New Raid Players

[neonangel]

Welcome to the new world of raiding!

Let me guess, you've just hit level 60 and you're ready to start loading up on epic items? I think that's what everyone wants and it's always exciting to join a raid and get your first purple drop.

The end game (i.e. 40-man raids) can be a great experience, but also very confusing and frustrating at times. If you're new to raiding there are so many different things going on, especially in boss encounters, that it's easy to get lost and our goal is to make sure everyone has a good time. This goes for new and old players alike!

The purpose of this thread is to give you some general information and allow you to ask ANY questions about raiding, loot rules, dkp, etc. that you may have.

Getting Started

First you will need to speak to an officer (see list below) to get your login/password for the DKP area so you can start signing up for events. You can find a link to the DKP System from the main page in the top-left corner under “Forum Links”.

Order of Chaos Guild Master
RageKage

Order of Chaos Guild Officers
Bashyou
Bek
Neonangel
Ockham
Rad

After you’ve received your login/password you will need to find a raid event to join. From the main page on the right-hand side there is a mini-calendar with “Upcoming Events” listed directly below it. You can click on a particular event and follow the link to the sign-up page or just access the DKP System and click on “Raids”.

Click on an event and you will be taken to the sign-up page for that raid. The sign-up status box will either have the option to “sign-up” or inform you if you’ve already joined that raid. Select “Sign-up” and you will have the option to leave comments, such as “I’ll have extra Greater Fire Protection potions if anyone needs”, then click the sign-up confirmation button to complete the process and place your name in the queue.

I normally post a week's worth of raids on the Calendar and then open sign-ups at least 2 days ahead of time. I will likely be opening up raid sign-ups earlier since we now have the Class Ladder system (explained below) and sign-up zergs shouldn't pose much of an issue anymore. Our GM and site administrator, Ragekage, has also enabled an RSS Feed for upcoming events so you don’t have to camp the website and will automatically receive notifications for new raids.

Raid Requirements

To join any OoC raid you MUST have the MOD CT_RaidAssist. It allows you to see raid buffs, HP, mana, etc. and displays a small box where the Main Tanks (MT) and Main Assists (MA) are shown. You will also be able to see messages that are broadcast to the entire raid, particularly during boss encounters, which will give you important information about the battle.

Listed below are our current requirements for specific raids.

Ruins of Ahn’Qiraj (20-man) – No requirements
Zul’Gurub (20-man) – No requirements
Onyxia’s Lair (40-man) – Must have obtained the Drakefire Amulet from THIS questline.
Molten Core (40-man) – 6 level 50 blue items. *Must be attuned from THIS quest.
Blackwing Lair (40-man) – 6 epic (purple) non-crafted items, 125 Fire Resistance (FR) and an Onyxia Scale Cloak. *Must be attuned from THIS quest.
Temple of Ahn’Qiraj (40-man) – 6 epic (purple) non-crafted items.

Here are some links from wowwiki that will help you locate items to improve your resistances.

Plate
Mail
Leather
Cloth
Misc

Raid Selection

Once you have signed up for a raid an Officer or Class Leader (listed below) will start adding players to the approved list to attend.

Order of Chaos Class Leaders
Mage – Sudac & Zymun
Rogue – Nytefang & Hidden
Hunter – Wolf & Lunariel
Paladin – Keldric
Druid – Malachor & Adnama
Priest – Lucii & Posseidon
Warlock – Neit & Darkon
Warrior – Vahlerie

We use a Class Ladder system to determine who has first approval in each class (see your class forum) so being high up on the sign-ups will not always guarantee you a spot in a raid. Essentially how it works is once you attend a specific raid you are moved to the bottom of the ladder for the next time that event is scheduled, that way multiple people can have an opportunity to attend a raid, rather than the same people each week. Be sure and visit your class forum to see your current Class Ladder and speak with your one of your leaders to get added to your class listing.

After the Class Ladder approvals have been made we start filling up CLASS minimums. For instance, The Molten Core requires us to have at least 3 Druids, 4 Hunters, 5 Mages, 5 Rogues, 5 Priests, 3 Warriors, 3 Paladins and 3 Warlocks in order to have a successful run. If we only have 2/3 Druids for this raid when a third one signs up they will automatically be approved, even if they are at the very bottom of the list.

After the class minimums have been approved we start adding players in order from the queue. From time to time mistakes are made and someone gets approved out of order. If this occurs, please be patient and notify an officer so we can correct it and make sure the next person in the queue is given a spot.

Raid Preparation/Attendance

It is your responsibility to be prepared before a raid begins. This means you need to remember to repair your armor, stock up on bandages and potions and bring any additional items required for that raid.

Raids normally last between 3-4 hours so you should be aware of this time frame and commit yourself to being at your computer for awhile. If you realize you will be unable to attend an event you signed up for then you need to remove yourself from the list as soon as possible. If “real life” issues come up during a raid and you’re unable to finish then let the Raid Leader know immediately so we can try to find a replacement.

Invites for raids begin 30 minutes before the scheduled start time. On weekdays raid invites start at 7:30PM EST and we start killing stuff at 8:00PM EST. We continue sending out invites from the approved sign-up list until 10 minutes before the raid is scheduled to start. At that time we begin inviting players that are still in the sign-up queue for that raid. Once you have been invited to a raid you may “zone-in” to the instance and wait for us to begin.

Please be considerate of other guild members that have taken time out of their day for guild raids by being on time for scheduled events. If you are frequently absent from raids that you sign up for without removing yourself from the list or notifying an officer you could be reprimanded with a temporary raid suspension.

Raid Loot/DKP

In OoC we use DKP (Dragon Kill Points – old Everquest term) to determine who has priority to roll on an item. There are many variations to DKP, but we use a “Zero-Sum” system with “shares”. Here’s a brief definition of “Zero-Sum DKP” taken from Wikipedia.

“In this system, every item that can be received in a particular encounter is assigned a point value in advance. When such an item drops, players, in priority of their total number of points, have the option of receiving that item. If a player elects to do so, then everybody else participating in that encounter receives an equal fraction of the points just spent. Players are allowed to have negative points. The total number of points spent is always equal to the points received, which is the origin of the name "Zero-Sum".”

Shares are earned by being present to help clear all the mobs to a given named, and for being present killing the named. When a named is killed, we tally all the shares that were earned up to that time and divide the items purchase value to determine the points per share. We then multiply an individual’s shares by the points per share to determine the points you earned.

This may seem confusing, but I’ll give you an explanation. You participate in a 40-man raid in which everyone cleared/killed to a boss and a Stormrage Belt drops (valued at 100 DKP). The DKP value for the Stormrage Belt is deducted from the player that purchases it and then distributed to each raid member’s point totals (i.e. each player will receive around 2.50 points). You can find our assigned DKP values by accessing the DKP System and clicking on “Items”. To give you a point of reference, our DKP totals from a full run of The Molten Core average around 65-85 points per player (depending on how many items were disenchanted).

If this is your first raid with OoC you are automatically set to 0 DKP, which is considered to be in positive DKP standing. Someone will always be assigned to distribute loot during a raid so you must wait for them to announce what has dropped. NEVER loot an item that you have not been given permission to take. Such an action could result in your removal from the guild. If you purchase an item from one of our raids you may NOT sell it at the Auction House. If you won an item we expect you to use it. This type of behavior can also result in disciplinary action.

We will roll for loot in three tiers. The raid leader / master looter will call out each tier. Do NOT roll until your tier is called.

The tiers are Buyout (BO), Positive (POS) and Negative (NEG).

BO - you are in the BO tier if you currently have equal or more points than the item is worth.

POS - you are in the POS tier if you have 0 or more points.

NEG - you are in the NEG tier if you have negative points.

Example: An item worth 100 points is rolled for. If you have 100 points or more, you can roll in BO. If you have 0 - 99.99 points, you can roll in POS. Otherwise you can roll in NEG.

You can lookup your current points in the DKP system. You should do this before each raid so you know how many points you have. You can also look up items on the dkp system. I might be a good idea to make a list of the items you want, and their point values.

If an item is disenchanted no one receives any DKP from it so it is important that you roll on items you’re interested in. It is also a good idea to consider items that you’re rolling on and their characteristics. For instance, if you’re a Druid don’t roll on an item better suited for a Rogue unless absolutely everyone has already passed.

Nexus Crystals obtained from disenchanted items may be purchased at the cost of 5 DKP each by sending a request to Ragekage.

40-Man Loot

Currently there should not be any alternate characters attending AQ40 unless specifically requested, so these rules should only apply to MC and BWL.

The question of main characters versus alternate characters always comes up every couple of weeks and this is how we are dealing with it currently. We prefer to see main characters get outfitted first, and therefore they do have a slight advantage. The system recognizes rolls by tiers, and main characters will take precendence when rolling against an alt in the same tier. For example, if a main & alt character both have enough DKP to buyout and item the main character will get priority, regardless of the alternate character's roll.

We also currently use an “Upgrade” system for The Molten Core and Onyxia’s Lair ONLY. This means that after everyone has passed on an item then players may purchase it as an upgrade to an item they already have in the same slot. The cost of the upgrade is the difference in price. You can only upgrade items which you have purchased in our DKP system. For instance, If I already have Nightslayer Pants (120 DKP) and I wish to purchase a pair of Bloodfang Pants (135 DKP) that drops, I could request to do an upgrade at the cost of 15 DKP once everyone has passed.

AQ40 uses a more "true" version of the DKP system and gives priority to whoever has the highest point total when rolling for items. The point totals earned from AQ40 are completely separate from the other 40-man instances, so if you have earned points from MC or BWL they do not carry over to AQ40. Only DKP earned in AQ40 may be used to purchase items for this instance.

20-Man Loot

In 20-man instances alternate characters do not have the same restrictions they do in 40-man raids and do not have to give priority to main characters when rolling.

In Zul'Gurub you are allowed loot ONE purple or blue item per run (not one of each - just one period), so choose wisely and plan ahead for what you want to roll on. If absolutely everyone has passed on an item, but you have already collected your one purple/blue for the run, you may request to loot it. You may only loot ONE additional item in this way and if it is perceived to be a problem or become exploited in future runs we will remove this exception. Any loot that is not rolled on will be disenchanted. Coins and Bijous will be evenly divided and mailed out at the end of a run (you may sell these on AH if you choose to). Regular green items will be randomly given to players during the raid.

In AQ20 we have loot rules similar to ZG except that you may loot ONE purple or blue item, ONE Qiraji and ONE book. If everyone passes on a book it will be collected and given to that particular Class Leader to distribute later. Scarabs and Idols will be sent to the guild bank and may be requested by sending a message to Ragekage.

Strategy

Onyxia's Lair Guide
The Molten Core Guide
Blackwing Lair Guide
Zul'Gurub (in progress)
AQ20 (in progress)

It is important to have an understanding of the encounters you will be facing on your raid. You will mostly receive general information in the /raid channel as most people don’t want to wait around for 15 minutes listening to a detailed explanation on each boss. For class specific information you need to join your class channel. Here is a current list.

Order of Chaos Channel List
Druid – treehuggers
Hunter – oochunters
Mage – oocmage
Paladin – oocpally
Priest – oochealers
Rogue - oocrogues
Warlock – ooclocks
Warrior – ooctanks

Each week you will find boss strategy discussions going on in the Questing and Raids forum so be sure to read them. You should find some strategies already stickied there and I will be updating this post with specific strategies in the near future.

Never be afraid to ask questions if you don't understand something. However, keep in mind that right in the middle of a fight may not be the best time as everyone has their hands full. Please ask questions before or after an encounter has already started. Everyone makes mistakes so don't get bent out of shape if you make one. We all have to learn sometime and a little experience makes all the difference in the world so just give it time.

Communication

Order of Chaos does have a Teamspeak channel, but it is not required for raids unless specified by your raid leader. You may also feel free to drop by our IRC channel and chat with your friends.

Teamspeak
Server: ts.orderofchaos.com (or by IP address 72.232.30.250)
Password: ooc

IRC
Server: irc.sorcery.net
Channel: #order

Links
WoW at 60
Kaliban's Class Loot Lists
WorldofWar.net MODs
Curse-Gaming MODs
CT_MOD
Thottbot
Allakhazam
WoWwiki
WoW Movies
Fraps

Okay, I know I've covered a lot of information and probably left some things out. Feel free to post any questions or comments here. I'll be adding updates in the future so be sure and check back.

See you in your next raid! Have fun and enjoy yourself!

[Neit]

Great post, just a warning: don't take the linked rules word for word. A lot of what we do has evolved over time and the documentation here has not always evolved with it. When in doubt, ask your class leaders/guild officers :)

[Ravenblade]

awesome post Neon, thanks :)

[Greves]

good job on the post Neon.

last week for MC we didnt have a class leader during the raid for hunters. If that happons again i just want hunters to know they can ask me if they have a hunter question and dont want to bother the raid leader.

[Lex]

Exactly what Greves said, except that I know more than he does.

*grin*

[Trumanheart]

Excellent post Neo, nice to see new raid leader taking up responsability and commit time and energy for everyone to enjoy the game. Just want to contribute to this post with some of my previous writting.

- MC for Dummies

MC for dummies :)

- MC for Pallies

Pally Role In MC

Hope it helps

[Melic]

Wait, isn't your post redundant Truman?

- MC for Dummies

MC for dummies :)

- MC for Pallies

Pally Role In MC

Dummies, Pallies? All they need to do is heal right? ;)

[Kinjite]

Melic

Wait, isn't your post redundant Truman?

- MC for Dummies

MC for dummies :)

- MC for Pallies

Pally Role In MC

Dummies, Pallies? All they need to do is heal right? ;)

*Snort* *ROFL* *Cough*!!! :)

[Trumanheart]

Melic

Wait, isn't your post redundant Truman?

- MC for Dummies

MC for dummies :)

- MC for Pallies

Pally Role In MC

Dummies, Pallies? All they need to do is heal right? ;)

I would like to place an official request to have Melic in my next raid group and me as his main healer ;)

[Drogan]

Trumanheart

I would like to place an official request to have Melic in my next raid group and me as his main healer ;)

Why? he never draws aggro... you need to dps for that ;)

[Melic]

That's mainly because I have to wait for Sudac and Anna to die first, then I get aggro.

[neonangel]

*bump*

Major update. I've reorganinzed this page and updated a LOT of information so that it is all current.

Strategy updates coming soon!

[Erria]

A very informative and well put together post, neon. Thanks for all your hard work on this.

[Neit]

Please replace this:

Invites for raids generally start 30 minutes before the scheduled time.

with something like this:

Invites for raids ALWAYS start 30 minutes before the scheduled time, no earlier.

:D

Also, I think the req for MC should be the req for all raiding. Part of the purpose was to prove that you've done some grouping while gaining those items and even in the 20 mans you need some grouping experience before showing up.

[Ockham]

I would even go so far as to say

Invites for raids ALWAYS start 30 minutes before the scheduled time, no earlier, and if you ask if invites have started yet in /g then poo-poo on you.

[Chao]

Just wondering: How many ppl are usually on TS at any one time, during or out of raiding?

[Wolf]

During raids we have anywhere from 10-20 people in TS, out of raids maybe 5 or so.

Oh and Dad counts as 2 people, cos it's all about Dad!!

[neonangel]

Chao

Just wondering: How many ppl are usually on TS at any one time, during or out of raiding?

It varies, but TS is configured to handle up to 45 clients now so an entire raid party could join if they wanted to.

[Rebvaz]

As a Warrior my first time into MC, are there Potions I should try to get my hands on?

Are there plants or other useful items that I may loot that I should think of donating to a "Bank"?

Who is the guild "Bank"?

[neonangel]

Rebvaz

As a Warrior my first time into MC, are there Potions I should try to get my hands on?

I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to have a Greater Fire Protection Potion ready for Ragnaros.

Rebvaz

Are there plants or other useful items that I may loot that I should think of donating to a "Bank"?

You won't find any herbs to gather, but there are some Dark Iron Ore deposits that folks can mine. Generally anything gathered (herbs, ore, leather, etc.) during a raid are always given to the raid leader or mailed to the guild bank.

Rebvaz

Who is the guild "Bank"?

Drogan is the guild bank. Everything goes to him.

[Rebvaz]

I geuss I didn't totally explain what I was trying to ask.

I play alot solo, are there things that I find while not raiding that I can send to the guild that will help people who are raiding. I make a decent amount of money from grinding or selling some things. So somethings I will sell and other things I will keep to donate to the guild. I was wondering if a list of items that could be donated to the guild would be useful to others who do alot of solo grinding.


(I currently send stacks of Dark Iron Ore to Drogan when I get an urge to empty it from my pack.)

[neonangel]

Rebvaz

I play alot solo, are there things that I find while not raiding that I can send to the guild that will help people who are raiding. I make a decent amount of money from grinding or selling some things. So somethings I will sell and other things I will keep to donate to the guild. I was wondering if a list of items that could be donated to the guild would be useful to others who do alot of solo grinding.

I honestly can't think of anything, although i know Drogan never refuses gold.

[neonangel]

**Updated Strategy section with Onyxia's Lair Guide