Raiding with Foundation

(Signing-up, Showing-up, and being prepared and what that means for you!)

Our sign-ups and scheduling policy have been designed specifically with our target audience in mind - people who are interested in raiding high-end content, but also enjoy other aspects of the game, whether it be alts, time with guild-mates, role-playing, or whatever.

Our goals in crafting these policies were consistency (so that people generally know what to expect when raiding with us and can plan accordingly), equity (we want to be fair to everyone that raids with us, new members and veterans alike, and we ultimately strive to ensure that we can include as many people as we can), efficacy (while we do our best to give everyone a chance, we also wish to be successful at the highest levels and sometimes need to make decisions accordingly, and fun (ultimately, that's what everyone's in it for.  We have fun on our raids and we hope that you will too).

As part of servicing such a diverse group of people with a broad set of goals, we like to take a more aggressive approach to providing multiple raids and varying schedules in order to try and provide opportunities for everybody. Doing so, however, can be a logistical nightmare at times which makes it extremely important for everyone to be aware of our policies and procedures, and to assist us in by doing their part in helping Foundation succeed. We expect a certain level of effort, attentiveness, and dedication from everyone that raids with us.

Raid Cycles

As a general rule-of-thumb, Foundation’s regular raiding schedule will consist of scheduled guild runs on each day of the week based on the 7 day timer for instance resets. The easiest way to see when we will be raiding in the upcoming days and weeks is to visit the Raid Sign-up Site, which lists the upcoming raid dates and times.  While these runs are considered final postings, based on guild participation, we cannot guarantee that we will ultimately be able to accommodate all of the raids listed.  At that, we encourage each and every member of the guild to sign up and participate on a regular basis.

Raid Timing

All Foundation raids run on server time (EST or EDT, depending on the time of year). Raid invites generally begin at 7:30 p.m. with the actual raid start time at 8:00 p.m.  Raids are scheduled to last for a minimum of three (3) hours (i.e. raids end no earlier than 11:00 p.m.).  If you are unable or unwilling to dedicate a three hour block to raiding, please do not sign up!

The raid start time is meant to be the benchmark time for when the raid group officially enters the instance and begins clearing. We expect all of our raiders to be mindful and respectful of other people's time. This means you need to be present at the staging area for the raid 15-30 minutes before the scheduled raid start time. Any raiders not present at the announced start time will be charged a penalty (as specified in the Foundation DKP Policies). After a 15 minute grace period from the time that invites actually begin you are subject to being replaced by a standby.

Raids will end at one of three times - when all objectives have been completed, at the announced end time (typically not later than 11:00 p.m.), or when the raid leaders decide that the raid has come to a natural end.  In recognizing people's need to plan, we are serious about our announced end times. In general, Foundation raids will not end later than our announced end time, with the exceptions being the "One More Try" clause or the groups overall desire to continue.

If the raid group is currently fighting a boss mob encounter at the announced cutoff time, has been doing well but needs "One More Try", and has a "reasonable" expectation of success by undertaking one last attempt, then the raid leader may allow the raid to vote on staying for one additional attempt, majority rules.  Should the raid group choose to stay in the instance for a final attempt at a boss encounter, the raid will end for the night after said attempt, regardless of the outcome.

We encourage all raiders to expect the needs of the raid in terms of availability for the end of a raid. By signing up for a raid, we expect that you are available for that whole raid, through the announced end time plus a possible "One More Try". If you have to leave earlier than this and the raid has not been concluded yet, a penalty may be assessed at the discretion of the officers of the guild, to reflect the effect that losing raid members has on the rest of the raid. Please do not sign-up for a raid with the expectation that it will be done by a specific time - by signing up, you are committing to the duration of that raid as announced, even if it is likely that the raid will end earlier than that.

Raid Sign-ups

All raiders must be level 70 before they are eligible to sign up for any Foundation raids.  Foundation currently enforces a 3 run minimum raid requirement each week for raiding members.  The raid week begins on Tuesday of each week and ends on the following Monday.  If you cannot comply with the minimum raiding requirement, you may be demoted to a non-raiding status or removed from the guild, as determined by the officers.

The initial raid sign-up period begins approximately one week before the raid, and sign-ups are frozen approximately 1 hour before the scheduled raid invite start time.  Raids for the upcoming raid week (currently, the raid week starts on Tuesday, as this is the server wide raid reset day) will be posted no later than Saturday of the preceding week.  Failure to adhere to the minimum raiding requirement could result in your demotion to a non-raiding status, removal from the guild, or a DKP penalty as determined by the officers.  After this initial sign-up period is over, the raid leader will slot members into the various open positions and the results will be posted not less than 30 minutes before the scheduled raid start time.  Note that this process depends mostly on the raid leader’s personal (real-life) schedule and availability, and as a result, while we try to be as efficient as possible, we may indeed slip from time-to-time.

When the sign-up period begins, runs will be posted on the Raid Sign-up Site, along with a summary of the raid requirements and goals. In order to be eligible to sign up for a raid, it is mandatory for the raiding character to have fulfilled the requirements of the raid (generally meaning you have completed the necessary attunement quests that grant you access to the zone).

In terms of signing up for runs, the concept of availability warrants a little more explanation.  This is a fairly simple concept, yet often over-looked by many, if you are not available for the entire time, please be sure to indicate on your sign-up what hours you will be available (you can avoid any penalties this way), otherwise, if you do not specify your availability, it will be presumed that you are available for the entire duration of the raid and leaving early or arriving late can and will result in a DKP penalty as determined by the officers.

Each person can only sign-up for themselves - you may not sign-up for any other players.

Raid Slotting

The slotting of the raids is handled by the Raid Leader for that raid group, and are not necessarily done on a first-come-first-served basis.  Note, however, that while it does not guarantee a position in a given run, the order of your sign-up is not irrelevant and will be taken into account.  Each raid leader does their best to strike a good balance between equity and efficacy.  We want to give lots of people a chance to raid, but not at the expense of the overall success of our raiding progress in general. This means that there is often a delicate balance between having a few new people and a number of core, experienced raiders. People who are just starting out, particularly in classes where we have many raiders, should expect to start out in farming raids or other less demanding raids to get their feet wet.  As time goes on, our goal is to rotate them up to bigger challenges.  Please do recognize however, that we have many interested people and only so many raid slots, we ask for your patience and understanding in the slotting process.

Late Sign-ups, Updates, and Standbys

Anybody who expressed interest in a raid but was not slotted will be added to the standby list. This list is used to fill in any openings that come up due to cancellations, no-shows, unprepared raiders, etc.  Note that if you are listed as standby, we assume that you are available for the raid.   This means that anytime up to the raid start time, you may be slotted into a position if somebody cancels, and will be subject to a DKP penalty if you do not show up. While we will endeavor to update the master roster with your assignment at least thirty (30) minutes before the raid begins, we cannot promise this will happen. The safest thing to do to ensure that you are not penalized is to inform an officer in-game that you are no longer able to make it to a raid - this ensures that we are up to date and also ensures that you are not penalized. So long as you post something on the forums or inform an officer before the scheduled start time of a raid, you will not be subject to penalty.

Before any raid occurs, if you wish to sign up for that raid (if you suddenly become available) or need to bow out due to other commitments, please cancel your sign-up on the Raid Sign-up site.  If your circumstances change within one hour of the scheduled start time, it is YOUR responsibility to get in touch with an officer or post on the forums that you are now unable to attend a run that you signed up for.  It is extremely important that you keep us informed as to your schedule and availability, this makes the process of managing raids substantially easier.

Showing up for Raids

All raiders slotted for a raid should show up at the staging area for the raid, fully prepared and repaired, by the announced start time (ideally, a few minutes before this). Once the start time has passed, all missing raiders are subject to a DKP penalty.  After a fifteen (15) minute grace period to account for any uncontrollable circumstances that might delay a raider, that raider will be subject to replacement in the raid.

Please note that showing up fully repaired is strictly required. Having raiders show up in various states of disrepair is very disruptive to a raid and can cause significant delays. Some leeway will be given for damage that is taken on the way to the instance if it is clear that the raider was fully repaired before leaving town and suffered damage under unusual circumstances (for example, death due to lag spike). If a raider shows up not fully repaired, they will not be considered "checked-in" to the raid and will be required to return to a vendor, repair their gear, and return to the raid. While raiders are not likely to be replaced during this process, they will be subject to a "Joining Late" DKP penalty if this causes them to arrive at the staging area after the fifteen (15) minute grace period.