Tag Archives: Guild

One More Shot: A New Beginning

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I’m turning into a softie. Or maybe I’m just tired of guild hopping. I returned to the guild I left just a few days ago. The GM and I had an earnest conversation about my concerns, and he promised to take care of them as well as do his best to meet my conditions, namely:

1. I want us to be known as a nice, easy-to-get-along-with guild and not a bunch of trollish asshats.

2. I don’t want to hear any more politically insensitive remarks, the most callous among them pertaining to  mental and developmental challenges. One more Downs Syndrome joke and you can kiss my ass goodbye.

3. I want the guild to succeed and hope to see more support for our raid group.

I have to give him plenty of credit for being quite the gentleman and not dismissing my views as “women’s premenstrual crap.” So all’s well that ends well (I hope).

I hadn’t been feeling optimistic since moving to Turalyon, especially after a shaky start with the first few guilds I joined, but now that things are falling into place bit by bit, I’m beginning to see the sunshine coming in through the cracks. I also came out of my shell tonight by volunteering for an old-school Firelands raid and met more nice people in the process.

A new month approaches. Here’s to giving it all another shot!

Well, It’s Been Fun

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Disclaimer: I’m not leaving World of Warcraft. I’m staying in the lovely albeit chaotic world that is Azeroth. But many things happened recently in my virtual home and in real life that is making me sing…



For starters, I’m more than 10,000 miles away from my real-life home. I ventured into new territory to check out possibilities and a new chapter in my life which I hope will lead to happily ever after. But I’m jumping the gun here.

Being away from home and getting a feel of my new environment also meant time away from WoW for more than one week, which surprisingly did not turn me into a rabid, acid-tripping, flesh-eating quasi-zombie aching to get her WoW fix. I am amazingly serene, happy and hopeful. I missed playing my Death Knight, sure, but I didn’t long to play the game. I surprised myself how easily I shrugged off the need to log in and do the usual grind. I’m a changed person.

But I wasn’t the only one who changed during my absence. Judging from the events (and non-events) that took (did not take) place while I was away, it looked like I both missed and didn’t miss a lot. People got kicked, raids didn’t happen, Diablo 3 continued to amuse and distract many players, one key member quit and there’s an underlying current that I can’t quite put a finger on but which I won’t waste time dwelling on.

Bloodsoed and I know all too well the symptoms – they spell the death knell for any guild. We’ve been in this game – and a number of guilds – long enough to know the difference between a dry spell and drought. Dry spells are occasional lulls when raiders (whether casual or hardcore) take breaks to do other things then come back refreshed and recharged and ready to faceroll the content. It’s a drought when even the key people don’t have the enthusiasm, stamina, will, discipline and dedication to keep things going – even when there is still so much to do! – and make that switch from involvement to detachment. When words are no longer being said (unless you press for something, but which I don’t really care to do anymore), you know it’s time to make your graceful exit, if not now, then eventually.

WoW is a game that’s getting long in the tooth, and Mists of Pandaria looks to be Blizzard’s last card to keep subscribers interested. But it’s dismaying how many players lost interest too early in this expansion. Blizzard may see it as a dry spell but I personally see it as something else. And no, I’m not one of those people who are quick to put the blame on so-called culprits like Dungeon and Raid Finder, nerfs, lack of content, Ghostcrawler, et cetera. There’s a shitload of things to do in this game. Personally, I don’t blame WoW itself. I put most of the blame on the selfish players who, after getting what they wanted, chucked guild spirit out the window and went their merry way.

It’s true you can’t force people to play the game anymore. But in the same vein, you can’t expect your comrades to remain loyal and dedicated if that person feels like he is the last man standing in the warzone. Kinda hard to one-man Deathwing, ya know.

In the old days, I would have ranted up a storm and drawn nasty pictures, but I’m enjoying real life too much to cry over the equivalent of spilled milk. I’m taking this as a sign that it’s time to go through another transition in the same way I went through a major transition in real life. Out with the old, in with the new. There’s a lot to look forward to. Stop clinging to the past. The glory days are over and your fellow soldiers in the trenches are tired. So go find a new trench. Then keep doing what you love best and eventually things will fall into place. One day, you will be well rewarded.

Guildies That Give Me Pause

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My behavior in World of Warcraft is a reflection of how I am in real life. I am not one of those Jekyll and Hyde people who lose their manners and consideration for others and raise hell in the game. I bring my real life work ethic even into the virtual world by being self-sufficient; you will never see me ask or beg for anything for free, let alone steal. And paying the same 15 dollars like everyone else does is not something I assume automatically entitles me to everything, including a raid spot. In some cases, I will have to pay my dues (ESPECIALLY when it comes to raid spots). It may be just a game but I know that real life manners and principles must be brought to Azeroth to ensure a harmonious existence. Simply put, I know that I have to be nice and I expect my guildies to accord me and everyone else in the guild a modicum of respect.

I’ve joined a good number of guilds since I started playing this game. I’ve encountered many different guild personalities – the joker, the sensitive soul, the sweet type, the brash mofo, the horny toad…stereotypes that may very well exist in every guild. I am normally welcoming to all new faces that join but there are certain people who give me pause. They’re not necessarily the people who do extreme things like steal or cuss or troll on Trade. On the contrary, they’re not…what’s the word…blatant. They actually APPEAR well behaved, but that’s what makes them devious. They appear okay then the next thing you know they’re poisoning the guild or stabbing you in the back or both.

Stab in the Back

In my older posts, I talked about my horrid experience with my last guild which was a disaster in every sense of the word. My last week there was spent pulling out one knife after another from my back. And those knives were the handiwork of guildies who turned out to be wolves in sheep’s clothing. If I were to use the daytime soap stereotype on them, they’d be the best friend who slept with your significant other or the business partner who, one day, decided to be bad and dramatically oust you from the boardroom.

Just how do you spot a wolf-in-sheep’s-clothing-type guildie? There’s no foolproof method I can recommend; I just go with my gut instinct and my gut is usually right. Here are examples of behavioral patterns and traits that make me wary:

1. When a guildie asks for guild bank access and he’s been in the guild for only a few days.

2. When a female guildie leads a high-ranking guildie on, seduces him into giving her a raid spot, an expensive item (*cough Vial of the Sands *cough), and every freebie under the sun…then dumps him once she’s gotten what she could squeeze out of him AND proceeds to sniff out another male guildie she can victimize into becoming her Sugar Daddy. Chicks like that give the rest of the female population in WoW a bad name. I could dedicate an entire post about this personality that capitalizes on her feminine wiles.

3. When a guildie who isn’t even part of the core group throws a hissy-fit behind our backs and has the nerve to chastise the GM for not being on top of the situation. Seriously, you just joined the guild and you think we owe you a raid spot? Ever heard of paying your dues first? Probably not. Go f*ck yourself.

4. When a guildie hits level 85 and asks for free BoE gear. So you actually expect us to give you valor boots and bracers and crafted items right off the bat and we don’t even know you that well? Who’s to say you won’t g-quit after you’ve gotten the goodies? I’d feel more confident and fulfilled wiring money to some random Nigerian dude; at least I’ll get a 55% share of the $22 million some deposed despot left unclaimed in a bank.

5. When a guildie tries too hard to ingratiate himself with everybody. I just can’t quite put a finger on this one; this is where gut instinct comes into play. He or she looks nice, acts nice, talks nice but there is something “off” about that person. My gut instinct proved me right when one ex-guildie – deemed as one of the most pleasant members around – organized an impromptu continuation of Throne of the Four Winds, leaving out half of the people in the original group. What added to the cringe factor was that this guy claimed he hero-worshipped me, thought I was such an awesome Death Knight and that he modeled his own DK after me, bla bla bla. Yeah, sure, Brutus, go ahead and butter me up some more. Don’t forget to replace the butter knife with a steak knife before you butter my back. Or would you rather use a cleaver?

6. When a new guildie invites his own friends over to the guild and they turn out to be colossal self-entitled brats. You know what they say about the company you keep…

7. When a guildie keeps charging his repairs to the guild vault, yes, even that measly 2 silver repair bill.

8. When a guildie tries to look important by announcing on Vent that he would like to have a word with the GM in private in another channel (and does this a LOT). Gee, why not just whisper him instead? Like we would be soooo intrigued and interested to know what you two could be discussing.  /eyeroll

9. When a new guildie asks what he or she can do to get promoted to officer or raid leader soon. Nice to know you’re the ambitious type.

10. When a guildie I barely know asks a  lot of personal questions. My paranoid side suspects that person is gathering info he can use against me someday. Some of the most invasive questions were about my family, finances, and fetishes. Do you seriously need to know that I have a fetish for donkey shows? Oops. TMI.  /end sarcasm

I know it may seem that I have trust issues in this game but after everything I’ve experienced, I think I have every right to be wary and guarded.

Author Stephen M.R. Covey said in an interview that trusting the people around us is a balancing act. The more we lead out with trust, extend trust and start with trust, the greater the outcomes. We can’t operate an organization if there is always a high level of distrust.

“Don’t go the other extreme,” he says. “Just because you can’t trust someone, you can’t trust anyone. Don’t let the fact that you couldn’t trust someone before affect you now and your ability to trust anyone. Yes, too much trust will get you burned, but not enough trust and you lose possibilities and foreclose on options.”

Obviously, Stephen M. R. Covey has never played World of Warcraft.

Jumping Ship…Again

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Ya know, I’m not the type to change guilds like they were going out of style.

But like finding a life partner, you have to go through several assholes till you stumble upon a gem.

Sometimes you think you may have found THE ONE, but there’s just that nagging little voice inside you that keeps telling you, nope, this ain’t the one.

Especially when you log in and you still get that off-vibe from the people, if you know what I mean.

What exactly do I want in a guild?

I want a guild that…

…is friendly and supportive

…doesn’t tolerate Trade chat trolling

…acknowledges the accomplishments – big or small – of every guildie

…gives everyone a fair chance to raid

…actually does raid, and it doesn’t have to be everyday, as long there is something to do every week

…doesn’t exhibit blatant favoritism

…doesn’t put pressure on members to perform or threaten to boot them out if they don’t meet the numbers

Unfortunately, I don’t think the last so-called semi-hardcore raiding guild I joined is not a good match. I need to be in a guild where my Item Level does not encapsulate my worth as a member.  I have out-DPS’d people who have better gear, but unfortunately this expansion has made almost every Raid Leader obsessed over iLevels (it’s the new Gear Score, folks. Different name, same shit!), they refuse to see past that ironclad requirement that they won’t let a couple of missing iLevel points slide.

Unless you’re their close buddy, which I wasn’t. New hunter made it to the Blackwing Descent core raid group even if, like me, he was 2 points shy from the 345 iLevel requirement imposed by the GM.

Yeah, favoritism is a great motivator and an incentive to stay.

Not.

I am now in a young guild where the GM is refreshingly free of pretense and e-peening in spite of her accomplishments.  My alts were the first ones to join this guild, and I found the atmosphere relaxed and welcoming. It only made sense to bring in over the rest of my toons…and drag my buddy Hordor along. Lord knows we’ve been searching for a good guild since we arrived on this server.

I hope and pray this guild IS the one.

Proud to be a Member of Good Intentions

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I am proud of my guild Good Intentions.

Yesterday in Icecrown Citadel, for the first time ever, we one-shotted Lord Marrowgar, Lady Deathwhisper, the Gunship Battle, Deathbringer Saurfang, Festergut and Rotface without anyone dying!

Cloudrunner and Deathbringer Saurfang

Yes, we know your name means “Heart of Draenor”. Your dad told us 1,387 times. And counting.

(Click to see actual size)



That’s Cloudrunner in the middle. Rotface didn’t stand a chance against our coordination!

And for the first time ever, we as a guild successfully rescued Valithria Dreamwalker!



Okay, so it’s an empty room. That’s ’cause Valithria bailed on us after we rescued her. The chick dragon was in a hurry.

We were still fired up after the Dreamwalker rescue, so we had a little discussion over whether to go for Professor Putricide or Sindragosa.

We chose the latter.



That’s us chilling pre-Sindragosa while watching the Tankspot video of the 10-man Sindragosa fight.

(Am I the only one who thinks Tankspot’s narrator Aliena sounds like a flight attendant?)

I guess we were already very tired when we engaged Sindragosa because some us were starting to get one-shotted. (But hey, it was our first time to combat Sindy so cut us some slack!)

Snowcow - Good Intentions

Finally, we decided to call it a night and continue our progression the next day. It was really the best ICC raid we’ve ever done and I am so damn proud of us!

But wait! Some didn’t want to log out yet so we stayed and did Mount Hyjal.

Mount Hyjal - Tyrande Whisperwind

It felt weird being next to Tyrande Whisperwind and not getting attacked. We killed this dame when we did For the Horde, shouldn’t she be pissed off at us?

Mount Hyjal Achievement - 1

Mount Hyjal Achievement - 2

I love old school raids, I swear. It’s so funny to see people in tier 10 or better gear wipe in Vanilla or Burning Crusade content.

And lastly, I finally got to do Vault of Archavon all the way up to Archavon himself! I was on my hunter Anhur. People normally drop out of raid after downing Toravon for the frosties but my guildies and I did all the bosses.

Archavon Achievement - Anhur - Borean Tundra

And only one of us died! Not bad at all.

Archavon Achievement - Anhur - Borean Tundra

Good job, guildies. I love you all.

The Guild Trip: Zerging Down Memory Lane – Part 7 (Finale)

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Part 6 is here, folks.

Now where was I?

Oh my gawd…

Sixth Guild: OBAMUNISM

Description:  White trash fascism. ‘Nuff said!

I can only invoke an unholy power when I hear or see this guild’s name. Their GM and officers have no concept of noblesse oblige. Want proof? Check out this post. Don’t ever join raids hosted by Obamunism, because no matter how decent a damage dealer you are, if you win loot, certain members – particularly the likes of Mattbobbob, ßellaatheña, and Shamitaur – will  make fun of you on Guild chat and say you don’t deserve to win anything because your DPS didn’t even land you in the top 5. Or even if you are top DPS and you win a roll, they’ll still say you didn’t deserve it because you’re not in their guild. So basically, all PUGgies are destined to get screwed. You can’t roll on Marks or primordial saronite bars. If you’re on the quest The Sacred and the Corrupt and you join their ICC 25-man, there’s no way in heaven or hell they’ll let you roll on the acidic blood dropped by Festergut and Rotface. Guildies get first dibs (again).

Small wonder I left them for my current guild.

In my entire year and a half of playing WoW, my stint with Obamunism was the shortest and also the nastiest. I have never seen so many arrogant, hateful and selfish people lumped together in one guild that isn’t even in the same caliber as Risen from the Ashes, and yet they exude the same level of smugness that’s normally entitled to guilds that could easily down the Lich King on Heroic mode like it was just another day in Naxxramas (Blood Legion, anyone?).

I have nothing positive to say about my three-week stay with them, except perhaps my hunter being lucky enough to win Zod’s Repeating Longbow and Distant Land.  It sorta made up for Cloudrunner’s big loss on the necklace and ring. Sorta.

But I bet all my frost emblems the trio of Matt, ßella and Shami had something nasty to say behind my back when I won both times. And if they did, it would have come as no surprise. Negative, bitter people like them have nothing going for them in real life so they make up for that deficit by ninja’ing, bullying and putting down people in a game that is the lone source of their self-worth. (“Their WoW achievement points must be higher than their annual income,” snickered one real-life friend of mine)

Who wants to stay in a guild where you constantly have to be on your guard, the loot rules make your guild look like fascist douchebags to other people, and you can’t even trust Angryorcface, the GM, to keep his word to his own member? (Hey Angry , you still owe me TWO primordial saronites, you shiftless prick!)

Meh, forget it. I can buy own primordials. This is what you can do for me, Angry old man: disband your guild. That ought to spare the innocent denizens of Borean Tundra the terrible consequences of PUGging with you.

Or you can just STFU on Trade Chat about LFM to fill your 25-man slots and tell the rest of your sorry-assed members to get online so you don’t have to PUG. That ought to give them a chance to win phat lootz.

That is, if ßellaatheña will let them have it.

Ha!

I’m done with this Guild Trip saga.Time to move on to other interesting topics such as…

“Borean Tundra’s Sexiest Voices on Vent”.

Now excuse me, I have a list to write.

Intermission: You Know Your Guild is Really Bored When…

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…you kite Anachronos all the way from Tanaris to Orgrimmar and hold your bladder for 2.5 hours, at the same time hoping that the Alliance won’t spoil your mission by killing the dragon before you get to Org.

Anachronos-1

Here are screenshots of our journey out of Tanaris. We  trekked through the Shimmering Flats, Thousand Needles (where some poor dude asked on the local defense channel if anyone saw a dragon in the area)…

Thousand Needles Local Defense

Anachronos-2

…then Feralas

Anachronos-3

…then Desolace

Anachronos-4

…then Stonetalon Mountains

Anachronos-5

…then the Barrens

Anachronos-6

Anachronos-7

…then Durotar

Anachronos-8

(Click to see actual size)



…then finally Orgrimmar where people dueling outside were shocked senseless at the sight of the dragon.



Then typical of the idiots that populate this realm, they started DPS’ing Anachronos even AFTER we told them not to.





Props to my guildie Rancher who kited the dragon sans weapon and by literally walking backwards from Tanaris to Orgrimmar WITHOUT pausing. Dude, you are a beast!

The Guild Trip: Zerging Down Memory Lane – Part 6

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Part 5 is here, folks.

So Denefblah, our two friends Genie and Adam, and I found a new home in Carpe Noctem. Clyde didn’t stay too long. His emotional hissy-fits got him into trouble and our GM Mooko kicked him out. I actually had him removed, especially when I found out he was telling people I was his girlfriend.

So…

Fifth Guild:  CARPE NOCTEM

Description: Like a wonderful love affair turned sour.

My first several weeks in Carpe Noctem were, in a word, superb. We did the weeklies, we went for old-school achieves, we learned so many new fights. My hunter got the Champion of the Frozen Wastes title when we downed Malygos after the fifth attempt.

That’s right. The FIFTH attempt. In a row. That’s how patient our leaders were, particularly the husband-and-wife team of Ragingstorm and Lisawild. The guild’s star main tank and off-tank, respectively, Raging and Lisa were articulate, unflappable and disciplined raid leaders. They explained the fights so clearly and simply we knew our roles right away. And when we wiped, they still cheered us on: “We got this! We got this!” It was a dream to raid with them.

Unfortunately, like any dream, this one was too good to last and my close friends and I woke up to the nightmare of guild drama, only this time it involved a power struggle between the GM and Raging. While I wasn’t privy to their exchanges in their little private channel on Vent, I knew that in a nutshell it was about the GM starting to feel that Raging was trying to take absolute control of the guild, acting like he owned Carpe Noctem, and that he even insisted on using his own Vent account for raid purposes instead of Mooko’s.

Petty shit like that.

Then one day, I saw that Mooko had kicked out the couple from the guild. According to him, he “just had to get rid of the cancer”.

Well, I didn’t know what type of cancer he was referring to but he certainly kicked out two outstanding tanks from our guild who knew their stuff in every instance we ventured into. And their loss, to me, was the real cancer that helped kill the guild.

Things started going downhill. We lost some more people. We started failing miserably in ICC, doing one boss per run. ONE BOSS! And if we were lucky, we were able to move to Lady Deathwhisper before the instances reset. But most times, we found ourselves doing our daily frost runs and nothing else much. I started to feel that my $15 a month wasn’t taking me anywhere…again.

Restless and frustrated, Denefblah and I held private conversations in-game and via Facebook. We were tired of guild-hopping, of the drama we encountered every time we joined a guild that dashed our hopes, and tired of doing mount runs with Mooko.

Yeah, speaking of mount runs, here’s a little story to let you know that in spite of my frustrations, I still try to be a good guild member and follower to my GM…

For the longest time, even way before I joined Carpe Noctem, Mooko had been in and out of Sethekk Halls trying to get the rare mount Reins of the Raven Lord. Only druids can summon the boss that drops this mount, and his being a druid was half the job done.

All he needed was a deferential, helpful plate wearer to accompany him and absorb all the damage on Heroic mode.

Again and again and again till the damn thing dropped.

He found that deferential, helpful plate wearer in one Death Knight named Cloudrunner.

We ran through Sethekk Halls so many times I lost count. I took on the mobs and bosses a la Chuck Norris. My plate armor took a beating. But did I even charge my repair bills to his guild bank? Nope.

Then one day, the mount dropped. Mooko nearly had a seizure. He rolled Need.

I passed.

He asked me why I passed. I told him I didn’t think it was right to roll Need on something he had been trying to get for several months. It was his mount run after all.

He tried to pay me 500 gold. I declined. I told him I don’t charge friends for helping them. Hell, I don’t even charge random players when I enchant stuff for them, why should I start charging my own GM?

He promised to run me through Sethekk Halls week after week till I get the mount. I said I’d like that.

But mount runs alone do NOT make me happy. I wanted to raid. And so did Den, who grew more restless with me as our raids got canceled and we found ourselves having to PUG ICC and sundry raids. Mooko didn’t seem to mind, though…

…until we joined Obamunism’s ICC 25-man run. And Obamunism was Raging and Lisa’s new guild.

And it didn’t help that the couple was still on his shit list, and oh wow, how he still continued to bash them on guild Vent! Mooko expected me and Den to stay away from them, but my firm stand was this: his enemies are NOT my enemies. And my $15 was my damn $15 each month and I was determined to make the most of my WoW subscription! I didn’t want to spend my gaming hours running old-school dungeons hoping some dang mount will drop, I wanted to fight my way through Icecrown Citadel!

Twice Den and I joined Obamunism’s 25-man runs, and twice Mooko got upset. Though he denied being upset, he was obviously pissed with the way he kept making these snide, sarcastic remarks on Guild chat. Those remarks drove me and Denefblah to make that crucial decision to leave Carpe Noctem.

So Mooko lost his top two ranged damage dealers. We took our alts along with us. We left wordlessly. There was no point in arguing with our GM; not even dynamite would move him anyway. He was so convinced that Angryorcface (Obamunism’s GM), Ragingstorm, and Lisawild poached me and Denefblah from Carpe Noctem on purpose to spite him. Well, heck, even if those three people offered me a free trip to Europe I wouldn’t have joined their guild if I was already happy in my current one.

But the thing was, I wasn’t happy anymore in Carpe Noctem! I was tired of being asked to remain loyal even if my loyalty and my helpfulness were not taking me anywhere.

Besides, I still didn’t have my damn Reins of the Raven Lord, because Mooko wasn’t online enough to spend time with me to run through Sethekk Halls. So much for his offer…

Next thing I heard, Mooko packed up and took some key members with him, including my friends Genie and Adam, and transferred to another realm called Sen’jin. Some of their alts are still on Borean Tundra, so Carpe Noctem still exists, but it doesn’t look like anything is happening in that guild.

Denefblah and I had no regrets leaving Carpe Noctem.

Besides, there was a totally new set of regrets we were about to face as we joined Obamunism.

To be continued…