The Dambusters

A great day for the Dambusters who started quietly by marching around Stormwind before rising to a crescendo of hilarious fun as we smashed each other up in the Gurubashi Arena, followed by absolutely owning The Northern Barrens.  We destroyed any horde in sight as we plundered all the spoils dropped by the Commanders and the other lootable sources in the area.

After that, we marched again from Goldshire to Stormwind before having a drinking and vomiting contest in the Trade District.  After that, we decided to open our event up to the others on the server where it went silly as we tried assembling a raid to kill Gorrosh Hellscream which ultimately failed due to certain non-Dambusters individuals having other ideas about how to go about the encounter.  Needless to say, the splintering of the group ensured a little ill-feeling and an inevitable horde scout who informed the horde who gathered a tough defence team.

Later, we went to Dalaran and decided I would suicide jump off a floating island and see who could follow closest with their corpse, turned out to be Sonicay.

I later filtered out the members who attended and worked hard for the guild in general with total activity down to a figure of 10 individuals who all received an in-game mail to vote for one of their fellow nominees.  Wenya and Spyrot tied for 3 and with a very tense /roll each, Wenya won the guild MVP award to claim her Ghastly Charger mount and a cool 10,000g top prize.

Prize breakdown is as follows:-

INTRODUCTION

Today July 26th 2013 will mark the 4th anniversary of the day I completed the guild charter.  The event is open to all Dambusters and I hope to see as many of you as possible.

Bigticket will pair 100,000 of the guild bank’s gold with the extremely rare ‘Trading Card Game(TCG)’ [Ghastly Charger] flying/ground mount to form a fantastic prize pot for lucky guild members who have proven their dedication to the guild.

LAYOUT OF THE EVENT

• The Dambusters will begin forming at Northshire Abbey in Elwynn Forest from 12pm ‘noon’ server time and gathering everyone on our Mumble server before a 1pm march through Goldshire and onto Stormwind where we will parade as a guild through the city in a display of solidarity.  This march will be focused on encouraging our members to remember the Dambusters we have lost over the last 4 years for whatever reason they became lost.

• After we conclude our Remembrance March, we will all race to the Gurubashi Arena where an almighty ‘Battle Royale’ will ensue!  This is your chance to show how tough you are and will be a rare opportunity to hit Spyrot where it hurts as many times as you need.  It is possible that no outright winner is declared but we will get a rough idea of who was among the top fighters on the day.  The entire group will be separate and there is to be strictly no pairing up into teams in this event.  Lower level characters, healers and tanks will have it tough but this isn’t supposed to be a fair fight, just an awesome spectacle and a chance to sock it to your guild leader and those so-called ‘officers’ hehe.  The event will end when people get fed-up getting their butts kicked lol.

• After the Battle Royale, we will all head to Stormwind and throw a massive Dambusters Beerfest!  I want to see everyone stocking up on the city’s local beers, rum and other cheap plonk and show the trade district what we are all about!  People will join in and undoubtedly will get trolled but I expect only a light-hearted and fun atmosphere on display where we are all right in the limelight of the server’s alliance population. DO NOT get into any troll wars with people in the trade district or on /tradechat please, just ignore any trolling you may see.  This is our chance to start a party and be the masters of Ragnaros’ community spirit.  This event will include a drinking contest to see who lasts the longest and also to see who can vomit the most over fellow Dambusters! I wanna see kegs of beer projectiled all over my big ginger beard! 

• When we are all suitably drunk and covered in vomit, we will gather the masses of the server’s online Alliance population and swoop down into Orgrimmar and kill that son of a bitch Garrosh Hellscream for the last time before the next patch takes him out of the game forever.  This will be a good chance for people to finish off their [For The Alliance]
  

PRIZE DISH-OUT

1. [Ghastly Charger] + 10,000g to be paid to the guild member  in the top few total guild activity meters who attends the anniversary event, displays an outstanding attitude towards the game and is voted by their fellow guild members as the Dambusters Most Valuable Player (MVP) in all aspects of World of Warcraft gameplay.  During the BEERFEST in Stowmwind, I will begin asking people in the group to submit ‘in-game mail’ votes from the list I decide upon from the top group of Dambusters attending the event.

2. 10,000g to be paid out to the winner(s) of the guild Battle Royale kill-fest.  If there is no outright winner then a debate to decide who shares the prize should clarify who gets the pot.

3. 16,000g will be awarded to the most boisterous drunk person at the party, this decision will be brought by a (probably furious) vote to be orchestrated inside the raid group’s chat LOL. Should be fun!  There must be an outright winner in this event so I advise all atendees to use their initiative to come up with innovative ways to impress the group to get that all-important vote.

   *NOTE: As this event is in the areas of /Tradechat, I will be monitoring those public chat channels and anyone seen acting against the ambassadorial requirements of the guild will be exempt from earning the gold prize*

4. The hard working officers of the guild will be rewarded for their efforts around the guild to the tune of 27,000g

5. Attendance of the day’s event will see the remaining top guild total activity meters examined and the remainder of the prize fund dispersed between people on that list, taking into account people who may already have won a prize in the day.  As follows:-

27,000g total to be distributed

5,000g to the current top guild activity leader.  *Bigticket as current number 1 is exempt from all awards*

The remainder of the balance will be distributed among the rest of the guild total activity meter leaders thereafter in a descending order for their final positions.

I hope we have a fantastic day, the right people in the guild will be rewarded for their fine efforts over a period of time where they showed their commitment to the guild.  It’s a great day to be a Dambuster and I wish you all good luck with the prizes!

/Salute to my wonderful guild members

The real life 617 ‘Dambusters’ Squadron recently celebrated their 75th anniversary and us here at the World of Warcraft Dambusters tribute guild will celebrate our own 4th anniversary this coming Friday, 26th July.

The day I pulled together 10 signatures to create the charter seems so long ago because such a lot has happened since that day.

I remember whispering people to request their signature. I helped a guy with a couple of quests I had already done before asking for a signature politely, I even let a higher level rogue test his crit on me in a duel before he would sign my charter. Those were the days when I wore spirit on Bigticket, bragged about my mana regen in aspect of the viper and voyaged from Hogger’s patch to Booty Bay as a wide-eyed lvl 10 adventurer.

I went everywhere, exploring and getting my butt kicked and I fondly remember those days. The days of people like Zeitgeist, Crimsonious, Annelie, Icebabe, Chrisg, Bás, Ellchera and too many others to name including a lot more good friends I’ve made since while all being part of this big old guild.

The people come and go, some friendships last and some turn sour, usually due to communication problems more than anything else. The friendships you make in the game are what keep people coming back and that is why it is so important to try and gather all Dambusters up for our event this Friday. This will be a celebration of the friends we have made and a timely reminder of friends we have lost from the game.

Think of it for a moment, was there a good friend in game who simply stopped logging in? Do you wonder where they went? You were such good pals and all of a sudden they were just gone. This is a fact of life in this game and it happens all too often. People leave the game for all sorts of reasons and we are left behind with no option but to be glad of the good times we had. We will make new friends in the game but it’s just possible that old friend is somewhere, thinking of you…

On Friday, we will march from Northshire Abbey as a guild in memory of those friends we lost in the game.

We will shout and celebrate the name of our guild with pride so all of Stormwind will know our name!

We will pull the server together and take one last swipe at Garrosh Hellscream before next patch takes him down and the server will know us! We will treat others on the servers as our friends and show them what our guild is all about and at the end of the day, there will be a big pot of prize gold and a pretty TCG mount loot code for one lucky, hard working Dambuster to show off!

BE THERE!

/Salute

Hey Dambusters, this is just a quick post to inform people intending to travel to attend the guild meet-up that the venue has changed.  The day and time is unchanged and it should be a great day for us, I am really excited to be meeting you all there in Göteborg.

The guild meet-up has changed venue from Puta Madre to the more tranquil sprakcafeet.  Click the link on the name to visit the website for full details on the place. We will be there for lunch and probably sit for hours with a few cheeky drinks as previously planned.

/Salute

Last night’s monthly guild meeting produced a disappointingly small attendance level of around 10. This low figure could be excused by the fact we have just replaced the guild’s mumble server with a new setup. We now use the following server details:-

Address: dambusters.aremumbling.com
Port: 36044

It was noted that we had around 20 guild members online but only half that number taking enough interest to attend the meeting despite numerous messages from myself that the meeting was underway. Now I must ask myself:-

Were people too busy to attend?
Do they not care about such things?
Should I be concerned?
Could I have done more to encourage people who were online to attend?

After considering these questions, my conclusion is leaning towards the probability that people might not have mumble installed and might have assumed that by the time they got it set up then the meeting would be finished. For the next meeting on Saturday 10th August I will be ensuring that as many guild members as possible have things in place so that they can attend at short notice. The guild will push to ensure all members can get onto mumble so it’s a simple step of a couple of clicks when they need to jump on at short notice.

Having strong communication ties in place gives us a massive advantage as a community while we do our best to maintain the upkeep of a good social guild. It’s great when we see people joining in the fun on mumble even if they are not in the raid team or officer team etc. All guildies are welcome on there so feel free to muscle in and get involved whenever there’s people on there and make sure to give Spyrot a little grief 😀
That being said, you are not obliged to talk on mumble (although people will call on you to talk) but simply listening to the carry-on will surely bring you closer to the community. There’s some crazy cats on there 🙂

Because not everyone is always able to make these meetings, I feel it’s important to still put some information down in the form of a debrief so here goes…

Guild Recruitment/Roster Management

I asked the recruiting team if they feel further scrutiny over guild applicants should be carried out. As a group, it was generally agreed that we should discourage picking up people who shout on /tradechat looking for any lvl 25 guild, on the basis that players who look for level 25 guilds are only after the benefits offered by the guild. First impressions are important and someone simply looking for the buffs a guild brings does seem a little bit selfish when the guild now has a good level of membership and activity meaning we are in a position to pick our incoming members.

Debbs and I discuss roster management frequently and we will be looking into how to scrutinise applications which may also include an adjustment to the application itself as recommended by Devilslotus at the meeting.

Debbs has requested that guild members all ensure they have a public note for each of their characters, preferably with alt/main character named. This will assist with roster management. I have asked the recruitment team to try and keep on top of that and to try to complete a public note upon invitation of a new member.

Roster management is important because we want to maintain a good active group while ensuring the guild doesn’t become one of those big 40-50 people online where nobody ever talks. What we need to do is try to strike a balance where the people online are enhancing the guild rather than just filling the roster with grey names. Online time is important to this guild so we need to try to make sure that inactive members are thinned out.

If you have alt characters then you should be at least logging onto them once per month otherwise you should be asking yourself why do they need to be in the guild? I am considering a maximum limit of 1 month for characters of the ‘Dambuster Alt’ rank. I will be finalising this system with the other officers in the coming days.

Officers

In accordance with the way I’ve always operated, it is my job to ensure the guild is managed to the highest possible standards. With this in mind, I am always scrutinising the officers. I am sure they don’t always feel pressured by me but you can be sure that if I feel someone can do a better job than a currently employed officer then the ruthless side of me will act. This is the only way the organisation can be maintained to a good standard and regardless of friendships, my officer team are well aware that to me, the guild must come first.

I have been hunting a crucial piece of our leadership that has been missing and am delighted to have found that little gem in the name of Wenya. This library of World of Warcraft knowledge has proven beyond doubt her ability, determination and importance to the role she has just accepted as Raid Leading Partner to Spyrot. Her tactical knowledge coupled with a keen eye for good people while being an excellent drama blanket make her a perfect fit to the guild officer team where she has quickly become very popular. I am sure her kind side has the required forceful edge when it is needed and I have no doubt that having a solid partner will be a great blessing to the tortured Spyrot who has worked his socks off to build his team.

Make no mistake, this is still Spyrot’s team but having a partner like Wenya and an assistant of Devilslotus’ calibre with his infectious, boisterous & fun behaviour can only serve to take a little pressure off.

I have recently created a dedicated communication facility for all officers (except Maryhinge who I hope will soon join) where we can share ideas, discuss guild matters and generally take the utter piss out of each other. This is a setup which, while being enjoyable, is also a crucially important system for ensuring the guild maintenance is covered 24/7.

Raid Team

The raid team, although not considered integral to anyone’s guild status, is an important part of the game for some of the guild and notably the officer team is largely made up of raiders.

We discussed how we can use the applications to better scrutinise potential raiders while we also having the recruitment team hunting for just a couple more raiders worthy of joining the team right away. We need to strive to bring the right people in to make sure they don’t vanish soon after arriving. We want hungry, skillful and hardworking raiders. Social and PvP applicants are unaffected by this.

I decided to extend a bit of a rant across the bows of the raid team who are only at a meagre progression of 4/12 due to a tiny minority who need to really commit to the team on every encounter. It is noticeable that we have slight weaknesses in one or two individuals regarding skill and knowledge while it is also noticeable individuals don’t always give 100% attention to the raid.
When these guys do focus, it’s clear that we are a powerful team who can get some good progress. The majority of the team have worked their butts off only to be thwarted by a couple of weak links who have the ability to turn it around.
These guys hold all the aces to our success which is frustrating and unfair. A team is only as good as its weakest link and nowhere else is that clearer than Throne of Thunder Progression. Don’t be that weak link, you are better than that and so is your team. Lets get it done, turn up prepared to give your all and focus all your might on killing those bosses for your team! The other 9 are the most important people in your life when you rock up for that raid night.

PvP

Sonicay has been struggling away trying to pull together a rated battleground team and we have discussed a more efficient style of putting the team together. Further discussion is imminent as we try to push a team into place with the idea that a core team will, one day, become as close as the raid team are currently.
That end result will require a lot of hard work and determination similar to the efforts carried our by Raid Leader Spyrot who struggled at the start in a similar manner. A better strategy is needed for the RBG team and only time will tell if Sonicay can deliver a team the guild can be proud of. As guild leader, the PvP Leader’s position is under my scrutiny, however I fully believe in Sonicay and I expect he might have an idea up his sleeve while I definitely know he is determined to deliver that team for us. It’s surely a tough labour of love to carve out that team!

I feel Sonicay needs a PvP loving partner to assist him with the duties of pulling the team together and leading it. Any volunteers should approach myself or Sonicay with your ideas.

Dambusters 4th Birthday

The TCG mount code is imminent but still to be confirmed as the top prize for the guild birthday which will begin 12:00 midday server time on Friday 26th of July with a march from Northshire Abbey through Goldshire and parading around Stormwind in celebration of the famous Dambusters Guild and all our members, past and present.

*Note, the event will officially begin at 1pm server time and I strongly recommend all attending members to gather as close as possible to 12:00 midday in preparation for the start of the march. We will move exactly on 1pm so don’t be late please*

The march is primarily dedicated as a poignant reminder that players who have left the guild in the past may have passed away without our knowledge. I am sure this is the sad case for at least someone who was considered a close guild friend and although we may never know for sure, our fond memories of past guild members will never be forgotten. This march will become an annual event for this guild on it’s birthday.

/Salute all Dambusters past and present!

The guild bank has been slammed shut for outgoing gold in an attempt to generate increased funds to be put towards the prizes for guild commitment and overall outstanding members on the day. Guild total activity will be high on the priority, as well as a possible guild voted MVP (Most Valuable Player) including the people who attend the birthday event.

Other activities may be planned for the day, including a possible guild battle royale, dual tournament and potential server inclusive Orgrimmar raid to kill Garrosh Hellscream. Last chance to get ‘For the Alliance’ achievement before patch 5.4 renders that buried forever.

Guild Real-Life Meetup

The guild meetup in Göteborg, Sweden is now set in stone, planned for us to arrive at 12:00 midday in Puta Madre restaurant/bar Sprakcafeet Cafe for some lunch and more than a few of Ironforge’s finest beer kegs. All guild members are very welcome and encouraged to attend. There will be some excellent people there including: Maryhinge/Dreadzone, Pocadøts, Bigticket/Bunnyboiler, Diputs, Bluesamurai, Trikié, Teniel, Alagaesia and probably quite a few more who are just unconfirmed as yet. Bigticket will not be subsidising all refreshments but I will ensure there’s at least drinks pitchers on the table for all.

As mentioned earlier, the next guild meeting to be held on Mumble on Saturday 10th August at 6pm server time. All members are welcome to attend, listen in and contribute.

/Salute

People usually quote an expansion period as ‘proof’ that they know their class really well. You see them in places like Raid Finder and other pugs when quizzed by others who might be skeptical about the way the run is progressing.

“I’ve been playing protection paladin since the burning crusade ffs, I think I know what I’m doing d’uh”

I had a similar reply from our old friend Kakmonstret when we crossed levelling paths back in WotLK. We (myself on Bigticket) were in our 70s and questing in Northrend. I had only just learned about inspecting people so I duly inspected Kakmonstret and noticed most of his gear was strength/stamina but a few items were intellect plate while he was in protection spec. I asked him what was the right gear for a prot pala since I didn’t think intellect was as good as strength. Oh them days of noobness 🙂

His reply “I use mana d’uh”

Kakmonstret went on to become the single greatest guild leader and protection paladin on the planet ofcourse but it’s the kind of answer you expect from a cocksure young upstart who thinks he knows it all 🙂

My point is, things change….I mean every patch. So on average at the moment, your class is changing in at least some way every 3-4 months and that doesn’t include hotfixes which can be applied anytime in between.

Take that prot pala spec for example. Tanking was dramatically altered in MoP for prot paladin and prot warrior. Brewmaster monks are new so they don’t count here, Guardian Bear Druid tanks changed a little and death knights changed a little but primarily all tank specs adjusted to come into line with the old cataclysm blood death knight model of ‘active mitigation’.

I’m using this example because I still – YES STILL OMG – encounter people tanking on prot paladins and prot warriors using the same setup as cata where you just stacked mitigation stats and mastery for shield block and soaked up as much crap as possible while spamming aggro generating abilities.

Now tho, there’s this thing called ‘active mitigation’ where certain resource generating abilities need to hit the boss often (meaning you need that hit rating and expertise) so you can use that resource (rage or holy power) on more efficient mitigation abilities or choose a bigger damage dealing OR on threat generating abilities depending on the situation.

The amount of prot paladins I have personally taught to use shield of the righteous in heroic 5-man dungeons has been staggering. 90% of them are so grateful that I took time and politely/quietly offered that advice without being rude or nasty about it but there’s just a few who turned back on me and had the audacity to exclaim that they know what they’re doing blah blah blah…

Most people by now know these things about the new tanking styles and most people are willing to listen and learn if the delivery is friendly and helpful without being too pushy. We shouldn’t assume everyone else in the game has the same knowledge as us because frankly, if you are even reading this blog, or anything else out there about the game then believe me, you are already in the minority. The vast majority have never read a blog post, never checked icy-veins, wowhead or noxxic and that majority often have the least in social etiquette while playing the game.

I’m making some sweeping generalisations here but the next time you consider yourself a raider or you attempt to join a raid team to take on a progression boss encounter, consider this:-

When was the last time you read the patch notes and looked into your class abilities/talents and stat priorities? When did you last try to find out some expert tips on your choice of class and spec? Are you so good that you don’t ever need to do those things? Is your raid team struggling to pass a boss encounter? There could be a hidden gem ability that could save your ass at the toughest moment, or help someone else out. There could be a macro you could use to get the most out if your global cooldowns and squeeze more DPS out. There could have been a change meaning an ability you’ve always used is now less favourable than a new ability.

Never get complacent, never assume you know your class. Bunnyboiler is a very average/borderline decent healer. If I’m doing looking important in a raid team then there’s people who can improve a lot 😀

Onward Dambusters and other keen students of the game.

/salute

What does it take to really arrive as a prominent member of the guild? Number 1 is commitment!

Commitment can mean many things, it can mean spending time devoted to activities with guild mates. It could mean putting that bind on equip item into the guild bank instead of selling it for profit. It could mean sacrificing personal raid progression to help the greater good of your own guild raid team.

There are plenty of examples but as we can see, it’s all about balancing your own personal gameplay while considering the needs of the guild you love. It’s easy for me to sit and ramble on about committing to the guild when that’s pretty much all I have done for the last 4 years but I’m not silly enough to assume everyone else around has the same thought process as myself.

What I would say tho, is that when someone comes along (and its more often than you might think) that shares this determined, selfless mentality to push for the good of the guild, it shines brighter than that focused lightning someone dropped in the pool that wiped your group on Jin’rokh.

I can see these types of people a mile off since they display a certain calmness about their desire to help. They don’t pester the guild leader with all the amazing things they’ve done or will do because they have no agenda to push. People who are true leaders will see the work we have done with the guild and trust that their own efforts will be noticed and encouraged in time if they remain patient but crucially, they don’t do it for reward or recognition…they just do it. Good leaders are happy to follow until their time comes to lead, all the while displaying their qualities by setting examples.

A clever player knows that when dealing with my style of guild leading, it’s all about actions rather than talk. I’ve spoken to my fair share of talkers but its the walkers who I pay attention to. Sure i encourage people with great plans and ideas about what they’re gonna do, but really I am hoping the words will become actions. Walk the walk and I will see you 🙂

Think of what it is that you do to sacrifice your own gameplay for the good of others, even if its something as simple as setting up a battleground run in the guild or spamming /gchat before pugging a heroic scenario. Think of these types of things and do them more.

You can grow the mentality to be a Dambuster, it’s easily learned but you have to want it. If this post speaks to you then you bet your ass its aimed squarely at you!

/Salute

My last blog post spelled out what should be expected of the officer team that runs things around the guild. As I was writing it, I got the faintest feeling I might be taking the game a little bit too seriously. Those job descriptions sound like some job descriptions you might see advertised for real life jobs.

Executive management words were used to describe certain positions’ responsibilities but there is one point I want to stress.. It may be a game, but it is a role playing game where the primary function is acting. We are all actors here however you choose to see it. The very genre of the game MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) says it all.

So in essence, I am an actor who is having fun while being the leader of a guild. It’s part of the fun of the game for me to manage officers and the guild in this way. It may be a game, but we spend plenty time working on our WoW hobby so I guess we might aswell play to what makes us happy and embrace the idea that although it’s only a game, it involves real people who’s game can be affected by how we play ourselves.

In a guild, we have the opportunity to play our game in such a way as to maximise the enjoyment of others while having fun in our own way. Part of being the guild leader is playing the role of ‘da boss’ who gets to make the important decisions that cut a path for the guild to take. I think too many guild leaders don’t take the game seriously enough in actual fact, and that is reflected upon their guild members apathy towards their guilds. In the Dambusters, we care! Or maybe we do a great job of acting like we care which is good enough to be honest 🙂

It might be just a game, but some of us who can make the trip will be meeting up in real life soon and those friendships created in a seemingly anonymous online gaming environment will suddenly become real life friendships. That day will be a massive turning point for our guild and I’m happy to say that although I give the game a lot of my own free time even tho I hold enough back so that I never burnout (seriously, you ever seen me burnout in this game?) I still put enough in to help create a lasting and deepening experience for my beloved Dambusters.

It’s still an absolute pleasure to be your guild leader and I’m not burning out even with 7 level 90s, not anytime soon anyway. Are you feeling the burnout from Mists if Pandaria’s relentless content? How seriously do you take the game?

/Salute

My last blog post spelled out what should be expected of the officer team that runs things around the guild. As I was writing it, I got the faintest feeling I might be taking the game a little bit too seriously. Those job descriptions sound like some job descriptions you might see advertised for real life jobs.

Executive management words were used to describe certain positions’ responsibilities but there is one point I want to stress.. It may be a game, but it is a role playing game where the primary function is acting. We are all actors here however you choose to see it. The very genre of the game MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) says it all.

So in essence, I am an actor who is having fun while being the leader of a guild. It’s part of the fun of the game for me to manage officers and the guild in this way. It may be a game, but we spend plenty time working on our WoW hobby so I guess we might aswell play to what makes us happy and embrace the idea that although it’s only a game, it involves real people who’s game can be affected by how we play ourselves.

In a guild, we have the opportunity to play our game in such a way as to maximise the enjoyment of others while having fun in our own way. Part of being the guild leader is playing the role of ‘da boss’ who gets to make the important decisions that cut a path for the guild to take. I think too many guild leaders don’t take the game seriously enough in actual fact, and that is reflected upon their guild members apathy towards their guilds. In the Dambusters, we care! Or maybe we do a great job of acting like we care which is good enough to be honest 🙂

It might be just a game, but some of us who can make the trip will be meeting up in real life soon and those friendships created in a seemingly anonymous online gaming environment will suddenly become real life friendships. That day will be a massive turning point for our guild and I’m happy to say that although I give the game a lot of my own free time even tho I hold enough back so that I never burnout (seriously, you ever seen me burnout in this game?) I still put enough in to help create a lasting and deepening experience for my beloved Dambusters.

It’s still an absolute pleasure to be your guild leader and I’m not burning out even with 7 level 90s, not anytime soon anyway. Are you feeling the burnout from Mists if Pandaria’s relentless content? How seriously do you take the game?

/Salute

What follows is an extract of the information I will be publishing on the guild ‘Officers’ page. This information should be digested by all guild members and especially the officers who perform the tasks mentioned:-

Guild Leader

Will forge the direction of the guild by absolute example. Will ensure suitable officers are in place to carry out operations within the guild to maintain the efforts of the community at large and where there are shortfalls in leadership around the guild, guild leader will pick up the slack and accept ultimate responsibility for areas where the guild is weak.

Monitors all officer activities and ensures tasks are being carried out correctly, attempt to replace ineffective officers if required.

Operates as a point of contact between all members of the guild and particularly for the leadership team while maintaining an approachability for all members. Acts as a figurehead for sources external to the guild who are interested in how we operate.

Will generate interest in the guild from outwith by ensuring we get noticed on our own server and externally.

Will protect the guild by maintaining standards of discipline to ensure we are respected within the server community and to provide a safe and enjoyable place for WoW players to call their home.

Will demand that members uphold the ethos of the guild with exemplary behaviour while playing the game with friends and others.

Raid Leader

Will plan, assemble and manage the guild’s raid team, leading by example in every way as a shining beacon of Dambusters excellence.

Will consider the moral standards and ethos of the guild while managing the members of the raid team. Will demand commitment from members as they strive for guild progression.

May be required to make guild administration decisions at the request of guild leader, remain in constant communication with guild leader and is expected to be in regular contact with other officer colleagues.

Assistant Raid Leader

Will answer directly to the Raid Leader and work hard to help raiders be prepared for each raid night. Must uphold the highest personal standards while operating in this role since leadership of the raid should set the perfect example to the team and show, by action, what is expected of fellow raiders.

Will accept directives from RL and carry out peripheral tasks in organising the team while offering RL advice when suitable.

Is capable of stepping in to lead the raid team upon temporary handover from RL or incase of emergency.

Will maintain constant communication with RL (outside of the game if necessary) to ensure fine tuning requirements may be carried out at short notice when required. Will also be in regular contact with other officer colleagues to ensure a firm leadership network is maintained.

Chief Recruitment Officer

Will oversee the guild membership roster and manage the influx of suitable recruits to the guild as advised by guild leader, raid leader and PvP leaders.

Will forge friendships outwith the guild, generating an external network on the server with players who get to know about our guild by word of mouth, and by posting appropriate recruitment notifications on official blizzard forums to ensure the guild is noticeable from outside our own server.

Will try to ensure that whilst new recruits are of the correct mentality to enter our community, they are also made aware of what to expect in the guild before joining.

Will utilise the work ethic and abilities in his/her assistant recruiter(s) as they work together to bring in the people who will inevitably make the guild the fun place it will become.

May be required to make guild administration decisions at the request of guild leader and will maintain close contact with guild leader in addition communicating frequently with their officer colleagues as required to diligently carry out the tasks of a chief recruiter.

Assistant Recruitment Officer

Will answer directly to Chief Recruitment Officer and accept directives requested by CRO at all times. May be tasked by guild leader, raid leader or PvP leader to target specific recruiting strategies depending on the requirements of the guild at short notice.

Will be expected to liaise with CRO regarding new applications and the process of determining qualification to be /ginvited and the timescale to which the /ginvite should occur.

Will maintain a positive and friendly outlook regarding the guild since the recruitment staff are often the first encounter a prospective new member will have. Guild ambassador status here is particularly prevalent in the role of a recruiter so a fine example of a Dambuster should be obvious at all times.

Will maintain regular communication with other officers to ensure your knowledge is fully updated regarding player types the guild needs to recruit.

Guild Bank Maintenance Manager

Will manage the items stocked in the guild bank to ensure a good flow is maintained which allows guild members to freely deposit items in ‘Grand Slam’ tab and remove desired items from withdrawal tabs.

Will promptly distribute items from Grand Slam to appropriate withdraw tabs for ease of members’ access. Will regulate gold and item deposits and withdrawals to ensure rapid response to suspicious anomalies which could prove harmful to the guild vault.

Will liaise with the partnering guild bank management officer and collaborate to ensure a tandem partnership is maintained which will provide a seamless maintenance coverage from both officers in this position.

Will seek to displace items considered non-beneficial and attempt to use such items to generate much needed funds to be placed back into the vault.

Will carry out the most thankless task in the entire guild while knowing that the guild leader immensely appreciates their efforts.

Guild Rules Enforcer

Will acquaint him/herself with the guild rules, ethos and moral standards to such a degree that a loving, blossoming relationship will be constant and fulfilling! Will fight for the rights of the underdogs of the game, ensuring no abuses of the guild rules occur and in times when those rules are bent then the offending party be well warned about what they have done wrong.

Will maintain constant communication with the guild leader and act as his eyes and ears on the ground when guild leader may not always be present to regulate discipline.

Will ensure that before they do act, they are 100% clear that their actions of enforcing discipline are in line with the guild leader’s requirements. Any overstep may become an uncomfortable situation due to the nature of the task so ensure perfect harmony with the rules you will enforce and the thought process of the guild leader.

Actions carried out by an Enforcement Officer will usually be supported by the guild leader so other members must respect this officer in particular as he/she is acting on behalf of the disciplinary aspect of the guild leader.

Will create an aura of authority providing a deterrent to anyone who might be prepared to flaunt the guild rules.

PvP Leader

The PvP Leader will instigate PvP events such as RBG team get togethers, world pvp events and act as a general figurehead for all things related to PvP around the guild.

Constant communication with the guild leader is imperative to ensure the mentality of the guild is demonstrated in the way the group interacts while on duty for the guild. Contact with the CRO is important to ensure recruitment for PvP teams meet the requirements of the guild.

PvP Leader will demand good behaviour and respect among PvP teams in conjunction with the ethos of the guild to ensure that teams feel part of the Dambusters when representing the guild. Horde should be informed that they got hammered by the Dambusters frequently by the dropping of that famous guild standard at every opportunity!