World of Warcraft Raid Leader of a very casual raid team talks and vents about life in World of Warcraft, and maybe a little bit of life outside of WoW.
This kept getting put off as there was nothing much to report.
To put it simply, as the holidays have struck early, there was no raiding the week before Christmas. Raid night falls on both New years Eve/New years and Christmas Eve/Christmas this year so both of those weeks have no raiding either. I am hoping right now to do some retro raids on Sundays, but we will see who shows up. I tried one for Heroic BOT last week and no one showed. It gave me sad feelings.
So right now I am focused on celebrating the holidays, finishing the book I am writing before the end of the year, and maybe even playing some WoW.... Maybe. It's not quiet the end of expansion duldrums but I have not had a burning desire to log on for the last week or two other then to burn some cooldowns and spend a few minutes here and there leveling alts. Last night I even ran a battle ground or two on a horde lowbie, and for those who know me, I avoid battle grounds. For me, It's normally, "Hey I'll take some of that black plague over there. It is better then PVP you know..."
But I have been spending time with family, kid's are out of school, I am playing with twitch and live streaming though I'm not sure what to live stream at this point. Maybe I'll even farm out in guild and friends and play with the podcast idea, who knows? It would be fun if I could spin it. I am not sure where in the WoW community my podcast could land, and any other ideas I want to podcast are still very developmental.
So, between pages of writing, (I have about 2-3 chapters left to write, and I will have those done by New Years Day. Work, and real life, I will still be in Wow. I want to get my toon on Aerie Peak leveled so I can pick on the Convert to Raid community a little more. I still have a monk/druid to level. And hey, there is LFR and possibly even Battle ground in my future. Who knows?
What are you doing in WoW, and with family for your holidays?
Wow Insider postulated, what would you pitch for the next expansion. I have my answer.
"Rise of Lordaeron"
I would have Lilian Voss make a return, she would re-appear with a new faction of scourge and bring battle across the ruins of Lordaeron against the forsaken. At the same time boats from Kul'Tiras appear at Stormwind bringing tales of undead rising and taking their island from them. After it is determined these undead are coming from Kul'Tiras by both the Forsaken and the Alliance we ship off to the tropical islands that Jaina Hails from....
When we arrive at Kul'Tiras we have to solve the mystery of why and how these forsaken have risen. As we quest through the areas of this land we find that Lillian Voss has stolen some of the original plague and used it to create her own scourge. The first Two raids involve going in and first stopping her production of undead players, and then facing down and stopping Lillian Voss.
When we beat (not kill) Lillian however, it is discovered that she had created this scourge in response to her discovery that Sylvanas has been experimenting and creating her own version of the scourge which she intends to use to wipe out all the living Horde and Alliance alike. She plans on using the current forsaken as fodder as she marches her new and improved people to war against the living. While Bolvar has been asleep fighting the lich king's influence, she has even stolen several undead from Northrend with the help of the Val'kyre. The second raid involves us going in and stopping her production of the "super" undead, with Lillian Voss helping lead the way. The end boss will be Koltira Deathweaver who had been re-purposed by Sylvanas to be the general of her new army.
No new race, but the new class "Nightstalker" will be added. Nightstalkers will be a mail wearing class that shifts from ranged to melee combat depending on the spec. Nightstalkers are specifically trained in using magic to fight off undead and demons. However, they use necromatic magics instead of the light to fight their prey. (Ok, I want Demon Hunters, but with a name that includes the undead etc.. as one of their victims.)
The last bit, and raid will be around us fighting Sylvanas, who will be the boss midway through the raid. As we fight her, we will find the burning legion has been controlling her movements. As she lies dying Vellen uses his magic to heal her, but ends up resurrecting her back into a living High elf/Blood elf. This breaks her connection with the new scourge army, and she is taken away by her sister Vereesa, and we head on to fight the burning legion and remove the rest of the new scourge from existance.
This of course will lead into a burning legion expansion, and will also set up Sylvanas' redemption story. It will also leave the Forsaken's future into question. Will Sylvanas return to lead them even though she is now living? Will Lillian Voss be the next dark lady? Having to fight alongside the horde, and the Forsaken do the Alliance now have to recognize the Forsaken's right to Lordaeran as their home?
I know this pitch idea is not perfect, and I am pitching this as an Alliance player who has always loved Sylanas' story and have hoped for since Wrath to see her story progress. But here is the real question.
What would you pitch for a new expansion? What would you like to see that hasn't been shown before? What new lands/planets/dimensions would you like to explore and why?
This week in raiding started about the same as it was last week. We managed to get past Narushun, but just past. We had some weird issues that stopped us there for the night. This fight which we have managed to at worst two shot for the last few months gave us all sorts of trouble. But we managed and got through.
Wednesday, we were short a dps so I pugged out of trade chat. This brought us Summerdawn, the warrior (on his pally which was another Summer.. somthing), Mondel the Monk, and a priest who I am going to be horrible and forget his name, but his gear and deeps made the rest of us want to bow down and worship him lol (If any guildies want to throw his name in the comments). We managed to Down Galakras after a couple tries, one shot Iron Juggernaught, and ended the night with our first Dark Shamans kill. This means I hope that we have everyone studied up on Nazgrim for next week. (hint hint)
No, I normally have been opposed to pugging folks into our raids. Sometimes that can be a mixed bag at best, however last night I have to say I was excited by the happiness and positive support from the folks who hopped in with us. I know that we were not raiding on the level they are used to enjoying, but they were willing to hop in and help us push forward, which warms my heart. I know most of the people in Wow are good folks who are willing to help out, however that one or two bad eggs know how to stick out when you come across them.
Back to my title theme, I have been thinking of community in Wow this week. It started when I listed to Tauren Think Tank while working Monday. (If you don't listen to this show, you should) Near the end of the podcast (At roughly an hour and 42 minutes into the show) In a letter that they received, a player had written in with their experience.
This player had an experience that is well worth sharing. He was in a guild for a few years. While he was in this guild he came across another player named OG who tanked along side him. The writer of this letter was an info nut, who describes himself as the "Oh my gosh how do you not know this stuff guy." This character OG who played with him was a good dps, but not great as a tank. The writer says he normally would give OG crap, and rib him during raids. After a few months however, the raid team decided to transfer to a more populated server, and a few couldn't afford to move over, OG being one of them.
A couple months after the transfer, the writer's old guild master asked him to hop into vent with her. She then told him that this other player that hadn't been able to transfer over, had committed suicide. The writer initially thought the worst of his personal behaviour, But the GM told him she had been talking to OG for a few months and that he had been depressed for a while, and had thought of the writer as an older brother and saw the ribbing and teasing in a friendly manner. However, the tragedy in the situation was apparent.
The writer did an info search while other guildies were getting into vent to discuss OG. He found OG by name and decided to call his family. He was able to contact OG's mother and managed to talk to her for a while, sharing some stories of her son, and some of the fun they had together. He then asked if it was alright if some other people called her. She answered yes, and the writer's guild, each took a turn to call her and share their stories of her son. During this whole time, the guildies who weren't on the phone with her shared stories of OG in vent and held their own little memorial. If you listen to the podcast, Jules reads it much better then I can type it, and I recommend you listen to it.
I was moved to the point of tears during this story. We often talk about how this is a game, and game doesn't trump real life etc... We do forget that we are a community also. As a community we are capable of some wonderful things, even in the face of tragedy. I hope that in this moment, OG's mother and family was given some comfort in the face of one of the worst things a family could ever go through.
It is so easy to forget when your tromping through a pixelated landscape that the characters you come across are real people. That the person you come across who just swiped your mining node is a person who may have not seen you. Or is someone that might have an emotional response when you berate them in trade chat. It is so easy to forget we are dealing with players feelings, and that you could do damage to someone emotionally if you say the right thing at the wrong time.
We are fragile beings folks. Even the strongest of us have moments where they can be hurt deeply. Some may never even show it. We never know what the power of our words are, until they break the wrong person. I don't believe that OG was effected negatively by his Wow mates and experience from the reading of the letter. I feel rather from the way writer reflected the GM talked to him, that Wow and his guild mates might have been a bright light in a difficult life. I hope that this guild was a shelter to OG at times when he needed it, and it sounds like that they likely where.
So, as you tip toe through Azeroth this week, think about your actions. Are you a positive light in you fellow players lives? I know I haven't always been. Being human there will probably be lots of times where I fall short after this again. I do strive however to do my best to bring a positive experience to those around me.
This weeks raiding experience was interesting to say the least. We struggled. We didn't struggle because we didn't know the fights. We didn't struggle because we had a couple folks along who were under geared and under experienced. (Though the both were true) We just seemed out of sync with each other.
Tuesday we got a late start and got to Sha in the first wing of Orgimmar flex. That means in one raid night we got three bosses down, when we have been doing this wing in about an hour previously. Once again it's not that we didn't know what we were doing, things just seemed to be running rougher then others.
Wednesday we managed to get Sha down after three attempts and got stopped on Galakras in the second wing. This means for the first time in a few weeks, we didn't get further then downing the first wing of Flex. This of course breed frustration, and when people get frustrated they tend to speak out a bit more.
Now, as a raid leader I promote feedback. I think when people are allowed to voice their opinions, and you can listen that you can get a better picture of what is going on. When you are healing, tanking, or dpsing it's hard not to get tunnel vision and ignore everything that going on that doesn't relate directly to you. It means that as times, you may be focused on keeping life bars full, or catching rampaging adds rather then calling out what is happening in the raid to those around you. This means, if people are used to you calling stuff out, you have ripped a crutch out from under them.
I am not the best person at calling stuff out. I admit this. Until a few months ago my wife would do this for me because she is fantastic at noticing what was going on, and calling it to the group. Now without her I'm starting to feel like I need to be more aggressive on speaking out and leading the raid verbally. I am going to experiment a little with this, so that I may do better.
Circling around to the reason I am discussing this however is that when people give feedback in raid, it isn't always in a positively re-enforcing manner. If I walk to a boss and my re-action is, "Crap I hate healing this" then it effects the group around me, if only slightly. If I do it constantly it makes everyone around me start to feel negatively towards me and my attitude so that eventually everything I say is undermined by the over all impression I give of myself.
This also goes with calling out reasons why someone believes we are wiping. There is a world of difference between approaching something with "We don't have the Dps to get this down," versus "Hey, the adds are going down a little slowly, any suggestions on how we can pick that up better?" Both essentially say the same thing, but one comes off as, "Meh, lets admit defeat," and the other is "Alright, how can we pick up and do this better?" One opens possibilities, one closes them.
The other thing to keep in mind when you call something out, your not always going to be right. Even if you are right, sometimes things will still not go your way. People will not agree with your point, and even I, in my raid leaderlyness may not agree with your. By calling it out instead of whispering the raid leader though you need to recognize a few things.
A. You put me in a position where I have to answer you. If I don't agree with you I have to do it in front of everybody. If you whisper me, I can go back and forth with you in a manner where we are both not in positions that may look bad if the calls are wrong.
B. You are not just speaking to me, you are speaking to the raid. If you are saying the DPS is too low, you are calling out every member on the DPS team for their performance. If you say the heals feel low, you are not just telling me, but you are calling out the entire healing team on their performance. When you say something over vent you are addressing everyone, not just me. If a group needs to be called out over vent, I need to be the one doing it. If someone else is doing it, they are just building animosity towards themselves.
C. Your attitude will matter more then your words. As I said above, people don't have the luxury on this game of knowing you face to face, so what they hear and see is all they have to judge you on. If you are constantly calling stuff out, and it ends up being wrong, or you sound like your talking out of your ass, it will effect the whole team negatively.
I normally wait a few pulls on a boss before I start suggesting ways to fix things. I find that often, people will realize they are standing in the poo, not seeing adds going down quickly, or feel they are struggling and work to self correct. If two or three pulls later we are still struggling on the same mechanics, I will start to suggest and ask for suggestions on how to fix the problem. I am not making us pull several times to slam our faces against the wall, but I am seeing if we are repeating the same problem, or if someone just happened to make a SNAFU, and if they fix it without being called out in front of everyone.
I recognize when people are calling stuff out and giving reasons for wipes they are trying to help out. Even if they are doing so in a negative manner, or in a manner that rubs people the wrong way, it is in the spirit of trying to help the raid team. I do not want to stifle anyone who is trying to help, but I would like to build them to do so in such a manner that it builds the team. If it's bringing the team down, or making people feel negative about the team, eventually I will have to address it.
Next week, I am putting forth a lofty goal. I want to get the first wing down in the first night, and the second wing down on the second night. All our fights are posted on the guild website, so there is no reason for anyone to walk into the raid not knowing what they are doing. If you have time to cap valor, and run LFR's during the week, you have time to watch a ten minute video.
One of the things we have now is a long wait until "Warlords of Draenor" comes out.
We know when it's launched it will have ten more levels for us to work through, along with new raids, new areas, and all the good jazz that normally is introduced with a new expansion. We will have to work to get our professions maxed out so that we might build new toys and armor. There will be a new learning curve with new talents and changes in gear. That is all coming our way.... not quite soon.
Most of the expansions have taken roughly a year after they were announced before they are released. Mists may have been the shortest wait at about nine months after announcement before it was released. This means that if they manage to cut some time off the wait, we are probably looking at May if they manage to do it in six months, but more likely June-August before we are playing the new content.
I have goals to get me past that time. I want to finally get to the point where I have a level 90 of every single class. I have 9 of the 11 possibilities. All that remains is to max level a druid and a monk. I have both equipped with BOA's to the hilt, it's just a matter of getting them the rest of the way to 90. When they are capped, I will finally have a Skinner/Leatherworker at max level as well. This means that I will finally have all the possible professions maxed as well. This will give me a good base to work with when Draenor drops.
I also want to work on my horde side. I have a very neglected rogue hanging on Zangarmarsh who would love some love. Now that Hellscream is Joined with us, I can add more Horde toons to my stable over there, making use of BOAs So I look forward to seeing more horde side content and catching up with some of the Mists content I may have missed while working mainly on Alliance.
Of course, I also want to spend this time building raiders. I would love to grow our raid team from about ten people to about 15. When we start raiding in Draenor it would be nice to be able to field a starting team that has the option of running when not everybody is available. I am looking forward to doing some flex raiding until then, and still may find a time to do ten man once we have everything beat on flex.
So, of course the big question is, what is everyone else's goals in the guild, to keep themselves busy?
