Tips for raiding faster
by Mike Schramm 
Apr 24th 2009 at 7:00PM
I am definitely an advocate of the fast instance or raid -- when I played a tank, I pulled pulled pulled (according to the healer's mana, of course), and even now, mostly as a Hunter, I still get impatient. When the healer's mana is full and the tank is not /afk, I sometimes just throw a Misdirect up and go. That's probably why I really liked Naissa's tips for speedy raiding -- she lays out a few really practical things you can do to get your raid moving faster, from only marking skull and X when necessary to only worrying about the healer's mana. It's not the end of the world if the Mage or Hunter has to drink for a second after the pull. While you should always get back to full before a boss pull (and as she says, that's a perfect time to break down the basics, only the basics, of the fight), usually as long as you've got the tank and healer ready, a quick pull will give you time for aggro to settle down as well.I don't completely agree with her DPS meter remarks -- I do think that beating the raid is much more important than trying to win the DPS meters, but as a DPS player, I like viewing the meters as good feedback on where I should be. If I'm super low in the meters, it's time to look at my gear and rotations and try to figure out why so I can get better, and I think it's valuable for DPS, as long as they can keep their attention on the raid, to do the same thing.
But all of the other tips are great, and in general, "pull pull pull" should be the order of the day. Some groups are better at rolling through content than others, obviously, but as long as you've got a solid tank and healer in play who know the instance and know how to handle what comes, most raids and groups can move through the content pretty quickly.
Filed under: Hunter, Priest, Warrior, Analysis / Opinion, Blizzard, Instances, Raiding, Bosses, Classes
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Human Apr 24th 2009 7:04PM
I was hoping for a tank/healer/caster mace... meaning you would choose. Oh well.
Human Apr 24th 2009 7:06PM
Weird... I thougt I was commenting on Val'anyr's stats page. Ignore my comment please =)
Angry Joe Apr 24th 2009 10:42PM
It's ok, after all you are only human.
Saint Apr 25th 2009 2:29AM
...or is he?
Matt Apr 24th 2009 7:13PM
knowing the kill order and chainpulling are the secrets to shaving off enormous amounts of time raiding. That way all you have to mark is if things are in a special order. As long as everyone understands all this (and can train it to people who are swapped in), you can cut 4hr raids to 2 hours easily. After all, it is only trash that holds things off.
epsilon343 Apr 24th 2009 7:24PM
I personally hate it when DPS decides to dictate the pace of the raid. In all honesty, as a healer, I don't give a crap what a DPS has to say and only listen to the other healers and tanks...
Emophia Apr 24th 2009 7:27PM
As a tank and DPSer, and one upon a time healer.
Ditto.
jay Apr 24th 2009 7:35PM
"I sometimes just throw a Misdirect up and go"
As a Tank I would happily wipe the group then boot you if I saw you doing this. I also like a quick instance/raid, but won't babysit impatient attitudes.
PeeWee Apr 24th 2009 7:47PM
jay:
A hunter shouldn't have the time to pull a stunt like that. If the healer's mana bars are full, why the hell aren't you pulling? If you're afk, it's your responsibility to have the flag up. If it isn't, then you're ready to go. If your attention is not in the game, the flag should be set.
Damntheman Apr 24th 2009 7:50PM
@ Jay
This is why it's great that tanks aren't always the RL anymore. The MD is your notice that you should have pulled if the healers were ready and the tanks topped off. That you would vindictively wipe the group only shows the arrogance and narcissism of many MTs. The tanks job is to keep the raid moving as quickly as possible, leave the driving to another raid member. Especially if you're this conceited.
Andy Apr 24th 2009 8:26PM
@PeeWee & Damntheman. I disagree, there may be an unknown reason that the tank has yet to pull. Technical issues, real life emergencies, etc.
It is unfair to the rest of the raid group for you to risk a wipe because you are impatient. If you were in one of my raids, which generally go pretty quick, and pulled a stunt like that I would kick you out and ban you from any future raids.
The pace of the raid should only be dictated by the raid leader, assist or tank. If they have not pulled yet, wait. If it is going to slow because you forgot to take your ridilan, find another group. To many chiefs only serves to gum up the works.
jbodar Apr 24th 2009 8:45PM
What happened to "/p Ready?" and wait for the tank to respond? If he doesn't respond, then he's probably doing something else ATM. Everyone should have equal responsibility to pay attention to the party/raid, but sometimes things happen outside our control as players.
Another perspective: if the tank is taking too long, maybe he's just inexperienced and doesn't want to rush things. In that case, ask him to hurry up. Why does everyone assume that every player has tanked/DPS'ed/healed every instance 700 times before?
Damntheman Apr 24th 2009 11:19PM
Poor andy,
The author specifically stated "and the tank is not afk". Thank you for proving my point about self-righteous MTs. The issue is with perfectionist tanks who double the length of raids by waiting for every mana bar and every buff before every pull. MDing to the tank without being asked isn't something to be done often or without a friendly relationship between you and the tank. It's supposed to be a friend kicking you in the nuts saying "let's get a move on".
And don't fret too much, you probably wouldn't have to remove either of us, since we would have out-grown your sluggish raiding pace long ago.
vinniedcleaner Apr 25th 2009 12:46AM
sometimes RL happens and you don't have time to formally go afk... my stance is, if the mage/warlock/rogue/hunter/priest wants to tank.. let 'em. Oh and as an aside, these impatient players are usually the ones that immediately ask after joining the group "Anyone have a meter?"
The tank is the QB, we go when he's ready... and no, I'm not a tank...
Andy Apr 25th 2009 2:44AM
@ Damntheman a "kick in the nuts" still puts the raid at risk. There could be a multitude of reasons the tank is waiting. A sudden disconnect, a pat that you can't see, whatever. Unless otherwise stated, the tank should be pulling period.
Rezing members of the raid, rebuffing, waiting for players to run back because you got your panties in a bunch and pulled onto a tank that is, for whatever reason, not ready takes more time than a short delay between pulls.
I don't like a slow run either, if for some reason things are taking a bit to long, Say something in vent. The raid is not about just about you. It's about the progression of the group as a whole.
Wouldn't have to remove you? Nope, probably would not have invited you.
DavidC Apr 24th 2009 7:33PM
She's right on the meters. Too many players get to focused on meters. Especially on trash. "Stop, I need my buffs so I can top the trash meters" ... nuff said.
Reality is that in game meters generally don't mean squat anyways. They don't tell you the whole story, nor do they break down the details on why mage1 did better then mage2. That is what WWS is for. Get the log, load it up, get a beer and go over the report and learn from it.
Not using WWS but relying upon recount to judge your self worth? Don't bother, I can tell you that you suck without even looking. Yes, you do suck.
The only thing in the in game meters are useful is to check who is TEH SUCK and that you need to replace ASAP cause you can tell their pointy stick is not nearly pointy enough.
And if your the one with the "wish my stick was more pointy" ... spend less time looking at the meters and more time running appropriate level instances instead of being carried by other players.
Braundo Apr 24th 2009 7:36PM
Even worse, a friend told me that his guild posts DPS meters in raid chat constantly (like after every boss), without resetting, so it includes trash DPS. And they use that data to evaluate member performance.
I don't really get how he can tolerate being in that guild, TBQH.
Hailene Apr 24th 2009 9:04PM
Yeah, my guild has a no-meters-in-gchat policy, and I don't even run a meter because they tend to take up a lot of memory. As long as you get the job done meters really don't matter.
darren Apr 24th 2009 8:16PM
There are so many members of my guild that request meters it's almost annoying. Our general rule regarding posting meters is that it's grounds for a quick kick out of the raid or dps loss (really depends on if their a regular raider or new recruit).
I've taken it upon myself to set up a channel where I post my meters for those in the guild that want it and won't shut up about it. Still, I don't post unless the boss dies, and I don't post on trash. If we win you get to see how you do, if not just focus on the fight!
Kemikalkadet Apr 24th 2009 9:11PM
We never post meters during raids. A couple guys run them on progression content to see how we're doing vs. enrage timers etc but they're never posted to /ra or /g. I collect the WWS data and post it up on the forums after the raid for those interested but it's unneccesary during the raid itself. So long as the boss dies before it gets angry and stomps everyone who cares?