Members must sign-up for raids to go on raids. Approvals for sign-ups are done on the guilds website calendar at least 24 hours prior to a raid. In order to improve your chances at a spot you should sign up early. However, approvals are not done solely on a first-come, first-serve basis. Class balance, gearing needs, and reliability are all considered.
It is the sole discretion of the Officers/Raid Leaders who gets approved or wait listed.

RAID INVITES & START TIME

The raid start time is the time that the raid is buffed and ready for the first pull. Members who know in advance that they are going to be on at the last minute should leave a note on their signup with the time they will be on. Those members should be parked at the instance and ready to go when they login. The timetable for a raid is as follows:

    » 30 minutes prior to raid start:
        - Invites will go out.
    » 15 minutes prior to a raid start:
        - Members should be online and at the instance.
        - Replacements will be found for anyone who is not online unless they gave prior notice.
    » Raid start:
        - Zoned in, buffed and ready for the first pull.

If you are NOT "Zoned in, buffed and ready for the first pull" at raid start time, you will NOT be eligible for the EP bonus. Simply being in the raid group at raid start is not sufficient for this bonus amount. The bonus is for being ready to PULL at raid start, not start summoning.

RAID ADDONS

Members are expected to use our Ventrilo server and have the required raid addons installed and enabled. They are:

Ventrilo
Omen - Threat Meter OR KLH - Threat Meter
Deadly Boss Mods - Raid Warnings
You may also be interested in other addons such as:
Recount (Damage Meter)

RAID LENGTH

A scheduled raid will last approx 3 hours. Members are expected to be there for the entire raid if they sign-up. Raids that are at their max raid time will be ended by the raid leader and resumed at an agreed upon start date.
If there is a reason that you can't stay for the whole raid and you are aware of this when you sign-up then include a late note. If an emergency comes up then you must let the raid leader know ASAP.

LOOT

The loot threshold will be set to Master Looter. If a trash mob is sparkling for you you may loot it but only AFTER all mobs are dead. There is NO LOOTING DURING COMBAT. The following loot rules apply for the entire raid:

    » All Recipes, Patterns, Enchants, etc have no GP value and so do not affect a members EP and will be distributed via our loot policies below.
    » All Bind on Equip (BoE) items will go to whoever needs it at the charge of Gear Points (GP). If no one in the raid wants the item it will go to the Guild Bank for future use.
    » All Bind on Pickup (BoP) items will be passed. EP will determine who gets the loot. If no one is interested in the item, it will be DE'd by a Guild Enchanter.

RAID CHAT & VENT

Please do not spam the raid channel with damage meters or other automated information. The raid channel is needed for raid-related communication.

Vent should be kept clear of chatter during explanations of pulls or boss fights.

RAID ETIQUETTE

Everyone is welcome to offer input via whispers to the Raid Leaders, just remember to appreciate that Raid Leaders will be busy and not every idea will get processed right away.

Do NOT go AFK for long periods of time without letting the Raid Leader know. Breaks will be called throughout the raid when appropriate.

After trying various loot systems EPGP is the fairest way to reward members’ efforts. It is essentially a percentage of how much you raid vs. how much loot you get. While being fair to new members and members who raid less, it rewards people for attending raids: unlike traditional DKP which can be horded or /roll methods which don’t take into account the time you put in when no loot dropped for you.

The Basics
EP/GP=PR

EP: Effort Points (similar to EP) are award for being on time, raiding etc.
GP: Gear Points are awarded when you receive loot from a raid or buy from the guild bank - example below
PR: Priority Rating is your EP divided by your GP. The person with the highest PR wins the loot.

Simplified Scenario:
HolyPriest raids 3 times a week and gets about 1 loot drop a week. ShadowPriest only raids once a week. Using EPGP it will take ShadowPriest 3 weeks to earn enough PR to win a drop over HolyPriest. They both receive loot 1/3 of the time, though HolyPriest will have 3 drops instead of 1 because he raids 3x as often.

GP awarded for gear - Each item of gear in the game has a predetermined cost or value. This value is determined by item level, green stats, white stats, class, item slot and then adds them all up using a mathematical formula to arrive at one single value. This value is the GP that's added to your character when you win an item. The more useful, rare and valuable the item, the higher the GP value of said item.

NUANCES:

Decay: Every week, everyone’s EP and GP will be decayed by 10%. Your relative standings will remain the same, but this means that recent raids/loot will be weighted more than old raids/loot. This will be done Tuesdays, before new raids.

Base GP: Your GP will never drop below 100 this amount is not subject to decay. This is to prevent new/inactive members from having an artificially low GP.

Min EP: We have enforced a minimum EP of 2000for priority bidding. This means that members with less than 2000EP are not eligible for any loot that someone with over 2000EP requires. This ensures that newer members cannot trump old reliable raiders for loot until they have attended approximately 2 raids. New members are still eligible for loot, but will not win loot over members with 2000EP or more, until they themselves have over 2000EP. When all members requesting an item have over the Min EP, it comes down to their priority rating.

PuGs: When a pug is present in a raid, members will earn EP at half the normal rate while not being charged GP for drops. This is to prevent PuGs from being at an advantage over guildmates who are trying to protect their PR.

Off-Spec: If an item is not wanted for main-spec it will go for off-spec at 10% of the Maximum GP for the item.

Alts: Alts can accumulate EP, which will be credited to their player’s Main. Alts may bid after off-spec bids, and GP will be charged to the player’s Main @ 10% of the maximum EP.

Switching Mains: If you decide to switch your Main character, you will lose 50% of your EP.

Switching Your Main Spec: Changing your raid roll (Tank/Healer/Ranged/Melee) may cost up to 25% of your EP, depending on how much the old/new spec benefits the guild. All such changes must be approved by the officers.

Tie: If two members have the same PR, they will /roll.

EPGP Addon:

The guild will be using the EPGP addon “epgp (EP reloaded)” which can be found at Curse.com http://wow.curse.com/downloads/wow-addons/details/epgp-dkp-reloaded.aspx

Earning EP (Boss Kills) – Please note these are subject to change at any point and without warning

The Lower Spire

     Lord Marrowgar – 100 EP
     Lady Deathwhisper – 100 EP
     Gunship Battle – 100 EP
     Deathbringer Saurfang – 100 EP

The Plague Works

     Rotface – 200 EP
     Festergut – 200 EP
     Professor Putricide – 300 EP

The Crimson Hall

     Blood Princes – 400 EP
     Blood-Queen Lana'thel – 500 EP

The Frostwing Halls

     Valithria Dreamwalker – 400
     Sindragosa – 500 EP

The Frozen Throne

     The Lich King – 1000 EP

EP Awards:

20 EP per GOOD ATTEMPT on a progression encounter (less than 2 guild kills)
40 EP per GOOD ATTEMPT on a HARD MODE encounter
200 EP end raid bonus (staying until raid is called by raid leader) - If you "have to leave" before a raid is called, you will not be eligible for this bonus.
100 EP for signing on the website and being on time for raid
There will be a random bonus for those who performed exceptionally and for anyone who had to sit out an encounter / raid for another class / spec that benefited the raid more.
 
Misc EP Awards:

It is possible to earn EP for actions other than boss kills, such as:

Providing guild bank materials (case by case)
Leading raids (200 EP per raid)
Recruiting (200 per successful conversion to raider)

The list above is by no means definitive. It's possible to Earn EP for gestures of goodwill towards the guild or effort made on your part in order to further the guild, and it's goals.

Standby EP

• A player is granted ‘Standby’ if they are online during raid invites but isn’t selected by the raid leader to attend the raid. The raid leader will ask for standy requests, at which point you must whisper the raid leader for inclusion on the list.

• A player who comes online late after raid invites and asks for ‘Standby’ will not be granted any EP for the hours of his coming or for any boss killed during that hour or in the following hour if most of the attempts happened during this hour.
- If you are asked to switch with another player, full standby will be awarded.

• A player who is on ‘Standby’ must either be near the instance or have his hearthstone set with cooldown ready at the nearest inn to the instance being raided
You can be online on and alt, who must be a member of SoL and have your main character waiting offline outside the instance.

• Standby EP will be awarded at the raid end. In order to recieve the Standby EP, players who are on Standby must whisper the EP  handler at raid end time. Failure to do so will result in no EP being awarded for that evening. (This is to make sure that players who are on Standby are actually available and on Standby until raid end time)

• If you wish to be removed from the Standby list before the raid has ended you must whisper the DKP handler to inform him. (This is so you can be awarded for the time spent on Standby) Failure to do so will result in you being awarded no EP.

• Standy's will not be eligible for the "Full Raid" bonus of 200 EP at the end of the raid.

A. Decay

Once a week all members will undergo a 10% EPGP reduction due to decay. This is done to combat the practice of hoarding, but it can also reward attendance at the same time.

For Example:
If you attend a raid just after a decay and earn EP during the run, but you don't purchase anything, your PR will have increased by a larger margin due to the decay to your GP.

With/Without Example:

(Without Decay)

Before the run you had 2000 EP and 1000 GP which resulted in a PR value of 2. You attend a raid and earn 500 EP but did not buy anything. Therefore you end up with 2500 EP and 1000 GP resulting in a PR value of 2.5

(With Decay)

Before the run you had 2000 EP and 1000 GP which resulted in a PR value of 2. The Raid Leader runs the weekly decay resulting in new values of 1800 EP and 900 GP but still a PR value of 2. You attend a raid and earn 500 EP but did not buy anything. Therefore you end up with 2300 EP and 800 GP resulting in a PR value of 2.6

However, if you don't show up, decay will drop your priority, and it could also drop you below the minimum EP Threshhold required to bid.

B. Penalty System

The Penalty System is designed to penalize members for unacceptable behavior. The following penalties will be enforced by the Raid Leader:

    » EP penalty for signing up for a raid but not showing up. This penalty will not be enforced if you notify the raid leader 24 hours in advance or find a suitable replacement for your class function.
    » If you leave during a Raid for any reason other than an unavoidable problem you will suffer -250 EP.
    » If you go AFK without letting the raid leader know you will suffer -100 EP.

EP Penalties:

-100 EP if you are late to a raid (no excuses, if you're not there at raid start time you will be deducted).
-500 EP if you sign up for a raid and do not show up (unless 24 hour notice is given to an officer).

Ninja AFK (-100 EP): If you go AFK without telling the Raid or the raid leaders we will penalize you 50 EP for it. If we call your name (we'll try both vent and raid/guild chat), you have 60 secs to respond before you'll get the penalty, and maybe a boot from the raid.

Facepalm penalty (-100 EP): If you do something REALLY stupid like prematurely pulling a boss (like pulling a drake when clearing trash on 3D), pulling a mob when we say "run around the mob, it's easy to not agro," Not paying attention and causing a wipe, Pulling unnecessary agro on a boss where it's completely avoidable, etc., you'll get a 200 EP "Facepalm" penalty. This kind of thing wastes time and should not happen, so this is in place to ensure people stay focussed.

Loot Policy

Our EPGP system is only in effect for current content, which at the time of writing is ToC10/25 and Icecrown Citadel.

When the Raid Leader announces the item for the first time, first bids will be Mainspec only. At this point, if you are interested in said item, you may whisper the Raid leader “Main” to signal your desire for the item. Once the usual 5,4,3,2,1 is complete, the item will go to the interested party with the highest PR (Priority Rating) in the raid and the GP will be added to that person.

If nobody wants it for mainspec, the item will be handed out to offspec at which point interested parties whisper the raid leader “Offspec” and the item will go to the interested party with the highest PR in the raid and the GP will be added to that person. Offspec items, or items to alts will be awarded at 10% of the maximum GP for that item.

EP Loot Restrictions (AKA Mainspec/Offspec)

Currently, SoL employ a Mainspec/Offspec system along side the EP system so all of our regular raiders get to equally gear up. With regards to weaponry, here are the current loot rules:

Caster weapons /w hit = Caster DPS
Caster weapons /w MP5 = Healers

2H Weapons - Mainspec 2H DPS/2H Tanks (Please note this means that Polearms are offspec for Hunters.)    
1H Weapons (DPS) - Mainspec 1H DPS specs.
1H Weapons (Tanking) - Mainspec 1H/DW tank specs.

If you have any further questions please contact an officer with the issue BEFORE or after a raid, rather than during. (If the rest is to be included move this message to the very bottom of the page)

(Not sure if you needed the armor mainspecs in too but it's not on the EP page so ill do that now)

With regards to armor, here are the current rules:

Cloth (w/ Hit) - Mainspec Cloth Caster DPS.
Cloth (w/ Mp5) - Mainspec Cloth Healers.
Cloth (w/o Hit/Mp5) - Mainspec Cloth users.

Leather (Physical DPS) - Mainspec Leather Physical DPS. (Please note this means that ALL leather is Offspec to Hunters.)
Leather (Caster) - Mainspec Leather Casters. Same rules regarding Hit/Mp5 as stated above also apply here.

Mail (Physical DPS) - Mainspec Mail Physical DPS (Hunters/Enhancement Shamans)
Mail (Caster) - Mainspec Mail Casters. Same rules regarding Hit/Mp5 as stated above also apply here.

Plate (Tanking) - Mainspec tanks.
Plate (DPS) - Mainspec Plate DPS
Plate (Caster) - Mainspec Plate Casters.

EP Loot Preference

For raids where EP are involved, there is loot-preference based on your GP. We operate with a minimum GP requirement of 2000 to have priority on loot. Members with over 2000 will have priority on any loot, and once those members have been identified the winner is determined by their PR (Priority Rating). If two members with the same PR are requesting an item, then a /roll is performed and the GP is added to the person who received the loot.

Legendary Items

Legendary items will be handed out by a vote of the officers. The vote will be determined by a number of factors: Rank, dedication, attendance, and history within the guild. Chances are, if you've ever seriously quit the guild in the past, chances are you are completely inelligible for Legendaries.

Patterns / Enchantment drops / Orbs

The distribution of these items will be at the sole discretion of the officers present. These will not be awarded by the use of EP, but will be majority vote of the officers present. If only one officer is present, then that officer has the deciding vote on who is awaded the item.

Patterns and Enchantment drops will be handed out based on many factors, including but not limited to rank, activity levels, raid attendance, length of time with the guild and general attitude. The purpose is to keep these items in the guild for the benefit of all, so this loot distribution allows us to ensure that these items have the best chance of staying in the guild.

MISC EP rules:

Trial Members: This is the rank at which you have to prove your worth to the guild. You have no priviliges, access to guild bank tabs or anything of that nature. As a trial, you do not get priority on raid spots and will need to prove yourself in order to make a raid team. Usually you will not be promoted before you have attended at least 3 raids in an appropriately short period of time. (3 raids over 1 month months would not warrant a promotion for example, whereas 3 raids in 1 week probably would)

Raider: Once promoted to Raider you'll gain the ability to get items from the Guild Bank and will also have priority on raid spots over trials.

• All shards / consumables from DE'd greens / epics go to the guild bank