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5 things you need to know to get into Mythic raiding in World of Warcraft
Reaching Mythic level is tough, but as guild leader Sarah James explains, it is achievable – as long as you follow these rules.
On July 28, 2019, after nearly two weeks of raiding, Method beat Limit to win the Eternal Palace raid and bag another World First. It was a thrilling battle that was followed by thousands of WoW fans on Twitch, many of whom may have been inspired to join a guild and give Mythic raiding a go themselves.
As the leader of a guild that made the transition from heroic to Mythic raiding back in Warlords of Draenor between 2014 and 2016, I can assure you that it's not just the difficulty of the bosses that makes Mythic tough – it's also trying to find a good team with the right attitude. While we were far from being a hardcore Mythic guild like Pieces or Limit, there are still a number of factors you should consider if you are thinking of kicking it up a notch and jumping into the world of Mythic raiding.
1. Make sure your guild can all attend the raid
You need your whole team to kill the bosses
© Blizzard
The first thing you should do before you begin is consider whether you can put aside several evenings a week to commit to raiding. This is probably one of the biggest hurdles to overcome for many guilds as Mythic difficulty is tuned to exactly 20 players. It's not flexible like normal or heroic, and if one person doesn't show up, it's very unlikely you're going to have much luck killing any bosses – at the very least, it's going to start you off with a major disadvantage.
We had several highly skilled players pass through the guild during Mythic progress but we had to let them go due to poor attendance. It doesn't matter how good a player you are if you're not there, so make sure everyone is as committed as you.
2. Know your class (and off-spec roles)
You need to know your class inside and out. Not just the optimal rotation but what utility your class can bring to the raid group. It's also advantageous to have your off-spec roles geared and raid-ready, as different bosses often have different requirements. One boss may be particularly difficult for melee classes, in which case you could switch to a ranged off-spec, or another boss might require extra healing, so being able to switch between roles and knowing how to play them is another thing you should also think about.
3. Work as a team
You need to be a consistent performer if you're going to succeed
© Blizzard
This one may seem obvious, but as the raid group consists of 20 people, you need to be able to work well together. The boss mechanics in Mythic are usually way more complex than the other difficulties and one person's mistake can often cause the whole raid to wipe.
Yes, you may be able to squeeze out that extra bit of damage if you stand in fire for a second but one death can mean the difference between a wipe and a successful boss kill. Mistakes can and will happen – it's part of learning the fight – but I'd rather take a good player that does consistent damage over a player with high damage that spends half of the fight dead.
4. Make your voice heard
You should be fully prepared to talk on Discord (or whatever voice app your guild uses). You shouldn't be expected to make full speeches (unless you're the raid leader), but you do need to be able to communicate effectively if the situation warrants it.
Wiping on a boss because someone had to type a warning in chat rather than communicate it vocally is just frustrating. Whatever voice app you use, for the love of god, use push-to-talk. No one wants to hear the TV blaring in the background or a fire alarm going off and causing the entire group to wipe because concentration was broken. Yes, that happened to me during Gorefiend progress.
5. Be patient
Learning to be patient is half the battle
© Blizzard
You are going to die – a lot. In fact, the whole raid group is going to spend a lot of time dying while learning the mechanics of each fight. You should also expect repetition as some bosses may take days (or even weeks) to get down – I'm looking at you, Gorefiend!
Rage quitting the raid and/or guild after a couple of wipes or suddenly deciding you've got other stuff to do because you're frustrated, is not going to sit well with your group. Guild leaders communicate with each other to find out the raid history and attitude of new recruits, especially at Mythic level, so you really wouldn't be doing yourself any favours either.
If you think all of that sounds reasonable then you're already halfway there. Research the mechanics of each boss, practise your rotation on training dummies or in LFR, and farm the best gear you can. Look around for a guild that suits you – every guild has a different dynamic so don't be afraid to move around to find one that you're comfortable with. Just be upfront with the guild leader if you need to move on – they'll appreciate your honesty.
Before you know it, you'll be taking down bosses in Mythic, and the elation you feel as part of the team that kills the boss that you've been stuck on for days (or even weeks) makes all the effort so, so worth it.
