Open West TOV Raid - Saturday 30th April

[Eabon]

Hey there,

This coming Saturday - starting between 6PM EST and 7PM EST - I am going to be putting on an open West TOV raid. I have spent considerable time during the past several weeks planning and preparing and just generally setting things up in order to ensure that this weekend's raid will operate as smoothly as possible. And so it's very exciting that I'm finally comfortable enough with how things are at present to be able to go ahead and make this "announcement". And if this Saturday's raid goes well, it's a very real possibility that such raids may become a regular and recurring thing, much like the open Plane of Sky raids that took place in early 2013. Furthermore, should these West TOV raids become firmly established, they would then offer a great launching point for us to branch out even further in the future.

Before I go into any more detail though I have to say that, by necessity, this is going to be an incredibly long post. Really, I mean it. Unless you’re actually interested in coming along yourself, you may want to think again before trying to read the whole thing.
At any rate, in what follows I’m going to describe:
(i) What we’ll be doing,
(ii) Why we’ll be doing it,
(iii) Our general level of preparedness/readiness,
(iv) What you should do if you’re interested in coming along yourself,
(v) How loot will be determined/distributed,
(vi) Some closing miscellaneous notes regarding this weekend’s raid.

(i) What We'll Be Doing:

The western wing of Temple of Veeshan contains a large number of "trash" mobs (drakes and wurms) which each have a reasonable chance of dropping pieces of Ancient Silk, Ancient Leather, Ancient Tarnished Chain, and Ancient Tarnished Plate armour, which can in turn be used to quest silk, leather, chain, and plate class-specific armour in Kael Drakkel (Bard, Cleric, Druid, Enchanter, Magician, Monk, Necromancer, Paladin, Ranger, Rogue, Shaman, Shadowknight, Warrior, Wizard). In stark contrast to the Halls of Testing (East TOV), which tend to be rather intensely occupied and camped by almost a dozen different guilds, there is no longer a single guild that regularly hunts in the West wing of the zone for its armour drops, thus making it an ideal target for an open raid. This also means that, for the most part, any people who happen to be interested in one or more certain pieces of their class's Kael armour are not likely to have a better opportunity than this any time soon. It needs to be noted here though that the mobs we're going to be killing are on Claws of Veeshan faction and so attending this raid will wreck your CoV faction. However, please also note that faction can always be fixed, but a chance like this may or may not present itself once more for quite some time . Thus the plan for this first raid is simply to set ourselves up at the West TOV zoneout and proceed to pull (ideally at as close to a chain-pull pace as we can successfully manage and coordinate) drakes and wurms until perhaps Midnight EST, or whenever we run out of steam. Also, all major communication will be through text, rather than Ventrilo/Teamspeak/Mumble.

(ii) The Raids' Purposes:

We have two broad drives/goals/motivations/purposes, etc.:

Firstly, it is hoped that the raid(s) will provide a decent opportunity for people from different guilds who otherwise wouldn't get much of a chance to hang out and raid with one another to kill stuff together. Cooperation and teamwork can at times be rather elusive on this server, and a well-organised open raid is something that can quite readily demonstrate to a large number of people all at once that perhaps getting along isn't always so goddamn difficult after all.

Secondly, I simply feel that the open raid route, especially now that we're in Velious, is something that this server has altogether failed to capitalise on. Open raids have tremendous potential for both entertainment/fun/enjoyment, etc. as well as for loot, if only they're managed and coordinated with care and thought. And as I mentioned at the top, West TOV may be a potential starting point before branching out a little more widely.

(iii) Preparedness:

Generally speaking, any raid that attempts to take on West ToV (or HoT for that matter) without being adequately prepared to do so is liable to get radically fucked up.
A "successful" raid in either HoT or West ToV isn't something that is ever going to suddenly and effortlessly be magicked into existence without considerable planning/preparation/forethought/learning.

And so, firstly, please know that much effort has been spent in the past several weeks to ensure that the raid will have the right set of people at its "core" who we will be able to entrust with the most critical/crucial roles/functions. For example, thus far I have approximately twenty people signed on as guaranteed or near-guaranteed availability for at least the first raid this coming Saturday. And this includes two experienced Velious raid-geared warriors (e.g., SoD/Jaelen's/Cloak of Thorns/Tunare Belt, etc.), four clerics, two experienced monk pullers, two shamans, two bards, an enchanter, and a sprinkling of DPS and misc./utility classes.

Secondly, please also know that this is not my first rodeo! The one thing I've found most interesting, challenging, and enjoyable about this game (and MMORPGs in general) ever since I first got into it is organising, coordinating, and managing raids. So at this point I've had almost a decade and a half to perfect my style. And one kind of raid that I find perhaps the most interesting and the most enjoyable is the open raid, given its unique challenges for achieving organisation and coordination. The last time I put together a series of open raids on this server however was way back in early 2013, so I'm pretty excited to get back into it. As it happens though, during those Sky raids we became the server's first raidforce to clear the whole of Sky, isle-to-isle, without the use of mass pets/charmed pets/Sirran, back when the Isle 6 + Isle 7 bosses were actually difficult, something that all guilds at the time had shied away from.

The general point I am trying to get across here though is that if you decide to come along on Saturday you will not be attending a raid that will be in any way amateurish, poorly organised, uncoordinated, or lacking in any key classes. In actuality, open raids are typically only shite if they're poorly managed.

(iv) FOR THOSE WHO WISH TO ATTEND:

Although I welcome everybody who has any interest to get in touch with me, we're going to be making every effort to stick to a Level 60 Only policy. That is, even if you're not Level 60 right now, please feel free to go ahead and let me know about yourself anyway, for you never know when there might be a shortage of one crucial class/role or another and we need a replacement in a hurry.

Furthermore, I have a strong interest in keeping our numbers within reasonable limits. I feel that the sweet spot will be between 35 and 45, and accordingly I'll be very reluctant to take us over that point. Therefore if interest exceeds this level I will be making executive decisions based on class balance/need as well as on the order with which I've been contacted. So, for example, given that we already have three capable warriors lined up, the greatest number of additional warriors I might be interested in bringing along is two, so as to ensure that the raid is properly balanced.


Those interested in coming should send me a Private Message that achieves four very simple things:
Firstly, your PM should be entitled with the in-game name of the character you are most interested in attending the raid on, as well as your level and class. FOR EXAMPLE: "Eabon: 60 Warrior").
Secondly, you should briefly state the extent of your experience with West ToV and/or Halls of Testing. It will help me to know the raid's general level of familiarity with the zone.
Thirdly, you should briefly state how likely you think it is that you'll be available for this Saturday at the 6PM EST starting time, e.g., "Definitely", "Probably", "Maybe", etc.
Fourthly, please also list the classes of all other Level 60 characters you would be willing to attend the raid on should there be a need for them (e.g., "60 Cleric, 60 Enchanter, 60 Necromancer)

If there's anything else you wish to include in the message please go right ahead, but at this stage those four things are all I'm going to need. I should be getting back to you within several days and will remain in contact through PM right up until raid day.

(v) Loot System/Rules:

Each person on the raid will be permitted to compete for only one armour type (SILK, LEATHER, CHAIN, PLATE), and this armour type must correspond with at least one of your Level 60 characters. That is, if you wish to compete for armour for a character other than the one you will be attending on, that character must be Level 60. And so those with multiple Level 60 characters will be free to decide which one they want to compete for armour on. For example, if it turns out that the raid needs you on your Cleric but you are more interested in loot for your Lvl 60 Magician then you may opt to compete only for Silk. As another example, it may be that the raid needs you on your Rogue but you are more interested in loot for your Lvl 60 Ranger; in this same-armour-type case too you will be free to do the actual looting on your desired character.

And let me just quickly note here that I'm not putting this raid on so that people can sell stuff other people could have used, and so obviously my personal intention and hope is that all armour that is competed for will actually be used on the promised character, rather than MultiQuested for a friend/lower-level-alt or for cash.


Okay so, loot will be determined by random rolls. However, because I feel that the standard manner in which this can been implemented is incredibly suboptimal, I've decided to elaborate things just slightly. The fundamental problem I've sought to solve is the "one-loot-rule" that most random roll systems tend to use: that is, as soon as you win a single item you are out of the running for all following drops. This means that if, for example, you really really want a Legs, but you also really want a Helm, and a Helm drops first, then you have to make the decision as to whether you want to take what's on offer now (because, hey, chances are your Legs aren't going to drop anyway!) or to forfeit the Helm and bank on saving your dice for the Legs (because obviously they're going to drop later!). The issue with making this decision is that of course you don't know what will or will not drop later. You're taking a stab in the dark. Dozens of times I've seen people prevented from rolling for a BP/Legs because they decided to take the much more immediate and relatively more certain prospect of an Arms or a Gauntlets earlier in the raid.

The following system is actually really simple once you're familiar with its purpose and form. Its great advantage is that it gives every person on the raid a massive level of control over exactly what they might walk away from the raid with. It also eliminates those frustrating situations in which you are prevented from rolling for a BP/Legs/Whatever-other-piece-you-really-wanted because you decided to take your chances with the present moment and won the roll for that decent-but-not-amazing Helm that dropped earlier when you had absolutely no idea whether or not the item you were really holding out for would in fact drop later.


Our loot system, which could be described as a kind of PRIORITY SYSTEM, is as follows:
Firstly, each person on the raid designates one item as their primary priority ("1") and two items as their secondary priorities ("2")*

When an item drops:
(i) All those who have designated that particular item as their "1" will be permitted to roll for it. If only one person has designated the item as their "1" then they are awarded it automatically by default.
(ii) If nobody has designated that particular item as their "1", then all those who have designated it as "2" will be permitted to roll for it. If only one person has designated such an item as their "2" then they are awarded it automatically by default
(iii) If nobody has designated that particular item at all then it is declared as an FFA item, and all members of that armour type are thus permitted to roll for it
(iv) If at any time you happen to win the item you designated as your "1", you will only be able to compete for your designated "2" items when all others competing for it have also won their "1" item.

And that's it. You choose one item that you want the most (one "1"), and then two items that you want the next most (two "2"s). When an item drops, all those who have designated that they want that item the most ("1") get to compete (roll) for it. If there isn't anybody who wants it the most ("1"), then all those who have designated that they want that item the "next most" ("2") get to compete for it. If nobody has designated the item at all, then it becomes FFA and all members of that armour type are then free to compete for it. And if at any time you happen to win the piece you designated you wanted the most ("1") you will no longer be able to compete for those items you designated the "next most" ("2") against people who have not themselves won the piece they designated they wanted the most ("1").

Simply put, this system allows people to prioritise those items that they feel will be the best for their character. And in so doing it massively increases the likelihood that people will end up with the pieces that they actually want the most. After all, there are certain pieces within an armour type that are incredibly good for one class while being pretty terrible for another, and this system gives people the chance to set their own personal agendas.

The precise manner in which I'm going to implement and manage this system in-game will be described by PM later to those planning to attend, as well as by /shout at the time.



*Those who feel that they would prefer to have three secondary priorities rather than one primary priority and two secondary priorities are free to do so. This choice removes the handicap that should you win your primary priority item you are no longer permitted to compete for your secondary priorities, whilst at the same time gives you the disadvantage of not having an item at the highest tier of priority.

(vi) This Saturday's Raid:

The first of these raids will be held this Saturday (30th April).
I want everybody to be at TOV by 6PM EST.
The following hour will be spent waiting for stragglers, getting ourselves buffed, and moving into position (i.e., COTHs for those who are threateningly/scowls to Claws of Veeshan), all to ensure that we will actually be able to start pulling by 7PM EST at the latest.

Also note that the only route to this raid, so to speak, is through me.
If you are interested in coming along, please contact me according to the instructions in the above section “FOR THOSE WISHING TO ATTEND”.
Although these raids ARE OPEN in the sense that all individuals, regardless of their guild affiliations, are welcome to express their interest in attending, they ARE NOT OPEN insofar as you will not just be able to show up on Saturday without first having got in touch with me. Although I try as hard as I can to be fair to everybody who expresses interest, I'm going to do whatever I feel necessary to keep these raids at my personal standard of coordination and organisation, and the greater the level of control/awareness I have over who is actually present the easier everything becomes.



All melee who are interested in coming to the raid are expected to have as near to a full set of Fire/Cold resist gear as possible. . This also applies to certain casters, such as shaman, who are likely to need to be in the AE for appreciable periods of time.

The primary reason for this are the various kinds of ice wurm (e.g., here and here) and fire wurms that occupy the Western Wing, and who have Cold-Based and Fire-Based AEs respectively.

The arbitrary minimal threshold that I use is 100 FR/CR.
That is, if you are a melee class and can’t reach at least this point for both Fire and Cold (not necessarily both at once) you NEED to do something about it BEFORE the raid. Ideally, ~130 + FR/CR is preferred.

The best "publicly available" resist gear resource that I have on hand is this entry in the P99 Wiki. Please order the relevant lists by FR and CR and determine what you most need.
Just briefly though, some of the most important pieces include:
Golden Diamond Mask
Golden Blue Diamond Pendant
Velium Blue Diamond Bracelet x2
Velium Diamond Wedding Ring x2
Crown of the Froglok Kings
Seahorse Scale Cloak
Wurm Scale Coat
Runed Bone Fork
White Satin Gloves (if you happen to already have a pair from Sky)

[Swish]

Now THIS is community building <3

[khanable]

<3

[Droxx]

Great post Eabon.

I'm really bummed I won't be around. My family is in town that weekend.

[Nuggie]

I can't make this one, maybe next time.

[Lojik]

How am I supposed to know when it's my turn to have a whack at the free pixel pinata with text based command only?? Hmmm i don't have to turn off Netflix do I?

[quido]

Make sure to snort plenty of drugs before the raid.

[Swish]

can BDA confirm they're bringing everyone along?

[Cecily]

Well I am excited. Good, good raid leader. This should be fun.

[drewcifer]

I been to raids Eabon has lead he is really solid raid leader.