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Loot Council: First Raid

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Monday night was Conquest’s first mostly-guild Naxx 25, and we premiered our Loot Council system for guildies and pugs alike. I think that we successfully distributed loot in a fair way, but I have to say that it added to the tension factor of raiding for me.

First, the rules for players. At the outset of the run, I explained the following.

When useful loot drops, players type one of the following things in raid chat. Interested means that the player wants to be considered for the item right now. Pass means that it’s a good item for the player, but he or she wants others to have it first. If no one is interested, the item will go to a person who passed. If no one has a use for the item, it will be disenchanted. Any questions about the process should be dealt with in whispers.

The members, thus, play a bigger role in our Loot Council than they might in other guilds–they have a hand at deciding when to take something and when to share. However, the big deliberations happen in Loot Council chat. For those of you who might be interested, here’s what happens behind closed doors.

Loot Council Deliberations

1. First, we inspect the interested players and evaluate the relative value of the upgrade. We type our opinions in chat.
2. Second, we list out the number of items the player has already received that night.
3. We determine the use value for the raid–as in, do we need this item on our tank/healer so we don’t all die?
4. We consider performance on bosses.

I felt good about all but one case last night. When you’re debating between equals, sometimes it doesn’t matter who it goes to–the other person will get the next thing, after all. However, our LC is not all in agreement about what to do about pickup raiders and trials. My opinion is that we should try to give puggers and trials a prize if we can. There are special cases, as in when we need to gear our tanks in order to live through the content, but in general, I like to consider pickup raiders under the same criteria as everyone else. In the case of trials, I would give them more consideration than our own raiders–if they’re working hard for a spot, they should get a prize, even if it ends up being a consolation prize when we ultimately do not invite them to our guild.

The only other case that took us some time was tank loot. I have a strong desire to see the tanks work out their drops among themselves. The warrior tanks of Collateral Damage, my former guild, did that in T6 and it was a great benefit to the guild as a whole. I’d like to see our tanking corps be somewhat independent–and to build stronger relationships with each other through sharing the loot. That sounds very kindergarden doesn’t it? But so much of a guild’s success depends on trust among members.

On Trust

I think that trust is the key concept to talk about when we’re doing Loot Council. I used to administer an Ep/Gp system, and believe me, the responsibility is much greater when serving on a Loot Council. With Ep/Gp, the top person on the list got the item and that was it–there was little for the system administrator to do other than read the list. For me personally, being part of the Loot Council is a trial in every sense of the word. I want to be a fair and trustworthy person. Sure, I want my share of the loot–but only what should go to me, and not a bit more. As such, I’m instituting a personal policy of frequent passing. For example, last night I would have been awarded an awesome mace had I not passed–I did so, not because the upgrade wasn’t great for me, but because the other player had received less items that night.

However, the bigger challenge is keeping my mouth when I’m supposed to. If I have a personal failing, it’s giving my own opinion rather insistently, whether people ask for it or not. I also tend to go on crusade when I believe that I am right, or even worse, when I believe that an injustice is being committed. However, I’ve got to learn to keep to the rules. I wrote the Loot Council policy myself, so I know why I’m not supposed to weigh in on my own or Briolante’s loot. However, it gets tricky when I just want to give useful information–which I might have, as I actively research healing gear for the blog. I’m not voting on my own loot or tank loot, of course, but I have to draw that fine line between informing and meddling. I think the key here is going to be trust. Do I trust the other members of the Loot Council to give all the tanks and healers a fair shake? I guess I’m going to have to.

However, trust is earned. All of us–me, and the other members of the Loot Council–are going to have to work incredibly hard to maintain balance. We all have friendships and allegiances, as well as personal desires. We just have to learn to keep them out of LC chat.

Healing Naxxramas – Maexxna (10 man)

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maexxna

Maexxna is the last boss in the Arachnid Quarter. I don’t know if it’s a he or a she, but I think it’s a she. Let me tell you that she is one heck of a honkin’ big spider.

Tank that boss at a distant pace away. Try to keep the raid near a wall and the tank in the middle. Make sure the tank faces the big Max away from the raid. She’ll periodically do a Spider Wrap cocoon that will temporarily stun players and prevent them from moving or casting spells.

Every so often she’s going to target a player and fling them to a wall. You can adjust the direction you get thrown because it flings you in the direction directly behind you.  At the same time this player is going to be wrapped in webbing and will not be able to do anything. Other players in the raid have to go up to the webbing and DPS it down until the player inside is free. If you can afford it, I suggest tasking your strongest ranged DPS on webbing breaking duty. For myself, I used a Hunter for this. Any class will work.

Little mini spiders will periodically show up. Have a mage freeze them up and the raid AoE them down. No mages? Well, then just AoE them down. Frost traps and Earthbind totems for extra marks. Get your secondary tank to drag the suckers toward Maex herself and get the melee in on the action.

At the 30% mark, big M gets even bigger and hits like a freight train. Around the 35% mark, I strongly suggest all DPS to stop what they’re doing. Wait for the next web spray to go off. When that’s over, pop Heroism/Bloodlust, initiate all cooldowns and tip her over the point of no return.

This is where it gets dicey. Pay close attention to the web spray timer. As the countdown gets closer, load up on HoTs on the tank. Have the tank blow their emergency survival cooldowns to try to survive the wrap.

For the next Web Wrap, have a Priest watch the cooldown accordingly. As it counts down, have them light up a Guardian Spirit along with full HoTs. The HoTs should be amplified by an additional 40% and the GS will ensure survivability long enough until players are out of the wrap.

If you have a Discipline Priest, do the same thing. Have them use Pain Suppression instead of GS. Don’t worry about threat. It shouldn’t be a concern here. If Pain Suppression causes your tank to lose aggro, something is very wrong with the tank.

I think a Prot Pally can help if they’re specced accordingly. Make sure that the Prot Pally isn’t the one tanking. A Divine Shield should mitigate further damage done by 30% since some of the incoming damage is redirected to the Paladin. Just make sure they’re not tanking Max.

For Healers

Necrotic Poison – This is the main reason why the tank faces the big M away from the raid. It reduces healing taken by 90%. It must come off. Any Druid, Paladin or Shaman can remove it. She also does a 15 yard conical directly in front of her. That would be the second reason.

Dressing Up Your Druid in Blues and Greens

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Picture this, dear readers.

You’ve just hit 80–in fact, you dinged five minutes ago. You’re still wearing many of your shiny purple epics from the BC era, perhaps even the coveted 4 pc T6. A tell comes in, and you’re needed to heal heroic Halls of Lightning. You walk inside, clear to the first boss, and—-ta da, you find that you’re undergeared. What’s a tree to do?

Many of us floated through the leveling process still on a high from our successes at the end of BC. Thanks to a series of ever easier-to-access epics, many of us were very well equipped–for BC content. That has all changed! This is one suggestion for how to get the greens and blues that will allow you to do heroics, Obsidian Sanctum, and Naxx without repeatedly apologizing to your dead teammates. I’ve focused on two areas–regen and healing throughput–that are the main weak point of the new 80. Stamina might have been important in late BC raid content, but we’re not at that point in Wrath’s raid cycle yet.

In order to make my list, I’ve used this post from Phaelia, in which she kindly filtered Wowhead for the rest of us lazy willows. To focus my choices further, I’ve gone for the easiest, cheapest options for each slot.

Head:

Helm of the Majestic Stag

This helm can be bought from the Kirin Tor quartermaster at Honored. Just get your Kirin Tor tabard and take a spin through a few regular-level dungeons.

Extra Credit:
Helm of Anomalus

This better helm comes from an easy boss in the Nexus, which is the easiest heroic I’ve done. In fact, I’d say that the Nexus is the new Mechanar–5 quick, easy badges just ripe for the taking. In addition, there are several workable healing pieces throughout.

Necklace:

Amulet of the Crusade

This item is a quest reward from “The Admiral Revealed,” a group quest in Icecrown.

Another option:
Dragon Prow Amulet

If, like me, you’d rather run a heroic than do a group quest, this is a nice little BoE zone drop from Heroic Utgarde Keep. You may be able to purchase one of these as well.

Shoulder:

I’m using the Runecaster’s Mantle, a BoE blue that seems to drop like candy from Heroic Utgarde Keep. One of my teammates sent me one far before I hit 80. I really like it and would recommend it to anyone, despite the fact that it’s cloth. Even if you can’t find it in your guild bank or the AH, it comes from a very easy heroic, which is a big plus.

Cloak

The easiest option, and the most expensive, is the craftable Wispcloak.

If you don’t feel like going the crafting route, there are four drops from Heroics that will do just fine.

Try the Ancient Dragon Spirit Cape from H Oculus, the Reanimator’s Cloak, a BoE from H Drak’Tharon Keep, the Shroud of Moorabi from H Gun’drak, or the Subterranean Waterfall Shroud from Ahn’Kahet. I haven’t had luck with this slot yet, so unless I can find that BoE on the AH, I may just save my money for the craftable. At the moment I can’t afford it, because I already paid for the BoE epic leather boots and pants.

Chest:

Bauble-woven Gown

I see everyone–including me–wearing these. This is a delightful little quest reward from a collection quest within Utgarde Pinnacle. Even if you can’t finish the instance, you can do this quest.

Another option:

Ymirjar Physician’s Robe

This one is leather and looks very druidic. It’s a Heroic Utgarde Pinnacle zone drop, but since it’s BoE, you may be able to buy one.

Bracers:

Soaring Wristwraps

This is a quest reward in the Oculus. It’s not an easy dungeon, and the quest requires killing the last boss, but it’s definitely worth doing once and picking up these beauties.

Another option:

Overcast Bracers

You can also go the crafting route with these bracers. They have resilience, but they’re still not half bad for PvE.

Hands:

Gloves of the Time Guardian

This is the reward for successfully completing the Caverns of Time: Stratholme. It’s well worth the effort.

Extra Credit:
Gloves of Glistening Runes

These gloves drop from the (easy) final boss of Heroic Nexus. They have great stats for resto druid and will serve you well until you get a tier piece.

Belt

Fishy Cinch

I’m going for this reputation reward, purchasable at Revered with the Oracles. They’re so cute, I’ll even wear something that smells like tuna to show my support. Besides, I want one of those eggs.

Another Option:

Overcast Belt

This item is craftable and may be quicker to obtain. True, it spends some of its item budget on resilience, but if you PvP as well as PvE, this might be a nice piece to acquire.

Pants:

Leggings of Heightened Renewal”

These are the quest reward from “The Iron Colossus,” which appears to be a vehicle quest in the middle of a large chain. Personally, I find it easier to do dungeons than to chase these quest rewards down, but to each her own!

Another Option:
Opposed Stasis Leggings

Once again, Heroic Nexus. Did I give you enough reason to go there yet?

If you have infinite money:

Get the Earthgiving Legguards, a BoE purple, crafted. I spent my hard-earned gold on these and the matching boots in the hopes of being able to pass more to my teammates in Naxx 25.

Rings

I found this slot pretty tricky. Here are some decent options:

Flourishing Band, a quest reward from “The Struggle Persists” in the Oculus

Lion’s Head Ring, a quest reward from “For Posterity” in Gun’drak

Kurzel’s Angst, a quest reward from “Search and Rescue” in Drak’Tharon Keep

Extra Credit:

Band of Enchanted Growth

This item drops from Mage-Lord Urom in Heroic Oculus, and it’s what I’m wearing. Be warned, however–the Oculus is not easy, although this particular boss shouldn’t cause trouble.

Trinkets

There’s absolutely no need for me to weigh in on this slot. Go read Matticus’ trinket exposé on WoWInsider!

The only thing I will suggest is the Badge of the Infiltrator which is a very good, very accessible green quest reward from “Sabotage” in Zul’Drak. That +46 Intellect turns out to be more useful than I thought it would be in terms of regen.

Feet

Bugsquashers

I’m a lucky druid. My friendly neighborhood leatherworker (thanks S13!) sent me a pair of these in the mail back when I was a wee 72. They’re pretty much great for trees until you get an epic replacement, either through crafting or through a Naxx drop.

And for the moneybags:

Don’t count out the Earthgiving Boots. These are a solid item and a bit cheaper than either the craftable pants or cloak. However, I don’t suggest springing for these unless you’ve already got many of the materials–the Eternal Lifes set me back more than I’d like to remember. If S13 hadn’t provided the leather and my heroic runs the orbs, I would probably have waited on these.

That concludes my green-and-blue roundup. Yes, I did sneak a few little purple in there…but hey, it’s my favorite color. Equip yourself in some or all of these things, and you’ll find that you have an easier time healing heroics and entry-level raids.

Is Trade Chat a Good Avenue for Guild Prospects?

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recruiting

I don’t get a lot of email. But the ones I do get are often insightful questions. Heh, sometimes I have to respond to the reader and tell them that an email response wouldn’t do their email justice. The next best thing is to convert their question and topic into a blog post so I can really attack it from all angles.

From Ephii:

I see that you’re posting in trade to advertise/recruit. Our guild is currently recruiting but our members have always felt that spamming trade carries a social stigma of being "one of those crappy guilds." We were the most progressed Alliance guild in TBC until some of our core members transferred off. Our reputation is sterling as the mature guild with players who don’t run their mouths. However, we’re having problems getting new recruits by posting on the realm forums alone (for server recruits). What is your take on posting in trade?

Ephii runs a really cool Shadow Priest blog, interestingly enough. Pay attention to the Healing Macros post.

Back to the question at hand. I can understand why players don’t like to advertise in trade. Trade chat has traditionally been viewed as a place where scoundrels, heathens, morons, and bad players congregate.

So why would I want to advertise my guild there?

Because, like it or not, it is the largest channel in terms of population. Just because you have scoundrels, heathens, morons and bad players running their mouths off in trade chat doesn’t mean that you have scoundrels, heathens, morons and bad players reading it all the time.

I used to think about trade chat the same way. I wouldn’t want any guild I was a part of to advertise there because of the perception that those bad players bring. Why would I want to play or raid alongside these trade chat pollutants, right? Only crappy and unskilled guilds recruit from trade chat. Real good players are the ones that transfer to you off server and come to you directly. With that in mind, I shouldn’t advertise in trade chat.

Why is this wrong?

You have to start somewhere. Unless you’re a top 20 guild, you’re never going to be able to attract top level talent. The only way to attract talent is to prove that you have tenacity to get the job done with whatever members you have at your disposal. At this point, for most guilds, their immediate goal is to attract players. Skilled players come later. Weak players weed themselves out as time goes on.

As GM, my immediate goal is to get into the 25s as soon as possible. I wanted to develop the image and perception that Conquest would be a successful guild. In order to do that, I have to have at least 25 raiders. Without it, my goals are as good as dead in the water. I don’t have the reputation yet to be able to convince or draw 25 players without utilizing trade chat.

Lesson of exposure

One important concept I was taught in marketing is the concept of exposure. If you don’t expose yourself, people aren’t going to know you. If they don’t know you, they’re not going to join you.

Let’s put it this way.

I’m an electronics chain looking to unload some Blu-ray Players. Specifically, I got these kick ass Samsung BD-P1500 Blu-ray Player‘s lying around.

Let’s forget the fact that it’s 1080p, HDMI, Dolby Digital, and comes at a low price of only $199. Because it’s not important.

(I can hear the epic sighs and see the head shaking but I’m trying to prove a point here!)

You wouldn’t have known that if I hadn’t told you. If I was working in marketing and I wanted to sell as many of these as I could, I have to make people aware that I’m selling these. Why do you think advertising is a multi-billion dollar industry? Companies employ television ads, magazine and newspaper ads, billboards and our most hated enemy are banner ads.

Hell, people call you at 7 PM when you’re having dinner to ask you to buy something. Those guys, I want to shoot.

Everyone is competing for your attention.

We’ve grown accustomed to filtering them out. But if a company can attract your attention for even a few seconds, they’ll have succeeded because they want you to think about them. The next time you get the urge to to buy a product or pursue a service, they’re banking on you to remember it.

Back to trade chat

So how does this apply to WoW guilds and recruiting? It’s the same general principle. People aren’t going to buy stuff if they don’t know you have them. Players won’t apply for your guild if they don’t know you exist. For guilds that are just starting out, trade chat is the biggest source of potential recruits because in my experience there are three types of players:

  • Players that aren’t looking for a raiding guild
  • Players that are looking for a raiding guild, but don’t know it yet because they’re waiting for the right opportunity
  • Players that are looking for a guild

Numbers 2 and 3 are the most important. Offering EST friendly hours was one of the best moves I was able to make because I didn’t alienate players on the other side of the continent. I advertised this in trade and received a number of applicants this way because they weren’t able to handle raiding up until 1 AM or 2 AM anymore. The only reason they stayed in their current guild was because they had little choice.

But by exposing my guild, my days, my times, my goals, and wants, I gave them another way out. Raiders looking to join raiding guilds generally have little to say in trade chat. You’ll be amazed at how many people you can pick up from there.

Realm and guild recruitment forums are nice. But only a small fraction of players check those. In my experience, those tend to be the 3rd category of players.

Although you may hate it, trade chat’s going to be the biggest source of recruits for you. Take advantage of it. Otherwise, you’re going to be waiting for a long time.

For my purposes, I view trade chat as a necessary tool. I don’t exactly have people knocking on my door and I need to spotlight my guild as much as possible. This means plugging it on Twitter, using my blog, advertising in Trade chat, using the realm forums, the guild recruitment forums, my Plusheal forums and so forth.

Where did they come from?

Since my guild is still relatively lean, I still remember where (most of) my players come from:

recruits

When I mean off server, I don’t mean transfer. These are players that were a result of advertising on guild recruitment forums. I probably had around 7ish server transfers (if you include the blog and twitter). Referrals are players that a guild member knows. A Paladin applies, gets in, refers a Rogue and a Shaman and those guys subsequently get in as well. They may or may not have been exposed to trade chat. Had I not advertised in trade chat, the original Paladin would not have known about Conquest or advised his friends about it.

Don’t judge the quality of every player in trade chat by what’s said. Most of us generally keep our mouths shut. Just because we don’t say anything doesn’t mean we aren’t reading.

Healing Naxxramas – Gothik the Harvester (10 man)

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gothik 

When you enter the room, half the raid goes to one side, and the other half stays. One room is deemed “live” (the one you enter) and the other room is deemed “undead” (the room on the right after the gate). Mobs that die on the live side respawn on the undead side. Ergo, you have to kill the mobs twice (their alive versions and their ghostly versions).

As the AoE healing Priest, I set up shop on the undead side with 4 other players. This resulted in 2 healers, a tank, and other DPS on the live side.

I suggest setting up Melee DPS on the Undead side and caster DPS on the live side.

You spend ~3 minutes killing the various waves coming in. After that time has passed, Gothik then teleports down to the live side (first room) and you can engage him. Then he switches to the other side and the undead group engages him. He keeps doing this back and forth. There are no waves for you to worry about at this point.

At 30%, the gates open and both groups can engage him without worry. He should go down without further difficulty.

Make sure the live side groups and the undead side groups are coordinating and communicating. Live side does not want to overwhelm the undead side!