Welcome to Hydra

Hydra is an adult Horde raiding guild on OctoWoW (Y'Shaarj). We're here to clear content, improve as players, and have a good time doing it.

Adult language happens, and that's fine. We're a mixed group, so keep racist and sexist remarks out of the guild. Treat each other with respect.

That doesn't mean sugarcoating. Constructive criticism is encouraged, and sometimes that means telling someone what they're doing wrong. Positive and negative reinforcement both have their place, as long as the goal is improvement rather than tearing someone down.

If you sign up for a raid, come prepared. Signups run through Raid-Helper in the Discord #raid-signups channel.

Bring the consumables appropriate for your class and role. Flasks are not mandatory: they are rewarded. Flasking in Molten Core or above earns a +25 EP bonus, tracked automatically from combat logs. There is no flask expectation for 10-man content.

Know the fights or be willing to listen and learn them. Mistakes happen during progression. Repeating the same mistake without correcting it is a different story.

During progression, you may be asked to leave the raid if you:

• Show up unprepared
• Repeatedly fail mechanics and cause wipes
• Are not contributing enough damage, healing, or tanking to justify your spot
• Refuse to follow raid-lead instructions

This isn't personal. OctoWoW uses raid scaling, so adding a player also raises the encounter's difficulty. Everyone in the raid needs to contribute.

We want people talking, joking around, and having a good time. While we're clearing trash, running back, buffing, or waiting around, talk all the shit you want.

There are three times when comms need to be clear:

• Before a pull, when the raid leader is explaining the fight and assigning roles
• During the fight, so tanks, healers, and leadership can communicate
• During loot, so the loot master can work without people talking over them

Once that's done, go back to talking shit.

Normal guild groups use Main Spec > Off Spec. Your main spec is the spec you chose on the Discord raid signup.

Guild raids are split between Soft Reserve (SR) and EPGP:

New server status: Molten Core and Onyxia are the raids open right now and both are progression raids at full EP. Blackwing Lair, AQ40, Naxxramas and later tiers open as the server releases them.

Install the guild addon pack before your first raid; ShootyEPGP is how loot bidding works. Full EPGP details (bidding, bonuses, decay) are on the EP/GP page. If you're unsure about anything, ask before rolling.

Some items are Hard Reserved (HR) for guild progression, key roles, or long-term guild use. Current Hard Reserves include:

• Bindings of the Windseeker - tanking / Thunderfury
• Styleen's Impeding Scarab - tanking
• Neltharion's Tear - shadow tanking
• Scythe of Elune - guild-designated role/use
• First flask recipe of each type - guild Alchemist

Hydra keeps a guild Alchemy alt, and the first flask recipe of each type goes to it. Flask recipes are crucial to progression raiding, and keeping the first recipe on a guild-controlled character means we never lose access because a player quits, changes guilds, or takes an extended break.

This is not an all-inclusive list. A raid may have additional Hard Reserves for key roles or progression, and HRs are normally called out before the raid. If an item that should be HR was not listed, notify the Loot Master before the item is distributed so we can prevent mistakes.

If you plan to raid with Hydra, save your lockout for the guild raid.

If you can't make the scheduled raid, you're free to pug that lockout. If you're benched, remember that standby players still earn full EP, so check with an officer before burning it elsewhere.

Please don't burn a lockout before a scheduled Hydra raid. It screws over the guild.

Raids occasionally get canceled or changed. Reasons include:

• Not enough signups
• Not having the right raid composition
• Too many last-minute cancellations
• Server problems or DDOS attacks
• Other circumstances outside our control

Signing up does not guarantee a raid spot. Leadership may adjust the roster based on composition and what the content we're progressing through needs.

Show up prepared. Listen during raids. Help your guildmates. Take criticism when it's warranted, and give criticism in a way that actually helps someone improve.

Nobody expects perfection. We do expect effort.

We're building a guild where people can joke around, talk shit, have fun, and still lock in when it's time to raid.

Respect the guild. Respect your guildmates. Pull your weight. Get better together.