Raids are fun, and challenging content!
however, they require a group of 10 people to coordinate actions with one another to complete. So you can’t do it on your own!
If you’re in a raiding guild, you’ve got that part covered and this guide isn’t for you!
If you’re not, then here’s what you need to do to get into raids:
1) know your class!
Each class has it’s pros and cons, and can contribute in different ways to each encounter.
So before you even worry about getting a group, you better know what you’re doing!
I’m not saying you have to go to Metabattle and copy a build from there (despite the fact that it works… very well),
but you need to know how you can contribute:
do you deal direct or condition damage?
do you provide boons? and if so, which ones? and how consistant are you at that?
do you provide buffs like Spotter or Empower Aliies?
do you have good Crowd Control skills if any?
Once you’ve figured out how you’ll fit into a group, set up a build, and figure out how to tweek it for different situations.
Raids is where the game stops being face-roll easy and start getting serious, so you better not go in blind.
2) know the encounter!
Each encounter in the raid is different, and has it’s own special mechanics.
Sometimes it’s about position yourself, sometimes it’s about knowing when you need to burst damage/CC.
There are dozens of guides for each wing and each specific boss which detail each mechanic and attack, and how to handle it very well.
So read a guide or two, watch a video of a kill to get the feeling of what you’re supposed to do.
Like in many things, knowing is half the battle.
Now, you may skip this part if you choose, but then you MUST notify the group of this during [section 5]
3) get geared up!
Now, I’m not saying to get ascended armor and weapons (though this helps for various reasons),
but your gear has to be exotic at bear minimum.
however kind or nice people you meet might be, nobody will want to go into a raid with a guy wearing rare gear knowingly.
you should also get ascended accessories, since those are very easy to come by.
which stats should you bring? those that amplify on your build from section 1.
you’re going for direct damage? take berserker.
want to deal some condition damage? Sinister or Viper’s are for you.
Want to be a healer? go for Magi or Zealot.
Importent note: since some of the bosses usually focus on the player with the most toughness in the group,
you should avoid this stat unless youre’ the tank. so stats like Cleric or Rabid are not taken as to not mess up the fight.
4) eat hearty!
Foods and utillity consumables are very important in raids.
For condition dealers they could give up to 30% more condition duration which will be 30% overall damage boost.
for buffers they could give 20% more boon duration which would help alot for the group.
So like the gear, take the food which will amplify your role the most.
5) get a group together!
Here’s where most people fall short in their journey to raids.
They set up their own builds, and when they try to join other groups, they’re kicked for not playing the meta or having propper builds,
and then end up on the forums complaining or just quitting raids all-together.
So here’s what you can do:
a. try to find a group which will take you, and when you join them explain it’s your first time,
that you haven’t scored a kill yet but you’ve read about the encounter and got the theory down.
at this point they might kick you, AS IS THEIR RIGHT.
this is very important.
Nobody has to play with you, they might want a quick kill, or just don’t trust you.
You can’t force somebody to play with you or agree to have you in their composition.
This isn’t toxic environment, this is just free will. and you can’t mess with that.
so what you can do is…
how do you do that?
go to the LFG and press the “Advertise your group button”.
Then in the description write something like this:
“VG lfm chrono/tank/healer/[enter other roles here] no-req run. just know what to do”
“Gorse LFM for exercise run. no exp needed!”
“VG LFM for starters run”
Any of these descriptions will be sure to get you people for your group,
since as you may not know, you’re not the only person who wants to get into raiding.
this might take a while, but when you PUG raids, no matter your exp level, getting a group together is the longest part.
6) Start failing!
yeah, this isn’t a miss-type.
you know how DnT and other guilds (I don’t remember other initials… sorry) got to be the top names of raiding?
They failed encounters.
Alot.
you try and fail, and each time you fail, go through the following process.
why did that happen?
did we lack something? (CC/damage/healing), were we not positioning ourselves properly?
were we late for something?
was it my fault? and if so, how can I improve?
was it someone else’s fault? how can I help them get better?
once you reach the conclusion, especially if you figured you did something wrong, tweek your build to adjust for the error
or be aware of the point of failure to not fall for it again (remember where to be/when to CC).
then go again, and fail again and again and again untill….
7) get the kill!
you’ve done it! you’ve got your first kill!
you’ve finally got your first Legendary insight!
no simply repeat stages 2 and 5 for any new encounter,
and repeat stages 3 and 4 whenever you got the funds to upgrade your gear or get better food (Toxic Crystals are expensive!)
This might seem like a joke post but it’s really not.
There are too many complaints about raids not being inclusive and having a “toxic environment”.
but after starting PUG-raiding with exotic gear about a month ago and now being with full Viper gear,
killing VG and gorse several times, having a Sabetha kill, and almost getting a Sloth kill with ONLY PUGS,
I can say that the whole “raids are hard/not inclusive/toxic” is just lazyness/a lie.
So in short: Know what to do, be honest about your experience, take the initiative and start groups for your levels,
and fail alot!
so good luck and get your kills! If I’ve done it, so can you!