The Classifieds: Riders of Gilead

The Classifieds brings you weekly news from around the WoW community, including our famous Random Acts of Uberness. This week, we'll lead off with one of the best stories we've heard in a while.

The <Riders of Gilead> is a well established guild on the Ysera (US-A) server. They're recruiting for raids on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and use the Shroud point system for awarding loot. You can check out their web site here. This may all seem like fairly standard stuff -- but what sets them apart is their strong sense of coordination and teamwork.

Some time ago, the <Riders of Gilead> helped an old-world PUG work its way through Mount Hyjal. The raid leader was a level 71 holy paladin who seemed to really, really want to tank the content. The Riders were fine with that; it was old-world content, and the whole event was just for fun. But the paladin kept getting more and more belligerent as he repeatedly died. After all, even at level 71, a holy paladin can lack the tools to tank raid content. Finally, after a lot of wipes, the paladin got frustrated and switched away from group loot to master loot.

This wasn't an issue of loot. Hyjal loot isn't very meaningful in the Wrath era; instead, switching the loot to master loot was an insult, like throwing down a gauntlet. When Jinna, the guild leader for <Riders of Gilead>, was unable to reason with the paladin, he asked in TeamSpeak for the guild to get out of combat.

Amazingly, the entire group did so. Jinna negotiated the loot back to group loot and ended up leading the remainder of the raid. He did not kick the paladin who'd started the fight, and the PUG went on to complete the instance. Moments like these are what binds a guild together and shows why leadership is so important to a successful group. It's more than just loot; it's shared teamwork and vision.

Random Acts of Uberness

It's when another player lights up your night with precise play, a wicked sense of humor or unexpected generosity that your login becomes something to remember. Share your Random Acts of Uberness with theclassifieds@wow.com. Keep things brief (150 words or less, please), and be sure to list everyone's character names and home realms or battlegroup.

Raco <Ring of Outlaws> of Windrunner (US-H) After a long break from raiding, my two brothers and I formed a new guild <and the Warsong Band> with some friends. We started raiding together but we were stuck without the needed experience. Enter Raco -- the healing shaman and wonderful leader. Even after wipe after wipe, he never got frustrated or "elitist" and we eventually downed Putricide and Dreamwalker. But it wasn't just his skill, it was his leadership. It inspired us all both in and out of game, as lame as that sounds, and was just awesome to see. The next night, without Raco, we banded together and downed Princes and Blood Queen and then Sindy (in just four tries). Lich King gunna die now! Thanks Raco! -- Jibjub <and the Warsong Band> of Windrunner

Employment: Guild recruitment

If you've not already started advertising for Cataclysm raiders, now's a great time to put out your message. After all, the release is only about a month away, and when the expansion officially hits the servers, we're all going to be very, very busy.

Send in your guild name, realm, a link to your guild website or armory listing and a sentence or two on your guild's focus (10-man, RP, late-night raiding, whatever) to theclassifieds@wow.com.

10-man and 25-man raiding and social <K I N G S> of Borean Tundra (US-A) are now recruiting for the upcoming expansion. We are still growing and are in need of everything but mostly ranged DPS. Our raid times will be flexible, but mostly during the week at night. <K I N G S> has been around for about four years in World of Warcraft and five years before that as a FPS gaming clan. If this sounds like a fit for you, check out the website or contact Swiftmend in game.

Casual spaz <Spiffy> of Cenarius (US-A) is a very small, casual, social guild looking to increase our numbers. We are looking for people who enjoy hunting for achievements, companion pets, and so on while chatting with a fun guild. Level 80 preferred, not required. Good sense of humor and silliness a must! Knowing when to tone it down is a bonus.

Casual but current <Paradise Lost> is a casual raiding guild with a reputation for staying in current content. We have a tight-knit group that works hard when we have to and is silly the rest of the time. We are seeking mature and solid DPS for Cataclysm. We have awesome healers and experienced tanks. Please contact an officer in-game or apply online at our website.

Exceptional raiders wanter <Light of Shattered Halls> of Shattered Halls (US-A) is recruiting exceptional raiders interested in taking on Cataclysm content with one of the oldest and most successful 10-man raiding teams on the server! For more information, go to our website.

Middle-aged and loving it <Team X Calibre> of Winterhoof (US-H) Tired of bouncing from one failed guild to another? Tired of dealing with guildies who are the same age as your kids? Come join the laid-back, middle-aged crew at <Team X Calibre>. We've been punting gnomes since 2004 and dealing with whiny kids for a while now. We cater to the casually hardcore down to the altaholic. See us at our website.

Newer guild on the way to heroic Lich King <Fusîon> of Chromaggus (US-H) is a newer 10-man guild. We are recruiting several classes and roles for Cataclysm. We are currently 11/12 in heroic ICC-10 and we are continuing to push for heroic LK prior to Cataclysm. Come Cataclysm, we will be running two 10-man groups with the goal of a third if we continue to grow. Our raid nights will be Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday with start times at 8:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. EST. PvP nights will be supported on Wednesdays. You can check out the website here.

Puget Sound <Overcast> of Vashj (US-A) is recruiting new members from the Seattle/Puget Sound area for Cataclysm. We are building our 10-man raiding team and rated BG team and are looking for mature, adult players who love the game and want to have more in common with their guildmates. More information can be found on our guild site.

Social guild <Solace> of Emerald Dream (EU-A) is a social guild looking to start 10-man casual raiding in Cataclysm. We schedule regular PvP, quiz and old-world raid nights for all who are interested. We also have a growing group of members interested in achievements that everyone is welcome to join!

Sydney-based <Avengers> of Dath'Remar (US-A) is a social 10-man raid guild focusing on PVE content. Our main priority as a guild is exploring all that PvE in WoW has to offer. We raid, we run heroics, we get achievements, and we have a blast while doing it. Please feel free to contact us to apply or to ask any questions you may have. You can email us at avengersguild@hotmail.com or speak to Lilurá in game.

Crack open The Classifieds for weekly player and community news, help finding the right guild, events of interest and more. Send us your shout-outs for Random Acts of Uberness and mail your news tips and announcements to TheClassifieds@wow.com.