MMORPG: to raid or not to raid

[Adam "Ferrel" Trzonkowski is a guild leader, professional raider, freelance writer, and a long-time blogger. For over fifteen years he has immersed himself in the world of MMORPG (Massive Multi-player Online Role Playing Game) raiding and leadership. After writing extensively on EpicSlant.com about guild management and raiding he published his first book, The Guild Leader's Companion, to share experiences with other organizational leaders and aid them in achieving their goals.]

As a long time raider and guild leader I’ve always been fascinated with the psychology and science behind MMORPGs. It astounds me how saying the same thing in two different ways can mean the difference between winning an encounter and losing horribly. I’m enthralled with how one tweak to a loot system can motivate everyone to work harder. Over the years I’ve collected all sorts of experiences such as these (almost all based on real events that happened in the course of running Iniquity) and I’ve started to reflect heavily on what works and what doesn’t. It is in The Raider’s Companion that I collected this information so that it could be shared with others and hopefully aid them in achieving their goals.

I really wanted to share those experiences with as many people as possible. When it comes to my free time I can’t see anything more fun than raiding. Getting together with a bunch of friends to take on a seemingly insurmountable challenge is great. That is why it made sense to do what I can to help others have some of the same successes that I have had. By giving players a leg up in their raiding you can start to build a better community around the play style. As the community grows and changes the new players will need to be properly trained and if that is done then everyone benefits. That is very important to me! The larger the raiding play style is the more content we’ll see.

My first book, The Guild Leader’s Companion, was aimed at a very small segment of MMORPG players. When I set out to do a new manuscript I knew I wanted to go after a broader audience. I also knew I had to remain in a discipline that I’m extremely familiar with. I’ve been raiding for over ten years at a very high level and I know how to take what seems to be a mysterious encounter and turn it into an easy “loot farm.” Writing a book about raiding made the most sense and it really shows in the manuscript. It took a lot less time to do a whole lot more this time around. I’m extremely proud of the product and can’t wait to see it in book form.

The majority of my time as a raider has been spent in pretty hardcore environments and I wanted to be sure I didn’t let that dominate the whole book. These days not everyone wants to take on a second job in their raiding. The vast majority of players that raid may only do so one or two nights a week. That is who I wanted to write for primarily. I start from the very beginning and cover the basics like what a main assist is and how to prepare each week for your raids. From there I start to work deeply into the hardcore environment. I discuss what you should watch for and how to take a raid apart so that you can understand what is necessary to defeat it. That will be very helpful to players that are attempting new content where there isn’t a guide out yet. Regardless of whether you’re new or have been raiding since EverQuest you’ll find something you can use to achieving your raiding goals, whether they be casual, hardcore, or competitive.