Leading the Raid – Take 2

My first real shot at leading the guild’s Black Temple raid didn’t go very well.  Okay, so maybe it was a complete disaster.  A lot of very unfortunate events led to us not downing a single boss, in a place in which we’ve killed 3 thus far.  First off, a bunch of our regular healers didn’t show up, and I was forced to hop on my priest and respec to a raid build, and heal.  Something I have only done ONCE before with this guild.  And I was asked to go Circle of Healing, a spec I have never raided with.  And on top of all of that, this was a last minute decision.  I was literally choosing my new talent points about 5 minutes before we were scheduled to begin pulling.  Did I mention this was my first real shot at leading an important 25 man raid?  Needless to say, I was more focused on remembering how to actually heal, than trying to lead the raid.  We meandered our way to Najentus and then proceeded to wipe horribly 3-4 times before calling it a night.  Fun times.

But our usual raid leader needed to miss another 25 man raid this last week, and since I was deemed the back-up raid leader for some unfortunate reason, it was my chance to restore some faith in my fellow guildies.  This time it was Tempest Keep, a place I knew inside and out.  And I was bringing my warlock, a toon I could play with my eyes closed.  Barring the one unexpected wipe on Alar, it was smooth sailing.  Plenty of good drops, and lesser geared guildies getting the loot they needed led to a very fulfilling night of raiding.  But in addition, it also restored a lot of the confidence I had lost from the 2 hour repair bill of a raid I had tried to lead a few weeks earlier.

So what did I learn?  And what makes a good raid leader?  Stay tuned