Flex Baseline Requirement

SUMMARY

Flex Mode minimum item level – 515
Raid Leader may remove underperformers after the 2nd and the 3rd wings!

From now on, the guild will require all participants in our Flex runs during the current tier to bring at least a minimum item level of 515 for the first two wings of the raid.

There are multiple reasons for making this change and the benefits it will bring overall should encourage the long-term stability of these Flex nights.

What I am finding is that it’s the same old members having to log onto their normal geared mains to carry the guys who really should never be in there in the first place. This is beginning to breed a feeling of apathy among the guys who usually do the boosting in Flex runs because they feel obliged to carry under-geared alts and rarely get the opportunity to bring alts of their own.

Ideally, an average ilvl of 530-540 should get most groups through the first 2 wings comfortably but then the difficulty ramps up and ends up really beyond the group by the 4th wing due to time constraints largely caused by guys who either don’t know what they are doing or can’t bring the power needed to bring bosses down without wiping a couple of times.

If everyone was at the same level of progression regarding fight knowledge and gear power then there would be no issue but I think that bringing the baseline up to 515 initially (this could change depending how it goes) will at least prevent guys bringing ilvl 500 newly dinged lvl 90s and especially protects the raid from the impending influx of boosted lvl 90s. These guys really need to be gearing up a little but in LFR and by getting a couple of crafted items before entering flex. We really don’t want guys to be taking the piss out of poor Kvestian(or whoever is leading) with his worn-out Zippo by bringing our newly dinged alts and expecting to get free flex gear.

We all need to come up to a minimum standard and do our duty to make sure the flex night gets past bosses as smoothly as possible because one day soon, I expect a full clear each flex night. It’s not too much to ask people to get that easy to reach minimum, especially if you are an experienced raider who knows how to gear up quickly.

Arguably, 515 is rather low as it is but the idea is just to set some kind of boundary figure with the proviso that there will be much higher geared raiders there either way. I want main raiders to feel like they have the option to bring alts without the need to keep the team afloat with their powerfully equipped main to offset the potential of having a couple of totally under-equipped freeloaders hoping for a few 548 items as a quick fix.

It was mentioned that the guild should mandate half of each raid team to be present for flex to boost but since that would be forcing people into gameplay they might not want to run, that would totally defeat the object of playing a video game and takes away freedoms of people we want to feel happy to raid in a fun place and not pushed into raiding as a chore. The Dambusters have the two dedicated raid teams and standards of skill in Ironwall and Stonewrought are much higher than is expected around the rest of the guild. This is not a raiding guild so the flex should be fun, a place to relax and have a laugh with your guildies to breed a good atmosphere and friendships on a weekly basis. The bonus is that people get geared while everyone is pulling their own weight and trying their best as a team unit to get kills together.

I am expecting a new lease of interest in the flex night and if there are some 515ish geared guys in there and there’s not enough power for the first 8 bosses then the baseline might need to be increased. Please remember that at any the Raid Leader is perfectly within his rights to be scrutinising people’s performance with a view to trying to clear as much of the instance as possible on the night and can remove people for failing to adhere to the way he wants to operate the raid night. In addition, the Raid Leader has the natural break points between wings to clear out players he feels will hold the group back as it progresses.

All these standards should be followed but at the heart of it all the primary objective is for all to have a fun time and kill bosses. My favourite saying, “you are all Dambusters Ambassadors” and I expect excellent attitude from the Raid Leader and all raiders in the team. No bullying, belittling or any other shit. Everyone has the right to a fun time so let’s get it done 🙂

/Salute