People know the old joke about how in dog sledding the scenery only changes for the lead dog, right? The impression is that for the other dogs all they see is another dog's butt (plus tail), so only the lead dog sees where they're going.
And to be fair, that impression isn't a wrong one.
When you've got one job in a raid, it's easy to forget there's a lot of other work out there for people to handle. Likewise if you're just a cog in the raider machine, you can forget the "You had ONE job!" nature of being a "regular" raider.
But when the raid lead goes on vacation? Well, I suppose you can just stop the raid for a couple of weeks if it's not a progression raid, but a progression run doesn't simply go on hiatus for a couple of weeks. Or, if you're me, you simply don't stop running Kara for two weeks.
So I accepted the challenge of being raid lead and the sole leader for our Karazhan runs.
***
It has been.... interesting.
I mean, I know the fights**; we have 7-8 regulars on a week in and week out basis, and I still run my bookie routine for Opera. So the technicalities are down --with the exception of setting Master Looter, which for some reason I continue to screw up-- but it's the intangibles that I have issues with.
You know, making sure there's the right amount of chemistry in the raid, or me, Mister Nice Guy, having to be the bad guy and tell people they didn't make the raid because they signed up too late. Or they got bumped because we needed heals or a tank.
My nervousness of being up front, leading, has evaporated. I know these people and they know me. They believe in me, and they actually freaking defer to me when a decision needs to be made. When the hell does THAT ever happen?
Anyhoo, it does happen, and I'm feeling better and better about this. I can be a raid leader. I can figure this out. I may not figure out everything about an individual raid, like BWL or Naxx, but I know enough that I can work my way through this. And given that nobody is going to ask me to run SSC anytime soon, I've got this.
***
Normally I'd be finished with this post, but I was on Neve the other day, having Hearthed back to Tarren Mill, and I was checking out gear when I got poked by my oldest about how Neve looked on screen. "You should screenshot this," she said.
"Hmm?" I asked, closing my bags.
Then I noticed how the firelight caught in her staff and her clothing.
And those eyes. Light, the eyes.
 |
| It's like the Map Room in Uldaman: the light has to be captured 'just so'.... |
Sometimes, the serendipity smacks you in the face with a clue by four.
*That was how the player who ran the raid logs called our first Kara run with me in charge.
**Except Netherspite, but I have plenty of regulars who know who to put in which beam, so I'm fine.
It is great to hear you’re enjoying raiding right now.it sounds like you know your stuff and people are liking working with you. Awesome!
ReplyDeleteWell, there's raiding, there's raid leading of a raid I'm familiar with, and there's raid leading on a progression raid. Just being a cog in the machine, THAT I can do. And I've found that a raid on farm I can handle, because everybody knows what to do so there's not so much pressure. But progression raids as part of the raid lead team....
DeleteI frequently feel like I'm the 'raid dad' or 'raid grandpa', trying to keep people's emotions from running out of control both inside and outside the raid lead team. For me, it's more important to make sure that everybody realizes this is supposed to be fun, not a death march. If you stress out too much about this, you're missing the point. We're not trying to be the best raid team on the server; we're a bunch of people who can only do progression raids once a week, so we're working hard at what we can do, so as long as we realize our limitations and try not to overwhelm ourselves with them, we'll be okay.
And I have to say that I'm extremely proud of our team, because we finally got to Vashj last night. It's as if something clicked and we were able to power past our limitations and one shot a couple of bosses we hadn't before then to just make this huge progression jump.
Maybe I won't jinx the raid and repost the Monday Night Football theme next Monday's raid night. After all, we did so well yesterday after I posted it.
You know, this theme:
DeleteABC/ESPN Monday Night Football Theme #2
You sound like you're perfect for the job. I'm really happy for you and for the people who are working on your team.
DeleteMy husband is the sports fan. I can't think if I've ever watched Monday Night Football, so nope, the theme isn't familiar. ^-^