From the FN forums:
Hi folks,
There's been a bit of discussion afoot about upcoming raids which will involve the clan.
This is all well and fine, however, the reality is that there is really bugger all factual information out there about raid mobs.

Everything is hearsay and 3rd hand information at best. There are second hand info sources out there somewhere but they are hard to locate.

So...

1. On the Tactics side
From now on if you chance upon, agro or somehow else get yourself into a situation where you're on the receiving end of some raid boss mob hospitality try to record as much factual information as possible.

Things like:
1. Mob Pathing - watch how the mob moves in the plane of the dungeon/lair layout.
2. Mobs aggro list - does anything assit the main mob if you engage it.
3. Record the melee damage received per swing if possible (also note your p.def at the time)
4. Record the amount of magical damage received as above.
5. Take note of any special attacks that the mob may have be they magical of physical.
6. Try to take the mob for a run, see if it is tethered to its spawn point or can it be drawn out to a more favourable engagement area.
7. Note down anything else of relevance that you can think of

This sort of information can be used to work out strats which will allow us to optimise on the skill sets posessed within the clan IOT defeat the encounter.

2. On the admin side

Folks need to start being a bit more diligent about their character admin.

Please ensure that before you come to any raid or raid like activity you have the following:
1. A suitable qty of SoE's - I usually carry 4-8 on me at all times.
2. A suitable qty of healing and greater healing potions - I usually have them in the ratio of 20/10
3. At least 2 Breath of Eva potions for various eventualities
4. At least 3000 SS and 200 SPS/BSPS of the appropriate grade (reverse for casters)
5. A suitable Qty of D crystals for summoning pets (for those classes that can) - I generally carry 200.
6. At least 3 Resurrection Scrolls.

There are quite a few lazy individuals out there and you know who you are that constantly "borrow" or last minute purchase SOE's.

To some of you that may be a moot point but poor admin is one of my pet hates in MMORPGs and it tells me a lot about the person behind the keyboard

Conclusion
Raiding in MMORPGS is a hell of a lot of fun and is the stuff that keeps us glued to the screens for years. What most ppl don't see or appreciate is the amount of preparation and planning that goes into such an event.
This is even more imoportant because of the benign environment that L2 presents to us.
We have been doing some prelim recon into Devils Isle to find out what it takes to challenge Zaken the Vampire ruler of that domain.
Whilst this raid prep is a general write up I aim to gather sufficient information to have a shot at this encounter in the near future.

As always the rule of "P"s applies (Prior Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance) and I would certainly hope that our raiding experiences limit the pains of working out the encounter strats.