Blood Pact: Be a raider not a robot

Having been a raid leader for a long time now, I'm very keen for everyone in my raids to be aware of the strategy we plan to execute. I get pretty frustrated when people deviate from it. I'm also interested in the theory and maths involved in maximizing gear choices and spell selections. When changes to warlock spell mechanics come along I always try and calculate the impact this would have on my gameplay -- and then do some research to find out what I missed or miscalculated. I believe that entering a boss fight with these things prepared is the foundation of good raiding.
You can't live on foundations though, you need a house. Being able to execute a perfect, DPS-maximizing spell rotation on a target dummy doesn't fully prepare you for dealing with a more chaotic situation. Knowing the strategy for a fight can still leave you floundering when something forces a change to your expectations. Today I want to have a look at how to prepare for the unscripted, how to be a raider and not just a robot.
When I use the word 'robot' here I don't mean to suggest that anyone is using programmed code to control their toon. I mean that it is all too easy to become rigid in our thinking and formulaic in our methods. As regular readers will know I'm a fan of theorycrafting and certainly advocate knowing strategies; as I say, these are the foundations. We need the foundations but we need more than that. We need an understanding of why we are doing things so that we can adapt to change. I also should make it clear that although I pitch this piece at raiders (and indeed, warlocks) this concept has a broader application.
As well as knowing the strategy for a fight I feel it is important to know the mechanics of the boss' abilities. This may sound obvious, but often I find people are only aware of the boss mechanics in so much as they were mentioned in the strategy. As an example, the Swarming Shadows effect on the Blood-Queen Lana'thel fight. This is listed in the strategies as being very similar to Legion Flame from Jaraxxus and that you need to move in order to drop the pools of shadow in a line, often giving suggested ways in which to run. This is quite right and accurate; however, there is a distinct difference in the two abilities. They both have two parts to the mechanic, a DoT that hurts the affected player and a 'stuff on the floor' element that hurts players stood in it. Both of these elements hurt and in both fights do equivalent damage, however, the damage taken from standing in Swarming Shadows is mostly resistible. This means that while standing in either is bad, standing in Swarming Shadows is nowhere near as bad as standing in Legion Flame.

I'm certainly not about to give a shopping list of abilities that have some deeper mechanic than strats normally place on them -- that would go completely against the spirit of this article. The idea is to show that free thought and greater understanding can lead to unexpected means of improving performance. It's this free thinking that separates us from a scripted bot.
Much the same is true of spell rotations. Now, as locks we have long been aware of the concept of 'spell priority' rather than rotation -- "if this condition is met then this, otherwise that". These priorities typically inform us what spell to cast when cooldowns are up. Do we cast Haunt or Shadow Bolt? Immolate or Conflagrate? We can stand in front of a target dummy all day to get this right. In a real fight we come across more varied situations. What is best cast if we're moving? What about if the target won't live long such as Nether Portals or Blazing Skeletons? If we are threat capped?
Another situation that may call for an unusual spell choice is when raid members die. If that boomkin just got roasted do you think about whether you have a spare, or an unholy DK? If you don't you might want to swap over to Curse of Elements -- though that will depend on how long the fight has left and how many caster DPS are still standing.
If a loose mob starts making a beeline for your healer (something that can happen in any group situation) do you consider halting their progress with abilities like Death Coil, Shadowfury or Intercept? Do you look at every boss room and consider where to place your circle? It may not help execute the strategy but can it help if something went wrong?
Communication is another valuable tool that sets a good raider apart from someone just following a script. Waffling over the voice channel is a sure way to annoy everyone (typically) but a quick "swapping to elements" lets the leader know what is going on (and that you're awake).
I could go on all day but I already said I wouldn't. No doubt you have any number of examples of breaking the mould and saving the day (and I look forward to this week's comments) but think about the little things as well. We all do it but can we do it more?
A final note: I think warlocks are prone to creative thinking and wanting to use pets and abilities that they don't normally use. This is a great thing and should be encouraged, but only in the right place. You need to put these things on top of the foundations. If you just enter a fight looking to do the unusual without knowing the strategy or how to get the most out of your spec, then you 're not a robot, but then nor are you a raider.
Ooh! A final, final note. If you do pull aggro and have the boss come over to you, try and shatter while stood next to a mage. It may not help prevent a wipe but nobody will really mind as the hilarity will make it all worthwhile.

Filed under: Warlock, Analysis / Opinion, Raiding, (Warlock) Blood Pact
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
DigitalRacer Mar 8th 2010 4:35PM
Go Raiders!
Grovinofdarkhour Mar 8th 2010 4:35PM
Oooh! I got one!
Hunters: Misdirect need not be an "only when they ask for it" item. Indeed, more often than not it's likely the most overlooked tool in your arsenal. Any time someone is getting close to the tank in threat (and we've all been in boss fights where there seemed to be zero risk of wipe until that one guy pulled the boss off the tank), an additional Misdirect thrown the tank's way can be the difference between success and failure. If you're not using Set Focus on someone already, set it on the tank, and you won't waste time trying to pick them out of the crowd.
Shootandkill Mar 8th 2010 5:08PM
Yep every hunter should be using MD when its off cooldown except in special situation like the Lich King where you have to MD the Shambling Horrors to the offtank
Ishammel Mar 8th 2010 5:14PM
Where's the comma in your title?
Rowan Mar 8th 2010 5:20PM
I'd love to see this article expanded. It really was a great read and I've like to see more of this. The comments will no doubt have some advice on how to play as a raider, and not a robot...perhaps I should direct some of my guildies to this article.
Wallert Mar 8th 2010 5:35PM
A little creativity can go along way. Our guilds not so hardcore, we have festergut on farm, but rarely beat the enrage by more than 20 seconds-so a couple of deaths usually means a wipe. We got the weekly to get the debuff off both him and rotface. We killed rotface first since he gives us more trouble, downing him after a few wipes. We're having major lag issues, but make our way over to Fester. It goes bad and we lose 3 people to pungent blight, causing a wipe. After the groans die down I ask everyone to check their quest logs-everyone completed. Demonic circle outside the door :)
125 frost badges for the guild made me very popular that night. Of course being a evil lock I was just trying to dodge repair bills, but I managed to convince them I'd ran away for the good of the guild ^^
Andy_C Mar 8th 2010 6:33PM
If this works as you suggest you're a friggin legend! I guess there's nothing stopping a lock from porting out intentionally after getting the debuff to ensure the quest is completed (usually guaranteeing a wipe but that might be worth it)? Or am I missing something?
Andy_C Mar 8th 2010 6:42PM
On that note, would a Pally bubble or DI do the same thing?
crschmidt Mar 8th 2010 7:29PM
DI/Ice Block/etc. remove debuffs. Feign Death and Evasion both work. I would not be surprised to see these things fixed in 3.3.3 to require you to actually defeat the boss with the debuff or something, but there's been no notice of that yet.
vazhkatsi Mar 9th 2010 11:42AM
note that we did this a week ago, and you should definitely do it in this order. we had a 10 man with 3 horrible dps, but no hope of replacing them. so we did this so we could do the quest without finishing the bosses off. however i had a huge repair from us failing 7 times cause we either died too fast to get a spore and he ran through the door to swat me, or on rotface i got an ooze as i was running away.
Matt Mar 8th 2010 6:57PM
Great article and not at all surprised it was written by a player that has as his main a warlock.
ladydeth Mar 9th 2010 7:02AM
I have three points from two different perspectives:
As a bear tank, I love DKs. I've been fortunate enough to have most of them snatch up that errant caster and bringing them to me :D Ahhh....ecstatic..... Honestly, I smile and thank them EVERY time.
Hunters that throw around 9k dps also should know how to MD, but my experience shows me they sometimes forget....PLEASE, everyone, give your bears some love.....make sure I have rage before you let loose.
As a affliction warlock, life is strange and I love every second of it. One minute, I'm chomping down hordies with Felhunter in WG....and the next I'm helping a friend learn to tank HoR with the Succi AND off tanking when my tree druid starts getting whacked on......Long Live Aff Locks! And if we dont......well, then you probably won't either, because I've thrown enough DOTs on you to kill a dragon....
mindflayer Mar 9th 2010 4:29PM
Hmmph. Not the first time Wowinsider has taken content, title, or concept from our blog.
http://hordedefenseleague.org/blog/
Quine Mar 30th 2010 4:00PM
Thanks for the great tips! Now I just gotta stop standing in the fire and I'll be good to go!