Raid Leading – Casual Guild Style

As many of you may know, there is a slight war going on regarding raid content. I’m speaking of “the casuals” versus “the hardcore”. Now I don’t believe too much in these extremes…everyone who plays this game is casual and hardcore in their own way. But that is not todays topic, todays topic assumes you are an officer who has just been tasked with leading your ragtag group of semi-casual heroes into the fray of a 10,20 or even 40 man raid! These people may not have the gear, but they have heart! So let’s talk about how to get your casual guild raiding and keep interest long enough to get things done.

Join me after the break!

The Attitude

These days, all you seem to hear about is how easy the content is. But let us take a step back. IT IS EASY….for people who min/max, know their class very well, are familiar with the concept of “don’t stand in the fire”. But for those who have never stepped foot in a raid…who don’t have Best-in-slot gear..are not seasoned fire-movers…it can be very hard and frustrating to do.

What you can do for your raiders:

1. Have a positive attitude. First and foremost – remember – you are the leader, and these people are expecting you to lead. Not just into the dungeon, but as a beacon of light to slice through the darkness ahead. That means not saying “YOU GUYS SUCK – IM OUT!” after that 10th wipe. Instead – take a look at what you guys are doing wrong and see if you can swap roles for people or try a new strategy.

2. LISTEN to your members. This goes for any leadership role, your members are your people and they deserve to have a say. Maybe one of them has done this raid with a pug and knows a trick, or maybe they just have a creative new strategy no one thought of. Either way, the raid leader does not know everything and should be open to suggestions.
This also goes for picking the raids – listen to which raid your members really want to do. (If they are completly not ready for it – then say so nicely but pay attention to their wants too.)

3. Squash the seed of doubt. There is always that one member who after the aforementioned 10th wipe will insist “We can’t do this”. It is at this point that a few more of the raiders will chime in with “yea….I don’t think we can either…”, and by the 11th wipe the seed of doubt will have bloomed and people will start leaving, disheartened. As with any leader – this is your time to inspire them back to the vigor they had when they came in. Make sure to keep on top of this – nobody likes dying, and many will bail after the first wipe. If people are quitting over the repair bills – offer to pay out of the guild bank.

4. They will get better. Most players, in their first raid, will be abysmal. It’s not their fault, its new to them. You have to remember this. These members will need extra encouragement. Just make to remind them ahead of time to stay out of the fire.

5. Schedule.
Most people are not in raiding guilds because they cannot commit to it. Thats perfectly fine – IRL > WoW – and we as leaders need to accept that. If the nature of a guild is a casual one, you cannot get mad at your members for having prior obligations or new plans the night of the raid. It happens. Try to find a night or two that everyone can agree on to raid. This will help people. In my guild we typically run Friday and Saturday nights after 7 server, so as not to interfere with people’s dinner and homework duties. And be ready to pug or cancel if need be. You cant run Naxx with 3 people, don’t try.

6. Strategy.
As the raid leader – do not expect your members to be reading the strategies right away. Be prepared to go over it pre-fight and expect to be asked a lot of questions. Posting the strategy on the guild site is a great way to get people reading too.

7. Loot.
Ah shiny pixels…the glory and the bane of our wow existence. Whether your constantly grasping for purples or you hate the pixel war, you can’t ignore new gear. As is the nature of a casual guild…you cannot expect 100% attendance on the raids. In fact, some people may only ever attend 1 or 2 nights out of 7 or 8 in a month. You must remember to be fair to everyone. In my guild I have adopted a “pugroll masterloot” system. Meaning the master looter will simply raid warn the group to roll need or greed and award based on that. Its fair to all who attend for that night. All greens or reagents get placed in the guild bank.

8. Poaching.
It happens, you have been running successful raids for a while and everyone is getting pretty good at it. Next thing you know you just lost a healer and a tank to a hardcore guild who raids 5 nights a week. Well, unfortunately I can’t help you much with this one. It’s going to happen. The best thing I can tell you is to convince your players to stay based on the friendships they have developed within the guild – are the friendships worth more shinies? There is also a good chance – and it has happened before – that said members will return after they have gotten their fill. If your raid is full, I suggest not bumping anyone for these members, but letting them wait til a slot opens again before putting them back in.

9. “Ive got my loot, I’m not going tonight”. Ok, so I know what I am about to say goes against #5 again, but this is a different situation. This person has been a mainstay at all your raids and is now all epiced out. They have also decided that they no longer need to run because of this. Make sure to remind them that their absence will adversely affect the rest of the raid. By not attending they are leaving an empty slot (which depending on your group – you may not be able to fill) and setting a bad example for the other raiders. This will make your job much more difficult.

10. Old Raids.
Don’t be afraid of the old world raids. A lot of your members have probably never seen them, and would be aching to get the achievements. These are GREAT ways to train them. UBRS, Onyxia and Molten Core are great for team coordination, listening to directions, and creative strategies. And again – do not be afraid to wipe – skill develops over time.

11. Class knowledge.
Openly encourage questions about gear choices, stats and other character concerns. Your members want to do their best, but maybe they just don’t know about the synergies of their character. Help them out. Appointing class leads is a great way of doing this.

12. Recruit Recruit Recruit.
In a game of 11 million players – there are a lot of casual raiders out there. Keep recruiting, a big pool of potential raiders will serve you better than a few who miss half the raids.

Thats all I can elaborate on today, but if you have any questions, comments or flames to throw my way – please don’t hesitate to put them in the comments I hope this has inspired some officers to take their group in, or helped out someone.

Ederlinban / Scarlet Crusade