Raid Structure & Philosophy
How FTG builds raid teams, manages rosters, and approaches progression.
We do not follow a rigid or public “raid philosophy” document. Instead, our approach is practical and evolves with the guild, the roster, and the content we are progressing through.
Bench decisions are not arbitrary. They are a natural byproduct of roster building in a system where raids are capped at 25 players.
What Goes Into Building a Raid?
Availability
One of the largest factors. With multiple raid nights and groups, players sign up based on when they are available.
During Phase 1, priority is maximizing participation and gearing. In Phase 2 progression, priority shifts toward players with consistent multi-night availability.
Raid Composition
Raids require a balance of tanks (2–3+), healers (5–6), and DPS. DPS roles are not interchangeable due to group synergies.
Tanks and raid leaders are typically fixed, making swaps more complex.
Raid Support
Each raid requires leadership: raid leading, invites, loot handling, and general coordination.
Ideally, each group includes at least one officer.
Class Distribution
Overstacking classes harms performance. TBC compositions are specialized.
Example: most raids only bring one rogue and avoid stacking a single class heavily.
Consistency & Attendance
Tracked through logs and signups (though signups can be skewed due to multiple raid options).
Performance
Becomes increasingly important during harder content and when forming stable progression teams.
Gear Needs
Occasionally players who no longer need gear will volunteer to sit, though this is uncommon.
Specific Roles
Some encounters require niche roles (e.g. mage tanks, warlock tanks, or utility roles like fishing for Lurker).
Social Dynamics
We try to respect friend groups where possible. However, larger groups significantly increase roster complexity.
As progression becomes more difficult, performance and structure take priority, and it may not always be possible to keep groups together.
Roster Building is a Puzzle
All of these factors make roster building a complex problem. We use custom tools to manage it, but even then:
- Adding one player can force multiple changes
- Validating a roster is easier than building one
- Perfect optimization is rarely possible
On Benching
The goal is not to bench players arbitrarily. The goal is to build a successful raid each night while rotating players fairly.
Especially outside of progression, we aim to ensure that no one is consistently sitting out.
Having a bench is a healthy part of a raiding guild.
Questions or Concerns?
If you feel like you are being benched more than expected, reach out to leadership and we can talk through it.