[WoW] How to start leading raids? (ZA in particular)

[Mageling]

I've recently rerolled onto a new server with some friends and his buddies from work and are working toward a serious raiding guild. Some of us have brought over characters from all the way through T6 guilds and some are rerolling. What we're lacking right now are raid leaders, or even people who know the trash pulls and boss fights like the back of their hands.

I've checked out Bosskillers World of Warcraft Bosses, Guides, Movie Reviews and Guild Kills in the past when looking for information on the actual boss fights, but my weak point in the past is any knowledge of trash pulls. I pretty much fail at remembering pulls and prioritizing targets.

Do people know of any pages that actually talk about a full runs including trash? We have recently finished all of the T4 content within 4 weeks of banding together even with rerollers and want to step foot in ZA and I've unfortunately been nominated to lead our little band of misfits.

Are there any tips for people who are leading? Mods that people use for marking? Lists of mobs with a priority? Maybe even if it's ZA only, the most of what I can find is on the WoW forums, which are blocked from my work, so I'm stuck at the moment and am scheduled to plan a raid for tomorrow.

Any helpful information would be grateful, as I said, I've really just been thrown into this role and it's definitely a trial by fire. I'd (in the past) raided as a Mage, which you can pretty much AFK through all of T5 content and occasionally keep something sheeped. It's a pretty huge jump to go to toss on all of the T4 gear I've picked up on my Pally and to go heal something.

[Digo]

Promote everyone in your raid to assistant, or just tanks and CC so people can mark their own targets. Making people take that responsibility for themselves will make pulls go faster and forces people to learn the zone. That way, they can't just turn their brains off and rely on you to do everything.

[Draegan]

I just takes time managing and focusing a group of people through a dungeon. Trying leading some 5 mans first and then go from there.

[The Ancient]

I've gotta say...seeing a thread asking for strategy tips on trash pulls really makes me sad. Do people take no pleasure in learning and exploring instances anymore?

[Sean]

Protip: Stock up on Hard Liquor, you'll need it.

Speak calmly, refrain from getting excited or panicking (having a completely monotone voice is great for this, or so I've been told). Keep shit simple while you're at it.

If you're one of the people marking make hot keys for doing it - don't do that clicking mobs crap.

[Needless]

Im actually on the same boat.. specially in instances like Heroic MGT.. as a tank i should pretty much know this kind of shit but i always always always pass it off on either a friend or a random puggie :\

perhaps were just lazy.

[Jubee]

Originally Posted by The Ancient

I've gotta say...seeing a thread asking for strategy tips on trash pulls really makes me sad. Do people take no pleasure in learning and exploring instances anymore?

While I admit that I enjoyed going into new boss fights without 40 people having the complete strat printed out with a youtube of the fight running in the background. I just can't say that I would mind one bit if I knew the quickest route to get through trash before ever zoning into the place.

The only thing that would ever bring me back to raiding would be a complete, 100% removal of all trash mobs. I know certain people enjoy the pacing or "feel" of the trash but I've never once been happy to do trash. Hell, I've only been on 1 Kara run ever where we didn't skip the trash mobs that drop 10g+ a piece, and that's when we didn't know you could cheese the back door.

I think the rampant spreading of boss strats wouldn't be so bad if there weren't trash (or at least no respawning trash.) I know I would have been happy to go into Grand Widow blind if it didn't mean a 30 minute clear of spider trash that 1-shot our casters every 3 attempts.

[The Ancient]

Originally Posted by Jubee

I just can't say that I would mind one bit if I knew the quickest route to get through trash before ever zoning into the place.

For 25 mans maybe, but I really hate not being able to look around 10/5 mans. Those speed runs are great and all and at some point I always want to know the fastest way to complete an instance, but if from the very first time I zoned in every instance was a rail from start to finish I would feel like I missed something.

[Mageling]

Originally Posted by Digo

Promote everyone in your raid to assistant, or just tanks and CC so people can mark their own targets. Making people take that responsibility for themselves will make pulls go faster and forces people to learn the zone. That way, they can't just turn their brains off and rely on you to do everything.

That's something that I hadn't throught of really, and I can imagine that it helps when you get a stray mob that needs to be CC'd in some way. I think that I had feared the whole bit of being the RL and responsible for wrangling cats for a couple hours.

Originally Posted by The Ancient

I've gotta say...seeing a thread asking for strategy tips on trash pulls really makes me sad. Do people take no pleasure in learning and exploring instances anymore?

Maybe my original post is a bit off in what I was asking, but maybe I should be more specific.

I want to be successful in this run, as it's one of our first jumps into ZA and I'd like to be as prepared as possible and can't really go in there solo and start toying with mobs. I think it's important to have at least an understanding of mob abilities and didn't know a resource to find them, hence asking here.

I've been raid leading Kara for months with my old guild before we split up, but we were so overgeared for the content that when we got an extra pull, it was more "oh, oops. Pick it up!" and everything just worked out fine. Sadly we don't have that many geared people, so we can't just faceroll these instances anymore with the amount of rerolls that we have.

Originally Posted by Sean

Protip: Stock up on Hard Liquor, you'll need it.

Speak calmly, refrain from getting excited or panicking (having a completely monotone voice is great for this, or so I've been told). Keep shit simple while you're at it.

If you're one of the people marking make hot keys for doing it - don't do that clicking mobs crap.

I don't go anywhere without the Capt. and a rack of Coke and limes.

[r3probate]

Originally Posted by Mageling

I don't go anywhere without the Capt. and a rack of Coke and limes.

You will go far, young padawan. Far indeed.

[Mageling]

Originally Posted by The Ancient

For 25 mans maybe, but I really hate not being able to look around 10/5 mans. Those speed runs are great and all and at some point I always want to know the fastest way to complete an instance, but if from the very first time I zoned in every instance was a rail from start to finish I would feel like I missed something.

While I can really understand where you're coming from there, I hope you can also see that I don't want the people to get disheartened when/if we wipe to something stupid a couple times.

I want to go in for the first several bosses and people to feel like they have been successful. If that means cheesing a little bit, I'm ok with that if it's going to build confidence in the players who are a bit newer.

[Antoine]

I believe the default interface has a way to bind the mob marking (mine does, but I'm not sure if it's a mod). You may prefer to create mouseover macros for it in case you're a main assist though.

[Bixxby]

Originally Posted by Antoine

I believe the default interface has a way to bind the mob marking (mine does, but I'm not sure if it's a mod). You may prefer to create mouseover macros for it in case you're a main assist though.

Sure does. It will be at the bottom of the key bindings list. I use num pad numbers personally, 5 for clear symbol, works well.

[James]

Don't yell at your raid. Yell at the people who fucked up. If you don't have the balls to call someone out, don't be like "JEEZE GUYS YOU SHOULD PICK UP THE SLACK." It just doesn't work, it makes everyone feel like shit, and it makes you look stupid, like you can't figure out what the fuck is wrong when it's quite clear that it's Johnny sticking his dick in the fire too damn long.

Now, if your entire healer core drops the ball(s) and doesn't land even a HoT on the main goddamn tank for 10 seconds, then it's cool to bitch at that subsection of people, but you certainly wouldn't blame it on the DPS.

In short, don't be a pussy.

[Kreugen]

Ditch the captain, you're gonna need Sailor Jerry. (92 proof and better taste)

Read up on the doctrine of negative reinforcement. People work harder when you tell them they suck shit.

Learn to use the various detailed reporting tools to expose who is fucking up.