News and Opinion

After some perusing at the Blog Azeroth boards and examining my own linkbacks, I wanted to share with you some upcoming blogs which hold potential (in my eyes).

What Heals: A blog from a T5 level Priest working their way through SSC. The blogger just found out about the wonder that is the Earring of Soulful Meditation.

Priest is the Word: The blogger appears to be a recent convert to the Priest healing profession. How did healing change for you after Burning Crusade came out? I can say right now that with the reduction in raid sizes, whacking moles became easier.

Lume the Mad: Quite the indepth analysis on the multiple parts of WoW from instancing, raiding, guild management, raid management, progression, etc. Lots of opinion here about current events and news.

Chick GM: This Chick GM speaks my kind of language and I’m glad to read about what goes on in senior positions in a Guild, especially one that’s on the brink of breaking into Sunwell. I’d love to see her write more often, but that wouldn’t be fair. It’s hard to manage a raid and write at the same time. It’s one of the main reasons I declined a position within our Guilds leadership. Besides, assigning healers to targets isn’t exactly serious business.

WoW Girl: Great blog! Except I can’t read a single word. But for those that can read (Portugese? Spanish? I don’t know), it looks like a resource worth bookmarking.

Larisa’s Corner: Heh, I like the analogy of WoW as an onion. As a student, I learned in the early age that the fastest way to read was to read down instead of from left to right. My eyes would scan and look for major keywords while my brain plugged in the rest (the, to, a, I, etc). This is the first blog in a long time where I’ve had to actually stop and re-read what what was written to make sure I understood the gist of it.

Welcome to the world of blogging, folks. Whatever your goals are, I wish you the best in meeting them.

Ladies and gentlemen! Today is a very special day! World of Matticus is holding the ultimate debate! Your guest debaters are world renowned for their egos and have a combine experience of over 20 years and share over 200 levels of WoW playing!

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Today’s topic is a question that has confronted many WoW players, strained relationships, and has toppled many raiding Guilds.

"If given the opportunity, should I leave my Guild for one that is more progressively advanced?"

Before we go further, let us examine the backgrounds of our 2 speakers!

Matticus: He is a law student, a writer, and a competitive player who answers to but only one ethos: reason. He is guided by facts and evidence. From the information, he weighs the choices to decide is the better way to go. He shoots for the best possible outcome. He is willing to roll the dice and gamble because he is willing to take risks and come out ahead. Every movement, every action, every thought has a purpose behind it.

He will be arguing for the "Aye" side.

Mallet: He is one of the star quarterback healers for the Carnage organization. He logs enormous minutes trying to keep his friends and companions in play and alive. Mallet is fiercely loyal to his friends and to his companions. The choices made by him tend to reflect what is best for the group as he is a self sacrificing individual who will do what is asked of him in order to progress and get far. To describe in two words, Mallet would be considered a "team player".

He will be arguing for the "Nay" side.

The rules for this debate? There are none. Each side will present its points and then attempt to argue down their respective opponent.

Matticus

Given the opportunity, you should. The fact that you’re even wrestling with and considering this question proves your internal and intrinsic desire to see more of the game. It’s also obvious your Guild doesn’t seem to have what it takes to elevate their play to the next level. Why should I stick around if all they’re going to do is run nothing but Kara, heroics, and Gruul all week long? It’s getting boring and stale. I’ve done this for so long. I deserve better then that.

Mallet

But yer’ missin’ the poin’ here, laddie! Yeh’ve levelled ter 70 wi’ th’ same crew! Wan’t that the reason why ye stayed in yer guild fer so long? Who cares about yer progression and your "gettin’ ahead" game? Yeh’ve been playing this game for so long with tha same peeple that they’re practically family! Would ya dare tern ye’r back on them after so long? It’d be akin to slappin’ them across their face wit’ troll feces! Do yeh honestly think they’d take kindly to THAT now?

Matticus

They don’t share the same dreams that I do. They no longer have the same goals that I do. Why should I stick around in an organization that no longer has the same ideals that I have? We’ll still be in the same server. I will still check in on them from time to time. The internet and this game provides anonymity. I will be forgotten the next day over, anyway. I’m being HELD back by my friends! They would have no problem picking up another player to replace me!

Mallet

And thas’ where yer wrong, lad! You are the cornerstone of the guild. If ye leave now, it will fall apar’ and collapse! No one, Dwarf, Dranei, Human, or otherwise can completely replace anyone. Ye’r unique! Yer friends will feel betrayed if you leave them now! Do you really wan’ them to go through the pain of losing you, the jealousy? Don’ do that to them! You owe it to them to stay a bi’ longer! It’s what they’d wan’ yanno!

Matticus

And what about what I want? Why do I always have to cater to them? I’ve worked long and hard to get this point. They stopped trying! I don’t want a Guild full of goddamn slackers. You think they really are friends? They’re more like business associates. Real friends wouldn’t make you feel guilty about staying behind. Real friends would encourage you to chase after your dreams and what you want to do! They wouldn’t feel envious or jealous. They might feel sad, I’m sure, but I know real friends would be proud of what I’d do!

Mallet

*quietly* Even if tha’ means forsakin’ yer friends, then? Is’ a huge commitmen’ ye know. Ye realize that if ye’ go through with it, a lo’ of  things will change. Ye’ won’t be able to catch as much PvP time or hang out with them as much. Because yeh’d have a duty ter yer new guild. Yeh’d have more responsibilities. The expectations increase. The pressure goes up. Do yeh really think yeh’d want that? Ye won’ be able to see the same crew.

Matticus

The only constant in the universe is change. If I lose friends because of something petty like this, then I’ll adapt and make new ones. For some reason, people have this stupid idea that changing Guilds is an absolute. If you join one, you’re absolutely forbidden from hanging out with the old. Assuming both guilds are on the same server, then it’s no problem. You can still hang out with them from time to time. No one says you can’t switch vents every now and again and hang out with them. Being in different Guilds doesn’t mean it has to be mutually exclusive.

Mallet

And if ye were banished? Wha’ then?

Matticus

I would be saddened, but I would understand. If they choose to expel me because I intend to go after what I want, then I can think of no better reason. Friends come and go on a daily basis. Think about the transition from high school to university. How many friends have you lost then? How many friends have you made since then? The ability to adapt is what allowed our species to survive to this day.

Mallet

Ye don’ even know if this progression guild will even accept ye! Yeh be let in on a raid one day and kicked out tha next. No stability. Yeh’d have to relearn everything. Yer DKP would start at 0. Yeh’d be considered at the bottom of the food chain.

Matticus

The fact that they made me an offer proves that they want me and my skills. They’ve given me the opportunity to show off what I can do. I’d be crazy not to take them on it.

Mallet

Yeh’d leave a lot of good people behind and be lettin’ them down, ye realize.

This is the same argument that has replayed in my mind countless of times ever since I left my old Guild. Sometimes I wonder what would’ve happened had I stayed. That same Guild collapsed a few weeks later before splintering off into two different Guilds while I watched from the sides. I can’t help but wonder if I was directly responsible. Maybe that Guild would be at the same progression point I’m at now if I stayed a bit longer. I’ll never know. 

But life is like a game of poker. You can only play the cards that you’ve been dealt resulting in winning big pots or losing your shirt.

One of the few activities in life that I’ve never given up since getting out of high school is reading. I’m not referring to sitting on your butt in front of the screen reading blogs all day. I mean actually reading a book in a coffee shop or on your couch or on your patio on a sunny day. Anyway, the latest book I’ve started reading is called Brain Rules (12 principles for surviving and thriving at Work, Home, and school) by John Medina. It’s a great book and I encourage everyone to see if they can pick up a copy from their local library. There’s lot of great concepts in there that apply in almost every situation.

If you’re a guild leader, a raid leader, a class leader, an officer, a healing leader, or someone in any kind of authoritative position that the rest of the guild looks to, then the story here becomes that much more relevant.

The Story

In the book, there’s a brief story by a flight instructor and his student. This student of his was a literal ace. She kicked total ass on the ground in all of the classes. She beat the simulations and dominated her courses. Her practical lessons in the sky showed she had a knack for flying was listed as a natural with the ability to improvise in different weather conditions.

The instructor was having a bad day during one of these lessons. He saw her do something completely naive. He yelled at her and pushed her hands away from the plane’s yoke (a steering wheel for planes, I believe. He pointed at an instrument, still angry. The student was stunned and she tried to fix her errors. But you and I both know that stress causes more errors. She wasn’t able to think as clearly. When you’re flying in a plane, that alone can prove to be fatal. She started crying and buried her head in her hands. The instructor assumed control of the plane and landed it without any more incident.

And for the longest time, the student would not get back into the same cockpit.