Sunday, July 6, 2008

K goes on a rambly rant

Ok folks this is a long and somewhat rambly/ranting post. Bear with me.

The other night I am just minding my own business standing in Ironforge when all of a sudden I feel scanned and violated and I get whispered by someone asking me what my +healing is. I’m like ok, whatever, and just answer. And he answers saying his main’s +healing is +1900 something. Turns out this was an alt of a toon that used to be in our guild a long long time ago. I won’t mention his name (because yes, I’m mean, but not that mean), so let’s just call this guy TWDE, “The Worst Druid Ever”… because he was by far the worst druid ever. TWDE was just absolutely clueless about how to play his own class and was just an overall asshat. He eventually left the guild because all he did was want to get run through places and get help, even complaining about the quality or frequency of the help that we did give him. Eventually ignoring his repeated requests made him leave. Hooray! (oops did I really say that? Um… yes I did.)

Back to this conversation. Now he is being his typical asshat self, saying he is so much better and in a raiding guild now and running Hyjal and whatnot. In the past I just let him go on and ignored him, but I just couldn’t hold back anymore. Yeah, K can be all nice and healy healy, but you piss me off and I will hit you harder than Atania’s backstab (and that’s pretty damn hard). Trust me, I may have no attack power, but the crit % of my words? 100% baby.

So I went off on him pretty hard. I told him that I really couldn’t care less because he was the worst druid we had ever seen and that we definitely don’t miss his attitude of always wanting things done for him... and that he is probably getting run through in this current guild. I told him that I had no respect for his skill or his attitude and that I am happier not running Hyjal if I would have to run with his sort. While we are having this conversation Jess looks him up on armory and what? His +healing is +1353? What, he is still carrying around the Essence Focuser? Ok so he is not only an ignorant asshat, but an ignorant asshat liar. /laugh hysterically

It was sort of ironic and interesting that this conversation with TWDE came to be right after a guild conversation we had. We got together to talk about where we were raiding wise and where we want to go. We’re pretty much done with Kara, so that leaves us ZA or starting to try the 25 man content. Our HR director/feign death extraordinaire/sit on a rock hunter Nio had a couple of 70s who wanted to join us.

So Jess wanted to discuss what we wanted to do next. I think the overall consensus was that we would like to see a 25 man or two, but we will not recruit for the sake of getting 25 people. We’ll continue with ZA, bringing in people who we genuinely enjoy running with and hopefully we’ll have enough people in the guild and in friend’s guilds to run a 25 man once in a while. But will we be running 25 mans 3 times a week? Right now, I don’t think so.

I have issues with people in so called big raiding guilds who think that they are better because they are running these end game 25 man raids. Could our toons find spots in these guilds? I am actually sure that we could, as a number of us have been recruited. As we progress within the guild, I hope that we can grow in a way that makes sense for us, because our worst nightmare would be to have enough people to run a 25 man but have a couple of those be carried through or be total jerks. I think we would rather not run a 25 man than endure that kind of scenario. We just have a low tolerance for asshats and unfortunately we don’t have anyone who can cure or dispel asshat-ism. Now I’m definitely not saying that every large raiding guild has these kind of folks, I know that is not true. Its just that I know of some that do.

It disturbs me when these jerks in big raiding guilds think that we are not as good. I would bet that we are just as good or even better than some of those in the big raiding guilds. We’re just a smaller guild. Smaller guilds does not equate to less skill… okay? If we were boxers, we’d be the featherweight of lightweight champions of the world… small, but pound for pound, we'll knock you out! If we were animals, we’d be those crazy ants that can carry 500 times their body weight. If we were… ok… enough with the analogies, you got my point.

I also have a problem with people who think that stats tell the entire story. So TWDE “said” his +healing is 1900 something. Does that make him a better healer than me? I would bet my ass that it doesn’t… well especially not him. Playing at this level is so much more than the numbers. Yes, the +healing numbers are the deck you are given…but its just the base. How well you play your cards means just as much, or even more. Do you know how to time your use of pots, trinkets, and innervate so as to make best use of your mana? Even +3000 healing means nothing if you are out of mana. Do you know how to work with the other healer? Do you know how to stay alive?

As a group we may be less geared than lets say another group of 10 folks, but the fact that we have run together so much gives us an advantage. Its almost like together, we are more than the sum of our parts. Its sort of hard to explain but its almost like some things are just unspoken now. We know what the others will do, where they will be, and how they'll react. We have a healer and tank often thinking and saying the exact same thing, a rogue that knows exactly how the tank and offtank roll, a hunter and mage who are always looking out for their healer ready to lay a trap or freezy thing to help protect her, and CC that is ready to back each other up if theirs break.

I also believe that we communicate well, but ultimately don’t get too upset or crazy if things don’t go well. We definitely know how to laugh at ourselves and this game. I believe that the biggest asset that our guild has is our people and the relationships between them. Here’s to hoping this continues as we grow. And to you, Mr. “The Worst Druid Ever”? Kiss my wooden ass.

8 comments:

  1. I know what you mean... our little continually stumbles through Kara, not enough folks to make a regular 10 man.. but we are doing it for fun, to be with mates.

    Every now and then and invite will come through for Gruuls.. and a couple of us think "why not". So we trundle in there thankful to get the opportunity to do something different.. yet always come out surprised when we find ourselves in the top 1-3 or damage or healing...

    We might not be members of uber raiding guilds, but ti appears we know how to play our toons well enough.

    ReplyDelete
  2. this doesnt quite fit with the rant but I enjoyed that he chose +1900 healing. that is pretty low for hyjal.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hehe, there really are some jerks out there! It reminds me of a certain druid I know who boasts about his healing INCESSANTLY, and says how much better he is than the other druids in the guild... yet has every single gem slot filled with +22 Healing gems! *snicker* I don't think he had heard of the words 'regen', 'spirit', or 'Mp5'. Numbers certainly aren't everything, and I know he gets tiresome to the other druids when he begs for innervates every 5 minutes!

    *PS - above deleted post was me, put the wrong ID down!*

    ReplyDelete
  5. LOL. yeah, I'd boot TWDE off my hyjal raid for only having 1900 +healing. Any healer who has done tier5 properly should have 2k +healing. More importantly, for a tree, does he have the mana regen to support lifebloom rolling?

    Being an @ss has nothing to do with high-end raiding. I have seen plenty of d-bags in high-end guilds who I do not wish to be associated with. It is just like the real life. There are a lot of high paid jobs that require you to be an @ss.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks for your comments everyone. I know not all high end raiders are asshats, and its not high end raiding that makes them so, they were that way before.

    I knew someone who raided who told me that of the 24 others she raided with, there was just one, one person she liked as a friend! To me, that would suck.

    And finally the fact that he chose +1900 something healing for Hyjal... he is the worst druid ever, remember? I actually sort of feel guilty for being mean and feel sorta sorry for him now... he obviously has some insecurities that I somehow flared up.

    ReplyDelete
  7. K,

    My present guild started as a half dozen folk leaving a hardcore T5 guild due to immaturity and the crazy raiding schedule. We slowly worked our way back gearing new recruits with Kara/Badge gear. After eventually clearing ZA and using the new gear, we worked it down to a 2 hour clear.

    During our time in ZA, new people who fit our culture and belief that RL > WoW joined us, reaching the threshold to support 25-mans. After much hand wringing, we decided to give it a shot and downed both Gruuls & Mags on our 1st night of 25's.

    Pressing forward, we cleared SSC & TK in 6 weeks and we're now 2/5 in MH & 4/9 in BT. This was all accomplished on a 3-night per week raiding schedule.

    So, I guess my point is: don't let anyone tell you that a focused casual guild can't make it to end-game. Just keep plugging away... as long as your guild is having fun that's all that matters. :D

    Flynx @ Bronzebeard

    ReplyDelete
  8. I must say....as I'm sitting on my rock...it is much more fun to heckle folks I know and really enjoy than random strangers....and I find that the most fun part of the game is kidding around with guildmates who all have a great sense of humor....I think we picked the right approach for us....we only grow if we have good fits....be a sad thing to lose our group chemistry....

    ReplyDelete