Is it the Tank’s Responsibility to Lead Groups?

September 23, 2012January 5, 2012 by Matticus

Please answer me a question that I have been wondering forever. […] Why is it the sole responsibility of the tank to know and lead the group in to every instances?

During my adventures through the dungeon finder, I’ve been remarkably fortunate.

Little to no wipes.

Timely CC’s.

Sustained DPS.

I don’t always run with my guild on my priest. I prefer to give opportunities to other healers in the guild who still need the gear or the reputation. If I need a refresher course in healing, there’s no test greater than braving LFD.

But I digress.

Tank ‘em!

Traditionally speaking, tanks have been the players that automatically take leadership of a group. For years, they’ve been the ones setting up the marks, executing the pulls and controlling the pace. Whenever I joined trade chat groups (this was before the dungeon finder, mind you), tanks would usually insist on leading groups. During Wrath, it got to the point where the rest of the players in the group expected the tank to assume that role.

The thing is, I’m not really noticing that as much anymore. I mean, it wasn’t until recently that I started observing other players taking control of groups. It wouldn’t always be the tank. It could be that random ret paladin or that warlock. Its an interesting trend to see happening, for sure. Could it be that there are just that much more knowledgeable people in the game? I once dropped in on a Halls of Origination group where most of the players in there didn’t know how to do any of the bosses on normal much less heroic. I had the option of dropping out of the group right there and then.

I’ll admit, I was tempted.

But no, I stayed right in there and showed them all the ropes. I gave myself a limit of 3 wipes on a boss. If we wiped 3 times on a single boss and it was clear they just weren’t “getting it”, then I’d take my leave. Setting a hard boundary for yourself is a good way to retain your sanity.

Blizzard allowing anyone in the party to mark targets was a great improvement overall. I’d say it ranks as one of those really underrated changes. Now other players don’t have to be the dungeon guide to mark stuff. They can simply tag their own targets.

The pressure is slowly easing off the tanks when it comes to taking the lead. That is a good thing, right?

Is Team Melee the New Hotness?

January 3, 2012 by Matticus

Lodur did a great job last week when he recruited 4 additional players. The catch? They were all melee players. We snagged a Rogue, a Paladin, Warrior and an Enhancement Shaman. Our melee roster now looks something like this:

4 Warriors
4 Rogues
2 Paladins
2 Enhancement Shamans

Gunship 2.0 turned into a challenge with just 6 ranged DPS players.

The guild historically has been melee heavy but not to this extent. As much as I would prefer having more ranged players as options, the raiding reality is to take the players we can get and find a way to make it work. Between the end of this expansion and a new MMO that’s holding player interest, it’s a little tougher to pick up players of the right class.

I’ve found some perks with a melee heavy raid, however.

Stuff dies really fast

That change to the melee buff (where it’s now 20%) makes a bigger difference. With trash and adds dying faster, it means overall less healing needed.

Closer proximity

Melee players typically stand in one location – Right behind the butt of the boss. I don’t have to worry about being out of range. Spells like Holy Word: Sanctuary are that much better since the melee players are in one tight location.

It’s nice to have a comfortable number of raiding players again. Holiday season is always tough. The next areas we need to shore up are ranged DPS and healers.

Now that we’ve gotten Deathwing down, we’re starting work on Heroic Morchuk (Norris). For those of you that have knocked it out already on 25 man, what would you suggest?

8 Raid Leading Mistakes That You’re Not Aware Of

August 6, 2012January 2, 2012 by Matticus

I stopped raid leading a long time ago.

Who would’ve guessed that raid leading might mean a loss in ability to heal effectively? I leave that in the hands of my capable team. We’ve all made our fair share of errors and mistakes. Chances are, yours did as well. I’ve always felt that there was no reason for every player to make a mistake to learn from it. You don’t need 25 players to stand in a Void Zone to experience that it’s a bad thing to do.

So allow me to give you several fouls that I’ve committed over the years.

Pulling too fast

This is one of my biggest faults. I get pestered about trying to get pulls going too quickly. Sometimes there’s a pat coming around through a 4 pull. I’ve also been with tanks who keep pulling trash mobs even when a significant portion of the raid is down or on their way back. Generally speaking, if there’s over 5 players dead, I’ll call a stop and burn a mass resurrect followed by quick buffs before getting under way again. Keeping an eye on healer mana is important. If everyone’s fresh out of gas, give them a few seconds to replenish (I use Mana Hymns and Mana Tide totems on trash to accelerate the process).

Pulling too slow

On the other hand, you want to make sure things are going according to a schedule. There’s always time to socialize outside of raids. I used to raid with a player who flat out screamed that he was missing Blessing of Kings on trash.

Look guys, while you might wipe to trash here and there, it isn’t because you are missing Kings. Buffs can always be done on the fly. You don’t necessarily need to wait for all of your buffs to fire off before pulling.

Are there tanks present?

Are there healers present?

Is there enough DPS around?

Then it’s time to pull and let the WoW gods sort out the rest.

Not knowing when to tap out

Sometimes your raid meets a boss that they’re just presently not capable of. Maybe there’s only 15 minutes left in raid and you’ve been working on a new progression boss all night that you just killed. Now there’s a new boss standing in front of you that no one has any idea how to take on. You could always do a for fun pull and play the game of “Let’s see who survives the longest”.

Actually, where this really takes effect is around the holiday season. Maybe you don’t have enough players to field a full group. Now I dare say most raid groups can run short handed 1 or 2 players (unless you’re in 10 man). But if you suffer enough absences where it represents a significant portion of the raid, cut your losses and give everyone a night off.

Not enough sleep

Get some sleep, guys! No one likes it when a player misses a raid because they wanted to catch a quick nap and oversleep their alarm!

Makes me wish I could dock DKP for that!

Excessive consensus

Let’s be real here. If you’re raid leading, chances are you know what the hell you’re talking about more. You’ll most likely have studied up on the encounter extensively. You’ve mentally orchestrated your unit about what needs to happen. There’s generally one or two ways to take down a boss. Run that raid with a fist of steel and stick to your plan. Do not instantly agree with every new radical proposal or idea that occurs after a wipe. Stick to making minor adjustments as needed but don’t overhaul the general strategy. Chances are, your strategy is sound but the rest of the team needs to adapt and make their own individual changes to make it work.

But don’t run a raid or take on a boss in a majority rules fashion.

Too much Hand Holding

This really bothers me. It shouldn’t be the job of the raid leader to micromanage every player’s DPS rotations and individual skills. I’ve heard stories shared to me by players where their raid leader would tell a new recruit exactly what to do and when.

“Okay, Lightning Bolt… then Lava Burst … trigger your Earth Shock … Lightning Bolt again and refresh your Flame Shock.”

We try to do everything we can when it comes to recruiting applications to figure out what players know. There’s a minimum threshold of knowledge that is required. I’d say having a solid idea of how your class works and any rotations would be on the “must know” list. For other progressive guilds, knowing every ability on select hard mode bosses is a plus. Perhaps knowing how to fluently play in an off role would be a requirement. It all really depends on your guild.

Your raid leader should not be the person teaching players as they go how to play their class. Your raid leader is the guy people look to when they’re trying to figure out the overarching strategy on taking down a boss. Vik addressed the difference between a raid leader and a guild leader quite nicely last year.

Being too accommodating

There’s this great quote by Steve Jobs that I keep on my wallpaper.

“My job is to not be easy on people. My job is to make them better.”

Press the buttons that you feel will actually result in action. Don’t press buttons for the sake of pressing them. Remember that you’re in the business of raiding. Your focus and dedication is going to vary. No matter what it is, figure out what your limits are.

Someone needs a quick glass of water during a trash pull? Sure, I can live with that.

Baby just started crying right before pulling a boss and needs to be dealt with? It’s a teeth grinder and a stress ball destroyer but I’ll survive until I can get a replacement.

Need to AFK for a smoke right when you clear the last pack of trash to a new encounter? Get the hell out of my raid.

That last one especially is one of my biggest pet peeves after playing this game for so long. I’m sure it’s influenced by the fact that my dad used to smoke and I hated the smell of it. While flexibility is a great strength to have, be careful that you’re not going too far in the direction at the cost of progress.

Not pulling the trigger on decisions

Cold feet on which boss to go for?

Can’t seem to switch out the healer for the DPS?

Trouble deciding on which strategy to use?

The best raid leaders are the ones who come to a decision within a quick and reasonable amount of time. Indecision is never the right way to go. Consult with officers or other players as needed, but don’t drag your feet too much. Pick one and run with it. If you’re wrong, at least you’ll know what to do for sure next week.

One more thing

Don’t be afraid to give your raid leader feedback. Just do it after the raid is over, not during. Doing it mid raid is enough to throw them off their game which isn’t a good idea if the raid is working on some new encounters.

2011: Best of World of Matticus

September 24, 2012December 31, 2011 by Matticus

2011 was a fairly eventful year. Highlights included my new gig at Enjin, BlizzCon 2011, and Cataclysm. We saw a new expansion announcement while this expansion began to wind down. The new Star Wars MMO came out this month. We’ll see what the MMO market place is going to be like with two competing MMOs. I’ve already hit 50 after approaching it like a single player game with multiplayer elements. As I’ve always been more of an end game player then an “experience” player, I’m going to have to wait until the rest of my new SWTOR crew levels out. 16 players is a far cry from 25.

In a way though, this was a year where I just felt my energy had been sapped completely. Additional professional responsibilities and guild rebuilding takes a rather large toll. Unfortunately, the blog and my projects had to suffer slightly. I decided to close and consolidate different projects because I was stretching myself way too thin and I couldn’t possibly maintain the level of care required.

It’s a tradition for me every year to take a look back at some of my favourite posts published this year on the blog. Other bloggers, I encourage you to do the same!

The E-Book

I keep talking about it for years and it’s something I’ve really wanted to do. I keep getting sidetracked by different things (a job, games, etc). With a blog that’s 4 and a half years old, I’ve got more than enough material to put together an E-Book. The topic is going to be about guilds and raids. Anything from recruiting, to discipline, management, leadership and so forth.

Here’s where I’m stuck.

Design – I don’t have a clue about things like colours. Maybe I’ll just keep it simple.
Contributions – I would love to ask bloggers. I approached Kurn the other night with a basic idea. If you could only share one guild management related post with the world, which one would it be? She’s sitting on it and mulling it over. But who else can I approach?
Title – Coming up with blog post headlines takes up half my time. Can you imagine how much time an e-book title would take?
Technical – Do I use Word for this? Publish it to a PDF?

So yes, this is my first resolution. I’m going to write and finish this book.

Someone get me a post it note.

The first chapter’s almost done actually.

Hmm, maybe that’s what I’ll do. I’ll release a chapter a month. That’s way less daunting then putting together a book. Plus I can always piece it together after.

Alright team, I’m relying on you to make me honest. Poke me two days before the end of January.

Happy Holidays–2011!

December 23, 2011 by Matticus

What an exhausting year for me. Responsibilities tripled and which affected my ability to blog. For you aspiring bloggers, I’ll tell you a story about that later. Getting SWTOR and blitzing to end game also takes a toll. I love getting new games. I bought myself Chrono Trigger for my iPhone as an early Christmas gift (and something I can do while waiting in line ups).

For you bloggers, I’m interested in reading up on your New Year’s resolutions. This is the first time an expansion has closed and finished out in under a year. Cataclysm came out in December 2010. The last tier of bosses were released earlier this month. Now it’s just a waiting game until Mists of Pandaria. More importantly, did you accomplish everything you wanted to do for the year?

Have a safe and happy holiday, everyone! Don’t drink and raid (much)! Your guild leaders wouldn’t want you incapacitated after the new year, right?

(PS, what are your favourite drinks for the holidays? I’m looking to expand and diversify)