Matticus

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

20 Characteristics of a Mature Guild Member

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Our beloved WoW is full of many different types of players. The people behind them are people of all ages and all maturity levels. I’ve met my share of intelligent 16 year olds who have shown signs of wisdom and humility. I’ve also met 23 year olds who wonder why they’re shunned by other players. In my past guild, we would always debate amongst the officers if we should impose age restrictions. Eventually we did but it was solely because of the content and nature of our guild discussions at times and not because of maturity levels.

What exactly is a mature guildmate then? There are 20 characteristics that I can think of:

  1. Exhibiting patience and calm after wipes.
  2. Knowing that bosses do not go down right away after 1 attempt.
  3. Looks at the bright side of a wipe and learning from the mistakes that were made instead of trying to assign blame.
  4. Able to control their own temper.
  5. Is empathetic and is able to keep the feelings of other players under consideration before taking any actions.
  6. Is aware that being prepared for raids on time and always showing up is better then being skilled and talented.
  7. Willing to listen to negative feedback in order to become a better player.
  8. Has a high sense of self esteem and confidence.
  9. Knows that WoW can be a communication barrier as in game text does not fully communicate the emotion or feelings of the other person and does not hesitate to ask for clarification.
  10. Willing to ask questions until understanding is achieved.
  11. Willing to answer questions until understanding is achieved.
  12. Knows the difference between needing an epic and wanting an epic.
  13. Aware that World of Warcraft is like computer technology and that whatever you have now will be outdated later.
  14. Accepts responsibility for their own actions and mistakes.
  15. Knows the difference between confidence and arrogance.
  16. Realizes that there are real people behind the characters and treats them as such.
  17. Understands that gear is earned and not freely given.
  18. Behaves gracefully under pressure.
  19. Gives 110% effort in everything they do.
  20. Has an open mind and is willing to try anything.

Most importantly, mature guildmates will not object when they are asked to do something. They are aware of their own capabilities and limitations and they are downright dependable.

Raiding is Hardly Hardcore

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I want to direct your attention to a post made by Galo, at Ardent Defender. The post is an example of the casual guild experience when they raid. In the last paragraph, he poses a question:

Am I hardcore?

It all depends on the measuring stick that is being used. But in this case, Galo, no you’re not. Here’s a pattern that I’ve discovered when I’ve raided with "casual players".

  • Ten minutes to buff
  • Not listening or following instructions in raids
  • Frequent AFK breaks
  • Ridiculously late start times (an hour after a scheduled raid begins?)

Behavior like that is just unacceptable to me. It proves to me that a player is lazy and unmotivated. No real raider wants to raid with players like that. They give "casual" gamers a bad name since that’s what they’re frequently classified under.

Here is my other question. Why are players who do the exact opposite of what I’ve listed above considered hardcore?

Namely things like:

  • A quick 30 minute buff after a player dies
  • Staying quiet and doing as the raid leader says
  • AFKing only when necessary and only on trash
  • Showing up on time

That’s not hardcore. That’s showing that you’re willing to work for your gear. Galo has no problem getting gear since he does heroics regularly with relative ease.

My advice

Join that Guild, Galo. They sound like the kind of players you will get along with and progress with. Sure you might not be able to make all their times, but the runs you can get in on them with deliver a huge thrill for you. It sounds like you actually want to go somewhere. I’ve had to make the tough choice of parting ways with some friends a long time ago to play in my guild now. But we’re on the same server and we still chat and I still play with them every now and again. Just because you change guilds doesn’t mean you change friends.

I guess one would say I’m a zentastic player.

But throw away those old stereotypes of raiding. Don’t be a casual raider. Don’t be a hardcore raider. Just be a raider.

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At Least it was a Win

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I’m on my retribution paladin and I’m doing 3v3’s with a few friends. My team is 1300 rated. We just finished this EPIC battle against 2 rogues and a warrior. We were a Ret Paladin, Prot Paladin, and a Resto Druid. We beat the crap out of that team. Maces were flying, seals were being cast, bops were all over the place.

And all we got? 6 rating.

Liveblogging the Raid

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I wanted to try something new today. It’s going to be a fairly eventful 5.5 hours tonight. It occurred to me that anyone who has never raided in 25 mans might not know what it’s like. The atmosphere, the players, the fun, it’s different then normal WoW playing.

15:55 – All the players are holding position outside the instance summoning stone. The plan tonight is to hit up SSC, TK, and Azgalor with whatever time we have remaining. This is going to be an interesting night since we’re trying out this Resto Druid and Resto Shaman. The mood sounds good. Everyone’s cheery and upbeat. Even though we’re tired of SSC and TK, we still have to do it for attunements and trials of these new players.

16:01 – We’re all in. Resuming where we left off at Leo.

16:04 – WIPE: The trash pack right before Leo? We killed off two of the mobs and one of our warriors blew a fear. It’s right next to his last stand. I’m guessing he panicked. One of the mobs feared directly into Leo’s goons. Cue Benny Hill.

16:15 – Leo engaged. We’re trying something new and using a Paladin tank instead of a Druid tank. The general thought here is that the Avenger’s Shield toss will help center Leo better.

16:22 – Leo down. Yup, worked like a charm.

Tsunami Talisman
Champion and Defender glove tokens

16:30 – Let the long Vashj explanation begin. Benching the Prot Pally and bringing in another Holy Priest. 3 new healers. This will be rough.

16:45 – Still explaining Vashj. We’re packing 8 healers today instead of 7. Might be a little longer then usual. At least these new guys are double checking. A couple of them have never done it but they know the theory. I’m going to say we do two wipes before we move on.

16:50 – Vashj engaged. It’s about time.

16:57 – WIPE: Some confusion on where some of the new DPS stands as well as positioning. We’ve had a player die in phase 1. Absolutely unacceptable with 8 healers. No one should be dying that early. Rebuffing and stuff now.

17:24 – WIPE: Badly timed net in the middle. Getting overwhelmed. I’m going to start up my fraps.

17:45 – Vashj down.

Krakken-Heart Breastplate
Lightfathom Scepter – Guild first. Went to our Resto Shaman
Defender and Hero token

17:50 – Forming up outside of Tempest Keep.

18:00 – Inside TK now clearing to Al’ar.

18:16 – Glancing at recount, our top 3 healers are within 0.4% of each other. They’re our resto druids and shamans in particular.

18:32 – Al’ar engaged.

18:41 – WIPE: Some idiot blew up the phoenixes during phase 1. Good game.

19:00 – Pseudo Wipe: Al’ar despawned. That’s the first time it’s ever happened.

19:17 – Al’ar down.

Fire Crest Breastplate
Talon of the Phoenix
Phoenix-Wing Cloak

19:48 – Trash to Al’ar cleared. Boy do I feel uneasy about this. New healers. Not only that, they’re new to the encounter. No amount of homework will ever prepare anyone for a boss fight. There’s about an hour and 10 minutes left in the raid.

20:14 – I got benched. We have one too many healers and we need to get these guys keyed. I spent the past 20 minutes explaining to each individual healer what to do, who they’re healing, and etc. I don’t normally handle assignments but the main guy’s sick so I opted to help him. What’s even stranger is that I’m doing this remotely. When’s the last time you heard of a healer assigning heals when he’s not in the raid?

20:21 – WIPE: Amazed they lasted this long. 35 minutes. Hmm…

20:44 – They’re on phase 5. Everyone’s still alive. I think they almost got it.

20:49 – Kael down. Wow, I can breathe again. Our MT died at 1% but there was enough alive to finish him off.

Royal Cloak of the Sunstriders
Twinblade of the Phoenix
Champion and Hero token

20:54 – We took down Vashj and Kael down in one day with 5 new players who have never done those fights before. That’s absolutely amazing. As a result, now we’ll hopefully never have to back and kill Vashj and Kael ever again. We’ve also signed a new resto shaman, resto druid and a mage to an entry level raiding contract. Score! Thanks for reading! (All 3 of you guys!)

5 Barriers of a Raid Healer – Part 1: Indecision

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Photo courtesy of dnabil

Each Saturday for the next five weeks, I will be writing about one barrier of the raid healer. Healers are often overshadowed and looked over since we are expected to simply know what to do. With luck, this five part series will help you to become a better raid healer whether you are a varsity or a freshman.

Barrier 1: No definable targets

I want to share with you a real life example. The connection will become apparent soon enough. Whenever I go out to the mall with my friends, we would idly go through every single clothing store in every part of the mall (especially true when travelling with companions of the female persuasion)

The guys would mill about at the front of a store like American Eagle and the girls would actually go into the store to do their shopping (and gossiping). Us men would talk business such as the latest sports news (“did you see that last fight at the game?”), discuss recent stuff in tech (“do you think that video card makes my PC look fat?”) or chat about gaming (“she thinks I pay more attention to that level 70 warrior from Tichon then I do to her!”).

And then 12 PM would strike.

Someone (usually me) would clasp their hands together and say it’s time for lunch! This is inevitable followed by a chorus of “where to’s?”. All that walking around (and shopping bag holding by the guys) does work up a healthy appetite. And no one would have any idea where to go for lunch.

Lack of targets

Everyone had all sorts of ideas. Here’s a typical example:

“Let’s go for dim sum!”
“Fast food sounds good!”
“Food court will be packed. How about the pub?”
“I’m okay with anything. You guys pick!”
“Sushi!”
“I don’t care as long as I eat something in the next 15 minutes!”

(For bonus points, can you guess which one was my catch phrase?)

Does this sound similar to your healing channel? I often find myself unsure of who to heal when I’m the odd Dwarf out in another Guild’s raid. There are no assignments being issued. It’s quite apparent that there seems to be a lack of an infrastructure. No one was taking charge. No one knows who to heal. All the healers are free healing which leads to an occasional tank death or 2.

During the 40 man raid chaos era, I found out quickly that it was impossible to do it all. I restricted myself to a set number of targets. Learn which players are most likely to take damage and stay on target. Don’t wander around with your mouse. Every spell, every action, every movement should be done with a purpose. Heal with a player and a purpose in mind.

This does not mean that it’s against the rules to heal outside your targets. If I notice another player in the raid who isn’t a part of my assignments take a big hit, I will switch to that player to shield and PoM them. That’s generally enough time to absorb another hit and it keeps that person alive long enough for someone else to pick them back up again.

Playing the transition game from 5 to 25 players is a big leap. It can be very difficult to adjust to. The problem isn’t your healing. It’s who you’re healing. And until you get those targets straightened out with your colleagues, you’re going to continue to suck without the proper direction.

Signs of an indecisive healer:

  • You constantly switch back and forth among players which results in raid deaths because you don’t actually heal them.
  • You have a full mana bar almost all the time because of inaction.
  • You feel helpless, dazed, and confused.
  • Your healing is fair, but the difference between you and other healers on meters is a pretty significant difference.

If you begin displaying any of these symptoms, take a step back and analyze your technique. Ask for help. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. There are times I’ve wanted to scream at players in my own raid because we wiped when they didn’t know what to do and they never spoke up about it. So the next time you’re in a raid and no one appears to be taking charge, announce your intentions about who your healing target is. It’s one step in the right direction.