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The Matticus Guild Philosophy

I’m currently in the process of laying down the foundation of my new guild. I’ve got my leadership team in place and my goals laid out. My goal for Wrath is to kill Arthas and I’m going to be surrounding myself with players with that same goal. I’ve outlined my 3 P’s philosophy. I was advised that I should have clear goals in mind along with my system. So here it is:

Progression

This is a raiding guild, first and foremost. While I like PvP like any other player would, my heart belongs in the PvE world. We will tackle farm content at times, but the moment I feel we are capable of “jumping the curb” (as Guy Kawasaki puts it), I will not hesitate to make that leap. Old world raids are something I won’t completely rule out. But I won’t even bring that up or mention it until a year or so had gone by in Wrath.

With that in mind, loot council will be loot system of choice. I know a lot of players have mixed feelings about loot council. Some players have had bad experiences and some have had terrific experiences. In the interests of progression, I feel that loot council is the best system to use. Loot may not be fair and it may not be equal, but I will do my best to ensure that it is effective and not wasted. The concept of loot rot is where a player has an epic and then decides to pursue (and pick up) an item of marginal upgrade to them when it could have benefited another player.

I have no desire of seeing that happening again.

This means you have to place your trust in myself and the system. You have to trust and believe that I know what I’m doing. For this to work, players have to buy into the system and have faith in my vision.

Performance

Everyone gets held to the same standard of performance. If you don’t meet it, my team and I will sit down with you and attempt to isolate the problem. WWS and other tools will be used extensively to help troubleshoot and improve your play. Everyone in my organization understands that they will be criticized and critiqued to a degree. I want it known now to my current guild and future prospects that I will never have a problem with you as a WoW player, only your WoW playing. We have a fair number of analysts (who amaze even me) who will go through as much as they can to help you get better.

Unless you’re a big douchebag. Then you’re gone.

Everyone has off nights. Even Matticus has off nights (and they tend to occur around the time of NHL playoffs). I’m not the best Priest in the game, but I usually bring 100% as much as possible to the table. However, if I start playing like crap for whatever reason, I won’t hesitate to pass raid lead to my lieutenants and excuse myself from the raid. I’m not going to bring down my guild if I’m the reason for failure. It’s a two way street. If I think you’re having an off night, I won’t hesitate to pull the trigger and ask you take the night off.

This is also where loot council comes into play. Did you flask? Come fully repaired? Early? Full set of pots and reagents? My council will factor this into their thoughts. I reward performance and preparation. I believe good players should get rewarded for their hard work and effort. I will strive to make the process transparent and minimize any possible accusations of bias. Don’t worry, you get to have a say in the type of loot you’re interested in. I’m not going to send you something that you don’t want.

Accountability is something I believe in.

Perseverance

We’re going to wipe. A lot. Get used to it. If you’re not used to wiping by now, then a progression guild may not be for you. It’s the courage and the will to continue that counts. Accept the fact that there are nights where we’re seemingly going to beat ourselves against a wall. That’s what learning is all about. We wipe, we learn, we move on. If this is not something you’re prepared to do, then my guild is not for you. If you don’t believe in the system, then my guild is not for you.

We’re going to have good days and bad days. Some days, we’re just going to have to grind out the encounters. We’re going to have a lot of fun regardless of what happens.

Those three principles will center around my attitude in running the guild and my raids. It won’t be a democracy. It’ll be a mattocracy. Democratic guilds have always been stonewalled in my experience. There would always be disagreements. Surrounding myself with people who agree with me and my vision solves most of that. I’ve got an awesome team behind me in terms of leadership and ability.

One more thing

You should be aware of a few things. I’m only human. This is the first real guild that I will be leading into an expansion. I’m going to make mistakes along the way. But you have to believe that I will do what I can to fix them. My “youth” and “inexperience” are what some would consider flaws.

I will also listen. I may not do what you ask. I may not believe the same way you do. But I will listen to anyone under my leadership especially if they disagree with me. In the end, you have to respect that I may go in a direction you do not believe in.

It’s a hard thing to ask people you hardly know to believe in you and trust you. But if you’re truly interested in raiding with me, I will need your faith and trust. Without it, my system won’t work. Trust me to do the right thing.

Because if I don’t, a number of bloggers will certainly make it public and hold me accountable. It certainly is in my best interest to do well.

Progression, performance, and perseverance. That’s my system. Trust me.

Still interested?

I have a number of DPS and healer spots still open. I don’t have any Mages or Shamans at the moment. Tanking positions are presently filled while applicants are being reviewed.

Intended raids will be on Tu, Th, Sat, and Mon from 6 PM – 9 PM. I wanted to start out with smaller hours but that won’t be possible with progression in mind. I intend to be in Naxx by Christmas.

The site’s still being worked on. Give it another 48 hours and forums should be available. In the mean time, if this is something you’re really interested in doing, leave a comment with your email and Syd or myself will get back to you.

Yes, that Syd.

Twitterati’s Advice to GM-to-be Matticus

Let it be known that to me, GM does not stand for Guild Master. I prefer to think of it as General Manager. Sports terms work a lot better for me and it’s something I can handle (though I suppose it is more of a business term). Yesterday afternoon, I lit up a simple tweet:

What advice would you have for up and coming GMs?

The response was absolutely long and enormous (as you can see on the left).

I don’t know if there’s much more to be said after such a myriad of replies.

If you have anything you’d like to add, feel free to do so.

Bonus points if you can match the Twitterati and keep your advice under 140 characters.

Note: Tweetdeck is the official Twitter client of Matticus.

“Matt, heal me! Why are you running?”

Oh, it just brings tears to my eyes when I anticipate hearing those phrases again. To level with me is a most unique experience. You can ask Wyn that. You can ask any of my friends that. You see, I have this knack for simply attracting mobs. Whether I move or whether I don’t, I am a virtual magnet for them. I’ll try to slip between 2 mobs breathing a sigh of relief when I’m almost through only to find to my surprise that I end up getting both of them.

Sometimes I’ll panic and run if I think the situation’s a lost cause. Usually I’ll stay and fight. Until I realize I’m fresh out of gas (and mana). As a frequent multi tasker, sometimes my attention won’t be focused on the mob or the task at hand. I usually need a “gentle” reminder of this from time to time.

Aurik and Sephrenia want to issue a gentle reminder to tanks and DPSers that if you’re going to level with them, they understand and know that you will need heals. Because if you don’t get heals, you die. And if you die, they die. Ergo, it is in their best interest to heal you.

But if you’re rolling with me, remind me that you’re pulling so I can switch back into the game and watch you. Great raid healer. Not the best grinding healer.

While I don’t like hearing the phrase heal me in raids, I’ll frequently issue the instructions for extra heals on a player if the situation calls for it (damage debuff, impending big hit, healing reduction debuff).

Hard Decisions

I’ve always thought about forming my own raiding guild. I’ve always talked the talk. But can I walk the walk? It’s still something I’m mulling over. The expansion is nearly here. It’s time for players to re-evaluate their guild, their goals, and their environment. Are you happy where you are? Are you going to achieve your goal where you are? If you answer no, then it just might be time to do some soul searching.

That’s what I’m doing right now. Raiding with Carnage has been a major blast and one of the best WoW experiences I’ve had. I had my own reasons for joining Carnage because my goals coincided with their goals. Now my goals have changed.

I’m still mulling things over. But I’m more or less committed at this point. Talks with friends have helped me orient myself and I’ve come to realize that the only way I can be satisfied playing this game is to do it in a way where I’m doing what I want. Along the way, I’m going to have to find 24 other players that want to do the same thing as I do. It’s going to be a tough sell. Will they buy into the Matticus system and philosophy? Who knows? But I have the support of around 12 players on the same server and off the server.

Who else out there is changing guilds or is thinking about leaving? What’s holding you back? What’s making you consider pulling the trigger?

Wish I had the title of General Manager Matticus. Anyone in the market for a raiding progression guild?

*Over* Matticus on the WoW Insider Show

I should’ve wrote this sooner. I fail. This is a cool edition of the show as it’s one of the rare ones that’s going to boast an all healer crew of myself, Mike Schramm (Resto Shaman), Elizabeth Harper (Holy Paladin), and Phaelia (Resto Druid). I’ll post the link up to the show later on. It’ll be around noon-ish (or 1230) PST. Expect a bunch of healer talk, some raid talk, and me loudly proclaiming the superiority of the Priest class (or at least, try to ^^).

It’ll be live on uStream. Here’s the link to the channel.

(worldofmatticus is my name)

PS, Phae my last name has no e :(.

In case that above embed doesn’t work, use the direct link to the channel.

2:00 PM: Shows over! Thanks for listening!

Matt Beats Game, Epic G String Drops

Er, did I say G String? I meant bow string.

Here’s a few choices screenshots leading up to and including the kill.

At this point, we’re down to 3 healers. Cheever just ate a real big Armageddon. Stupyd just died (Angel wings on the right). Luwin and Sthirteen are still alive. Both of whom are severely taxed and drained.

Thankfully, Lang (our MT) is still in good shape. Our Ret Paladin is still alive. We have enough momentum from our remaining players to carry over and finish him off. We started him today at 3:30 PM PST. We spent all night on him. It stretched on until around 8:50 PM. It was to be our last attempt regardless of what would happen. It always seems that on milestone bosses, it boils down to the last attempt.

I wonder why that is. I guess it’s desperation kicking in.

Here we are just a bare millisecond after we tip him over. The game registers the kill, my UI says he is still alive with 0.3k health remaining. The achievement system just kicks in.

I really want to take the rest of the week off. I doubt I’ll get that chance. My Guild leader was absent today. I entered the raid instance as raid leader. Clearly that must’ve affected the loot table.

Recount shows the DPS of the current fight. I didn’t set it to show overall. Caim was on orb duty as was Rackham. Big props to the two of them for handling the the Shields so well. Benchwarmer tank Hassai stepped in today and did a phenomenal job on acquiring and holding the Sinister Reflections.

We’d gotten to the point where we would bring Kil’Jaeden down consistently to phase 5.
Then down to below 20%.
Then down below 10%.
Then below 5%.

Until we finally punted him back him back into the ground where he belonged.

Burning Crusade complete. 02/11/08.

By the way, if you notice, you’ll see that we only have one mage. We could definitely use another one heading into Wrath. 

Sadly, the realm forum thread I created has already been trolled. Why do people hate me so much?

Taking a Page from the Vulcans

Matt’s Note: Technically not WoW related. Just a post about my futile attempts at fixing a bad situation. Might have some. But not entirely. Mark as read and move on if you like. Could be fairly lengthy.

Logic and reason. Decision making of any sort should consist of those key elements. We had a pretty bad raid last night. We got shut out by Felmyst. It was a bad game for most players throughout the night, myself included. That’s not what I’m here for, however. There was an incident that occurred post raid. I don’t know the specifics or the details. No other officers were online. I was grabbing a meal and trying to downshift myself from the ubertense zone I was in that raiders frequently experience. My friend alerted me that something was happening in Guild chat. I logged on quickly to take a look. I discovered a non-raider status Guildie had departed.

From what I gathered from witnesses and the like, the player was bitter. He wanted to use gold from the guild bank to repair his gear. A guild that he joined allowed him to do that while our guild did not offer the right here. As such, he labelled us a “newb” guild. One of our active raiders took offense and a verbal sparring ensued.

I’m now left with a raider who is questioning her desire to play this game. The player who left felt that him and his brother weren’t getting the recognition they deserved. For whatever reason, he decided to start openly challenging players to duels for 500G. I quickly took him up on the offer. I’m a PvE specced Priest with near full T6. He’s an S3 geared Warlock.

It was no contest. But I had no intention of winning. Clearly the player was aggravated and the only option I could think of was for him to take his frustrations out on me instead of the other raiders. It took all of my power to prevent myself from yelling. I thought perhaps I could try and defuse him without involving anyone else.

Why weren’t we giving his brother the respect he deserved?

We do. His brother’s the chief MA and a ranking DPS player in the Guild. Apparently by respect he meant why don’t we fund his repairs. I calmly explained to him that it’s not just him. No one in the guild is allowed to use gold for repairs because we can’t sustain that sort of income. We don’t sell epics or instances or anything like that. It’s the guild’s policy. Take it or leave it.

My brother’s way better and more important than anyone else!

Yes, your brother is a key asset to the guild. But he is no less important than the other 24 players. Without our resident Warlock tank, Illidan would have stoned us. Without our healers, we wouldn’t survive.

Why don’t I get a raiding spot?

You didn’t apply. Everyone goes through the application process, no ifs, ands or buts. I went through it myself. If you want to get promoted to a raider status, you put in an app on the forum. I don’t care if you’re his brother. Everyone goes through the same thing.

I tried to be as logical and reasonable as I could. Personally, I didn’t care if he left. He’s not a raider or a sub. If he wants to leave, I wish him all the best. He said his brother was going to leave with him. I said that’s up to his brother to decide. I won’t try to stop him from leaving. But, his services will be missed.

You see, my personal take on WoW is that players should do whatever it is that makes them happy. If it means leaving the guild and parting company, I’ll be disappointed but understanding. No one is under any obligation to stay in this guild. There are no player contracts to be honored or enforced. I will do my best to work with players and their needs to come to an acceptable consensus. I can’t do more than that. I might end up losing two players over this as well. Wrath is almost here. I can’t wait.

My trial period as an officer is coming up fast. I doubt I’ll remain in this position any longer after this. I’m not suited nor cut out to handle these situations on top of my other responsibilities. It’s not often players are a part of a stable organization that has been around since the server opened. The stability here makes it extremely attractive for me.

Other things:

* I’ve been extremely on edge recently. This doesn’t help.
* Missed Sunday’s WoW Insider post. It’s at home on my desktop. It’ll be up later today. Sorry Mike, Dan, Liz. I’m not exactly the most punctual.
* Car broke down this morning. Dad helped me jump start it. Weak battery. Friend wanted a hockey chest pad back when he gave it to me 6 years ago. Had no idea where it was. Found it though. Don’t ever lend things to people that you want back. If I knew he did want it back, I would’ve never taken it off his hands. He wants it for a Halloween costume. The guy is large and in his Mid 20s. The chest pad is junior sized.
* Punching concrete is bad.
* Posting is going to slow down a lot over the next week or 2. I have a paper, presentation and assorted midterms to deal with. I’m also going to suspend myself from WI writing for the same time period. I need my weekends free.
* Essay will be on the Columbine shooting. Have to explain it with 2 Crim related theories. Pick one or the other, compare/contrast, and explain. Have to give policy implications. 8 pages. Can’t use first person.

Things I want to do

* A lot of people visit the Plusheal forums then leave after a few times. I want to hook them back. I’m thinking about starting a Newsletter. Send out a combination of a few healing tips, topic highlights and posts from various healing bloggers. Anna says I’m trying to do too much. She’s right. It’s in the idea stage at the moment.
* I want to expand the world. I have an awesome Resto druid on staff right now. Would love to partner up with a Resto Shaman and a Paladin blogger.

Ambition.

I have it.

Last thought. When I was standing there on the side of the road on a side street with the hood of the car up, cars and people were going by me.

Not a single person stopped or asked if everything was okay.

Think about that.

M’uru Down, 2 Weeks Remain

Obligatory M’uru screenshot. Big giant tank and spank. Voidzone evasion skills are a plus.

Now we have this Kil’Jaden fellah. Only once we were able to get to 25% but we lacked the DPS and he exploded all over our faces. I need to push for stronger players the next time we go in there. We have players doing less than 1000 DPS on the last boss in the game. That has to change. Twice now we were barely able to tip him past the different percentages. We lost to Darkness 3 times because we had no Dragons available.

This is Kil’Jaden.

He’s the hardest boss in the game.

If you’re not doing at least 1000 DPS or higher and you’re not handling Dragons, what the hell are you doing here?

I have two options available. I can either reduce healers from 9 to 8 (which is going to stress the remaining healers even more than they are) or we move players that aren’t DPSing hard enough in favor of those who can.

It’s unacceptable.

Two weeks. Just two more weeks. I need more time.

Is Sydera a Barbershop Addict?

In a word, yes.

I don’t actually have pictures for you of all Syd’s new haircuts, but I will admit that they occur at the rate of about one per day.

Here’s the look I’m currently sporting. I find it ironic that Phaelia of Resto4Life couldn’t wait to get rid of her facial tattoo–I couldn’t wait to get one!

Below, you can see yesterday’s pigtailed look. It was a good thing too, because my hair was out of my way when I got sick from too much Halloween candy. Carmelita, to my left, is pretending not to know me.

All this, after I promised Briolante I wouldn’t change my hair. . . much. My favorite tank/ significant other extraordinaire says he’s very glad I always look the same in tree form. Syd just doesn’t look like herself these days.

Oh well, at some point there will probably be a return to my long mint-green locks.

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