The Decay

Intro

I have been saying for a while now in vent and probably in guild chat that I feel like I have become a better raid leader over time (although I cannot even remember when I became the defacto RL in DGF/Broken, I’ll need to consult some older members of DGF/broken), but I feel like I am becoming a “worse” raider.  I figured it was time to blog about it to some degree with no real idea of where to start or end up, but here we go.

Raid Leading

PREP PREP PREP!  I do my homework, I really do, I don’t just watch fatboss videos and read Icy Veins and VOILA boss is dead gasping for air getting teabagged by my raiders within 1-5 pulls.  I pine through 100s of posts on mmochampion and other forums and look for secret nuggets of information or tips/tricks to give the teams I am leading the edge and adjust the strat to meet the strengths/weaknesses of my raiders.  (runon sentence, I know, go away Dr. Truffasaurus) The fatboss videos are great, but those guys are pro players, dare I say hardcore (I  will be blogging about hardcore raiders and my definition of it oneday), but yes, they are the real definition of hardcore raiders.  If we were as good as FatBoss and put in as much time as them and raided on the PTR, MAYBE we could just do what they do and /WIN. 

Addons

I can’t raid or play without them.  Weak auras, Hermes, and BigWigs are my 3 essential raiding and raid leading addons.  I use BigWigs to emphasize countdowns to let me know when a boss ability is coming to warn the raid.  Hermes to track raid cds to call them out.  Weak auras to monitor my procs and timers and other CDs such as how long dev aura or ralling cry is up for so I can time the next CD for a burn phase or a point of high damage.  Addons are a huge part of the game now, especially for me, I cannot and will not play without them.

Raid Awareness

I feel more raid aware, but sometimes, YES, sometimes, I may die due to watching too much stuff and trying to call it all out when we are first learning a fight.  Is it overkill that I am trying to watch everything?  Perhaps, but I feel the measure of success is measured by the goals set and achieved and Team Moist has reached every goal since its inception in T14 and surpassed its T16 goals, so, “I wave my private parts at you” to any naysayer about my approach. 

Control Freak

Yes, I like to be the floor general if I could use a basketball term.  I like to dictate the pace of the raid and outline the approach and I like my way to be honored and not discounted.  However, I do feel I let others contribute and recommend things as things unfold in the execution of a new boss, but ultimately, I like to have the final say.  Could I delegate more responsibility to others?  Probably, but admittedly I am a bit of a control freak.  So, again, “your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries.”

Cooldowns

Yup, I like to control and call out each one.  We aren’t fat boss who probably coordinates these CDs in forum or in PTR testing, so I take that duty upon myself.  Overkill?  I do not think so and I think I have proven to many that it works especially in non-hardcore teams.

My Performance

So, with all the sections above something has to falter and it is my performance.  I used to be a meter maid, if I wasn’t #1, I strived to be #1, and a lot of raiding was 25 man not 10 man, so being #1 out of 25 was an accomplishment.  I needed to be #1 at all times and would do whatever it took to be #1 within reason.  I was not raid leading until at some point (which I already mentioned I need to find out when it was) , I was merely watching myself and doing what I did on my lock as a ranged dps or a healer to pump out DPS or HPS.  My numbers aren’t shit, but they would/could be better if I wasn’t raid leading.  The game has changed a great deal and the sheer amount of mechanics to account for has increased tier by tier and xpac by xpac.  In 25 mans, it could have been that my fps was higher than half the raid and I had no input lag and therefore, with an equal skilled raider, I could do more DPS or HPS.  The number of spells has increased too, which may be why Blizz is adding no new spells in WOD, there are already enough.  CD usage and management feels imperative right now and is probably why Blizz said raid CDs will probably only remain with healer classes in WOD.  The CD management game and class stacking for certain CDs, alla Pallies on Thokk, is becoming a problem or necessity for some bosses.  We shall see though. 

Conclusion

I do want to blog more about raid leading and leading a team one of these days as I think there are elements of raid leading not mentioned here that are as important as the execution of raid mechanics and CD management.  I am by no means the perfect raid leader, but I have my style, my approach, and tweak it as necessary.  I do my best to keep my numbers up and not be the reason for fail, but it happens sometimes where I am the goat and it is my turn in the barrel.  All in all, for someone that drinks beer in every raid, I think I could be a lot worse!  Anyway, thanks to all that follow me into virtual battle each week and to those that have raided with me in the past.  I will raise a beer to you all and eat some more goldfish in your honor.