World of Warcraft has two distinctly different types of play: Player versus Environment and Player versus Player. The styles of play are dramatically different and there are few, if any, skills that cross over from one style to the other. WoW started out as a PvE game, adding in PvP content as the player base expanded. And despite the numerous PvP fanbois out there, the real game in WoW will always remain the PvE game.

There are a few reasons why I think this. First and foremost, you cannot progress in PvP without first completing a large potion of the PvE content. You start out at level 1 and progress up to level 70. You don't level up by PvPing against one another. You level up by fighting against the environment. Put simply, without the PvE there would be no PvP.

Secondly, PvP is an addition to the game. If you remove PvP from the game entirely, the game itself would not fundamentally change. However if you remove the PvE elements, the game would be nothing like it is. Everything would just exist like the Arena Tournament server. That might be fine for some people, and this is evident in the success of the Arena Tournament server. Even I enjoy spending a couple hours a week on there, but by no means would I want to just exist on a server where the only thing to do is kill one another.

Phew there's a lot that goes into raiding! We've covered the three steps in getting ready to raid, introspection, preparation, and application, and then we gave you a raid speak glossary of terms you will need to know. But, you may ask, what can I expect on my first raid?

First, we have to make a couple of assumptions for simplicity's sake. Realize that these may not be the case, and I might very well digress into discussing other situations, but by and large I will stick to these assumptions. The first assumption is that you have applied to a raiding guild that has previously been running content and been accepted. Yes, your first raid might very well be with your own guild (I know mine was.) But the experience of a totally new group in a raid situation is vastly different from the experience of a seasoned group accepting a new member into their established routine.

The second assumption we will make for purposes of this article is that your first raid will be in Karazhan. This again might not be the case, but if you are entirely new to the raiding scene, then a ten-man instance like Kara is the place you will start to build your gear for the 25-man raid encounters. Yes, casters build their own Tier-4 equivalent gear, but like I said, these assumptions are meant to simplify the process so we can introduce a new raider into the fold.

Entering into the world of raiding, eh? Now that you've gotten ready, it's time to get you familiar with some of the concepts you might encounter during the raid. You may remember some of these terms from the instance runs you have participated in, and some may be new to you.

Personally I like to live my life by the words of Sir Francis Bacon: Knowledge is Power. In raiding, knowing what people are talking about can mean the difference between looking like a newbie or looking like a quick learner. For this reason we've but together a lexicon of raiding lingo for those of you who are looking to get into raiding.

First let's go over a couple basic abbreviations you'll encounter in raid chat. Each of these stands for an important raiding concept, so it's essential that you familiarize yourself with them.

Learn2raid is here again, offering those fledgling raiders a peek into the world of end game loot and 25-man encounters. We're rounding up the first section of our series in which we talked about the three steps required when you are getting into raiding: Introspection came first, followed by Preparation. Today we will flush out that triptych with the final step: Application. For those of you already in a raiding guild, or in a guild that is moving into the raiding scene, I still suggest you read on. Perhaps this information will prove useful to you in the future, even if it is not immediately applicable. Either way fear not: we still have a few topics up our sleeves that might be of more use to you.

Getting Ready to Raid

Step Three: Application

If I haven't scared you off yet, then you're obviously dedicated enough to be able to raid. The next step therefore is application. Applying to a guild is both exhilarating and frightening as hell. If you don't want to get booted out on your behind before you ever see your first loot drop, take my advice and do the following:

Write up an application beforehand: Taking a moment to write up an application without a guild attached to it will save you all kinds of time. Just about every guild application will have the same information on it: name/class/level/spec (with a link to your armory)/guild history and why you left/professions/why you are looking to raid/a paragraph about you and why a guild would be crazy not to accept you.

So you want to be a raider, eh? Plenty of people will argue against it, tell you it's not worth the time, but in the end, in your heart of hearts you know you want to see that end game content and wield those ungodly weapons. Not sure how to go about it? Well, that's what this guide is for. Learn2raid first took you through the questions you should ask yourself to make sure you are the sort of person that can be a good raider. But knowing you are a raider at heart isn't enough. If you remember from part 1 of this beginner's guide we said we were first looking at the three steps needed to get ready to raid: Introspection, Preparation, and Application. There is a lot that goes into getting into raiding, and without prep work your most valiant attempts may fall flat.

Getting Ready to Raid

Step Two: Preparation

Now that you've answered some questions about yourself, you're ready to prepare to raid. Preparation for getting into raiding requires more than just making the decision and applying to 45 guilds in the hopes that one will accept you. Take the time and do your homework. It will save you a lot of trouble – and the anguish of possible rejection - in the long run.

Gear: First, make sure you research your gear. Do you have the best possible gear for a casual player in your class? If you don't do you know where you can get it? There are a couple great resources on gear for your class and spec out there on the net. I have bookmarks to WoW-loot.com and WoW Wiki listed on my bar, but honestly, I found that the best way to research gear was looking at players I knew.

Recently as you know, I made the decision to get into raiding. I looked at what I wanted to do with my time in the game and realized that in order to see everything Blizzard has laid out on the Azerothian buffet table I would have to raid. I admit I was skeptical that this sort of playstyle would be for me, but I found out that I enjoy this as much, if not more than the unfocused casual pace I originally took with the game. I don't play any more than I used to, I just have an ultimate goal now: to kick Illidan's booty.

If you too are looking to step into the raiding arena, here's a how-to guide to give you some idea as to what you should do. This is by no means definitive, and if you have any input, feel free to comment. I am just putting down some thoughts on the subject based on my recent experience.

Getting Ready to Raid

You can think of your entry into the raiding world in three steps: introspection, preparation, and application. Skipping any one of these steps means that you will have a rocky start as you set into the world of hardcore (and yet still PG rated) gaming. In this first part of this guide of ours, we'll look at Introspection.