Guildleader chores - From a Pack to a Horde and how we are going to raid

This past week has seen a massive increase in our guild numbers.  There has been a lot of concern flying around in the guild - many people don't know who all the others are, and how they are related to whom. In fact, the only person who knows who everyone in the guild is me.

Obviously there has been a lot of concern about who is going to raid and what is happening with raids.  I tried to reassure most people but they are still concerned - so I thought I would make a blog post to reassure them (and myself).

So here is a little flowchart of how everyone is related to whom.  Doesn't it look pretty!

When I look at it this way, it doesn't seem like we have that many people.  I look and I think, most of these people are not intending to be 3 day a week raiders.  Maybe some casual raiding which is very easily catered for on the weekend for those who are inclined.

So, how am I going to sort raiding?  There have been a number of queries.

Are we going to have two raiding teams?
What we are going to have is one serious raiding team, which does our usual Wednesday, Thursday and Monday, from 9pm-11pm.  I do not want to run a second raiding team at the same time as I believe that it causes division within the team.  There will be feeling of one team is better than another and inevitably leads to guild splits.  I told everyone who joined in 6.0 and WoD that we don't have raiding spots and there may be some sub spots and more casual stuff on the weekend and if they weren't ok with that, then they shouldn't have joined!  I wonder if our ranks will think a little after that, but in reality, I don't think so.

As it stands, these are the raiders:
Tanks: Aimei, Exray
Healers: Navimie, Morzierz, Ravzz, Koda, Baconofswag
DPS: Sevrus, Azadelta, Luxygaga, Jazzbangers, Nathamanz, Lushen, Dragonray, Crooked, Kahrax, Eq, Tenshi, Souglyy, Vexil, Haevela, Sars, Shoushiro, Duck, Alca, Una

Subs and keen to raid: Brahski (DPS), Amayeti (Heals), James (Tank), Moopiex (DPS), Biship (Heals), McTacky, Kelthal, Disco (DPS)

Are we still doing Flex/Normal on the weekends?
We probably won't be starting that until we are solidly doing weekday raiding for 2 weeks so I everyone can have a feel for what raiding as a group is like.  I did like how we had a casual once a week normal/heroic raiding, so I think that would be great for those who are more serious about raiding.

There are a few people who are tagged as purely social and I think that Saturday "social" normal raids when we are well established will be fun for them but as I said, I don't think we will do that until we are into doing heroics.

What happens when it gets to Mythic?
It will be a long time before we get there. Our guild has never been a Mythic guild and by the time the next tier comes we will be still doing heroics, I suspect.  But we may be surprised!  If we do get there then those with the best attendance, performance and good team attitude will come for progression.  As stuff becomes farm then we will substitute the rest of the raid team members in.

Can I raid with my friends in other guilds/servers?
Yes, of course you can!  Since we can do it as many times as you like, you can do the same raid a few times (except Mythic of course).  However, if you are constantly unavailable for our raid times because you're with others then your priority for a raiding spot will probably be downgraded.

What about those who are underperforming in raid?
Raiding is supposed to be fun, and I wholeheartedly believe this. However, I expect that everyone should have some insight into their own abilities and capability to raid at our best raiding level.  Raw DPS/healing numbers is one way to look at a fight, but I also look at ability to follow instructions or handle mechanics.  Even I have difficulty the first few times, but I try my best and strive to improve with often amusing results. If someone is woefully unaware of their abilities then one of the officers will speak to them about the concerns and offer tips for improvement and I expect people to be mature enough to accept constructive criticism.

What about EPGP?
EPGP is reset.  It will start again in the new raid week. EP donations will be accepted on Monday night and the Tuesday before raids on Wednesday.  Donations will close at the start of raid.

Well, hopefuly that allays some of the fears and answers some of the questions.  Any further questions put them in as comments to this post guys!  And of course, if you love my flow diagram, feel free to post a comment or even something funny about it :D