Raid Guidelines

Tides of Darkness (ToD) exists as a collection of likeminded player who agree on the following:

1. World of Warcraft is a game, Games are meant to be fun.
2. Real life always takes priority over playing a game

That being said it is important to understand a few simple guidelines that are put in place to make sure everyone is having an enjoyable time:

Loot Distribution

ToD's view of loot distribution is simple: we want to be able to progress through WotLK to see the end game content, as thus we will require a raid force that is properly equipped to tackle each tier of content. We ask that all members not take the “Me” attitude when it comes to loot distribution and keep an eye on the big picture that gear for one player is gear enabling use as a whole to progress.

ToD's uses a “Ladder-Reel” system, sometimes called Suicide Kings, as a method to reward players. This system avoids the logistical nightmare of maintaining a point based system with its many checks and balances. Here is an explanation taken from the site of the creator of SK:

Q: Why Suicide Kings?
A: I could expound for pages upon loot system philosophy, but I won't. Suffice it to say that SK was designed to fill an empty niche in the loot system ouvre. Most loot systems out there are designed around an "adversarial" environment, as in guilds that no one is really friends with each other, and the system is designed to counteract the "every man for himself" environment common in high-end raiding guilds. These loot systems are also typically a large chore to administer. My theory is that this is due to the legacy of Everquest, where only the hardest-core of players ever got into raiding. In WoW however, it is common to see guilds with more friendly and casual environments in the raiding game, and SK is designed for them. It's fair, but sacrifices air-tightness and exploit-proofness for ease of administration and fun.

Also, SK is fully transparent. There is no hidden bidding or any sort of competition. You can know for 100% certain when you are next in line for a piece of loot and plan accordingly. SK encourages cooperation among guild members...passing on stuff one guildie may need more than you in order to hold out for something you need more. It also encorages open discussion among guildies about loot and about who needs what, and I believe this directly creates a more effective guild overall.

Finally, SK makes it possible for casual gamers to compete with hard core gamers for loot. People that play more will still get more loot, but with a traditional inflationary system, it might be literally impossible for someone who plays significantly less than average to get a piece of loot EVER, until everyone else has it. Many loot systems are designed around closing this problem with traditional DKP (zero sum, relational DKP, etc.) but in my opinion, SK does it with the least added complexity.

Q: How does it work?
A: The basic idea is very simple: you run one or more ordered lists of players. You get to develop the rules that say which list is used for which loots/sets of circumstances. When a piece of loot drops, the highest person on the appropriate list that wants the item gets it. That person (the "king") then "commits suicide" (hence, Suicide Kings) and is sent to the bottom of the list, relative to players currently present on the raid. It's that last part that is most confusing to most people. Players not on the raid are frozen in their same position relative to the top of the list when a suicide occurs. Everyone else moves "around" them. That means if the bottom player on the list is not present, then the suiciding player won't go all the way to the bottom. Likewise if the top player is not present, he/she stays at the top. This, we believe, is a fair way to account for attendance and reward good attendance, without overly penalizing those that cannot raid all the time.

For ToD we will be running a main list for everyone, then 3 “set” lists based on class distribution over the set tokens (example, t6 tokens are for Priests, pallys and locks). As we progress thru the content, older farm content will return to NBG random rolls with the exception that sometimes it may be necessary to default loot to gear up a new recruit of someone for an off-spec role we need filled.  These cases will be rare and will be carefully considered to minimize drama among current raiders. “New” content loot will not be considered for defaulting.

Bind on Equip Items, crafting materials, etc

It is known now that BOE epics are going to be on most, if not every boss’s loot tables. ToD will handle these in the following way:  both players currently in the raid zone, and those on the waitlist (that are available) will have equal chance to obtain them as long as they can/will be equiping it when it is received.  After that active raiders will have a shot at these items, then offspecs and alts. If none of the above needs the item it will be sold for funds for the guild bank. All crafting materials, greens and boe blues will be collected for the guild bank (see notes about guild bank usage later).
Loot Priorities:

• Loot will be distributed based on the Suicide Kings method as described above.
• You may only loot items for your main character and for your main role (Tank, DPS, and Healer) during a raid. Items for offspecs will be considered after all mains have passed.
• Your main character for raiding may change with consent of the officer core, with an expectation that you will not be declaring a new main every other raid. Alts will be accepted on “farm raids” for older content
• Your main role, and this more refers to hybrid classes, is what you are expected to need gear for. Role change for raiding is also something that the officers should be consulted on or they may request it as needed.
• As mentioned the officer core reserves the right to override the rules in rare cases when it is necessary to have an exception.

Raid Etiquette

Tides of Darkness is a open, friendly and “casual” guild if you want to use labels. We will not enforce attendance, make you respec out of you chosen raid role (tank, dps, healer) or stress about getting world or server ‘firsts’ or progression in relation to other guilds. That being said we will however take raiding seriously; this may seem like a contradiction however it makes sense in that we aim for our members to have fun and experience content. Wasting 9 or 24 people’s times on the actions of one member will not be tolerated. To ensure that everyone finds raiding to be enjoyable we have a set of guidelines:

• Loot - You agree to the loot distribution rules posted above.
• Role - Your role is something you want to play as, we will not enforce you to spec into a role you don’t want. It is important to note that raid makeup and roles available may sometimes require that players of certain roles be placed on the waitlist to make room for roles needed. In these cases if the waitlist player can fill the needed role, has offspec gear suitable to the encounters we will be expecting and chooses of their own volition to respec they will be offered the raid spot and their respec costs (to and back) will be covered by the guild bank. I would rather cancel raids then have people filling roles who are either undergeared or just don’t have fun doing that role.
• Waitlist - A waitlist will be maintained while raiding.  As mentioned, players on the waitlist have the same opportunity on BOE epics as players inside the zone. As well they will move up and down the SK lists. While on the waitlist however it is expected that you are *IMMEDIATELY* available should you be needed. In some cases warlock summons may not be an option and getting to a summon stone may also not be an option. The waitlist will be maintained by the raid leader or an officer at the raid, on a first come first serve basis with the exception that travel time may cause your spot to go to someone who is closer. This is not meant to cause drama or make people feel bad it is simply a way to maximize our raiding time and minimizing downtime.
• AFK – If you have to take an afk for more than 10 minutes we ask that you give your spot to someone on the waitlist and you will then be placed on the waitlist at the top. Again to maximize our time during raids.
• Signups – We will maintain signups (in game calendar or the site calendar, evaluating) Players who signup will be given priority spots on raids. If you sign up and cannot make it please let an officer know via pm, tell or post on the board. We use the signups to try to plan as best we can raid makeups. The danger of not using the sign up system is that raids will get canceled due to lack of interest.
• Raid Spots – Spots on raids are a privilege and not a right of membership. Showing up late, frequent and unexplained AFK, poor performance are all things that may cause you to be replaced on a raid. In the case of performance, people can have “off nights” when their concentration wanes or they are distracted by things, we ask that you not think that you have to show up and raid if something else will require your attention. As mentioned ToD understands that real life must always come first. It is better you take a night or two off as needed to sort yourself out then to show up and frustrate yourself and possible others with poor raid performance. An officer or raid leader will make attempts to resolve issues that require replacing a member mid raid to minimize drama. Frequent replacements may cause you to lose priority on a raid spot (and in case of applicants, lose your spot in the guild)
• Enchants, Gems, Glyphs, Consumables – It is fully expected that you have gear obtained on raids that you will be using in your current role given the best gems and enchants available to you.  The guild bank may be used to help with these costs as needed. In the case of glyphs, again, using glyphs that enhance your role to its fullest is also required. And finally consumables, these are the ‘push it over the top’ items that can sometimes make or break an encounter. The guild bank will be leveraged to help here as it can, but it is encouraged that players farm what they can for raids. Food, buffs, oils and sharpening stone, and flasks/elixirs (and anything else). On farm nights on older content these requirements may be more relaxed, but new content and content we are learning it is required that we take advantage of everything we can.
• Spec – Making a separate note here about specs. While we respect what role you choose to fill in raids we ask that you spec appropriate for PVE in that role. Doing research and class knowledge are helpful here in determining what specs work. It is also encouraged that raiders discuses amongst themselves their talents and how to stack certain ones.
• Start times – Raids will start on time, whether we have late players join us later or fill spots from the waitlist. PuG’s will be used only in extreme circumstances.
• Finally – HAVE FUN!!!!!! Don’t sweat the small stuff, and I hope to see everyone at icecrown when we are taking down arthas.