*MUST READ* Raiding 101 (Updated for Cataclysm)

I didn't want this to seem like a "raiding rules" post, but more like a guide on how to be the best raider you can be. Although we're a casual guild, we do like to raid, and we are trying to progress, so it's helpful if everyone is on the same page as far as what the minimum standards for raiding should be.

In other words, that is my PC way of saying "read this post and do what it says so I don't have to yell at you next raid night". <3

So with that, this is my "Raiding 101" guide on how to be a good part of the raiding team.

Basic Raiding Do's (and some Don't's)

Be On Time! The majority of our raids start at 8:15pm server time. Invites generally go out about 8:05pm, and then we spend about 10 minutes "catherding". So if you plan on raiding that night, try to be on 15 minutes before we start. If you signed up and know you are going to be late, tell someone, preferably the person leading the raid for that night, or at least one of the other raiders. Don't sign up and then bail out! Keep someone informed so we can plan to move forward without you.

Be Prepared! At bare minimum, you should try to have the following in place before you group up for raiding:

• Flasks Elixirs, or Potions. Enough to last 2-3 hours. If you aren't sure what to bring, here's a list of flasks, potions, and elixirs you might want to consider bringing. And any of the guild alchemists can make them for you if you just ask. :)
• Stat food. Although we frequently provide food at our raids, it's a good idea to bring along some of your favorite stat food just in case. For a list of stat foods, check this list, and ask one of the guild chefs if they will make you some. :)
• Reagents. If your class has an ability that requires a reagent, then it's your responsibility to have a good supply of those reagents on hand. How many you carry is up to you, but try to have enough to last a 2-3 hour raid. For a list of reagents used by spells or abilities, check this list, and then visit your local reagent vendor to stock up!
• Your gear repaired. This should be a no-brainer. Before heading to the raid, stop by a repair vendor and get your gear repaired!

Be Geared! After spending some time going over World of Log reports and assessing our own performance, I'm revising the standards I initially set for Firelands progression.

MINIMUM item level of about 355-360. This means you're in a mixture of epic gear from troll instances, crafted epics, T11 gear, Justice/Valor epics. You should have your 365 cloak from the Hyjal questline. The majority of your gear should be iLvL 353 or higher. **NOTE**  I know some people may have a few 346 blues still. That's fine, as long as you can meet or exceed the minimum standards for performance. Firelands is a gear check as much as it is a skill check.

Gear gemmed, enchanted, and reforged if necessary. There's absolutely no excuse not to have your gear in top contidition regardless of its item level. If you aren't sure what kind of gems or enchants you should be using, then ask or do some research. Ask a Commissar, or someone else you think is knowledgable in your class. Visit sites like http://www.wowreforge.com or http://wow-heroes.com/character/ and take assessment of your gear each time you acquire a new piece. Take time to read up on your class at sites like Elitist Jerks and see what people are suggesting for stat weights, rotations, gear choices, etc.

DPS - After reviewing combat logs, I've concluded that DPS in Firelands needs to at or above 12k. I know that might seem like a lot, but truthfully that's what we should be pulling on average in Firelands (some of our DPS is pulling as high as 20k on certain encounters.) So if you aren't doing about 12k DPS on average, then you may need to do some adjusting. Many of the boss fights in Firelands have soft enrages where the fight comes down to a DPS burn - kill the boss before his encounter mechanics kill us. So being able to put out that much DPS is essential to the raids success. For previous tier content, DPS around 9k-10k should be sufficient.

Healers - it's hard to measure healing performance, since HPS is going to vary widely depending on the class you play. However if you can't comfortably heal a troll instance without too much difficulty, then you may need to adjust things or gear up a bit before heading to Firelands. Also, be able to manage your mana. If you're still drinking after every other pull in a heroic, then mana management on fights that can last 6-10 minutes is going to be an issue.

Raid awareness - if you find yourself regularly having trouble moving even when Deadly Boss Mobs is yelling at you to do so, then that's something that needs to be worked on before you head into Firelands. Every time a raid member gets caught taking damage that they didn't need to take, that's healing that has to be switched to them and taken off the tank. Any time a raider gets caught in a crystal trap on Shannox for example, that's DPS that has to be wasted on breaking a trap instead of being on the boss where it needs to be. I'm not asking people to be Ensidia or Paragon quality - I'm just asking for people to show some basic raid awareness.

Be Knowledgeable! You aren't expected to be an expert on all of the fights we're going to face, but it is helpful if you have a general idea of what to expect. At a bare minimum, reading up about encounters is a good idea. Watching a video about the encounters is even better. Some places to do a little pre-raid research:

• Wowhead - look up the bosses and read the descriptions of them. The comments section at Wowhead is also useful.
• Tankspot - this site has wonderful walkthroughs and videos in their Strategy Forum on various raid bosses and it's highly recommended that you check them out as part of your raiding research.

Be knowledgeable about your class too! Know what group utilities are at your disposal and be prepared to use them as you may be called to dispel something, or provide a temporary buff, or use a certain ability on a mob. Know your ability rotations and make use of them. Know what buffs you bring to the table and be prepared to give them out as needed.

Be Up-To-Date With Addons! The three main addons you should have for raiding are Deadly Boss Mobs (or similar), Omen Threat Meter (or similar) and EPGP / EPGP Lootmaster (for loot). Can you use other addons? Sure! But these four are mandatory. That means you should have them installed, no ifs, ands or buts. I also strongly recommend getting the addon GTFO.

Be Connected! Get the Mumble Client, and log into it. You don't have to talk, but you do need to be connected to it for raids as 99% of our raid directions are given out in Mumble. Our Mumble information is posted on the in-game Guild Information tab. If you need help setting it up, ask!

Be Available, and Be Communicative! One of my biggest pet peeves as a raid leader is trying to get a raid together, needing a certain class, or more people, and finding out that people can't go on a scheduled raid night because they got themselves saved during the week. Or in a worst case, I remember one night being short a shaman for an ICC raid, when we had a shaman online in the guild that was raiding ICC with another group. Here's the deal then: Save your raid lockouts for the guild, especially if you play a class/role that is often needed. If you can't, because of schedule conflicts or whatever, but you still plan to raid, then please let someone know that you aren't going to be available on a scheduled night and will be running with another group. If you do sign up for a raid with the guild and aren't positive about attending, sign yourself up as tentative. Schedules differ, playtimes don't always match up, and RL happens - we get that! Just keep the lines of communication open. :)

Be Positive! We're not perfect. We make mistakes. We will, and do, wipe on bosses that might have been downed easily before. Failures can be frustrating, but the bottom line is this is a game, and our primary objective isn't to be a "world-firsts" type of guild, but rather to have fun. So bring your positive attitude and be prepared to have a good time!

How you can help the raiding effort!

I get asked a lot by members, "What does the guild need for raiding?" The idea here being that members would like to contribute materials and crafted goods to help with our raiding effort. So how can you help? Here's some suggestions:

1. Level your cooking. High level cooks can place group feasts down, and nothing is more embarassing than getting a raid together and discovering no one has the ability to place feasts. Awkward!

2. Fish! Fish are used in a lot of recipes, plus the more fish you catch from pools, the faster we'll be able to make  Recipe: Seafood Magnifique Feast 

3. Donate alchemy/cooking materials. Here's a list of endgame crafting materials that we will need a lot of for consumables:

• Volatile Life
• Azshara's Veil
• Whiptail
• Twilight Jasmine
• Cinderbloom
• Heartblossom
• Stormvine
• Highland Guppy
• Lavascale Catfish
• Fathom Eel

The items below are also useful, if you have them to spare:

• Fish (from Cata zones)
• Meat (from Cata mobs)
• Embersilk Cloth
• BoE gear/recipes from Cataclysm zones
• Pyrite ore
• Elementium ore
• Obsidium ore
• Volatile Water
• Volatile Air
• Volatile Fire
• Volatile Earth
• Savage Leather
• Blackened Dragonscale
• Pristine Hide
• Herbs (all levels) for ink-making
• Uncut gems (Cata gems only)

Are you a high level crafter? Then consider making any of the following to contribute to the guild:

1. Enchantment scrolls
2. Weapon, shield and offhand enhancements
3. Gylphs
4. Leg armor enhancements
5. Spellthread for casters' pants
6. Stat food
7. Cut rare gems, meta gems, and epic gems
8. Flasks, potions, and elixirs

Think I missed something? Post below and add in your own thoughts. :)