Being a Raid Leader isn't about killing bosses...
Posted 05-24-2008 at 04:08 PM by veneretio
...and anyone who tells you it is hasn't done it long enough.
It really has absolutely nothing to do with progression or strats for fights even. It rarely has to do with situational awareness or being able to make the best group composition.
Nope... none of that stuff really is even close to as important as Empathy.
Being able to understand what each individual in your raid goes through and communicate with them effectively. Empathy doesn't mean that you have to hold everyone's hand or that you can't yell at them. It means you have to understand the impact what you are saying will have on them. If you are a strong communicator you can basically screw everything else up....
Except loot.
Damn Loot.
Consistency in loot distribution follows closely on the tails of Empathizing and effectively communicating. The simplest loot systems always work best even if they result in imperfect loot distribution. Fair loot distribution is grossly over-rated. Consistent, simple loot distribution that everyone understands is what is best. There absolutely does not exist a perfect loot system, but there do exist simple ones that are easier to maintain consistency. Those are what you should use.
Anyway I'm spent now after talking for 2 hours doing damage control post-ZA run. Okay, maybe I'm not spent. The new 10 man / 25 man system... I can tell you without a doubt that the 10 mans are going to be a bigger pain in the ass than the 25 mans to lead. Even if they are easier, it's not going to matter.
10 mans = less people = exclusivity = people thinking they are special = trouble, trouble, trouble
I've always maintained that the worst thing blizzard did in the Expansion was created Karazhan and then make it on a 1 week reset. Easily the stupidest thing they've done in terms of aiding in maintaining healthy guild raiding environments. Having to run 2 even 3 Karazhans along side each other then consolidating this into a 25 man is just a mess.
Until next time, may you have more progression than drama... good night.
It really has absolutely nothing to do with progression or strats for fights even. It rarely has to do with situational awareness or being able to make the best group composition.
Nope... none of that stuff really is even close to as important as Empathy.
Being able to understand what each individual in your raid goes through and communicate with them effectively. Empathy doesn't mean that you have to hold everyone's hand or that you can't yell at them. It means you have to understand the impact what you are saying will have on them. If you are a strong communicator you can basically screw everything else up....
Except loot.
Damn Loot.
Consistency in loot distribution follows closely on the tails of Empathizing and effectively communicating. The simplest loot systems always work best even if they result in imperfect loot distribution. Fair loot distribution is grossly over-rated. Consistent, simple loot distribution that everyone understands is what is best. There absolutely does not exist a perfect loot system, but there do exist simple ones that are easier to maintain consistency. Those are what you should use.
Anyway I'm spent now after talking for 2 hours doing damage control post-ZA run. Okay, maybe I'm not spent. The new 10 man / 25 man system... I can tell you without a doubt that the 10 mans are going to be a bigger pain in the ass than the 25 mans to lead. Even if they are easier, it's not going to matter.
10 mans = less people = exclusivity = people thinking they are special = trouble, trouble, trouble
I've always maintained that the worst thing blizzard did in the Expansion was created Karazhan and then make it on a 1 week reset. Easily the stupidest thing they've done in terms of aiding in maintaining healthy guild raiding environments. Having to run 2 even 3 Karazhans along side each other then consolidating this into a 25 man is just a mess.
Until next time, may you have more progression than drama... good night.
Total Comments 8
Comments
 |  I'll comment on this later. |
Posted 05-25-2008 at 04:40 PM by Keza  |
| |  Why not have a simple yet random raid assignment system, similar to you how you're talking about loot, but for which 10man you're in for that week..? Edit: Naming your groups could be quite important too. Instead of 1, 2, 3 or A, B, C, use something like Alpha, Omega and Zeta, or some other unrelated but 'cool' name [see: Marmot Squad]? That way there isn't a rank based on raid group name. |
Posted 05-25-2008 at 06:16 PM by Klimpen  |
| | The definitive challenge for raids is not killing bosses, that's for sure, =) |
| Posted 05-26-2008 at 11:41 AM by Arideni |
| | not sure what you are trying to get at. The best loot system is one that does not deal with extremes; if i can preface this, pure loot systems are horrible. A pure dkp system is unfair as a random /roll system since anyone could by anything just because they have the dkp, while a random roll also does not reward (or show your guild members that raid leaders have any bit of common sense). That said raid leading is about keeping the raid on track to achieve a boss kill, after all that's why you spend 3-4hours of your night.. raiding. Vashj/Kael/Bloodboil/RoS are examples of bosses that have worn me out working out a kill strategy. Loot is a moot point, we use dkp for main set items, offspecs can't take a main spec item regardless of their dkp. The only time we get dkp issues is when there are errors in the dkp maintainance but at the end of the night, give out loot and go to bed. |
| Posted 05-26-2008 at 02:45 PM by bludwork |
| | I believe the author intended to express sentiment towards raid leading, not the purpose of raiding. |
| Posted 05-26-2008 at 11:43 PM by Arideni |
| | There's quite a few things here I would comment on. You talk about empathy and I agree that's good stuff to have as a raid leader. Being able to see things from that person's point of view allows you to make wiser decisions, maybe not the decision the person would hope, but raid leaders make choices based on the success of the raid, not the individual. I've gotten enough flack as a raid leader to know it can be the 2nd most thankless position to that of GM. I don't like to handhold, in fact I tend to delegate tasks especially healing /cringe. Sometimes I delegate tasks just to get folks more involved in the raiding experience. What I don't put up with is too many people trying to grab the helm, it doesn't work and ultimately degrades the whole raiding experience. Bad attitudes are infectious, don't let them spread. Raid discipline goes hand in hand with empathy. If you are a raid leader you will make mistakes on loot. I've done it, sometimes in favor of the person who received it, though not intentional. I've not met a raid leader yet who has not regretted or second guessed their decision on some piece of loot or accidentally awarded it to the wrong person. As an officer in our guild I've not had to sit on a loot council, so it's been a while since we've had an issue come up. In some of our farmed content I've raised my eyebrows at folks wondering why they needed a piece of loot. I think this bothers me more than it should maybe, but these are open zones and as such anyone can roll on anything they want and from their point of view they brought their main here to help out a raid that might not have happened...why don't they deserve to loot? I've gotten some complaints on my 10-man runs. It doesn't matter how you set it up someone is going to feel slighted because we did not run with no tanks, 2 healers and 8 dps...I mean cmon, class balance first. I really wish all these folks who feel that I am obligated to run raids for their benefit would step under the spotlight and take matters into their own hands just to experience what it's like. I know that it takes a certain kind of person to raid lead. It may be an instance you've done 100x, and you still lack something to raid lead it successfully. There is also the fact that folks don't sign up for just anyone's raid...they want certain people to raid lead because they feel it will be successful. If so-and-so's name is the posted raid leader you will have an abundance of signups, if someone else chooses to run the same instance they have to scrounge to fill slots. Recently however we had a Gruul run with a non-raid leader type. I applaud her effort to do so. She got a lot of help, but for her to slap it together and make it successful may inspire others to do the same, we'll see. and that is the end of my ramble. Keza |
| Posted 05-27-2008 at 07:02 AM by Keza |
| |  A lot of this and the comments resonated with me. It can be so soul destroying to have people arguing about loot or raid spots when you as raid leader have spent a lot of time and emotional effort working out the strategies for "Vashj/Kael/Bloodboil/RoS". There are so many times I wish that others would step up and feel-the-pain instead of just taking. On the positive side: Being guild leader and the main raid leader has developed my leadership competencies that are serving me well in my RL job. |
| Posted 05-28-2008 at 07:47 PM by Clifford |
| | That's one thing which is definitely overlooked by most players -- the real life similarities of an MMO. Not even being a raid leader, but by being a guild leader & freelance "player for hire" has taught me more, faster than I would have learned on my own. The true challenge becomes implementing everything learned within such a relatively small, organized environment into real life, with all of its unpredictable variables. |
| Posted 05-28-2008 at 11:15 PM by Arideni |
Recent Blog Entries by veneretio
- The Best of TBC (11-10-2008)
- Proactive vs Reactive Management (11-06-2008)
- Smart Development (11-01-2008)
- I'm Sorry (10-25-2008)
- So, I took 2 items... (10-21-2008)
