Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Guild Life Part 2, Striking Out

That title can be interpreted two different ways. I was striking out on my own in the world, as well as... plain ol' striking out.

This is a continuation of this post.

When I left off, Bound by Honor had imploded completely. The GM transferred off server, leaving the Guild in the hands of her subordinates.

At this time, I was leveling my Hunter through Outlands. The Guild banded together, we did 5-mans for the first time in... well... a while. There was chatter, playing the game was FUN again.

Then, it happened.

The Guild that the instigators joined for their raiding completely dissolved within weeks. Big surprise there. They all retreated to their "alt" Guild. However, they did not have enough people to fill a whole raid. Guess who they came to for help? Yup... BBH.

We decided that anybody who wanted to run with them was welcome to, but there would be no alliance between our two Guilds. While we had major issues with those in charge, there were plenty of long-time friends who were just along for the ride, not knowing exactly what was going on.

Of course, I refused any contact whatsoever with ANYONE from that Guild because, well... I'm bitter. I lost a very good friend because of their stunt.

So, those that still wanted to raid tagged along with the other Guild. Then they started jumping ship, as well. At this point, Guild membership started dwindling. Others were leaving for greener pastures. Honestly, I have no ill-will towards them. If I were more aware of what was happening, I would have started looking elsewhere. But, I'm stubborn. I've been in this Guild for over 3 years, I am NOT leaving.

So, here I am in a dying Guild. Most members have either joined up for Raiding Guilds or just moved on to other Casual Guilds. And then... the leaders started disappearing. Not leaving, just... not logging on.

So, I carried on, in my empty little Guild, proudly carrying the Bound by Honor banner. When suddenly, I found myself with options. My playing time expanded from 2 days a week to basically whenever I wanted, but still limited. I could start my own Guild, inviting like-minded individuals.

Or, I could take over Bound by Honor!

I instantly sent an in-game mail to our 3 Guild Leaders. I did not want our Guild to die. If they're not playing often anymore, PLEASE give me ownership! I've been there since the beginning, I can bring it back. I had two RL friends on the server, one of which had been in BBH for almost 2 years, they could be my Officers.

A month goes by. The mail comes back. I send it AGAIN. Then, I gave up. I saw one of the Leaders had FINALLY logged on while I was at work, ignored my request, and disappeared again.

FINE. Screw you guys, I'll do it myself.

That weekend, Denarian was formed. I brought in my buddies to be my Officers. A few of the charter signees liked the concept and decided to stick around. I set up rules. We had an awesome bank. Denarian was going places. I did it. BBH would be reborn under my leadership. I even sent mails to all the still-active BBH members, inviting them to join us.

What comes after the top of the hill? The drop.

A week after forming Denarian, I recieved a mail from another of the BBH Leaders. It was basically, "Sorry I haven't been on. I would have loved to give you ownership, but I see you went in your own direction. Good luck, nice knowing you, I'm leaving the server."

Well HELL.

Okay, that's cool, I've still got my Guild... except all the charter members already bailed.

No problem... we'll just recruit! Well, the release of Wrath has essentially killed non-raiding Guilds. EVERYBODY with a little dedication and time can progress now. Well, what about those of us who don't?

Oh yeah! We're also cursed! Anyone who DOES join the Guild seems to completely forget their login information within a week. We have several Initiates in their 50s who haven't logged on in months.

So, here I am with my (now) three coworkers, filling out the Guild Roster with an army of alts.

Honestly, I'm not sure where we're heading. I've almost given up on recruiting in the game. Message boards are completely ineffective. Has the game really changed so much in recent times? Is the concept of a small, family-friendly, casual, play-when-you-feel-like-it Guild completely dead?

Internet! What are my options at this point? Transferring is not one of them. I am not leaving my friends behind, and I'm most definitely not paying to transfer a half-dozen characters.

Additionally, e-cookies to anyone OUTSIDE the Guild that can catch the reference in the Guild name.

3 comments:

Stra said...

I wanted to write a comment but instead I wrote my WoW-life story and posted it on my blog.

Reading your posts I am left with the bitter-sweet memory of an early dream of my more noob days of a guild forming with hopes to level together, have fun, be social, run 5-mans, heroics or even raids but keep nothing from breaking apart the group.

Unfortunately as people spend time in the game they become more competitive and WoW (replace for most MMOs I know) ends up being overrun by lone wolves who form short lived packs with the ultimate goal of advancing their own personal goals. The games themselves lack social networking capabilities. Gamers have out grown the old tired idea of the guild nowadays but there is nothing to replace it.

I wonder since Blizzard has finally followed other companies in allowing more playing flexibility with dual specing are they ready and able to allow dual guilding? Or can they come up with an alternative way of organisation similar to internet groups that can form ad hoc, follow certain rules, remain loose but not too loose?

I am thinking that with the use of friend's list, the calendar feature and private channels this type of organisation can happen if one is willing to invest a lot of time in running it. But I want to see the tools that exist outside the game (DKP, Armory, forums) to be implemented in game so the time spent managing a group can be cut to the point that anyone can do it.

But enough ranting for one day. Sorry for the long post I ll leave you with this, the story of my noob dream:

When I was a child I caught a fleeting glimpse
Out of the corner of my eye.
I turned to look but it was gone
I cannot put my finger on it now
The child is grown, the dream is gone.

Tracey said...

Ooooo, cookies!

Denarians are Fallen Angels who inhabit the 30 pieces of silver paid to Judas Iscariot. Kudos for a subtle Jim Butcher reference! (I was considering that as the name of my next bank alt, actually...)

Samodean said...

@Draxi: Thanks for your input. You raise some great points.

@Tracey: eCookies are all yours!

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A part-time player trying to exist in a full-time world. Guild Master of Denarian on the Azjol-Nerub server.

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