So you want to be a guild master?

Hi. Join my guild

I am currently unguilded. Today, as I was running through Shat, I suddenly get an invite to a guild. I didn't join the guild of course, but I did speak to the level 15 hunter who was trying to recruit my level 70 mage to his new raiding guild. And yes, his highest level character is the 15 hunter.

The conversation went something like this:

ME: Hello. You know you really shouldn't send out guild invites without first asking the person if they want to join a guild. It's considered rude.

LEVEL 15 HUNTER: Do you want to join?

ME: I don't know. What does your guild have to offer?

LEVEL 15 HUNTER: Offer? We aren't paying people to join.

ME: I mean, what type of guild will you be?

LEVEL 15 HUNTER: A fun one ( I roll my eyes )

ME: What's your web address so I can read up on your guild?

LEVEL 15 HUNTER: huh?

ME: Do you have a website yet?

LEVEL 15 HUNTER: No. We are gonna be a raiding guild. We don't need a website.

ME: Hmmm...OK. So if you're going to raid, will you be using DKP?

LEVEL 15 HUNTER: DKP?

And it only got worse from there. I knew I was dealing with someone who had no idea what they were getting into and I took it upon myself to point this person towards a few free guild web hosts and explained what Ventrillo is. Yes, I had to explain to him what Ventrillo is and why it's useful.

The experience got me thinking about how many guilds are out there now and how there are so many that never meet their in game goals simply because those in charge, shouldn't be. So this is for all of you folks out there who are thinking about breaking away from your guild and starting your own.

What you need

Anyone starting their own guild should have the following things:

1) Alot of free time.

Nothing is worse for a guildie than being a member of a guild who's guild master is missing in action most of the time. Be prepared to spend alot of time online. Your presence is necessary. Players who are in guilds simply to have a guild tag above their heads will not contribute to a guild and those that want to contribute will expect their leader to take an active role.

2) Know alot about the game.

It's not enough to just want a guild because you think it will be cool. A guild master should have a vast working knowledge of the game. You don't need to know every little detail, but you better understand more about the game than the average WoW player. Only a fool would follow a fool.

3) Purchase a Vetrillo server.

Yes I know, WoW has in game chat, but it's really bad, especially for raiding. It is far too limited to give your guild the edge it needs in a raid, in a 5 man or even just for a guild event. So if you cannot afford a Ventrillo server ( at least a 50 man ) then find a guild to join. Don't start your own.

4) Have a website.

There are plenty of guild web hosts out there that offer free hosting. It won't cost you a dime. Look at a few, decide which you prefer and use it. When not in game members will need to check in for guild news and event times. A website offers this option. Without it, it's like doing an instance without buffs. It can be done, but it's much harder and just plain stupid.

5) A modest temperament

As a guild mater, you will be called upon to set guild goals, manage members and settle disputes. Very few people will ever say thank you. You must be able to keep your cool when everyone else is flipping out. And you must be able to see all sides of an issue, not just your own.

Yes, there are plenty of guild masters out there who do not have the right temperament and their guilds progress. But look at the WoW forums and look how much drama is created by that. Drama kills guilds. Period.

Yeah that's me

So you can do all five of those things? Well, son, that's just the beginning of what you will need. But that's a whole other article.

If, on the other hand, you lack one or more of the above five, then rethink your reasons for starting your own guild. Remember a guild isn't just a guild. It's an in game home. And by creating one, you are saying you will be responsible for your members leisure time. For every player out there, WoW represents their escape from the real world. If you choose to lead you are saying you will help ferry them through that world. That's alot of responsibility. Its alot of hard work. And if you don't have what it takes, you will only cause yourself and a great many others alot of grief.

Don't be that guy.

- Grimme

The Grind Podcast

Alterac Valley 2.4

The screaming match over Alterac Valley began the day it opened. Alliance and Horde screaming across the forums, IRC channels and blogs about how this battleground is proof of Blizzards love of the opposing faction. While the Horde has long decried the issues of the Alliance bridge and placement of the NPC's in their base, Alliance has pretty much cried about everything relating to the Horde. And as always, Blizzard made changes. Just to refresh everyone, here is the list of Alterac Valley related changes made in 2.4.

• Captain Balinda Stonehearth can no longer be interrupted, silenced, or have her spells slowed. In addition, her water elemental cannot be banished, and does increased damage.


• Vanndar Stormpike and Captain Balinda Stonehearth have had their health totals reduced to match the health totals of Drek'thar and Captain Galvangar.


• Warmasters/marshals in Alterac Valley now increase each other's maximum health and damage by 25%. This is a stacking effect.


• Horde players will now start the battle closer to Drek'Thar and Frostwolf Keep.


• There is now a Join as Party option.

Now, accepting the premise that Alterac Valley is essentially a race to kill the enemy general, these changes can only be seen as a nerf to the Horde. Balinda and her pet were both buffed, thus slowing the Horde down. Van and Bal both had their hit points reduced but only to the levels Galv and Drek were previously, so this only balances the four main targets. Or does it? Consider the fact that Galv has no pet helping him, while Balinda does. Sure, the water elemental isn't that tough but it's still more than Galv has.
The Horde starting location was moved back as well. We now start considerably further back, which had the Alliance salivating in anticipation of this change. Their infamous zerg race to Drek was about to get that much better. But then 2.4 hit, but I'll get to that.
Lastly, the warmasters/marshalls now increase each others health and damage by 25%...each!!! This is a huge nerf to the Horde who often ( at least in my battlegroup ) had to start on Van with at least one marshall still up to hope to snatch a win from the Alliances ever growing domination of Alterac Valley.

And then 2.4 hit and something happened. Being moved back forced the Horde to play a better defense. And that has made all the difference. Since the inclusion of reinforcements, I have come to believe that the focus of AV has complete changed for the Horde. I believe that Blizzard quietly changed their viewpoint as to each factions role in AV and has made changes to broadcast this new philosophy. We Horde should listen to the signs as it points the way to our chance to completely dominate Alterac Valley. At least until the Alliance howls on the official forums become so loud it wakes the dead ( but that just may mean more rerolls to Undead so I'm all for it. )

The last two patches have brought changes that essentially slow down the Horde in the "race" the the General but have left us a way to win as well: reinforcements. By mounting a strong defense, the Horde can dwindle the Alliances reinforcements down very quickly. many players are skeptical of this. They are afraid of getting into long drawn out battles that essentially decrease their honor per hour gain. that being said, using an addon called Honor Kills Counter, I have logged my AV's since 2.4 and taken notes on the strategies used by the Horde in each battle.

In four out of my last five AV's, the Horde has played a strong defense. Some call this the "turtle." The Horde won all four in which they "turtled." However, this turtle did NOT mean we mounted no offense. In fact, by focusing most of our players on defense, were able to stop the Alliance advance and thus allow our offense time to get to Van and kill him. The longest of these AV's lasted just 26 mins. Our single victory without a Van kill lasted 31 minutes. The difference in honor was 50. We got 50 less honor not killing Van, than we would had we killed him. Compare that to the 250 less honor we received for a loss and ask yourself, is it better to extend the match 5 - 10 minutes if it means a chance at 200 more honor?

A long time saying among players is: The Alliance is built for PvE and the Horde is built for PvP. If this is true, then the genius behind Alterac Valley 2.4 is that it pits each side against it's weakness and caters to its strength. With the NPC positioning in the bases, Alliance can skip over much of the PvE that the Horde inevitably faces in each match.

Consider this:

Thus the highest form of generalship is to balk the enemy's plans, the next best is to prevent the junction of the enemy's forces, the next in order is to attack the enemy's army in the field, and the worst policy of all is to besiege walled cities.

-Sun Tzu, the Art of War

The Blizzard built defenses of Frostwolf have huge, gaping holes in them that allow the Alliance to move quickly to their objectives. This design has led to the Alliance tactic of the quick rush to the end and many a Horde defeat. By plugging up those holes with players, we can force the Alliance to engage us or engage our NPC's. Either way, we can slow them down or better yet stop their advance completely. This follows the highest form of generalship.

The Alliance will often send one force to defeat Galv while a smaller ( unusually stealthed ) force moves to take our Relief Hut and Frostwolf Towers , East and West. After the defeat of Galv, the larger force moves to join up with the smaller force. To prevent this "junction of forces" the Horde must "attack the enemy's army in the field" or more to the point, use the IB chokepoint to halt the larger forces advance. Hold them there. Force them to split their forces further through respawns at Winterax. Now their larger force becomes two smaller weaker forces, both of which will be easier to defeat.

The bridge is without a doubt the best chokepoint in the game. It is defended by the archers from the North Tower and thus, can be held by relatively few Alliance players for several precious minutes. When the Horde gets stuck at the bridge, we are besieging the Alliances "walled cities." Players must get across that bridge and to the Aid Station flag at all costs. By taking Stormpike before the Aid Station, the Horde is allowing the Alliance to turtle behind its defenses and that becomes a much harder nut to crack. But, by forcing them to respawn at Stormpike, or better yet, their cave, with our forces within their base, the bridge is turned from an obstacle to an asset. Thus, their walled city becomes ours.

If the Horde can play to it's strength, PvP, and field a strong defense, while it's offense smartly turns the Alliances strengths into our own, the Horde should be able to dominate Alterac Valley.

Note - This article was written by a player with a Horde main character and with a decidedly Pro-Horde bias. Alliance players will just have to be a little understanding about that.