Odd Idea

[Crikrunner]

Just an odd idea I just had. Not sure if others think this will helpful/worth while but here it goes. What if we created little blurbs that explained all the boss fights, raid leaders could then copy/paste them into macro's for use during raiding. I know after doing say the General in aq20 , ten times i may forget to mention key things from week to week or even explain it entirly for replacements when they come in. We could then use each others ideas to condense these boss strategy blurbs down to be as small as possible to fit in a macro and quickly communicate said info to the raid. This would also be invaluable for those without team speak in addition to just makeing sure the basics are covered week to week. Your thoughts sisters and brudders?

[Corellon]

Would save time, but if your like me, it would take every macro full of text to just explain one boss fight.

I think if you could sum it up in a few sentences, along with a little verbal in TS that it would go much faster to set up a boss fight. Could give us the edge we need to down the boss at hand easier.

[Odenn]

What about some links on the raid sign up page with each boss explained in a paragraph for each one. that way people signing up for raids would be able to see them and would be expected to read it before going to that raid.

[Waldonnis]

I'll be making macros and probably some organised posts for BWL when the time comes. I think some of the reason that people go AFK right before boss fights is because most have heard the explanations already and it becomes a logical break point for them to grab drinks, take bio breaks, etc (just wish they'd tell the raid leader when they do!). Also, raidchat tends to be a pretty steady stream of text otherwise, so I'm wondering if macro explanations would get "lost" in the chatter....

The only issue with making web pages or posts for raids like AQ20 or even MC is that we tend to get some last-minute invitees that wouldn't have had to sign up for the raids, but it's probably worthwhile since most of the people who sign up do end up attending.

[Tainish]

Some macro announcements that I think might be useful:

Pre-raid: Make sure you have components for buffs (listed out to help jar memory), relevant protection pots, that you've repaired and are NOT pvp flagged.

Pre major fight: Before clicking ok for ready check make sure that you're fully buffed, fully healed, and full on mana. (there maybe other things that belong here too depending on the fight)

Also, I agree with Smed. Maybe instead of a full explanation of the fight it's just the key points. Assist so-and-so tank, we'll take the mobs in this order, use this resist gear if you have it, etc. The mechanics of the fight are often very hard to convey in writing, but having a summary in raid chat gives us all something to refer back to if there is any confusion.

[Waldonnis]

Pre major fight: Before clicking ok for ready check make sure that you're fully buffed, fully healed, and full on mana. (there maybe other things that belong here too depending on the fight)

This is actually a pet peeve of mine. Just a reminder, it is BOTH the buffers'/buffee's responsibility to ensure that everyone is buffed. Waiting until people say something before rebuffing them causes unnecessary delays and last-minute mana regen.

Tips for buffing classes:

* Watch your CT Raid buff timers. I mouse-over the entire raid's buffs before every boss fight to make sure that all buffs have more than 10mins remaining....if not, I rebuff.

* Organise buffing with the others in the raid. There's no need for one priest/mage/druid to be buffing the entire raid normally. Coordinating buffs ("I'll take odd groups, you take evens", for example) saves time and lessens the burden on any one player to fund the reagents.

* BRING REAGENTS! I can't stress this enough. I don't know about priests, but for druids and mages, I suggest at least one reagent per member of the raid. So, in essence, that's 40 arcane powder/thornroot per MC run. You'll likely not even go through half of that if you coordinate, but it's always good to come prepared. Also, for shaman, I suggest at least one ankh per cooldown cycle for the duration of the raid, if not more. You never know when you'll be the one who's in the best spot to pop...or who will run out. Help the raid, yourself, and your fellow shaman out by bringing extras and being prepared.

* Rebuff the dead IMMEDIATELY. Don't make them ask, because they'll frequently do so during combat, when you can't drink or don't have the mana.

For the buff recipients:

* Be patient. Buffing classes have alot of demands put on them and buffing often takes a crapload of mana just to cast on one group. You won't get buffs faster by saying "Oh, I need a paw/AB/fort/spirit/shadow protection too" than we have mana to cast. If the buffing classes heed the advice above, you should rarely need to ask anyway.

* Try not to be the "me too" person. If you see two or three groups individually asking for buffs, take charge and see if you can't help the buffers out by seeing which groups need buffs. Seeing someone say "groups 1,4,5,8 need fort" is much easier to handle than seeing four individual "group x needs fort" messages (or 20 "I need a fort" messages).

* If you need a single-target buff, please use raidchat or whispers. Entirely too much of TS is tied up in "I need a fort/paw" when it could all be handled with a tiny bit of typing.

* Sometimes, take notice and learn to live without. If you have a single druid in the raid, for instance, you may find that getting a mark is tough. See the first tip on patience, but also bear in mind that one person can only do so much...and you may have to enter combat without the buff a few times. Honestly, it's rare that any one of our buffs makes "the difference" and I've gone through many boss fights without at least one of the usual buffs up...it's not that big of a deal. Feel free to click "no" on a ready check for these cases, but trash mobs are hardly worth stopping the show because a person or two hasn't been fully raid buffed.

* Before asking for a buff, be sure you are unstealthed and in-range. I've had stealthed rogues ask for a fort that were literally five rooms away...buffing has a max range, folks, and stealthed rogues/druids do not always get buffs. Many of us do know the mechanics of buffing and there are some tricky elements regarding stealth (sometimes you'll get buffs, sometimes you won't when stealthed)...so please just eliminate the guesswork and unstealth for a moment (this includes hunter pets).

This is probably the wrong thread to do this in, but I just had to post these again. Let me tell you, it SUCKS playing a buffing class, so have some heart, folks....we're often doing the best we can. If you think or notice someone that isn't pulling their weight buff-wise, though, please point it out to the raid leader. I've blown through more arcane powder in some 20-man raids than I do in MC because of some slacking/unprepared mages...I don't want to see that happen to others if it can be helped.

Last tip...if you're PvP flagged, do everyone a favour and do not zone in at all until it drops. PvP flags are infectious and inevitably will spread. Totems and buffs do discriminate between flagged and unflagged, so mix-and-match flagged/unflagged does not work for raids unless it's part of a strategy. When the time comes for BWL, you will be kicked from the raid until your flag drops to prevent excessive delay...word of warning, so be responsible please.

Edited September 6, 2006 by Waldonnis

[Maube]

::cheers Waldy on!::

[Qiris]

Watch your CT Raid buff timers.

My CT Raid buffs do not show time. I've looked over every damn option in CT Raid and cannot find a way to make them show. I've even gone to their website with no luck or joy or love.

ATM I depend on Needy List which shows when someone needs a buff. The downfall with Needy List, of course, is that it doesn't show who WILL need a buff.

[Maube]

See Qiris - you are lucky... Waldy and I keep tabs for the mages

last Friday was awesome for the buffs - so lets keep that coordination going tnight

[Waldonnis]

My CT Raid buffs do not show time. I've looked over every damn option in CT Raid and cannot find a way to make them show. I've even gone to their website with no luck or joy or love.

ATM I depend on Needy List which shows when someone needs a buff. The downfall with Needy List, of course, is that it doesn't show who WILL need a buff.

I'm still trying to figure out why yours doesn't show the times (it's not that I'm ignoring the request for help, btw...I've been digging for a cause). I'll try to grab a screenshot of mine since it's hard to describe what to look for. I'll also see if I can capture screens of Verissi's raiding CTRA settings for reference (I have many sets that I alternate between depending on what I'm doing).

NeedyList is actually not bad...I don't use it anymore, but it worked nicely for ensuring that the recently-revived got some buffs. There are other mods that handle buffing pretty well also...if I find any that I like, I'll post about them.

[Qiris]

Dabu, freaky hair!

I far prefer to be slightly ahead of expiration on the buffs because it's so annoying otherwise, not to mention very mana inefficient. So any help would be most appreciated. I would even stop my tiny emeral whelping from pooping in your hair again. Although I do think it adds something to that lovely style you have going on

[Maube]

Actually Iris..

Do you have all the group windows up on your screen - the CTraid group window options? Because I do and that is how I keep track of buffs

[Qiris]

Yup, I tried that as well. While I can see what buffs each person has, I don't get any information regarding time left on those buffs. So I decluttered my screen, since that didn't work. It's very strange -- maybe Tainish can work on it next week for me while I battle mobs in Dallas. I hear they drop crappy loot and don't do a thing for rep either.

[Scryll]

I think some of the reason that people go AFK right before boss fights is because most have heard the explanations already and it becomes a logical break point for them to grab drinks, take bio breaks, etc (just wish they'd tell the raid leader when they do!).

I'm certain that's the major explanation. Majordomo is one of the worst cases because it takes some time to set up in addition to being explained, compared to Golemagg or Shazzrah. Garr's the only one with equivalent prep time.

[Raeda]

Quick little sentences that explain boss fights or refresh memory? Posting a quick blurb of boss tactics in raid signup? ::huggles:: I would love this. Nothing too wordy, or people ignore the wall of text, especially if this is a well farmed boss. Extra mods do start to bog down WoW for some of us, so please limit those. If you need help making the blurbs, run them by me to see if I understand the tactics, I'll help iron them out.

[Houli]

If you are a buffer / non'leader, and you have CT_Raid, you can do what ol' Harney does ((it has probably been mention'd already and im sure most of you already do)) ....

i only let the CT_raid groups show buffs i can apply, including my Heal over Times... helps me quickly determine if someone needs a Paw or even during fights i save alot of mana by only casting a HoT on someone if they dont already have one on them.

-Harne/Haq-

Edited September 7, 2006 by Houli