Ah the joys of being a WoW CO-GM.
Even though we don’t recruit in trade chat or have open application drives we have steadly grown as a guild. We have added severa groups of players to our guild and recently merged with a guild that was larger and further in progression than we were. Heck they pretty much were responsible for our progression up to that point becaue they allowed us to fill up spots on their 10s and their 25s. Our guild growth has always been done through relationships with other guilds or people and even with the new influx, it still feels like home.
I have been trying to watch the merger closely and even though I predicted that it will have more positive than negative points, there are still plenty of people in either side of the merge that feel like the bad outweights the good. The simple solution is always, the door is wide open… but surprisingly that has only been the case for maybe a handful of people. I would say the mayority of people like our ways and are starting to settle in quite confortably.
Even though we don’t tell everyone, the officers and GMs have been dealing with quite a bit lately. We have to dispel fears that other people are taking over, or that now we are a hardcore raiding guild and our days of taking the time to explain fights are over. While all of that is nonsense, it is rooted in perception and it quickly becomes reality.
After the two intial weeks we have a simple plan. We are going to make or 25 man progression group stronger by concentrating on 10 mans and leaving the 25 man as a regular run for a bit. It will allow us to slow down and let everyone that has not been that far to progress. Our goal is to have every 10 man progress to our 25 man proression level and leave only one 10 man group to work on Sindragosa. The more people that get geared and learn the fights, the better.
Now he challenging part is the gear, point systems and drop rates. I want everyone to switch gears and look at things from 3 perspectives of play.
One person has been diligently taken our advice on running randoms and getting embles for their first tier set. They recently learned about a set bonus and only play a couple of nights a week but their progress is slow. They were told that soon they will be getting to ICC and they are only waiting on that elusive drop from the ICC 10 mans. To me this is the perfect example of a true casual player.
Somene else has been dodging bone spikes since the first day the content was released and remembers when putricide only had 10 attempts. They have helped several people that promised to stick around gear up only to have them switch guilds, factions or even server. They have not seen a new piece drop for weeks and the content for them is getting as stale as killing rats for candles.
The third and last type is the one playing quick catchup. They might have taken a break from the game for whatever reason, but have the skills and time to gear up quickly. They can get ther tier gear in a couple of days instead of a couple of weeks. They can also deal more damage, heals or know how to kite better than someone with better gear.
If you run a raid or a guild, trying to build a house for all of this guys is more complicated than chinese alphabet soup.
Enter the BoodockSaints. Our philosopy is simple. We want to game with our friends and tolerate zero drama. Our mayor goal is to allow everyone to see the content they paid for when they purchased the game or te expansion because we find it unfair that it has always been only a few that get to see current content. That however has changed quite a bit. We slow down most of our raids to the speed of our slowest player, and are catering to a new audience now by also hosting progression raids. Like our speed of players we also have our speed of raid leader. Some of us will go very slow, some of us will not be cool with staying in the fire too long and causing
Shinny New Gear
Can spell the demise of guild my Dear
Then I read this article and it bring everything back into focus for me. (please go read it, its a good one)
This is exactly why I don’t reward tantrum or drama. /gquits – angry DC’s – whinny whispers about loot rules. All that stuff to me is simply the inmature way to deal with issues and it should not be acknowledged. Like my no revolving door policy, (talk to an officer before you leave for greener pastures or you will not be returning to eat our less shinny grass.) think about how your actions affect the group. A guild is only as successful as their member willingness to do what is best for the group and not just themselves. That is one of the reasons I cannot wait for the new expansion and shinny loot that stays with the guild when someone decides to gquit.
In conclusion we are not perfect, but the officers and I are trying hard to make it fun for everyone. From running old content for achievements to running 25 man rep runs. Eveyone is welcome to suggest things that they want the group to back them up with. Just make sure that the next time you don’t like something, instead of whinning about it, see if you can present a solution to the problem. To parapharse a really hard working dude on a crab fishing boat from the deadliest catch. “Complaining is like a rocking chair, it gives you smething to do but it will not take you anywhere.”
I cannot wait to go on our next Bear Mount Run!