Seeing as how our guild has started growing and the need to at least post some information somewhere, I've decided to start another blog site to post Crazy Club guild information.
This site is intended for my own personal experiences with World of Warcraft and although I highly doubt that I have that many readers, I'm sure they'd rather not read about Crazy Club rules, recruiting, etc. So I'm moving the information to htttp://crazyclubarathor.blogspot.com.
Continue reading 'Crazy Club Information Moved'
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
Return to Karazhan
After three weeks of repeatedly trying to get back to Karazhan we were finally successful in getting something together last night. I spent hours recruiting this week having several people join the guild and finally getting 15 level 70 toons in our guild. Yeah we're still small. We hope to keep it that way too.
If we can keep the guild to a minimum required to make it through Karazhan and slowly increase that number to accomodate 3 groups, then all of us can make it into the 25 man content without having to compete against each other for slots. It'll also help us be a tighter knit community with loyal players. This is something we are definitely shooting for. I don't know how some of the large raiding guilds handle it.
Two of our friends, Zeza and Latifah, were able to join us last night. Although they had to leave to prepare for their own guild's raid, we were able to down Attumen, Moroes, The Crone, Maiden, and Shade in the space of about 4 hours. Total of 11 Badges and I finally got my Libram of Souls Redeemed.
All in all a great night everyone!
[Edit: Forgot to mention that we almost wiped on Shade the final time. Everyone went down as he approached 1%. Finally, only one hunter and myself were available. I myself was low on HP and mana. I easily gained aggro at this point and in an act of utter desperation, while completely freaking out, I charged Shade hit Consecration and threw a Hammer of Wrath for the win!!! I couldn't stop laughing!] Continue reading 'Return to Karazhan'
If we can keep the guild to a minimum required to make it through Karazhan and slowly increase that number to accomodate 3 groups, then all of us can make it into the 25 man content without having to compete against each other for slots. It'll also help us be a tighter knit community with loyal players. This is something we are definitely shooting for. I don't know how some of the large raiding guilds handle it.
Two of our friends, Zeza and Latifah, were able to join us last night. Although they had to leave to prepare for their own guild's raid, we were able to down Attumen, Moroes, The Crone, Maiden, and Shade in the space of about 4 hours. Total of 11 Badges and I finally got my Libram of Souls Redeemed.
All in all a great night everyone!
[Edit: Forgot to mention that we almost wiped on Shade the final time. Everyone went down as he approached 1%. Finally, only one hunter and myself were available. I myself was low on HP and mana. I easily gained aggro at this point and in an act of utter desperation, while completely freaking out, I charged Shade hit Consecration and threw a Hammer of Wrath for the win!!! I couldn't stop laughing!] Continue reading 'Return to Karazhan'
Friday, April 25, 2008
Crazy Club: Recruiting Policy
Recruiting Policy
We are always on the lookout for potential new members for our guild. I firmly believe that the majority of those future members will come from contacts you make. Remember this is YOUR guild. Someone with rank doesn’t make them any more important in the guild than the newest Initiate. Although invitation rights are limited to the Officers, this is only to help control our numbers.
It’s going to be time consuming enough helping those not yet 70 to reach 70, gear up, run Kara, and still do all the other daily quests, heroic instances, etc. for our own needs. Inviting en masse will not be the solution now. However, if you strongly feel someone would be a great addition to our guild and don’t want to lose them to another, please let an Officer know.
Here is where those of us who set up the guild currently see the direction we’re headed. We want this guild to be a group of people and friends who enjoy hanging out, questing, raiding, and playing together. Large guilds have a tendency to have large turnover rates, due to drama, lack of opportunities raiding, etc. We’d rather have a small guild with loyal players and where everyone has an opportunity to do what they’d like to do while helping others do the same.
In general, we want to see as much end-game content as possible before the new expansion comes out, which supposedly is by the end of the year. Although seeing Black Temple and Mt. Hyjal are probably beyond our reach in that time frame, we are still shooting for it.
We eventually would like to get two Kara groups going and potentially a third. After Kara will come Zul’Aman and the 25 man raid content. In order to do that we’ll definitely need t least 30 people to raid the higher end content. We need to do this in controlled steps.
First, we’d like to gear up all current members to the point where they can run Kara with relative ease. At that time we’ll shift group make up around and recruit others to gear up while running two Kara groups or possibly three. During that time, we’ll also begin Zul’Aman for those that are ready. With each step we’ll increase our numbers until we’re finally ready for the 25 man content.
Here is the list of classes/specs we are actively recruiting:
We are always on the lookout for potential new members for our guild. I firmly believe that the majority of those future members will come from contacts you make. Remember this is YOUR guild. Someone with rank doesn’t make them any more important in the guild than the newest Initiate. Although invitation rights are limited to the Officers, this is only to help control our numbers.
It’s going to be time consuming enough helping those not yet 70 to reach 70, gear up, run Kara, and still do all the other daily quests, heroic instances, etc. for our own needs. Inviting en masse will not be the solution now. However, if you strongly feel someone would be a great addition to our guild and don’t want to lose them to another, please let an Officer know.
Here is where those of us who set up the guild currently see the direction we’re headed. We want this guild to be a group of people and friends who enjoy hanging out, questing, raiding, and playing together. Large guilds have a tendency to have large turnover rates, due to drama, lack of opportunities raiding, etc. We’d rather have a small guild with loyal players and where everyone has an opportunity to do what they’d like to do while helping others do the same.
In general, we want to see as much end-game content as possible before the new expansion comes out, which supposedly is by the end of the year. Although seeing Black Temple and Mt. Hyjal are probably beyond our reach in that time frame, we are still shooting for it.
We eventually would like to get two Kara groups going and potentially a third. After Kara will come Zul’Aman and the 25 man raid content. In order to do that we’ll definitely need t least 30 people to raid the higher end content. We need to do this in controlled steps.
First, we’d like to gear up all current members to the point where they can run Kara with relative ease. At that time we’ll shift group make up around and recruit others to gear up while running two Kara groups or possibly three. During that time, we’ll also begin Zul’Aman for those that are ready. With each step we’ll increase our numbers until we’re finally ready for the 25 man content.
Here is the list of classes/specs we are actively recruiting:
[04/25/2008: Currently not recruiting new members]Continue reading 'Crazy Club: Recruiting Policy'
Crazy Club: Raid Rules
Raid Rules
Before even going into the Raid Rules, I want to express my excitement that it appears we finally have enough people in the guild to really start raiding Kara. Please remember that several of us have Kara experience and are used to progressing with relative ease through the trash mobs. Only three weeks ago, at least four of us were privy to a group that downed the first 5 bosses in less than 3 hours. It would have been less except for 2 wipes on Moroes that were extremely stupid mistakes.
So for those of us with experience, please know and understand that we have several new people that have no Kara experience and are slightly undergeared or just barely there. Initial goings will more than likely be difficult, frustrating, and potentially costly in repairs, pots, buffs, etc. I not only ask for those with more experience to be patient, but I ask those of you that will find it more difficult to have patience with yourselves. We’re all in this together. We succeed together and we fail together.
As part of this mindset, all of us who go on the raid together will end it together. For those who are less geared, you may be asked to leave to allow another to come in. Once you start, unless there’s no hope of proceeding, we will continue together. You will not arbitrarily be asked to leave. Again, we succeed together and we fail together. Officers, this will be done in whispers to the person being asked.
Raid Schedule
Current designs for the raiding schedule are to raid Karazhan as often as possible until we have it on farm. This means that if we have enough people we will attempt to raid Kara every evening for at least a couple of hours. Most nights this will mean 1-2 bosses. On Friday evenings we will discuss raiding times for the weekend and adjust accordingly to accommodate the majority.
If a majority of the guild is prepared to raid Kara on any given day, but the group is not complete it will be up to those involved whether they wish to PUG the remaining slots. If your spot is filled because you are late, we will not dismiss a PUG member. Be on time!
On time means:
Groups will be selected based on the following criteria for Karazhan:
To illustrate this point, I will opt out of the Shade encounter for another given that Sollenni feels up to healing that encounter in my stead. There is no tanking on Shade and her tanking skills there will not be required. I still need a drop from him, but I’d rather someone with more of a need get a drop now and I can wait until later. Large upgrades benefit the group more than a minor upgrade for me.
Please keep this in mind when you are rolling for an upgrade that someone else may profit from a whole lot more. An additional 10 points of damage for you is a lot less effective for the group than having another get a 40 point increase. Remember if they get better, next week’s run is made a whole lot easier for you to get that upgrade or another. That said if you need it you will not be stopped from rolling on any item regardless if someone needs it more. See Loot Rules below.
Loot Rules
We do not currently use the DKP loot system. Once we get into 25 man raid content we may look at DKP. Fewer drops per person on the 25 man raid content may make it harder for you to get the gear you are looking for. As such, DKP may be fairer.
Currently we follow a system based on need. Need will be determined by Spec, Off-Spec, and Disenchant. Those whose item is clearly for their spec will be allowed to roll. Should none roll the need passes to those with off-spec capacity. Should everyone pass then the Loot Master will pass it to someone who can disenchant the item and everyone will roll for the shard or crystal. Continue reading 'Crazy Club: Raid Rules'
Before even going into the Raid Rules, I want to express my excitement that it appears we finally have enough people in the guild to really start raiding Kara. Please remember that several of us have Kara experience and are used to progressing with relative ease through the trash mobs. Only three weeks ago, at least four of us were privy to a group that downed the first 5 bosses in less than 3 hours. It would have been less except for 2 wipes on Moroes that were extremely stupid mistakes.
So for those of us with experience, please know and understand that we have several new people that have no Kara experience and are slightly undergeared or just barely there. Initial goings will more than likely be difficult, frustrating, and potentially costly in repairs, pots, buffs, etc. I not only ask for those with more experience to be patient, but I ask those of you that will find it more difficult to have patience with yourselves. We’re all in this together. We succeed together and we fail together.
As part of this mindset, all of us who go on the raid together will end it together. For those who are less geared, you may be asked to leave to allow another to come in. Once you start, unless there’s no hope of proceeding, we will continue together. You will not arbitrarily be asked to leave. Again, we succeed together and we fail together. Officers, this will be done in whispers to the person being asked.
Raid Schedule
Current designs for the raiding schedule are to raid Karazhan as often as possible until we have it on farm. This means that if we have enough people we will attempt to raid Kara every evening for at least a couple of hours. Most nights this will mean 1-2 bosses. On Friday evenings we will discuss raiding times for the weekend and adjust accordingly to accommodate the majority.
If a majority of the guild is prepared to raid Kara on any given day, but the group is not complete it will be up to those involved whether they wish to PUG the remaining slots. If your spot is filled because you are late, we will not dismiss a PUG member. Be on time!
On time means:
• When the raid is called for 6:00pm server time; be ready.Group Selection
• Have on hand a sufficient amount of elixirs, flasks, pots, food buffs, food/water (you never know when we might not have that mage handy), reagents (for whatever reason it appears that warlocks have the hardest time with this), etc. I carry 300 Symbol of Kings on me at the start of a raid. Overkill? Yes, but I’ve been in raids where 2-3 people die each pull and re-buffing after has gotten me down to 100 before. This is an extreme, but I’m ready for it. Know what you need and be prepared!
• If you aren’t sure you’ll be selected for tonight’s raid, be prepared as if you were.
• There will always be one reason or another someone’s slightly late. Help out by heading to the meeting stone a little early and begin summons.
• Being late could result in being replaced. Replacement will be based on whether or not another can fill the need of the group. Obviously we can’t replace a healer with a mage, or vice versa. See Group Selection below.
Groups will be selected based on the following criteria for Karazhan:
Currently we have only 2 tanks and 2 healers in the guild. This means that for each Kara run, we will be required and pretty much guaranteed to go. Because of the larger number of DPS in the guild, at times some of you may have to sit out. As we progress through Kara’s content and gear is acquired, we will ask you to volunteer to sit out on certain bosses you’ve already acquired gear for to allow another the chance to get a drop.• Tanks: 2
• Healers: 2
• CC: 2 for Karazhan. Because of the undead a combination of priests and hunters will be used.
• DPS: 4 – whenever possible this will consist of at least a warlock, warrior, and mage, but DPS is the most flexible here and therefore most important that you guys are on time.
To illustrate this point, I will opt out of the Shade encounter for another given that Sollenni feels up to healing that encounter in my stead. There is no tanking on Shade and her tanking skills there will not be required. I still need a drop from him, but I’d rather someone with more of a need get a drop now and I can wait until later. Large upgrades benefit the group more than a minor upgrade for me.
Please keep this in mind when you are rolling for an upgrade that someone else may profit from a whole lot more. An additional 10 points of damage for you is a lot less effective for the group than having another get a 40 point increase. Remember if they get better, next week’s run is made a whole lot easier for you to get that upgrade or another. That said if you need it you will not be stopped from rolling on any item regardless if someone needs it more. See Loot Rules below.
Loot Rules
We do not currently use the DKP loot system. Once we get into 25 man raid content we may look at DKP. Fewer drops per person on the 25 man raid content may make it harder for you to get the gear you are looking for. As such, DKP may be fairer.
Currently we follow a system based on need. Need will be determined by Spec, Off-Spec, and Disenchant. Those whose item is clearly for their spec will be allowed to roll. Should none roll the need passes to those with off-spec capacity. Should everyone pass then the Loot Master will pass it to someone who can disenchant the item and everyone will roll for the shard or crystal. Continue reading 'Crazy Club: Raid Rules'
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Constructive Criticism: The Raiding Guild and The Candidate
On March 5th, 2008 I posted a question on Blog Azeroth. The question was:
However, Matticus brought up the same topic today and I felt the need to respond. As I started to think about my response, all this crap started falling out of my head. Well, mom always said I had $#%! for brains. So head on over to Open Discussion: How Do You Improve Players Without Coming out as an Arrogant Jerk? and read Matt’s hypothetical situation, then come on back.
I’d like to address Matt’s questions from two viewpoints: the viewpoint of the raiding guild and the viewpoint of the recruit. Since I’m inspired by Matt’s hypothetical situation, I’ll approach it with the healer in mind, but this can be just as easily applied to any class or spec.
There are several things during the recruiting process that need to be addressed up front from the guild’s perspective:
Know Where You Stand
Make sure that your candidate knows where your guild stands with regards to expectations and that the guild members know the same in return. This is where I see a problem occurs with the average raider.
Raiders wants results and they want results now. They feel that everyone in the group should be at their level or greater. They deserve to be able to down the boss with minimal wiping and frustration. Yet they often forget that they were once in the same boat and more importantly in this case they need that healer to achieve their goals. If they offend the healer, especially without a potential backup, when will they get to go back?
Is it not better to suffer through some frustration hoping to help this new guy out, keep him loyal, and move on? Or is the here and now just so important as to not look to the future? I’m not saying you should have to wait months or even weeks for the person to figure it out. Just set those goals and expectations so all are aware of the time frame. Amazing how much a person can put up with if they see the light at the end of the tunnel.
This is why it is so important to ensure that the guild members understand potential issues with new recruits and that they are on board with assisting in helping and retaining those recruits. It’s for the good of the guild as a whole and that’s often forgotten.
If you have specific gear requirements, make it known up front. If they don’t meet it, but you still believe they’re a prime candidate, give them the support on being able to get whatever they need. Give them a timeframe in which you expect this to be done. Let others know so they can assist in speeding up the process.
Discuss healer smarts with them. Ask them what they would do given certain situations. This one’s difficult, but try to come up with more specific situations than what’s the healing priority? Everyone knows it’s the tank first. Please forgive my example as I only went to Gruul’s for the first time last night in the middle of a raid that lost a healer. Didn’t have a clue as to what I was doing. And no, this isn’t a personal example. I was on the main tank.
As a pally healer, situational awareness is difficult for me. I have to stand still to cast any of my healing spells and my eyes are glued to the health bars of all those around me and in crisis situations it can sometimes be hard to see that AOE that I’m standing in. It’s easy to lose sight of when the tank moves and where I need to be to stay in range. I’m only getting better at this as I learn what damage my fellow raiders are capable of sustaining so I can look away for a time and through repeatedly doing the boss fight over and over. I’m not sure there’s any good way to train someone for this other than through repetition, but make the importance of this known. Suggest watching online videos of the boss fights to help them at least know what goes on and what they need to look for.
Know When to Offer Advice/Criticism
The number one reason I’ve experienced in losing potentially great guild members is criticizing during an actual raid or instance. Its human nature to bring up questions about what happened or who was to blame for that last wipe. DON’T DO IT!! Make sure your raiders are aware that they should keep their collective mouths shut!
Let the leaders handle the situation. Don’t let anyone say “we wiped a second time because THE hunter didn’t re-ice trap the add AGAIN!”, hypothetically speaking of course. (/thinking “Granted we could have killed her the second time.”) Instead let the leader say “We let ice trap break leading to a wipe.” In a statement like this we avoid the accusatory nature of the first statement which singles someone out and instead places the blame collectively on the entire group. Everyone knows who let the ice trap break. Everyone knows who’s at fault. No one needs to point it out. Unless the one responsible is a total tool, they know it too. In a 25 man raid there’s even more anonymity and potentially less embarrassment for that person, if it’s kept general. Just remember this is teamwork. We succeed together, we fail together!
So when do we offer advice/criticism? After the raid, away from others. Nothing boils my blood faster than to be asked during an encounter “What’s your bonus healing at?” At times, it’s been because they were amazed, but more often than not I believe it to be a question regarding my healing abilities and the inability of others to accept any blame for what lead up to that wipe. At these times I have to struggle to remain calm or my decision making becomes impaired.
Know How to Offer Advice/Criticism
Leaders take notes during the raid, talk to the person one on one after the raid. Start off by asking them how they felt about the raid? Don’t ask them what they felt they did wrong. Let them do that on their own. You’ll be amazed at how much more open they’ll be if they have the opportunity to point out what they felt they did wrong before you did. Most people are more critical of themselves than you ever will be. Don’t necessarily disagree with them on their self-criticism, especially if it’s regarding important items. Often people will criticize themselves about trivial matters. This is the tool you’ll use to help them stay on the path to improvement. More importantly, this is when you offer advice. I say advice because at this point it will feel more like advice than criticism.
If you end up with someone that doesn’t point out some of the things they did wrong or shifts all blame to others, then you know you probably have someone you don’t necessarily want to group with anyway as they’ll never be accountable for anything. At this point, it’s entirely up to you on how you want to handle criticizing them and whether you even want to continue the trial period.
Matticus, you also answered your own question as to how to offer advice. Explain the why. During a raid, especially a fast moving one, there’s no time to explain the why. In Common Courtesy: Sleeping with the Dodo I explained a situation in which a Raid Leader didn’t explain the why of a particular situation until those who didn’t listen experienced the why. He pointed it out condescendingly and mockingly earning absolutely no respect from those of us within the group. He expected us to do what he said, when he said, with no explanation.
The problem with the example I gave was no one knew this guy. We had no reason to trust that he was the authoritative figure for Kara that he claimed to be. There was no trust built there yet. Did it matter that he did in fact know what he was talking about? No. He handled it incorrectly. He did have the time to explain before the first pull, just refused to do so. His answer was “Just do it!” He then handled the explanation afterwards unprofessionally.
People are not lemmings. We do not like to blindly follow anyone. Only those we trust will we agree to follow blindly as required, but even then we eventually expect some sort of explanation afterwards. Whether that explanation comes in finding out the hard way or having it explained verbally doesn’t matter. Knowing the why behind something gives us the reassurance that whatever we are doing is not in vain. There is a purpose behind our actions. It is important. We are needed. We fear that which we do not understand. [Edit: I believe this is a quote from someone, but can’t find it on the web.]
With regards to offering advice on specs? I don’t know the answer. Just make sure you know what you are talking about. Being criticized by the mage who doesn’t know how to control his aggro for not being able to keep the raid properly healed because he doesn’t understand the first thing about pally healing only frustrates the paladin and makes the mage look stupid to anybody that does understand. This is why I’m very careful to criticize another for their spec or class and keep my mouth shut. Make sure you know what you are talking about. Granted if that warlock is #8 on the damage meter in Kara, only beating the two healers, in full epic gear and according to Be Imba!report out gears everyone except the main tank and one DPS warrior, AND spec’d Affliction? You might have an obvious problem you can complain about. (*cough, cough. Totally hypothetical, of course.)
With your example Matticus, you stated:
You started out great giving him a sense of worth. You even said that you’re in a tough bind, which conveys the sense that hey I’m getting pressure from above. This helps ease the person from taking it personally. Won’t stop it, but makes it easier. Don’t say “Why should I take you? You’re useless to me.” I read this somewhat as a joke, but I’ve read some of your other Bob posts.
It’s amazing how you can change the tone of a statement and still have the sense of urgency just by altering the way you say something. Say things like “Help me out here. I’ve noticed you’re spec’d x. What if you spec’d y?” By including them on the “improvements” you haven’t dictated to them what to do. They are included and feel their opinion is important. Again, goes back to this trust issue. You can always say “Hey, let’s try it and see if it works better for you. If it doesn’t, I’ll pay the respec costs.” A minor gesture for anyone raiding, but also gives the person a feeling they have an out.
Know When to Cut Your Losses
There are times when you will come across candidates that are the greatest people in the world, people you just love being around, but just aren’t going to cut it based on your guild’s needs and expectations. Knowing when to cut your losses with these people can be very difficult. You don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, but you also can’t spend any more time trying to help the guy out. Know when to say when.
You may find that you want to keep them in the guild as a reserve, but make it clear that is what they are there for. However your guild might handle it, deal with it appropriately. Avoid making promises that may never come to fruition.
Regardless of the type of candidate you have, try to end it on as positive a note as possible. You never know when you’ll run into this guy again. Perhaps in the future he’ll end up with a guild that can help him out and eventually he’ll learn what he needs to learn. It’d be a shame to have burned a bridge there. Try to keep the door open for future possibilities, but treat it like a Band-Aid and remove it as quickly and painlessly as possible. Don’t drag it out!
The Recruit
Know Where You Stand
What is it that you’re looking for? Are you looking for a guild that raids on particular nights? Are you looking for a guild to grow with or a guild that’s almost maxed out? Do you want to be helped along? Do you want to be one of those that does the helping? Basically, what’s important for you?
I’ve seen people come and go because they thought they could get a free ride through raids. I’ve seen people come and go because they thought they were so good that they’d outshine all the rest. There are any number of reasons as to why someone joins a new raiding guild. Make it easier on yourself and the recruiting guild by knowing exactly where you stand and where you want to be.
Find out what the goals of the recruiting guild are and see how closely they match up to your own. Be honest with yourself. I’ve had friends join horrible guilds because of the content they could do, only to complain to me and be miserable the entire time. They made their choice. It was more important to go after that upgrade than it was being miserable in a guild they couldn’t have cared less about. There are guilds out there that will match your goals. Be patient.
Know When to Accept Advice/Criticism
This may sound like an odd comment, but this is very important. Hopefully you will not be criticized during a raid or encounter. Hopefully this will be done on the side as time permits elsewhere, so both parties can fully address the issue without having to shorten anything due to time constraints. That said, it is going to happen.
If you are offered advice or criticized during a raid, don’t fight back. You don’t have to accept it, just put it to the side. Take things said during raids with a grain of salt. Emotions could be running high. Things might be said that aren’t thought out and with other information may not have been said or thought at all. Adjust as necessary, but don’t feel you have to blatantly accept all criticism during those heated encounters.
Not accepting the criticism is not the same as fighting back. Push it to the side. Don’t retaliate!
Know How to Accept Advice/Criticism
This is difficult for most people. I can attest that I am one of them. Try to remember one general rule. If you’re being offered advice away from the mob mentality and the raid, you’re probably thought of as being of value. Take it so. If you weren’t worth the time, you’d be brushed off and no one would say anything.
Remember the raiders want you to succeed as much as you do. It doesn’t always sound like it, but it’s true. If you succeed, they succeed. If you fail, they fail.
At times you’ll be accused unfairly, it’s going to happen. Listen to it calmly. If you have a counter argument, present it to the person after they have had the chance to explain their side. If you don’t you’re going to end up in a heated exchange as each side tries to fully explain their side of the argument.
Make sure you present any counter argument by knowing your stuff. Don’t shift blame! Even if it wasn’t entirely your fault, but there was something you could have done better, accept the responsibility for your part. I cannot stress this enough! Nothing aggravates the leader trying to help you faster than you attempting to divert all blame to others, even if it’s later found out you were entirely not at fault. You shift blame and you’ll be labeled as one who never accepts accountability and not a team player. Let the leaders deal with the others. Accept your part and their advice on what to do and move on. The next time when you do your part, it will be painfully obvious that you did all you could and leaders can more fully address the problem elsewhere.
Know When to Cut Your Losses
Knowing when to cut your losses is also tricky from the candidate’s side. There are websites out there dedicated to tracking your movements. Good guilds will know if you’re a guild jumper or not and that’s a label you don’t want following you around. However, there are times when things just do not work out. Guilds may want to keep you, but their goals don’t match yours.
Decide what’s important to you and move on, whether by staying or leaving. Don’t let things drag out thinking they will get better. Do something about it. Talk to your leaders. If they are unresponsive, get out. They obviously aren’t worried about your needs. Only you can determine when you should leave, but always leave on as positive a note as possible. You’ll run across these people again whether in this guild or another. Don’t burn a bridge! There may be millions of accounts out there, but it’s amazing how you keep running into the same people over and over.
Conclusion
Matticus pointed out that without the healers his guild is effectively paralyzed. He is aware of their limitations with respect to gear, specs, and experience. That said it needs to be made perfectly clear to all those involved that there is a huge possibility that they will not succeed over the next couple of weeks and the whining and complaining need to be kept quiet. This is for the good of the guild. Negativity directed towards anyone will only drive people away and healers perhaps more than most. There always seems to be a shortage of healers and even more so of effective healers and we know it. We’re a commodity and we know you need us more than we need you. Terrible attitude to have by the way, healers! I’ve been guilty of it in the past too, but that’s a selfish attitude that causes groups to fall apart.
By taking these healers on you’ve essentially agreed that you know their weaknesses and are willing to work with them to improve. You seem to have two options before you. Do you come on strong risking the possibility of offending them and driving them away only to start all over with someone else in a never-ending cycle? Or do you coddle and reassure them giving them warm and fuzzies so as not to tread on any toes and potentially lose them only to continue down a frustrating and fruitless never-ending cycle of failure? Neither one seems appealing and neither one is the answer. Finding the happy medium is the struggle.
In summary, whether recruiting or being recruited remember to:
Question: How does one go about giving constructive advice to others about their gear, talents, skills, spells, class, or any other aspect of the game? How do you handle giving someone advice who “knows-it-all”?At the time this was a real issue for me and a large concern. I eagerly awaited responses from fellow bloggers, but to this day not one person has responded to that question. Well, I guess I can’t blame anyone. I suppose they don’t know the answer any better than I.
However, Matticus brought up the same topic today and I felt the need to respond. As I started to think about my response, all this crap started falling out of my head. Well, mom always said I had $#%! for brains. So head on over to Open Discussion: How Do You Improve Players Without Coming out as an Arrogant Jerk? and read Matt’s hypothetical situation, then come on back.
I’d like to address Matt’s questions from two viewpoints: the viewpoint of the raiding guild and the viewpoint of the recruit. Since I’m inspired by Matt’s hypothetical situation, I’ll approach it with the healer in mind, but this can be just as easily applied to any class or spec.
There are several things during the recruiting process that need to be addressed up front from the guild’s perspective:
Know where you standThere are several things during the recruiting process that need to be addressed up front from the candidate’s perspective:
Know when to offer advice/criticism
Know how to offer advice/criticism
Know when to cut your losses
Know where you standThe Raiding Guild
Know when to accept advice/criticism
Know how to accept advice/criticism
Know when to cut your losses
Know Where You Stand
Make sure that your candidate knows where your guild stands with regards to expectations and that the guild members know the same in return. This is where I see a problem occurs with the average raider.
Raiders wants results and they want results now. They feel that everyone in the group should be at their level or greater. They deserve to be able to down the boss with minimal wiping and frustration. Yet they often forget that they were once in the same boat and more importantly in this case they need that healer to achieve their goals. If they offend the healer, especially without a potential backup, when will they get to go back?
Is it not better to suffer through some frustration hoping to help this new guy out, keep him loyal, and move on? Or is the here and now just so important as to not look to the future? I’m not saying you should have to wait months or even weeks for the person to figure it out. Just set those goals and expectations so all are aware of the time frame. Amazing how much a person can put up with if they see the light at the end of the tunnel.
This is why it is so important to ensure that the guild members understand potential issues with new recruits and that they are on board with assisting in helping and retaining those recruits. It’s for the good of the guild as a whole and that’s often forgotten.
If you have specific gear requirements, make it known up front. If they don’t meet it, but you still believe they’re a prime candidate, give them the support on being able to get whatever they need. Give them a timeframe in which you expect this to be done. Let others know so they can assist in speeding up the process.
Discuss healer smarts with them. Ask them what they would do given certain situations. This one’s difficult, but try to come up with more specific situations than what’s the healing priority? Everyone knows it’s the tank first. Please forgive my example as I only went to Gruul’s for the first time last night in the middle of a raid that lost a healer. Didn’t have a clue as to what I was doing. And no, this isn’t a personal example. I was on the main tank.
Take for example, having one main tank and two off-tanks at Gruul. You’re assigned to one of the off-tanks and told to assist the main tank should he get low. One healer is assigned to raid heals only and to assist tanks as necessary. You have the mana to spare. Ten raiders are at 50% or less after an AOE attack. Your tank is at 90%, the main tank is at 75%. What do you do?The answers may vary here depending on your own expectations. Is it important that he trust the raid healer to get to those 10 or should he assist? Assist the main tank? Conserve the mana? Spend it? There might not be a right answer, but the way in which the person answers usually gives you an indication of how well they will do. Someone who beats around the bush is indecisive and better to have someone who makes the wrong decision than have someone who can’t make one at all.
As a pally healer, situational awareness is difficult for me. I have to stand still to cast any of my healing spells and my eyes are glued to the health bars of all those around me and in crisis situations it can sometimes be hard to see that AOE that I’m standing in. It’s easy to lose sight of when the tank moves and where I need to be to stay in range. I’m only getting better at this as I learn what damage my fellow raiders are capable of sustaining so I can look away for a time and through repeatedly doing the boss fight over and over. I’m not sure there’s any good way to train someone for this other than through repetition, but make the importance of this known. Suggest watching online videos of the boss fights to help them at least know what goes on and what they need to look for.
Know When to Offer Advice/Criticism
The number one reason I’ve experienced in losing potentially great guild members is criticizing during an actual raid or instance. Its human nature to bring up questions about what happened or who was to blame for that last wipe. DON’T DO IT!! Make sure your raiders are aware that they should keep their collective mouths shut!
Let the leaders handle the situation. Don’t let anyone say “we wiped a second time because THE hunter didn’t re-ice trap the add AGAIN!”, hypothetically speaking of course. (/thinking “Granted we could have killed her the second time.”) Instead let the leader say “We let ice trap break leading to a wipe.” In a statement like this we avoid the accusatory nature of the first statement which singles someone out and instead places the blame collectively on the entire group. Everyone knows who let the ice trap break. Everyone knows who’s at fault. No one needs to point it out. Unless the one responsible is a total tool, they know it too. In a 25 man raid there’s even more anonymity and potentially less embarrassment for that person, if it’s kept general. Just remember this is teamwork. We succeed together, we fail together!
So when do we offer advice/criticism? After the raid, away from others. Nothing boils my blood faster than to be asked during an encounter “What’s your bonus healing at?” At times, it’s been because they were amazed, but more often than not I believe it to be a question regarding my healing abilities and the inability of others to accept any blame for what lead up to that wipe. At these times I have to struggle to remain calm or my decision making becomes impaired.
Know How to Offer Advice/Criticism
Leaders take notes during the raid, talk to the person one on one after the raid. Start off by asking them how they felt about the raid? Don’t ask them what they felt they did wrong. Let them do that on their own. You’ll be amazed at how much more open they’ll be if they have the opportunity to point out what they felt they did wrong before you did. Most people are more critical of themselves than you ever will be. Don’t necessarily disagree with them on their self-criticism, especially if it’s regarding important items. Often people will criticize themselves about trivial matters. This is the tool you’ll use to help them stay on the path to improvement. More importantly, this is when you offer advice. I say advice because at this point it will feel more like advice than criticism.
If you end up with someone that doesn’t point out some of the things they did wrong or shifts all blame to others, then you know you probably have someone you don’t necessarily want to group with anyway as they’ll never be accountable for anything. At this point, it’s entirely up to you on how you want to handle criticizing them and whether you even want to continue the trial period.
Matticus, you also answered your own question as to how to offer advice. Explain the why. During a raid, especially a fast moving one, there’s no time to explain the why. In Common Courtesy: Sleeping with the Dodo I explained a situation in which a Raid Leader didn’t explain the why of a particular situation until those who didn’t listen experienced the why. He pointed it out condescendingly and mockingly earning absolutely no respect from those of us within the group. He expected us to do what he said, when he said, with no explanation.
The problem with the example I gave was no one knew this guy. We had no reason to trust that he was the authoritative figure for Kara that he claimed to be. There was no trust built there yet. Did it matter that he did in fact know what he was talking about? No. He handled it incorrectly. He did have the time to explain before the first pull, just refused to do so. His answer was “Just do it!” He then handled the explanation afterwards unprofessionally.
People are not lemmings. We do not like to blindly follow anyone. Only those we trust will we agree to follow blindly as required, but even then we eventually expect some sort of explanation afterwards. Whether that explanation comes in finding out the hard way or having it explained verbally doesn’t matter. Knowing the why behind something gives us the reassurance that whatever we are doing is not in vain. There is a purpose behind our actions. It is important. We are needed. We fear that which we do not understand. [Edit: I believe this is a quote from someone, but can’t find it on the web.]
With regards to offering advice on specs? I don’t know the answer. Just make sure you know what you are talking about. Being criticized by the mage who doesn’t know how to control his aggro for not being able to keep the raid properly healed because he doesn’t understand the first thing about pally healing only frustrates the paladin and makes the mage look stupid to anybody that does understand. This is why I’m very careful to criticize another for their spec or class and keep my mouth shut. Make sure you know what you are talking about. Granted if that warlock is #8 on the damage meter in Kara, only beating the two healers, in full epic gear and according to Be Imba!report out gears everyone except the main tank and one DPS warrior, AND spec’d Affliction? You might have an obvious problem you can complain about. (*cough, cough. Totally hypothetical, of course.)
With your example Matticus, you stated:
"Bob, you know, you’re an excellent healer. You do what you’re told and heal who you’re asked to heal. You’ve been a tremendous service to the Guild. But I’m in a tough bind here. I can only let in 7 healers at a time and you don’t exactly supply a lot of options for yourself. You’re specced Spirit without the Improved Spirit. You also don’t have Circle of Healing. Why should I take you? You’re useless to me. Give me a reason to take you. I want to take you in, I really do. But when I weigh you against the other potential classes, it looks quite grim."
You started out great giving him a sense of worth. You even said that you’re in a tough bind, which conveys the sense that hey I’m getting pressure from above. This helps ease the person from taking it personally. Won’t stop it, but makes it easier. Don’t say “Why should I take you? You’re useless to me.” I read this somewhat as a joke, but I’ve read some of your other Bob posts.
It’s amazing how you can change the tone of a statement and still have the sense of urgency just by altering the way you say something. Say things like “Help me out here. I’ve noticed you’re spec’d x. What if you spec’d y?” By including them on the “improvements” you haven’t dictated to them what to do. They are included and feel their opinion is important. Again, goes back to this trust issue. You can always say “Hey, let’s try it and see if it works better for you. If it doesn’t, I’ll pay the respec costs.” A minor gesture for anyone raiding, but also gives the person a feeling they have an out.
Know When to Cut Your Losses
There are times when you will come across candidates that are the greatest people in the world, people you just love being around, but just aren’t going to cut it based on your guild’s needs and expectations. Knowing when to cut your losses with these people can be very difficult. You don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, but you also can’t spend any more time trying to help the guy out. Know when to say when.
You may find that you want to keep them in the guild as a reserve, but make it clear that is what they are there for. However your guild might handle it, deal with it appropriately. Avoid making promises that may never come to fruition.
Regardless of the type of candidate you have, try to end it on as positive a note as possible. You never know when you’ll run into this guy again. Perhaps in the future he’ll end up with a guild that can help him out and eventually he’ll learn what he needs to learn. It’d be a shame to have burned a bridge there. Try to keep the door open for future possibilities, but treat it like a Band-Aid and remove it as quickly and painlessly as possible. Don’t drag it out!
The Recruit
Know Where You Stand
What is it that you’re looking for? Are you looking for a guild that raids on particular nights? Are you looking for a guild to grow with or a guild that’s almost maxed out? Do you want to be helped along? Do you want to be one of those that does the helping? Basically, what’s important for you?
I’ve seen people come and go because they thought they could get a free ride through raids. I’ve seen people come and go because they thought they were so good that they’d outshine all the rest. There are any number of reasons as to why someone joins a new raiding guild. Make it easier on yourself and the recruiting guild by knowing exactly where you stand and where you want to be.
Find out what the goals of the recruiting guild are and see how closely they match up to your own. Be honest with yourself. I’ve had friends join horrible guilds because of the content they could do, only to complain to me and be miserable the entire time. They made their choice. It was more important to go after that upgrade than it was being miserable in a guild they couldn’t have cared less about. There are guilds out there that will match your goals. Be patient.
Know When to Accept Advice/Criticism
This may sound like an odd comment, but this is very important. Hopefully you will not be criticized during a raid or encounter. Hopefully this will be done on the side as time permits elsewhere, so both parties can fully address the issue without having to shorten anything due to time constraints. That said, it is going to happen.
If you are offered advice or criticized during a raid, don’t fight back. You don’t have to accept it, just put it to the side. Take things said during raids with a grain of salt. Emotions could be running high. Things might be said that aren’t thought out and with other information may not have been said or thought at all. Adjust as necessary, but don’t feel you have to blatantly accept all criticism during those heated encounters.
Not accepting the criticism is not the same as fighting back. Push it to the side. Don’t retaliate!
Know How to Accept Advice/Criticism
This is difficult for most people. I can attest that I am one of them. Try to remember one general rule. If you’re being offered advice away from the mob mentality and the raid, you’re probably thought of as being of value. Take it so. If you weren’t worth the time, you’d be brushed off and no one would say anything.
Remember the raiders want you to succeed as much as you do. It doesn’t always sound like it, but it’s true. If you succeed, they succeed. If you fail, they fail.
At times you’ll be accused unfairly, it’s going to happen. Listen to it calmly. If you have a counter argument, present it to the person after they have had the chance to explain their side. If you don’t you’re going to end up in a heated exchange as each side tries to fully explain their side of the argument.
Make sure you present any counter argument by knowing your stuff. Don’t shift blame! Even if it wasn’t entirely your fault, but there was something you could have done better, accept the responsibility for your part. I cannot stress this enough! Nothing aggravates the leader trying to help you faster than you attempting to divert all blame to others, even if it’s later found out you were entirely not at fault. You shift blame and you’ll be labeled as one who never accepts accountability and not a team player. Let the leaders deal with the others. Accept your part and their advice on what to do and move on. The next time when you do your part, it will be painfully obvious that you did all you could and leaders can more fully address the problem elsewhere.
Know When to Cut Your Losses
Knowing when to cut your losses is also tricky from the candidate’s side. There are websites out there dedicated to tracking your movements. Good guilds will know if you’re a guild jumper or not and that’s a label you don’t want following you around. However, there are times when things just do not work out. Guilds may want to keep you, but their goals don’t match yours.
Decide what’s important to you and move on, whether by staying or leaving. Don’t let things drag out thinking they will get better. Do something about it. Talk to your leaders. If they are unresponsive, get out. They obviously aren’t worried about your needs. Only you can determine when you should leave, but always leave on as positive a note as possible. You’ll run across these people again whether in this guild or another. Don’t burn a bridge! There may be millions of accounts out there, but it’s amazing how you keep running into the same people over and over.
Conclusion
Matticus pointed out that without the healers his guild is effectively paralyzed. He is aware of their limitations with respect to gear, specs, and experience. That said it needs to be made perfectly clear to all those involved that there is a huge possibility that they will not succeed over the next couple of weeks and the whining and complaining need to be kept quiet. This is for the good of the guild. Negativity directed towards anyone will only drive people away and healers perhaps more than most. There always seems to be a shortage of healers and even more so of effective healers and we know it. We’re a commodity and we know you need us more than we need you. Terrible attitude to have by the way, healers! I’ve been guilty of it in the past too, but that’s a selfish attitude that causes groups to fall apart.
By taking these healers on you’ve essentially agreed that you know their weaknesses and are willing to work with them to improve. You seem to have two options before you. Do you come on strong risking the possibility of offending them and driving them away only to start all over with someone else in a never-ending cycle? Or do you coddle and reassure them giving them warm and fuzzies so as not to tread on any toes and potentially lose them only to continue down a frustrating and fruitless never-ending cycle of failure? Neither one seems appealing and neither one is the answer. Finding the happy medium is the struggle.
In summary, whether recruiting or being recruited remember to:
Know where you standHave fun and good luck! Continue reading 'Constructive Criticism: The Raiding Guild and The Candidate'
Know when to accept/offer advice/criticism
Know how to accept/offer advice/criticism
Know when to cut your losses
Monday, April 21, 2008
Journal Entry: Kyrilean's and Maedchen's Weekend
Finally hit exalted with Shattered Sun yesterday! I did this by completing 4-5 of the daily quests. I then bought my new healing necklace which I’m excited about. Not a huge upgrade on the heals side, but the mp5 upgrade is great!
So now I’m exalted, I feel little desire to continue these daily quests. As I’m fairly broke for a 70 in epic gear, I will do the easier ones just to keep my gold supply increasing. I probably won’t bother with the quests requiring drops as I cannot stand it when the drop rate is low. I have better things to do with my time.
I spent most of my weekend playing my priest Maedchen. It’s been a long time since I’ve played any of my alts and it was very refreshing. I’ve devoted a lot of time with Kyrilean and it’s great, but repetitive daily quests and heroic instances are starting to take their toll. So Maedchen got a little time this weekend.
Maedchen started out level 18 when I started on Friday and hit level 21 by Sunday evening. I must say that leveling a shadow priest is much easier than leveling a protection pally. Granted I had little to no idea what I was doing with specs and gear back then. I have a simple understanding now. Not much of an upgrade in knowledge, but a little is better than none.
I must say that Darkshore is perhaps one of the worst designed areas in my opinion. I completed most of the quests before deciding I was finished. I hate the design, the quests, and the running from one end to the other constantly and I was using QuestHelper! For future alts I will have to settle for being barely on speaking terms with the Night Elves.
Kyrilean did see some play time though. On Sunday, three of us 70 pallies grouped with two lower level warlocks who hadn’t run Ramparts yet. In fact, one hadn’t even been to Outland yet. They had quests so we took them to get some better gear and finish their quests. After Ramps we ran Blood Furnace too for more quests.
In recent posts I’ve complained about my attitude changing towards the game. It was extremely refreshing to play to have fun and help a few people out. Making everything about me and my next piece of gear was definitely taking its toll. Not going to say I’m not going to Kara this week as we arrange a group and hitting up the heroics for badge loot, but the focus has been redirected.
Getting to know some of the new guildies was great fun! Watching how they play and getting to know how to group is absolutely necessary for preparing to set this guild up for raiding Karazhan and other instances. I’m positive that we’re going to get there and soon.
My only concern with those I ran with is inexperience. I have absolutely no idea how to play a warlock. I haven’t even rolled an alt for one. That said I can give no advice on how to spec, play, or treat a warlock. These initial 5 man instances are crucial to learning how to interact with a group and to learn your role. The further we move into raiding, the more specialized the job becomes, and the more critical understanding your role within the group is.
The other part of the concern is running lower levels through these instances with the gear and abilities that I and others have. Some of us are so overgeared for the regular instances that we can 2-man them. It makes it difficult to learn exactly how to react in given situations when you have someone so overgeared that you will never wipe. In fact, only one warlock died once the whole night. The only others to die were their voidwalkers.
Well I suppose I shouldn’t be too concerned. There are many instances that I ran only once or not at all but have run in heroics many times. Granted not the best place to learn, but it is doable given patient people which I know our guild has.
So overall a great weekend! I had a lot of fun and look forward to helping a few of the guildies level and/or gear up in preparation for Karazhan! Continue reading 'Journal Entry: Kyrilean's and Maedchen's Weekend'
So now I’m exalted, I feel little desire to continue these daily quests. As I’m fairly broke for a 70 in epic gear, I will do the easier ones just to keep my gold supply increasing. I probably won’t bother with the quests requiring drops as I cannot stand it when the drop rate is low. I have better things to do with my time.
I spent most of my weekend playing my priest Maedchen. It’s been a long time since I’ve played any of my alts and it was very refreshing. I’ve devoted a lot of time with Kyrilean and it’s great, but repetitive daily quests and heroic instances are starting to take their toll. So Maedchen got a little time this weekend.
Maedchen started out level 18 when I started on Friday and hit level 21 by Sunday evening. I must say that leveling a shadow priest is much easier than leveling a protection pally. Granted I had little to no idea what I was doing with specs and gear back then. I have a simple understanding now. Not much of an upgrade in knowledge, but a little is better than none.
I must say that Darkshore is perhaps one of the worst designed areas in my opinion. I completed most of the quests before deciding I was finished. I hate the design, the quests, and the running from one end to the other constantly and I was using QuestHelper! For future alts I will have to settle for being barely on speaking terms with the Night Elves.
Kyrilean did see some play time though. On Sunday, three of us 70 pallies grouped with two lower level warlocks who hadn’t run Ramparts yet. In fact, one hadn’t even been to Outland yet. They had quests so we took them to get some better gear and finish their quests. After Ramps we ran Blood Furnace too for more quests.
In recent posts I’ve complained about my attitude changing towards the game. It was extremely refreshing to play to have fun and help a few people out. Making everything about me and my next piece of gear was definitely taking its toll. Not going to say I’m not going to Kara this week as we arrange a group and hitting up the heroics for badge loot, but the focus has been redirected.
Getting to know some of the new guildies was great fun! Watching how they play and getting to know how to group is absolutely necessary for preparing to set this guild up for raiding Karazhan and other instances. I’m positive that we’re going to get there and soon.
My only concern with those I ran with is inexperience. I have absolutely no idea how to play a warlock. I haven’t even rolled an alt for one. That said I can give no advice on how to spec, play, or treat a warlock. These initial 5 man instances are crucial to learning how to interact with a group and to learn your role. The further we move into raiding, the more specialized the job becomes, and the more critical understanding your role within the group is.
The other part of the concern is running lower levels through these instances with the gear and abilities that I and others have. Some of us are so overgeared for the regular instances that we can 2-man them. It makes it difficult to learn exactly how to react in given situations when you have someone so overgeared that you will never wipe. In fact, only one warlock died once the whole night. The only others to die were their voidwalkers.
Well I suppose I shouldn’t be too concerned. There are many instances that I ran only once or not at all but have run in heroics many times. Granted not the best place to learn, but it is doable given patient people which I know our guild has.
So overall a great weekend! I had a lot of fun and look forward to helping a few of the guildies level and/or gear up in preparation for Karazhan! Continue reading 'Journal Entry: Kyrilean's and Maedchen's Weekend'
Friday, April 18, 2008
Crazy Club Information
Welcome to Crazy Club!
Since we don't have an actual website, I'll use my blog site to post some guild information here. Please take the time to read through this. It's not that long.
General Rules
1) Have fun! Remember everyone's definition of fun is different and that's OK. Just remember that others might see it differently.
2) Be considerate! Everyone will be at a different level in skill, gear, and ability. Sollenni may be the "Great and Powerful Oz!" of our group, but she's no more important than the player that just started learning to play WoW last week.
3) Contribute! Don't expect to receive a free handout and ride through every quest you have. We all will help, but help is expected in return. Everyone has things they need to do and the Level 70s can't be expected to help someone every step of the way.
4) Loyalty! We want to create a tight knit group of people who enjoy playing together. We hope to grow the guild enough to run 25 man instances. We're not looking to have hundreds of people. There will be no limit to those who would like to join, but smaller numbers creates a more together atmosphere.
5) Honesty! To help create loyalty, please be open and honest with your fellow guild officers. Bring concerns and questions up to them. We hope this will aid in avoiding guild drama which is bound to happen from time to time. If you are affected or involved with guild drama, please remember that everyone has a bad day and approach it with an open mind.
Add-Ons
Please download and utilize the following add-ons. These can be found on various sites, but I generally use Curse.com:
1) Omen Threat Meter or Omen2 - KLH was compatible before 2.4. I haven't looked to see if it is anymore. If it is, please feel free to use it. I personally have never used KLH. This is only required if you will be running instances or raids. Anyone not familiar with this add-on should still install it and become familiar with how to use it.
2) Group Calendar - We will use this for help in setting up raids, instances, quest help, and other things we see fit.
For those that will be raiding, I highly recommend downloading Deadly Boss Mods. This add-on will give you warnings in the boss fights and it is definitely handy in preparing for potential wipes. If not that one, find another.
Preparing for Karazhan
Currently we are just getting started in building our guild. At last count I believe we potentially have 6 people that can commit to a regular raiding schedule. We have a few more people that can get to 70 probably within the next few weeks with our assistance. By the end of the week, we should have 9 total 70s, not including level 70 alts.
Some of you need more gear to get to Karazhan. Please use Be Imba! to assist you in tweaking your toon. This site is useful in helping you prepare for Karazhan.
Also use the Armory to look for potential upgrades to your gear. Look for quest items and attainable instance items first. Use the calendar to help set up a run for you. Please look for interim gear. We all know we want gear that's outside our reach. Getting the interim gear even if it's a small upgrade will help you get there.
I've finally maxed my enchanting. I do not have every enchant, but will be willing to enchant most level 70s gear. If you've not obtained level 70, I'll give you some of the cheaper enchants. You'll probably be getting an upgrade soon, so best not to use the mats on the expensive enchants. But remember, even a crappy enchant is better than nothing. Enchant your gear!
And finally we need a holy priest and could definitely use a rogue. Although we would love to find one that is already geared, since we need to upgrade some of you and potentially level some of you to get into Kara, feel free to suggest anyone that is close to 70 and we will help them get ready with you.
Remember although there may be ranks in this guild like any other, it is YOUR GUILD! No one stands above anyone else. We all contribute whether we're the worst Healer, best DPS, or mediocre Tank. We succeed together and we fail together, but we're together!
Continue reading 'Crazy Club Information'
Since we don't have an actual website, I'll use my blog site to post some guild information here. Please take the time to read through this. It's not that long.
General Rules
1) Have fun! Remember everyone's definition of fun is different and that's OK. Just remember that others might see it differently.
2) Be considerate! Everyone will be at a different level in skill, gear, and ability. Sollenni may be the "Great and Powerful Oz!" of our group, but she's no more important than the player that just started learning to play WoW last week.
3) Contribute! Don't expect to receive a free handout and ride through every quest you have. We all will help, but help is expected in return. Everyone has things they need to do and the Level 70s can't be expected to help someone every step of the way.
4) Loyalty! We want to create a tight knit group of people who enjoy playing together. We hope to grow the guild enough to run 25 man instances. We're not looking to have hundreds of people. There will be no limit to those who would like to join, but smaller numbers creates a more together atmosphere.
5) Honesty! To help create loyalty, please be open and honest with your fellow guild officers. Bring concerns and questions up to them. We hope this will aid in avoiding guild drama which is bound to happen from time to time. If you are affected or involved with guild drama, please remember that everyone has a bad day and approach it with an open mind.
Add-Ons
Please download and utilize the following add-ons. These can be found on various sites, but I generally use Curse.com:
1) Omen Threat Meter or Omen2 - KLH was compatible before 2.4. I haven't looked to see if it is anymore. If it is, please feel free to use it. I personally have never used KLH. This is only required if you will be running instances or raids. Anyone not familiar with this add-on should still install it and become familiar with how to use it.
2) Group Calendar - We will use this for help in setting up raids, instances, quest help, and other things we see fit.
For those that will be raiding, I highly recommend downloading Deadly Boss Mods. This add-on will give you warnings in the boss fights and it is definitely handy in preparing for potential wipes. If not that one, find another.
Preparing for Karazhan
Currently we are just getting started in building our guild. At last count I believe we potentially have 6 people that can commit to a regular raiding schedule. We have a few more people that can get to 70 probably within the next few weeks with our assistance. By the end of the week, we should have 9 total 70s, not including level 70 alts.
Some of you need more gear to get to Karazhan. Please use Be Imba! to assist you in tweaking your toon. This site is useful in helping you prepare for Karazhan.
Also use the Armory to look for potential upgrades to your gear. Look for quest items and attainable instance items first. Use the calendar to help set up a run for you. Please look for interim gear. We all know we want gear that's outside our reach. Getting the interim gear even if it's a small upgrade will help you get there.
I've finally maxed my enchanting. I do not have every enchant, but will be willing to enchant most level 70s gear. If you've not obtained level 70, I'll give you some of the cheaper enchants. You'll probably be getting an upgrade soon, so best not to use the mats on the expensive enchants. But remember, even a crappy enchant is better than nothing. Enchant your gear!
And finally we need a holy priest and could definitely use a rogue. Although we would love to find one that is already geared, since we need to upgrade some of you and potentially level some of you to get into Kara, feel free to suggest anyone that is close to 70 and we will help them get ready with you.
Remember although there may be ranks in this guild like any other, it is YOUR GUILD! No one stands above anyone else. We all contribute whether we're the worst Healer, best DPS, or mediocre Tank. We succeed together and we fail together, but we're together!
Continue reading 'Crazy Club Information'
To Do List
[Edit: Oh the irony! started this post on March 20th, 2008, but I'll leave it as is and strikethrough the items I've done. Then in the next few days I'll just redo it with the things I've added. In otherwords, except to see another one in a month or two. LOL!]
You ever get working on so many things that you just can’t get any of it done? This has often happened to me at work, but now it’s happening in World of Warcraft! Dear Lord, what have I done?!
Here’s a list of all the crap I’m trying to get done. Maybe if I list it here I’ll finally be able to prioritize it.
You ever get working on so many things that you just can’t get any of it done? This has often happened to me at work, but now it’s happening in World of Warcraft! Dear Lord, what have I done?!
Here’s a list of all the crap I’m trying to get done. Maybe if I list it here I’ll finally be able to prioritize it.
•Earn 5200g for epic flying mount and training.Done.
• Heroic items – Bought my first item about a month ago. Need 775 badges more to buy all the items I'm looking at, including the new 2.4 badge vendor items. (Man I'm praying to get into ZA soon and avoid all that!) [Edit: at this point I'm just hoping to get back into Kara soon.]
• Lower City Rep – Want Lower City Prayerbook. I have been working on this a little bit. I need 800 more rep to get there.
•Sha’tar rep – want Gavel of Pure Light. [Edit: Received Light's Justice during a Kara run a couple of weeks ago.]
•Aldor rep – want those Greater Inscription of Faith shoulder enchants.[Edit: Did this last Sunday spending 3 hours farming Marks of Sargeras and Fel Armaments.]
• Consortium Rep – and the Arc key
•Help Cenarion Expedition Rep – want that enchant[Edit: Did this. Pointless enchant for myself personally, but wanted to add it for completion's sake. So pointless that I can't even remember what the enchant is and too lazy to look it up.]
• Helping friend level an alt to advance her jewelcrafting - we still haven't found time to do this
•Get enchanting to 375[Edit: Finally did this a few days ago!]
•Start Kara[Edit: Amazingly this finally happened, but now we're on hold again.]
•PvP items[Edit: A friend of mine was hounding me to get Gladiator's Salvation and I started, but I don't like the battlegrounds, except AV and can only do that a little at a time. Now I have Light's Justice I have crossed this off my list.]
• New 3v3 Arena Team
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Updated Picture
Finally updated my picture! Been meaning to do that for a while. The old tabard was the Field of Honor guild that we were in. Since then I had joined another guild with the GM from Field of Honor and another friend. We since left that guild after some guild drama there to start our own all over again. Guess we don't learn too quickly. As an inside joke we called it Crazy Club meaning to change it before hand, but my friend forgot and although initially I didn't like it, it's kind of grown on me.
The picture doesn't look much different than the last one, because the upgrades look almost the same. I have since acquired the Justicar Gloves, some new leggings, etc. I've also got Light's Justice showing there now too. Continue reading 'Updated Picture'
The picture doesn't look much different than the last one, because the upgrades look almost the same. I have since acquired the Justicar Gloves, some new leggings, etc. I've also got Light's Justice showing there now too. Continue reading 'Updated Picture'
Common Courtesy: Sleeping with the Dodo
Has common courtesy gone the way of the dodo? Maybe I’m just too old. Let me tell you what I mean.
If you’ve read my last couple of posts, you know that I was recently part of a Kara group that fell apart. I’m desperately trying to get into a new group to experience some of the BC endgame content before the new expansion hits and nobody wants to go anymore. AQ? Bless you!
I’ve spent the past week hitting the trade channel from time to time trying to recruit Kara ready players. It hasn’t worked at all. I have discovered that if you’re a Holy Paladin that you will get requests like crazy to join their guild. Interesting that it can be so nice to be wanted and yet annoying beyond belief all at the same time.
Since the recruiting wasn’t going so well, I decided to at least entertain the idea of joining another guild or hope to find one willing to group with us. So I watched the trade channel for recruiting macros. I asked for information such as a website, raid times, etc. Then I started hitting up Warcrafter and Be Imba! to review their gear levels and whether or not it appeared they really could do the raids they advertised.
Eventually I talked to someone that invited us to join their guild which I’m always wary to do initially. Want to try someone out before committing to joining. Don’t want to be known as a guild jumper. However, she seemed really nice and what we are looking for so I talked to her for a bit and said I’d talk to my friends about setting something up.
Skipping through some of the issues getting set up, which became apparent later, we joined up and started running through Karazhan. My first warning should have come when we showed up and I wasn’t sure who the other healer was. I later found out it was the GM I had been talking to. I could have sworn I ran a report on her and she was a tank. Maybe I was wrong, but I wasn’t sure and didn’t think about it. But maybe she was asked to respec.
It turned out that the raid leader had just joined the guild. Apparently he was there to help smaller guilds run through Karazhan and then move on to others in an attempt to train first time raiders for the end game content. That said I ran a Be Imba! report on him and he came out with Karazhan gear and a gear score of 174. Nothing indicating he had done the higher end content. Granted, I have no idea if he has an alt.
On the first pull he informed everyone to stand within melee range. Didn’t say why, just instructed everyone to stay in melee range. For ranged dps and healers this was a different concept. He offered no explanation, no one asked. At first I thought, OK we might have a “know-it-all” here, but I’ll give him a chance. Turns out he had a point.
I’ve been to Kara several times, but never really thought about the first trash pull. The groups I’ve been in have always done the classic stay out of range, etc. Some particular steeds charge when the aggro switches making it difficult for the tanks to stay on them. The closer you are the easier it is for the tank to get back. Only after it happened a few times did the Raid Leader sarcastically say “That’s why we stay in melee range.” This guy started to rub me the wrong way.
But again he was here to train these guys run Kara. This isn’t my guild. We’re here to test it out. Give it a chance and see what happens. The guy definitely did know and understand Kara and quite frankly pointed out some things that I knew but never thought about, or just didn’t know. Nothing big, nothing profound, just small things that made it go a little bit smoother.
By the time we got to Attumen and he explained the fight, we took the boss down with relative ease. The one difference for us is that it took almost twice as long as we are used to. This guild’s dps is very low compared to what we had in the past. It’s doable, but I don’t believe we’ll get too far the first few times with them. They need more gear to up that dps. We’re fine with helping out. We were there a month ago.
The Fiery Warhorse’s Reins dropped. Before rolling the RL announced that the GM, since she was the GM, would get a +10 roll to her roll for the reins. OK, I don’t know if this is typical in other guilds, but I’ve never seen this before. Just because someone is in a management position doesn’t entitle them to special benefits. Everyone is an equal. Everyone did their job to take down the boss. What entitles any particular person to be elevated above any other? Because it’s just the reins, I didn’t say anything. It also didn’t bother me that much, but I still think WTH?! Didn’t matter because my tanking friend won the roll anyway, which made me bust out laughing.
As we moved to the stairs to tackle the next boss, the Raid Leader informed us we were skipping Moroes and moving to Maiden. OK fine, I like Maiden more anyway. Still want her mace drop. Somewhere along the line he decides that he’s going to replace my fire mage friend with a shadow priest. Not sure why and never found out. He announces in voice chat “Thanks for coming, appreciate it.” and then kicks him out of the party and invites another. My friends and I are stunned! We don’t know what just happened! There was no warning, there was no request, just a blatant dismissal and let’s move on.
At once, my warrior friend announces that he can leave too if they want to bring a mage and leaves the party. I whisper the GM that I’m leaving as well that “We don’t play that way. We all succeed together or fail together. I’d be just as upset if he kicked out one of yours without asking.” The four of us promptly left Karazhan.
The GM spent the rest of the evening apologizing saying the RL was new and didn’t know how things were done. She said this isn’t typical of her guild and not allowed. She didn’t know he was going to do that. Basically she spent the evening trying to salvage whatever potential relationship we might have. We all agreed that she was sincere, but regardless if this guy knows his stuff or not, that’s no excuse for lack of common courtesy.
My friends and I play to hang out with friends, experience new content together, celebrate in each other’s victories, help each other out, etc. This guild appears to have the same attitudes towards the game as we do.
We do not allow or accept the following:
If a sign up system is set up and followed, that is different. If I can’t go because I signed up late, that’s my fault. No one dictated. If a rank system is set up that supersedes sign up times, again that is different. If I’m told that I can’t go because my gear is inadequate, that is different. Basically, if I’m being told to do something arbitrarily, I won’t do it. There must be a reason and that reason must be valid and fair.
I don’t tell you how to play your class, don’t tell me how to play mine. I’m barely an expert, if at all, at my own class. I’d look like an idiot telling you what to do. Besides, it’s rude. Offering advice has its place. It must be handled lightly and with care. Generally speaking, don’t do it. Let the person’s friend do it; whatever it takes to avoid hurting feelings. Raiders might find that statement stupid. But my response is what gave you the right to be an ass because you’re hiding behind an online avatar? Ask yourself, would you do this in person? If so, how would you handle it? Given that the average person is at least somewhat of a decent person, handle it that way.
If you set up a group for whatever reason and someone in that group isn’t cutting it, you fail together. Accept it. Kicking someone out will only lead to hurt feelings, anger, bitterness, guild drama, etc. Abandon and regroup another time. Easier said than done. Hopefully if you are one of those people, please offer to leave. It makes it easier on everyone else who doesn’t want to be rude. If you are asked to leave in a polite manner, please do so and remember that as the others gear up and move through, they'll be that much better to help you to come back.
There is no problem with asking a particular person to leave. You’ll ask them to not take it personal, but please realize that they will. If they refuse, disband and end it. You accepted their help. They got you to whatever point you ended up at. They deserve to see it to the end or none do. If they accept, replace them and move on. Common courtesy.
My question is am I unrealistic to expect these things in a raiding guild? Are there no raiding guilds out there like this? If there are any in Arathor, please let me know because I’m looking for one.
Have I just gotten old? Or is common courtesy sleeping with the dodo? Continue reading 'Common Courtesy: Sleeping with the Dodo'
If you’ve read my last couple of posts, you know that I was recently part of a Kara group that fell apart. I’m desperately trying to get into a new group to experience some of the BC endgame content before the new expansion hits and nobody wants to go anymore. AQ? Bless you!
I’ve spent the past week hitting the trade channel from time to time trying to recruit Kara ready players. It hasn’t worked at all. I have discovered that if you’re a Holy Paladin that you will get requests like crazy to join their guild. Interesting that it can be so nice to be wanted and yet annoying beyond belief all at the same time.
Since the recruiting wasn’t going so well, I decided to at least entertain the idea of joining another guild or hope to find one willing to group with us. So I watched the trade channel for recruiting macros. I asked for information such as a website, raid times, etc. Then I started hitting up Warcrafter and Be Imba! to review their gear levels and whether or not it appeared they really could do the raids they advertised.
Eventually I talked to someone that invited us to join their guild which I’m always wary to do initially. Want to try someone out before committing to joining. Don’t want to be known as a guild jumper. However, she seemed really nice and what we are looking for so I talked to her for a bit and said I’d talk to my friends about setting something up.
Skipping through some of the issues getting set up, which became apparent later, we joined up and started running through Karazhan. My first warning should have come when we showed up and I wasn’t sure who the other healer was. I later found out it was the GM I had been talking to. I could have sworn I ran a report on her and she was a tank. Maybe I was wrong, but I wasn’t sure and didn’t think about it. But maybe she was asked to respec.
It turned out that the raid leader had just joined the guild. Apparently he was there to help smaller guilds run through Karazhan and then move on to others in an attempt to train first time raiders for the end game content. That said I ran a Be Imba! report on him and he came out with Karazhan gear and a gear score of 174. Nothing indicating he had done the higher end content. Granted, I have no idea if he has an alt.
On the first pull he informed everyone to stand within melee range. Didn’t say why, just instructed everyone to stay in melee range. For ranged dps and healers this was a different concept. He offered no explanation, no one asked. At first I thought, OK we might have a “know-it-all” here, but I’ll give him a chance. Turns out he had a point.
I’ve been to Kara several times, but never really thought about the first trash pull. The groups I’ve been in have always done the classic stay out of range, etc. Some particular steeds charge when the aggro switches making it difficult for the tanks to stay on them. The closer you are the easier it is for the tank to get back. Only after it happened a few times did the Raid Leader sarcastically say “That’s why we stay in melee range.” This guy started to rub me the wrong way.
But again he was here to train these guys run Kara. This isn’t my guild. We’re here to test it out. Give it a chance and see what happens. The guy definitely did know and understand Kara and quite frankly pointed out some things that I knew but never thought about, or just didn’t know. Nothing big, nothing profound, just small things that made it go a little bit smoother.
By the time we got to Attumen and he explained the fight, we took the boss down with relative ease. The one difference for us is that it took almost twice as long as we are used to. This guild’s dps is very low compared to what we had in the past. It’s doable, but I don’t believe we’ll get too far the first few times with them. They need more gear to up that dps. We’re fine with helping out. We were there a month ago.
The Fiery Warhorse’s Reins dropped. Before rolling the RL announced that the GM, since she was the GM, would get a +10 roll to her roll for the reins. OK, I don’t know if this is typical in other guilds, but I’ve never seen this before. Just because someone is in a management position doesn’t entitle them to special benefits. Everyone is an equal. Everyone did their job to take down the boss. What entitles any particular person to be elevated above any other? Because it’s just the reins, I didn’t say anything. It also didn’t bother me that much, but I still think WTH?! Didn’t matter because my tanking friend won the roll anyway, which made me bust out laughing.
As we moved to the stairs to tackle the next boss, the Raid Leader informed us we were skipping Moroes and moving to Maiden. OK fine, I like Maiden more anyway. Still want her mace drop. Somewhere along the line he decides that he’s going to replace my fire mage friend with a shadow priest. Not sure why and never found out. He announces in voice chat “Thanks for coming, appreciate it.” and then kicks him out of the party and invites another. My friends and I are stunned! We don’t know what just happened! There was no warning, there was no request, just a blatant dismissal and let’s move on.
At once, my warrior friend announces that he can leave too if they want to bring a mage and leaves the party. I whisper the GM that I’m leaving as well that “We don’t play that way. We all succeed together or fail together. I’d be just as upset if he kicked out one of yours without asking.” The four of us promptly left Karazhan.
The GM spent the rest of the evening apologizing saying the RL was new and didn’t know how things were done. She said this isn’t typical of her guild and not allowed. She didn’t know he was going to do that. Basically she spent the evening trying to salvage whatever potential relationship we might have. We all agreed that she was sincere, but regardless if this guy knows his stuff or not, that’s no excuse for lack of common courtesy.
My friends and I play to hang out with friends, experience new content together, celebrate in each other’s victories, help each other out, etc. This guild appears to have the same attitudes towards the game as we do.
We do not allow or accept the following:
Now I know exactly what raiders might say to the first two. Please re-read carefully what I wrote.Being told what, where, when, how, and with whom we can raid, quest, or group with.
Telling others what, where, when, how, and with whom they can raid, quest or group with.
Being told or telling others how to spec or play their classes.
Removing or replacing someone from a raid or group because we need to, want to, or just have the power to do so.
Everyone’s an equal, whether you’re in Tier 6 gear or the lowly level 5 in the guild.
Being rude or inconsiderate in any way, shape, or fashion. Just follow the Golden Rule.
If a sign up system is set up and followed, that is different. If I can’t go because I signed up late, that’s my fault. No one dictated. If a rank system is set up that supersedes sign up times, again that is different. If I’m told that I can’t go because my gear is inadequate, that is different. Basically, if I’m being told to do something arbitrarily, I won’t do it. There must be a reason and that reason must be valid and fair.
I don’t tell you how to play your class, don’t tell me how to play mine. I’m barely an expert, if at all, at my own class. I’d look like an idiot telling you what to do. Besides, it’s rude. Offering advice has its place. It must be handled lightly and with care. Generally speaking, don’t do it. Let the person’s friend do it; whatever it takes to avoid hurting feelings. Raiders might find that statement stupid. But my response is what gave you the right to be an ass because you’re hiding behind an online avatar? Ask yourself, would you do this in person? If so, how would you handle it? Given that the average person is at least somewhat of a decent person, handle it that way.
If you set up a group for whatever reason and someone in that group isn’t cutting it, you fail together. Accept it. Kicking someone out will only lead to hurt feelings, anger, bitterness, guild drama, etc. Abandon and regroup another time. Easier said than done. Hopefully if you are one of those people, please offer to leave. It makes it easier on everyone else who doesn’t want to be rude. If you are asked to leave in a polite manner, please do so and remember that as the others gear up and move through, they'll be that much better to help you to come back.
There is no problem with asking a particular person to leave. You’ll ask them to not take it personal, but please realize that they will. If they refuse, disband and end it. You accepted their help. They got you to whatever point you ended up at. They deserve to see it to the end or none do. If they accept, replace them and move on. Common courtesy.
My question is am I unrealistic to expect these things in a raiding guild? Are there no raiding guilds out there like this? If there are any in Arathor, please let me know because I’m looking for one.
Have I just gotten old? Or is common courtesy sleeping with the dodo? Continue reading 'Common Courtesy: Sleeping with the Dodo'
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
What do I do now?
So after my tirade on the last post, "What do I do now?"
I guess I need to spend some time thinking about why I play WoW. I need to determine if that reason has changed. If it has am I OK with that? If it hasn't how do I get back to feeling about it the way I did?
If it has changed and I really have converted over to the raiding aspect fully and that's the most important thing to me, then I need to find a guild to fill that need whether my friends go with me or not.
If it hasn't changed, but raiding is still important to me, then I need to discuss with them what we're going to do. We started our guild with the understand that we had 10 of us ready to join and start raiding Kara. A couple of these guys were already past Kara, but were willing to join up and get us caught up to them. That didn't happen. In the meantime a couple of others joined large raiding guilds and didn't want to give up the opportunities that presented themselves beyond Kara. Can't blame them really.
So first thing I could do is just find my own guild and go. Still stay in contact with my friends, but go and do the raiding thing with or without them.
Second, I could look for a raiding guild that would take all of us and more importantly allow us to group together.
Third, I could look for a small guild that doesn't have enough people to raid and join forces whether or not we join the guild.
Fourth, we could recruit for our guild and try to build a solid base for raiding. The concern here is that we'll recruit people who aren't quite ready, because those who are probably have already found their place elsewhere.
I've already talked this over with one of my friends and he has the same concerns as I. We both want to see and experience as much content as possible before Wrath of the Lich King comes out. We won't be able to do that spending a lot of time helping others gear up, especially if they only leave us after doing so.
Guess I got a lot of thinking to do. What do I do now? Continue reading 'What do I do now?'
I guess I need to spend some time thinking about why I play WoW. I need to determine if that reason has changed. If it has am I OK with that? If it hasn't how do I get back to feeling about it the way I did?
If it has changed and I really have converted over to the raiding aspect fully and that's the most important thing to me, then I need to find a guild to fill that need whether my friends go with me or not.
If it hasn't changed, but raiding is still important to me, then I need to discuss with them what we're going to do. We started our guild with the understand that we had 10 of us ready to join and start raiding Kara. A couple of these guys were already past Kara, but were willing to join up and get us caught up to them. That didn't happen. In the meantime a couple of others joined large raiding guilds and didn't want to give up the opportunities that presented themselves beyond Kara. Can't blame them really.
So first thing I could do is just find my own guild and go. Still stay in contact with my friends, but go and do the raiding thing with or without them.
Second, I could look for a raiding guild that would take all of us and more importantly allow us to group together.
Third, I could look for a small guild that doesn't have enough people to raid and join forces whether or not we join the guild.
Fourth, we could recruit for our guild and try to build a solid base for raiding. The concern here is that we'll recruit people who aren't quite ready, because those who are probably have already found their place elsewhere.
I've already talked this over with one of my friends and he has the same concerns as I. We both want to see and experience as much content as possible before Wrath of the Lich King comes out. We won't be able to do that spending a lot of time helping others gear up, especially if they only leave us after doing so.
Guess I got a lot of thinking to do. What do I do now? Continue reading 'What do I do now?'
World of Warcraft Fatigue?
Well it finally happened! I never thought this day would come, but I actually reached a point where I left playing WoW for fun.
As stated before, the last week hadn't been the greatest. The Kara raid group I was in fell apart due to one person getting a burr under his saddle because the raid group took down Netherspite without him. Well shame on you for leaving and not coming back within the 30 minute break. They waited 90 minutes for you! I had to leave early that night and didn't get to go. Was I disappointed? Yes! But not their problem and I would never have expected them to hold the raid just for me.
Now there's an uncomfortable rift between all of us who didn't have it out, but are tied to one of the two who did. As such, it's made it difficult to try and fill in the gaps. We tried and were successful in taking down Attumen, Moroes, Maiden, Curator, and Big Bad Wolf. We tried several times to take down Shade, but to no avail. I believe I can point the finger, but I won't here. I'll keep it to myself. The sad thing is this took all week to do. We did this in 3 hours the previous week.
Tonight along with the reset, we had planned on going to Kara again. We knew that our main tank wasn't going to be on very long, because Tuesday is one of his raiding nights with his guild. As Arathor is a Pacific Time Zone server and most of my friends are in the Eastern and Central time zones, this doesn't present too much of a problem. He helps out where he can. As such, we should have been able to get together to take down Attumen and probably Moroes. Well no one logged on. The tank called a buddy of his to whisper me that he had to work late. Didn't matter at that point because it was already too late to start and again no one was on.
So that probably set the tone for my night. I began to get frustrated looking forward to another week without a real Kara run. Without realizing it, I had changed my mindset.
I've always been an advocate of trying new things. I haven't cared about the enormous repair costs that I've had to dish out when we've wiped repeatedly. I couldn't have cared less because I was with friends and experiencing new things for the most part. That's all changed.
I'd like to compare Kara to a drug, but I've never seen anything more powerful than marijuana. So I can only imagine what a drug addict must feel like and Kara is what I compare it to. Karazhan is a great instance. The feel, the music, the atmosphere of the whole place entices you to explore. The bosses are challenging, but not impossible and the loot is fantastic for someone at my stage of the game. I've been lucky the past month in that I've gotten at least two pieces of gear every week. Most of it has been healing drops, but I've gotten a couple of off-spec tanking gear. I got sucked into the loot problem.
I call it a problem, because as the focus of the game becomes less on the socialization, the questing, the just having all around fun enjoying the many aspects of the game, loot begins to take center stage. I've seen this with a lot of others. I've refused to join a raiding guild because even running heroic instances with some people has been a test in patience, not because they weren't good, but because they were jerks.
The majority of raiders I've run into are elitist know-it-alls. They think they know every aspect of every spec of every class and know exactly what to tell you to do. I can't tell you how many times I've been asked "What's your healing at?" soon after a wipe, sending me the silent question as to why I suck? Well right now it's at 1860 unbuffed @$$hole!! I can buff it to 2000 and with other raid buffs it's higher than that. Is this great? I have no idea. I haven't been beyond Kara, but I know it's pretty good there.
Pally healing is completely different than Priest, Druid, or Shaman healing. I kick ass on the heal meters every time I go in a raid. I've often doubled the total heals of the priest and halved the over-heals. Is this because I'm better? No! It's because of the way Pallys heal. We spam Flash of Light. It costs me 180 mana to cast. At my current state it heals an average of 1500hp, but crits probably half the time for 2500hp. I regenerate mana during casting at a rate of 100mp5. If all I have to do is spam Flash of Light it never runs out!!! Holy Light will kill me. It heals for 4000hp on average and crits at 6500hp, but it costs me 840 mana!!
But I digress. We decided to run heroic Mechanar, which to be honest I've only ever tried once without getting far. Wipe after wipe, I grew more and more irritated only to have it compounded by the fact that the rogue we brought with us kept playing an off tank's role and having to heal him was a pain. Also when we wiped, which was often, he decided not to rez and fly back. I'll never understand that about Tempest Keep. You rez at full health. It's not that far. Healers don't have to use food to replenish their mana after rezzing and healing your lazy ass. You don't have to use food to replace your health or mana after rezzing. This isn't Coilfang people!
Anyway, after getting to the 4th boss and wiping for the third time I was done. I was so irritated and getting so angry about everything that I said I'm done, left the party, hearthed back to Shat, and logged right after saying in guild chat "I've made the game not fun for myself. Maybe after I've cooled down I'll be back tomorrow. Maybe not." Or something to that effect.
I've made the game about Kara. I've made the game about loot. I've forgotten what it means to play with the friends I've made. I've forgotten why I played in the first place. The adventure. Continue reading 'World of Warcraft Fatigue?'
As stated before, the last week hadn't been the greatest. The Kara raid group I was in fell apart due to one person getting a burr under his saddle because the raid group took down Netherspite without him. Well shame on you for leaving and not coming back within the 30 minute break. They waited 90 minutes for you! I had to leave early that night and didn't get to go. Was I disappointed? Yes! But not their problem and I would never have expected them to hold the raid just for me.
Now there's an uncomfortable rift between all of us who didn't have it out, but are tied to one of the two who did. As such, it's made it difficult to try and fill in the gaps. We tried and were successful in taking down Attumen, Moroes, Maiden, Curator, and Big Bad Wolf. We tried several times to take down Shade, but to no avail. I believe I can point the finger, but I won't here. I'll keep it to myself. The sad thing is this took all week to do. We did this in 3 hours the previous week.
Tonight along with the reset, we had planned on going to Kara again. We knew that our main tank wasn't going to be on very long, because Tuesday is one of his raiding nights with his guild. As Arathor is a Pacific Time Zone server and most of my friends are in the Eastern and Central time zones, this doesn't present too much of a problem. He helps out where he can. As such, we should have been able to get together to take down Attumen and probably Moroes. Well no one logged on. The tank called a buddy of his to whisper me that he had to work late. Didn't matter at that point because it was already too late to start and again no one was on.
So that probably set the tone for my night. I began to get frustrated looking forward to another week without a real Kara run. Without realizing it, I had changed my mindset.
I've always been an advocate of trying new things. I haven't cared about the enormous repair costs that I've had to dish out when we've wiped repeatedly. I couldn't have cared less because I was with friends and experiencing new things for the most part. That's all changed.
I'd like to compare Kara to a drug, but I've never seen anything more powerful than marijuana. So I can only imagine what a drug addict must feel like and Kara is what I compare it to. Karazhan is a great instance. The feel, the music, the atmosphere of the whole place entices you to explore. The bosses are challenging, but not impossible and the loot is fantastic for someone at my stage of the game. I've been lucky the past month in that I've gotten at least two pieces of gear every week. Most of it has been healing drops, but I've gotten a couple of off-spec tanking gear. I got sucked into the loot problem.
I call it a problem, because as the focus of the game becomes less on the socialization, the questing, the just having all around fun enjoying the many aspects of the game, loot begins to take center stage. I've seen this with a lot of others. I've refused to join a raiding guild because even running heroic instances with some people has been a test in patience, not because they weren't good, but because they were jerks.
The majority of raiders I've run into are elitist know-it-alls. They think they know every aspect of every spec of every class and know exactly what to tell you to do. I can't tell you how many times I've been asked "What's your healing at?" soon after a wipe, sending me the silent question as to why I suck? Well right now it's at 1860 unbuffed @$$hole!! I can buff it to 2000 and with other raid buffs it's higher than that. Is this great? I have no idea. I haven't been beyond Kara, but I know it's pretty good there.
Pally healing is completely different than Priest, Druid, or Shaman healing. I kick ass on the heal meters every time I go in a raid. I've often doubled the total heals of the priest and halved the over-heals. Is this because I'm better? No! It's because of the way Pallys heal. We spam Flash of Light. It costs me 180 mana to cast. At my current state it heals an average of 1500hp, but crits probably half the time for 2500hp. I regenerate mana during casting at a rate of 100mp5. If all I have to do is spam Flash of Light it never runs out!!! Holy Light will kill me. It heals for 4000hp on average and crits at 6500hp, but it costs me 840 mana!!
But I digress. We decided to run heroic Mechanar, which to be honest I've only ever tried once without getting far. Wipe after wipe, I grew more and more irritated only to have it compounded by the fact that the rogue we brought with us kept playing an off tank's role and having to heal him was a pain. Also when we wiped, which was often, he decided not to rez and fly back. I'll never understand that about Tempest Keep. You rez at full health. It's not that far. Healers don't have to use food to replenish their mana after rezzing and healing your lazy ass. You don't have to use food to replace your health or mana after rezzing. This isn't Coilfang people!
Anyway, after getting to the 4th boss and wiping for the third time I was done. I was so irritated and getting so angry about everything that I said I'm done, left the party, hearthed back to Shat, and logged right after saying in guild chat "I've made the game not fun for myself. Maybe after I've cooled down I'll be back tomorrow. Maybe not." Or something to that effect.
I've made the game about Kara. I've made the game about loot. I've forgotten what it means to play with the friends I've made. I've forgotten why I played in the first place. The adventure. Continue reading 'World of Warcraft Fatigue?'
A Tale of Two Viewpoints: World of Warcraft Grouping
Recently, Tobold wrote about What can be done to save grouping in WoW? The comments all revolved around Blizzard making it more feasible for everyone to be able to more easily do a little bit of everything. Using my words, they want a Jack-of-all-Trades.
I definitely didn't agree with the comments, maybe perhaps because I'm a healer myself and experienced tanking while leveling as a Paladin. So I posted a comment that I will admit became somewhat long-winded. I wanted to address several points that were being made, that I consider to be part of the "I'll never be happy with the system" crowd. I honestly believe these people will always find one more thing to complain about and never be happy with the system.
Evidently I'm not the only person who thinks so and over at Blessing of Kings there's a post that sums up what I was trying to say.
I definitely didn't agree with the comments, maybe perhaps because I'm a healer myself and experienced tanking while leveling as a Paladin. So I posted a comment that I will admit became somewhat long-winded. I wanted to address several points that were being made, that I consider to be part of the "I'll never be happy with the system" crowd. I honestly believe these people will always find one more thing to complain about and never be happy with the system.
Evidently I'm not the only person who thinks so and over at Blessing of Kings there's a post that sums up what I was trying to say.
The best thing about MMOs is that you can play with other people.Here's the comment I posted:
The worst thing about MMOs is that you have to play with other people.
I’m going to approach the other side of the argument here and say that the current system is generally fine. I do believe that Blizzard’s LFG system is completely broken. Nobody uses it and spams the Trade channels. Blizzard needs to create the LFG channels in every city too. I can’t get into the channel in most cities without first activating the LFG. Stupid way of doing it.Continue reading 'A Tale of Two Viewpoints: World of Warcraft Grouping'
“i would really like to see the day that a guild is looking for well geared pvpers for something more meaningful than rolling pugs.”
Set up a pvp guild. Don’t know if there are any out there, but you could be the first.
“I've always liked the duel spec idea”
Unless I’m misunderstanding this comment, dual spec refers to being able to change specs on the fly. If we’re able to do that, then what’s the point of having specs anyway? You could change it mid instance, switch your gear, and go. This effectively removes a large majority of the challenge in the game. If it became too easy, would you really want to play?
“They need to make choosing to be a Healer or Tank more attractive to people”
“A main tank or a healer absolutely has to be on the ball in most of these dungeons in order to succeed. It's a role that brings a lot of attention if you are struggling.”
“Every healer/tank I know has a dps alt, but not every dps player I know has a tank/healer alt (most have other dps alts).”
I don’t know that they need to make this more attractive to people. I think the real problem here is that the average person is going to find tanking and healing extremely boring compared to dishing out the hurt. Also when the blame game starts, who gets blamed? Tanks and healers. Generally DPS only gets blamed when they break crowd control or don’t watch their aggro. This is a general statement so take it with a grain of salt, but it takes a particular mindset/personality to have fun playing a tank or healer.
“…think the tank/dps warrior roles need to be combined into one class… you could dispense with Healers altogether, and if not, seriously nerf the amount of healing that is required in the average instance…”
The problem with these comments is you are asking for a class that can do it all. What then would be the point of some of these classes? Each class/spec should have a particular strength above all others or what’s the point of even offering that class/spec? And shame on you for suggesting the removal of healers! [I’m a holy pally. :)] You’re attempting to make the group content the same as the solo aspect and I believe they should be distinctly different and offer completely different challenges. Part of that challenge should be more specialization in my opinion. Remember ultimately WoW is a multi-player game. Making classes that can do it all removes a lot of the need for that multi-player aspect. May as well go play a single player role-playing game at that point. Final Fantasy anyone?
Anyway, bottom line I think the system is fine. I enjoy the customization inherent with specializing. It allows for more freedom of play. Is it frustrating to level a tank or healer? Yeah! Get out there and make some friends for the harder stuff. It’s an MMO people.
Monday, April 14, 2008
In the meantime...
This post is a little old, but I laughed so hard that I just had to share!
Karazhan Bingo!
In the meantime, it's been quite a while since my last post. I've started a couple, but never get around to finishing them. Ironically, one is a list of things I need and want to do to help me prioritize my goals.
Work has been busy. Just got handed another project to buy out and I didn't have the first clue as to what I was looking at. Still need to spend some time looking at the plans and specs.
As for WoW, I've been busy there too. Just a month ago, my gear score over at Be Imba! was 145. Today it's 184!!! Pretty happy about that. Spent the last month getting into Karazhan and getting close to getting it on farm. Two weeks ago we happened to clear Attumen, Moroes, Maiden, Oz, and Curator in 3 hours. We one shotted all the bosses except Moroes because we had a hunter break CC resulting in two wipes. First time, shame on you! Second time, shame on us!
Anyway, all in all it went great. By Saturday we got through Shade, Chess, and Prince. Which by the way due to my semi-bad luck both Light's Justice and Helm of the Fallen Champion dropped. As there was another Paladin and a Rogue in the group, they rolled for the Tier 4 token and I automatically got Light's Justice. This arrangement was more than fair, but man a Tier 4 token!! Still, I probably have more of a chance getting the pally token again than the mace, so I'm pretty happy.
Actually over the past month in Karazhan I've gotten a crapload of gear, both for healing and off-spec tanking, I've had more than my fair share of luck. Healing gear has dropped on half of the bosses each time we've gone. I've also spent a lot of time on my enchanting and getting everything I can out of healing bonuses. Last night I finally reached Exalted with the Aldor. Spent about 3 hours grinding for Fel Armaments and Marks of Sargeras to get the last 3800 reputation points I needed. I was able to then upgrade my shoulder enchant to Greater Inscription of Faith. Granted it's only 4 more healing points and 4mp5, but it was one of those things on my to do list that I can scratch off now.
Unfortunately, our Karazhan raids fell apart last week. I'm still a little fuzzy on the details as I wasn't actually there and I'm getting enough information second hand to make anyone wonder, but it all happened two Saturdays ago.
We had made fairly quick progress through the week and got stuck on Prince the Friday night before I got my Light's Justice. Every time the totem like adds [sorry can't remember what they're called right now] fell, they fell right on top of us or blocked our way around when we had to relocate. Every one was a frustrating battle as we beat on Prince only to lose to an unlucky placement of adds. So we decided on Saturday that we would try again. We agreed on 3pm server time and only a handful of us showed.
I've gotten some real life aggro from my wife about the amount of time I've started dedicating to WoW, so I made a deal with her to cut back some and plan accordingly. We finally got everyone back on board late that evening and after downing Prince we moved on to Netherspite. I had never been here before and it was pretty impressive. I'll admit I made a classic "noob" mistake by not reading up on it. Didn't know that we were going to try considering everyone talked about how hard it was and indications were we weren't doing it. Should have been prepared though.
After a few tries, my wife was getting angry as I had agreed to watch a movie with her that evening, so I finally said I had to go. The group agreed to take a 30min break and find a replacement for me. That's when it fell apart.
Our Kara group was made up of primarily two groups. There are 6 of us that were members of an old guild and we now comprise parts of 2 guilds. The other 4 are all part of another guild we partnered up with. The GM of that guild was always the Loot Master. Let me first say that in general I like this guy. He seems to know what he is doing and coordinates the fights well calling out incomings, etc. He is somewhat young and his age shows it in his cockiness, but I can forgive that as he is a nice guy. Sadly, he seems to be at the root of what happened.
This GM never came back that evening. The rest of the raid group waited for 90 minutes and finally decided to replace him. On the second try, they downed Netherspite. Everyone was pretty excited.
The following day we gathered together to try Karazhan again, but the GM said that he'd been every day this last week and didn't want to go today. When he was told that's fine, he accused others of having an attitude with him. My buddy, the main tank and raid leader, ended up having a talk with this guy and supposedly words were exchanged to a point that it got kinda ugly. Well, needless to say we aren't grouping with them anymore.
The bad thing is we finally had the majority of Kara on farm after four weeks. We'd all learned how to group together and knew each other's strengths and weaknesses. It was going great!
We're bummed, but we're hopeful we can recruit a few more in our guild to start again. My buddy and his girlfriend are way past Kara when it comes to gear and joined a new guild that's in Mt. Hyjal, so they're able to spend less and less time with us. Although we've done the first half of Kara this week, it took days to do.
Actually we'll be talking about it this evening on whether we should recruit or join a raiding guild. Continue reading 'In the meantime...'
Karazhan Bingo!
In the meantime, it's been quite a while since my last post. I've started a couple, but never get around to finishing them. Ironically, one is a list of things I need and want to do to help me prioritize my goals.
Work has been busy. Just got handed another project to buy out and I didn't have the first clue as to what I was looking at. Still need to spend some time looking at the plans and specs.
As for WoW, I've been busy there too. Just a month ago, my gear score over at Be Imba! was 145. Today it's 184!!! Pretty happy about that. Spent the last month getting into Karazhan and getting close to getting it on farm. Two weeks ago we happened to clear Attumen, Moroes, Maiden, Oz, and Curator in 3 hours. We one shotted all the bosses except Moroes because we had a hunter break CC resulting in two wipes. First time, shame on you! Second time, shame on us!
Anyway, all in all it went great. By Saturday we got through Shade, Chess, and Prince. Which by the way due to my semi-bad luck both Light's Justice and Helm of the Fallen Champion dropped. As there was another Paladin and a Rogue in the group, they rolled for the Tier 4 token and I automatically got Light's Justice. This arrangement was more than fair, but man a Tier 4 token!! Still, I probably have more of a chance getting the pally token again than the mace, so I'm pretty happy.
Actually over the past month in Karazhan I've gotten a crapload of gear, both for healing and off-spec tanking, I've had more than my fair share of luck. Healing gear has dropped on half of the bosses each time we've gone. I've also spent a lot of time on my enchanting and getting everything I can out of healing bonuses. Last night I finally reached Exalted with the Aldor. Spent about 3 hours grinding for Fel Armaments and Marks of Sargeras to get the last 3800 reputation points I needed. I was able to then upgrade my shoulder enchant to Greater Inscription of Faith. Granted it's only 4 more healing points and 4mp5, but it was one of those things on my to do list that I can scratch off now.
Unfortunately, our Karazhan raids fell apart last week. I'm still a little fuzzy on the details as I wasn't actually there and I'm getting enough information second hand to make anyone wonder, but it all happened two Saturdays ago.
We had made fairly quick progress through the week and got stuck on Prince the Friday night before I got my Light's Justice. Every time the totem like adds [sorry can't remember what they're called right now] fell, they fell right on top of us or blocked our way around when we had to relocate. Every one was a frustrating battle as we beat on Prince only to lose to an unlucky placement of adds. So we decided on Saturday that we would try again. We agreed on 3pm server time and only a handful of us showed.
I've gotten some real life aggro from my wife about the amount of time I've started dedicating to WoW, so I made a deal with her to cut back some and plan accordingly. We finally got everyone back on board late that evening and after downing Prince we moved on to Netherspite. I had never been here before and it was pretty impressive. I'll admit I made a classic "noob" mistake by not reading up on it. Didn't know that we were going to try considering everyone talked about how hard it was and indications were we weren't doing it. Should have been prepared though.
After a few tries, my wife was getting angry as I had agreed to watch a movie with her that evening, so I finally said I had to go. The group agreed to take a 30min break and find a replacement for me. That's when it fell apart.
Our Kara group was made up of primarily two groups. There are 6 of us that were members of an old guild and we now comprise parts of 2 guilds. The other 4 are all part of another guild we partnered up with. The GM of that guild was always the Loot Master. Let me first say that in general I like this guy. He seems to know what he is doing and coordinates the fights well calling out incomings, etc. He is somewhat young and his age shows it in his cockiness, but I can forgive that as he is a nice guy. Sadly, he seems to be at the root of what happened.
This GM never came back that evening. The rest of the raid group waited for 90 minutes and finally decided to replace him. On the second try, they downed Netherspite. Everyone was pretty excited.
The following day we gathered together to try Karazhan again, but the GM said that he'd been every day this last week and didn't want to go today. When he was told that's fine, he accused others of having an attitude with him. My buddy, the main tank and raid leader, ended up having a talk with this guy and supposedly words were exchanged to a point that it got kinda ugly. Well, needless to say we aren't grouping with them anymore.
The bad thing is we finally had the majority of Kara on farm after four weeks. We'd all learned how to group together and knew each other's strengths and weaknesses. It was going great!
We're bummed, but we're hopeful we can recruit a few more in our guild to start again. My buddy and his girlfriend are way past Kara when it comes to gear and joined a new guild that's in Mt. Hyjal, so they're able to spend less and less time with us. Although we've done the first half of Kara this week, it took days to do.
Actually we'll be talking about it this evening on whether we should recruit or join a raiding guild. Continue reading 'In the meantime...'
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
A Bard's Tale...
Once upon a time...
So if you've checked Blizzard's website recently you've noticed their front page news of the new Hero Class: the Bard!!! If you haven't, check it out!!!
If you don't want me to spoil it, please check out the site first before reading further.
As soon as I saw it I started laughing hysterically! Obviously it's an April Fool's joke. But it was amusing nonetheless. Continue reading 'A Bard's Tale...'
So if you've checked Blizzard's website recently you've noticed their front page news of the new Hero Class: the Bard!!! If you haven't, check it out!!!
If you don't want me to spoil it, please check out the site first before reading further.
As soon as I saw it I started laughing hysterically! Obviously it's an April Fool's joke. But it was amusing nonetheless. Continue reading 'A Bard's Tale...'
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