So you’ve just hit 80 and want to know what you need to be in order to become a succesful raider?

There’s 2 basic ways to do that. You can take shortcuts and be known for that guy that got boosted and got some luck, or you can do it the proper way and earning respect in the meanwhile by following this guide. Why you need respect when you can get quick epics by taking shortcuts? Very simple and easy answer. Respect by people you played with means that they will remember you in a positive way and might even put you on their friends list. That way you get invited back to other raids. Another reason is, by taking shortcuts you’re mostly going to PUG. Pugging means getting into a group of random members that try on a raid. Most PUG’s fail because:

1: People arn’t geared enough for the raid they are pugging.
2: They can’t play their class.
3: They aren’t coördinated and they can’t be since they don’t raid together most of the times.
That being said, this is the proper way to prepare and become a succesful raider.

A. Start farming gold or materials in order to get the epics that are craftable. Not only do they have good stats and are of epic quality. Mostly they last you long aswell. Ie. I kept the earthgiving legs on my Druid till I got the T8 ones. Those legs (the earthgiving ones) are better than T7 legs (not T7.5) so it just shows.
B. Once you get the cratables, start doing heroic instances. Heroic instances usually can be pugged without any problems (watch out with The Oculus though). You can look up which heroics give what loot and what factions reward you some epics aswell (after reaching exalted) on the following website: http://www.wow-loot.com Just select your class and you’ll have a nice overview.
C. By now you should have alot of epics and replaced all your greens by now by running heroics. You should also have aquired alot of Emblems of Heroism aswell, which you can turn in for more good epics in Dalaran! (I’d wait before turning them in though, just collect them for now.) Time to look for a raiding guild! You’ll usually see a lot of them /2’ing at evenings to gather more members. Find one that suits you best, ie. Guilds still doing naxx10 and os10 actively.
D. I got a good guild now, it’s going to naxx tomorrow! All my hard work is going to pay off! – Yes, and no. If you have no wotlk raid experience your work before the raid is not done yet. You need to have a basic knowledge of the raid you’re going to be in. Ie. You must know to avoid the Flame Walls at Sartharion (OS). Most guild leaders will say the tactics before you engage a boss, but it’s smart to know the tactics.
E. Get food that buffs your stats and flasks!
F. Gem and Enchant your gear! These will boost your performance alot more than you know. As the poster below said: http://elitistjerks.com/ is the ideal website to check for this.

Once you have done all that you can start having some fun in raids. You will progress and move on to more raids and raids that give you better rewards. Good luck!


Tips: I recommend the following addons to any raider.

1. Recount - Shows the damage done, etc.. (note: damage done is more important than DPS. You can have 3k dps, but if you slack you’re not getting on top of the meter.) WARNING: Don’t just blindly DPS your heart and soul out to get to the top. Follow the tactics always or you’ll die. And a dead DPS is a bad DPS.
2. DBM (Deadly Boss Mods): Remembering all the tactics for naxx in one day without actually doing it can be pretty hard. You’d have to keep track of a lot of things. This addon helps you with that. It for examples tell you when a Flame Wall is about to come at Sartharion etc...
3. If you are a healer: Get Grid/Healbot, these will enhance your healing greatly!
4. Omen Threat Meter: This addon will tell you if you are building too much aggro or not. Good to have. Must for tanks.


Quick facts:

Guilds > PUGs. Guild runs will get you to the back of Ulduar. I strongly doubt a PUG will ever make it against Mimiron.

Show respect to others in order to get respect. Ignore the one’s that arn’t.

Google is your best friend, if your dps is a bit low or you’re having trouble tanking/healing something, just look it up. It will help you with your rotations, talents etc...

Getting gear alone is only 80% of getting your dps/tps (threat per second)/healing better. Enchants and gems will help you loads, so don't forget to do that aswell.

One last note: If you are wondering if you are ready(geared) for a certain raid, there’s a very good website that will help you decide. http://be.imba.hu This website will tell you where you could preform well with your current gear. (Note: It takes info from the Armory so if you’ve just attained some new gear, wait for it to show on the Armory.)

Any questions? Just ask and me / others will help you with them.


Edit: Pressed the importance of gems and enchants by request.

Reserved.

Sticky plx

edit: you may also add: go read elitistjerks.com or similar website so you know what gems/enchants are best for you. also stress out importance of having well enchanted/gemmed gear for succeful raiding career. i know it is there but that last line seems like its not that important while in fact its prolly most important thing ;) very nice job otherwise

Thank you for the comment. Pressed on the importance of gems and enchants more. It's edited in the first post. Comments are welcome so don't be afraid to post them.

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Q u o t e:
C. By now you should have alot of epics and replaced all your greens by now by running heroics. You should also have aquired alot of Emblems of Heroism aswell, which you can turn in for more good epics in Dalaran! (I’d wait before turning them in though, just collect them for now.) Time to look for a raiding guild! You’ll usually see a lot of them /2’ing at evenings to gather more members. Find one that suits you best, ie. Guilds still doing naxx10 and os10 actively.

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Don't forget to gem/enchant your gear before applying, even if it's not the best epic around. That being said, you don't have to gem/enchant it with absolute best (and expensive) enchants. Berserking on a weapon from heroics is an overkill when +50 AP will be enough to show you're taking it serious. Same with gems - a green quality gem (possibly a Perfect one) is cheaper and completely acceptable at this point, however an empty socket not so much.

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Q u o t e:
D. I got a good guild now, it’s going to naxx tomorrow! All my hard work is going to pay off! – Yes, and no. If you have no wotlk raid experience your work before the raid is not done yet. You need to have a basic knowledge of the raid you’re going to be in. Ie. You must know to avoid the Flame Walls at Sartharion (OS). Most guild leaders will say the tactics before you engage a boss, but it’s smart to know the tactics.

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Watching the videos on Tankspot is excellent for that. Go to http://www.tankspot.com/forums/f206/ and just watch them, even though your raid leader will most likely explain them before the boss. It's always nice to be prepared.

Oh, and even though the site is named Tankspot, the movies are not only for tanks. ;)

You should ask Sallene what you need for raiding tbh.

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Q u o t e:
You should ask Sallene what you need for raiding tbh.

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naxxramas achievment,everyone knows that. sorry couldnt resist *feels bad*

on the other hand... bump ;P

Even though I saw alot of questions concerning what to do in order to start raiding (the reason I made this little post (not being sarcastic)), it seems many don't find it helpful / useful. I realise it isn't into pure detail, but thats what replies are for I guess... Oh well...

I see no mention of consumables? you should always have food/flasks/pots ready when you go raiding.

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Q u o t e:
I see no mention of consumables? you should always have food/flasks/pots ready when you go raiding.

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point E? :)

Not much on the subject, but each class should know what's best for them anyway.

nice guide i could have done with reading it a t 80 ;))
@zuul :look at E,"get food that buffs stats and flasks" :)

No need to push healers into downloading those addons, just good raidframes will do the job

you can have 25 geared enough ppl, but if the raidleader fails at coordinating the raid wil stil fail.

Dont forget www.wowwiki.com - it has all the infomation you ever need when raiding casual!