Supar Sekrit Heroic Sekrits
Myrmidon
Baron von PuttenhamCalifornia Icrontian
Yeah right, you wish.
My thoughts about our direction, how great you all are, and why I'm posting this at all. Skip it if you just want to get to the good shit.
[spoiler]
Heroics are tuned to be hard the whole way through - even if you overgear heroics, they are still tuned to be very difficult. Normals, which we're used to breezing through, are completely different - overgearing them means we walk into a fight like 'what up, I got a big cock' and buy all its shit from the thrift shop, but there is no such situation on heroics. @Hydrar is exactly right when he says every member is running at 100% capacity in heroics - and if you're not, you wipe.
That means it really falls on the bleeding edge of what we can handle as a guild.
It's no secret (supar sekrit) that we are not a hard-structured, dedicated raiding guild - and I don't want us to be. We are a collection of thoughtful, skillful individuals (Fallout uses the perk 'gifted' to suggest someone that is innately skillful and didn't need to work hard for their prowess) and I think that's a huge boon. We take breaks. We live other lives. We don't raid seven days a week to get where we are. We're here to play with each other and generally enjoy ourselves, not to sacrifice time and sleep for a couple higher numbers on our character sheets.
For heroics, this may present a bit of an issue... because we need those couple higher numbers. For heroics, we can't breeze by with 'good enough' gear or skill. Every one of us has to be at 100% - not just a dedicated few. I don't think that's a problem, and I think we can do it with a gifted group... it just means we need a little augmenting.
(Aside: it is important while reading this to not get set on 'downing heroics.' We can have fun just attempting a few times, then moving on).
Now, barring ilvl requirements, I will not prioritize pugs over guildies. What that means, though, (and what this long-ass diatribe is leading up to) is that we are on the honor system for heroics. If you want to down heroics, there will be no iron hammer - you will only be on your honor to do your best. If Expo Communism, ICHQ beer rules, and the 'distinguished gentleman/lady' badge is to be believed, we are a group that is very good at giving back 'on our honor.' Every one of you cares about everyone else, and I know for a FACT that more than most of you are worried about being 'the weak link.'
(Side note: you're not. None of you are the weak link. You're all fucking awesome. If this is striking your 'weak link' reflex, stop it. In b4 @Tushon 's "Thanks, coach").
[/spoiler]
So with that Mighty Ducks preamble out of the way, let's get down to biznass:
My plan is to run heroics on Thursday and Sunday with a 'voteskip' option. This way we have fun doing new shit, but still progress AND acquire gear (at a slower pace) for people. It worked beautifully for Thursday.
Some things you can do to get to 100% (step out of your comfort zone!):
- Pug the shit you don't have. We'll do as much as we can Thursday and Sunday, but maybe Monday you could pug one boss or so. Don't get overwhelmed trying to pug ALL THE REST OF SoO... maybe just one boss, and maybe just one hour. Be comfortable, don't burn out. Prioritize your gear - try to eliminate PvP gear as if it's 540 gear, not 550. Trinkets and weapons are crazy important.
- I know we're all doing Ordos and celestials, but if you're not, do Ordos and celestials. Tuesdays these groups will take anyone.
- Valor. I'm at full 553 + lots of warforged on my tank and dps sets, and I'm still only at 561. My heals set, which still has a flex ring, has benefited from valor for weeks and is 572. OQ yourself a heroic scenario group and cap your valor each week... it goes really easy if you do one per day.
- Your character - know it! Every ability should be on SOME bar somewhere. I keep my healing addons ready as a dps, my tanking macros available as a healer, and my strength cloak handy as a tank if more dps is needed. Abilities you forgot you had or for other specs sometimes come in REEEEEAL handy. Ice floes if it means you're not casting dry ice lances, defensive stance for calamities, evasion for accidental add-tanking, mass dispel to help healers, etc. Also check for something you've missed... I have a 3-minute cooldown ability that, when in dps spec, has an added benefit of dispelling someone - this is something I could be using to help healers!
- The fight! When I explain fights, I usually try to give it an overview, then talk about the most relevant stuff, then get into the least relevant stuff (I figure by the end, people aren't listening, so I get the good shit out first). It's for a reason, though! I DO talk about low-relevance stuff because the people who ARE listening might say 'oh shit, that is the perfect time to use this ability I never touch!' Most guilds cannot handle the crazy shit we sometimes do - taking a hybrid healer, for instance, or sending strange comps to norushen's other realm. If you know the fights in-and-out, you might have a brilliant insight.
- BE SELFISH WITH THE !VOTESKIP. Don't refrain from voting to skip because you think other people want to stay. If you are getting burned out, you're not at the top of your game. I want us to leave raid night in a good mood.
Remember: it is okay to fail on heroics, it does not represent a dead end as it does in normals. We had a wonderful time yesterday and didn't down a single boss. If you're sick of a boss and need some progress to get back in the groove, voteskip it!
E: took me three damn tries to find the spoiler tag...
Comments
Thanks, Dan!
Don't think that oQueue is the only option for finding pugs/groups. Lately, I've had way more success with "Other Raids", the in-game browser, ESPECIALLY for Ordos and Celestials.
The biggest question I have:
How are we supposed to PuG/guild gear-up for heroics when that would seemingly screw up our lockout? For example, I need pants from Paragons and stuff from Garrosh. I can't really PuG them because that would screw up my lockout for heroics, right? It seems like I have to pick on a per-week basis whether or not I want to run normals for gear or Heroics for progression.
You pug on Monday, after we get however far we get. At least that is the only way I understand that it would work.
Ryder's got it. Heroics Thursday, heroic continuation and a little normals Sunday... It only leaves Monday to pug anything, though. Definitely suboptimal, but you know how it is.