I know back when I was in a more casual guild the thing that held me back from leading PuG raids was lack of a Vent Server.

Well the guild had one, but they were strict about letting outside people in. I imagine this could be a stumbling block for some of the non regular raiders out there.

The biggest step for me into the world of raiding was letting the people you DO know who actually raid, that you are available if they need you to fill in a gap.

Seriously, by befriending people who do raid, you are more likely to be a fill in (if you are geared, specced, gemmed, enchanted, etc. properly). Once, you show them that you aren't a complete idiot about your class, they may ask you back.

Ask questions about bosses that you've never seen. Do as much research about the raids before hand. All of these things will really show to those regular raiders.

Raiding can be a heap of fun and I encourage everyone to atleast try it out.

I've thought about starting one, but as I've never been, I wouldn't know the first thing about leading it. I suppose at some point when I'm much better geared I'll start getting into the easier raids (just read about the strategies). And I also don't have vent, not do I really want to do that. I suppose that could be a significant barrier....

@ Eversor

If you are seriously considering Raiding, I would highly suggest getting Ventrilo (or Teamspeak) Especially if you are new to the fights.

Most Boss strats are only spoken in vent and it is far too long & tedious to type it out of you can help it. Many times if you are the only raider without it, people will forget about you and just assume you know what you are doing. Not knowing or hearing Orders from the Raid Leader can and will cause wipes. Thus, making you look foolish.

TL;DR if you are even remotely interested in Raiding, Get Ventrilo or Teamspeak. No ifs ands or buts!

I'm not a regular raider, quite casual actually, but Vent is a major bonus and I imagine it would be a lot more difficult without it if you were to raid seriously.

I could never start or join a serious raiding guild, I enjoy my real life a little too much to tie myself down to a raiding schedule. If that means never defeating Arthas, oh well. I can live with that.

@ Fuubaar,
Thanks. While I know you're right, I just haven't gotten down to it. I actually play without sound so that would be an adjustment I'd need to make. What the hell am I gearing up in heroics for if I'm not going to raid!

Jess, you should server transfer to my server. :D We're looking for a priest!

...socket bonuses are for the weak! RESIST!!! ;D

Oh, noes! You did succumb to the socket's charms!

Stay away from the Voodoo, quickly! =)

Hmmm, I assume you were in your Holy spec running Ulduar, right?

Before I switched to Disc, I used to have a hard time with mana too.

I used to look Poptisse's guide at Ensidia to establish a baseline for my stats, since I was new to priesthood and all.

She used to emphasize two things:

1 - The fact that intellect is now a better regen stat (because of the percentage based regen abilities)

2 - The importance of replenishment in a raid environment.

Unfortunately, we don't always have an optimal raid setup to work with, so, sometimes, I'm at the end of a boss fight with both Divine Hymn and Shadowfiend on cooldown, popping a mana potion and praying for the dps to burn the boss in the next second or two =P

Fortunately, I'm Disc/Shadow now, so I don't have mana problems anymore =D

Oh, and last but not least important, despite the fact that you did not write the last post to procure understanding, I guess you found plenty ;)

To all those noting lack of vent as a problem, there are free options. I'm researching them now to point them out.

Also... WoW does have an in-game vent-like function. I know it works for five mans. Does it still not work for ten mans?

@Codi

Gah! Server transfers are part of my "no spending money on wow outside of my 15 dollars a month" rule!

@Tiex

Actually, I WAS in my Disc spec. That's why it bothered me so much. I think it was a combination of lack of Replenishment and over-bubbling, or rather, bubbling reactively instead of proactively (since I wasn't familiar with the fights), but regardless, I've been a little too close to OOM for comfort in ICC as well.

The trick to stop caring about socket bonuses is to play a holy paladin a lot. After gemming a few new pieces of gear, you'll forget the very existence of socket bonuses.

Oh and I'm looking forward to hear about how you organize raids! How people in non raiding guilds manage to pull 10 people together and make a raid work has always been a huge mystery to me.

O Jess you are so funny about your socket bonuses; really you don't need them, really you don't lol. I am surprised that you rely on replenishment, but I guess it is a must in your raids you set up, kinda like I want heroism in mine! I never have a replenishment buff in the raids I set up and run, and typically don't have mana issues. Maybe just start practicing without the extra buff, tell that hunter to respec, and please don't run with a frost mage or I'll cry. Doing without it, you will adjust quickly I think.

@ Miss Medicina

Wow! hehehe

But what do you call "too close to oom for comfort"?

Sometimes I do have to use my shadowfiend but, at the end of the fights, I still have my Hymn of Hope, if I'm lucky.

But I totally agree, over-bubbling is too mana consuming and does not return the amount of mana one would expect. Of course, if said one would read properly, said one would see that it cannot proc THAT often. Yeah, said one is a little dumb and likes to talk about himself in the third person. XD

But hey, we must remember that going oom isn't always a mana management issue. Sometimes the fight is not supposed to last that long and the dps is a bit slow...

I have faith that you'll find you inner strenght and say no to dru.. I mean... socket bonuses =P