Epic Adventures: To Thine Own Guild Be True

An average World of Warcraft player's quest for purples.
5/13/2009 7:31 PM | 6 Comments | Page 1 of 3

The plans for my second column called for a closer look at my distaste for arenas. It's still a valid topic, but one I will delve into later. What was more important than ranting on something I hate? In this case, it was struggling with something I love.

For many World of Warcraft players, choosing a guild involves one question: Will this guild help me progress in content so that I can get better purples? After all, a guild is a collection of like-minded people after the same goal -- to be the best and have the best gear, right? For me, that hasn't been the case.

I have been in my current guild on Aerie Peak for more than three years. Back when I was a poor PUG Horde hunter, the guild was on Gul'dan and was primarily a PvP guild, tearing up the BGs as Alliance. At that time, there were no cross-realm BGs and you could recognize players from the opposing faction by name and guild. After many months of playing against each other, they got to know me. When we'd see each other, they might let me live, dance with me, cheer me, or send just about any other emote. We'd still kill each other, but there was a mutual respect. I joined their guild forums and they convinced me to reroll Alliance, and I've been with them ever since.

As with any guild, it isn't always wine and roses. I speak up when things bother me and I'm not afraid to call out when I see something wrong. Our guild has gone through drama, low attendance periods and poor raiding months. We have never been a hardcore guild. We have tried to balance life and play by not mandating attendance or forcing people to play to remain part of the guild. What has always kept us together is the respect we have for each other, and the friendships we made over these four-plus years.

Unfortunately, at this time, so soon after the release of 3.1 and a brand-new raid instance, my guild is at a crossroads -- and so am I. For the last few weeks, we have struggled to get 25 people together for raids. We currently have two 10-man Ulduar groups, and even those have had attendance issues. I find myself joining with other friends and their guilds to raid when I have time, because my guild has nothing on the calendar. Our guildmaster retired from the game this week because of fading interest. Some key people have left the guild because of its inactivity and their desire to see more of the game. A few more have left because of burnout. The attrition is hitting the guild hard.

I've asked myself what I should do. My playtime is precious, since I don't play very frequently. When I log on, I want to do something: raid, PvP, instances. If I've been spending most of my time raiding with other guilds, I thought, then perhaps it is time to move on. I tested the waters by removing one character and entering him into a guild I had run with off and on. Good people, but still a new environment to get used to. People outside the game may laugh and say "It's just a game; what's the difference?" But my experience has been that a guild should be like your drinking buddies. It is a fraternity of people that gather around shared ideals and interests, and you enjoy their company in the process.