Calling wipes, brezes, and other sundry stuff

I was catching up on my World of Matticus podcasts the other day, and decided to swipe one of their topics - when do you call a wipe or use a battle rez? When do you call for Bloodlust?

Calling a wipe

This is one of the more challenging calls to make as a raid leader. In a 10m raid losing a single healer generally means 50% of our heal team is gone, or the third healer that we've convinced ourselves we need is dead. If a tank dies, the odds of someone picking up his boss/adds is slim to none. If a DPS dies, we lost 15-20% of our DPS. That's pretty significant. We also only have one BRez until 4.1, and then it will be one of our tanks doing the rezzing - right into melee range (nom nom cleave).

While there are obviously going to be a lot of variables, here's a few basic guidelines.

Two or more people dead - in a 10m guild this is crippling in most cases. Some exceptions would be the final phase of a fight, particularly if it's a burn phase (i.e. sub 30%).

Death in the first 10% - generally the fight is better off being wiped if this happens. While we've made some really good attempts where we stray from this, they are rare.

Pre-phase 3 on H-Chim - We've tried all kinds of combos with this, and 99% of the time doing a rez before P3 just results in a whipe. Especially if it's one of the tanks (and it generally is).

How to respond to a wipe call

Now while I've been guilty myself of occasionally dragging out a fight for a few moments, here's a few basic guidelines to keep your raid leader from using your name as a test vehicle for some really colorful metaphors.

• Stop healing - Not after the next one, not after you blow a CD to see if you can get a massive heal - immediately. Stop doing anything that will keep you alive.
• Stand in the fire - This is one of the rare times you want to stand in the fire/Giant Big immediately. The faster you die, the faster another pull can occur.
• Taunt the boss - Odds are they'll one shot you.
• Turn your back - I remember putting my head in my desk last week when our DK tank announced that he lived for 45 seconds after a wipe was called and no heals on H-Chim. Where's that survival during a fued double strike? Hmmm?
• Don't run - this just drags it out, and your odds of escaping are almost zero. Hell, I get irritated at our hunter who FDs in Nef's pit. A-hole. Of course I also mock him when he misses the elevator. Dumb goblin.
• Die, get back, rebuff - look at the logs while everyone is getting food buffed or when you're flying back to the instance. Unless it's your assigned job, don't lie there waiting on a rez. Lazy.

How to call a BRez

This is something we really have to work on, as a BRez call needs to happen quickly, and without hesitation. Five people asking "BRez?" to the raid leader is probably going to get someone else killed. It's helpful to have a set of guidelines up before the pull. Some examples would be, first DPS in P3 of H-Chim, or don't rez pre 50%.

The last thing you want is questions around your BRez, or worse, someone walking away from their keyboard when a BRez goes out. Stay focused, and listen to the raid leader. Remember, it's better for them to be wrong than for you to be wrong.