Hey everyone! The raid scene has been packed recently, what with Crown of Sorrows releasing and lots of players wanting to try it out. I wanted to leave this list of rules here that would be helpful to guardians who are new to Crown of Sorrows, or to raids in general. I've come up with a lot of this stuff since Last Wish came out, and I think we can agree on most of it. Definitely leave other rules in the comments! As always, please be respectful. Here's the list: 1.) Patience is a Virtue- As with any new raid, it takes time to work out the kinks and get the team in a flow. You aren't doing the team any good if you quit after one failed attempt. 2.) Don't Be Toxic- Nothing good comes out of being a jerk. If someone is messing up, help them figure it out, or tell them you're on a time limit and don't have time to sherpa them. If they're being rude or disrespectful, tell them what they did without being arrogant, and simply kick them. 3.) Be Honest About Your Experience- If you don't know what you're doing in an encounter, tell the team! We all had to learn the mechanics at some point. If you're honest up front, there is a good chance they'll go over it with you because it is easier than finding a new teammate. If you lie, 99.99% of the time you will get kicked, because it is disrespectful and wastes time. On a similar note... 4.) If Using an LFG, Do Not Post "KWTD" Unless You KWTD!- When posting a fireteam on an LFG that asks for players who "KWTD (Know What To Do)", the players who join assume that everyone on the team knows what to do. This includes the person who made the post! Too often I've joined a KWTD fireteam, where the leaders themselves have no idea what's going on. People try to use this as a way to get free carries/completions, and it is disrespectful to the fireteam members, as well as a disservice to yourself. On a similar note... 5.) Don't Post For Requirements You Fail to Meet- If you have completed Last Wish 7 times, then don't ask for people with 10+ clears. It doesn't matter how good you say you are, or that you've been raiding since Vault of Glass so you "have experience and know what you're doing". You should meet any requirements you ask for. In a similar vein, if you post a Light Level requirement, you should be at that light level! Just this week I was raiding with a guy who posted 735+ on CoS, but ran it as a 723. 6.) Bring Raid Banners- These are very cheap, and there is no reason not to have them. Its not the responsibility of one person to supply them for a whole raid...if you can't afford raid banners, then you probably need more gear before you're ready to raid. 7.) Have Fun With It- Nearly every team I've been on that's had fun has been successful. This is a video game, not life, so we better enjoy it. Also, teams tend to work well together when they're having fun. 8.) Follow Through On Your Promises- If you post on an LFG that's willing to take new/inexperienced players, then do your duty as a sherpa! Its not right to accept new players and then effectively ignore them, or worse kick them from the team. 9.) Respect the Speed-Run- If you don't make a post explicitly asking for a Speed-Run, then don't expect people to rush. If you have a time limit, then request that players get it done quickly. Likewise, don't join a team aiming for a Speed-Run if you aren't going to take it seriously! 10.) If You're Leading A Team, Do Your Homework- It is always a good idea to talk to your teammates a bit before launching a raid, and it never hurt to look them up on Raid Report. This isn't just to protect you, but also the others who joined your team. It'll help you weed out anybody lying about experience, and can lead to a smoother run overall. The leader is the one with the power to control the team, so its up to them to do their best to figure out if there are any bad eggs in the party. Its not your fault if someone crappy joins your team--you can't control it. It never hurts to do some research first though, as it'll make things easier on you and the team. This is more of a helpful tip to leaders than a rule. 11.) Go Easy On The Microphone- If you're raiding with anyone (especially an LFG group), be respectful on the mic. This not only includes basic rules of language, but things such as loud noises (eating, shouting at something outside of the game, vaping, kids etc.) aren't fun to listen to. All it takes is a simple flip of a switch to mute yourself. Also, most people don't like hearing your loud music in the background! Its a good idea to either learn to route it through your headset, or not play it during the raid. This reminds me... 12.) SPEAK UP- Raids are all about communication! Some encounters only rely on it in a minor sense, but the majority require strong communication to be cleared. Make sure to talk, and speak loudly enough to hear. I personally have been in too many parties where we don't even know someone is there until the first encounter has started. 13.) When Being Taught A Raid, Listen and Put in Effort- Sherpas don't exist to just carry people who've never done the raid before. Their goal is to teach you so that you can complete the raid on your own moving forward. Don't hide your struggles--own up to them, and do your best to fix them. Have humility, and understand that the sherpa has experience and you should listen to him/her, instead of blowing him off because of an ego. Key point: When you're in a "Learning Group", be sure to learn the mechanics instead of just skating by on your teammates. It makes things better for everyone. I hope you all agree with this! Eyes up Guardians! ***EDIT*** Thanks for the responses everyone! I'm glad to see so many people chipping in and telling their stories. Everyone is being respectful, and we've avoided trolls for the most part which is awesome. KWTD- "Know What To Do"...means that players in the team have experience clearing the raid encounters and know what they're doing. This does NOT mean you have watched a video tutorial and have an idea of what to do, but have never done it. Additional Etiquette Rules will be pulled from the comments and added to the list. Credits for these rules are as follows: #8- robinsonc784070 #9- Rez #10- Skred679 #11- LOTS of players mentioned microphone/chat party etiquette #12- I thought of this while writing #11 #13- ShadowWing48