Preface
Not long after the release of raids, I set up a raid mentoring guild with many other raid mentors. Through working with many new raiders (and recently from this sub) I've decided to rewrite my guide. This guide contains some major changes to my old guide based on community feedback, feedback from other raid mentors, and experience mentoring new mentees (specifically those who found me through reddit). Do note that whereas my old guide was targeted to friends and guildies, this one is moreso targeted at subscribers to this subreddit. I learned a lot working with you guys and discovered that you are a LOT different from the people I normally play with.Purpose
The purpose of this guide is to provide an efficient way for players new to raids (beginners*) to begin raiding and develop the skills necessary to succeed while preventing the formation of bad habits that will hurt players in the long-term.*Note: Raids are the end-game of PvE, and, as a result, are also the most challenging content (even with easier bosses like sloth and VG). Raid beginners are not the same as "normal" beginners. They should already have a thorough understanding of the game and all professions--not just the professions they wish to play. In order to simplify the guide, beginner will refer to raid beginners.
Prerequisites
Being the most difficult end-game content, beginners should acquire certain equipment and skills before attempting raids. Everything suggested here is only a guideline, but it is what we believe are the minimum requirements for a beginner to efficiently and effectively learn raids without developing bad habits.- Exotic or higher armor
- Exotic or higher back piece
- Ascended weapons
- Ascended trinkets
- Best available food and consumables
- Complete elite specialization*
- Solid understanding of the game and each profession
- Willingness to take personal responsibility for your growth
Suggested Classes
Through working with countless beginners, other dedicated mentors and I have created a tier list for which professions are best to learn raids with. We strongly recommend beginning with classes higher up on the tier list. The list is based primarily on success of previous mentees. Other factors we consider are:- complexity of rotation (too complicated and too simple are bad)
- ease of survival (too easy or too hard are bad)
- ease of obtaining proper gear (easier is better)
- usefulness across raids (useful across many bosses is good).
- Warrior, Revenant
- Elementalist
- Druid, Necromancer
- Guardian, Thief, Mesmer
- Engineer
Finding a Group
Once you have completed the prerequisites and chosen a class, it's time to find a group. For the purposes outlined in this guide, we strongly recommend finding either a dedicated raid teaching guild or a dedicated raid team comprising 3-5 experienced raid mentors and 5-7 beginners. So many beginners are recommended as having too many experienced players may lead to getting carried which will prevent you from learning many skills critical to raids. Teaching raid guilds can be found on the official forums or in the guild recruitment subreddit. The LFG system should NOT be used to find a group for a beginner unless it is advertised as a practice or teaching run*./* Note: The authors run their own dedicated teaching guild. To receive an invite, send a PM with your in-game name and server (EU or NA) to the author.
/**Note: Groups formed using the LFG system are not conducive to learning encounters as they are often unwilling to teach, are likely to fail, or will carry the beginner.
Suggested Bosses
As with classes, we have developed a tier list to rank bosses for beginners. The tier list is primarily based on previous beginner success in learning raid mechanics and beginner satisfaction, but other factors are taken into account including:- Raid mastery requirement
- Ease of access
- Potential to getting carried
- Difficulty of encounter
- Number and variety of mechanics
- Similarity to other bosses
- Tightness of DPS check
- VG, Sloth
- Gorseval
- Sabetha, Mathias
- Bandit Trio
Learning Raids
Once you have chosen a class, found a team, and chosen a boss, it's time to start learning the encounter. We have found that using a 3-stage method keeps our beginners engaged, results in efficient training runs, and gives our beginners the time required to fully develop and master all required mechanics. The method breaks down into 3 stages. The first stage involves reading a guide about the boss--the guide should be detailed enough that it covers all major mechanics and all of the boss's attacks. Dulfy guides are a good source. In the second stage, we have trainees watch video guides in order to see the mechanics they read about in action. YouTube is a great source for these. Finally, in the third stage, the beginner tackles the boss with other beginners under the guidance of several more experienced players. Beginners should be asking more experienced players for feedback and if needed, the more experienced players should proactively correct mistakes from beginners.Future Direction
Upon clearing your first boss, your options open up. As a follow up, we recommend you begin working on another boss further down the tier list. In addition, you should feel free to join LFG groups (assuming you meet their requirements) for the defeated boss in order to further hone your skills. However these topics are beyond the scope of this guide.Remember, just because you've cleared a boss once does not mean you are suddenly an expert. The encounters are all very forgiving and so constant practice and refinement and critical to smooth, hassle-free runs in the future. Further, a lot of skills are transferable from boss to boss, meaning that by getting better at a boss like sloth will make you better at all other bosses.
Special thanks to those who helped write this guide and the members of [Nox].
Thanks for reading and have fun! Leave a comment if you have any questions, I'll stick around and answer them for a bit.
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