Guest Post: Qualities of an effective raid leader
by Jack Thompson 
Jun 26th 2010 at 2:00PM
If you look in /trade immediately after your faction takes Wintergrasp, it becomes readily apparent that not everybody wants to lead a raid. "DPS LFG VoA-10!" "Healer LF VoA!" "Tank LF VoA-10/25!" If you're me, you're often tempted to step in and remind these LFGers that leading a raid requires nothing more (at least at its absolute, base level) than inviting people to a group and zoning in.
But of course it isn't that simple, and pugging VoA has very little in common with leading nine other people into Icecrown Citadel. VoA groups practically run themselves, are completed in 15 to 20 minutes and rarely fail, whereas it's still possible to wipe on trash in ICC. The hardest part of leading a VoA run is remembering to switch to master looter.
So what makes a great raid leader? What qualities does a raid leader exhibit that makes their group keep coming back week after week?
Reliability
Getting the invites out on time goes miles toward keeping everybody happy. It's important to remember that raiding takes time -- time that players have set aside to raid every week -- and nothing heats up the blood of a raider more than having rushed home from work and plonked down in front of the computer just to see that their leader isn't online and that nobody's heard from them. Emergencies happen, and in the end WoW is just a game, but a truly awesome raid leader figures out a way to let somebody else in the raid know that something came up.
Knowledge
It should go without saying, but a raid leader really needs to know the mechanics of the bosses in front of them -- or at the very least has somebody else in group who can explain for them.
Communication
If loot gets mis-distributed, make sure everybody else knows it's being taken care of. If the highest roll doesn't win for whatever reason (if the high roller already won something, if a DK won a roll on a spellpower neck, if a healy priest rolled main set on hit gear, or any other reason), explain why they're not getting the loot. Things get ugly without timely explanations.
On the other side of the coin, a big part of a raid leader's job is pointing out what went right, partially so it happens reliably and partially so the raid feels like they're making progress on difficult encounters. Never underestimate the value of a pat on the back.
Knowing when to take it easy and knowing when to push
Some people like raids run by a drill sergeant; some people like a three-hour stream of fart jokes. Most people, I think, like something in between. Humor is a good thing; humor on Saurfang when the blood beasts are getting stuck in the melee, not so much. It's up to the RL to keep everybody focused when it counts.
Prioritization
People raid for different reasons. Some want progression, some want rep, or gold, or gear, or achievements or (frequently) some combination of those. A solid raid leader takes the needs of the entire raid into consideration and tries to keep everybody happy.
Timing
The faster a group moves through a raid, the more time can be spent actually downing bosses. Little things like getting loot distributed while pulling the next set of trash keeps raiders focused and involved while letting the momentum of a fresh boss kill do its thing. Alternately, if you've been wiping on Putracide for hours and you're not getting anywhere, your raid leader should know when to take a step back, breathe deep and change focus to something else.
Decisiveness
It's sad, but true: Some raiders don't play well with others. There are all sorts of stereotypically bad raiders, including but not limited to: the druid who refuses to get on Vent; the shadow priest who stands in fire; the mage who routinely pulls aggro; the pally tank who forgets to throw up Righteous Fury. Some of those things can be mitigated by uber gameplay, but some (and I'm looking at you, Not-On-Vent Guy) make everybody's raid harder. Kick and replace shouldn't be the first line of defense, but a raid leader shouldn't be afraid of it, either. Raid leaders make the tough calls for the sake of the raid so the rest of us don't have to.
The ability to learn from failure
Nobody's infallible, and when things go wrong (and they frequently do), it's important for a raid leader not to get frustrated. The healer who forgot that his big heal was on cooldown and let the tank die knows what he did, and he feels bad enough about it without the RL calling him out for it in raid chat. Shame isn't encouragement; a raid leader's better off dusting everybody off and moving on, whispering the offending party if it becomes more than a one-time problem.
Really, the above guidelines are just variations on one theme: A raid leader needs to do what's best for the sake of the raid in as efficient a way as possible while remembering that the other raid members aren't NPCs. In other words, if you want nine people to follow your lead, don't piss them off.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
righttothechase Jun 26th 2010 2:09PM
Something else that I really liked about my guild leader in my very first raiding guild was his distinctive voice, it made it very easy to pick him out even if somebody else was saying something at the same time (Aussie accents are win!)
MightyBurebista Jun 26th 2010 2:08PM
In my honest opinion, a good raid leader has a military side to him, his subordinates follow his instructions because he commands respect. If someone screws up, he's not afraid to holler "THAT'S A FUCKING 50 DKP MINUS!!!", and that's why the soldiers take care to not make foolish mistakes. :]
Arkhill Jun 26th 2010 2:21PM
One of our Officers is an ex marine. He is my favorite O.
Tom Jun 28th 2010 8:19AM
As a current active duty member, and casual raid leader (well, more then casual, I suppose, but casual mindset), I can say one of the more difficult things to do is attempt to enforce an appropriate level of discipline to your raid while still maintaining a entertaining experience.
We run our 10 man HM's in guild, but often do 25 pugs and alt 10 runs. And the attitude and lack of respect that people have for each other in general on WoW is something that really gets me down. Don't get me wrong, I've been known to occasionally participate in the trade chat filthy spam. But some people are far to inconsiderate when it comes to situations that should require a bit more humanity.
So, my point... sometimes I wish it would make sense to tear some of these clowns a proverbial 'new one', but it just doesn't have the same impact when done on the internet. It just ends up looking like nerd rage, and you run the risk of someone recording you on vent.
theRaptor Jun 26th 2010 2:10PM
Real shadow priests don't move from the fire. We Vampiric Touch heal ourselves through it!
Desmentia Jun 27th 2010 12:20AM
Yeah, when you see "deals 3000 damage per second to all players that remain in range" on Wowhead, we see "100% safe, -4k DPS to all players that do not remain in range."
Fortunately, when you see "deals 5e+006 Fire damage" that's also what we see.
Johnny Jun 26th 2010 2:14PM
Very well written. I also would like to highlight what I personally think is a crucial raid leader attribute that was touched upon here and that is having positive attitude. While a good mindset is also great in any raider, it is a necessity for the raid leader because the raid leader isn't just the player who keeps the raid moving but the figurehead of the group. Other raider's attitudes are heavily influenced by the raid leader's attitude. If you have a negative attitude when you lead a group/raid the raid will think there is a problem with the group or that people aren't as confident. Meanwhile a positive attitude keep raiders going and makes each person give more effort to what they think is a positive group and a worthwhile use of ones raiding time.
Bikhai Jun 26th 2010 3:09PM
Agreed on the point about attitude. I did an ICC10 with some friends last night that ended up being 8/12 hard modes, and a full clear the rest of the way. Sounds pretty great, but the whole thing was a nightmare because our raid leader complained and complained and blamed and cried and yelled vulgarities at us for an hour as we attempted [wiped on] Professor Putricide on hard mode. It sucked the life right out of the raid, and I don't think anyone ended up having fun or performing even close to their ability from Putricide onward as a result.
Aedilhild Jun 26th 2010 5:07PM
I'm sorry to hear that. What a killjoy.
If players lack the skill or determination for content, shabby treatment from someone who can't keep his cool won't make up for it. Seriousness has nothing to do with anger or contempt.
clevins Jun 26th 2010 3:11PM
"People raid for different reasons. Some want progression, some want rep, or gold, or gear, or achievements or (frequently) some combination of those. A solid raid leader takes the needs of the entire raid into consideration and tries to keep everybody happy."
and
"Raid leaders make the tough calls for the sake of the raid so the rest of us don't have to."
Can be contradictory. If some people want to progress and others just want to get as far as they can and go in with a "hey, what's the big deal?" attitude it makes things a LOT harder. So I'll add another one here: A good raid leader puts together a raid with similar goals and attitudes. Putting the progression minded folks in with the 'hey, let's not worry about wipes" folks is a recipe for drama. If you can, run those people in different raids.
dippymister Jun 26th 2010 3:34PM
I think it is crucial for a raid leader to know the mechanics of every class. I had a previous raid leader who was amazing at this. After a wipe, he would literally talk to every single person that did something wrong, and tell them what they could specifically do to not have it happen again. Not only this, but he was always the last person up. He would never be caught in fire, or dead from some silly mistake. He knew the boss mechanics inside and out, and he was able to explain it perfectly to everyone, as well as explain specific jobs. It was as if he had done every single encounter on every class, every spec, and every role. THAT is a great raid leader.
thpthpthp Jun 26th 2010 5:40PM
This, out raid leader actually has one of every class at 80.
Not saying this is necessary but it helps when the raid leader is not yelling at the Mage for not throwing the healer an innervate.
Cambrian Jun 26th 2010 3:59PM
Raid leaders should be quotable (think the infamous onyxia is serious business animation).
Here's a soundboard we made of my first raid leader. He actually canceled several raids due to confusion when multiple players spammed these sounds mid-raid.
http://www.reocities.com/xp160/PamedasSB.swf
CaryEverett Jun 26th 2010 4:12PM
I used to be a raid leader in every single raid I did. For about a year.
I'm retired now.
To be fully honest, raid leading is stressful. There's a reason people avoid wanting to do it. Nowadays I only lead a raid if I absolutely must. Otherwise, I want to just play and have fun.
Dessux Jun 26th 2010 4:57PM
When i used to raid lead we had a rule that if you weren't on vent you aren't coming to the raid, this usually sorted anyone out. You don't neccesarily have to talk or have a mic but it definately makes the raid harder. This works better when you have enough people to sub one in but this can be done if you only have 10/25 people online. usually the threat of cancellation/picking up a PUG would either make them cave or make the other raiders give him enough flak that he or she would come on. Obviously try to talk them round nicely first but don't underestimate the weight of not bringing a person.
Another good quality in a raid leader is to know when to be your friend and when to kick your ass. Sometimes people need a friendly voice of encouragement but if a raider is constantly wiping a raid foot must meet ass (privately of course).
Deathknighty Jun 26th 2010 5:31PM
I recently fell in to the role of raid leader, as I recently became the leader of my (very casual) guild, and when we did a part-guild Ony 10, I was the one who was expected to lead, seeing as I was the GM, and I had arguably the most raid experience.
The mount dropped.
I said I'd raidroll it, so I /rolled 1-10. It rolled 5, which was me. The PuGgers in the raid all claimed it didn't count saying that everyone in the 1st group would have themselves as 5. I don't doubt this, but I also understand that it's what turns up on the RL's screen that determines the oucome of the roll. There were people offering over 30k g for it, and I was struggling to make sure I had enough for repairs. Even if I hadn't sold it, I would have had an extremely rare 310% mount.
I ended up just telling everyone to roll and whoever rolled highest got it. I came second, but I still think that original raid roll was entirely valid. In fact, most of my guildies were telling me to ninja it, and I will admit it was EXTREMELY tempting. However, I didn't. I gave it to the person who won the second roll, and was left feeling kinda devastated.
Were the PuGgers right, or did I get horribly screwed over?
Nessie Jun 26th 2010 5:42PM
Why didn't you just do a free roll to begin with?
Deathknighty Jun 26th 2010 5:48PM
Because these things always seem to be raidrolled. ;)
theRaptor Jun 26th 2010 6:00PM
Don't change loot rules to satisfy PuG's. All the can do is whine about you in trade until they get bored.
Docp Jun 26th 2010 6:12PM
I would say the puggers were probably right unless you stated you were just going to go off how you saw it in your raid browser beforehand.
What typically happens in pugs for raid rolls is someone will link Activity of recount (activity will list all the raid, as opposed to DPS where healers might not show up) and then you got a list in raid chat everyone can see, so when you roll a 5 you look at who was the 5th most active and hand it to them. It's entirely random, can be personally verified and is just generally the best way to go.