For those unfamiliar, he had a goal of PuGing all raid content, and abstaining from farming any instance - with the beliefs that any random group of self-interested players, in middling gear, could prevail over all the content in existence.
Today, though - he posts some personal revelations.
With a Sarth+3 guild, both the more-or-less challenging Maly25 and the completely farm Naxx25 was completely different from any PuG or "social guild" experience.
- People were online on time
- They were prepared, had consumables, soul shards, ammunition, were repaired
- When wipe happened they run in fast
- Everyone listened to the raid leader
- No one made loot drama
- No one ever "DC"-ed (some DC-ed, but came back ASAP)
...I see now why it's necessary to raid every week. Not because of the loot, that upgrade is nothing. Not because of the practice, since practicing on Heigan won't help you a bit at Freya. You must raid to keep the [Morons&Slackers] out of your guild.
This nails so many points, I may need to dual wield hammers.
The strength of focused / "hardcore" guilds, is that they have standards. The standards may vary, but through their being made clear and enforced - people can safely put in high amounts of effort, because they know it will be matched by those around them.
When someone PuGs a raid, they may see others with unenchanted items, ungemmed items, or PvP talent specs. The logic then follows, that if this other person can have the same opportunities (being in the raid, chance at loot) - why should anyone else put forth more effort?
Standards are probably the most defining feature of a guild. The intolerance (or tolerance) of certain types of actions or choices (preparing poorly, performing poorly) sets the stage that raids play out on. Gevlon, though his OS+3 guild experience, finally saw the product of a group of players that gravitated around a high set of standards (being prepared, staying focused, following directions).
Beyond standards, he made the connection that raiding over and over isn't done for the marginal upgrades - but to constantly measure the performance of those involved. Consistency in performance is just as important as ability to perform.
It doesn't matter if someone can avoid doomfires / play the teron-ghost-game / respond to polarity shifts / ect 80% of the time. 80% success rate, across 25 people, across multiple attempts, insures that there will always be enough failure on every attempt to wipe (in most cases - brute force and luck can get you through some things, albeit at a high cost). In fights where you need all 25 people to perform at max capacity the whole time, you need consistency levels that approach 100%.
So finish this post today by reflecting on the standards of your guild - how clear and defined they are (ranging from written to implied), how they are enforced (ranging from ignored to gkick-worthy) - and what kind of players you have ended up with as a result of this.
1 comment:
"Beyond standards, he made the connection that raiding over and over isn't done for the marginal upgrades - but to constantly measure the performance of those involved. Consistency in performance is just as important as ability to perform."
See, this is where I beg to differ. From my perspective, the repetitive nature of raiding is about increasing the potency of the raid through upgrades and practice. I just don't like the perspective that implies that there is a ceiling to the importance of skill in a given encounter.
I am totally in favor of standards. But really, what you learn from the practice is that while meeting standards is essential, it is in exceeding them that the fun (and satisfaction) lies.
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