Worlds Okayest Raiders
As we near the end of Shadowlands I'd like to reflect back and have the officers and raid leaders share their thoughts. Our success is your success and it's no secret: it's goblin rocket jump. And the second biggest secret isn't a secret at all; it's you.
Thank you to everyone who raided with us and contributed to the guild's progress as a team. You all know how much work you put in and it shows when we look at the logs over multiple raid tiers or characters or guilds even.
I've asked Ing, Smooga, and Col to look back on their time in the guild during Shadowlands and to share their thoughts.
<Ing Section>
I've been playing WoW since 2004 and this has been the best time I've had so far being part of this guild's leadership. The guild began in 9.0 (with me as a recent trial) and by the end of that tier I was GM; I got AOTC as a healer, tank, and DPS all for the first time without being a hard carry. I am proud to say that during my tenure as GM and later as raid lead, we saw continuous and significant climbing of server ranks to the top 100 spot we are in now. The group is as strong as ever. My last serious raiding had been in MoP and vanilla. As with all things though it has come to an end for me. I need to prioritize real-life endeavors - kids, spouse, career - and organized raiding (and particular feeling the responsibility of leadership) wasn't going to fit. I love this guild and look forward to playing at a more relaxed pace in Dragonflight. See you all in-game and I look forward to following the raid team's progress!
<Smooga Section>
Season 4 has been a great time to be in this guild. I have had more fun this season than in previous months. There were some challenges in season 3 with raiders leaving/quitting the game and some shake-ups in management. At the end of the day, the change has been a ray of sunshine for the guild. Pritt has thrived as GM and has facilitated some expansive growth in the guild community. There are more people hanging out, doing mythic pluses, and joining fun raids which helps keep me interested and coming back to the game. Pritt and the other officers have done an excellent job with recruiting and ensuring all members meet the standards we set for the guild. We appreciate each and every raider and member in this guild. So many of you have stepped up to help each other, it makes this mama bear proud. I look forward to moving into Dragonflight with each and every one of you.
<Col Section>
Season 4 has been a time of heavy change. We've undergone a major refresh of our roster and I feel like the raid group is in a good place; both from capabilities and personality perspectives. Raids have gone smoothly and people have been doing a great job showing up prepared and ready to roll. From an M+ perspective, there has been a lot of progress and improvement. We have multiple players pushing into the low 20s with keys weekly and everyone in the raid team is capable of cleanly clearing our weekly 15s. Looking forward to Dragonflight, I have high hopes for our raid team's ability to push up the heroic clear ladder in a fun, low-stress environment. - Col We must thank Ing for helping found the guild and being part of the early group to kick off the guild raiding and moving towards the standards we have today.
I'd like to highlight what each of them has brought to this guild:
Ing: he advocated early for our guild to have performance standards, not too crazy high but also high enough that the raids are smooth, and quick so we do not struggle on hard bosses for long.
Smooga: advocated for community and helped really make non-raid time fun, active and enjoyable. She's also the official guild streamer!
Col: does something super useful; he guides and instructs without getting frustrated when we fail, doesn't let us give up, and keeps a calm positive attitude.
Each person has contributed strongly and helped form these 3 values:
a. Always seek to improve and don't lower your standards
b. Build community and culture around fun, regardless of level and still get together and perform well.
c. Being willing to help, guide and improve others even when it's difficult or challenging.
Lastly, I'd like to share my takeaways from this expansion by doing what I've done since taking over as GM, being transparent and honest with you all. I strongly believe that "Culture eats strategy for breakfast." We can have the best plan, the best meta builds and the best raiders we can find but without something to hold that together there is only performance, only parses, and chasing the next gear upgrade. The thing I would ask you is, if you log on if you hang out with us, run keys on an alt, smash a 10 with 4 druids and a monk while trying to get Peatri to laugh at the soundboard queues, you'll find something to connect with the other side of parses; people.
Real life happens and we understand if you have to be away from the game or if you need a break from the soundboard.
Thank you all for Shadowlands, please enjoy the break between now and the pre-patch.
