I suppose Blizzard knows what they are doing. But, sometimes, I think a game can be about the journey and less about the destination. I mean, if the whole point of WoW is to rush to the end, you are just rushing to boredom and quitting, right?
Imagine a model where the journey is the destination and the end is well... the end. Then, you put your focus not on getting people geared easily and quickly and dumbing down content so you can all be "to the max" but you make content harder where every step is the struggle, every dungeon is beyond elite and required gates to progress.
I don't know the economics of the whole thing, but I'd imagine they know something $-wise that I don't and are doing the right thing for their bottom-line.
But, I can lament, that it's not what cranks my tractor.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Leader Moment: Crunch Crunch
Okay, so a real-life friend is in my guild. He doesn't play all the time, but I would call him a "less frequent" player. He has a gross habit of eating while on voice chat and talking at the same time. Yea, it's not the most pleasant thing to hear, but usually eating is pretty quick so what the heck.
However, I have a player who logs from voice and then gripes to me about it. Do I do something? Is it that important? I ponder if that's really something worth doing anything about. Sometimes, you just have to take people's pet peeves and say... grow up. Always drama.
I guess my thought is that it is a failure on two parts.
1. Rude to eat on voice chat.
2. Rude to log out of chat
3. Rude to whine about it
"Maaaaa, he's picking his nose!" "He's touching me"
I think the first thing is, if it is bothering you, just say so to them. Why am I your heavy? "Dude, I can hear you eatin' it's gross!"
However, I have a player who logs from voice and then gripes to me about it. Do I do something? Is it that important? I ponder if that's really something worth doing anything about. Sometimes, you just have to take people's pet peeves and say... grow up. Always drama.
I guess my thought is that it is a failure on two parts.
1. Rude to eat on voice chat.
2. Rude to log out of chat
3. Rude to whine about it
"Maaaaa, he's picking his nose!" "He's touching me"
I think the first thing is, if it is bothering you, just say so to them. Why am I your heavy? "Dude, I can hear you eatin' it's gross!"
Friday, March 26, 2010
Guild Size
This was one of the ultimate dilemma's for me. When I first started being the GM, I didn't sign up for the job. We were just guys playing WoW and none of us were max level so it didn't really matter. For the most part, we weren't on at the same time enough or played the same amount of hours to really ever do anything together. But, that's history.
Once we were leveled to 80 and actually had a chance to even consider raiding it was making sure no one ever had to sit out. How many people does it take to just raid 10-man. I knew it was more than 10 because we'd have absences, but then, you face the reality that sometimes you have more than 10 and you can't take everyone.
After time, I realize you have several class of players.
Frequent Attendees - Come to everything they can
Less Frequent - Come about half the time.
Infrequent - Come sometimes
With some stupid made-up math, I figure frequent is about 80-90% attendance, less is 40-50%, and infrequent is 10-20%.
So, our player count is 10 = 0.85 * Frequent + 0.45 * Less + 0.15 * Infrequent.
But, how many of each class of players do you have. You can't really control this and people move from one group to another. Without a large enough sampling you can't statistically have a good answer. I am sure Blizzard has data that could help answer the question, but we have to go on guesses or at least on observance of our guildies.
In my group, about 50% are Frequent, 30% are Less and 20% are Infrequent.
So, if P = total player count...
10 = P * 0.85 * 0.5 + P * 0.3 * 0.45 + P * 0.2 * 0.15
10 = 0.425 * P + 0.135 * P + 0.03 * P
10 = 0.59 P
P = 10 / 0.59 = 17 players guarantees you never have to pug!
Now, if you want, you can argue that this post is a load of crap. Well, IT IS!
However, as guild manager, it's my job to provide numbers for raids and it's the best I could come up with. But in the end the reality of it is observation of your guildies. Yes, it's spying. But you have to watch when they play.
Next, it's about adding people that fit the category you really want. Aim for Frequents and you get about half Less Frequents whether you like it or not.
Once we were leveled to 80 and actually had a chance to even consider raiding it was making sure no one ever had to sit out. How many people does it take to just raid 10-man. I knew it was more than 10 because we'd have absences, but then, you face the reality that sometimes you have more than 10 and you can't take everyone.
After time, I realize you have several class of players.
Frequent Attendees - Come to everything they can
Less Frequent - Come about half the time.
Infrequent - Come sometimes
With some stupid made-up math, I figure frequent is about 80-90% attendance, less is 40-50%, and infrequent is 10-20%.
So, our player count is 10 = 0.85 * Frequent + 0.45 * Less + 0.15 * Infrequent.
But, how many of each class of players do you have. You can't really control this and people move from one group to another. Without a large enough sampling you can't statistically have a good answer. I am sure Blizzard has data that could help answer the question, but we have to go on guesses or at least on observance of our guildies.
In my group, about 50% are Frequent, 30% are Less and 20% are Infrequent.
So, if P = total player count...
10 = P * 0.85 * 0.5 + P * 0.3 * 0.45 + P * 0.2 * 0.15
10 = 0.425 * P + 0.135 * P + 0.03 * P
10 = 0.59 P
P = 10 / 0.59 = 17 players guarantees you never have to pug!
Now, if you want, you can argue that this post is a load of crap. Well, IT IS!
However, as guild manager, it's my job to provide numbers for raids and it's the best I could come up with. But in the end the reality of it is observation of your guildies. Yes, it's spying. But you have to watch when they play.
Next, it's about adding people that fit the category you really want. Aim for Frequents and you get about half Less Frequents whether you like it or not.
Buff to Cataclysm
I am so torn on the idea of us getting a buff until cataclysm. Sometimes I feel like I am always in the guild that is just a step behind the content swing. While other guilds are far out ahead in beating the Lich King, we are still gearing to get past Festergut. And, along comes the 5%, soon 10% buff. I suppose it's our group that this buff is designed for, but the same time, I can't help feel being cheated of saying... "I can do it too, you ain't that l33t, you just have more time".
Though, I guess by the time we actually down the Lich King, it will likely be level 85. LOL.
Though, I guess by the time we actually down the Lich King, it will likely be level 85. LOL.
It's my burden
Last night, during raid. I was training a new person or at least attempting to get someone else to raid lead. I can't always be there and I was hoping to see some inspired ability and perhaps a new perspective on raid leading. You never stop learning how to raid lead because it's all about the social dynamic of being pseudo-in-charge.
So, after a few minutes into the raid start we hadn't started yet. There were numerous delays, which is one of the biggest banes of raids. One of my guildies whispers me, "if this doesn't start soon, I'm leaving".
What reaction was this person expecting from me? Sympathy? Understanding? Action? I chose another route. My thought was, he is a grown person and makes his own choices and the implications of those choices are his own, not mine.
I can't remember my exact response, but I think it was along the lines of... "that's up to you."
There was a time when I really carried this stuff like an albatross. I wanted consensus. I wanted happiness. I wanted perfection and bliss. Someone write me a reality check please. So, call me a M&S (Moron and Slacker), but I learned that its a dream and move on.
So, after a few minutes into the raid start we hadn't started yet. There were numerous delays, which is one of the biggest banes of raids. One of my guildies whispers me, "if this doesn't start soon, I'm leaving".
What reaction was this person expecting from me? Sympathy? Understanding? Action? I chose another route. My thought was, he is a grown person and makes his own choices and the implications of those choices are his own, not mine.
I can't remember my exact response, but I think it was along the lines of... "that's up to you."
There was a time when I really carried this stuff like an albatross. I wanted consensus. I wanted happiness. I wanted perfection and bliss. Someone write me a reality check please. So, call me a M&S (Moron and Slacker), but I learned that its a dream and move on.
Why ask?
So, I made the mistake again. As a learning raid leader, I didn't schedule precisely what was to happen -- I left it up in the air for the group decide. For some reason I live under the delusion that we are all going to work together as a team on everything we do and therefore coming up with the activity is equally a group responsibility. You can laugh at this point.
Can this work? Maybe in some situations.
Does it work for me? No.
I think the basic issue here is a matter of expectation. Personality comes into play here. Some want to lead and most want to follow. It is sort of the same scenario with DPS vs. Tank / Heals. DPS is the lowest stress position in the raid. That's what everyone wants to do is play and release stress so you will find fewer brave souls that will take the hot seat.
I digress.
If you ever ask the question, "so what do you want to do now?" you will likely get "/crickets". Most players will not tell you what they want. However, if you pick something they don't want, you'll will more than likely hear about it either out loud or in private tells. People want to choose upfront.
So, in summary, as raid-leader / raid-planner. The best thing you can do is plan the raid and schedule it so the expectation is pre-known. Members can then decide in advance if they are willing to buy into the objective. If they aren't they can bail or just not sign up.
Can this work? Maybe in some situations.
Does it work for me? No.
I think the basic issue here is a matter of expectation. Personality comes into play here. Some want to lead and most want to follow. It is sort of the same scenario with DPS vs. Tank / Heals. DPS is the lowest stress position in the raid. That's what everyone wants to do is play and release stress so you will find fewer brave souls that will take the hot seat.
I digress.
If you ever ask the question, "so what do you want to do now?" you will likely get "/crickets". Most players will not tell you what they want. However, if you pick something they don't want, you'll will more than likely hear about it either out loud or in private tells. People want to choose upfront.
So, in summary, as raid-leader / raid-planner. The best thing you can do is plan the raid and schedule it so the expectation is pre-known. Members can then decide in advance if they are willing to buy into the objective. If they aren't they can bail or just not sign up.
Monday, January 11, 2010
3.3 LFG
I have to say that the new LFG has completely changed the dynamic of WoW for me. Yes, people can sing praises until the high heaven, but I am not sure everything about it is all roses.
For the obvious. DPS has a large queue time. Well, if you can't figure out the math, it's very simple. End-game 25-man raid guilds need 2 tanks, 5 healers and 18 DPS to complete a raid. That's a 3.6:1 ratio for DPS:Heals and a 9:1 ratio for DPS:Tanks. 5-man's need 3:1 ratio for tank and heals. So, a little wait on heals, but a big wait on tanks. Are the numbers this drastic? Probably not. You do have 10-man guilds and you have folks that don't raid at all. But, for the most part, tanks is the shortage. My only advice to DPS is be nice to the tank and wait and see how well they hold aggro. If they are weak, give them a lead. You need them more than they need you.
But not everything about LFG is about whether you can get in the dungeon or not. Some of it is the whole impersonal nature of it. Ever seen this? Enter dungeon, "hi", Pew Pew, "gg", teleport out. Rarely do you talk. You might get an occasional ... "my bad", "watch your aggro", etc. And, DPS that needs tanks badly will sometimes say, "this is a good group, queue again?". Well, of course they will say that because the queue sucks for them. With that impersonal nature, you don't get to meet potentials for new guildies, you rarely get to know other people on the server, so it's really just wham, bam, thank ya mam.
I do admit, that it made leveling and gearing my alt's easy as pie and very quickly you go from greens to 232 T9 purplies, but then what?
And finally, the thing I think that will bite LFG the hardest is burn-out. I think it will cause so much dungeon burn-out that people will be tired of them all very quickly.
What do you think?
For the obvious. DPS has a large queue time. Well, if you can't figure out the math, it's very simple. End-game 25-man raid guilds need 2 tanks, 5 healers and 18 DPS to complete a raid. That's a 3.6:1 ratio for DPS:Heals and a 9:1 ratio for DPS:Tanks. 5-man's need 3:1 ratio for tank and heals. So, a little wait on heals, but a big wait on tanks. Are the numbers this drastic? Probably not. You do have 10-man guilds and you have folks that don't raid at all. But, for the most part, tanks is the shortage. My only advice to DPS is be nice to the tank and wait and see how well they hold aggro. If they are weak, give them a lead. You need them more than they need you.
But not everything about LFG is about whether you can get in the dungeon or not. Some of it is the whole impersonal nature of it. Ever seen this? Enter dungeon, "hi", Pew Pew, "gg", teleport out. Rarely do you talk. You might get an occasional ... "my bad", "watch your aggro", etc. And, DPS that needs tanks badly will sometimes say, "this is a good group, queue again?". Well, of course they will say that because the queue sucks for them. With that impersonal nature, you don't get to meet potentials for new guildies, you rarely get to know other people on the server, so it's really just wham, bam, thank ya mam.
I do admit, that it made leveling and gearing my alt's easy as pie and very quickly you go from greens to 232 T9 purplies, but then what?
And finally, the thing I think that will bite LFG the hardest is burn-out. I think it will cause so much dungeon burn-out that people will be tired of them all very quickly.
What do you think?
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