Raid Group

A few of us have started a static 8 person raid group to experience the end game content and progress through it.  We are at the point of gearing up a little to hit Garuda, and most of us have our Ifrit weapons so far.  (I say *most* of us *sniff*!!!!)

Anyway, for those interested I thought I would share our set up as I am sure it will be replicated by other groups, and may help newer raidleaders if they want ideas or a structure.  I have adopted the same structure that we helped set up in Rift which was that raid groups were organised and managed at the discretion of players involved.

I explained the general approach we planned to take towards raiding in  a couple of threads, for those who may not have read it, or are new to the FC. I am sure this will evolve once we hit 24 person content.

http://www.gaiscioch.com/tavern/ffxiv_discussion/post_64263.html

http://www.gaiscioch.com/tavern/ffxiv_discussion/post_61774.html

The main points I want to stress are:

-Raiding is a self-organised, self-motivated process at this stage. I personally have the time to organise one group, and hope that others who wish to raid will also step up and do the same.  I am not able to organise raiding for the whole FC.  Other players who wish to lead raids will be able to set up their own crew in their timezones and go from there. (Although we do have a plan in place for merging into a 24 person raid if we have enough interest in the future).

-Nobody in the FC is obliged or has to feel pressured to raid.  this is very much a "play how you want when you want" FC.  There are no attendance or raid  pressures in any shape or form.  It is purely voluntary for those who want to do it.

-By the same token, a spot in a raid is not an entitlement in any way.  Those who want to lead will lead, and those who want to be involved will start groups and be proactive, or respond to threads started by others looking for people to raid with. If one raid is full, start a new one and put in some time to organise it.  usually the more you put in the more you get out of it.  Do not wait for someone to magically create a raid in your living room!!

-Raid groups are 8 person at this stage, and subject to the mechanics of the game.  They are not free for all zergs with unlimited spots like in GW2. My advice is to start thinking about starting a regular group, and organise play times that suit. You canadvertise for classes needed on the forums if you are short on players. That is how I started when I came to the guild and did not know anyone.

-We have forums in which we can post hints , tips and ideas.  We can share information with those who want it, but some groups will want to figure stuff out on their own. 

I thought I would share our basic make up and how we will run things, in the interests or transparency and sharing of ideas:

Raid Make-Up

Tanks: Paladin, Warrior

DPS: Bard, Dragoon, Black Mage  (Second Black Mage, Summoner, rotate/back up)(Insert any dps you like, but remember to include at least one burst LB calss ond one AOE LB class)

Heals: White Mage, Scholar

This does not have to be the same as how we do it.  I guess you could make 2 warrior and 2 pallys work, or 2 white mage heals.  We just picked a cookie cutter composition and went with it. I am a bit dubious about 2 sch healers as I think the shields overwrite, and they may not have enough burst)

Structure

We have 6 static raiders and 2 rotator spots which we will swap around.  Not everyone can raid every time, so it is good to have a back up plan. 

Loot Rules

Currently the game takes care of this, but we have a points attendance system in the wings if needed.  We also discuss offspec roles and agree to pass on greed items if nobody needs for main spec, but someone needs for a levelled off spec. For example the summoner may want an offspec heal set in case a healer cannot make it so we pass to them if we all agree.  Nothing set in stone just discussed in the group as we go).

Raid Leader

We have one raid leader who leads progression raids and learning fights.  What he says goes, and we ask that raid call is kept clear so we can hear and respond to orders.  The raid leader sometimes has to make tough calls and we agree to abide by that.  There is nothing more frustrating that 8 people all wanting to try a fight a different way just because we wiped once.  We agree to stick to the plan the raid leader decides on, and practice til we get it right.  The raid leader will make the call as to when we try a new strat, or which bosses we are fighting on any given night.

Raid Times

We have players across EST, PST and Oceanic times all with jobs, real lives, families etc.  The reason we have a static group with set times, is so that during those times we are guaranteed to raid.  If our players choose to raid outside these times, they are welcome to.  But when our set time comes up, they have agreed to commit to that with our group.  Later on in the game there will be lock-outs, which will mean you pick one raid and stick to it. We raid 2 - 3 times a week at this stage, others may choose to raid more, or less, depending on their schedule.

Raid Fit

This is down to each group.  Ours is chilled, yet serious about progression, but we do not go in for elitism and getting mad if we do not progress. (Okay maybe after the 390 th Ifrit run where my weapon did not drop!) We help each other learn, even if we do not all learn at the same speed.  The key point is that we allow people to make mistakes, and do not berate them for failing at dodges or not quite getting the fight first time. We expect our players to farm their own AK runs and do their relic story up to the point we are at.  We help our newer players with the 8 person content required to get there, but the rest is up to them. One thing I recommend is to be upfront with expectations from the start.  Don't tell an elitist raider that your group is going to smash content and do server firsts, if you are a fun social group wanting to chill and have fun.  That will usually cause friction and drama. Our group is not hardcore, but it is not casual either, so we explain that to people interested, to avoid misunderstanding or disappointment.

Organisation

I organise our group, and make sure we have a raid invited and ready to go at raid time.  This allows our raid leader  and tacticians to focus on game mechanics and progression.  I am ocd about communication and planning, so that is how I use my talents for the group.  Others are better at leading, or explaining, so I leave that to them!  So don't think that you cannot organise a group just because you aren't a technical raid leading god...just find someone who is, and get something started!!

Rank is no barrier

You do not have to be an officer, or have any rank title or grand-poobah 'airs and graces' to start a raid. If you want to get something going, go for it!!

Good luck with any groups you choose to join or start.  If you want advice or help, feel free to ask or start a thread of your own.

What are the raids like at end game?

I raided in WoW for 5 years as both healer and tank and loved it, but eventually had to stop because I didn't have 12 hours a week to devote to it.

Are the raids in FF14 a little more accessible time wise?

Yes, so far no trash, just single boss encounters :)

(Unless you count the initial 8 person story quest ones)

Wonderful!

Why no Monk?  Just don't have one?

Looking forward to doing the 8 man and 24 man content later on :D Marrra and I aren't higher than level 38 at present as we've been smelling the roses amd evem then, those are our tank/healer duo (not optimal for a raid due to slots).

Oh and yes, we're back from the weekend!

"Why no Monk?"

The jobs you see listed for our static mostly came down to "these are the jobs that our static raid members ultimately settled on to raid as," while still fitting the cookie cutter template of "2 tanks, 2 healers, 4 damage dealers."

In fact, Calico actually joined us for a few runs recently to fill in a vacancy. He plays (you guessed it), a Monk!.

We are certainly not out to discriminate against particular jobs, unless it's something that completely brings our raiding to a halt (like everyone showing up as WHM...). :P

Hence the bits that read, "(Insert any dps you like, but remember to include at least one burst LB class and one AOE LB class)," and "This does not have to be the same as how we do it."

The OP is mostly an aid for any Echoes member who may be considering starting another raid group, but who may be a bit lost as to how to approach it.

This shouldn't be taken as the end-all, be-all for FFXIV ARR raiding; it's just what is working for our particular group.

Depending on which encounter you are facing, there will of course be min/max, ideal raid make-ups.

That being said, it's completely at the raid leaders'/members' discretion as to which direction they want to take with their raid composition.

For our raid, while there are some obvious key roles per encounter that must be filled (1-2 tanks, healers), we've decided to take a more flexible, "we can make this work" approach to the rest of the roles.

Beyond composition, I think the larger challenges come down to beating the server-lag boss, strategy execution per encounter, and showing up prepared for the encounter.

In terms of preparation, I mostly mean gearing up to be able to survive, and/or meaningfully contribute to completing the encounter(s), and bringing food & potions to act as a nice buffer for possible mistakes - mistakes are inevitable (unless you are Heal Bot!).

You can certainly get away with no food/potions, but having the equivalent of an extra equipment slot in food buff form, or popping that X-Ether that gave you just enough mp to keep the raid alive in an emergency...very handy!

Anyways, it's great to read interest both in-game, and here in the forums, from possible future-raid leaders!

Our static's main goal is really to group up every week and have a blast together; successfully progressing through end-game content is just icing on the cake (at least, that's feeling I get from our raid).

We have a few seasoned raid leaders in our group, and while many of us lead busy lives, we will do our best to reply to any raiding questions, or to discuss strats!

I wish all of our future Echoes raiders good luck, and hope that above all else, you will have as much fun as we have been having. ^_^

**Oh, and for those that don't already know, "Heal Bot" was/is a player that should be avoided when using the Duty Finder (due to griefing). You have been warned!

You guys can do your groups however you want.  I was just curious why Hex made no mention of Monk in her list of "possible alt DPS" recommendations.

In any given game, some classes have more problems than others with particular content, but with FFXIV, since one character can have all Classes, I'm a bit concerned that there will be preferences by end-game raid leaders towards certain classes that make the content the easiest.

I'm not saying YOU folks... just in general.

We have no prefernce, i just typed who i thought was interested at the time and which classes they played.  We tend to try and "make it fit" even if it is not optimal.  We just figure out different strategies as a work around.

On the topic of raids, is anyone interested in forming another group?  I see a few people approaching 50 and a few at 50 but nobody has expressed much of an interest. However, if there is interest perhaps someone would like to start planning/forming up another group?

I am at Oceanic times so can only commit to one group, but can help with strats and healing stuff if anyone needs help or advice.  I would also recommend forming AK groups once you hit 50 as you can farm gear tokens for raiding, if that is what you are into.

*Edit: so far nobody has seemed interested or pro-active other than those who initially approached me, so apologies if I am harping on about raiding and nobody is keen or interested!!! I am passionate about it, and it is why I play, so i tend to get over zealous about it at times!*