Matticus

Wow. Just wow.

In case you have no idea what I’m referring to:

I don’t know that I would say we want tanking niches. I ultimately am agreeing with what you’re saying, but once we say "tanking niches" players have visions of the DK who parks outside of Icecrown until boss 4, 17 and _31_ (yes, IC is that big).

– Ghostcrawler

So any ideas on the types of bosses we’re going to see in there? Speculation is always fun. Makes me wonder if we’re going to see faction specific bosses. Maybe 6 Horde and 6 Alliance depending on which faction you’re on.

All I an think is that those raid lock out extensions are going to come in real handy.

Say it with me.

Thirty one.

You never, ever, ever second guess yourself when you’re the boss. You can’t afford to. Otherwise you’ll start growing a collection of white hairs at the ripe old age of 21 (like yours truly).

That’s a direct response to the Fel Firey one.

It’s not very often I craft responses directly to other blog posts. I felt compelled to make an exception because the problems she outlines are similar issues that I’ve experienced. I wanted to share my solution and outlook to everyone as well.

Question 1: Play the veteran no show or the steady underachiever?

All too common question for those in charge of determining raid composition, right?

Do I go with the skilled player who’s attendance has gradually decreased over the past few months and has gotten bored with the game or do I reward the near-flawless attendance player who’s not as skilled and has the gear to compete but cannot match the performance?

In order to answer this, you need to ask yourself what type of organization you’re building. Do you believe in success at all costs or a steadier but more consistent and rewarding pace?

I lean towards the former. I play this game to raid and to kill bosses. I will almost always lean towards picking the team that will grant me the highest chance of a progression kill. It’s a constant reminder to everyone. The onus is on the raiders. They’re not playing to earn a raid spot. They’re playing to keep one. Like it or not, that means the Rogue that did 7000 DPS who just happened to renew his interest in the game is more than likely to get the nod over the 5500 DPS Rogue wearing the same stuff.

Yeah, that’s a pretty big exaggeration but you know what I mean. If the alignment of the guild is in fairness and the like, then you’re going to favor the little guy. The problem is that it might take your guild two weeks or longer to get through an encounter or something. But if the guild doesn’t care about rankings and competing with other guilds, then you’re in the clear anyway.

It’s summer. I’ve seen guilds ahead of us explode and die off that would shoot us from a top 20 placing to a top 5 placing. It’s a fight right now for a lot of leaders just to maintain full strength.

Question 2: How do I cover my ass against players upset at being sat?

Ah the fine print. If there’s anything EULA’s and TOS’s and all those fancy contracts have taught me, it’s that you can get away with almost anything with fine print. If a player gets upset that they’ve been sat or are not being invited, point them to the fine print.

“But you specifically agreed that you were okay with being sat out when you applied to the guild. Isn’t that your signature, retinal scan, thumbprint, and DNA pattern on that form?”

It’s common for guilds to do some line juggling particularly on progression raids. Maybe you have an extra tank. Perhaps you have too much melee DPS. Or you’re lacking healers. Assuming your forces don’t have dual specs of the right sort (or of high enough quality gear), then you have to do an outright character for character swap to maintain the raid.

Look at it this way.

One of the best ways to truly take stock of a person’s character is to ask them to sit out and see how they react. What they say on their application is one thing. How they handle it is another matter entirely. If they handle it extremely poorly, then they’re not a player you want in your organization anyway allowing you to go headhunting again.

Question 3: How can I handle loot discrepancies?

Include the human element. Having a clause that allows a group of players to override something will help with progression. If the guild is more based towards fairness and equality, then don’t bother. I’ve written about loot posts in the past. I firmly favor looting gear to the people who will get the most use out of it instead of passing it to another player where it’s only going to collect dust because they never use that spec. Why did they get it? Because a chart or a list of numbers demanded that it be so. We can’t control item drops. We can only control who it goes to.

It’s about trust. If you don’t trust the guys making the loot decisions, you shouldn’t be in that guild anyway. They’re going to make mistakes. As long as their mistakes don’t exceed the number of right calls, then it should be all good.

Yes human discretion can be bad. I’ve heard the arguments before. But it can also be used for good.

It sucks being in charge. The reason why there’s so few GMs compared to players is because no one wants the job.

Okay, that last bit might not be entirely true. Have a good weekend! (By the way, if you intend to check out GI Joe, leave something in the comments about it when you do. Undecided between theatre or just waiting.)