Our guild’s goal this is expansion is to be within the Top 10 guilds within our server. I, personally think this is do-able. So far, we managed to knock out Magmaw on 10man, 10m Conclave, and Halfus on 25man. Our best attempt on Theralion and Valionas was bringing them down to 31%.
10-Man Magmaw
25-Man Halfus
One thing, we are lacking amongst few of the players, is skill. The DPS gap between the top 3 and the rest of the DPS team is pretty horrid. I compared our logs to the top 3 guilds on our server, and there is a huge difference. Those top guilds, don’t have anyone below 13k DPS. These are my thoughts on the Issue:
Skill – We were a casual raiding guild in WoTLK. Now, we are aiming to be more than casual. With these sorts of goals, all raiders need a deeper understanding of their class. This means KNOWING the proper rotation, enchants, gemming and stats priority.
I, for one am competitive when it comes down to DPS (not to be confused for a DPS whore :p). If I’m not where I’m supposed to be at, with current gear and content, you will see me idling and researching through DK class forums to improve my play style. I believe everyone can do the same. Also, asking other players of the same class from higher end guilds could also shine some light. I tend to get random tells from lower end guild players, asking about rotation and gear itemization. I’m always glad to give a few helpful tips here and there, or clarify a concern. Even though, when I explain things, it tends to get the other person confused heh.
Gear– At this point, you cannot use this as an excuse for your poor performance. No one is geared. 2-3 purples won’t magically give you an extra 5k dps. Everyone is at the basic ilevel for raids (or should be). Running a few heroics isn’t hard. Even in Random dungeon finder. Occasionally, you’ll get the group who have wiped to the same boss more than 10 times. You can either:
A) Assess the source of the problem!
B) Re-queue with the group for another dungeon.
C) Leave and re-queue.
Patience is virtue, during these times. If you don’t want to spend Gold on repairs, or are afraid to wipe, then you shouldn’t be raiding nor doing dungeons. If gear is such an excuse, then invest in some “purples”. Gear shouldn’t be that much of an issue until a few months into T11 when attempting hard modes, even at that.
Raid Utility– I’ve heard this excuse before. Honestly, this is true to an extent. Some classes right now aren’t that great. But so far the only class I’ve heard mentioned and seen missing from logs, or are continuously at the bottom, are elemental shamans. Other than that, all other classes still seem competitive at this point in the game.
If one day I fall behind the curve, and I am dead weight to the raid, I would do the raid a favor and just sit out. I wouldn’t want to hold progression up due to my lack of competence. It would such, but we are only as strong as our weakest link.
Lord knows I need improvement as well. This rant also pertains to me. Such things like CD and rune management. As Death Knight’s we shouldn’t be below number 5 on the charts. If you’re at 16.5k you’re doing fine.
Maximizing RP gain and Survivability
One thing I’ve loved so far is the benefits of using AMS at the proper time.
Halfus – So far AMS is magic during the mass fire breath AoE the aerial drake does. Thus leading to RP gain and saving the healers a bit more mana.
Magmaw – I tend to pop AMS when he faces towards melee and sprays us with his juice.
Omnomnom System– I save it for either the fire golem when he does his massive fire AoE, or when I’m in the puddle and Electron is out doing his chain lightning ability.
Valiona and Theralion– When blackout is casted and dispelled, it helps mitigate a lot of the damage. Also, it’s helpful when you have a kamikaze range who doesn’t grasp the concept of GTFO during phase 2. It can be also used during the crashing of the meteor when stacked up against each other (Remember the 45 sec CD, so try to time it with other abilities if you are able).
That reminds me I should write-up about my UI and explain my Add-On choices ;D.
The "X" Zone 