Guild Leader’s Perspective

Something I remember from an episode of Game of Thrones, the quote “Learn to follow before you try to lead” really stuck with me.

I never followed in my World of Warcraft career, I started life in WoW very much alone, a nomad on the US server Lethon. A warrior called Filatio no less. I had a lot of adventure as I struggled to level 32 coveting the ‘armor’ attribute more than anything else, even if it was cloth. Ahhhh the noob days!

When I moved to EU servers, a brief spell on Aerie Peak with my first hunter named ‘Dambuster‘ (27) was great fun until I realised I was now on a PvE server and didn’t have the same adrenaline rush of having to watch over my shoulder for horde gankers to pop up and make life interesting. I quickly tucked tail and dashed off to Xavius bringing the idea of the Dambusters and our old friend Annelie with me.

The rest is history and since that day, I have been ‘Bigticket’ who built the guild from the ground up with the very same ethos I still use today. Good people before skilful players! This was a social/levelling guild from the outset because I was a social leveller myself and although I love to raid and consider myself a bit of a big shot lol, my roots as a social leveller (evidenced by my endless multiple-conversations which often take my focus off gameplay and also my altoholism) shall never be forgotten!

So in the game I have never been a follower so I can’t very well suggest that I followed before I tried to lead. This context is a little misplaced however because I believe that life experience has helped me to lead the guild with some semblance of approachability and humility I think should be a starting point for anyone who decides to be a leader among any community. My background is of a tough upbringing in a hard neighbourhood full of good, fair but severe people.

I joined the Royal Air Force at the age of 19, learned my trade and was lucky enough to do a fair bit of travel. In terms of the World of Warcraft, I believe I am well placed to lead an online gaming community where the general motto is all about teamwork, togetherness and camaraderie. This attitude towards the game keeps it fun and stress-free for most players around the guild and I believe that the atmosphere at our place is among the best around. People play the game to have fun, players join guilds to enhance their experience and stay because of the friends they make and keep in a guild. Lots of guilds rise quickly and implode just as quickly and this does not happen in a community as strong as ours. We are quite rightly proud of what we have achieved in a cut-throat world where people often change guilds. The foundations the Dambusters have been built upon are as solid as ever and there are absolutely no signs of trouble.

We have survived numerous rogue guild formations by people who left the guild thinking they could do better and poaching from us but we stood strong and stuck to our tried and trusted methods. We have come through a particularly tough time when our old raid team dismantled and threatened to take a core of the guild with it. Happily I can report that because of the way I structure the guild with priority afforded to the community spirit and NOT any raid team (that I may or may not be part of) a few upset raiders leaving the guild over petty squabbles means nothing to the guild at large.

Our raid team is there for the folk who want to enjoy that content together but that group’s success or failure does not impact the way the guild operates. Any other internal group of guildies enjoying content together are encouraged by the guild but similar to the current raid group, any issues arising directly as a result of the group cannot affect the running of the guild. The foundations are build on solid rock and that is how it will remain.

The team of officers and myself are delighted to be leading from the front and I know we all enjoy being here and contributing our little bit to your game environment. You guys with your comedy in the guild chat, your eagerness to help your mates and your determination to uphold the values we all share are a fine example of a great gaming community and a shining light around the Xavius server. Long may this guild continue to prosper.

/Salute