Raiding and Raid etiquette

Look, I know we've all been there. Whether it's LFR, Flex, Normal or Heroic, 10 or 25 man and everywhere in between, we've all experienced 'that guy.' You know who I'm talking about. The one raider that makes your raid nights a draaaaaaaaaaaaaaag. Lucky for my raid team, we got rid of That Guy. For us, he was the elitist. The one who had nothing better to do with his time than criticize every other member of the raid team about how 'you're doing it wrong' or 'you're not pulling your weight because you're in the wrong spec.' For us, he was a warlock. And not even a very good one. He had a cowards way of complaining about it too which is just as bad, if not worse than, the blatant, blunt complainer that whines in raid and guild chat about "He's playing his toon wrong and we're carrying him" or "She needs to put out more dispels even though I know nothing about healing and dispel cool downs." This guy complained to our GUILD LEADER and other officers about how the raid team that had -just- been made like, last month, wasn't progressing fast enough for his tastes. Look, if this is how you think you should handle issues like that within your guild and raid team, you really need to rethink the question "Am I being a douche bag?" because the answer is probably a resounding 'yes.' Anyway, we traded this fella out of our raid team to another raid team that "better suit his play style." (read: Was further behind and full of our guild's elitist douche bags.) But, it's not just the elitists that make raiding suck sometimes. "That Guy" comes in many shapes, sizes and attitudes. I've experienced the whole spectrum, from the tank that's geared for DPS and gemmed for healing to the Hunter that REFUSES to take off aspect of the pack. So for anyone that's confused on how to act like a good raider or be a good raider, I've made this handy little guide to assist you with your troubles!

Vori's guide to Raider Etiquette

Get your notepads and tablets ready to take some good notes! You'll be tested on this each and every time you enter a raiding situation. Ready? Let's begin.

1. Don't be a dick. 

That's it. It's really pretty simple. Don't be the one that does the things that you wouldn't want other people doing to you. (That goes for you, Mr. Aspect-of-the-Pack Hunter.) Now I know what you're thinking... What about knowing the fights? What about coming to the raid prepared? What about understanding mechanics, using raiding websites, and theorycrafting!?  Well that's all well and good and expected, you don't go driving for the first time without basic requirements do you? You know, keys, licence, seat belts, a car... Raiding isn't as serious as some people take it, after all, Warcraft is a great game, but it is still just a game. You show your respect to your raid leader and your raid and conduct yourself like a decent human being. If you don't want others to be an elitist doucher to you, don't be one to them. Now, this doesn't extend over friendly advice. Because I've assisted people in warlock rotation and Death Knight tanking before, but it shouldn't ever cross from the realm of friendly assistance to elitist bullying. Because nobody wants someone else preaching over them and telling them how to play the game they pay for.

Mine runs on Orc blood.

In other news, I was finally able to craft my own Sky Golem! This instantly became my favorite mount in the game. And the best part is that it didn't cost me $25 to get a kickass mount. Also, our raid team is working wonderfully together. Last night we downed all the bosses in SoO up until Siegecrafter Blackfuse. We begin working on him tonight at 11pm EST. As always I stream it live at twitch.tv/k05t and welcome anyone and everyone to come and stay a spell while throwing suggestions, comments, questions and concerns at me. I can also be found on the Twitter machine @Vorigoth and in-game with the battletag Vorigoth#1349 I'd like to hear from you!

Suffer well,
~V