Officers' Quarters: Mailbox roundup redux

Every Monday, Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership. He is the author of The Guild Leader's Handbook, available this spring from No Starch Press.

Here at Officers' Quarters, I receive a number of emails every week that don't get featured in the column for various reasons (which I explained last time I did a roundup). Once again, it's time to examine some of these shorter -- but no less interesting! -- topics. This roundup's theme is Cataclysm concerns and preparation.

Just the two of us

Hello,

I have tried to find this info but I cannot seem to find it anywhere, or I am really terrible at finding things. Is there going to be a minimum guild size to participate in guild leveling? I started a small guild for myself and my son to play in and we are having a great time, but I hoped we could take advantage of these new features without joining a larger guild or recruiting into the existing one. Obviously we would not get any experience for raids or dungeons, but what about questing and professions, or even rated battlegrounds?

Thank you for your time,

Callidor

Hi, Callidor. The good news is that there is no minimum guild size. A guild is a guild, even if it only has two people (or one). The bad news is that, since there will be only two of you, leveling will progress extremely slowly. You will get guild experience for questing, but not much else. Dungeons, raids and rated battlegrounds require a certain number of players to count as guild groups (4 of 5, 8 of 10, 12 of 15, and 20 of 25). The only other way you can get guild experience is by earning guild achievements. Some of these achievements, such as Mix Master and the Slayer achievements, won't be impossible for you. However, most of them will take a long time to earn.

For more info, check out the guild advancement Q&A.

I'm on the outside

Scott,

My guild has existed since vanilla, and I've been a member for about a year now. The way our guild raids is that we have a number of 10-man teams who run on Friday or Saturday night, and then a single 25-man raid that runs on Sunday afternoon. The roster for the 10-man teams is strict. You're either on a team or you're not. For the 25-man raid, however, everyone who wants to go shows up, and the raid leaders figure out who gets to go. I'm often not around on the weekends. So, my first issue basically is that I'm irritated by the fact that all of our progression raiding happens on the weekends.

My second issue feeds somewhat into the first issue. You see, I'm not on one of the 10-man teams. As I said before, the rosters are pretty much set in stone, and as much as I would like to be on a 10-man team, first, there are rarely permanent slots open, and second, I wouldn't be comfortable putting myself forward for an opening when I couldn't guarantee my attendance, as the teams only run on the weekends.

I've spoken with one of the officers in our guild about this, and he's pretty much told me that he thinks I'm the only one with a problem.

Finally, I'm concerned about how things are going to be in Cataclysm. I seriously doubt we will continue with the 25-man raids. Most of our core raiders are people who are focused on 10-man teams. However, since we have a strict-roster, strict-weekend approach to 10-mans, I'm worried about getting cut out.

So, are these issues I should bring up with the leadership? Or am I just whining and being unreasonable after a tough weekend and need to gut it out?

Thanks,

Andy on the Outside

Hi, AotO. I've had a few players in my own guild who wanted to raid but who couldn't meet our schedule, so I know what you're going through.

Scheduling is always, always a problem with a larger guild. There's simply no way to schedule raids that meet everyone's needs. Someone is going to get left out, and unfortunately, right now that person is you. Complaining about it again won't get you anywhere. However, you've made your officers aware of it, so if anyone else brings up the matter, you won't be a lone voice anymore.

Until more people have an issue with the schedule, the officers have to keep it as is for the good of the guild. Rescheduling raids is not a trivial matter -- there are potentially devastating consequences. If you reschedule to a time that people don't like, your attendance can drop, your progression can grind to a halt, and before you know it, your best raiders are jumping ship.

My advice to you, for now, if you really can't make your guild's schedule as it exists, is either (a.) try to start your own raiding group during the times you can make it (without, of course, "poaching" from the other scheduled raids), (b.) give up on making those raids regularly and be content filling in when you can, or (c.) look for another guild.

If you stick around for Cataclysm, however, you may get lucky. It's a long shot, but it's possible that other people's schedules will change, and the officers will need to move progression raids to weeknights. You may find the schedule altered to your benefit.

It's also a possibility that lapsed players will return to the guild for the expansion and the influx will prefer a weeknight. You could form a new 10-player raiding group with them.

On the other hand, the expansion may also bring changes that don't help you very much. Your guild will have to choose whether to focus on 10-player or 25-player raids. If they choose the former, you could be left out in the cold.

Whatever you choose, I wish you luck!

Jump around

We spent most of the last two months as a 12-person guild, just enough for a 10-man with backups, but some guilds are going stagnant until Cataclysm, and we are getting an influx of new raiders. My leader feels overwhelmed at the moment because he hates not being a part of whatever the guild is doing, so he likes to be at all raids. We need to convince him that we are capable without his help, and that he can kick back and maybe do something he enjoys more than jumping in raids all the time. Do you have any suggestions on us doing this beyond going behind his back to raid without him?

Scir

Hi, Scir. You absolutely should not go behind his back. That will only make him feel hurt and betrayed. Purposeful deception is never a good strategy.

For people who are in leadership positions, it can be really tough to let go, even a little bit. I would continue to offer to let him sit out, making sure he knows you're happy to have him along but concerned that he will burn himself out. Be up front about it.

If he expresses his feelings of being overwhelmed to you, suggest that he take a step back. Offer to help him with any of the duties he normally handles. Remind him that other officers can help out also.

Unless you pay for his internet service, you can't force him to take a break. All you can do is present the option and hope he eventually takes you up on it. Only he knows his own limits. If you can get him to sit out once or twice and the raid goes smoothly without him, he'll feel less compelled to "jump in" every time.

One other option is to suggest a break for the entire guild. After all, I don't recommend raiding full-time right up until the next expansion launches. You want your members to be refreshed and excited about the new content, not shell-shocked by endless attempts on heroic Sindragosa. Take a week or two to recharge everyone's batteries -- your guild leader included -- and you'll all be much happier heading into the Bastion of Twilight at 85.

/salute

Send Scott your guild-related questions, conundrums, ideas and suggestions at scott@wow.com. You may find your question the subject of next week's Officers' Quarters!