The best class to lead a raid ...
by Elizabeth Wachowski 
Jan 25th 2007 at 3:01PM
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... is probably someone who enjoys pain, but since we don't have a specific Masochist class in WoW, the task of raid leading has usually fallen to anyone who is ambitious, has a lot of spare time, and doesn't mind being hated by large groups of people for no particular reason.
A lot of guilds I've seen have had one main tank/guild master/raid leader, mainly to prevent the problem of a tank taking all your gear and deciding that he'd really rather be fury/a mage/in a better guild. However, tanks have to spend a lot of time farming, which leaves little time for dealing with all the issues that come up in raiding guilds. Plus, a tank who is raid leading is likely to have a ... shall we say, very unique perspective on the action that lends itself to a lot of yelling at healers. "HEAL ME HEAL ME HEAL ME" isn't a great way to keep up healer morale.
A couple guilds I've been in, including my current one, have had raids led by resto shamans. Shamans, priests, and other healers who like healing seem to be pretty good choices to lead guilds and raids. Healers are used to taking a lot of abuse, and their perspective in raids lets them have a good idea of what's going on and what the problems are. The only downside is that healers can't really see the action, and if your main tank gets into a spat with a guild leader that also happens to be a healer, your raiding progress can go downhill pretty fast. Warlocks and hunters are also good choices for raid leaders and particularly DKP compilers, since they don't have any vital responsibilities in many raids and can alt-tab to check DKP and strategies without killing everyone. I knew a warlock who led raids while checking strategies, compiling DKP, talking on Instant Messenger and who knows what else at the same time. Even then, he has visible scratches on his wall from throwing the keyboard at it during raids.
I can't imagine being a rogue leading a raid, just because we have to spend so much time running around and can easily kill everyone if we're not paying attention. But in the end, any class can lead a guild or raid successfully as long as they're firm, patient, thick-skinned, selfless and willing to pour their heart and soul into the guild. It's not an easy task and I've never considered doing it myself.
What class do you think is most suited for guild/raid leadership? What class is your raid leader?
(Edited to add: I was incorrect in assuming that the guild leader is also a raid leader, and have changed the title and some of the text accordingly. The class of a guild leader doesn't really matter -- the class of a RAID leader might.)
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Guilds, Raiding
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Gman Jan 25th 2007 3:18PM
Our guild leader is our main tank, and I think it's a pretty good fit. His main used to be a mage, but I think he switched to his warrior to lead better. Since it's important for tanks to be very focused on the encounter and what has to happen when, a good guild leader will be more attuned to what is happening around them. But really, it's more about the person than the class and whether they are good at managing and motivating other people.
Muess Jan 25th 2007 3:40PM
I think mages are a good choice since they're not vital like tanks or healers and can sit back out of the action directing people.
umamasyean Jan 25th 2007 3:48PM
Mine is (or was) like the common Tank/GM/RL as you mentioned. I think it's because many people who are "leadership" material...or otherwise inclined to take leadership for the benefit of others...often enjoy the warrior/fighter class. Perhaps this is sub-conciously suggested in Hollywood where the Hero/King/Commander is always a strong brute type that hacks and slashes his way to glory. And in WoW, since the Tank is practically the most important peice on the board, this adds to it such the leader has to take this important role. And also, sometimes this mentality comes into play: "If you want it done right, you gotta do it yourself". So of course if they care enough about the guild to be GM...they gotta do the important things themselves.
Personally, for Raid-Leader, I think the hunter is the best however.
1) Hunter is practically the easiest to play and doesn't require too much attention or skill in raids.
2) Hence, you can handle multiple tasks easier. Windowed mode, Notes, etc.
3) You furthest away so you have a good battefield view.
Jenet Jan 25th 2007 3:44PM
What the hell does raid leadership and guild leadership have to do with what class you play?
ours is a rogue, a tank, and a healer. He plays a priest, a rogue and a warrior... He does all three just fine. He's a fine softspoken man, who respects people, and treats the guild a lot better than they treat him. He has officers do a lot of the scut work and stuff, but he is final word. I spent a year being an officer beneath him, and it was an honor and a privledge to help him and the rest of our guild do everything we've done.
Best class to lead a raid/guild? I leave this question unanswered, because of the sheer imbecility of it. It's the person, not the toon.
Guild/Raid leading requires patience, and discipline, and plenty of time outside AND inside of the game.
Casey Weston Jan 25th 2007 3:46PM
I think this post confuses raid leading and guild leading. A raid leader and a guild leader are two different things.
Choktzul Jan 25th 2007 4:02PM
my guild leader is Elathen(SP), a 61 Warrior.
Sylythn Jan 25th 2007 4:04PM
I really don't see how the class matters. Our GM is a shaman, but I don't know what spec - he's changed a couple times. But he's also not our MT, Raid Leader or any other position like that - meaning if he's not on, we're not crippled. One of our Mages is actually the most frequent Raid Leader and even handles our pulls.
Oh, and regarding that warlock comment...yeah, I'm gonna ignore that... But I am going to put out there, that if a warlock was able to multitask that much stuff while raiding, then he wasn't doing his job...I am busy 100% of the time in raids - there is no point at which I'm standing around doing nothing surfing the web or talking to friends.
Pruflas Jan 25th 2007 3:59PM
I've lead raids as a rogue, and a mage (currently mage). In neither case was I the guild leader (raid leader -yes, guild leader -no).
My first raid guild A hunter was our guild leader. My current guild, it's a mage (i will note both were women though - intersting).
Leading a guild is totaly different then leading a raid. As a raid leader - i can spout off, gripe, order, rant ect. If i was the guild leader i wouldn't be able to.
The way i look at it is: Guild leader holds the guild together, and keeps me from smashing my computer in raids ;)
WD Jan 25th 2007 4:08PM
My Guild-Leader was a Rogue, now a Mage. Did great in both aspects. I'm a raid leader (and Officer) in the guild, and the Main Tank (Warrior). I also play a Paladin (Holy) and a Hunter (Marks).
I think the player is the most important factor here. Not the class.
umamasyean Jan 25th 2007 4:36PM
I see this post has gotten people to share what happens in their guild, etc. Sure the "person" counts a lot no doubt.
But, I think the original idea of this post was to discuss what class you think is hypothetically best to be played by such a "person" in these roles. Like if you had all the classes in your account and played them equally well, which one would you choose to play as a GM/RL, etc. to make things go smoothly.
Andy Sinesio Jan 25th 2007 4:43PM
I'm the guild leader of Dread of the North Star, a 120 (230 with alts) leveling/minor endgame guild on Khaz Modan.
I'm a Rogue. I'm well versed in all pre-BC instances except true endgame raids.
As one other person mentioned, raid leader and guild leader are totally separate jobs. The raid leader should always be the person in the raid with the following:
1) Best knowledge of the instance, mob, and boss encounters.
2) A person who will mark the mobs and outline strategy for each of those encounters effectively.
3) A person who is trustworthy enough to abide by guild rules during the instance run.
Often times, as the guild leader, I may not be the resident expert at an instance (say, Zul Gurub), in which case it's generally better for someone else to lead the expedition.
As many other people have said - it doesn't matter what class, it's all about the personality. An abrasive guild leader (More DOTS!) who doesn't listen and makes poor decisions but knows everything about the game is not a good guild leader.
A good guild leader needs to be the one who is most effective at making decisions that affect the guild as a whole. They are effective at conflict resolution. And they are the most devoted to improving the playing experience of the guild's members.
Flit Jan 25th 2007 4:51PM
We have a priest. But I really don't think it makes a difference.
James Jan 25th 2007 5:34PM
Our guild leaders (who read this site! /wave) are not the main tanks (which is me). However, like other people said, I don't think the raid leader needs to be the guild leader and vice versa, it just happens to work that way for us. Personally, I don't mind marking the targets the way I want them attacked, but I can't change stuff on the fly as the main tank. So our raid leader handles all of that pretty well. In these new 5 man instances we've been able to handle just about everything with only a couple wipes more caused by inattention than skill. So marking one and killing another isn't a big deal.
For the larger instances as the Main Tank I usually get Assist, so I can mark the next kill target with the skull icon, this prevents confusion when we have 3 or 4 sheeps/CC.
Of course, he'll probably see this and contradict everything I said. :)
Khallah Jan 25th 2007 5:38PM
I'm one of my guild's (Nyx on Emerald Dream) raid leaders, and play a warlock. I'm sure any class could manage leading raids, but having someone typically standing at range does make it easier to see what the group is doing.
The most important characteristic of a good raid leader however is having a positive attitude, and prioritising fun over progress. Class isn't really that important.
Skew Jan 25th 2007 5:18PM
I agree with a few posters here, that guild leadership and raid leadership are very different roles.
A guild leader's class doesn't matter at all. They just have to have excellent interpersonal, management, delagation, and conflict resolution skills.
A raid leader is an entirely different story, and in my opinion one specific class isn't necessarily better over another. Hunters and Mages are probably best at "whole-encounter" leading, as they can stand back and have a little different perspective. I'd say warlocks, but with my warlock main my mp/hp balancing act took most of my attention. (Its hard to keep your hp and mp up so that healers don't go into panic mode when you tap yourself to 10%) The raid leader needs 2-3 delegates, however, to assist him. First, he needs the MT to be in charge of the agro management of the raid, calling "dps on", "switch targets", etc. Second, he needs a healer leader to call out mana levels, more focused healing on a person (like transition tanks or ambitions warlocks like myself), or for innervates when needed. And third, a delegate for the dps group, in case there is something that they need to announce (which I can't think of off the top of my head.)
Annoula Jan 25th 2007 6:25PM
My guild leader and raid leader are usually the same. He's a hunter and I really think that works best for one reason; auto-shot. The raid leader is generally tracking several class specific channels, DKP, overall performance, giving instruction and whatnot. So someone that can continue to deal a good amount of DPS without full-attention on the fights is a really good thing.
That being said, it's not what all hunters do. Which seems to be what some people think.
Brian Jan 25th 2007 6:25PM
Class is far less important than the person behind the class. Lately I have been taking on more and more leaderships of raids and PuGs alike.
I happen to play a druid, and I know how to tank well, dps well and heal well. As I level in BC I do all three constantly and get comments of appreciation on each job. So I guess since I am used to each facet, I know the pains of each and I am often asked to lead groups.
But to be honest, it is because I am calm and I inform my team on what is going on. When someone does not listen, I don't shout, I just calmly say, "hey X, when your ready to get into position, we can start." If I am with a PuG in BC, I normally whisper to the tank or healer to make sure they feel comfortable and they know when I am ordering about, it is their best interest I have in mind.
Heh, if your tanks and healers have good teamwork, the rest of the party/raid can be more sloppy and will soon fall into the teamwork too.
GamerJunkie Jan 25th 2007 7:39PM
I think a RL can be any class but usually a rogue is better because they can vanish and do some scouting in the instance ahead of the raid.
However, they must have experience with both a DPS and healing class in order to be a good RL.
I've had many RL that were DPS class and they would fault tanks or healing many times for wipes when you really look at Damage Meters, there simple wasn't enough DPS.. C'mon if you got Hakkar enraged over 10mins, its not the healing or tanking, stupid.
A RL cannot be a healer only player, then they over looked the strategies required for DPS, often I see great healing but lack of careful coordination of DPS and tanking..
A great RL also need a great communication skills and ability to take charge and manage personalities.
The Anon Jan 26th 2007 5:29PM
Our GL is a mage, and our RL is usually an officer. I used to RL (I was a warrior) but it drove me to re-rolling a mage and taking it "easier" during raids. I loved tanking and the warrior class, but I felt pidgeon-holed to RL because I MT, has anyone else felt this?
Now at 70 I can sit back in raids, do my job, and enjoy it.
Kalandrah Jan 26th 2007 4:28AM
I think pretty much anyone can be raidleader, but that certain classes allow more space for it. I currently have a rogue, a warlock, a druid and a paladin.
As a rogue, doing 500dps on a boss, anytime I have to stop fighting and start talking means a drop in that dps, since it's damned hard to type fast AND hit a button every 1,5 seconds. Also, being up close (and personal), it's hard to get a good overview of the fight. When things go wrong, you're practically forced to step back to oversee the battlefield.
As a druid, doing one big heal every 3 seconds allows more time for typing while that casting bar is running. Doing small heals, you can easily start typing instructions and then cover that period of not-healing by throwing in a 4-6k heal. Also, being at 40yard range means you have a good overview of what's happening just from where you're standing.
As a warlock, specced for DoT's, it's even easier. You add your corruption, siphon life, curse of agony, unstable affliction and drain life and then you can basically sit back and talk and renew those spells when they wear off. (adding shadowbolts means taking agro for sure). Being at 40 yard range as well means you also have the best overview.
Personally, I'd say that if you need all the dps/healing you can get, then a warlock for raidleader would be the best way, since I personally feel warlocks' way of DPS'ing allows more liberty to look and talk.