The Qualified Raider

Hello there (General Kenobi), you've found Desenkei's guide on what it takes to be a quality and qualified raider. To my mind Warlords of Draenor (patch 6.2) is the best World of Warcraft expac for a central reason. It is the perfect balance of difficult classes and high quality of life. One expac back to Pandaria and you don't have the collections tab (heirlooms) and numerous other benefits that were added in WoD. One expac forward and the classes begin getting easier and easier to steer. WoD gets a bad rap but if you begin to understand what it has to offer you'll quickly fall in love.

Firestorm's WoD isn't really patch 6.2 by the way, it's more like 6.1+++. Hellfire Citadel is physically present and some bosses are scripted, but only the first boss on Normal/Heroic drop loot. This fact leaves you with two core raids on this server: Blackrock Foundry and Highmaul. Between Kazzak (705ilvl), crafted (720ilvl), Heroic BRF (691ilvl), and the first boss of HFC (720ilvl) you can realistically hit 700ilvl without much trouble. The highest average item level you can hit is about 710ilvl, but expect 700ilvl.

Being a qualified raider is about consistency, survival, and performance. If you can bring these core skills to the group, you will be a welcome addition.  Consistency  is about having buffs, understanding your class, being on time, getting yourself to the summon stone independently, and generally being your version of Batman (prepared).  Survival  is about situational awareness while on the adventure. Paying attention to the hazards, following instructions, knowing when to fight and when to flee, positioning optimally, and generally refusing to die.  Performance  is about really knowing your class. Hitting hard, healing heavy, quick reaction time, tanking like a g'damn pro, all while having a good positive attitude about it.

A qualified raider is all of these things.

Be Prepared
Step #1 to becoming a good raider is to be prepared. This means you have your buffs prepared and in high supply, you have Tomes to change glyphs/talents, the Yak merchant mount (sadly the Mammoth will cause your comrades combat bug, don't use it), and a strong understanding of each boss fight.

In this game there are drivers and there are cars. You the human reading this, you are a driver. Your characters are your cars. Every competent raid leader is after one thing, good drivers. Being a good driver means you can watch multiple things at once, can process information quickly, have a fast reaction time, understand the necessity for keybinds and macros, have a personally optimized user interface, and perhaps even running raiding addons like DBM.

In raids, a good driver with a crappy car will outperform a bad driver steering a fast car.

The three core elements to being a qualified raider are Consistency + Survival + Performance. It's your job as a qualified raider to train each of these stats in yourself. Going too deep into one is to lose out on another. Players who strive for incredible #1 dps huge penis damage will almost always suffer from low Consistency and Survival stats. Experienced raid leaders would rather have mid-tier damage players who refuse to die than nuclear bombs that kamikaze and die early. The very best players are above average in each of these stats.

Know Your Role
So now you're prepared right? You have your buffs and UI setup. You're half geared, enthusiastic, and have read up on the raid guides. Well that's awesome and I'm about to be stoked to have you along for the adventure!! It's important you know what your role is going in. There are three core roles in a raid. Each role is of vital importance and often require different skillsets to be successful within.
 * Tanks: the meat shields that keep everyone alive and position the party safely
 * Healers: the life saving gurus who keep the party alive and safe from mechanics
 * DPS: the sword, magic, and gun blasting whirlwinds of death that slaughter everything with a name plate

Tanks
 Tanks  must understand the fight mechanics, when huge damage is coming, when to use defensive CDs, how to position the boss so melee can attack safely, and are generally responsible for keeping all the enemy NPCs occupied. Often tanks are highly experienced DPS who have learned enough to lead others safely to victory. Tanks are likely the most important role and get the most overall attention from healers. Tank mentality  is "the dps are retarded children, keep them safe"

Healers
 Healers  must understand the fight mechanics best of all. An excellent healer is aware of everyone's position, what damage is coming to melee + ranged, understand when to use massive healing CDs, and also... knowing when to simply let someone die. You cannot dump infinite mana into a lost cause because you don't have infinite mana so if there's a dumb player sometimes the best thing for the party is to simply let that guy die so you can focus elsewhere. Healers are the harbingers of life and death. A clever DPS and tank will ensure the healers survive, knowing you're screwed without them alive. Healer mentality '' is... "You're all screwed without us so I have to keep the tanks and healers alive"''

Damage Dealers (DPS)
 DPS  come in two forms, ranged and melee. From my experience ranged is quite a bit easier in raids than melee, requiring simpler movements and the ability to blast damage away from danger. The best ranged player is an artful beauty. They dance around hazards, blast damage consistently, self heal in subtle ways, and play the encounter lightfooted. Ranged players generally don't suffer from tunnel vision and can quickly adjust damage to proper enemy targets. They are usually finessed and their driving can be lovely. The best melee player is a whirlwind of death and destruction, downing the boss with heavy cleave damage and jumping over hazards while maintaining almost constant contact with the boss. Melees are in the danger zone at almost all times and can die easily, they almost always have a higher rate of damage taken. Unfortunately this means that melees eat fire damage, boss damage, and suffer most directly from positioning mistakes by the tanks. An optimal melee will have a high degree of situational awareness to notice the fire or hazards before dying. DPS mentality  is "pretend there are no healers and all you have is yourself and how you position"

Hybrids are Raid Optimal
There is a secret fourth role in raids and they are the best choice to bring to any raid. The Hybrid classes are objectively superior, out surviving and out performing the more pure classes like rogues or mages. The key to the hybrids are their utility/versatility, being able to perform many useful tasks simultaneously. There are five "best" raid classes in WoD, I will present them in order:
 * Beastmaster Hunter: can off-tank, battle rez, provide any buff, redirect threat, feign death, all with high DPS. Their toolkit is immense and useful.  A good BM Hunter is almost impossible to kill.
 * Enhancement Shaman: can off-tank, heal, have the best AOE in the game, group stun, they're the ultimate jack of all trades, and they have incredible utility + survivability. A good driver steering a melee shaman will be the most useful member of the team.
 * Fury Warrior: can tank, strongest overall DPS in the game, fast mobility, solid self heals. Despite being the core melee DPS of WoW, you'd be surprised what a creative warrior can do.  They can blast at a range, they can tank effectively while in DPS spec, they can protect any party member.  There's a reason you will see so many warriors in your raid travels here on WoD, they are incredibly effective.
 * Blood Death Knights: can tank, impossible to kill, high dps, are kind of "cheating". BloodDKs are overpowered on Firestorm WoD.  The things you can do with a BloodDK are kind of... unfair.  But this OP essence makes them technically raid optimal.  A party of all BloodDKs would need no healers, no tanks, they could steamroll anything anywhere anytime.
 * Retribution Paladin: can off-tank, heal, a multitude of group utilities including full heals and movement buffs, and have solid dps. They are tankier enh.shaman with huge cooldowns.  A good ret.paladin can save the tanks or healers or anyone in a key moment immediately.  Retribution isn't as strong as shaman or fury or anything on this list (maybe even weaker than Shadow Priest), but because they can fill so many roles instantaneously they automatically make the list.

If you're trying to decide what class to bring to the raid, starting with this list is a good idea. While being a pure dps (warrior, mage, rogue, warlock, etc) has its benefits, the extra damage they bring to the table is nothing compared to how useful it is to have a class that can off-heal or off-tank when necessary. Remember that all your fellow drivers are fallible humans who will make mistakes. Mistakes are 100% going to happen every raid. Your ability to cope and adapt to the changed circumstances determine how good of a driver you really are. So having classes that are self sufficient or can jump into different roles instantaneously are key to a well rounded + powerful team.

I'm going to give a shoutout to Shadow Priests here as well. While I don't think they're quite on the same level as the classes above, I consider them raid optimal as well. They have a varied skillset, self heal exceptionally well (it's built-in to many of their abilities), can off-heal, and can Mind Control NPCs for huge benefit. Thus far I have only seen two or three exceptional Shadow Priests steered by exceptional drivers and they've had huge impact on the raid's performance in each case. I once saw a guy solo Kromog from 8% health as a Shadow Priest, they're that durable and self sufficient. One of the most pro things I've ever seen in a raid.

While I have said all of this,  the best class is the one that flows  best for you . If you understand and flow with a monk then play monk. If warlock makes you happy go for it man (plus those portals and healthstones are legit). We want you to have fun and be cheering at your computer the whole adventure. There may be raid optimal classes, but you be your best however fits your style.

Raid Leader
The leadership role in raids is a stressful one. You hold all the gear, watch all the positioning, mark the kill-this-now enemies, Raid Warning (/rw ) callouts, explain mechanics, and are there to ensure the group is victorious. To be a good raid leader you must be: A big part of being a raid leader is cultivating your community. Your raid team becomes your friends in-game and you'll get to know each other. Share tips and tricks, jokes, upgrades, farming spots, etc. Your whole team is strongest when everyone is strong.
 * Intelligent: big brain required
 * Confident: know your strengths + weaknesses and your own powerlevel
 * Experienced: know the encounters in-and-out
 * Helpful: positive attitude and wanting the group to succeed

I am not the server's first (or last) raid leader. Before me came great players and leaders! Earliest I know of was a rogue named "Friend" who built the foundation of the raiding community and established many of the rules we still follow to this day. Overlapping with both Friend and me is the badass death knight "Seemslegitt". An infamous burper, sassy, big hearted man who had the soft touch to elevate a team's spirits and the firm hand to push them forward. Without both Friend and Seemslegitt we wouldn't have our current raiding community, so I am immensely grateful to them both. Thank you guys.

The following was hand written by Seemslegitt.

Lead by Example
As raid leader it is your job to know the most in the raid. Know every spell of every class. All specs / talents / glyphs. You know every boss and can explain it to others in a clear manner. Explaining the boss mechanics, tactics, positioning, best strategies, and even BiS equipment items for your party's classes.

Nobody is perfect and your party doesn't expect that of you. Know when it is best to encourage and when to push or scold, your party should want to rise to the occasion and beat the raid with you. Your party is too cool to stand in the fire or get damaged by hazards and so are you. Lead by example.

Be Well Prepared and Organized
The best leader is first at the summon stone, patient and ready. You never lack in flasks, food, runes or potions. Your feet know the way to go and your heart cheers the party forward. You are present, not afk. A raid leader is at their best when they are trustworthy and assertive.

Have a Voice
You have to have a headset with working microphone and something like Discord to communicate. People need to know your voice by sound and have the volume loud enough that everyone can understand. Know the English language well enough that everyone understands your words. Be able to raise your voice in case things are getting out of hand and becoming messy. A strong assertive voice that aims to stay positive and constructive.

Be an Optimist because Mistakes Happen
Never tell your raid that they aren't able to achieve something. If you lose faith your raid will also lose faith. Mistakes happen but be sure that people understand what the mistake was and how to not let it happen again. Do not criticize, instead optimize and speak openly about what could be improved. Remove toxic individuals who demotivate and distract your best players. Aggressive, passive aggressive, pessimistic, toxic personality types should not be present for an optimal raid experience.

Be your Raid's Diplomat
When people in your raid start fighting, don't let that affect your patience or the group's cohesion. This will waste your team's time, motivation and stamina. Encourage the players to set aside their differences, come to some form of balance, or to leave the issue alone until after the raid. It is helpful to talk to each person in whisper to steer them toward balance. You are not here to choose sides, you're here to create a stable environment for the raid to flourish.

Be Informative and Know the Details
Share your knowledge with the group and guide the encounter toward success. As raid leader it's your job to know the encounter better than anyone and to know tips & tricks to help ensure success. At the same time acknowledge that you do not know everything, you must learn from your comrades and continually add to your pool of wisdom. Raid leaders are best if they go into the encounters with "Beginner's Mind". It's important you are able to articulate the strategy and difficulties in each scenario. This means you must understand what it is to fight as a ranged, healer, tank, and melee dps since they each experience the fights differently. Your goal is the group's overall success.

Be a Team and be Inclusive!
Every person's voice counts, is valid, and matters. They may not be correct, but their opinion is valuable and even the most newb player will know a small wisdom you didn't understand before. Do your best to listen to everyone equally, both the ones who are loud and the ones who are quiet. Take the time to train up new players and to integrate people with potential. Push and support people. If someone isn't performing (in any category) ask them politely to improve and aim them to a resource to help them improve. Your goal is to continuously have a stream of ever-improving and qualified raiders.

Be Tactical and Supportive
As you become experienced with leadership you will know who your best players are in what roles. Who hits hardest, who heals best, who survives longest, who reacts the fastest and has the highest situational awareness. Your job is to encourage people to play their best and to take what they're weakest at and make it a strength. While sharing the loot from the raid keep in mind items that are Best in Slot for various classes, who did especially well, who hasn't won a piece of gear recently, etc. Present and live the ideal of gratitude. Gratitude to the players joining you on the adventure, and gratitude for their skills + endurance.

Be Focused on the Team
Your core raiders will become a kind of family. They'll have their quirks and good/bad sides, but they'll fit together like legos. As leader you must maintain this culture and community, keep it thriving and healthy. Remove toxic individuals and empower each player to the best of your ability. Often the best approach is to empower the weakest players with the (almost) best gear. There's a saying in English, "A chain is only as strong as its weakest link." Take this to heart. Empower the weakest players and the whole team's average will become stronger.

Building teams is challenging. Invite your favorites first and expand from there. Random invites are vital to the continued expansion of the raid team and roster. But don't let too many randoms in, they are luggage you have to carry.

Be Fair with Loot and Yourself
The distribution of loot is stressful to the leader and fraught with interpersonal complexity. A raid group's average powerlevel often determines the success rate. For this reason it's best to empower the weakest (qualified) players. In general, give loot to whoever has the weakest in slot. However your best players need to be rewarded and recognized for their efforts. Items that are warforged, socketed, speed or leech empowered should be prioritized to the core team members. This will feel somewhat unfair to new people, but they will get the exact same treatment when they are a core member and have put in the work. And be fair to yourself with loot as well. It's stressful being a raid leader and it's very easy to never give yourself loot. Occasionally announce aloud (never ninja loot or you are a bad person and aren't qualified to lead) you're giving a piece to yourself and the reason why. You cannot be greedy with this, nor should you do it often, but you-as-the-leader are doing more work and more effort than the rest of the team combined. Your best players will understand this and may even encourage you to reward yourself. In all of Desenkei's time as raid leader he's only done this two times.