Matticus

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

The Worst Thing a Guild Leader can do to a Player

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GM-sup

I think I’ve found my guild prank for April Fools!

I know of other guild leaders who joke about doing it (and some who actually have done it because they couldn’t do it anymore). So to all the guild leaders out there, I salute you. Doesn’t matter if the game is Rift, Guild Wars, SWTOR, WoW or what have you. It’s often a thankless job and you’re the butt of every joke but without you, your guild would be non-existent.

Although, I learned last night from Lodur that changing guild leaders can result in a bugged guild bank.

It’s okay, Logan. Your job is still safe. No plans for retirement yet. Sometimes I’ve always wondered about holding mock guild elections and what platforms people would run on. Fiscal guild responsibility?

P.S. I just noticed this. Which one of you clowns set my guild note?

Actual Cross Realm Raiding Soon? Nice!

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Picked this up on the news wire this morning before I went to bed (late nights and early mornings a plenty).

We previously introduced the ability to form cross-realm parties with Real ID friends, and now with Patch 4.3.2, we’re adding the ability for players to use that same functionality to form raids to run older normal or heroic raids, or participate in Battlegrounds!
This will allow you to join up with your Real ID friends from other realms and:

  • Form a cross-realm raid and use Raid Finder
  • Jump in to any classic dungeon or raid and be automatically placed in the same instance
  • Join forces and dominate the Battlegrounds

Please note, you will not yet be able to run normal or Heroic Dragon Soul with cross-realm Real ID raids.
As we look forward to the BattleTag system, it’s a very exciting time for World of Warcraft. No matter what realm you and your friends are on you’ll be able to team up and take on group content throughout the game.

I’ll bet you my Benediction that everyone is thinking this question right now. “When will we able to run normal mode or hard mode instances over cross-realm Real ID raids?”

I doubt it’ll be anytime soon. If anything, not until way later when the launch of Mists of Pandaria becomes imminent. I suspect players who are looking to join guilds for progression content will still be asked to play the requisite transfer and faction fees.

And no, I don’t think this feature is going to kill guilds anytime soon. I think we’ll eventually get to a point where raid globalization becomes a possibility for progression. Guild levels are tracked on a server by server basis. Conquest on Ner’zhul would be different then Conquest on another server. There might even come a day where I can ginvite a player from Proudmoore into my guild on Ner’zhul. They can see Gchat from across servers, participate in raids, and kill Horde players in battlegrounds. But they’d have access to a different economy and wouldn’t be able to help us kill Hogger.

Overall, I’m a fan of this feature. It’s hard to find people who want to do old world raids sometimes on the same server. At least with the benefit of cross realm raid groups, we can set up some transmog runs on a Friday night. Completing Legendary staves would be easier because you can draw on the pool of expertise from players outside your realm.

Here are some other questions for you.

“What’s the point of having separate realms then?”

That’s an easy question to answer. They need multiple servers to help with population distribution. Can you imagine what a globally centralized auction house would look like? Good luck trying to load into any major city. Or navigate through thousands pages and pages of Embersilk Cloth single listings?

“What is the point of server transferring to join a guild?”

For now, so that any activities can be conducted on the same realm. You can level up and quest together on alts for example. If you’re being attacked out in the world on a PvP server, you can breathe easier knowing that reinforcements are minutes away from exacting revenge.

Anyway, who is up for some cross realm 25 man Sinestra?

Has this Happened to You?

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hit-cap

It’s a great feeling isn’t it? As a healer, I never really understood it. As a DPS, I have a better idea now. All I know I’m thankful I don’t have to worry about stuff like that as on my healing priest (I’ve got other things to be concerned about like healing). This would not have been possible without an awesome 96 roll in Baradin Hold securing me the tier 12 gloves for my Elemental Shaman.

Sometimes it’s the little things in WoW that make you sink back in your chair in relief.

Alas, since then, the gear on this alt has changed and I am no longer at that sweet spot.

Is it the Tank’s Responsibility to Lead Groups?

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As Javier said in a previous comment:

Please answer me a question that I have been wondering forever. […] Why is it the sole responsibility of the tank to know and lead the group in to every instances?

During my adventures through the dungeon finder, I’ve been remarkably fortunate.

Little to no wipes.

Timely CC’s.

Sustained DPS.

I don’t always run with my guild on my priest. I prefer to give opportunities to other healers in the guild who still need the gear or the reputation. If I need a refresher course in healing, there’s no test greater than braving LFD.

But I digress.

Tank ‘em!

Traditionally speaking, tanks have been the players that automatically take leadership of a group. For years, they’ve been the ones setting up the marks, executing the pulls and controlling the pace. Whenever I joined trade chat groups (this was before the dungeon finder, mind you), tanks would usually insist on leading groups. During Wrath, it got to the point where the rest of the players in the group expected the tank to assume that role.

The thing is, I’m not really noticing that as much anymore. I mean, it wasn’t until recently that I started observing other players taking control of groups. It wouldn’t always be the tank. It could be that random ret paladin or that warlock. Its an interesting trend to see happening, for sure. Could it be that there are just that much more knowledgeable people in the game? I once dropped in on a Halls of Origination group where most of the players in there didn’t know how to do any of the bosses on normal much less heroic. I had the option of dropping out of the group right there and then.

I’ll admit, I was tempted.

But no, I stayed right in there and showed them all the ropes. I gave myself a limit of 3 wipes on a boss. If we wiped 3 times on a single boss and it was clear they just weren’t “getting it”, then I’d take my leave. Setting a hard boundary for yourself is a good way to retain your sanity.

Blizzard allowing anyone in the party to mark targets was a great improvement overall. I’d say it ranks as one of those really underrated changes. Now other players don’t have to be the dungeon guide to mark stuff. They can simply tag their own targets.

The pressure is slowly easing off the tanks when it comes to taking the lead. That is a good thing, right?

Is Team Melee the New Hotness?

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Lodur did a great job last week when he recruited 4 additional players. The catch? They were all melee players. We snagged a Rogue, a Paladin, Warrior and an Enhancement Shaman. Our melee roster now looks something like this:

4 Warriors
4 Rogues
2 Paladins
2 Enhancement Shamans

Gunship 2.0 turned into a challenge with just 6 ranged DPS players.

The guild historically has been melee heavy but not to this extent. As much as I would prefer having more ranged players as options, the raiding reality is to take the players we can get and find a way to make it work. Between the end of this expansion and a new MMO that’s holding player interest, it’s a little tougher to pick up players of the right class.

I’ve found some perks with a melee heavy raid, however.

Stuff dies really fast

That change to the melee buff (where it’s now 20%) makes a bigger difference. With trash and adds dying faster, it means overall less healing needed.

Closer proximity

Melee players typically stand in one location – Right behind the butt of the boss. I don’t have to worry about being out of range. Spells like Holy Word: Sanctuary are that much better since the melee players are in one tight location.

It’s nice to have a comfortable number of raiding players again. Holiday season is always tough. The next areas we need to shore up are ranged DPS and healers.

Now that we’ve gotten Deathwing down, we’re starting work on Heroic Morchuk (Norris). For those of you that have knocked it out already on 25 man, what would you suggest?