10 things every raider should know

I was talking to a guildie earlier and he mentioned that he sort of expected all raiders to be able to read, and more specifically read up on their own class.

Then just 5 minutes ago I came across a blogpost in my reader titled "10 things every manager should know."

The list below is not in order of importance, they're all important. Also, there are probably a lot more than 10, if you wish to put more on this list feel free to leave it in the comments :)

1. Preparation is the key to Success
   Preparation is one of the most important things to raiding. And I'm not only talking about watching a youtube video of the fights that you will be doing, that too is part of it. But I also mean prepare your character. Make a checklist if you have to.
   - Correct gems in every gemslot?
   - Everything enchanted?
   - Offspec set ready too?
   - Offspec ready?
   - Consumables ready?
   - Still have bagslots to pick up loot?
   - Made sure that you have the time available that you're raiding?
   - Etc
   
   
2. Melee dps belongs behind the target
   I've had a post about this, I've written a lot about this, I've shouted this, and STILL THERE ARE MELEE DPSERS WHO DECIDE TO ATTACK FROM THE FRONT!
   
   Seriously...
   
   
3. TV and raiding don't go together
   And I bet you're now thinking...I always watch TV, and I am the best dps there is...
   
   Very few people can actually effectively multitask. And really, I promise if you focus on what you're doing instead of be half-distracted by the TV, your performance will improve immensely.
   
   
4. Raiding is Teamsport
   This is another topic I've written about. (not that I can find the post back now, of course...)
   
   You cannot raid on your own. You need 9 or 24 other people. Treat these people with respect, but also remember that they make you better. Know about your team mates. Know a little about their classes too. And sometimes it might even be better to just take that tiny step back in your own performance but increase the performance of 3 or 4 team mates.
   
   
5. Vent is for raid communication
   If you're nicely on farm content, be my guest, chat. But if you're dealing with stuff that you need your concentration for, please don't start a whole conversation on completely non related subjects. Not only can this be frustrating for the raidleader, but you or your team may also miss instructions this way, causing a wipe.
   
   
6. Be prepared to be better than yourself
   There isn't always the same class and spec in the raid than you are. Still, you should always be ready to step it up. To become better, to want to learn more. Raiding is about beating that next encounter, and it is important that you have the need and want to improve yourself if you want to be succesfull.
   
   
7. Loot is the road, not the destination
   I've seen it happen way too many times that people roll on loot that is only a marginal upgrade for them or even just a side grade. In pugs...maybe you should, and yet...
   
   Next time you roll stop and think for a moment, discuss with the other people who are rolling what they're wearing (don't make it too long, you don't want to hold up the raid!), every person who gets better gear in your team will improve your team.
   
   And even if that means that you will not do 10 dps more...it might mean that your raid does 200 dps more, just because you passed it to someone else.
   
   
8. Listen to your leaders
   They may not always be right, and still you should listen to them. Why? Simply because you cannot have several captains on one boat, all you end up doing is fail. And this goes for raidleaders, guildleaders, classleaders, etc.
   
   Also, even if your raidleader turns out to be wrong, it will often be faster to have all the faces pointing one way, and wiping once to do it differently after...then it is to discuss endlessly, or even get anrgy about how 'wrong' the raidleader may be.
   
   However, if you do have useful input, do share, of course. The best way to do so is to send your lead a whisper with the suggestion. He or she will then decide what to do with the suggestion. Don't be disappointed if it's not followed. Leads are generally in that position for a reason. They may have information you don't have, or they may have a better overview of what the different members of the raid can or cannot handle.
   
   
9. If there's sparklies of any colour under your feet....move
   
   Generally bosses will throw out all sorts of abilities on the floor, and only very few of them are actually good to stand in. A good rule of thumb is to just get out.
   
   One of the things that you do need for this is to have projected textures turned on, since often this is the only way to see the graphical indication. Personally I also prefer to raid with my sound on since a lot of bosses not only give visual indication that they're about to use an ability, but also shout something, or the music changes.
   
10. Be prepared to wipe, and still stay good humoured
    
    Wiping is part of raiding. It doesn't even matter if you're running progression content or farm content. I think Farm Content you're even more likely to wipe, especially on trash. Someone becomes careless and pulls wrong, bam the entire raid dead. It happens. Pick up your body, run back, and stay relaxed. It's part of it. And for those who do get annoyed remember this one: "Would you rather be soloing mobs somewhere without your friends around?"