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The Guild Counsel: Everyone's a critic
If there's one truism about MMOs, it's that not all players are equal. It can be frustrating when you're grouped with someone who isn't that great at playing his class. At the same time, it isn't exactly fun to be on the receiving end of criticism, either. Most people want to play well, but they don't want to be constantly reminded of their shortcomings along the way. In a guild, the fine line between helpful advice and unwanted criticism can often lead to a tense atmosphere and the potential for plenty of drama. "L2p" gets tossed around on forums and in game, but what if someone really does want to get another player to improve? In today's Guild Counsel, let's take a look at some of the factors involved with criticism and explore why this is often a very sensitive subject.
The Summoner's Guidebook: Practice makes perfect
If you haven't noticed from previous editions of The Summoner's Guidebook, I emphasize practicing new techniques a lot. Practice is the only thing separating novice League of Legends players from experts. Talent can help speed up the process, but the best summoners are those who work hard to improve their skills. No pro player got to where he is today by playing only one or two games a day. However, merely playing a lot of games doesn't make you a good player. In fact, the wrong kind of practice builds bad habits that are hard to break. When I first got into League of Legends, I knew quite a few people who also played the game. Although a few (who are semi-pro players) are still much better than I am, I became vastly better than the rest of my peers in a very short amount of time. Want to know my secrets? Read on!
[1.Local]: A week of reader comments
[1.Local] serves up a smattering of reader comments from the past week, from the sublime to the ridiculous. Readers seemed to be on helpful mode this week at WoW Insider, with lots of mechanics and theory questions addressed in post comments. The Very Serious Business of Guild Business was definitely top of mind, as readers shared insights on raid scheduling, application procedures and fine-tuning the performance of lovable but noobish guildmates. Readers also talked about wearing their WoW on their sleeves, the whole e-sports concept and the continued fill-in-the-blanks-until-WotLK trend of retro raiding.Be sure to dive into the comments area of each thread and add your own thoughts – unlike your mama, we like us some hot, fresh backtalk.
Officers' Quarters: We love you, but L2P
Every Monday Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership.Hot off my month-long, four-feature dissertation on casual raiding, I've decided to answer some e-mails that relate to it. This week's e-mail is about a subject that comes up quite often in casual raiding guilds: When someone is generous, helpful, and an all-around great member, but who just isn't getting the job done in raids, what do you do about it?Hi Scott,I'm an officer/co-GM of a humble, little raiding guild, looking to have fun, grow and progress with our members. [. . .] We take raiding seriously enough that we're not wasting our time (everyone is on time and comes prepared), but we also have a lot of giggling and laughing in vent during raids, even when we wipe. All would be fantastical and perfect . . . except my guild is in sort of a predicament with a certain guild member. He's been with us for a while now -- long enough to not be considered a new member. He's a friend of mine, as well as a friend of our other co-GM. He's a healer and quite well geared. Probably the best geared in the guild. [. . .] Along with all the effort he's put into improving his character, he's also a decent guy. Whenever someone in the guild needs help, whether it be for a quest or for an empty raid spot, he won't hesitate to stop what he's doing to come help out. [. . .] So, he seems like a top notch guild member. Well geared, puts effort into his character, and is a nice guy. Problem? He knows he's well geared, but he doesn't know he SUCKS at healing.
