Crimson Blades

It's been an incredible two years.  We've had lots of people come and go, multiple guild merges, a server transfer, and have spent (If we average out 10 hours of week)  over 1000 hours we've spent raiding together.  Granted our current schedule comes in at 7 hours/week, but that's not including 10 mans, alt runs, etc.  Personally I'd like to thank everyone that's been part of the guild and helped us grow to where we are.  Since we're at the end of Wrath of the Lich King, I feel it proper to address where we're at with the guild, and where I see us going.

History

I figure it's only right to cover the history of the guild.  My early WoW days started out on Illidan playing mostly casually.  I had never hit max level until June of 2008 and then on a work trip was coaxed into starting up again by a friend.  (Lyllin for those that know him).  We spent a week playing when we weren't in various work related meetings.  Upon coming home, I was hooked fully and working on leveling.  Acholate started playing and we were slowly progressing by leveling.  Wrath hit and brought us 2400+ queues and Lyllin made the decision to not wait for a game he pays to play and transferred to Drak'Tharon.  Ach and I made the transfer as well and we began looking for a guild to run with.  We couldn't really find a guild that catered to our style of play and still had no clue what raiding was so we decided to start our own guild.

November 23rd, 2008 we received our 10th signature, mostly through talking with people we saw running around guildless and formed the <Crimson Blades>.  The charter reads Xillian, Lyllin, Acholate, Lustyreaper, Neviron, Babycookie, Vivace, Ilovemywife, Leonidis, and Romeroh.  At the time we were still leveling and along the way picked up quite a few members who are still with us.  As we neared level 80 I began doing research on what this raiding thing was.  I was told the game doesn't really start until max level and couldn't comprehend why.  Then one day, I off tanked an OS10 being coached by another player barely having a clue what I was doing.   A couple days later, we had enough people at max level and decided it was time to enter Naxxramas.

I still have videos of those first few pulls of Anub'rekhan.  I recorded every fight back then since I had the drive space.  The numerous pulls on the 4 horse men, learning how to handle things.  It was this time we picked up a few more members.  Vercetor (now Adremmalech), Bigboss, Shadord, Naminai, Goodgulf, and Cataa were among our first raiders.    The first downing of Kel'Thuzad had us barely breaking 2k dps but were making our way through.  I didn't understand progression at the time and Ulduar eventually came out.  Along the way we had picked members from the guilds <Illidan Refugees> and <No Rice>.   We pushed our way through Ulduar never fully clearing until after TOC was out, but eventually did get back to finishing it.  Later in the year, once faction transfers opened up, we lost numerous people and the Alliance side of the server shrank fast.  Our 25man raids were becoming harder to fill and we teamed up with <Kill That Donkey> to finally down Anubarak in TOC.  A few weeks later, we had done plenty of scouting into other servers and decided that Sargeras would be our new home.

As we made our way to Sargeras, we were joined by members of <Dark Legacy> and <Penitence>.  We packed our bags, and transferred with 75 players to Sargeras.  All told, we had discussed our change with everyone that was a long standing or raiding member and only 2 people stayed behind that said they were coming.  We hit the ground running and began working on Icecrown Citadel.  We didn't skip a beat and were raiding 25 man raids the next week. 

At this point we had become more focused on progression and re-adopted EPGP .  After quite a few late night discussions with friends I trusted, we made a few officer changes to strengthen the guild's foundation.  We were running a few 10 man groups along with our regular 25 runs.  ICC was a long raid, we had numerous nights of wiping on bosses.  Coming back the next week and clearing anew up to our progression boss.  We had pretty much fallen into a day 1: farm up to next boss, day 2: work on boss pattern.  Along the way, transferred from Drak'Tharon and joined forces.  Summer pushed through, we downed Arthas in 25 and cleared Ruby Sanctum.  As of this writing, we're sitting at 30 on the server and in the top 10k in the world.  

The Future

Suffice it to say that even though we're barely a top 30 guild, I feel like we're easily a top 10 caliber guild.  We offer so many things that other guilds don't.  I'm glad I can't count the hours I've stood at training dummies helping people work on their rotations and gear choices.  I also know plenty of officers that have done the same.  From logs to forums to streaming Blizzcon, as an officer team I feel we're more structured and definitely more stable than most guilds.  The only thing I'm not satisfied with is our progression.

I've invested hundreds of dollars and thousands of hours personally into growing the guild.  As a team we've grown to work with each other, learning strength and weaknesses, how to pick each other up.  There are times were morale is in the garbage and times where it's higher than ever.  I want to eliminate the low points.  I also want to see us in the top 10 guilds on the server.  We will be there.

Upon the release of Cataclysm, the guild will be changing some.  EPGP will be cleared and we will probably be making some personnel changes.  Also, all raiders will be demoted down to member status.   As we work towards max level, we will begin 10 man raiding as soon as we have a capable team.  Currently in the beta, we're downing bosses with 346 iLevel gear which is roughly heroic dungeon gear.  As soon as we're capable, we will start 25 man content.

Raider Status

Once we've begun 25 man content, we will be taking applications for raider status.  Yes, I know, another application.  We will be deciding on a set number for our raiding team.  Attendance will be expected on all nights of raiding.  After a number to be determined of missed raiding nights, players will be automatically demoted back to member and need to reapply for a raider position.  Obviously exceptions shall be made for vacation, etc however our top priority will be to know if someone will be missing so we can accommodate.

Along with being a raider, it will be time to learn to take constructive criticism.  If you cause the raid to wipe, be ready to answer what happened.  If you stood in something you shouldn't have, that is a valid answer.  The reasoning behind this is to address issues publically so we can eliminate repeat wipes for the same reason.  As we come closer to raiding, the full requirements of being a raider will be posted.

Applications will be accepted for your class/spec.  If you wish to change specs, re-applying will be necessary.

What if I'm not a raider?

We'll be running 10 man runs regularly as well for those that are not raiders.  This schedule will be determined however it will be expected that you do not progress further than the guild is currently at for the week in raiding content.  We will be establishing standby players who will be required not to progress their character further in content for the week than where the guild is currently at for the week.  The end goal is to be able to let standby's know on Tuesday if they'll be needed and for which nights.  We plan to utilize the flexible lockout system to its fullest extent so people are still downing content regardless of if they're a raider or not.

Schedule (25 man)

Progression: 7:00pm - 10:30pm, Wednesday, Thursday, Sunday
Non-progression: 7:00pm-10:30pm Wednesday, Thursday

Players will be expected to regularly raid until 10:30pm and we will do our best to make sure we're calling raids at or shortly after 10:30pm.  In most cases, 30 minutes isn't going to change your night of sleep therefore leaving at 10:00pm regularly will not be an option

Schedule (10 man)

This will be determined in the future based on the Cataclysm raiding system and our schedule for content

Loot System

We will continue to use EPGP which will be established shortly after the raider status is put into play.  Prior to that, the 1-100ms/1-1000s system will be used.  We may bring back the 1 successful need roll per evening rule as well prior to EPGP.

Non Raiding Players

Raid invites will be determined with the following priority:

 Raider > Member /Alt > Recruit > Casual/Friend. 

At times, players will be chosen outside of this priority, sometimes for recruit testing or raid composition purposes.  For example, if we are short 2 healers, and have no standby healers, Member healers will be taken in.   If you have an issue with who was chosen for a run, bothering the officers or raid leaders at the time will not get you a spot.  We will not be changing our roster for the night because something "isn't fair"

Regular guild applications will still be required for non raiders, however will not follow the scrutiny of raider applications.  The Casual/Friend rank will be for the most part require little to no application, members will be considered based on application and guild needs.

Player vs Player

Cataclysm is changing the way pvp is currently handled in the game.  To accommodate, Sponty will be leading the PVP division of the guild. We're promoting Crazedheal and Isthatapumaa to officer to assist with the various pvp events we'll be holding..  Along with rated groups, we'll be running guild last man standing events, horde fishing. and other pvp events.

Guild Achievements

With the intent of leveling to a level 25 guild as fast as possible, Lilpip and Sponty will be organizing guild achievement nights.  We'll be having things such as fishing contests, critter killing events, classic dungeons, and much more.  Working as a guild will yield us various things from mass resurrection to new mounts in no time.  In time these will turn into regular guild events from classic raids to scavenger hunts.

Closing

There is a large amount of material covered and by no means am I an English major.  I encourage anyone with any concerns or questions please bring them to the attention of myself or an officer.  We're trying to work towards structuring a bit more.  Raiding is intended to go smoother, and as a result, we'll all benefit spending more time killing things than wasting it waiting for people to come to their keyboard.  Lots of things in this post are subject to change, but I feel its a good rough draft for the next year of the guild.  In all honesty I can't wait for Cataclysm because we're going to kick some ass.