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It’s End of Expansion Exit Survey Time!

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It’s that time again! With a firm new expansion date looming and raid activities winding down, this is a great moment to take a collective breath and survey the squad. I especially recommend this for newer guilds who were recently established in Dragonflight and only began raiding from Vault or Aberrus onwards. It’s a time to reflect on the team’s accomplishments, understand players’ experiences, and plan for the future. One of the most effective ways to gather this information is through an exit survey. I used to do this in past guilds, and it’s something that we do in Death Jesters. Exit surveys provide insights that can help improve raid leadership, team dynamics, and just overall satisfaction.

Was there something the player enjoyed?

Did something happen that soured a raid night but they didn’t want to bring it up?

Is someone on the fence about moving on?

Crafting Your Exit Survey

When putting together your exit survey, make sure to ask the right questions. Here are a few I’ve used before and why they are important:

Do you have plans to play a new character and class, or remain on your current one?

This is an important one. Since we have new Hero Talents and a few reworks coming up (like them Shaman), a few players might want to opt and try something new. In our case, we have 4 healing priests, and a few of us were debating whether to make the switch to something else to diversify our healing roster. Any players switching to a new class might mean you have to plug missing class gaps by resorting to free agency and recruiting a class that can cover missing raid buffs.

Do you intend to stay and commit to raiding for the new, upcoming expansion?

Similar to the above, this is all about assessing players’ ability to raid. Everyone is now two years older from when they started Dragonflight, and life circumstances will change. Some players might be off to attend college, or others might be expecting a newborn, which could impact their schedule. Maybe someone on the team needs to miss out on the first tier of the expansion but will be ready to return on the next one.

Were you satisfied with the overall pacing of the tiers in terms of the team’s progression?

Feedback on the pacing of raid progression can help your leaders evaluate whether your progression schedule was too fast, too slow, or just right. This information will help plan future raid schedules and ensure that the pacing keeps players engaged without burning them out. We will discuss this further in the future when putting together a raid progression road map.

How would you rate the overall teamwork and collaboration within the raid team?

Was there anyone that was particularly difficult to work with? Did you find it okay to provide feedback to leaders or to other players on the team? As leaders, you’re hoping for more collaboration (but with a small dose of competition). If there’s a negative reaction here, it could be symptoms of a toxic conflict situation that you’re not aware of.

Were there any specific bosses that you found enjoyable or frustrating?

It doesn’t really mean much at first glance, but players often have their favourite encounters over the course of a raid tier. If there’s frustrating ones, it’s helpful to volunteer why but it could also reflect other lingering issues. I did not enjoy the Echo of Neltharion encounter even though I wasn’t in during any of the progression. Rasz wasn’t particularly fun for me either. I hated all the Weak Aura configurations required for Echo and how to interpret everything. Rasz just felt too long as a whole. I greatly enjoyed Rashok and Nymue because I felt it really pushed me as a healer.

Do you have any feedback on the raid addons or tools used during the expansion?

We started with Liquid’s Weakaura pack in season 1 before switching to Northern Sky in seasons 2 and 3. This question opens up feedback on potential suggestions for other tools that might be overlooked. We extensively relied on Northern Sky, MRT, and Viserio’s spreadsheets to coordinate the majority of our raid progression.

Do you have any suggestions for the leadership group or anything you’d like to see more of?

Encouraging players to share their potential improvements can lead to ideas to streamline or improve the raid. It also shows that leadership values their input, which can strengthen the team’s sense of community and collaborative efforts. Personally, I’ve been trying to tell my raid to give feedback that I am a terrible officer and derelict of my duties and that I should be fired from leadership. It’s not working though.

Would you recommend our raid team to friends interested in mythic CE raiding?

This question measures satisfaction and identifies how your raid group is perceived by everyone on the team. Plus, maybe they know a cool panda that can join and contribute!

Any other comments or feedback about the environment and atmosphere?

Open-ended feedback is where you’ll find the most honest insight. This allows players to express their thoughts on the raid environment, team dynamics, and overall experience. Basically a form where they can chime in and submit something that might not have been asked or addressed earlier.

Who is your favourite Panda?

And why is it Matticus?

Implementing the Survey

Make sure you consider the following:

  • Anonymity: Being anonymous encourages honesty. Players are more likely to share their true feelings if they don’t fear repercussions.
  • Accessibility: Use a simple and accessible platform, like Google Forms and Survey Monkey, to distribute your survey. Ensure it’s easy to complete on various devices.
  • Set a Deadline: Give a reasonable deadline for survey completion to ensure timely feedback while memories are fresh.
  • Communicate the Purpose: Explain the purpose of the survey and how the feedback will be used. This transparency can increase participation and the quality of responses.

Analyzing the Results

Once the surveys are collected, it’s time to analyze the data. Look for common themes and recurring feedback points. Look closely at any quantitative data (like satisfaction ratings) and qualitative data (such as open-ended comments). I had to pick this up fast in my previous jobs, but here’s a simple process to follow:

  1. Categorize: Group similar responses together to identify trends.
  2. Prioritize: Figure out which issues are most critical and require immediate attention (or correction).
  3. Create an Action Plan: Develop a plan to address the feedback. This might include changes to the raid schedule, recruitment needs, or leadership practices.
  4. Communicate Findings: Share the key findings with your raid team. Highlight the positive feedback and outline the steps being taken to address any concerns that were brought up.

Exit surveys are a great tool for raid leaders. This is valuable information that can help improve raid performance, team satisfaction, and everyone’s overall experience. It’s hard to forget that we spend hours of our weeks with the same people on a regular, weekly basis on the same nights and we don’t want to be sick of each other all the time. But by assembling your survey and analyzing the results, you can ensure that your team is ready to tackle the challenges of The War Within with renewed energy. It’s not always about killing bosses, it’s also about not hating yourself (or your team) in pursuit of that.

Should I Trial Now During Awakened or Wait for Season 1?

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I’ve seen this question pop up a few times both on the player side and on the guild side.

Is it worth even trying out for new teams now that we also have a confirmed expansion date (August 26th)? Is it better to wait closer to the expansion or even when after the game drops?

I would say yes, it is absolutely worth applying now and securing a team to join.

High Turnover

Guilds often see a lot of turnover during new expansions and seasons. Players move around chasing new rankings, taking breaks, or sometimes just not coming back. This creates openings for new members. By trialing now, you can grab a spot before the new expansion rush and settle into the guild. This was especially true following the end of Season 2 for us when we practically had to reboot the entire roster.

Roster Needs

Guilds want a full team ready to go when new content drops. If a guild isn’t fully staffed at the start of a new Mythic raid, they’re already behind. By joining now, you can help them be prepared and improve your chances of being part of a successful team from the get-go. At DJ’s, we’ve been through many opening raid weeks and there’s always a fall off of players for various reasons. It’ll also affect class composition because maybe there might be a busted (or underpowered) class out there. We’re aiming for a number between 27 to 30 players.

It’s More Than Just Performance

When you trial for a guild, it’s not just about your performance in raids. Guilds, especially those aiming for top achievements, look at how well you fit into the team. We already have access to your logs and can see how you play. What’s more important is whether you cause any drama or tension. Anyone who’s performed at the Mythic and CE level usually maintains that consistency from a skill standpoint. What we’re looking for now is social fit. Do they new trial players get along with our team? Are they willing to put in the effort to improve their character? Can they contribute to the raid discussion when diagnosing pulls (even if it’s farm stuff)?

I know of some teams that have had to kick out trial members who, despite being good players, caused problems over loot distribution. These issues are easier to spot now rather than after the expansion. This saves everyone time and helps them get that stuff out of the way now. The new players can learn more about the raid environment they’re in, and the guild can get a better idea of their character.

Avoid the Post-Launch Rush

When any new expansion launches, there’s always a surge of players returning or joining for the first time. This can make it harder to secure a spot in a guild as competition increases. By joining now, you avoid this rush and secure your place early. Plus, you won’t have to compete with a larger pool of players looking to apply.

By integrating yourself into a guild now, you’ll be ready for a smooth transition into the new expansion and set yourself up for success. So, if you’re on the fence about trialing now or waiting, go ahead and start trialing now. It’s a proactive move that will help you tackle new challenges and enhance your gaming experience.

One Last Story

We had a player a few weeks ago who tried out for us but couldn’t handle the intensity of what we were looking for. His perspective was that it was season 4, and it was a good time to go into raids relaxed while he was still trying to gear up his character as it was significantly behind the rest of the team (think in the 480 range). After two weeks, his gear hadn’t made much progression and he wasn’t willing to put in the work to run keys and continue upgrading his gear. We took him into some of the farm stuff, but he’d have to sit on the harder late raid bosses. Ultimately, it wasn’t a good fit because there was such a philosophical difference between what he wanted out of this season and what our expectations were of trials coming in. Knowing that now, I would’ve recommended that he come in as a social and join the community first instead of committing to the raid team since we were still going to be operating.

Weekend Recap: Pandaria Edition

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What a productive raid week from last weekend.

After stepping into Amirdrassil for a quick Fyrakk mount sale, we switched over and completely wiped out Vault of the Incarnates (Heroic) just to finish out any last minute rings and Whispering Incarnate Icons for anyone who still needed them. This would be our second crack at Mythic Vault just after the first week of the season. Last time we were here, I think we only had time to clear Terros. Maybe we got Sennarth? I can’t remember. After some significant upgrades, we cleared just about every boss up to Raszageth.

  • Dathea was still a pain in the butt as always, but our DPS still allowed for only one platform to be cleared. It was definitely a messy kill with maybe 40% of the raid or something alive towards the end.
  • Terros was great, except I played Shadow on this one and ended up dying early forcing a grieftorch reset.
  • Kurog muscle memory still coming in strong with the fire phase moves, and the lightning elemental positionings, and everything else that came with it. Probably one of my favourite Mythic encounters of the tier.
  • Broodkeeper fell over in two pulls. I’m surprised I still remember the movement and the different intensive healing parts of the encounter. I healed the add group as we traversed around the room. Our tank died once (whoops) but we were able to recover and get him back on his feet . I completely mistimed a Mass Dispel though (or just misplaced it). Whoops. It’s not an easy one to reprog even though we defeated Diurna quickly.
  • Raszageth took all of day 2. We spent the first few minutes undergoing video review because only 12 players currently on the team had killed it on Mythic. It isn’t as challenging as the original variation (with the reduced wind speeds), and we’re still able to phase through comfortably. The team had to get reacclimated to doing interrupts, and the raid leader continued to stress positioning throughout the whole set of pulls. Inversion is another mechanic that we had to relearn and get used to. I suspect our guild is growing tired of hearing him talk about the importance of positioning even though it’s critical. What if he used other words like placement or location? We didn’t get Rasz down until the last pull of the night.

Anyway, solid week! On the recruiting side, we picked up a new Balance Druid and hopefully they’ll be able to start with us in the next week or two, and our latest Hunter has survived about 3 weeks of trialing so far (poor guy needs to work on just living in raids though). Our latest set of trials haven’t worked out well for us over the past month which has been a little discouraging. I’ve been trying to restock the cupboard for Season 4 and get a foundation for War Within (especially with summer coming up fast). Our goals will be to continue raiding in Season 4 and hitting up all raids on Awakened in Mythic. We may not clear every instance, but we’ll tackle most of the skips. The biggest needs continue to be a DPS Warrior, a Rogue, and a DPS Evoker. We could also add another caster ranged class.

Let’s talk about the Panda in the room, shall we?

That’s right, I’m referring to Mists of Pandaria Remix. Off to a somewhat sputtering start with some controversy on scaling and currency gains. I’ve been having some fun with it and took a bit of time away from retail. They have made a few buffs and changes to it recently, but the conversation continues to revolve around the Bronze gain.

Should it be used for transmogs or upgrades? Because I can see how it can suck to have only one currency gain and only use it for item buffs or stuff that you want. I don’t have any real advice or guidance here. I’m in the camp of upgrading items to make your next raid runs that much easier. I’ve been alternating between spending bronze on mounts and upgrading my gear anyway. I’m averaging around 360 ilvl right now on… a Warlock. My suggestion is that they just increase Bronze gain across the board. I’m a little sad that alts don’t have an amazingly overpowered cloak to start with. Even then, it’s still fairly quick to level the second time around since you already have that experience gain to start. It’s possible to hit 70 within a day or two. I get that it may or may not be as efficient as leveling a character in retail, but this is an alternative way to make another character. I imagine most of us are sick of leveling through the initial BfA (or Chromie time) zones anyway.

Yes, I chose to make a Warlock alt. After twenty years of playing this game, this is the first time I have selected a Warlock. I feel like I need a shower every time I log off that character. It’s been a blast replaying some of the older raids and watching people die to snails in Throne of Thunder again though!

In the meantime, we continue to recruit for the rest of Season 4. Current needs are:

  • DPS Warrior
  • Rogue
  • Mistweaver Monk
  • Dev and Aug Evoker

Anxiety in Tanking and Healing Mythic Dungeons

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Happy Wednesday and I hope you all had productive vaults this week! My Priest has gone dark and heavy on Shadow and DPS gear for the first week (up to 503 ilvl now). I was able to 2 chest a +10 with some guildies and stocked up some 8s. As a raid team, we completely cleared out normal and heroic before finishing out with 3 bosses in Mythic (Terros defeated). This week, we’ll be revisiting Aberrus.

I have a story here about a recent tank applicant to Death Jesters. On paper, the player looked like a fit. Their logs were on target, the defensive usage lined up, and it didn’t seem like there were many mechanical issues until I came across the below (Paraphrased):

“I’ve always found Mythic Plus content challenging and it tends to make me quite anxious, as it’s not my main focus in the game. My primary objective for this fated tier is to improve in this area. While this issue hasn’t impacted my performance in raid progression—I make sure not to be the weak link—it has caused some tension in previous guilds. I’m actively working to overcome this, though I expect it will take a bit of time. Fortunately, the fated tier presents a good opportunity for this.”

This admission does highlight a common feeling among players, especially tanks and healers, in the opening weeks of a new tier. Heck, this level of anxiety is even more pronounced during patches that introduce new dungeon content, where players have to learn new routes and strategies for handling enemies (and whatever abilities that might wipe the party). While this tier is already familiar to many of us with revisiting previous dungeons, the challenge of re-learning still looms, although that’s been mitigated by the various nerfs and tuning changes (Season 1 Ruby Life Pools was a nightmare).

However, avoiding Mythic Plus dungeons in the early stages is unacceptable at the Cutting Edge (CE) Progression or even a mid-level mythic raiding guild. Tanks are expected to step into these keys from the get-go. This early dungeon running is crucial not only for personal gearing but also for the success of the entire team. In guilds like ours, the majority of loot is allocated to favour DPS players, meaning that tanks and healers have to obtain upgrades predominantly from dungeons to supplement the raid.

As a tank within a raid team, one assumes the role akin to Atlas—a Titan doomed to bear the weight of the world on his shoulders. Like Atlas, tanks have that responsibility and must be both resilient and proactive in ensuring that all team members complete their keys with minimal reliance on outside players (pugging). Some players may have friends or other communities they can tap into, but others might be reluctant or unable to do so, requiring help from guild tanks and guild groups to step in and help with a smoother key experience.

With us, our tank expectations are clear — Step into mythic raid content feasibly early while simultaneously supporting the team’s collective needs. A tank that just logs in to update their gear and achieve our dungeon minimums before disappearing just barely meets the guild’s standards. Tanks are just such a bottleneck role at the start. We have a few healers and other DPS that are diversifying and collecting tank pieces to help address that and add more variability to schedules (and their goal isn’t to push high, but to get to a point where +8’s are reasonably comfortable). The role demands extensive involvement, a commitment to team progression, and an unyielding dedication to overcoming personal and collective challenges. I can certainly understand and sympathize the level of anxiety for pushing keys beyond the 10 (or even the 8 range) early on. I feel the same way. I did not feel confident at all healing anything past 8, that’s why I decided to give Shadow a go and get healing gear that way to help be available for raid needs.

Symptoms and Addressing Tank or Healer Anxiety

Anxiety experienced by tanks and healers can come about in different ways. This includes hesitation to join groups, fear of criticism, performance stress, and making decisions under pressure. This anxiety not only diminishes personal enjoyment but can also impact team dynamics and success. Tanks are also the ones dictating the pace of the dungeon (since they’re the ones tackling pulls). Is it time for a big monster pull? Go slower, and steadier at 1 or 2 pulls at a time? Are there DPS cooldowns up and available?

Our tank takes preparation to a bit of an extreme with this multi-monitor setup

Addressing these issues would take multiple approaches (and this list isn’t exhaustive either):

  • Education and Preparation: Knowledge of dungeon layouts, boss mechanics, and optimal strategies can ease some of the uncertainties that fuel anxiety.
  • Communication: Talking it out with the party can foster a supportive environment where fears can be shared and addressed collectively. Before big pulls, I’ll try to remind the team of key interrupts or things that can smoke the party if left unchecked. Tanks can call for personals or any extra externals (“Gotta kite, drop an Earthbind!”).
  • Incremental Progression: Slowly increasing the difficulty of dungeons can help build confidence in a controlled and manageable manner (I started from 4s and worked my way up).

Lastly, it also helps to play with people you know and trust who are familiar with each other.

If the root causes of anxiety can be addressed, raid teams can ensure that all members — regardless of their role — feel both competent and confident in their abilities to face the challenges of Mythic+ dungeons. It helps ensure that the game remains a fun and rewarding experience for everyone involved. The best step might be to join a more relaxed, less focused raid team to start where the pressure of grinding all those keys isn’t a factor. A competitive CE raid team isn’t the best environment to help properly support a player like that from the start. It’s not an easy journey, but it’s not impossible to work through and help control.

Anyway, back to Aberrus this week! If you’re looking for a raid team for Season 4 and the next expansion, come check us out! We’re looking for a Mistweaver Monk, assorted range DPS, and another tank!

Mythic Fyrakk: Kill Video Analysis

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Our official kill video for Mythic Fyrakk is now out and available! These are perspectives and shots from our initial CE kill.

I managed to squeak in for my CE kill, and it only took me 5 tries (seriously, why did it take so long, fellas? It didn’t seem so hard at all). There are only two days left, and there are several Race to World Last streams going on as guilds attempt to get their place on the CE list. Best of luck to those teams! I died on each phase at least once. The hardest phase of the encounter is like everyone said — the first phase. Can’t afford to relax or lose focus. The nerfed intermission phase is a nice breather with the reduced ball damage.

My finest moment is in this last phase: https://clips.twitch.tv/GiftedHungryMinkLeeroyJenkins-A7nWmgLO0_PWzly9

I swear I slammed my feather button, but it didn’t go off! In any case, that’s a wrap for us on Season 3 and the whole expansion.

Season 4 plans

With the new season starting in just a few days, the Awakened raid schedule recently changed to a weekly rotation instead of every two weeks. I doubt we’ll step into Mythic Vault of the Incarnates right away. For us, our plan is to open with normal and then heroic before beginning to award and complete 4 piece tier sets for everyone. It’s doubtful we’ll get to Mythic Vault in the initial week. Our roster is sitting at 27 total players but we still have room for a few more. Our immediate need is a tank for the upcoming expansion, and we’ll be using this time to look for one that fits into our raid environment.