Shuffling Days Week 1
For top Mythic guilds, skipping day 1 to farm M+ and gather boss intel can provide better preparation than rushing into raid immediately.
First Week Raiding Strategy: The Case for Skipping Day One
For top Mythic guilds (roughly top 250), the first week of a new tier presents a critical strategic decision: raid immediately on release day, or delay your first raid to maximize preparation and information gathering.
Target Audience: This strategy is only viable for guilds with flexible scheduling and strong commitment to optimization. Most guilds should stick to their normal schedule.
The Strategic Advantage of Waiting
Information Gathering
By the time you raid, you'll have access to:
- Final boss strategies from guilds that cleared on day one
- Heroic difficulty intel on the last 1-2 bosses that might be challenging
- Early Mythic assessment of difficulty and time investment required
- Class and tier strength analysis from other raiders
- Trinket and gear decisions from similar guilds
This information is invaluable for planning your approach, especially for tier token distribution and omni token usage.
M+ and Raid Synergy
The relationship between Mythic+ and raid gear creates a positive feedback loop:
M+ → Raid Power
- Higher item level pieces for raid
- Better trinkets and weapons
- More crests for immediate upgrades
Raid → M+ Power
- Tier sets for faster key times
- Raid trinkets and weapons
- Higher baseline power
When you skip the first day, your guild focuses entirely on Mythic+ progression, entering raid with higher item levels and more optimization.
Scheduling Considerations
Who Can Make This Work
2-3 Day Guilds: Most flexible. Can often shift one raid day without major disruption.
4-5 Day Guilds: Much harder to avoid Wednesday entirely, but might consider starting Thursday/Friday instead.
The One-Time Schedule Change
This isn't about permanently moving your raid schedule. It's a strategic one-time adjustment for tier launch optimization. Your guild needs to:
- Commit to the plan before tier launch
- Understand this is a temporary scheduling change
- Have leadership buy-in for the strategy
Execution Strategy
Tier Boss Priority
The core principle: clear all tier bosses in one continuous raid to see your token distribution before planning omni token usage.
Understanding your tier token situation allows you to:
- Plan omni token distribution from the final boss
- Make informed decisions about catalyst charge usage
- Optimize splits for reclear based on actual drops
Split Efficiency vs Progression
Your clearing approach depends on raid difficulty and time constraints:
Example: 4-Hour Raid Window
Let's say the final 2 Heroic bosses are challenging but Normal versions are free kills. You have 4 hours with a 15-minute break and do 2 runs (splits):
- Optimal approach: 2x 6/8 Heroic + 8/8 Normal
- Time allocation: 1 hour per clear for full Normal, 45min per clear for 6/8 heroic, 15min break. And 15 min overhead from relogging and going in/out of raid.
- Result: All tier bosses cleared, 14 total kills for loot
Key Principle: Avoid getting stuck on any boss due to unclear strategy. If you're spending significant time wiping, it defeats the purpose of the preparation advantage.
Wednesday Raiding with Strategic Gaps
Even if you do raid on Wednesday, you can capture some benefits by strategically leaving difficult bosses uncleared. Skip the hardest 1-2 bosses and focus on efficient tier boss clearing. This gives you most of the tier token information while still getting day-one raiding in.
You do need to keep in mind that repeatedly relogging and going in/out of raid will also take time.
Reality Check: This strategy trades immediate progression for medium-term optimization. It's most valuable for guilds where week 1-2 efficiency significantly impacts their tier goals.
Making the Decision
This strategy makes sense if your guild:
- Has flexible raid scheduling
- Values optimization over immediate gratification
- Can commit to the plan as a team
- Competes at a level where week 1-2 efficiency matters
- Has strong Mythic+ players who will capitalize on the extra day
- Target audience: Top 250 Mythic guilds with flexible scheduling
- Core benefit: Better information, preparation, and M+ synergy
- Execution: Clear all tier bosses in one raid, avoid getting stuck on unclear strategies
- Key trade-off: Immediate progression vs medium-term optimization
- Success factor: Team commitment to the temporary schedule change
Most guilds should stick to their normal schedule. But for the right team with the right goals, skipping day one can provide a significant strategic advantage that compounds throughout the tier.