from  Rawrbitchrawr

Things every raider should know...

Inmy years playing World of Warcraft, raiding as both a DPS and a healingclass, I have made many mistakes, and learned many things along theway. From those growing opportunities, I have compiled a short list ofthings that every raider should know.

Do Your Homework
Learnwhere you guild is in progression, study the encounters, know your rollas well as that of others, watch videos, share your insite with raidersin preparation for the encounter well in advance of the raid.

Get Your Buff On
Everysingle raiding guild in WoW outlines what they expect from theirraiding members. 99.9% of them detail that they expect for raiders toshow up prepared with consumables. This includes self-buff foods,flasks and elixirs, as well as reagents. If your class isn't a buffingclass, go the extra mile to build campfires for those that need to cook on the fly, and brag about your ubar Cozy Campfire buff for the raid.

Don't Count on Heals
Anyoneother than the main tank and off-tanks shouldn't count on gettingheals. When you do, it is nice and very well appreciated. However, whenlearning new encounters, progressing in content that is at firstchallenging, healers are stretched for mana. So, the other raid memberswho might pull aggro, stand in green goop, etc... need to fend forthemselves for awhile. For the sake of your healers, level your First Aid! Carry bandages and use them! Rather than standing around waiting for a heal, pop a bandage and get back to business!

AFK, WTF?!?!
Asthe raid is forming, go take care of business. Raids take anywhere from2-10 hours and the last thing anyone wants to do is sit around waitingfor your to tinkle, walk your dog, take a shower, unload your mom'sgroceries, or any of the other hundreds of "BRB"s I have seen in myday. You have 24 other people (39 back in the day), who are counting onyou to be there 100% of the time. If you can't manage outsideinfluences, think twice about offering yourself up as a dedicatedraider.

Take Feedback as a Positive
Ifyou are faced with a situation where you are given a directive from theraid leader, do it. Get clarification when needed, but it is alwaysbest to leave the judgment up to those that the guild trusts to makethose calls. Don't take it personal, don't think that you aren't doinga good job, just improve the roll you are playing. Use feedbackconstructively.

Don't Let Loot Ruin a Relationship
Planahead, know which loot drops of which boss and focus on the items thatwill benifit you the most. If you don't get an item that you haveplanned for, don't sweat it. It will drop again. Congratulate the raidmember that received the item and let it go. If the content is on farm,you will see it drop again.

Talk Less, Listen More
Ventrilois a wonderful tool that is almost necessary to aid raiding. However,logging onto vent doesn't mean that raid members are welcome to jointhe Hello Kitty Knitting Club Hour. We are there for a goal. When the first pull starts, vent should become quite and open for raid calls and feedback.

Keep Perspective
Alwayskeep in mind that the overall goal of the raid is to challenge and beatencounters. Often times people get wrapped up and transfixed by shinynumbers, bars going up and down and mashing buttons. And, too oftenpeople become meter-whores. Meters are a wonderful tool to gaugeimprovements and identify areas that need improvement. But, unless anissue is being addressed during the raid, meters need to stay out ofthe raid. Anyone who is so enthralled by the meters should be lookingat them on their own screen. Meters should never be broadcast duringthe middle of a raid. Save the feedback and backslapping for after theraid.

Feed Your WoW
Nothing will ever grow unless it is nurtured and encouraged. Study your raid WWS report wheneverpossible, even the raids you don't attend. Find out what works, what iseating your mana, what is that other guy doing, what buffs is heusing.... study it from all angles and improve your play. Mostimportantly, if you see something that a fellow raider can improve upontalk with them about it constructively.

Give for the Greater Good of the Guild
Greatguilds are not born, they are made by their members. The best raidersare not just raiders, they are great members of their guild community.It bodes well to plan ahead for future progression goals and farmmaterials and consumables in advance. Helping to provide items for theguild not only shows favorably for you, but also encourages others todo the same.

All told, raiding has been an adventure in onlineetiquette, communication and time management. Through learnings andperseverance (and ibuprofen), progress has come with effort. Any raidershould equal and/or surpass the effort of his fellow raiders. Challengeand learn from one another. After all, this is a social game - improveyour raiding community by example.