Group Leader Instance Guide

Group Leader

Classes: Any

Normally, the Leader will be the character that started the group. However, sometimes the Leader will be the group member who has the best knowledge of the task at hand. The Leader charts the path through the Instance, decides when Pulls should be made, and makes sure that everyone else in the group knows what role they're expected to play and is ready to play it.

A leader ideally has considerable prior experience running the instance. The best leaders know by heart what every single pull consists of and an effective way to take the pull out and move to the next one, as well as to expect the unexpected during the fight and communicate to the group a strategy to deal with it if it happens.

What you need to know as Leader

People are counting on you to hold the group together. If the group starts to devolve into chaos, it's your job to restore order. Better yet, stop it before it starts. Use /wait when applicable.

Equally important to a good leader is the ability to distribute loot effectively. Loot is a huge part of the reason that most people run instances, and as the person who can set loot privileges party members will look to you to make sure they get a fair shot at what drops. Most groups use a Need/Greed roll system; ensure that it is not being abused, and watch for ties on rolls for bind on equip items. Find out whether a disenchanter is available before bind on pickup loot drops that nobody needs. Don't tolerate loot ninjas; know how to use the Master Looter option (and use it fairly) or get rid of them and find replacements before they waste your time. If you are in a raid, make sure that Master Looter is set before a boss fight.

Party Leaders also have the unique ability to designate Lucky Charms, and will need to use them wisely in marking targets for crowd control, pulling, and so forth. Group members will appreciate consistency in charms. Establish what the marks mean beforehand, don't switch the meaning of the marks from pull to pull, and if you need to use a mark for something other than what you originally established then let the party know about it – if the moon is a sheep, keep the sheep a moon and don't use it for anything else, and if the moon isn't a sheep on this pull then tell the party what it is before the pull is done. Good leaders will go through a rundown of what every single mark means before the first pull in an instance happens. (If you often find yourself leading a group, consider binding keys for marking mobs with the various charms.) Leaders will also establish a kill order for the pull and communicate it to the group before it happens.

As leader you need to maintain the pace of pulls while ensuring that your party has enough health and mana for the next battle. Don't allow people to go afk for ten minutes after every pull. If a party member is significantly delaying progress, ask that they drop the group in favor of someone who can devote more attention to the instance run.

Generally it is the leader that announces if the party is going to wipe. (Good leaders will be watching for a character to have wipe recovery in place before this happens, especially on boss fights.) After a wipe, the leader will evaluate the situation. You need to decide who in the group will release and run back to the instance entrance.

In raids, the leader can appoint raid assistants who have many of the privileges of a raid leader.

What you need to know to assist the Leader

Don't wander off on your own.

Don't pull Aggro on the group.

Don't argue. If you don't feel that you fit in the group, leave. And when the leader or the puller says "Stay," then stay.

When to get a new Leader

Beware of any leader that sets the loot rules to Master Looter without a good reason. They may be a loot ninja in disguise.

If a party member demonstrates better knowledge of the pulls than the leader, consider asking the leader to make that member leader.

If the leader uses marks inconsistently (or not at all), ask that they start to use them, or volunteer to be leader so that you can mark mobs.