Raid Leader in World of Warcraft is a full-time and bone-breaking job. MeinMMO author Larissa Then reminisces about her time as a raid leader in WoW and shares life lessons from her experiences. Included are curiosities like a roast video.
How did I get into it? Taking the position of raid leader in WoW is a serious decision for many. I just fell into it because our raid lead had quit. And suddenly I had an unpaid full-time job.
The reward was the gratitude of my teammates, which was always enough for me. Additionally, I gained a lot for my future life and collected experiences I wouldn’t want to miss.
What did I lead? My time as a raid lead is a while ago, yet I think about it often. I led the Icecrown Citadel in the 10-player mode at Hardcore (HC) level during “Wrath of the Lich King”. And I did that for about half a year.
I want to share with you how I perceived the role of raid leader (RL). This is, of course, subjective and everyone handles it differently. You will get insight into several aspects of my work:
- The necessary skills of an RL
- The tasks of the RL
- The everyday madness
- What you can’t be prepared for
- My verdict for life
How should a raid lead be structured?
If you are also interested in becoming an RL, you should bring a few skills:
- You should not be shy, as you will have to talk a lot
- An RL must be able to ruffle feathers. You are often the scapegoat and can’t always be nice
- You need an incredible amount of time for the game
- Organizational talent is a must
- This also involves being able to assign and delegate tasks to others
- You must be able to handle criticism and admit mistakes
- Your performance as an individual player will automatically suffer, so you should be able to set vanity aside
Tasks of the raid leads: Preparing, Guiding, Debriefing
What is important in preparation? The most elaborate work is preparing for the raid:
- I spent hours and hours watching videos. I looked at various strategies for all bosses and memorized them.
- Even after the raid was long completed, I kept an eye out for new possibilities. Especially those that fit my guild and the players well.
- This also included the necessary addons. I always wanted to stay up to date regarding tools. Especially for the announcements in the raid, having a boss tool was essential.
With every patch came new analyses. I always kept track of which builds and classes were currently working best.
When I had thought through my strategy, I had to assign the roles as RL. It was very important to know the players of my guild or group well. I always asked myself who is best suited for which task. Especially when a player had several characters to choose from.
What happened during the raid? First, the RL had to explain the boss. I should ideally be able to assume that every player in HC knows the bosses. Of course, that was never the case. However, I enjoyed explaining and had fun coordinating different groups.
During the boss fight, I made announcements for the healers and damage dealers about when, for example, to dodge attacks or when a player needed to be rescued from a trap. My tanks communicated independently. I gladly fulfilled this additional task.
The announcements also served to maintain the raid’s attention. When a player fights through a dungeon for several hours, their mind inevitably wanders. It doesn’t even have to be intentional. With a few sharp words in between, everyone stays focused.
What is best to play as a raid lead? A major advantage for me was that I played a healer. As a druid, I always had an overview of the entire raid. Because I was responsible for supporting all players except the tanks.
But I had previously dealt damage from range. And I had some friends who played melee and shared their experiences with me. That way, I had an idea of each class and role.
But other classes also have their advantages as RL. A damage dealer, whether ranged or melee, always has the boss in sight and not the health of the players. As soon as the enemy casts an attack, they can react immediately. And the tanks are already very familiar with most mechanics and can coordinate accordingly.
Otherwise, during a raid, it was important for me to laugh sometimes. People simply play better in a good mood and good spirits. Moreover, WoW is still a game, even in HC raid, and it should be fun.
What happened after the raid? When our raid was completed, we held a few minutes of debriefing. This took place within the guild and the core team. We discussed together what went well and what went poorly.
I was very lucky with my guild. For hardly anyone was it a problem to switch roles when necessary. Additionally, all damage dealers were happy to practice their skill rotations on the training dummy.
Our daily madness while raiding
The strangers in TS: We raided twice a week for about 4 hours. It was also natural that all members were present in the voice chat. Back then, we still used Teamspeak.
Every time we had a stranger join us in the raid and they joined the Teamspeak, there was usually a line that many players would recognize:
I make a classification, and the newcomer asks what the 13-year-old boy is doing in TS. As every time, I explain that I’m a girl, of age, and by the way, the raid lead. My guys laugh, and we don’t hear a word from the stranger for the next few hours.
This developed into a running gag over the months. It went so far that my raid sometimes purposely addressed me incorrectly. Names like Kevin, Justin, or Klaus were popular.
Angry parents in the background: The voice chat was always adventurous. A player from our guild almost always argued with his mother. Of course, he didn’t mute himself, and we happily overheard everything.
Sometimes it got so bad that I had to pull him out of the channel or kick him from the server. Depending on what was faster. One time it took almost 15 minutes for him to notice and come back. Then he was mad because he had been talking with us – oops.
Bouncing raid members: What was also never missing in our raid were bouncing healers and damage dealers. First and foremost me as raid lead. If there had been regular videos of our raids, it would have looked like a scene from the Gummy Bears.
This bouncing brought us laughter and good spirits. Especially my druid looked quite funny. When I healed in tree form, my character raised its arms as if cheering. I already miss the tree form in WoW when I think about it…
The race for damage: As much as the boss and the class of the player allowed, everyone should keep moving. I introduced this rule of jumping mainly for two of my damage dealers. The two always competed for the most damage without paying attention to their surroundings.
They were also immune to announcements in their concentration. This sometimes led to both dying on the first boss. And with them, the whole raid. After all, the first boss Mark’gar was actually no difficulty.
Problem bosses that weren’t really hard: Our biggest problem was the boss Professor Plaguebringer. I don’t really know why. Actually, everything. Pulling the slimes didn’t go well. Many died from the puddles or vials. Here especially the healers, including me, of course.
I racked my brain about how we could optimize everything. I kept watching videos again and again. Their quality at that time was often terrible. It didn’t help much.
After a few weeks, it just flowed naturally. We ultimately defeated him and rarely wiped there again. Interestingly, the last boss, in contrast, was no problem.
We had so many issues with previous bosses, even with the very first one. However, the Lich King Arthas died on the second evening we encountered him. Perhaps it was also because everyone was so excited about him. Everyone was top prepared that day, like never before.
What I wasn’t prepared for…
One evening we had a stranger player with us. He had asked beforehand if he could record the raid. We agreed. I also found it exciting to see one of our runs on video.
The stranger wasn’t the best player, but he performed decently. Additionally, he was very friendly in the Teamspeak. At the end of the evening, he said goodbye. He wanted to share the video with us later, but we heard nothing more from him.
A few days later, a friend wrote to me and sent me the video. The good man had only cut together our failed attempts and mishaps. On top, there was corresponding music and funny effects.
We, of course, didn’t find it funny at all. He had explicitly noted our guild name too. That we practically carried him almost to the last boss, he didn’t mention at all.
In hindsight, I can laugh about it. The video was hardly online for long anyway, and it was actually quite funny. He eventually deleted it at the insistence of some friends. Back then, I didn’t find it cool at all. I was hurt and never allowed a video recording again.
My verdict for life outside the raids
The problem with insecurities: In my time as an RL, I learned a lot. I was the only girl in the guild and quite young at that. When I took the position, I was very insecure. However, I gained a lot of confidence over the first raids. I’ve kept this feeling to this day.
As a damage dealer, I always felt the pressure to assert myself. I found it difficult to admit mistakes. Especially at the beginning, I struggled a lot when the raid wiped. I related all the mishaps to myself as the raid leader.
Over time, this has diminished. Furthermore, I eventually became much more able to handle criticism. I learned to separate and not take everything personally. And not just in WoW.
Organization is everything: Furthermore, I gained a lot of organizational talent. Planning the raids, developing strategies, and assigning players became much easier over time.
Even today, in my jobs and hobbies, I apply techniques from the past. For example, I love making lists. And that in every situation in life.
The raid lead as a teacher: I still love to explain things. I discovered this during my time as RL. After that, I always wanted to become a teacher. That didn’t work out, but now I teach at the university. So I’ve preserved the fun of teaching others something.
What I couldn’t acquire: The only thing I could never let go of was my desire for harmony. I always wanted all raid members to walk away happy – which was, of course, impossible. It still hurts me today when people don’t like me. And as RL, that was particularly bad.
The RL is always in the center of events. Dissatisfied players usually blame him. Nevertheless, I learned something important from it. Even if it doesn’t suit me, no one can be friends with everyone. Therefore, it’s all the more important to spend time with loved ones.
In this sense, Merry Christmas and some reflective days with your loved ones! And if you’re interested in cooking something MMO-like, we have 7 nerdy recipes for you here.
