Who Should You Listen to in Vent?

The answer in short: ME! (or ok, whoever your raid leader is)


Have you ever had that raider (not current RL) who is a strong leader? Or are you a raider who has had to listen to conflicting voices over vent unsure of which one to listen to? Most of the time, my raids go nice and smooth. I have, on occasion, had that raider who loves to be a leader and wants to take over at the wrong time? A few nights come to mind when I thought about this. It is bad when people are talking over vent about raid strats and no one is sure which one the raid is going to use. What is worse is calling out over vent a strat mid fight when you are not the raid leader. 


To those of you who think you are leading but are not: Let the raid leader decide what strat will be followed. Shockingly, different strats work on the same bosses! I have raided in many groups and PuGs and many times have used a different strat, which many times works great. So there is not only one ultimate strat to go with. If you have a feeling like your raid is facing doom because of the suggested strat, speak with your raid leader via whisper, or in a private vent bind. Do not call it out over the raid because it confuses people. Let the raid leader announce the strat. During a fight if something is not going right, and you think you can fix it by calling out to dps what to do; you can't. It is confusing to people because some people listen to the raid leader and some listen to you. So better to keep your mouth shut and see how it goes, then speak with the RL on the next attempt in private. Also, keep quiet in vent, I realize you are an awesome raider and you have great ideas, but you should not call out Brez or hero, that is my job, or current RL. I know sometimes you are trying to help out, but if you have any questions ask before the fight starts. Raiding is not always so serious, so I am sure you are capable of judging how casual your raid leader is feeling that night, and if you are on old content it probably doesn't matter as much.


To you poor raiders who are confused by this conflict: Safest bet is to always listen to the raid leader. If someone else calls something out during the boss fight, just ignore it. Then you can blame any fail on the raid leader. If half of you decide to listen to someone else, and the other half listen to the raid leader then chaos will ensue. Consistency is key. Best example is Lady Deathwhisper. If someone says stop dps and wait for adds, and raid leader says burn her down, you can see what happens if half the raid is doing one and half doing the other. If anyone listens to the extra helpful leader, then that significantly lowers the chance that the boss will be burned down in time. So try to keep this as a rule, at least everyone will be on the same page.


To the current raid leaders: When these conflicts come up, make up your mind quickly and be definite. Don't sound unsure of yourself. Let your raid know that you are in control, and remind them that you are the one to be listened to. Sometimes people have genius strats that you didn't think about. As long as you are clear on what you want to be done, then your raid will likely listen. (I have made this mistake many times, running with someone more experienced on a specific boss, and then doubting myself.) If you want to use someone else's strat, make it clear before you pull which one you have decided on. Biggest thing to do: Ask in the raid if anyone is unclear on the strat, or if anyone has any questions. This way there is no confusion and no excuse for confusion.