Mage Sits And Drinks

I’ve been mulling over this topic for a week or so, and am having difficulties formulating it into a blog entry that matches my personal beliefs of “talk about what you want, not what you don’t want”.

Expanding upon the topic line, I’d say this post is about how you, as a new member of a guild, can go about asking questions on touchy topics and getting a favorable response, instead of creating animosity.

Touchy Guild Topics

Anyone who has been in a guild for any length of time will be familiar with many of the standard guild-related questions that can ignite into a firey conversation in a moment’s notice, such as:

• How do I get promoted?

• What rank do I need to have to be in order to gain access to the guild bank?
• I see guild heroic runs going on, how do I get into them?
• Can someone run my lowbie through an instance?
• When can I expect to get my first piece of raid loot?
• How is loot handed out in guild runs?
• Does the Guild Bank pay for repairs?

Some of the questions look completely innocuous and unable to spark such a stir amongst your guildies, but as is common: When there is conflict between what’s perceived to be good for the individual and what’s perceived to be good for the group, there is an argument waiting to happen.

Why These Questions Are Touchy Topics

As stated above, there’s an ongoing conflict in all team activities, in and outside World of Warcraft: The conflict of “me” vs “us” when making considerations.

For example, here’s a simplified situation that is pretty common in a leveling guild:

PlayerA joins a guild and is greeted with many welcomes.

People in the guild seem friendly and talkative, and when PlayerA checks the /groster, members are regularly found in instances together.

PlayerA expresses an interest in running a particular dungeon on the guild line, but is either met with silence or a few “no”s here and there. If PlayerA is a pure DPS type, any responses they get come from other pure DPS class types, but the Tanks and Healers are silent or unavailable.

Figuring it’s just a bad time for their new guildmates, the idea is shelved for now by PlayerA.

Thirty minutes later, PlayerA notices there’s a guild team in the very dungeon inquired about earlier, but when the team is asked, PlayerA is told the party is already full – “sorry man”.

At this point, PlayerA can take many emotional roads, including getting offended, feeling left out, or just shrugging it off.

Or, another option is that PlayerA could take a more rational view, leading them to taking their observation to someone else who has been in the guild longer. After hearing what they have to say about it, a more long-term decision can be made.

The more often the situation arises without rational resolution, the more likely it is that PlayerA is going to be unable to shrug off concerns, and will be left feeling offended and/or left out which is never good for a “team”.

And of course, let us not confuse commiseration with rational resolution, either – the former is just as unhealthy for the “team” as the other more emotionally-driven decisions previously mentioned.

Resto Shammy vs Tavarok

Solo Play -vs- Team Play on WoW

While it is true that we all play this game for our own personal enjoyment, it’s also true that there’s a lot to the game which involves group play instead of just solo play.

The most successful of your guildmates (PlayerB) will regularly join grouped teams in order to tackle harder content.

As a result, they tend to be well-geared and well-liked within the guild structure itself, and it’s natural for a new guild member to see the favored attention and want to join in on it, too.

But of course, that player’s skill, popularity and gearing didn’t appear overnight, so hoping to join into PlayerB’s dungeon groups may be a little harder than originally expected.

Harder, but not impossible, as long as PlayerA doesn’t give in to the negative thoughts that pop up due to the personal insecurities we all have about how others perceive us.

How To Inquire Without Appearing Selfish

If you’re new to a guild and you see a “touchy topic” you don’t understand, one of your first thoughts might be to “call someone out” by asking a direct question.

On the Internet, this tends to be a Big Mistake[TM] because while it may be briefly satisfying to rev someone else up and put them on the defensive, it doesn’t tend to end well. Antagonizing teammates who are a sliver away from being Complete Strangers to you isn’t wise unless you like to be ganged up on and possibly booted to the curb.

A better solution is to do as PlayerB has done: Manipulated the situation in their own favor. First, by developing key relationships within the guild, and then by using those new relationships for their own benefit.

Done correctly, these key relationships will last longer than any MMORPG guild will. One day you’ll be guiding PlayerC through these unwritten social laws from your solid, well-geared, well-liked position within a successful, well-run guild!

Stay tuned for more entries on this topic, now that it’s been introduced!

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