all had good looks at some of the boss abilities and our own class changes in a raid environment. Without anyone around to take that mantle internally, I’ve had to start designing the raid playbook for all of the bosses. I’ve got the movement and major abilities diagrammed and what the overall strategy is. The next step is to put together a draft of healing and raid defensives but we can’t do that just yet until Viserio’s comes out with a new sheet. We have around 6 or so weeks to prepare and get as much information put together. Once that’s done, we schedule one of our raid nights for a film review day where we sit in Discord and go through all of the encounters with PTR footage, maps, and other important parts for the briefing. We started doing this back in Vault and Aberrus and felt that it was effective with player preparation. They still have the ability to go through raid material individually, but some players tend to learn well in a group environment on a Discord call and it lets us all ask each other questions or highlight key moments in an encounter that need to be more thoroughly explained.

Aside from that, there’s still a lot more housekeeping we have to do.

  • Raiding road map: This usually falls on the GMs shoulders here. We have a better idea of this after the first week where we lay out what nights are for normal, to heroic, and when we start mythic raiding along with when reclears should occur and when we start raid extensions.
  • Loot council: Right now, it’s a loot dictatorship and it’s all me! But I’m not smart enough to figure that out on my own which means appointing new members. We can’t do this without…
  • Loot wish lists: We use Readycheck.io for this but it isn’t updated for Emerald Dream quite yet.
  • Raid Plan: Where I’ve been doing the bulk of our playbook design. About halfway there, but still missing some information.
  • Defensive CDs: One of our trials volunteered to take a crack at this once it’s released.

Guild administration is challenging stuff but satisfying when it works. I wish I could clone myself a few times to help with everything that needs to be done.

The Crucial Skill Separating CE Players from Mythic Players

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“I’m so dead.”

Three magic words.

That’s all it takes for every player in the raid to overwhelm that raider with defensives and support to help them stay alive. It’s almost always a tank too! Here’s the sequence of events that inevitably follows.

  • Holy Priests casts Guardian Spirit
  • Paladin casts Hand of Sacrifice
  • Evoker casts Time Dilation
  • Resto Druid casts Barksin
  • Enhancement Shaman casts Ancestral Guidance
  • Demon Hunter burns Darkness
  • Warrior Intervenes
  • Rogue… uses a bandage (okay, this one’s not realistic)

But really, this is the technique that tanks tend to use when they absolutely need something because they’ve run out of tools to survive. The best tanks use an addon like OmniCD which shows what defensives are available and displays them all under the player frame or somewhere else readable so they can specifically call for it. To me, that’s the mark of a reliable tank who knows how to layer not just their own defensives but those of other players around them.

What about non-tanks? Surely DPS and healers can exhibit this behaviour as well. If you haven’t realized it yet, it’s called communication. It’s practically expected for CE players to have mics of their own and to actually use them.

Back when we were progressing on Echo of Neltharion, I vividly remember one play that stood out to me. Our Shadow Priest had to traverse from oneside of the room to the other. His feather charges were all gone and he was seconds away from getting lethaled by a Volcanic Heart. Warlock gate chages were already used. He said, “Help! Liszt* needs a grip now!”

*Not his real name.

One of our Evokers managed to swoop in and lift him to safety keeping the pull going and sparing a much needed Battle Res for phase 3. This was learned behaviour because he ran into this same situation early on in previous pulls and ran out of solutions from his own toolkit. The coaching takeaway during the post-wipe review was that he needed to prepare for this situation in the future and ask for a lift if he didn’t have any remaining movement speed abilities left.

I’ll give you another story.

On Zskarn, we hit one of the overlaps where bombs spawned right before a knockback. One of our raiders was unable to evade it fast enough which pushed him into a bomb. He recognized it early and managed to use a defensive right before impact to slow it down, but he was also quick enough to ask for help and managed to survive the subsequent damage with a Hand of Sacrifice and focused healing until it wore off. Had he not said anything, he most likely would’ve taken lethal damage.

Here’s a story of a player error and what the coaching remedy looked like.

This is the same boss fight on Zskarn and one of our hunters was assigned to bomb duty. In this situation, a Tactical Destruction had gone off and the bombs were located within the Tactical Destruction affected area. Unfortunately, the Hunter had no way to safely get it. We ended up wiping and during the post-wipe discussion, we dissected the cause. When we found out it was due to blown Hunter coverage and a lack of personal immunity, we asked what could’ve been done differently and he didn’t know. I was upset at that remark but I kept that to myself. Our raid composition happened to include a pair of Paladins (one Protection, one Holy). He could have asked for a Hand of Protection and safely gone in for the bomb. Failing that, he could have also said, “Help! Can’t get bombs, need backup in Tactical”. This indicates the urgency of the situation that he’s not in a position to absorb a bomb hit and that someone else needs to do it right away. The Holy Paladin could’ve bubbled and used their movement speed horse or cast Blessing of Protection to get in there and neutralize the bomb. In that situation, no one is going to ask Hunter, “Well why can’t you get the bomb?”. That would be ridiculous.

The lesson I want to impart here is that when you’re caught in a situation with a blown assignment, it’s okay to ask for help and backup. Raid leaders will mostly have built this into the plan ahead of time. If they didn’t, they will now. Delicate parts of an encounter tend to be things like soaks or interrupts, and there will be times on progression where you as a player will miss it because you’re dead or you accidentally used an ability at the wrong time or you’re completely out of range and out of position. That is okay. CE Players have to be comfortable asking for help backup. Someone else will bail you out to keep the pull going because that’s what needs to happen. There are 20 players in the raid and chances are someone can step in to cover you. If they can’t, then the raid leader needs to find a solution in case that situation happens again.

However, you don’t want to make this a habit of missing a mechanic repeatedly or you might get viewed as unreliable.

In other words:

  • If you’re going to miss an interrupt, ask for help.
  • If you’re going to miss a soak, ask for help.
  • If you think you’re about to die from big damage, ask for help.
  • If you think you’re not fast enough to get safety, ask for help.

There’s no reason to hesitate in these situations whether you’re a trial or a veteran raider.  Can’t always expect to do everything on your own. Learn to rely on your team.

 

Rebooting the Team

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We’ve had a lot of turnover recently since our first Mythic Sarkareth kill. This is the first week where we got to see the full force of our trials enter into our system and see what they can do against a battery of raid bosses. We did get a good look at all of them and finished the weekend at Zskarn. Lots of close wipes under 10% but for a significant number, it was progression (myself included since I wasn’t there for the kill). Truth be told, those were my expectations. With that big of a brain drain, I knew it was going to be a struggle and that there would be no way we would end up in front of Sarkareth or Echo in the span of a reset. Still, things look promising. Every boss from here on out is going to be new for me since I stepped aside for the sake of progression early on and knowing that I wasn’t the best healer for it then.

I’m beginning to regret that decision now knowing how hard of an uphill battle it’s going to be just to secure that reclear. I was pretty pissed at the number of players looking to move on right away. There were even some who cowardly left without so much as saying goodbye to everyone which left me both disappointed and furious. If you’re going to leave a raid team after being with them for multiple tiers, don’t just ghost everyone. It’s a complete bush league move.

There are other departures underway and thankfully they gave us notice ahead of time. I’ve got at least a few weeks to look for additional replacements but that clock is already ticking. I’m not too worried. I’ve helped assemble raid teams before in the past. This expansion was no different. I helped upgrade the roster from Shadowlands when we were satisfied with AotC and mid-mythic and converted the team to a CE-level raid group and I can do it again. What saddens me the most is all the players that planned to bail right away. I wish they all could’ve stayed a bit longer to help those of us on the sideline secure CE before checking out (y’know, like me). Some want to move up and push rankings right away, others can’t sustain the weekend schedule anymore. It sucks, I get it. There isn’t even a date announced for season 3 raids and people want to quit and leave? It sucks but all I can really do is move forward. Can’t fault them for wanting to move on and push their rankings higher up but I don’t quite see the rush to do so right now since it’s not like the next raid tier’s going to come out in a few weeks and they need to get situated fast. In any case, it’s their decision and I hope everyone lands where they want to be.

To compound matters further, the GM has announced that he’ll be scaling back his raid involvement. He’ll still be around to help and hopefully be a body, but organizationally will hand off a lot of his duties. That means things like attendance, loot council, recruiting, raid calling, and strategy design be off the plate. I can take care of and hustle on the recruiting side of things. We have a few players stepping in to handle raid calling and defensives. Attendance and groups are easy to put together. The biggest gap is strategy design and that is something that needs to be solidified for season 3. We can get by with our current polaybook for the reason of season 2.

This must be what Bill felt like when Brady left for Tampa and when his offensive coaches left for other positions. Lots of pieces to pick up and put together.

My list right now:

  • Augmentation Evoker
  • DPS Warrior
  • Ret Paladin
  • Resto Druid (or a Disc Priest)
  • Preservation Evoker
  • Holy Paladin
  • Mages

We still have the personnel to raid this week and extend on Zskarn. There’s a marginal benefit to doing a reclear and just isn’t worth the time. We have open spots so come check us out.

Mythic Sarkareth Down!

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It’s finished! Mythic Sarkareth has been defeated and we finish US 300th. We’re starting to enter our offseason now which means many of the trial players we’ve picked up will get some raid time in. It’s a great way to see if they’re a fit long term. Most of the earlier bosses should be easy enough to cut through since we’ve killed them multiple times, but we haven’t gotten any reclears on the later encounters and I’m worried about what the reclear (or reprog) would look like. We’ve also had a few of our veteran players move on from the raid team resulting in a big void that’ll need to be filled. I’m not sure if we’ll get back to Sarkareth in a week, but it might take us 2 or 3 to get back there again. Feel free to check us out and come join!

29 Raiding Personalities You’ll Find in the Raiding Community

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In any raid, you’ll encounter a wide variety of personalities. Some are amusing, some can be dangerous, and some can be irritating. But without them, you would have no raid. It’s up to you to identify them out in the wild, even if it’s in a pickup raid. These are colourful characters that dot the raiding landscape with their quirks and traits. Here are just some of the interesting personalities you’ll run into throughout your adventures.

This is an expanded follow-up from a previous post: 11 Raid Finder Personalities You’ll Never Escape

(Disclaimer: The below players could appear as any gender, age, or race. Guy doesn’t necessarily limit them to just being a man).

The Pet Guy

Never fails to just go on and on about their pets. Seems to AFK more often than normal to feed their cat or walk the dog. Known to miss or delay the ready check because of their pet. Basically owns the pet channel in Discord. Almost always a Hunter, but can be any other class.

“That” Guy

Everyone knows that guy. He has existed since Burning Crusade. The entire raid is praying for that guy to not get hit with some key mechanic because they’re 50/50 on successfully responding to it. Will they take Leap to an open spot or accidentally blink into a position with a giant pool in it? Who knows? But everyone prays that they will get targeted by whatever mechanic so That Guy won’t. No one wants to be “That” Guy.

The Min Maxer Guy

Usually quiet. Looks for ways to maximize their performance output. Tends to keep to themselves. Doesn’t really care about anyone unless it impacts them. Sometimes has the occasional good idea in raid that causes a big progression jump. Will directly message Priests for Power Infusion.

The Irrelevant Min Maxer Guy

Similar to the above, but also looks for ways to maximize real trivial things.

True story: Had a Warlock in a raid team ask which healer had the highest haste so they could stole them in order for them to get Mass Resurrection off the fastest on a wipe. The time gained is offset by the Distracted Guy who forgets to h it Accept Res because they’re attention is elsewhere.

The Early Deaths Guy

Puts out consistent, upper end damage but often gambles with being greedy causing them to take unnecessary, avoidable damage resulting in their death in a phase 1 costing a precious battle res at inopportune times. Often the bane of the raid leader’s existence. Has often been chewed out for dying too early. The rest of the raid just shakes their head when they die early again. Tends to get boss kills by watching it from the floor. Don’t be greedy.

The Military Guy

Sometimes active duty or former which might mean they’re not around for a patch or a raid tier. Can be helpful in keeping raid discipline and is often perceived as a great listener although chances are they stood up and went for a walk with their headset on the desk.

The Quiet Guy

Rarely says anything in raid. Keeps their head down and does the job. Can be timid. May not answer questions if directly asked but will respond with a multiparagrpah answer on Discord half a week later when the original question was, “Hey, can you buff Intellect?”. Can be the raid leader’s favourite.

The “My Loot Never Drops” Guy

Tends to complain a lot about their woes in the game and how much Blizzard hates them because their trinket or weapon never drops for them specifically. Maybe it’s just bad luck. Tends to be a healer on Rashok, a Ret Paladin on Echo, or literally any Evoker at some point this season on Sarkareth.

The Outspoken Guy

Usually not an officer or in leadership. Has no tact or self-awareness. Speaks the first thing that comes to mind without reviewing data or context. Not usually the type to start stuff but can often be found in the middle of disagreements. Tends to be frustrated with raid performance from people who should be better, but like, not your job, bro.

The Sexual Innuendo Guy

Needs to calm down and not derail the team with their sex jokes. Sure it’s funny the first time, but the dicks per second meter joke gets really old. Now it’s just sad. Maybe they just crave some attention, but seriously, that’s enough, Harold. It starts out as laughter but turns into exasperated sighs.

The “Focus Up” Guy

Usually speaks up after the 8th wipe in a row when the raid died early on to something dumb and can tell the raid is distracted by something silly. Most likely some remark that Sexual Innuendo Guy made. Personally, I suspect it’s more for their own benefit as a way to self-motivate or discipline themselves like a verbal splash of cold water to their face.

The Gambling Guy

Cross-realm gambling has been enabled. Type 1 to enter.

The Mom Guy

May as well be a walking pharmacist. Versatility flask? They got you. Ultimate Power Potions? Sure thing. Vantus Runes? Absolutely. Augment Runes? Here’s a stack. Looks out more for the well-being and preparedness of everyone in raid but may not be the best raider on the team. Secretly enjoys providing stuff to raiders because of job security.

The New Guy

Just joined the raid team. It’s their first day and they’re just eager to make a positive impression. Nervous as all hell but also super excited. Might be given a job like specific interrupts or soaks. Proceeds to screw up by accidentally pressing Heroism about 8 seconds in when they were supposed to wait until phase 2.

The Strats Guy

Loves to contribute with fresh ideas on how to handle various bosses. Gets frustrated as to why you won’t listen to them. Their way is actually better than your raid’s way because they saw it done in a pug once. Should still hear them out as they might have a decent idea or two.

The Limit Testing Guy

Likes to push their damage to the mas by taking irresponsible risks or not doing key mechanics which impacts raid’s success. The worse variant of the min maxer. Could be related to Early Deaths Guy.

The Repair Guy

Always asks for a repair bot after it was dropped a few pulls ago and just didn’t happen to hear the raid leader say that the repair bot was down.

The Sports Guy

Every time they queue up their mic, you can hear the TV on in the background which happens to be crowd noise from a game or a commercial advertising legalized gambling (Draft Kings). Stays more in tune with live sports than their own raid. Runs the fantasy league in your guild. Takes raid nights off during playoffs.

The IT Guy

Knowledgeable about troubleshooting computer issues. Eager to help when it comes to building your next PC or suggesting upgrades. Emphasizes the importance of 200 FPS in WoW and never fails to casually slip it into conversation topics.

The “I didn’t know that” Guy

Always wondered how they got through life. They’re often given videos, or strat writeups, and maybe some added coaching and warnings about certain mechanics and abilities and they just didn’t know that after about 25 odd pulls.

The Backseat Raid Leader Guy

Might be related to The Strats Guy but the difference is that the Backseat Raid Leader Guy likes to call out timings, movements, abilities, and other things to the chagrin and annoyance of other people. Has the best interest of raid in mind but doesn’t necessarily have the authority. Either needs to be delegated authority and if so, explained what’s worth calling and what isn’t. This guy is a prime candidate of evolving into being the 21st Raider.

The Parse Guy

Does not shut up about their parse. Whines when there’s a strategy change that prevents them from maximizing their damage for their parse. This is the annoying cousin of The Min Maxer Guy. Makes risky plays like pulling additional trash to keep Anvil stacks up to the detriment of players not being ready. Be on the lookout though, someone this aggressive and vocal about their parse means they’re thinking about auditioning and trialling for a different raid team so they need to have a really good parse. Could come in tank, healer, or DPS varieties. Might be better off if they left, to be honest. Saves you and the rest of the team the trouble of having to hear about their parse because it’s really damn annoying.

The Invincible Guy

On average, tends to have an insanely high survivability rate. They have a good track record of living all the way to the end of the pull when a wipe is called. Flawless execution of mechanics but might be at the cost of some of their damage. Another favourite of raid leaders.

The Hungry Guy

Remember when voice activation was permitted then the voice channel was restricted to push to talk? Chances are it was due to the Hungry Guy. Always snacking on something and the mic picks it up. Does it always have to be something crunchy? Can’t really understand what they’re saying in raid because they’re chewing at the same time while asking for Power Infusion.

The AFK Trash Guy

Self self-explanatory, but AFK Trash Guy is clever and uses this time to restock on drinks or use the bathroom. If it’s progression, they’ll often brush up and try to refresh themselves on strategy and boss assignments.

The Alcoholic Guy

Loves a good beer or a whiskey. Could be cultured. Do not run keys with this guy after a few beers and expect to time it. Has this tendency to crack a can of beer open on the microphone for attention or something. We get it, you’re cool, but save the celebration for after the boss kill.

The Frustrated Guy

Often feels crushed by the lack of progression and constant disappointment in the raid. Has problems with their fellow raiders. Has issue with how the raid is run. Wishes leadership moved quicker addressing problems. Nothing ever seems to be good enough for them but they often keep it to themselves. Big flight risk but knows they can’t really go anywhere better because they like the people they play with even if they’re idiots. But they are their idiots.

The Oversharing Guy

Has established a rapport or connection with you and loves to share details of their life. Could be their relationship problems, life experiences, work place drama, medical conditions, or whatever. Could be the last one on Discord after a raid night or they might even jump in and ambush you if you’re alone in a channel to talk about their problems. Worse: They share their problems during raid on trash or prior to a pull but raid leader doesn’t have the heart to tell them to stop. Take a page from The Military Guy and walk away. You have enough problems in your life without anyone else’s business either, y’know?

The Optimistic Guy

Literally, nothing can go wrong! Every raid is a new night! Every wipe is a learning experience! It’s okay if they don’t get loot, because someone else did which means it’s a net upgrade for the whole team! Aren’t they just adorable? It’s crazy how positive and unwavering they can be in their spirit.

You might recognize a few of these in your raid groups. The personalities you find that play this game are incredibly diverse. Sure they’re annoying and diverse, but that’s what makes your journey in Warcraft that much richer.