Raider expectations:Honorbound's Raiders understand that the goal of our raiding force is to progress as deep as we are able into all available PvE content. Toward this end, Raiders must be willing to accept constructive criticism as it is presented, and (even more importantly) to actively work to improve themselves without outside input. We should always be asking what we're doing right, what we're doing wrong, and what we could be doing better. Understand weaknesses, fix them. Failure to do so may result in warnings or temporary/permanent demotion from the Raider rank.
Honorbound is not a place to gear up and learn to raid. If you are applying for a raiding spot, avoiding AoEs (even those you haven’t seen before – you’ve read up on the encounter so you know they’re coming) while continuing to DPS/heal/tank effectively should be second nature. Threat – both watching it and producing it – should be a non-issue, even in encounters with frequent aggro clears. You should know what stats benefit your class how much, what the common talent specs for your class are and what you have gained and given up in going with whatever talents you have chosen, what your standard spell rotation is, what spell rotation you will switch to if your shadow priest dies early, what consumables benefit your class the most, etc. You should have all the Addons you need to perform your job. You should be fully comfortable moving efficiently and smoothly, either using the mouse or with extensive use of strafe (or preferably both), in such a way as to maximize your time spent casting/stabbing. You should have your spell detail level turned to high.
You should know your own class better than we know it. We play our own classes and are passingly good at it. All we ask from you is that you be good at your class such that our layman’s view (okay, our considerable general knowledge of this game) can find nothing obvious to improve on. Most of us learned this game by reading copious amounts of
Elitist Jerks forums posts. You are welcome to do the same, or to find other sources. A deep understanding of the mechanics of this game and your class will improve your DPS/healing/tanking far more than any gear upgrade, but that is something you need to acquire on your own time, before you apply for a raiding spot in this guild.
You should know the basics of every encounter on the schedule.
Bosskillers will give you a list of boss abilities and suggest tactics that are commonly used to counter them, and this is usually sufficient to get a rough overview. There are also plenty of videos out there (Youtube is your friend). When Honorbound pulls a boss for the first time we expect confusion, panic, and general amusement as we are plastered across the floor and walls. If you weren’t there for that first pull, it’s your responsibility to catch yourself up. We should only have to tell you which strategy we will be using and what role you will be playing (e.g., “In phase 2 I want you to handle the southwest stair section; in phase 3 I want you to kill bats until the enrage” -- Hint: if you don't know what encounter this is, you should do more research) and you should need no further information to perform your task in an encounter.
Sign ups:Raiders will sign up prior to 10:00pm (EST, server time) the day before the raid. See
Raids.
Ventrilo: The ability to hear Vent is a requirement to attend any Honorbound raid. A functioning mic is also required. You are not required to speak on Vent with any frequency (and if you are in possession of a static-infested mic of doom we discourage you from doing so) but you should be able to if the need arises.
General Raid Makeup: To make up raids we post sign ups (usually the next four sign ups are posted sometime around Sunday or Monday evening) in the Raids forum (this forum will be visible once you are accepted as a petitioner and your permissions are adjusted). You are asked to post your class and sometimes specific other information, such as your spec or your gear needs.
If you are only available for a portion of raid time but will be online for that portion please indicate such in your post. We will try to form the raid with people able to attend the full duration but we may be able to give you something to do (or we may need you for whatever time you have available if we're short on your class or role).
When we make up the raid we will attempt to satisfy as many people as possible while ensuring that success is a probably outcome. In general this means class and role balance but may be extended to requiring certain minimum levels of gear for tougher content. (New Raider recruits need not worry - if we recruited you then we want you in our raiding team, and we'll help you gain the gear you'll need. However, we're not going to throw you into edge-of-progression content if you don't have the equipment to survive or be an asset to the raid.)
When multiple members of the same class and/or role contest a limited number of spots we will usually use a random roll to determine who gets in. We may also simply make a decision based on who we believe has the gear to fulfill the role in a given encounter, based on who would be best with regard to the healing/DPS/tanking balance of the raid and/or based on who will benefit more from the encounters on the agenda (both in terms of gear and experience).
Times:Raids always occur on the same nights. At the moment there are four:
Sunday 8:30p to 12:00a (early arrival 8:15p)
Monday 8:30p to 12:00a (early arrival 8:15p)
Wednesday 8:30p to 12:00a (early arrival 8:15p)
Friday 8:30p to 12:00a (early arrival 8:15p)
Raiders not online and ready at 8:25p will be considered a "no show" and replaced. (See below)
Stand By System: Anyone who signs up but whom we are unable to fit into the raid will receive "stand by" status for the instance in question. The next time we are making up a raid for that instance those with "stand by" status will be given precedence over those without it. Thus, if you are forced to sit out a run you will be guaranteed a place over anyone who did not also sit out the run in the next run. Translation in brief: We keep track of who's sitting out and ensure that everyone is rotated into the raids.
Note that you only get stand by status if you sign up. (And if you sign up and then aren't online at raid time we get annoyed at you. If you signed up but won't be able to make it let us know - forums PM or in-game mail are both good methods - so we won't be annoyed.)
Mains and Alts:Raiders will have *one* raiding character with Raider status. Switching mains may be allowed on a case-by-case basis, roster permitting, after consulting with the Officers. Repeated switching will not be allowed. Those who switch mains will be ineligible for raid loot on their 'old' character effective immediately, and their 'new' main will start at the bottom of all EPGP/loot lists.
On to the Actual Raid... Anyone not online 5 minutes before raid start is assumed to be a no show and replaced. At 5 minutes before raid time you should be either at the instance or on your way there. Summons are usually available but don't rely on them (if everyone did that then we'd have a problem). EPs are not awarded for no shows.
Addons:All Raiders: Bigwigs/DeadlyBossMods, oRA2.
Healers: Decursive or similiar. (Healers must have appropriate raid frames - healers must be able to see undispellable debuffs on their raid frames.)
Non-healers: Omen
AFK/Disconnection:If you need to go Away From Keyboard during the raid let the raid leader know and put up your /afk flag. If your dog just set your kitchen on fire or something similar a scream over vent will suffice to let us know something is up. Please note that if you disappear (or go link dead) without prior warning for an extended period of time (5+ minutes) without telling anyone we'll replace you if we can.
Consumable Expectations & Repairs:Every raider in Honorbound should come prepared with everything they need to do their job. This means that at the beginning of a raid you should be fully repaired, have enough reagents (soul shards, candles, etc) that running out seems unlikely, be carrying any additional gear you need for bosses to be fought that day (resist sets, stamina sets), and have the following required consumables with you at all times:
Mana users: Mana potions.
Tanks: Stamina food, health potions.
Rogues: Mind Numbing, Anesthetic, and Wound Poison.
All Raiders: Stat food, Flasks, Bandages, Reagents.
The following consumables are not required, but can be brought if desired. Food buffs and weapon oils in particular are powerful and relatively cheap; feel free to take any of these materials from the guild bank if you plan to use them for raiding:
Elixirs
DPS potions, such as Destruction Potions or Haste Potions
Weapon Oils
Note: Some nights Flasks will be required. Please ensure you have enough flasks (4 hours worth) on your character to last an entire evening.
On raid nights, Raiders may spend some gold of the guild's funds (through the repair dialog at the NPC) on repairs incurred while in a raid.
Loot:See the
EPGP post in this forum.
Settings:Spell detail level turned to
High. This is so we can see various AE effects.
