Noble Garden (Easter) Wreath

Here's some more shots of the Easter/Noble Garden wreath from the last post. Two things about it:

1. I wanted to do something festive for the holiday.
2. It had to use Alliance blue.
3. It had to ultimately use the peacock palette. Because why the hell not?
4. Have the feeling that I had to fight the rest of the server for those damn eggs a la Noble Garden!
5. Be pretty. :-P

Here are some more shots:

Warcraftier

Okay, I admit it--I've been slacking. It's been a bit difficult keeping up with posting as I've been busy with other endeavors (*cough*Pinterest*COUGH*). In many respects, I rarely pug these days, and I primarily do LFR for amusement. I've been keeping mainly to myself or interacting with the guild. So long story short, I've been in this little microcosom as of late and haven't had much to talk about.

With Blizzcon 2012 not happening this year, I've pretty much have put some of my cosplay efforts on the back burner. I'm still working on costumes, but not as much as I have been previously. Instead, I've been spending that time pursuing other crafting efforts. Well, that and moving. Moving certainly has helped kick things into crafting overdrive, as I now have a large house to fill with stuff!!! Crafting = affordable awesome decor! /win. And because I'm a geek, and this is a WoW-related blog, I'm pretty sure you know where this is going. Tee hee.

Here are some of my efforts:


Conjured Fel Croissants

Cuz stuffz from the Twisting Nether is deliciously evil...erm, tasty!

This is pretty simple to make-- just spread Garden Veggie Schmear (Einstein's Bros. cream cheese), crumbled gorgonzola, shredded salami, and Shayne's Sauce's Texas Peach Pineapple Haberno jam (for that extra kick) onto the croissants, and roll like normal. Here I used the large, buttery croissants from Pillsbury. Very tasty!


Lion and Nobel Garden Egg Wreath


First off: BOOM, bunny ears! Second, yes I have a lion guarding my front door. Yes, I like to pretend it's one from Stormwind. Bite me, I play Alliance. :-P


More to come!

It's Warchief hunting season!

Now that the NDA has been lifted and the interwebs are literally being flooded with Mists of Pandaria information, we are now getting a much closer look at what to expect in the new expansion. I'm not going to lie to you, I get pretty excited come expansion time. It's a time of change and often we're presented with new and exciting things, be it new dungeons, battlegrounds, professions, lore, etc...but if anything, I'm super-thrilled this time around for this reason only:

"While the steps taking us there are still unknown, Metzen did reveal that the war waged in those patches will reach a massive conclusion: We will lay siege to Orgrimmar to remove the mantle of warchief from Garrosh Hellscream's shoulders. It didn't sound as if it would be an Alliance-only venture, so it seems the new Warchief of the Horde will get a little too Old School Grom for their taste. However, there is a possibility that the Horde will get to deal a similar blow of their own ... Knowing the fate of Garrosh Hellscream, it's possible nobody is safe this expansion. "

From WoW Insider.

Wait, what? So you're telling me that I get to:
1. Raid Org. Okay, been there done that.
2. Raid Org to pry the mantle of Warchief from his cold, dead hands?......!

I'm in.

Yes, you guys can have shitty Theramore. We'll take this in return. Mwahahahahahhahaha!!!!

Adaptability

Once again I'm a tank. I'm honestly not complaining--I rather enjoy tanking these days. I'm not sure if it's because this current iteration of the game has made tanking so much less of a challenge than it used to be, or if it's because my guild has an excellent synergy (and competence). Whatever the case, I'm enjoying running into packs of mobs and pulling like an aggro monkey on meth. Provided my healers can heal me, of course. Stupid pebbles causing LoS issues...

If there is one thing that I do enjoy about playing a warrior, it's that like the other hybrid classes, I have the capability of assuming an entirely different role and trying an entirely different playstyle without having to reroll. This is especially nice as my warrior, as we all know, is my main. However, this got me to thinking--pure dps classes don't have this kind of adaptability (in the same sense), do they? Let me break it down:

Hybrids classes that I have-- warrior, paladin, dk, priest
Pure classes that I have-- warlock

If I want to swap between tanking/dps on my warrior, I have 2 sets of gear. Duh.
I don't tank on a dk (I don't know how), but the principle would be the same as above.
If I want to swap between heals/dps on my pally, I also have 2 different sets of gear. Also, duh. Same as my priest.

My warlock on the other hand, if I'm needed to swap between destro/affliction there is fortunately much overlap between stat priority and BiS gear. However, if I wanted to try demo, I'm pretty much shit out of luck. Although much of the gear is shared between the two specs, the stat priorities are entirely different to the point where I would almost have to carry around 2 sets of gear. This isn't a concept that is unheard of for the hybrid classes (druids, calm down), but it's becoming more of a necessity for pure dps classes. Needless to say, it REALLY sucks to be a clothie right now. >.<

No Complaining! I R leadur!!!

I honestly haven't posted much these days not only because of my current workload and RL responsibilities (sorry, I gotta graduate soon and I can't do that if I play WoW all day >.<), but also because....well, I don't have much to complain about. I rarely PuG these days mainly because I have a solid guild that always wants to run something, and I genuinely enjoy their company. I can't complain about raids because we have an incredibly solid group of people that mesh well socially. So there's really no room to bitch. One thing I will say though is that it is amazing what a guild can accomplish when the leadership isn't incompetent, petty, or insufferably childish. Which brings me to my topic for today: guild leadership, or more importantly, what constitutes good guild leadership?

When it comes to guild leadership, we can all pretty much agree on what makes a bad leader. For the sake of brevity, I'm going to skip all of that. What then separates a good leader from the rest--the average, the bad, and the just downright despotic? At minimum, a good leader will possess the following:

1. Confidence-- It is impossible to lead people if you do not believe in yourself. At the very least, a good leader is confident in their abilities: be it leading a raid, making decisions, or just handling the administrative minutiae that everyone hates. Getting groups to cooperate is a challenge in itself, and it is made even more difficult if the leader has difficulties in demonstrating their confidence--confidence in their abilities to lead, confidence in understanding an encounter, and confidence in their people to work together to accomplish a goal. Leadership requires belief in oneself as well as those who are following to believe in the leader as well. However, as confident as one may be, it is also of benefit to understand that everyone has limitations. In this case, having too much confidence (to where it becomes arrogance) can be just as detrimental as having no confidence at all.
   
2. Communication--Adequate communication is imperative for the success of any organization. Merely logging on and saying, "hi" isn't enough. Talk to your people. Actually ask how they are doing and take the time to listen to whatever they have to say even if it is horribly "boring" or mundane. It is important to establish that you want to communicate and that members can approach you for whatever reason. Make it a priority. If you cannot establish a rapport with your organization on some basic level, then you're likely going to cause future issues do to a lack of real/adequate communication.
   
3. Delegation--As mentioned under "Confidence", good leadership understands their limitations. The largest leadership obstacle in any organization is trying to run an organization by oneself. Tackle the tasks in which you are confident in your abilities and delegate other tasks to those who would thrive while performing those roles. Suck at raid leading? Give that task to someone who understands the encounters very well and is also a solid tactician. Suck at managing day-to-day things? Appoint an administrator. Also, keep in mind that it can be as detrimental to delegate all tasks to either one person or multiple people. As a leader, you also have to do something in regards to guild leadership and not merely serve as a figurehead. Ask yourself--at the end of the day, what have you honestly done for the guild today?
   
4. Patience--This one is a no-brainer. Leadership positions are really thankless jobs marred with stress and a lot of ingratitude. Regardless of the situation, keep your cool and keep your patience. Ultimately this goes back to effective communication and understanding limitations. Not everyone is on the same page, nor is everyone capable of effectively communicating what is going on. Having a bit more patience, as well as trying to understand the underlying issue can and will go a very long way.
   
5. Impartialness--Don't take sides. Plain and simple. There is nothing worse that can happen to any organization than having clear dividing social lines. These social fissues will cause more issues and will be the source of many problems, once again going back to a lack of effective communication. Even in situations where it is you vs. a member, don't even take your own side (as hard as it is). Really listen to what the other person has to say and try to reach a compromise. If one cannot be met, then try at the very least to reach a mutual understanding. It is ridiculous to assume that everyone will always get along, but you can ensure the brevity of your organization if you take the "I'm right because I'm the leader!!!!!" attitude. No one likes a pompous asshat, so don't be one. And finally, always be fair. Make decisions that are the most fair and that would benefit the most people.
   
6. Heart--In my own experience, the best leaders have always been the ones that genuinely care about their people and their organization. It is very difficult to like or even respect someone in a leadership position that doesn't fundamentally care about the people they are leading. Like I have said previously, leadership is a thankless job, and if you're in it for the glory or recognition, then this job clearly isn't for you.

Next time, what makes a bad leader (or how to slowly kill a guild).

A Heartfelt Thank You

So it's nearly 4AM where I'm at and insomnia is kicking my butt. Instead of spending my time trying to count sheep or bore myself to sleep I decided to do a bit of data analysis pertaining to our guild and World of Logs.

Long story short--until the last raid, I haven't had any gear upgrades in a little over a month. Yet I am doing substantially more dps than I had in the previous guild (long story, may divulge at another time). How could this possibly be? My rotation hasn't changed in the least, nor has any of my gear, stats, nor enchants. I should also mention that I also switched from 25s to 10s, so my dps should technically be a bit lower--yet it is not.

It finally dawned on me--our tanks can actually hold and maintain aggro from the start of the pull. I don't have to sit on my hands for 30+ seconds and still potentially pull off. I've been able to pre-pot again without issue and charge in almost immediately after the pull. In fact, since working with this new team, I haven't had to worry about pulling off of the tanks at all. For this, gentlemen, I cannot thank you enough for being as skilled as you are at your role and allowing me to go nuts like an insane, malfunctioning Cuisinart. And thank you, even more for making this fun again.

Outsider looking in

With recruitment going into full swing for the Firelands, I figured I'd dedicate this post toward the dynamics of finding a guild that works for you. I've been on both sides of the fence--recruit and recruiter, and there are a few things to keep in mind during a recruitment process. Keeping these things in mind are important towards finding either a new home or new people for your raid force:

1. What are the goals of the guild?
This is pretty straightforward. Is it hardcore progression, is it a casual social guild, is it PVP-based? Knowing what your in-game goals are and having an understanding of the goals of the guild is key toward predicting whether or not you'll ultimately be enjoy your time there.

2. Does the actions/activity of the guild coincide with these goals?
Is this a raiding guild, but doesn't actually raid? Does the guild claim to be friendly, yet the social atmosphere doesn't exactly feel the most welcoming? This is pretty straightforward--if you sign up for a raiding guild, yet they do not raid or constantly call raids, it may be time to look elsewhere. If the social atmosphere is of importance to you and it doesn't line up with your values, it's better to leave with a sense of grace and dignity instead of compromising your own values, or being involved in potential drama. Are you interested in RP, yet no one can stay in character? Find an RP guild on an RP server. Long story short--if the activity of the guild does not coincide with their goals, this can lead to potential dissatisfaction within the guild for certain members. As a recruit, this might not be the environment in which to stay, and as a recruiter, perhaps a reevaluation of the guild might be in order.

3. If the guild claims to be a progression-oriented guild, do they have an understanding of the fight's mechnics?
This is key. Every prog-oriented guild has to have a fundamental understanding of the fight mechanics in order to be successful. Do they understand which fights possess unfortunate insta-gib mechanics? Do they understand the importance of interrupts or other nuances of the fight? Running any raid with a group that does not understand the mechanics is not only frustrating if you are progression-oriented, it can also be a waste of time for all involved. As someone who is a part of a team it is important that everyone in the team knows and understand the fight extremely well. Recently I pugged a run on an alt with a guild that clearly did not fully understand the fight's mechanics. Guess who got the blame for the majority of their failures? You guessed it, me. So if you want to avoid being the scapegoat, avoid this type like the plague.

4. What are the overall needs of the guild?
Is the guild in dire need of another tank/dps/heals? Is the guild merely looking for warm bodies to fill their raid roster? Having a good understanding of the guild's needs is important before recruiting or applying. As a recruit or applicant, it is a good idea to do a little research as to the guild's history and find out what the guild is about before applying. Is this a level 25 guild that has strong membership and low-turnover? Or is this a new guild that wants to get their name out but doesn't have the numbers? Is this a guild made of people who just hit max level and want to raid? See where your values and goals line up before applying.

As a recruiter, be honest about your guild. Have you been around for many years? Do you have a great reputation or trying to rebuild? Also be realistic in your expectations of what you're trying to get. For example, in trade the other day I saw a level 6 guild that was comprised of people that just started playing--all new 85's and all really green when it came to raiding. What caught my attention was their spam of, "looking for solid, well-geared tanks that are well-experienced with current content (pref 12/12)." Fair enough, right? One problem--not a single member of this guild had anything beyond 5/12 experience. A request of that sort is demanding and insane. It tells the rest of the community at large that they demand people to carry them, thereby are not capable of actually earning their achievements or gaining respect. Furthermore, tanks that are well-geared and have that kind of experience usually already have core-raiding spots or are looking for guilds that are much better progressed. Just saying. So instead of spamming, "WE R LEETZ", be honest and say, "we are new".

5. What are your needs?
This is very important--do you enjoying raiding in a high-pressure environment? Do you enjoy fostering a high-pressure environment? At the end of the day, the only person that "has" to log on is you. Keep that in mind.