(WoW) An Officer's Guild Musings
Being in a small guild is a mixed blessing.
On the up side, there's a sense of knowing all (or at least most) of the members. Support for one another is easy and usually good. Formalized rules of behavior and looting are usually unnecessary. Serious "drama" is much less likely with a smaller group of people.
On the other hand, it exacerbates the issues of conflicting schedules, making it harder to get an appropriate group together to do things - in our case, we probably have enough people (though not always with characters of similar level) to run a dungeon together about every other day, a heroic once or maybe twice a week, and pretty much never a 10-man raid or more. It also makes class/role balance difficult, particularly when more than 90% of the characters are DPS classes.
There are, at least, a couple of us who would like to see some of the 10-man content. We just barely got into Karazhan, Burning Crusade's "entry-level" raid, before Wrath of the Lich King released. Getting to Naxxramas, the new "starter" raid, doesn't seem much more likely prior to the next expansion.
Let's be honest here. The class selection makes it difficult. If we had all our available level 80 characters on, we'd probably still be short on the healing side. Additionally, we have a number of character with gear on the "iffy" side. Naxx is said to be easy for a raid and doable without the best items, but it's usually assumed there's been at least some amount of time spent training and gearing up in heroics, which a lot of our guild lacks.
In general, I have to conclude that much of our guild doesn't want to raid. Or, at least, they don't want it enough to make it happen. We're never going to be "hardcore," but a fair percentage of our members seems firmly entrenched in the "casual" end of things, with little desire to push themselves to become better in the game.
And I suppose that's not wrong. If they get enjoyment from pursuing an achievement for collecting 15 pets, that's fine for them. It's a little awkward for those few of us who would like to push into other things that require us to have help, but that's not really their fault.
From where I sit, there isn't really a good answer to the situation, save keeping expectations from building too high. Judging from what I've read, some people would suggest "moving on" to find a guild that matches what I'd like to see, but no. My guild is more family to me than some business arrangement for benefit. And I could probably make my way in the pick-up-group scene. As my mains are a tank and a (currently sub-optimal) healer, I could likely find spots without too much trouble. Alas, I'm not very comfortable in PUGs, so that's not highly likely - but remains a vague possibility.
So, in all likelihood, things won't change too much. I'll remain where I am, trying to be on the forefront of preparation in the guild. I take my officer status a little more seriously, perhaps, than others. I'll try to help with gear and advice when I can, and be ready if and when others wish to advance in the content...
On the up side, there's a sense of knowing all (or at least most) of the members. Support for one another is easy and usually good. Formalized rules of behavior and looting are usually unnecessary. Serious "drama" is much less likely with a smaller group of people.
On the other hand, it exacerbates the issues of conflicting schedules, making it harder to get an appropriate group together to do things - in our case, we probably have enough people (though not always with characters of similar level) to run a dungeon together about every other day, a heroic once or maybe twice a week, and pretty much never a 10-man raid or more. It also makes class/role balance difficult, particularly when more than 90% of the characters are DPS classes.
There are, at least, a couple of us who would like to see some of the 10-man content. We just barely got into Karazhan, Burning Crusade's "entry-level" raid, before Wrath of the Lich King released. Getting to Naxxramas, the new "starter" raid, doesn't seem much more likely prior to the next expansion.
Let's be honest here. The class selection makes it difficult. If we had all our available level 80 characters on, we'd probably still be short on the healing side. Additionally, we have a number of character with gear on the "iffy" side. Naxx is said to be easy for a raid and doable without the best items, but it's usually assumed there's been at least some amount of time spent training and gearing up in heroics, which a lot of our guild lacks.
In general, I have to conclude that much of our guild doesn't want to raid. Or, at least, they don't want it enough to make it happen. We're never going to be "hardcore," but a fair percentage of our members seems firmly entrenched in the "casual" end of things, with little desire to push themselves to become better in the game.
And I suppose that's not wrong. If they get enjoyment from pursuing an achievement for collecting 15 pets, that's fine for them. It's a little awkward for those few of us who would like to push into other things that require us to have help, but that's not really their fault.
From where I sit, there isn't really a good answer to the situation, save keeping expectations from building too high. Judging from what I've read, some people would suggest "moving on" to find a guild that matches what I'd like to see, but no. My guild is more family to me than some business arrangement for benefit. And I could probably make my way in the pick-up-group scene. As my mains are a tank and a (currently sub-optimal) healer, I could likely find spots without too much trouble. Alas, I'm not very comfortable in PUGs, so that's not highly likely - but remains a vague possibility.
So, in all likelihood, things won't change too much. I'll remain where I am, trying to be on the forefront of preparation in the guild. I take my officer status a little more seriously, perhaps, than others. I'll try to help with gear and advice when I can, and be ready if and when others wish to advance in the content...
*arches an eyebrow but keeps her thoughts to herself*
ReplyDeleteWell, actually I think I'd like to know what you're thinking. I want guildies to have fun. What's sometimes a problem, though, is not being sure what everyone considers to be fun. I get the feeling not everyone wants to accomplish the same things as I do - which is fine - but unless they tell me, I'm not really sure. If there's something you (or others) really want out of the game, I'm usually willing to help if I can. It helps to know what that is, though. Of course, there will be times I'm not around, too tired, or just being a selfish git, thus I'm not very helpful. ;) I'm only human, after all.
ReplyDeleteYet another point for Guild Wars. ;) You don't need the best gear, and you're usually at level 20 before you're even half-way into the game, thus making any quests/missions skill-based rather than stat-based. Make your build, learn how to use it, figure out what combo works best for you, and go-to. Which reminds me, I need to really plot on how to take down that damn griffin.
ReplyDeleteUps and downs. WoW keeps me interested by having things I can aspire to, goals I can set and reach for. GW... not so much. Once you hit level 20, which is only partway through the campaign as you say, there's very little to reach for. Maybe the one elite skill for your chosen build? I end up with no drive to play outside our scheduled once-a-week session because I don't have any real goals in the game.
ReplyDeleteThis wasn't even a post about gear, but about guild mechanics. how many people in your guild are at that level 20 peak and how many new people who join have to keep getting run through the same old content over and over again to just play catch up? Additionally, this wasn't a post about -best- gear, but some level of good stuff for 'entry' into some of the more complex content. Don't you aspire to see the interesting stuff your game developers want you to see?
ReplyDeletethere a few different thoughts I've got going. I never played video or computer games before meeting Elly (Solitare doesn't count) so it's taken me almost two years of sporadic playing to get to the point where I feel like I know what I'm doing. I think I've only become a half-decent party member for dungeons in maybe the last month? So a lot of the focus on raids and such I've just not even considered because I was still flailing around, trying to figure out what the hell I'm doing. So I'm always going to be a rather casual player. I'll obsess on small goals that I can do myself. Mainly because y'all have been higher level than me for almost the entire time I've played, and because I hate to ask for help and feel like I'm imposing my low level little wants on some one who wants to do something interesting. (and don't tell me that there aren't guild members who don't want to do lower level dungeons anymore, because we all know that it's true at least part of the time) I also know that I'm not going to be the best player in the guild. I'm good at whacking stuff dead, and well, that's about it. I have a lowbie druid, but I don't level characters at any rate other than slow, so really, my DPS warrior is all I have to offer. SO I guess what I'm saying is, if you want/need me for some overarching master plan, I need to know, and get guidance on what to do to get there. I'm willing to play along, -if I know what your expectations are-. Otherwise I'm going to just quest along on my own, and as long as I don't get too frustrated, all you'll hear from me is the usual silly chatter.
ReplyDeleteGetting even more off-topic, but I've found the re-running of stuff in GW to have little to do with level/gear and more to do with unlocking locations. It's possible to fast-travel to places you've been. Often, completing a particular mission automatically ends with you in the location for the next mission start. If, however, one person in a group misses a particular mission, they have to complete it (or in some way run to the new mission sight, which requires varying amounts of time) before they can progress to the new mission with everyone else. So, starting a new character, or ending up a few missions behind, can mean people rerunning things with you to get to new stuff, or you doing it alone to catch up.
ReplyDeleteSee? I find this helpful to hear. I'd actually like to get a better understanding of where everyone in the guild is - and where they want to go. I would like to get into more advanced content. I would like more guildmates involved in such. I would like you be involved. But I and only one person, and when it comes to what you do with your character(s), what you want is more important. - If you want to increase your capabilities as a DPS warrior, I can try to help with that. My familiarity with the class is limited, but I can usually dredge up advice from other sources. I've helped some with crafted gear, and could research drops that might be improvements. - If you would rather spend time in lower-level dungeons, I can probably help with that, too. Now, I do have to admit a couple points on that: 1) content I've done before (probably repeatedly) is less interesting to me and 2) I tend to find such things more fun without a level-80 character obliterating everything. I'm generally satisfied with my two level 80 characters, which means I'm not that well suited to doing low-level content unless you actually want ridiculous overkill. But even if it's not the most fascinating to me, I usually try to be willing ot help guildmates with stuff that isn't on my own priority list. - And if you'd rather just chat amongst friends on-channel and do something solo, that's fine too. Knowing that tells me I shouldn't be pressuring you to do other stuff. ;) Ultimately, I'd like to foster more communication of goals. About the only way I have to start that is by stating some of my own. Once we get them out into the open, then we can actually work on making them mesh in some way.
ReplyDeleteGWEN addresses this, actually. The goals you would drive for are title based, granting you PvE skills which are pretty interesting. Then there's the other things -- Polymock summons, dwarf fighting skills, Norn buffs, and Vanguard support. These things are based on your title rank, so the goal is to buff your rank (by doing the book-related missions), and finding the skills which you find suitable. Then of course, there's the Hall of Monuments.., you get to fill it when you get an Elite armour, when you beat a campaign, you can assign your mini pets, you can get the elite armour for your heroes (and them put those in), and your animal companions, and the last slot is for your collector's weaponry. So, even if you're level 20, there's a lot to strive for. Kyubiko got the survivor's title on one character, when you 'complete' a title, you can add it to the HoM in the same slot you'd put 'I beat the game'. I'm jealous, because I never thought of the survivor's title, and I've long since passed being able to use it with Tashiro. :( Ah well.
ReplyDeleteWell, actually, what I was mostly commenting on was this: If we had all our available level 80 characters on, we'd probably still be short on the healing side. Additionally, we have a number of character with gear on the "iffy" side. Naxx is said to be easy for a raid and doable without the best items, but it's usually assumed there's been at least some amount of time spent training and gearing up in heroics, which a lot of our guild lacks. Honestly, if someone new comes in, we have someone who goes and helps them play 'catch up', which can be pretty quick. Now that we're finished Prophesies, it is even easier, since we're all starting at the same point. Even so, 'catch up' is mostly 'get you to where we are', and by the time you're there, you're level 20. Gear-wise, any character in our guild has immediate access to 'best' gear and if they have Nightfall, 'max' armour. The game has little interest in that, it is all designed on 'tailor your character to what you want, and then refine your ability to use your skills to good effect'. It is fairly non-competitive that way -- armour/weapons/level aren't the point... collecting skills, and character build is. :)
ReplyDeleteFortunately, Kyubiko is more than willing to guide you through the older stuff and help you catch up to everyone else. If you've got the platinum, you can even skip the whole Ascension thing, and go from Yak's Bend to Droknar's, to take part in the post-Ascension stuff. Not smart mind you, but do-able. Of course, you could just hit Drok's, get the max armour, then pop back to Yak's and continue on. Not necessary if you have Nightfall, though. Just depends on which armour you want.
ReplyDeleteWorks for some people. I don't find cosmetic benefits (like elite armor or the Survivor title), to be draw enough to me most of the time to put a lot of effort into them. And even the skills are only worth the time if they fit into your build (eight slots still feels limiting to me). There are sometimes exceptions, but I've yet to find anything in GWEN that I cared about enough to work toward. If there were a monthly fee, GW simply wouldn't be worth it to me. As a "buy it once and play it" game, it's fine. I don't really expect it to motivate me as much.
ReplyDeleteSpam Filter ate this, so I'm a little late replying -- the thing is, there's a lot of good skills in GWEN, specifically tied to your title track. Your Ritualist, for example, may like some of the Ashura summons that are there, while your Paragon may like the damage and health buffs available from the Norn title track.
ReplyDelete