Okay, I posted this in our Guild Forums, and I thought you fans of THE STARTING ZONE might get a kick out of it.
We’ve all been there. The Event / RAID / Dungeon was scheduled a week in advance. You’re all signed up. You’ve watched videos, tweaked your gear, re-specced, posted on forums, bought stuff off AH. The day of the Event / Raid / Dungeon arrives, everyone is summoned, everyone is running inside the RAID. The RAID leader has blathered on for 10 minutes about encounter strategies! Ready Check hits and you see this run across chat….
“Gotta Hearth back to Dal, forgot to repair.” or “Gotta Hearth back to Dal, forgot my flask” or… you get the picture.
So, you wait another five minutes. Then someone else asks to go take a smoke or a bio… five turns into 10 minutes… then you have to take a BIO. Half hour later, after the RAID LEADER re-explains the fight, you’re running the instance. Does this sound familiar to anyone else?
So, I’ve devised something I like to call, The PRE-RAID / DUNGEON check list. Feel free, to cut and paste this and print it out and tape to your monitor or the back or tattoo it on the back of your hand. Seriously, I’m not kidding. Put this some place to make sure you cut down on the amount of “Oopsies, I forgot… XYZ”
PREPARATION: This isn’t the check list, it’s stuff you do leading up to the day of the RAID or INSTANCE.
1) Read about the Fight. Go to WoWWikki or WoWhead.com and read up on the bosses and what they do. Trust me, it helps everyone, and it saves you from the 15 minute Q&A with the Guild Leader prior to the first Fight.
2) Watch the VIDEOS. Especially if they are posted in the guild forums. WATCH Them not once, watch them 3 times. Seriously. I’m not kidding. We usually post TANK SPOT videos here, and they are about 2 – 3 minutes. Do it on your lunch break. Just Do it.
3) Determine your Schedule. Was the RAID scheduled for 10:30pm, but you have 12:00am Hard Out? Determine that and let your team know ahead of time, so ALTS can be lined up to replace you should the team want to go longer than an hour and a half.
GET THERE EARLY!
If you are going to run something at 8:30pm, don’t log on at 8:30pm (then get hit with a Patch download, like I did this week). Log on about 15 minutes prior, so you can get some stuff done before the RAID.
PRE-RAID CHECK LIST (out of Game): This is the stuff you do in RL before you show up at the scheduled time.
1) Do a BIO run: Remember when Dad, used to get mad on the Family Trip, when you would ask to pee, ten minutes after being on the road? Yeah, we all have that same face on when you ask to take a BIO when the READY CHECK hits.
2) Are you thirsty? If the answer is yes, get your beverage on hand early. For me, on a healthy, good day, this is water. On a good day but without much sleep, something with caffeine. On a bad day, it’s beer. On a really bad day… well, you don’t want to know.
3) Are you a Muncher? Then have your handy dandy snack food at the ready, your trail mix, cheetos, gummy worms, pita chips and hummus, brownies, severed monkey heads whatever they are, get them ready.
PRE-RAID CHECK LIST (in-game): This is the stuff you do in game before you show up at the scheduled time.
1) Do You have the right set of GEAR on?
2) Do you have your secondary spec Gear in your back?
3) Do you have your buff food? (just in case no one lays a Fish Feast)
4) Do you have your Flasks? (just in case no one brings any extra)
5) Do you have your Mana and Health Potions?
6) Do you have your Reagents? (Locks, Paladins, Priests, Mages, you all know what I’m talking about)
PRE-FIGHT CHECK LIST: This is the stuff you do before ready check hits!
1) Did you down your flask?
2) Did you eat the Food buff? (Fish Feast)
3) Are you in the RIGHT SPEC? You would be surprised.
4) Do you have the right Stance, Aura, Presence, Aspect (or whatever your Class does) on?
5) Did you Buff yourself?
6) Did you buff the party? (if there are multiple reps of your class in the party, then ask the other Paladin or whatever, what they’re going to use on the party as a buff ahead of time).
7) Did you Seal up, Paladins?
7a) Is the right Pet or Minion out, Locks and Hunters and Unholy DKs?
7b) Is the Pet or Minion buffed?
7d) Did you lay out healthstones (cooikes), Locks?
7e) Did you lay out Struddle, Mages?
7d) Do you know what Totems you are laying down, Shamans?
8) Is your health @ Max?
9) Is your mana @ Max?
10) For Tanks, is your Stam with buffs look about right?
If you have done all these click “Ready” on the Ready Check and fight on adventurere!
There are some addons that assist with this process. Some are class specific. Please, check them out and use them when appropriate.