Raiding Procedures and Guidelines

 

Raiding is something that everyone does differently, but there are some things common to all successful raid groups, whether the raid force is made up of people from the same Guild, or people from many different Guilds.  There are specific roles to be performed during a raid, and some classes have very specific, well-defined duties.  There are also some ordinary common-sense aspects to raiding.

 

 

Basic Guidelines

Regardless of class, level, or ability, there are some common procedures that everyone must follow for a raid to work well

1) Bring food, drink, and spell components.  Gems for clerics and coffins for necromancers, as well as pearls for mages and fragments for wizards,  are usually provided by the Raid Leader, or reimbursed after the raid, but anyone who uses any component at all should come prepared.  Off screen, get your drink, smokes, snacks, and music set up; put your kids in front of their favourite video, let the dogs or cats in and out, and above all,  be aware of "family faction" – NO raid, NO online activity is worth causing hurt feelings or anger in the real world.

2) Use "anti-lag" tricks, to include turning off or down some functions in the EQ Options screen, and then changing settings inside.  If you turn off models, remember, DO NOT turn off yourself, and if you use a mount, leave that turned on as well.  Inside, you will set clipping at 50 (lower will do the reverse and create more lag), turn off spell particles, and type "/shownames one" to help clear screen clutter.  It may also be necessary to turn off Others Hits, Bard Song, and so on.

3) Set up hotkeys, depending on your class.  Healers will need CH messages, as well as minor heal messages; Pullers, MTs, CC, and Slowers will also need raid-wide messages.  Also set an "Assist" key, and remember to turn off the auto-attack function to avoid accidentally engaging a target before called.

4) Join the designated Raid Channel, and any Control channels that apply to you, such as Pull, Healer, or similar.  Keep chatter over Raidsay itself to the bare minimum; this channel is for instructions and information.  Use Guildsay, Groupsay, or the raid chat channel for socialising, asking questions, and the like.

5) During the raid, use /tell to ask for buffs for yourself or, if you're the group leader, for your group.  If you're asked to buff, use "/rt " command to target the person who asked, since this is usually faster and easier than click-targeting either physically or from the raid list.  Also, if you get lost or separated from the raid, use /tell to ask a ranger, druid, bard, or rogue to help you find the raid.

6) Pay attention to what is going on and be ready to react to unexpected developements.  Keep a good idea of where the MT is, and watch for her engage call to avoid any mez breaks or other disasters.  If for some reason you have to go AFK, then put yourself on auto-follow to a group member, and announce that you are AFK.

7) LISTEN to commands from the Raid Leader, and follow instructions, including instructions to move, engage, nuke, and so on.

8) Above all, have fun, and remember that even if a raid wipes, it's not a big deal. Bodies can be recovered, experience can be made back, and encounters can be restarted.  Don't panic if something goes wrong.  Do your best, learn from your mistakes or from the raid's mistakes, and have a ball!

 

 

 

Basic Positions and Roles

Raid Leader – Raid Leader is responsible for setting up a raid.  She needs to know the basic geography of the zone, a little about the drops or other acquisitions from the zone, the numbers and kinds of monsters that will be faced, and something about the spells and damage that the monsters put out.  She is also responsible for announcing the time, date, and assembly location of the raid on message boards or MOTDs, and for announcing the raid again not later than 15 minutes prior to the start time.  The RL will also usually be responsible for logging the raid for points, and may even be responsible for loot distribution.  The RL should set up a raid chat channel, separate from the control channels, for ordinary communication, since that fosters higher morale and compatibility, and also enables those not in the raid itself to hear and understand instructions – and all instructions should be given over both Raidsay and raid chat. During the raid, the Raid Leader decides where the raid deploys or sets up, when to pull, what should be pulled, who will pull, who will engage, when and what direction to nuke, and so on.  The two phrases most often heard from the RL are "MOVE TO ME" and "NUKE <direction> NOW".  It is the RL's responsibility to call for camp in the event of a possible raid-wipe; even is she is herself dead, she should be able to tell from channel-chat whether or not to call for camp.

 

Head Cleric – Head Cleric is responsible for coordinating the healing classes on a raid.  She should set a chat channel for the healers to use; she should designate which clerics are in the Complete Heal Rotation; she should ensure that there are druids and/or shamans available for healing separate groups; she should assign a non-rotation cleric or a druid to the Rampage Tank; she should assign someone to be responsible for battle rezzing.  The Head Cleric should NOT be the Raid Leader.

 

Crowd Control – Crowd Control lead may be any of several classes, to include Enchanter, Druid, or Ranger, and sometimes, Necro and SK.  The CC lead is responsible for ensuring that monsters brought to the raid are mezzed or rooted, or in some cases, kited away from the raid while a main target is being fought.  She should set a chat channel for all those responsible for crowd control duties.  The CC Lead should NOT be the Raid Leader.

 

Puller – The Puller, obviously, pulls the prey to the raid.  In some cases the Puller will be a monk or SK, who can use Feign Death to control the number of monsters brought in;  in some cases the Puller will be a ranger who pulls with her bow from extreme range, thereby lessening the chance of adds; in some cases the Puller will be a paladin or warrior, who can take hard, direct hits as she brings the prey back to the raid; in some cases the Puller will be a Bard, who can "fade out" any unwanted pulls.  If there is a chat for Crowd Control, the Puller should be part of this channel.  The Puller and the Main Tank are TWO DIFFERENT PEOPLE.  This is essential for crowd control purposes.  The Puller MAY be the Raid Leader.

 

Main Tank – The Main Tank may be a Warrior, either type of Knight, a Ranger, or a Monk, although usually a Warrior or Knight is preferred because of the higher armour and attack ratings as well as the ability to use Taunt to hold the attention of the monster.  When she is ready for the raid to engage the target, the MT should hit a hotkey of some sort that lets the raid know she has hard agro and is ready for their assistance.  Examples of such hotkeys are "Attack Target now!" or "I have a Target that needs killing!" or something similar that is given over BOTH the raid chat channel and the Raidsay channel. It is the MT's responsibility to ensure that the monster's attention stays focused on her at all times, regardless of who is actually doing the most damage.  The exception to this is monsters that "rampage"; when rampage occurs, the MT steps back and stops attack, to allow her partner, the ST/RT, to gain rampage agro.  The MT should not be the puller, but she MAY be the Raid Leader.

 

Split Tank or Rampage Tank – One person usually takes on both these roles.  As ST, she will gain agro on a monster that for some reason isn't or can't be mezzed, and she will hold that agro until the MT and the rest of the raid, can engage.  In cases where she acts as RT, or Rampage Tank, she will hold agro during the "rampage" phase of a monster's attack; once "rampage" has ended, she steps back to allow time for healing, and then re-engages to ensure that she has rampage agro.  The ST MAY, in some cases, be the Raid Leader.

 

 

Class-Specific Roles

No raid is successful with only 6 members; a raid is made up of several people working for a common goal.  The other members of the raid also have jobs to do.

Cleric – A Cleric heals and buffs the raid.  She must coordinate with other clerics in the channel to ensure that no one over-buffs or double-heals.  She should ensure that everyone present has Virtue or Symbol; she should know which mobs need to have MOR cast on them; she should know when and on whom to cast Divine Intervention.  She should know her place in any Complete Heal Rotation, and should inform the Head Cleric if she is laggy, AFK, or otherwise unable to heal.  If she is the Battle Rez cleric, she should keep her eyes open for deaths, and rez in the victims as quickly and safely as she can. It is usually the Battle Rez cleric who camps at the RL's command if there is the possibility of a raid-wipe.  In all cases, she must be sure not to draw "heal agro" by healing too early, or by healing a FD puller who has not specifically asked for a heal. 

 

Druid – A Druid is the secondary healing and buffing class on any raid, although, depending on Cleric strength, she MAY also be delivering spell damage, and, although this is extremely rare, she may also be pulling.  If she uses a pet, she should use only Dire Charmed pets, and should never use a pet at all unless she has the AA ability for "Pet Hold".  She should never use damage-over-time spells during a raid, since at any point, a particular target may need to be mezzed or "faded off" by a bard.  When she nukes, she should remember never to do so before the prey is below 80% health.  Her primary function, however, is to cast Protection of the Nine-series and Replenishment-series on the raid and to back the clerics; she may also use damage-shield buffs on the MT.  A druid is almost always assigned to heal the RT, and will also be responsible for ensuring that her group stays healed, particularly if there is a rotation cleric in her group – rotation clerics NEVER have time to heal the group once the rotation has begun, so the druid is crucial to the survival of her group.  Before and after the raid, she may be responsible for movement logistics.

 

Shaman – The Shaman has two functions in any raid.  Her first job is always buffing; she should cast Focus-series and Boar-series on the entire raid, and she may be called upon to cast Talisman of the Tribunal if extra poison and disease resists are needed.  Once she has buffed the raid, her job changes.  She becomes the primary slower, and she may be asked to join the CC channel for better coordination.  As the Puller calls INC and the MT engages, she should slow the monster, and she should announce "Partial slow" or "Target Slowed" as necessary; she may of course want to hot-key these announcements for efficiency.  She should only summon her pet if she has the AA for "pet hold".  She should avoid using damage-over-time except for slow spells, and if she nukes, she should do so only after the monster has reached 80% health.  In some cases, she may be called upon to keep her group healed, and she may be responsible for the health of a rotation cleric.  Along with the Puller and the lead Enchanter, she is the person most likely to die during a raid, because Slow-series spells draw such hard agro.

 

Enchanter – The Enchanter has two responsibilities.  Her first job is to ensure that Clarity, Haste-series, and Magic Resist buffs are kept current, particularly on the healer classes.  Her second job is crowd control – and she is essential for that.  It is her responsibility to see to it that all non-primary targets are mezzed, and that targets are blurred as needed.  She may also charm and use a pet, but should do this only if she has the "pet hold" ability.  She needs to understand that because of her unique role in the raid force, she will die more often than anyone except the slower and the Puller, if mezzes are broken early or incorrectly.  An Enchanter usually heads the crowd-control people, and assigns specific duties to the CC team.

 

Magician – The Magician may have several roles in the raid.  Her first and foremost function is to provide "mod rods", and any other support items such as "waterstones" and so forth.  In some zones, for some raids, she may be responsible for casting Call of the Hero, in order to get the bulk of the raid force to the raid area quickly.  However, there are some zones where Calling is not possible; the Mage should be aware of whether or not she can do this in a given zone.  She may or may not work with a pet; there are some raids where even with Pet Hold, it is simply not feasible to summon her elemental companions.  She should have her high-damage, fast-cast nukes loaded, because her main job once the pulls begin, is to deliver as much damage as possible to the target.  She should, however, wait until the target is at 80% or lower health, or wait for the call to nuke from the Raid Leader. 

 

Necromancer – The Necromancer will cast DMF if it's needed for ease of movement or the added resists it gives.  Once that is done, she may summon a pet, but as with other pet-classes, she should only summon or charm pets if she has the Pet Hold ability. (Raised-dead pets are an exception to this, of course.)  She will also ensure that healer and caster classes have the mana they need to perform, and during engage, she may nuke or use her damage-over-time spells, but if she does this, she must coordinate closely with CC team.  In the event of a possible wipe, she must be ready to Feign Death or camp, so that she can rez in a cleric.  She should also have a few coffins with her at all times so that if she has to, she can summon a body to the raid – although this is not possible in all zones.

 

Wizard – The Wizard's job is quite simple.  She provides immediate, fast-cast, direct-damage to the target, although as with other caster classes, she should wait until the prey is at 80% or until she is called to nuke.  She should be careful when she calls forth her "swarm pet" because the pet isn't controllable, and may alter the position of the monster.  However, on any raid, she will have the secondary function of movement logistics; during the raid she may be asked to gate to the zone-in to group people for Calling in; she may be required to provide transport before the raid, and she will usually be asked to provide a mass Translocate to Bind at the close of the raid.

 

Monk – The Monk's function is to provide direct, physical melee damage to the prey, from the back, side, or slightly off-centre front to avoid being hit in return.  She may also be called upon to pull, in which case she should be part of the CC channel so that the prey can be manipulated to the advantage of the raid.  Occasionally, though rarely, she will be the MT or ST, but she is never the RT, because of the armour limitations of her class.  She is also quite valuable for direct-look scouting of a given area, and may partner a Ranger with Bind Sight in order to gain the most information about the zone in question.

 

Rogue – The Rogue will often be called upon to drag bodies to the raid, scout a zone, or slip in and pull a monster from range with her daggers or throwing stars.  Beyond that, she provides direct melee damage to the prey from behind – her biggest damage asset is her Backstab, and that only works, of course, from the rear.  While there are rare occasions when she may be the MT or ST, she is never the RT, because she rarely has the survivability that her more heavily armoured sisters among the warrior and knight classes have.

 

Warrior – In some ways, the Warrior has the easiest job of anyone on a raid.  All she has to do is deliver the most damage she can to the target when engage is called.  She may also be the puller or the MT, RT, or ST; if she is, she should learn the duties appropriate to those functions, but overall, her function is simply to beat the daylights out of a given target.  If she is the MT, she needs to ensure that she holds hard agro at all times, and that she taunts repeatedly to break mez, and as she fights.  If she is not the MT, then she needs to provide damage from the sides or slightly off-centre front, so that the monster's attention stays focused on the MT.

 

Bard – The hybrid classes truly come into their own during raids, because of their versatility.  Before and after the raid, the Bard will help facilitate transport.  During the raid, she may be asked to pull, to twist mana, stamina, or health recovery songs, resist songs, damage shields, direct damage, and in some cases, damage over time.  She may also be asked to sing charm or mez in order to help with crowd control, and there are some monsters that can only be pulled successfully by a Bard.  She can also help melee if she must, from the back or side of the target, but her AC and HPs don't compare to other plate classes, so she is usually far more valuable singing than swinging.

 

Beastlord – The Beastlord usually has three responsibilities during a raid.  Although like her sisters in the Paladin and Ranger classes, she may end up as an auxiliary healer, her primary function isn't healing.  She should cast Spiritual Dominion-series on the raid, as well as AC/Haste/Stamina buffs if there are no Enchanters or Shamans present, and she should be aware of healer mana so that if she has to, she can cast Paragon of Spirit either on her group or as a MGB.  This is probably the most valuable AA ability she has, and although it does have a long refresh, it is one that can mean the difference between a wipe and a success.  Besides this, she should provide direct melee damage, from the back or side of the prey.  She can also provide "push" with her warder.  The Beastlord's warder provides more "push" than anything else except Wizard nukes, and sometimes this is essential for positioning the monster in the best spot for the raid to attack it.  However, as with other pet classes, if she doesn't have the Pet Hold AA, then she shouldn't summon her warder at all.

 

Knight – The Knights, Paladins and Shadowknights, have unique abilities in raids.  They can provide some auxiliary healing, they can remove curse-series spells, they can stun or re-position monsters using not only their spells, but their abilities to taunt and bash.  Either of the Knight classes can act in the capacity of Puller, MT, or ST-RT, because of their ability to absorb high amounts of magical and melee damage.  Their primary function is of course to provide high amounts of melee damage, although at the beginning of the raid, or the encounter, the Paladin may be asked to cast her Brells-series buff, or the Shadowknight may be asked to cast her "agro buff".  As Pullers, the Shadowknight may be called upon to use her Feign Death skills to control the pull; the Paladin may be called upon to use her high-damage melee capability to select and return with prey.

 

Ranger – As with other hybrids, the Ranger may be asked to perform as an auxiliary healer for her group, or to Cure certain spells or debuffs.  Prior to the raid, she may be asked to scout or track an area; she will be required to cast Predator-series on the raid, and may be asked to cast damage shields.  During the raid, she may be asked to work as Puller, in which case she may use her Weaponshield discipline to gain agro without damage while she brings the prey to the raid, or she may use her bow to pull from extreme range.  If she is on crowd-control, she will be using her Snare to control the agro, speed, and attention of her targets as she leads them away from the raid.  In rare instances she may be the MT, depending on the level of the prey; she is almost never the ST-RT.  During the encounter itself, she will do her highest damage at range; that is to say, with her bow.  It is her responsibility to stay OUT of agro range, and to avoid taking melee damage, since the healers will be concentrating on the MT and ST-RT.

 

 

Category Roles

Priest Class (Cleric, Druid, Shaman)

            Priest classes do what they always do – Heal and buff, with specific attention to assigned duties within their specialty.

 

Caster Class (Enchanter, Mage, Necro, Wizard)

            Caster classes do what they always do – Deliver high, fast magical damage.  They may also be called upon to buff, provide transport, or provide mana

 

Melee Class (Monk, Rogue, Warrior, Bard, Knight)

            As always, Melee classes provide the physical damage, and create the positioning, for the raid.  Melee classes are most often called upon to provide pullers, MT, and ST/RT for the raid.

 

Pet Class (Beastlord, Enchanter, Mage, Necromancer)

            Pet classes are there to provide damage directly, as well as damage from their summoned or charmed pets, but no pet should ever be used during a raid unless its owner has Pet Hold ability – UNLESS the RL specifically states otherwise.

 

Range Class (Ranger, Wizard)

            Range classes may be asked to provide pullers, but will most often be called upon to provide the absolute highest amount of damage from the safest location.  There may be times when the Range class cannot even see the bulk of the raid, but can see and target the prey.

 

 

Remember, raiding should be fun.  Wipes happen.  Real life happens – and no raid is ever more important than real life.  No matter what the circumstances, learn from both successes and failures, and enjoy yourself!