Nag

Thanks for your interest, but this event ended the weekend before last

Great guide! I've actually not done much anything of this collection, so this will come in handy. For anyone interested, the cheapest way to get your starting Dark Energies would be to make some relatively cheap Ascended Heavy Armor - typically, Magi's (Hronk's) is cheap, so something like Hronk's Warfists tends to be a safe bet. If you want to check for yourselves, GW2Efficiency has a nice, always-up-to-date list of the cheapest Ascendeds. Typically we're talking somewhere in the area of 50g per Dark Energy. If you want to be a bit more extravagant you can craft Ascended Weapons that you just want for the skin and salvage those, but that feels a bit luxurious. On a semi-related note, the best way to unlock all the Ascended Weapon skins (if you're so inclined) would be to just craft each weapon type once and then statswap through all the different color types.

A salute to all you who helped me clear the true endgame, both veterans and newbies. You know who you are. For those interested - your journey starts at Teku Nuhoch. I can say no more.

I threw in some updates with regards to the second raid wing, Salvation Pass. Also, the Adrenal Mushroom mastery is no longer necessary - ANet removed most of the Adrenal Mushrooms from the raid, and instead made it so that all your cooldowns reset when you wipe, which I think is a pretty cool move by them.

Boo! (Heh, now I pretended to be useful but don't actually have to do any work. Plan successful )

If you need a completely impartial person to give feedback to, I'm a good choice, seeing as I'm horrible at social stuff & remembering names and have no idea who 95% of our commanders even are, despite being one myself. #justNagbeinguseful

And that concludes the event! Despite no groups actually getting kills, I would cautiously call this a pretty great success. A lot of people got to see the raid for the first time, or practice roles and classes they weren't familiar with. There was significant, constant improvement from everyone I was grouped with, and going by feedback from the other group leaders, it seemed like this was the case for everyone. There were several tries that got to last phase and/or survived until hard enrage, which is quite an achievement for raids comprised almost entirely of beginners. So - thank you for everyone who joined! I hope you learned a lot, had fun, and got to see for yourself if raids is something worth getting into or not. Hopefully, now that more people have seen it, we will have more people interested in joining or making their own raid groups. Remember, practice makes perfect! As a side note, I also hope that these runs demonstrated why "meta" builds, who often were disregarded as "elitist" or such before, are actually very nice tools to enable you to complete raids that require a lot of personal and group-wide performance. Fortunately, a lot of the most "meta" builds are also really fun to play! \o/ As for the future, I know that next week is a no-go for me, so we'll have to see what the future brings. While I cannot guarantee anything on my schedule, I will keep you updated if I can free up enough time to organize a second event. tl;dr: Thanks for coming. Proud of y'all.

As for other events, the current answer is that "We would like that, but we're not sure if we can make the time currently." Stay tuned.

Erk, didn't spot that in your post. My bad. Show up on TS today too, though, if someone doesn't show we'll make it a priority to get you in.

Haha, that one is indeed rather easy, if nice. I won't take the glory away (and I don't have any great places to hide anyways... that aren't impossible to find, at least!), but I'll give the hint that those who do the Guild Treks regularly may know where this is

It would be lovely if you could show in the TeamSpeak tomorrow, then, and we'll sort out who's there and who can do what.

Thank you for coming and making the stuff awesome! I don't know if we will be able to repeat the event - I, too, hope that we can - but it will depend on my future schedule, as well as that of others. Stay tuned, I guess. On that note, there's still tomorrow's raids, and one of our PS Warriors had to back out. That means we would very much want one volunteer who can play PS Warrior for the raids starting tomorrow (Sunday) at 12:00 CET! It would be greatly appreciated.

An update: It was pointed out to me that I had forgotten to include Eis Lue Mirage in the schedule. I was able to re-arrange it so that they're in Raid 1 today (Saturday). Apologies to Dausen; you were originally scheduled to run Condi Warrior on both days, but I had to move you to Sunday only. I hope I can be forgiven. If anyone finds any other mess-ups, don't be shy, tell me and I'll do my best.

It's the Raid Organizer's sorrow - they can try their best to make things work, but they can't make everything perfect. I had to make some tough choices, and those that "get to do two days" are generally those that were strictly needed to fill certain roles that we had too few people signing up as (healers, condis etc.). As a reminder, mailing me 100 gold will not help. (To anyone wondering: It is a joke. Please do not mail me 100 gold even as a joke, I'd be flagged as a gold buyer)

Okay, final raid setups posted. ...I did it. EVERYONE got in (with the exception of zrangon, sorry, by the time you had posted the raid schedule was 100% done). EVERYONE. However, remember that it is still very possible that there will be people who cannot show at the last moment, so if you're in only the Sunday raid, feel free to come hang out before the Saturday raid to see if a spot suddenly opens, and vice versa. It's 100% possible that I've screwed something up - forgotten someone, put someone on a day they didn't want to raid on, put someone on a class they don't have etc. Please give me any such feedback as fast as possible, so I can try to fix it. If your name isn't there, that is just because I forgot you (because I am silly), so please correct me. Also, some people are in both Saturday and Sunday raids. There is always a reason for this, and I assure you these reasons are always very fair and thought-through and all that. No, it is not because someone mailed me 100 gold, that does not work. If you are set up on both days though, but don't want to (or can't), please tell me that as soon as possible too. We will meet up in the Group Channels -> Group 1 room on the OpenCommunity TeamSpeak (ts.gw2oc.com if you don't already have it, but of course you have it!). Please try to meet up 15 minutes before the event starts <3 Apart from that, remember, this is a training run, so you need patience and good attitude. You may not get a kill at all. There may be many wipes. However, there'll be Fun and Learning. Hope to see you all there!

I will have to renege on my promise to have posted a raid schedule today, since I still need to communicate a bit with some more people. However, the schedule is more-or-less getting done. I can sadly not guarantee that everyone who signed up since my last post gets in (although you may), and anyone signing up after this will probably end up as reserves (in case someone doesn't show up - which is rather likely). However, feel free to sign up if you are still interested, just be aware that there's no guarantee there will be a spot. The finished raid schedule will still be posted tomorrow, no matter what.

Raids are now starting to take shape - we should have enough people to actually make the raids happen. With that said, final raid setup is not fixed yet and there is still room for several more signups, so if you're interested, don't be shy! A thing I should have been clearer about: I have been assuming that everyone who signed up as "either" or "both" can show up on both the Saturday raid and the Sunday raid. Everyone who has signed up so far will get into at least one of the raid sessions, but it is also possible that several of you will be asked to join for both raid sessions (Saturday and Sunday). If you only want to join for one of the days (but don't care which), tell me and I won't "double sign you up". I will probably post a tentative raid setup on Thursday, and certainly a "final" raid setup on Friday afternoon. Again, signups are still open!

It's a nice thought, but not something we can afford to do this time around. It's the first time we're organizing something like this, and we're already having to organize 20+ people, out of which most are beginners. If we repeat this, then expanding is a nice idea. But at the moment we want to get this off the ground more than anything else.

I can confirm that I'm currently planning on setting up two raids on both days. However, the time slots will not change, as they were chosen specifically to not clash with some important things on those days. I really do feel sorry that we're "excluding" you with these times, though, but unfortunately there'll never be a perfect time. That said, if this works out well and we do a repeat of this event later, I will make it a point to try to include even more people, especially those who missed out this time around. There are currently no plans of three groups, since we need a certain amount of experienced players in each raid that can do explanations and lead etc. However, people are welcome to keep signing up. I'll try my best to fit in as many people as possible. Even if the raids do fill up completely, there'll probably be need of some backups in case someone suddenly can't make it.

Sadly, probably not this time around. I have fairly limited time myself, and I don't intend to hold people for too long. If we get a lot of sign-ups for Sunday we may do another round of it, but it's fairly unlikely. Depending on how this round goes and how my schedule looks in the future, there may or may not be more raiding weekends in the future, although I doubt I can make it into a regular event by myself. I'll make it a point to ensure as many as possible get a shot, though.

Raid Schedules Saturday - Starts at 17:00 CET (meet up in TeamSpeak at 16:45) Raid 1 - *u* Tank (Chrono): Nukkuu Heal (Druid): Nag Support (Herald): Minithra Support (PS): Artumes Tempest (of some sort): Eis Lue Mirage Condi (Reaper): Andyhoi Condi (Engi): Cheshader Power (Ranger): Tyrael Haera Power (Tempest): Armuras Power (Tempest): Ergysal Raid 2 - I've got SOUL Tank (DH): Susimusta Heal (Druid): Jinjina Support (Chrono): Lameth Support (Herald): Eirra Wolfborn Support (PS): Macstat Condi (Engi): Kulack Forgestone Condi (Reaper): Daeron Power (Daredevil): Xplso Th Power (Tempest): Yeruwsha Power (Tempest): Sabina Raid 3 - Kawaii Asura-chan Tank (DH): Major Flu Heal (Druid): GoNikonata Support (PS): MayaMinamoto Support (PS): MuskaUh.6205 Support (Chrono): Zogbon Condi (Reaper): Chef Condi (Engi): Toniivo.2563 Condi (Reaper): Fatal Power (Tempest): Vempire Power (Engi): Graudam Sunday - Starts at 12:00 CET (meet up at 11:45) Raid 1 - *v* Tank (Chrono): Nukkuu Heal (Druid): Nag Support (PS): Leigh Darby Support (Herald): Hornmoor Condi (Warrior): Dausen Condi (Engi): Cheshader Power (Tempest): Sally Shade Power (Tempest): Deus Elemental Power (Daredevil): Never Dont Give Up Power (Tempest): Chef Raid 2 - I've got CONVICTION Tank (DH): Susimusta Heal (Druid): GoNikonata Support (Chrono): Lameth Support (PS): Sithicus Support (PS): Zerfalex Condi (Warrior): Landrari Condi (Reaper): Andyhoi Power (Tempest): Laoili Power (Daredevil): Navi Knox Power (Tempest): Equus Albus For those wondering, DH = Dragonhunter, and PS = Phalanx Strength (Warrior). If there are any questions at all of any kind, ask now! \o/ Remember, bring good attitude - these are beginner raids and it is very possible that you will be wiping non-stop. Learn from it, work with each other, have fun. If you don't want to be patient with yourself and other people - you have been warned. As a side note, anyone that ragequits during the event will end up on my eternal blacklist

Hello again all! There seemed to be some interest for beginner raids, so I finally made some time on my schedule. Thus, here comes the Beginner Raid Weekend! To clear any confusion: Even though the new raid wing will have been released before the event, we will be raiding in the "old" raid wing, Spirit Vale. There will be one raid at Saturday 12 March starting at 17:00 CET, and one raid at Sunday 13 March starting at 12:00 CET. If you want to join, please sign up in this thread (even if you posted in the previous thread) with: Your in-game name. Your experience level. Keep in mind that since this is a Beginner Raid, it is totally fine to not have any experience, but the information is important for planning. What classes you can play; especially important to note if you can do / want to learn "special jobs" like tank, healer and condi. If you want to join for the Saturday raid, the Sunday raid or both (people who didn't get to join the Saturday raid have priority to join the Sunday raid, obviously). Initially we are only planning to have one group (of ten people) on each day, but depending on number of signups and other factors we may have more groups. Tries are not expected to last more than a couple of hours, depending on people's attention levels and such. Don't expect an easy kill - or a kill at all - but expect to come in there and learn stuff. In principle, anyone is welcome to join, but I will still have to set a few simple requirements: You must have HoT to enter the raid at all. You must have a level 80 character with at least exotic gear, and ideally ascended trinkets (minus backpack). More ascended makes it easier for you, though. Avoid Toughness on your gear at all costs unless you intend to tank - if you have even one point more Toughness than the tank, you will take aggro. Proper Runes and Sigils. Honestly these are much more important than having ascended gear. Having at least some food & utilities is kind of a big deal, too, but since this is learning raids you don't need the "best of the best", just something that pads your stats a bit (not magic find food, please, it doesn't even work). Read my introduction to raiding, and check through the dulfy guides that are linked at the start of the post. There will of course be some explaining during the runs, but the more prepared you are the easier the raid will be. Please use a build that is tuned for raids. There are plenty of good builds in our Pact Barracks subforum and on metabattle. If you want to use a build that is not linked in either of these two places, please send me a mail in-game on Christars.8645 so we can discuss it. We will of course use TeamSpeak. This is probably obvious, but still. It is best if you have a mic so you can talk yourself if needed, but at the very least you must be able to listen. Be willing to learn and have fun! We are not aiming for smooth kills and great glory, but to introduce people to raiding and the "raid mentality". Raids are way harder than anything else in the game, and they do require you to be awake and willing to learn and adapt, but they are super fun. Patience is obviously also required. If this sounds like fun to you, sign up! If there are any questions of any kind whatsoever, feel free to discuss with me either here or in-game by sending a message to Christars.8645.

I've made a sign-up for Beginner Raids for next week, since I couldn't make it for this weekend. Sign up if you're interested! ^^

I've added the fact that Magic Find does nothing in the raid - no regular mobs drop any loot of any kind, and all other loot is in chests (that are completely unaffected by magic find). Just so nobody ever has to worry about that ^^

As a kind reminder, it would be nice if those interested added their experience level (again, "Complete beginner" is fine, but it's useful to know for planning purposes) and what classes/roles you can play, otherwise planning gets quite hard. I need to check some things with my schedule, but if things are looking up I may get something going next weekend. No promises though.