After a lengthy discussion with a few of our very decorated officers last night regarding some details about the way we run our raid teams, it became apparent to me that although we all have the same goal and the same love and pride for the guild, not all of us feel the same connection between the guild and it’s raid teams as I do.
I was at great pains to portray my reasoning to the raid team leaders after it transpired that old Bigticket had lost his place in the raid team for a lockout period. On Wednesday evening, I had an annoying lag spike issue which I very rarely suffer so for the benefit of the team’s progress I decided it best to temporarily step out until I could rectify the problem. Happily the anomaly disappeared within minutes after a good reboot but after repeated attempts and QQing from myself, the team were so engrossed on the heroic Morchok attempt that nobody in the team noticed my dismay.
They had replaced me with another hunter (how dare they hehehe) and seemingly he was a rather nice individual, though he had no intention of joining our guild. So I logged out in the huff for the night. Next night, I’m awaiting an invite for the team’s continuation only to notice a deafening silence. I was benched! Replaced for the continuation of the raid by the other hunter from the Fade guild. That rocked me to the core. Never did I assume that some pug would take precedence over the guild leader and arguable rock of this team.
This story is not intended to cause upset to members of our raid team but to publicise my views on the aim of the Dambusters main raid team. Our guild has struggled to reach a stage where we can be proud of our skills and be respected as a community that can get things done at the end game. That struggle has been felt by the guild for a long time, we have lost members to ‘raiding’ guilds on so many occasions and each time we lose people I feel a personal hurt.
I have fought tooth and nail to get this guild to deliver when in the past it had a stubborn attitude towards direction, strategy and commitment. Regardless of the raid team members possible arguments in favour of using PUG members for the entirety of the raid lockout period, I feel our guild members should always take priority over anyone not currently in the guild. It is entirely the fault of the guild that it cannot put a Dambuster in all 10 raid team spots 100% of the time, but if there is a capable player online who is willing to do the work required in the team then the PUG player must accept that his position in the raid team is untenable. I will expect the raid leader to ensure that any PUG is aware of this situation before he joins any of our raids, he may take his chance and accept the boost and loot rewards that are inevitable in our boss farming, but take a back seat in favour of that Dambuster who can come in and get loot, therefore helping the guild as a whole.
The raid team is nobody’s little empire, we must see it as an extension of the guild itself and we must look after our own because that is what makes us strong. We should always account for ourselves favourably within the server community but that will manifest itself in situations similar to this through careful preparation in how we brief other members of the server as they join our teams. There are guilds on this server who accept large sums of gold for boosts but we will not do that. They are already getting a free ride so they should take their chance and accept their precarious position if necessary, and that has to be the risk they take in not joining our guild 😀
I am sure this post will gather some interest with individuals who believe raid teams should act differently to the way I describe but we must remember this is not any raid team, this is a Dambusters raid team and the Dambusters will progress in the fashion we create for ourselves, not in someone else’s fashion. We worked hard to get what we have so we deserve to create our own rules that suit our entire guild. Our raid leader Fridai is a legend in this guild who will lead the team by great example, he deserves your full backing.
This guild has solid management who really care about it, these raid teams are for you Dambusters!
Preperations for war commencing…
Full agreement with Scott, William and Oakarm.
Most people do not want to go through the learning process (trying, failing, trying again) in a hostile environment where they may be criticized unnecessarily. I feel strongly that guild members, regardless of experience or ilvl, should be encouraged to the raid platform before we seek outside help. An unexpected shortage or lock out could be the perfect situation where that could occur and it is up to everyone to help this happen. Bring in our friends from guild rather than outsourcing, coach and encourage, keep the environment friendly and fun and if we don’t progress on one occasion but we succeed in developing a future raid team member then we are actually increasing our chances of success long term.
Bringing in PUG’s can be a great way to get to know new people and recruit new members. Since dungeon and raid finders are cross realm there is strong argument to say that PUG’s give us an opportunity to play with people from our own realm, get to know them and then make a decision about inviting them to join Dambusters. However, too many PUG’s in a guild group can destabilize raid leadership. I have seen a guild with some 30 plus lvl 85’s on line for a calender event. More that 20 of those guild members failed to get a spot in either of the 2 ten man teams that ran BWD because elitist PUG’s dominated and undermined the Raid Leaders. If we have to grab a PUG, lets try to get someone we know and trust outside of the guild before LFM and keep it to one or, in extreme circumstances, two max in ten man group.
Regarding boosts; it has always been my feeling that boosts overall are detrimental to performance in the long term because if we are carried through raids by others then we don’t learn how to play in a group. Similarly, when one guild receives a boost from another to further raid progression this devalues the accomplishment massively and leaves the guild who has received the boost open to ridicule.
The Dambuster ethos was always about the struggle of the underdog attempting the impossible, and doing so with our friends and supporting them before anything else. We must not allow this to be forgotten as we strive for progression.
Stand proudly with a two finger salute against elitism. Look within our ranks and feast your eyes upon at the finest lads and lassies in the game; THE DAMBUSTERS!
Yes i agree with you a raid team should not have to get outside help unless they have to and if there is a willing player in guild to take the place then that place should go to the guild member as it is a guild run also you don’t know who you inviting into your group (they might be a ass and try their hardest at seeing your guild fail) plus i know your guild there are plenty of players hoping to get into raids and i know it seem unfair to pick and select which ones go but if its a progress raid then highest dps and the best heals an not paper tanks should go
I agree 100% that guildies should take priority over PUGs. Although my RL commitments prevent me from raiding regularly i still argue that guildies should first and foremost help each other to achieve – that is the essence of a guild.