The Classifieds: Of pugilists, gaming research and LFG

The Classifieds brings you weekly updates on guild happenings, raid progression rankings, player milestones and more. Have guild news or a Random Act of Uberness to share? E-mail TheClassifieds@wow.com.

We've got a little bit of everything in this week's The Classifieds: a player who leveled to 80 as a pugilist (unarmed/fists only), a research study seeking your input on gaming's effects on existing relationships, and the debut of our LFG feature for players still searching for the right guild fit. We'll get to those and more -- but first, what's rapidly becoming your favorite feature around these parts, the Random Acts of Uberness ...

Sampaguita, <Ordo de Lupo>, US Nesingwary-A "Three of my guildies and I were running random heroics the other day, and we zoned into Forge of Souls with Sampaguita as our fifth player. This particular group, still in the process of gearing up, was having a little trouble handling the larger trash groups. We wiped once on the way up to Bron. Sam was incredibly encouraging and patient, helped us with strategy, and kept up a steady stream of humor in chat to help us not lose our nerve. Bron dropped Nighttime, and everyone rolled Greed, and it went to one of my guildies. Sam mentioned that it might be fun to have to play around with, and my guildie handed it to Sam in trade. Sam offered to pay some gold for it, but my guildie said no big deal. ..."

"On Devourer, the group again had trouble, resulting in several wipes. Where others would have dropped group immediately, Sam encouraged us to continue on. Finally getting Devourer down, Needle-Encrusted Scorpion dropped, and both Sam and I rolled Need. Sam won the roll, but then said, "Do you want it? Here you go," and put it in a trade window. I protested and offered to pay gold, but in an amazing act of kindness, Sam said, "A favor for a favor; I'll get it another day!" We were all so amazed and thankful for such a great player, who was the perfect example of how a bad PUG can be turned into a fun and memorable run, through the use of friendly camaraderie, patient leadership and a great sense of humor!" (Veneanar, <Knights of the Red Sky>, US Quel'Dorei-A)

Ganduilvera, US Kirin Tor-H "I was leading a PUG though Zul'Farrak on my warrior; I was tanking. All of us in our 40s. A few pulls in, someone comments on the shadowpriest 'just standing around' and 'not in Shadowform.' The priest replies with 'I don't do much DPS in Shadowform.' Cue a round of 'WHAT?' and 'LOLS.' She replies with, 'I am new. I don't know what to do.'

"Suddenly, the shaman, Ganduilvera, says, 'My main is a shadowpriest. I'll help you.' The LOLS stop and as I continue to chain pull ZF, the entire group, all of us, do what we can to coach our poor priest into proper DPS: how to stay in shadowform, the proper rotation, etc. By the end of the run, her DPS improved from 20 to over 100 DPS, she was staying in Shadowform and she was encouraged to continue playing the spec. At the end she was declared 'cured' and thanked us for the help.

"Dear Ganduilvera, thank you for snapping us all out of our elitist 80 mindset and motivating us to help a fellow player (and being an awesome healer while doing so). And thank you to the other members for assisting." (Eniko, <Blacklisted>, US Kirin Tor-H)

Anonymous, US Vengeance-A battlegroup "I know this may not seem like the biggest thing a person could do to be considered 'uber,' but it was a big deal to me. I just freshly turned 80 and was doing random dungeons (regular, of course) when a person in my group from my server noticed I was wearing all level 70-72 gear. He was in full ilvl 232 gear (he was helping 'random newbs out") so he decided to help me get geared. We went from dungeon to dungeon for six hours until I got seven epics from heroics. He put so much time into helping me gear but when I told him I had to go he opened a trade window. I was expecting to have to pay so I asked how much. But instead of me paying him, he gave me 500 gold to help me out. I was astounded. Sadly, I can't remember his name, but if he happens to see this I hope he knows I really appreciate it." (Ninjasammie, US Kul Tiras-A)

Around the WoW community

Punch drunk We can only imagine the relief Alisabieh (US The Venture Co.-H) must have felt upon punching through to level 80, after leveling exclusively with the unarmed weapon skill. "This was a fun project character I took up in early September '09 when I was working on getting my paladin the infamous Knuckle Sandwich achievement," Alisabieh writes. "I knew the going would be brutal due to the dearth of fist weapons in old Azeroth, so I used vendor items when I could, with some +damage enchants from my druid and resources like Wowhead to help me find what fist weapons I could get from quests or instances. Interrogator Vishas in the Scarlet Monastery with his Bloody Brass Knuckles was my own personal whipping boy. (There's an appropriate metaphor.)" He reports he knew he was going to make it to the end when he started seeing green-quality fist weapon drops in Outland.

If you're wondering why players try metaprojects like these, take it from Alisabieh himself: "I feel relief, yes, but more a sense of pride. I had an idea for an interesting roleplaying twist in a game where it's too easy to get completely caught up in the numbers, and I followed through with it. I have to give a lot of credit to my guildmates, who gave me plenty of encouragement and assistance with instance runs, especially the repeated Vishas beatdowns. I hope other people, especially people like me with lots of toons, will look at this character and consider what they can do to put a personal touch on theirs."

Sometimes insomnia is a good thing. "So I was completely stressed out and couldn't sleep," writes Shar of US Drenden-H. "Naturally, I logged onto WoW and started working on leveling my little warlock, Shar. As I was grinding away on the quests in Valkyrion, my add-on popped up and alerted me that the Time-Lost Proto Drake had spawned. Even better, as I took flight in search of it, I discovered it had spawned right next to Valkyrion! I wasted no time in DOTing it up and proceeded to flat-out murder the poor thing. As a result, my 4 a.m. stressed-out leveling turned into a very happy event that gave me a smile I really needed." Check out Shar on her mount, above -- grats!

Seeking long-lost guildmates The former Shirei the pally of EU Alonsus is seeking former guildmates from <The Hand of Argus>. "I loved it there with all of my little black heart," he writes, "but time was for me to move on, to bigger and better fields. I tried a few months ago to get hold of some them but found nothing. To be honest, all the people I loved and cherished the time I had with left and dispersed. My plea is that you can help me reach out and find these class, fantastic people who put such smiles on my face." Former <The Hand of Argus> members, are you out there?

Happy first anniversary to <Cerulean Sky> (US Eldre'Thalas-A). "Here's to one more year of wipes, QQ'ing, and pwning n00bs," write members Scourge and Xan. /salute!

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<Spectacular Death> (US Llane-A) cozied up inside the inn at the Crossroads this past weekend as part of its "End of Winter Bash (With an Emphasis on BASH)." After being run out the first time, the group threw an impromptu picnic in the center of town, including a musical Arcanite Ripper performance (see the gallery above), and then retook the inn. The guild sends appreciation to the Horde resistance and extends thanks to everyone who turned out for a good time.

Recruiting: Looking for Guild

We've turned the traditional guild recruiting section on its head with a section devoted to helping players who've been struggling to find the right guild fit for their circumstances.

• Breaking into ICC "I saw your article from last week, and it's an awesome idea," writes Haltar of US Proudmoore-A. "I have so much trouble finding a guild on my server. Everyone I see recruiting wants people who are ready to go into ICC hard modes! Kinda difficult if you haven't set foot in ICC, right?" Haltar's a prot/holy paladinlooking for a guild that begins raiding about 7-8 p.m. EST any evenings between Sunday and Thursday.

• Stepping up After two years in his buddy's guild with a handful of other players, Ragnarøkkr of US Echo Isles-A is looking for a group heading into endgame content. "I myself have only been in one 10-man ever," he admits, "(and) I'd like to see more end-game content, since it seems like I'm missing out on a lot. Help finding a casual, east coast USA guild would be excellent."

• Back from a hiatus Intaurg of US Mug'thol-H, who's recently started playing again after a five-year hiatus, is "enjoying the hell" out of his level 62 death knight. "I'm nowhere near ICC yet but looking for a guild I can squeeze into and mesh with in preparation for those ICC days," he explains. "Casual players, casual raids (once or twice a week on a limited membership, or individual raid teams on larger memberships), opportunities for lower level raids." Anyone looking for an up-and-comer?

• Returning raider

  "I took a break from raiding a while back, and it's really been difficult to find a group of people who are dedicated, good at their class and friendly since I came back," writes Avelandea of US Korialstrasz-A. "The guild my friend is in is perfect, but they won't let me join because I really have a hard time raiding on Sunday. I can raid pretty much any day of the week (except Sunday) after 6 p.m. I do like to limit raiding to two to three nights a week, and I'm looking for a group working on Icecrown-10 or -25. I think I'm a pretty good player, and I'm usually the last to die from something stupid, but at the same time I'm more than open to constructive criticism."

• Healer for hire Johnnydráma on US Fenris-A is looking for ICC-10 and -25. "Would like to see a boss past Festergut," he observes. "I can raid Friday nights 6 p.m. to whenever, Saturday from 2:30 p.m. to midnight and Sunday afternoons." Look him up if a resto/elemental shammie sounds like a good fit for your raid group.

• Casual couple Handgrenade and Fragmentize of US Wyrmrest Accord-H are looking for a social guild to ride all the way into Cataclysm. "Unfortunately, we both hold full-time jobs and are unable to raid on our schedules," they write. "We have been guildless for months and unable to find a nice casual place despite our efforts. I hope this section becomes popular; thank you so much!"

• 10-man raider "My guild runs later than I can make and I am looking for a new guild," writes Revlovejoy of US Greymane-H. "My available time to raid is Sunday-Wednesday 9:30 p.m. to midnight EST. I'm mostly interested in 10-man raiding; I like the smaller more intimate feel of 10-man."

• US realm, EU schedule Craggly (US Galakrond-H) is a level 71 druid trapped between time zones. "LFGuild on US servers running on EU time zone," he notes. "Prior to the LFD tool, instances were nearly impossible. Now with the LFD tool, I am leveling a druid , working instance by wonderful instance. Finding a US guild on EU time zone would be heaven. There must be others like me out there."

Recruiting: Looking for members

• Reigniting the roleplaying spark The AAMS (<Anytime Anywhere Messenger Service>) on US Cenarion Circle-H is looking for both new and experienced roleplayers to infuse new energy into the realm's roleplaying groups. "This is an old guild dating back to at least 2006," writes GM Sulfon, "but has been falling on hard times recently and is looking to re-ignite the spark and rebuild the reputation it once had. ... Even if not our guild specifically; there are a number of other guilds on our server with an RP intent that are looking for people." The realm has a Horde-wide /ooc channel, HordeOOC, aiming to become a community resource for roleplayers.

• ICC raiding <Red Dragon Society>, a late-night raiding guild on US Bonechewer-H, is looking for progression raiders. The guild is working in ICC five nights a week from 10:30 p.m. PST to 1:30 a.m. They're seeking a DK or druid tank; two healers (pally, druid or priest); two melee DPS (rogue, enhancement shaman or arms/fury warrior); and two ranged DPS (hunter, warlock or mage).

• Progression raiding <Hero Squad> (US Bleeding Hollow-H) is looking for "keen players of appropriate gear levels" to round out their raiding core. The group, which raids, Tuesday/Thursday 8 p.m. to midnight, is progression-oriented but fun, "comprised of mostly working adults who have lots on the go IRL but do love their WoW." All submissions will receive email confirmation of receipt and an e-mail reply within a couple of days -- nice touch, guys!

• ICC-10 <The Vigilant> (US Thorium Brotherhood-H), a small, tight-knit 10-man team, is looking for a few more for its progressive but light raiding approach. "We are looking for a few skilled players (all roles) who enjoy having a laugh and killing bosses," writes their GM. The guild raids Tuesdays and Thursdays 8:30-10:30 p.m. CST and Saturdays 4-7 p.m.

• General raiding call <Rapture> (US Alterac Mountains-A) is recruiting mages, rogues, fury warriors and a DPS death knight.

Raiding progression

The heroes of raiding progression this week are <Method> of EU Xavius, the first guild to complete every 10-man raid achievement (including ICC). Good work, guys! (And thanks to Polar at GuildOx for the tip.)

Researching relationships in gaming

Paul Belz, a master's student in game design at Full Sail University in Orlando, Florida, is seeking help with his research on the effects of MMORPG usage on real-world dyads -- "in other words, whether in-game actions have an effect on the real world dyadic relationship." If you have played MMORPGs with a friend and would like to contribute to the research, stop by the survey site to fill out the questionnaire.

We need your submissions and news! The Classifieds brings you weekly updates on player and community news, help finding the right guild, who's making waves in the WoW community and more. E-mail your news and Random Acts of Uberness to TheClassifieds@wow.com.