How do you start a guild?

So I've seen this sort of question bouncing around on the R&D forums a lot: "How do you start a raiding guild? How do you lead raids?"

So I figured I'd give my take on that whole concept.

"How do you start a raiding guild?"

There's one thing you need to know. It will be a lot, and I mean A FUCKING TON of work. I'm not going to lie or sugar coat it. And I only run a 10 person crew. I have run 25s in the past, and they suck. Balls.

My group started over 2 years ago, in the fall os 2007. I had just been /gkicked from my 25m guild without so much as a reason, or even a face to face discussion. I went back to one of my old guilds which was run by the same people that I intially levelled to 60 with (we're talking back in 2005 here) while I figured out what I was going to do.

I got very bored very quickly. I realized that I hated the 25m format with a passion, yet loved running 10s. There were also a few friends that I had made in the pevious guild that were utterly confused and astounded that I had been kicked, let alone treated the way I was, but for the time being they remained there.

So I found that the raiding times for the guild I was in didn't mesh with my schedule. So I asked if it would be ok if I started my own 10m group outside the guild framework. Some people from the guild may join, but it wouldn't be guild exclusive. I was told that was fine.

So I hook up with my brother, and met a rogue by the name of Antic. We messed around and did some heroics trying to find more people to fill out our group. Turns out Antic knew a Druid / Priest combo that he usually ran heroics with (Veritykindle / Scheenstra). I checked them out and played with them a little. Very good players, just hadn't had the opportunity to raid.

Then we found a random pug with a Warlock / Mage combo that turned out to be really good. We /friended them and they signed on.

The Druid / Priest combo knew another Mage that was really good, and he came along.

Got a druid from our own guild to come as he couldn't really make their raids either.

Our 10th actually ended up being a DPS warrior from the 25m guild that kicked me initially.

And off we went. Unfortunately I was /gkicked from the guild I was in for starting the group (even though I had already asked for permission, go figure). Everyone that was in my group and also in the guild quit shortly afterwards. My brother was absolutely furious. Wow. So Veritykindle / Scheenstra had this little guild all to themselves and their family/friends.

I asked if we could use it, seeing as how we'd be running together anyway. She retains GM and I just lead the raids.

We even managed to pull off Bear runs in ZA without having any 25m gear past T4. That still is the thing that I am most proud of with that group - to this day.

So my long winded answer to that question is: Pug. Seriously. If you want to make your own raiding group, go pugging. Find people that are sort of in the same boat as you are. They do exist, and they are out there.

I never would have found my group if I didn't pug. Now one of the highlights of my week is sitting down for a ocuple hours to hang out with my friends and kill shit.

I'll give some advice on how to lead raids in my next post.

Turn the lights on

So there we are, making attempts on Yogg-Saron. We've gotten through P1 pretty good with only 1 extra add up.

We then start trying to get P2 down. We're having probems with people going insane, so I look around trying to point out the green beams to go stand in.

Only to realize they aren't there.

I figure "That's kinda wierd" and we do a few more attempts.

Then on our last run back, I realize that you actually have to talk to the Keepers up above before they will actually help you. Man did I feel like an idiot.

So I tell the raid that I've been a dumbass, and that we've been attempting Alone in the Darkness the entire time. They start laughing. "Really? That's funny because this seems doable."

So I activate all the keepers, and P1 turns into a complete joke. I'm getting 7k Maul crits on the adds, and I have like 60k health in Bear form.

We even went through a few portal phases in P2 without anyone dying above. I found that even more hilarious. This fight is going to be easy with enough Melee in the mix.

And here people were saying that it's actually hard. Wow. It's not, really, it's not at all. Mimiron is harder than Yogg + 4.

Just means Yogg + 2 will be our "bare minimum" once we know how to kill him.

Climbing up the ladder...

So last night we got Upper Back Pain and Twilight Duo. Thus continuing our slow climb up the ladder of "Progression" and "Achievements".

What is odd is that we seem to be the only 10m strict guild actually doing anything on Suramar. There are only 2 other guilds that have made any new "progression" kills in the last month, and neither of those are anywhere near close to threatening us in any form.

There are a few more guilds getting new "Achievements", but again they are so far behind us it's kind of silly. And at the rate we're getting points we'll be reeling in #2 pretty quick. So this brings me to my next question: Why?

Is it because everyone is just farming ToC? Well lets take a look.

Out of the other top 10 10m strict guilds on my server, NONE of them have killed a single hardmode in ToC. Granted we haven't either, but then again we haven't actually tried very hard as we have been more focussed on Ulduar hard modes (since they are massively more fun). Even so these guilds have mostly killed quite a few of those hardmodes, already - so I doubt that is it.

It does seem that everyone has become quite complacent with Tier 9. They can log in for an hour a week, collect badges / loot, and log off again.

I guess we'll see if the fun starts up again when ICC drops.

Will ICC actually be a Challenge?

With the release of ICC coming up, one has to wonder whether or not Blizzard will realize the gigantic mistake they made with ToC. Fromm all indications it does seem like they are returning to the Ulduar style of raid: Epic, Huge, and Hard.

You know there is something wrong when you can clear an entire tier of a raid instance in one night, without ever having been there before. That's what happened with ToC. We waltzed right in and destroyed it without hardly even trying. It actually made me depressed.

At this point I don't even log in that much except to raid. That's how bored I am. I like WoW. I definitely don't plan on leaving it anytime soon. But for all that is holy, MAKE IT FUN AGAIN.

That also probably explains why I haven't bothered to upload any kill pictures from ToC. It's just not worth the time. It doesn't feel epic, at all. It feels like a grind - and grinding isn't fun.

That being said, I will definitely post a Yogg kill picture when we finally manage to do it.

Oh and I thought I'd also let you all know that we're now #2 on the server for 10m strict achievements. Go Wyrd Sisters!