Dark Wolves raiding is "casual" raiding. For us, this means that, from an organisational viewpoint:
- Anyone in the guild, with the right gear and preparation, is welcome to sign up for a guild raid. Newbie or previous hardcore raider - doesn't matter.
- We expect everyone to do their best, and treat everyone else with respect.
- We expect people who sign up ensure they turn up, in time, for the full raid duration. Or let us know in plenty of time if they can't.
- We expect people to be prepared - be correctly gemmed, enchanted, geared, have food, flasks and potions.
- We raid purely in-guild (with very VERY rare exceptions) - only characters within our guild may sign up for a guild raid.
- We expect raiders to be able to use Teamspeak, have it installed and logged into our special server prior to any raid.
- We expect raiders to regularly check our discord #guild-raids channel and/or our raiding forums on this website.
- We expect raiders to be fully aware of our raiding rules, including how signups work, how we deal with loot, how long and how often raids are run.
As a raid group:
- We raid with no progression expectations. Hopes, perhaps, but not expectations.
- We know people make mistakes. We fall off platforms, lifts, walls and anything else that it is possible to fall off of. Sometimes we don't fall off, but we get squashed anyway.
- We know standing in fire is bad. We still sometimes do it. Just because we panic, or we didn't realise we were facing the wrong way.
- We know that dragons have nasty long tails. We know we shouldn't stand next to them. But sometimes we do anyway. Because we didn't notice them.
- We get lost. It doesn't matter the size or shape of the room or location, it's just a matter of fact. We sometimes mark people to follow - but sometimes they get lost too.
- We probably talk too much. About everything. We also probably snack and drink too much. But it's our party and we'll snack if we want to.
- We don't get mad. Every problem that occurs is a learning opportunity, every learning opportunity passed, is progression.
- We understand that sometimes someone has to nip away briefly to rescue the baby from the bin, or the cat from the toilet - that's life. Weird life, but life.
Above all .. we have to remember that World of Warcraft is a game. We pay to play it, and use our free time to do so. We treat raid night as a social event, not a job. We have some clear expectations in relation to preparation - because if you're not prepared (thank you, Illidan!) you're basically being disrespectful to everyone else who did make that effort. It doesn't matter how good you are, or you think you are, we still expect you to make the effort. But beyond that, we're just there to have a bit of fun and spend time with some cool people.
It is worth pointing out to prospective raid/guild members, who are considering joining our raids:
- We aren't going to ever break any records for speed kills, output, realm ranks, etc.
- We don't even really CARE about any of that stuff.
- We are more interested in the enjoyment of the journey, than getting to the end.
- Achievements are nice, new gear, pets, mounts - are nice. But we don't turn up just for those.
- If you're a min/maxer, OCD, determined to play a specific way - that's fine. You do that. But it has to work around how we play. Don't expect us to change for you.
- We will wipe. Regularly. We will sometimes wipe over and over, because we do the same thing wrong over and over. Until we don't. Then it might be something else. Expect it.
- We raid how we raid. We run our guild the way we run it. Any new member has to be able to integrate into that - not expect us to change for them.
- If you're not sure - ask. There are no silly questions. The only thing silly is having a question, and then regretting not asking it.
- We are happy to receive constructive advice. We are not guaranteeing we will act on it. We've been doing things a certain way for a long time - and there's usually a good reason for it.
