Matticus

Matticus is the founder of World of Matticus, a World of Warcraft blog.

Crests and Flightstones Need to be Alt Friendly

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With the upcoming The War Within expansion for World of Warcraft, we’re getting some cool new features like Warbands and reputation consolidation (at the cost of Human Diplomacy, sadly). But if we really want to make it easier and more fun to play with our alts, we need to take another look at how we gear them up. Right now, the system for Crests and Flightstones is a massive pain, especially if you’re trying to gear multiple characters.

The Current Problem

I’ve got a Priest and a Shaman both sitting at item level 527, which is pretty close to max (barring some vault upgrades). But when I think about levelling up my Paladin, Mage, and Evoker, it feels like an insurmountable grind. Running endless dungeons to collect Crests just isn’t appealing. To make things worse, Crests and Flightstones can’t be sent to your other characters, even though other in-game currencies can in TWW. This really slows down progress for alts.

Some Ideas to Fix This

Discounted Upgrade Crests and Stones

A great solution would be to offer discounted upgrades for Crests and Flightstones for alts. We already have something similar for gear upgrades. For example, if you get a new belt, you can upgrade the ilvl of it to match your current belt at a cheaper rate (no Crests, just Flightstones).

Why not extend this to our alts?

Imagine if once your main character fully upgrades their gear set to a certain level, like with the The Awakened Aspects achievement, your alts could then upgrade their gear more cheaply. This would reward your hard work and make gearing up alts a lot less painful.

Exchange Rates for Crests and Flightstones

Another idea is to let players buy Crests and Flightstones for their alts using an exchange system. Many of us have loads of Crests and Flightstones just sitting there unused on our main characters. I think my Priest has like 450 Aspect Crests just collecting dust. If we could trade them at, say, a 3:1 ratio, it would make those extra resources useful again. This way, we wouldn’t have to grind so much to gear up our alts.

Better Boss Drops and Incentives

On a completely different note, we also need to talk about raid rewards. Right now, the last two bosses in any raid drop the same level Crests as the earlier bosses in the instance. But bosses like Raszageth, Echo of Neltharion, and Sarkareth are a lot tougher. In Heroic raids, for example, it would make sense for these bosses to drop higher-level Crests like Aspect Crests instead of just Wyrm Crests.

This change could also keep players interested in completing entire raids. Right now, when I join pickup raids, I notice many players quit after getting their weekly vault rewards from the first six or so bosses. If the final bosses offered better rewards, more players might stick around to finish the raid or decide to give it a few pulls just to see.

Wrapping It Up

This expansion is a perfect chance for Blizzard to make the game more friendly for players with alts. By adding discounted upgrades and an exchange system for Crests and Flightstones, the game could become a lot more enjoyable for those of us who like to play multiple characters. Not only that, by tweaking raid rewards to match the difficulty of bosses, Blizzard could keep more players engaged throughout the whole raid. We can do it with the power of… uh, friendship!

In the meantime, I’m going back to chain-running dungeons to try to max out my Paladin before expansion launch.

Signs of an At-Risk Trial Raider and How to Address Them

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I know firsthand how exciting and challenging (and annoying) recruiting raiders for your team can be. Every new player that comes in brings potential, but not every trial is going to be able to integrate into the team. Sure they’ve passed the initial sniff test they’ve answered the right questions, but now those players have to live up to those expectations that have been set. Recognizing when a recruit is at risk of failing their trial period and knowing how to address that situation is super important for maintaining a strong, progressed raid team.

Some of the biggest mistakes I’ve made when I was a GM (or as an officer) is not doing anything about the new trials that I felt weren’t fit, but I had to keep them around because the raid team as a whole didn’t have enough players to help go through a raid night. This would lead to feelings of resentment from more senior members of the team because they felt lacklustre trials weren’t really contributing to the progression or, worse, actively hampering any farm clears and slowing us down. If I could do it again, I would be more aggressive in identifying and making a more concerted effort to look for ways to help with improvement or at least open up communication with them.

Today, I want to explore some of the signs that a recruit may be struggling and offer up some pointers for addressing at-risk trial players.

Recognizing the Signs

Really, the first step that has to happen is actually identifying the member who is at risk of failing their trial or losing interest. These are some of the common indicators to watch for:

1. Inconsistent Attendance

If they don’t show up without saying anything, that’s usually a pretty good sign. A trial member who misses raids without prior notice or valid reasons might be struggling with commitment levels and realizing they can’t actually sustain the schedule they were hoping for. Consistency is key in a raiding guild (especially a CE one like ours), and frequent absences can disrupt the team’s progress and cohesion. We usually cut after 2 non-appearances and with no messaging from the player.

2. Performance Issues

While it’s true that everyone has an off night, consistent performance issues are another big sign. This includes not following mechanics, uncharacteristically low output (DPS or healing), and a failure to learn from mistakes. If a trial member repeatedly struggles despite feedback and guidance, it might just be a lack of effort or understanding. This is players not making that hustle to get to the stack point with everyone else, or getting their own debuff out of the raid before it detonates. It could also be someone resisting being a team player and not selecting talents or loading in a build that’s simply not ideal for the encounter. Going multi-target to help clear out ads when single target is what’s requested doesn’t help the raid get through those damage checkpoints.

3. Failure to Complete Required Mythic+ Dungeons

Mythic+ dungeons are absolutely important for character progression and meeting raid standards. At DJ’s, once we start extending raids, these are going to be the only sources of upgrades that players will be able to get (especially from their vaults). A trial member who neglects to complete the required key dungeons as outlined by the guild is going to be at risk of falling behind. Not participating is going to stall both their individual progress and the guild’s overall performance. It also demonstrates a lack of interest (in the game or the raid). We’re a CE guild, and we’re mandated to run at least 4 high keys a week. That’s not an impossible request, and it’s balanced around the expectation that players have other obligations (families, careers, hobbies, walking their pandas, etc).

4. Lack of Engagement

By itself, this isn’t a significant clue. A trial member who is not engaged in guild activities beyond raids might be losing interest. There should be some level of participation in guild chat, forums, or Discord discussions. Just being involved and engaging often builds a good impression of a member’s commitment and enthusiasm for the guild. At the same time, some players just don’t have that kind of social battery and shouldn’t be expected to be “on” all the time.

5. Lack of Communication

Effective communication is essential in a raiding guild. A trial member who rarely communicates with raid leaders or fails to respond to direct messages and discussions concerning them can be problematic. This might honestly mean a poor fit within the raid dynamic. We’ll try to reach out to new players from time to time to check in with them, and sometimes it isn’t really reciprocated.

6. Negative Attitude

Yeah, this one’s a biggie. Any trial member exhibiting a negative attitude or causing drama within the team is a problem and warrants a fast response. This might include being overly critical of someone else on the team, resistant to feedback from another player, creating conflict, or just being crazy defensive for no reason. There’s a right time and a right place for everything, including raid feedback.

7. Slow Improvement

While everyone learns at different paces, a trial member who shows little to no improvement over time, despite coaching and feedback, may not be a good fit. We are a CE guild, and our expectations are that players learn and adapt not just to their own mistakes but those of others. Progression raiding requires adaptability and growth. Lacking either of those isn’t going to lead to a solid finish.

Handling an At-Risk Trial Member

Have you figured out if someone is struggling? Next step is to figure out exactly how to handle it. You want to find ways to help them out but you also need to recognize when to cut your losses and let the player go if they’re not playing up to the level they need to.

1. Open Communication

Start an honest conversation with the player. Talk about some of the observed issues and provide specific examples. If you can use log replays or Warcraft Recorder clips to help demonstrate it, that can bolster your case. Work on your tone and make sure it’s constructive, focusing on their potential for improvement rather than just pointing out flaws (or everything that’s wrong with them). This can help the player understand the areas where they have to get better.

2. Provide Constructive Feedback

Give them feedback and actionable steps for improvement. Whether it’s specific mechanics they need to focus on (like less deaths to a key mechanic), DPS rotations, or positioning, clear guidance can help them know exactly what is expected. Give them resources like guides or videos to help their learning. Pair them up with someone in raid of a similar (or identical) class that they can learn from.

3. Set Clear Expectations

Reinforce and reiterate the expectations regarding performance, attendance, and behaviour. Make sure the trial member understands what is required to pass the trial. If you’re able to set clear, measurable goals, it’ll help both parties track progress.

4. Offer Support and Mentorship

Assign a mentor or buddy from the team to support the trial member. This can provide a more personalized approach to their improvement and help them feel more integrated into the guild. Regular check-ins with the mentor can offer ongoing guidance and encouragement. In DJs, we do our best to assign every new trial player a buddy (or a mentor) that’ll check in on them and help show them the ropes. Things like where to find the roster for the week, point the way where required WeakAuras are and answer any questions they might have.

They’re basically a Pokemon for the veteran raider.

5. Evaluate Progress

Monitor and assess the trial member’s progress over a set period. Are they showing improvement in the areas discussed? Are they more engaged and consistent? Regular evaluations can help determine if they are on the right track. Keep the feedback going as well. We have private Discord channels for each trial player where everyone on the team can provide observations (both positive and negative) about them along with how interactions have been.

6. Make a Decision

If, despite all efforts, the trial member is not meeting expectations, it’s time to consider letting them go. Approach this decision with empathy and professionalism. Thank them for their time and effort, and provide honest feedback on why they didn’t pass the trial. It’s important to maintain a positive and respectful atmosphere, even during difficult decisions. Sometimes a no means a not yet, and the player just needs to develop and gain more raid experience, whether it’s in another raid team that’s catered towards their skill level to allow them time to grow. After all, not every raid team is right for every player.

At-risk trial members in a raid guild require a careful balance of support and evaluation. Recognizing the signs early, providing constructive feedback, and offering mentorship can help struggling recruits improve and integrate into the team. However, knowing when to cut losses and let a player go is equally important for maintaining a strong, cohesive raid team. By handling these situations with transparency and empathy, you can ensure the long-term success and harmony of your guild.

It’s End of Expansion Exit Survey Time!

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It’s that time again! With a firm new expansion date looming and raid activities winding down, this is a great moment to take a collective breath and survey the squad. I especially recommend this for newer guilds who were recently established in Dragonflight and only began raiding from Vault or Aberrus onwards. It’s a time to reflect on the team’s accomplishments, understand players’ experiences, and plan for the future. One of the most effective ways to gather this information is through an exit survey. I used to do this in past guilds, and it’s something that we do in Death Jesters. Exit surveys provide insights that can help improve raid leadership, team dynamics, and just overall satisfaction.

Was there something the player enjoyed?

Did something happen that soured a raid night but they didn’t want to bring it up?

Is someone on the fence about moving on?

Crafting Your Exit Survey

When putting together your exit survey, make sure to ask the right questions. Here are a few I’ve used before and why they are important:

Do you have plans to play a new character and class, or remain on your current one?

This is an important one. Since we have new Hero Talents and a few reworks coming up (like them Shaman), a few players might want to opt and try something new. In our case, we have 4 healing priests, and a few of us were debating whether to make the switch to something else to diversify our healing roster. Any players switching to a new class might mean you have to plug missing class gaps by resorting to free agency and recruiting a class that can cover missing raid buffs.

Do you intend to stay and commit to raiding for the new, upcoming expansion?

Similar to the above, this is all about assessing players’ ability to raid. Everyone is now two years older from when they started Dragonflight, and life circumstances will change. Some players might be off to attend college, or others might be expecting a newborn, which could impact their schedule. Maybe someone on the team needs to miss out on the first tier of the expansion but will be ready to return on the next one.

Were you satisfied with the overall pacing of the tiers in terms of the team’s progression?

Feedback on the pacing of raid progression can help your leaders evaluate whether your progression schedule was too fast, too slow, or just right. This information will help plan future raid schedules and ensure that the pacing keeps players engaged without burning them out. We will discuss this further in the future when putting together a raid progression road map.

How would you rate the overall teamwork and collaboration within the raid team?

Was there anyone that was particularly difficult to work with? Did you find it okay to provide feedback to leaders or to other players on the team? As leaders, you’re hoping for more collaboration (but with a small dose of competition). If there’s a negative reaction here, it could be symptoms of a toxic conflict situation that you’re not aware of.

Were there any specific bosses that you found enjoyable or frustrating?

It doesn’t really mean much at first glance, but players often have their favourite encounters over the course of a raid tier. If there’s frustrating ones, it’s helpful to volunteer why but it could also reflect other lingering issues. I did not enjoy the Echo of Neltharion encounter even though I wasn’t in during any of the progression. Rasz wasn’t particularly fun for me either. I hated all the Weak Aura configurations required for Echo and how to interpret everything. Rasz just felt too long as a whole. I greatly enjoyed Rashok and Nymue because I felt it really pushed me as a healer.

Do you have any feedback on the raid addons or tools used during the expansion?

We started with Liquid’s Weakaura pack in season 1 before switching to Northern Sky in seasons 2 and 3. This question opens up feedback on potential suggestions for other tools that might be overlooked. We extensively relied on Northern Sky, MRT, and Viserio’s spreadsheets to coordinate the majority of our raid progression.

Do you have any suggestions for the leadership group or anything you’d like to see more of?

Encouraging players to share their potential improvements can lead to ideas to streamline or improve the raid. It also shows that leadership values their input, which can strengthen the team’s sense of community and collaborative efforts. Personally, I’ve been trying to tell my raid to give feedback that I am a terrible officer and derelict of my duties and that I should be fired from leadership. It’s not working though.

Would you recommend our raid team to friends interested in mythic CE raiding?

This question measures satisfaction and identifies how your raid group is perceived by everyone on the team. Plus, maybe they know a cool panda that can join and contribute!

Any other comments or feedback about the environment and atmosphere?

Open-ended feedback is where you’ll find the most honest insight. This allows players to express their thoughts on the raid environment, team dynamics, and overall experience. Basically a form where they can chime in and submit something that might not have been asked or addressed earlier.

Who is your favourite Panda?

And why is it Matticus?

Implementing the Survey

Make sure you consider the following:

  • Anonymity: Being anonymous encourages honesty. Players are more likely to share their true feelings if they don’t fear repercussions.
  • Accessibility: Use a simple and accessible platform, like Google Forms and Survey Monkey, to distribute your survey. Ensure it’s easy to complete on various devices.
  • Set a Deadline: Give a reasonable deadline for survey completion to ensure timely feedback while memories are fresh.
  • Communicate the Purpose: Explain the purpose of the survey and how the feedback will be used. This transparency can increase participation and the quality of responses.

Analyzing the Results

Once the surveys are collected, it’s time to analyze the data. Look for common themes and recurring feedback points. Look closely at any quantitative data (like satisfaction ratings) and qualitative data (such as open-ended comments). I had to pick this up fast in my previous jobs, but here’s a simple process to follow:

  1. Categorize: Group similar responses together to identify trends.
  2. Prioritize: Figure out which issues are most critical and require immediate attention (or correction).
  3. Create an Action Plan: Develop a plan to address the feedback. This might include changes to the raid schedule, recruitment needs, or leadership practices.
  4. Communicate Findings: Share the key findings with your raid team. Highlight the positive feedback and outline the steps being taken to address any concerns that were brought up.

Exit surveys are a great tool for raid leaders. This is valuable information that can help improve raid performance, team satisfaction, and everyone’s overall experience. It’s hard to forget that we spend hours of our weeks with the same people on a regular, weekly basis on the same nights and we don’t want to be sick of each other all the time. But by assembling your survey and analyzing the results, you can ensure that your team is ready to tackle the challenges of The War Within with renewed energy. It’s not always about killing bosses, it’s also about not hating yourself (or your team) in pursuit of that.

Should I Trial Now During Awakened or Wait for Season 1?

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I’ve seen this question pop up a few times both on the player side and on the guild side.

Is it worth even trying out for new teams now that we also have a confirmed expansion date (August 26th)? Is it better to wait closer to the expansion or even when after the game drops?

I would say yes, it is absolutely worth applying now and securing a team to join.

High Turnover

Guilds often see a lot of turnover during new expansions and seasons. Players move around chasing new rankings, taking breaks, or sometimes just not coming back. This creates openings for new members. By trialing now, you can grab a spot before the new expansion rush and settle into the guild. This was especially true following the end of Season 2 for us when we practically had to reboot the entire roster.

Roster Needs

Guilds want a full team ready to go when new content drops. If a guild isn’t fully staffed at the start of a new Mythic raid, they’re already behind. By joining now, you can help them be prepared and improve your chances of being part of a successful team from the get-go. At DJ’s, we’ve been through many opening raid weeks and there’s always a fall off of players for various reasons. It’ll also affect class composition because maybe there might be a busted (or underpowered) class out there. We’re aiming for a number between 27 to 30 players.

It’s More Than Just Performance

When you trial for a guild, it’s not just about your performance in raids. Guilds, especially those aiming for top achievements, look at how well you fit into the team. We already have access to your logs and can see how you play. What’s more important is whether you cause any drama or tension. Anyone who’s performed at the Mythic and CE level usually maintains that consistency from a skill standpoint. What we’re looking for now is social fit. Do they new trial players get along with our team? Are they willing to put in the effort to improve their character? Can they contribute to the raid discussion when diagnosing pulls (even if it’s farm stuff)?

I know of some teams that have had to kick out trial members who, despite being good players, caused problems over loot distribution. These issues are easier to spot now rather than after the expansion. This saves everyone time and helps them get that stuff out of the way now. The new players can learn more about the raid environment they’re in, and the guild can get a better idea of their character.

Avoid the Post-Launch Rush

When any new expansion launches, there’s always a surge of players returning or joining for the first time. This can make it harder to secure a spot in a guild as competition increases. By joining now, you avoid this rush and secure your place early. Plus, you won’t have to compete with a larger pool of players looking to apply.

By integrating yourself into a guild now, you’ll be ready for a smooth transition into the new expansion and set yourself up for success. So, if you’re on the fence about trialing now or waiting, go ahead and start trialing now. It’s a proactive move that will help you tackle new challenges and enhance your gaming experience.

One Last Story

We had a player a few weeks ago who tried out for us but couldn’t handle the intensity of what we were looking for. His perspective was that it was season 4, and it was a good time to go into raids relaxed while he was still trying to gear up his character as it was significantly behind the rest of the team (think in the 480 range). After two weeks, his gear hadn’t made much progression and he wasn’t willing to put in the work to run keys and continue upgrading his gear. We took him into some of the farm stuff, but he’d have to sit on the harder late raid bosses. Ultimately, it wasn’t a good fit because there was such a philosophical difference between what he wanted out of this season and what our expectations were of trials coming in. Knowing that now, I would’ve recommended that he come in as a social and join the community first instead of committing to the raid team since we were still going to be operating.

Weekend Recap: Pandaria Edition

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What a productive raid week from last weekend.

After stepping into Amirdrassil for a quick Fyrakk mount sale, we switched over and completely wiped out Vault of the Incarnates (Heroic) just to finish out any last minute rings and Whispering Incarnate Icons for anyone who still needed them. This would be our second crack at Mythic Vault just after the first week of the season. Last time we were here, I think we only had time to clear Terros. Maybe we got Sennarth? I can’t remember. After some significant upgrades, we cleared just about every boss up to Raszageth.

  • Dathea was still a pain in the butt as always, but our DPS still allowed for only one platform to be cleared. It was definitely a messy kill with maybe 40% of the raid or something alive towards the end.
  • Terros was great, except I played Shadow on this one and ended up dying early forcing a grieftorch reset.
  • Kurog muscle memory still coming in strong with the fire phase moves, and the lightning elemental positionings, and everything else that came with it. Probably one of my favourite Mythic encounters of the tier.
  • Broodkeeper fell over in two pulls. I’m surprised I still remember the movement and the different intensive healing parts of the encounter. I healed the add group as we traversed around the room. Our tank died once (whoops) but we were able to recover and get him back on his feet . I completely mistimed a Mass Dispel though (or just misplaced it). Whoops. It’s not an easy one to reprog even though we defeated Diurna quickly.
  • Raszageth took all of day 2. We spent the first few minutes undergoing video review because only 12 players currently on the team had killed it on Mythic. It isn’t as challenging as the original variation (with the reduced wind speeds), and we’re still able to phase through comfortably. The team had to get reacclimated to doing interrupts, and the raid leader continued to stress positioning throughout the whole set of pulls. Inversion is another mechanic that we had to relearn and get used to. I suspect our guild is growing tired of hearing him talk about the importance of positioning even though it’s critical. What if he used other words like placement or location? We didn’t get Rasz down until the last pull of the night.

Anyway, solid week! On the recruiting side, we picked up a new Balance Druid and hopefully they’ll be able to start with us in the next week or two, and our latest Hunter has survived about 3 weeks of trialing so far (poor guy needs to work on just living in raids though). Our latest set of trials haven’t worked out well for us over the past month which has been a little discouraging. I’ve been trying to restock the cupboard for Season 4 and get a foundation for War Within (especially with summer coming up fast). Our goals will be to continue raiding in Season 4 and hitting up all raids on Awakened in Mythic. We may not clear every instance, but we’ll tackle most of the skips. The biggest needs continue to be a DPS Warrior, a Rogue, and a DPS Evoker. We could also add another caster ranged class.

Let’s talk about the Panda in the room, shall we?

That’s right, I’m referring to Mists of Pandaria Remix. Off to a somewhat sputtering start with some controversy on scaling and currency gains. I’ve been having some fun with it and took a bit of time away from retail. They have made a few buffs and changes to it recently, but the conversation continues to revolve around the Bronze gain.

Should it be used for transmogs or upgrades? Because I can see how it can suck to have only one currency gain and only use it for item buffs or stuff that you want. I don’t have any real advice or guidance here. I’m in the camp of upgrading items to make your next raid runs that much easier. I’ve been alternating between spending bronze on mounts and upgrading my gear anyway. I’m averaging around 360 ilvl right now on… a Warlock. My suggestion is that they just increase Bronze gain across the board. I’m a little sad that alts don’t have an amazingly overpowered cloak to start with. Even then, it’s still fairly quick to level the second time around since you already have that experience gain to start. It’s possible to hit 70 within a day or two. I get that it may or may not be as efficient as leveling a character in retail, but this is an alternative way to make another character. I imagine most of us are sick of leveling through the initial BfA (or Chromie time) zones anyway.

Yes, I chose to make a Warlock alt. After twenty years of playing this game, this is the first time I have selected a Warlock. I feel like I need a shower every time I log off that character. It’s been a blast replaying some of the older raids and watching people die to snails in Throne of Thunder again though!

In the meantime, we continue to recruit for the rest of Season 4. Current needs are:

  • DPS Warrior
  • Rogue
  • Mistweaver Monk
  • Dev and Aug Evoker