Conferring and Confirming

Tam recently blogged about raid confirmations. Her, myself, and sometimes Moxy are really the only three that ever touch them. We go in streaks where one of us will do them for a while, then another, and then another. This pseudo-rotation works well in the sense that not one of us ever should have to do everything in a given week. As Tam expressed in her blog, players often complain to the person whose name is listed next to the confirmations for a raid. However, it really doesn't stop there—they often complain to multiple officers. Melee DPSers are most common. I hear from them every week. This week, since I did confirmations for some of the raids, I am hearing from them even more. I'll often hear complaints through third parties, as well. I'd prefer people come to me if they have questions or concerns, but not everyone is equally comfortable with handling things directly. I understand that. What bothers me is when people read too much into confirmations. It seems that people don't understand how complex they really can be... let me elaborate.

Lately, we have had between 30 and 40 players signing up for our 25-man raids. We try to bring 6-7 healers, 3 tanks, and 15-16 DPS (divided up pretty close to evenly between melee and ranged DPS—with melee sometimes being more prevalent due to our current overabundance of melee in the guild). When selecting those players, we can't just go by the role, but we also try to make sure that as many classes/specs as possible are represented. On top of that, we have to consider player skill, consistency, and availability. All of this adds up to some pretty complicated decisions when trying to get as many capable players into raids as possible.

Let's look at a melee situation:

• Player A can only raid on Thursdays, so that's all he signs up for.
• Player B can raid all three days, so he signs up for Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.
• Player C can only raid on Wednesdays and Thursdays, so he signs up for those two days.

If there is only room for two of these three players on any given raid night, what's the most fair way to do these confirmations? Would you go with:

• Monday: Player B
• Wednesday: Players B and C
• Thursday: Players A and C

That's what I went with. It seems most fair without any further context. But, now, what if Player B really only needs the content that we are clearing on Thursday? The other players also need gear from the Thursday content. Well, player B is likely to complain that he isn't seeing the content that he needs. This happens often because many players have real life situations that keep them from being able to raid some nights. That's the main reason why we rotate the days that we do specific content as much as possible. But, this doesn't always work out for everyone—we don't always finish what we expect to.

Because we cannot predict the future, we have no real way of assuring that Player B will see the content he needs, unless we let him raid all three nights at the expense of one of the other players. Clearly we cannot do that, so we do the best that we can by rotating content.

Of course, many players want to raid all three nights. However, as more players hit 80 and gear up, we are likely to need to incorporate more players into our raids. For example: we recently had a couple of additional Mages and a couple of additional DPS Warriors hit the level cap. If we want to work any of these players in, we will need some players who currently raid three nights per week to sit out once a week. Obviously, this can cause some hard feelings. However, if we never get these newer 80s into raids, they may leave the guild and we will have a more difficult time replacing someone who has to miss a raid they would normally attend.

So, as Tam said, it's a balancing act. We have to balance the days of the raids, the classes, the roles, the specs, the players, the skill, our friendships, and so much more. Players who take it personally when being confirmed or not on any given night should simply sit back, relax, and look at the overall picture. Of the raid days that you are available, do you raid more days than you don't? If so, you are better off than some. If not, speak with one of us to find out what you can do to get into more raids. There are several things it could be:

• It may be that we just have too many people of your role/class and we can't fit you in. If that's the case, you can try to reroll, or you can wait for a spot to open.
• It may be that you are undergeared. Is your average item level below 200? If so, you really need to work on some upgrades before expecting to raid 25-man content. If you are unsure of your average item level, a mod like RatingBuster will allow you to see item levels in your tool tips.
• It could simply be a skill issue. If you are not performing as well as your peers, talk to a Lieutenant or an Officer who plays your class. You may be able to learn something new to help your performance. Also, take the time to read about your class, the various specs players use, and how to perform best in your role. I read several Death Knight blogs as well as the Elitist Jerks forums frequently—this has helped me tremendously.
• Maybe your attitude is getting in the way. If you make other players uncomfortable or are abrasive, you will have a more difficult time getting into raids. This doesn't mean you won't get in, but it can make it harder.

I am not implying that no personal consideration goes into confirmations. As Tam said, some of us have real life friends who may have an advantage over players who we do not share a home, or home town with. I'll go to bat for my roommates before I will go to bat for someone I have never met—that's just the way the world works. But that doesn't mean that other skilled players can't win spots in raids, and it certainly doesn't mean that a lower performer will win a spot just because he or she has the ear of an Officer. If you are good, we will find a place for you.