Matticus

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

Book Review: The Guild Leader’s Companion

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(Lost my initial post to a crash. Ctrl + S all the things Disappointed smile)

In ten words or less: Solid pickup for new players wanting to start a guild

I’d definitely recommend this for players looking to start their own guilds. Not only does it have an excellent set of instructions, it also gets you to really think about what you want to do and how to do it. The book covers all of the main aspects when it comes to a guild startup: Selecting your officers, recruiting members and outlining policies. Guild policies are often one of the hardest and slowest things to get down largely because it can be a huge pain in the but to write down the different rules and guidelines. Adam does a great job walking you through the process. To top it off, you can find some example charters and other rules at the end of the book to help with your guild’s principles. If you’ve been in a guild before, I’d wager that you would take for granted the day-to-day management activities and the other things that go on behind the scenes. The Companion helps you navigate through them.

Now if you’re a veteran guild leader, you’ll want to know if it’s still a worthwhile pickup.

I’d say yes.

You can pass over the section on loot management and recruiting. If your guild’s been around already, then chances are you’re comfortable with it. Recruiting might be a worthwhile chapter to read through again as it covers other techniques and tips, but if you’re already established with a good stock of players then it might not be necessary. I paid close attention to the section on Public Relations. I’d bet PR is easily one of the weakest skillsets a guild leader can have. Solid tips though on how one should conduct themselves online and how to react to trolls that are trying to bait reactions. Not many people are able to suppress themselves and maintain a level of professionalism against attackers. The section on burnout offered a variety of tips on how to combat both member fatigue and (more importantly) your fatigue. It also offers some information on the differences between raiding and competitive raiding.

I wouldn’t recommend competitive raiding for everyone. Being roused awake at 3 AM to take down a recently spawned Ysondre or one of those other green dragons does take it’s toll. Server firsts ain’t got nothing on world bosses.

Anyway, if you’re looking to start a guild or have started a guild and are looking to polish up your skills, you can pick up The Guild Leader’s Companion on Amazon (Alternatively, Kindle edition).

Oh and check out Adam’s blog: Epic Slant!

I’ll be posting an email interview I did with Adam tomorrow.

Nifty Topics to Increase Forum Use

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Don’t tell anyone this, but I’m actually in multiple guilds. I’m not cheating on my guild per se. But these guilds are involved with different games that aren’t a main focus.

Unsurprisingly, can you guess the most popular page of a guild’s website?

It would be the forums! Home and news pages don’t even come close. I suppose people just head straight to the forums with a direct link and bypassing the front pages entirely.

If your guild is young and you’re looking for ways to help ignite a little bit of life into them, I’ve seen these threads made which help draw people out of the woods.

  • Picture thread: Can never go wrong with the guild picture thread. People are naturally curious about what the real person behind the character is like. There’s always that one person who elicits the “There is no way that person sounds like that”.
  • Music thread: This is a great way to share and introduce your fellow guildies to what you like to jam to during game play. Oddly enough, the thread in my guild seems to just die whenever I mention Lady Gaga or Beyonce.
  • Movies thread: People love discussing their favourite movies along with upcoming flicks that they want to see. Movie trailers are usually posted to offer an idea of what can be expected.
  • UI thread: My personal favourite. This type of thread has the added bonus of discovering new addons or layout styles that you might never have thought of. I’ve even helped players in the past boost their abilities quicker by suggesting small changes to their interface.
  • Quotes thread: Someone say something stupidly quotable? My guild has had their own share of soundbyte moments. No doubt yours will have some. Keep a running thread going whenever someone says something exceptionally hilarious to help relive those memories.

A word to the wise. I’d strongly recommend staying away from political or religious topics. Those can be powder kegs.

Two Different Experiences, One Guild

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Today I’m going to paint for you two pictures of different individuals.

Both of them are in the same guild.

Both are on the same raid team and are of the same member rank. Their raiding performances are comparable to one another.

Player A: Soshal Crither

Shows up a few minutes early before the raid. Sticks around after the raid discussing the evening. Posts interesting and relevant discussion/material on the forums. Players other games with guild members in addition to WoW forging stronger social ties. Has a strong presence.

Player B: Hermy

Stays quiet and doesn’t actively engage with many players in the guild. Promptly logs out right after raids and barely squeaks in before raid start for an invite. Rarely posts on the forums and only chimes in when they’re absent. Not a big fan of hanging out on Mumble during non raid nights.

The point I want to make here is that while being a by-the-book player who does only what’s needed down to the letter can be acceptable, it doesn’t hurt to socialize every so often.

I maintain a memorable impression of players who aren’t afraid of frequenting Mumble and touching base outside of raids. Can’t lay out a theory as to why, but I reckon it’s due to repeated exposure to their presence. Sharing additional interests with other players (in addition to WoW) can create a much better guild experience then simply playing the 9 to 5 career raider.

Do you play other games with your guildies?

Envisioning Your Guild House

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Let’s assume for a moment Blizzard reversed their policy on guild housing.

Guilds would have a place of their own to call home.

Could be anywhere in Kalimdor or Eastern Kingdoms only.

It could be in any zone you want, and the design is entirely up to you. The contents, the trophies and amenities are at your discretion.

  • Where would your guild’s base of operations be?
  • What type of structure would your guild own? A castle? A bat cave?
  • What kind of cool stuff would a guest find if they entered your guild’s place?

For me, I’d deck out an underground bunker just north of Booty Bay. Always preferred the tropical environments. The mountains of Dun Morogh would be a distant second. Wouldn’t be a guild house without a pool table and a minibar set up. Naturally, there’d be an armory inside with different weapons from all the bosses we’ve killed throughout the years. You can see Deconstructor’s heart in a glass case in the lobby. Dragon skulls would be hanging on the wall looking down on visitors as they walked through. Of course, there’d be an aviary for all the gryphons and other flying mounts.

Anyway, it isn’t likely we’ll hear anything about guild housing anytime soon (if at all). But one can dream!

Transitioning to 25 Man: Your Tips?

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Nikalia on Plus Heal posted a question:

Do any of you have any tips/hints/tricks/advice on some things one might expect when transitioning into 25 man hard mode healing after being used to 10 man for so long?

As I’ve primarily been a 25 man healer for the longest time, it’s difficult for me to do a compare/contrast between 10 man hard mode healing and 25 man hard mode healing.

Healing Assignments

One of the replies made to the thread by Oleander is the importance of healing assignments. Vik and I (both priests) will usually tag a pair or groups in 25 man. For example, on Ultraxion, I’ll tell him I’ll target groups 4 and 5 and he generally takes 1 – 3. That doesn’t mean I won’t heal the other groups if needed, but even though I’m casting Holy Word: Sanctuary on the ground, I’ll be dropping Prayer of Healing bombs on the 4th and 5th groups meaning he can effectively “blank out” players in those groups from his target selection.

Egos

I don’t know how often one would encounter this in 10s, but there is a high chance that you may be working with player egos in 25.

Be prepared for it.

Don’t let other players get under your skin and don’t take it personally when you have the occasional bad day. Some players like to playfully use meters as a way to proclaim their own sense of superiority (namely Druids, because I find that they’re compensating for something ^^). That being said, feel free to go along with the banter a bit. But when push comes to shove, make sure you shove that ego aside and troubleshoot any healing problems you come across collectively.

Damage

The sheer amount of incoming damage can be staggering. Instead of 10 players, you’re responsible for 25. Know which players to prioritize (As in, oh that guy’s a Mage, he can Cauterize himself and is going to die in 8 seconds but that guy’s a Rogue, he’s probably going to die in 2 seconds so I better heal him). Your decision making needs to both get better and faster. But the bright side is more players means more cooldowns you can use to for raid saving purposes.

What other piece of advice would you offer a player making that change from 10 to 25 man?