Tuesday, September 30, 2008

I skipped so much content!

Champion of the Naaru, in particular this time.

Oddly enough, I don't have that title yet. The Naaru trial quests for Shadow Labyrinth and Arcatraz have been sitting in my quest log for forever, and I've just never gotten them done. Honestly, who needs Heroics when you're in BT every other night? Badges can be found lying in the carcasses of Karazhan bosses!

But, I digress.

To finish up the Trial of Strength, Sharlet and I recruited some PUGs (read: Sharlet did dailies while I advertised in trade chat) and headed in, me hoping to finally see Murmur. Grand Master Warlock Voidwalker Eating Banishing C*ckblock Vorpil had always stopped me from getting anywhere in Heroic Shadow Labyrinth other than the floor. Of course, the eventual "run away we're going to wipe I'm almost at the door OH CRAP TELEPORT *death*" is always amusing, in that repair bill sort of way. But to complete the trial, you have to kill him, not just be morbidly amused by your ineffectiveness.

First two bosses go out without a hitch, Sharlet and the lock dying in one of the early pulls thanks to a lag spike on my part. Followed by a disconnect in which no one died, and we're off to a great start! Still, the first two bosses are downed, including my favorite, without incident. "It's time for fun!" is truly what it is. Goodness but I love that boss.

I digress.

Anyway, we got to Vorpil, and unlucky banishes screw us over time and again. The worst was where Sharlet was banished...three times? in a row. Kiting was non-existant, dps was dying, and our repair bills mounted. By that point I was no longer amused, just frustrated. But he finally went down, and I was proud of myself for feral charging and bashing voidwalkers when I got a free moment to slow them down. Utility pvp spec ftw!

So then it's the mind controller pulls before Murmur, and 2 out of 3 times I ended up dead. Luckily, no one else did. You know, luckily for them.

Anyway, so now we're at Murmur. Sharlet explains him, and in we go. And there we die. And then we die again. And again. And one of those was completely my fault for dying in the first Sonic Boom. I felt horrible; I hate causing wipes. Hate it. So, back in we go. And this time, I watch it. I watch it so close that I don't get hit with it but once when I got Touched right before a Sonic Boom and got thrown into the air at an unfortunate time.

Thank you Health Potions.

Anyway, what was interesting about this fight was...well, the only ones who didn't die were Sharlet and me. Warlock died, hunter died, rogue died twice. Sharlet and I DPS, tanked and healed Murmur for about 10% of his life. And when he starts out at only 30%, that's a third of the boss. The rogue was taking bets about when I was going to run out of mana; he must have seen me chuggin' pots. In my mind I was thinking "What do you mean? I'm a resto druid, beyotch. Until the expansion, I don't run out of mana!" and, in actuality, I ended the battle with about 1/5th of my mana gone in total, due to needing to innervate at about 2%.

It was a scary game, me relying on my Vial of the Sunwell for a Silence, ticking HoTs for others, my Redeemer's Alchemist Stone helping me get more from my Health Potions, my Nature's Swiftness + Healing Touch for an emergency, and quickly memorizing exactly how far I had to go to avoid the SOnic Boom but still get in without taking his ranged attack to the face At one point I ran too far and Feral Charged in. In the end, it was exhilerating. A tank and a healer, against all odds, ripping into Murmur and kicking him til he dropped his loots.

I think I earned my reward for the Naaru trial of Strength.

Next up, saving Millhouse Manastorm, my absolute favorite NPC of all time. I'm coming for you, Mr. Manastorm.

Monday, September 29, 2008

Meet My New/Old Friends and the Only Achievement I'm Working On

There are two new additions to the blogosphere, and one old addition who has returned with a new name!

First off, we have Spam Moonfare, a brand-new druid blog. The author of this blog contacted me via e-mail about a link exchange, and I wandered over there to check out his site. He's off to a spectacular start for people who like big reads, as the vast majority of his posts are meaty. And it's not just filler; this moonkin's got stuff to say! And I'd suggest you pay attention, or you may just be Typhoon spammed to death!

Next up we have the priest blog Starshards FTW! by my friend Bellezza. That's right, I'm not the only blogging Bell anymore (and she's even on my server! The confusion!). My blogging is apparantly a sort of communicable disease, as this would make the sixth or seventh person who has decided to start a blog, is one of my friends, and said to me something along the lines of "omg I want to blog too!" after reading some of my posts. She's off to an excellent start, and I'd encourage anyone, even if you've only slightly considered rolling a priest, to check her out.

And finally, we have Alts for One, a renamed blog by my friend Harl. This guy is harcore into the levelling of toons, and I don't even remember the final count of 70's he has. The great thing is, he's pretty knowledgeable about all of them, and take the time to do his homework. Currently, he's levelling a warrior, and odds are he's going to catch up to Bellbell in a matter of weeks.

Now, what's the only achievement I'm working on actively pre-Wrath?

Pets. Pets, pets, pets. "Shop Smart, Shop Pet...Smart" is an achievement for owning 50 pets, and with it you get what is called a Reeking Pet Carrier. And in said smelly box is a skunk, a skunk named Stinker. And ever since I first saw the little buggers roaming around Azuremyst, I have squeed and cooed and gone "that. must. be. a. pet."

And now it is and now I will have it.

I have 42 pets so far, and I have a plan for the rest (and they'll be relatively easy to get). However, there's a Dark Whelpling up on the AH for 800g I'm just...so tempted to get. So tempted. However, 800g is a lot for one pet, especially when the others will be cheaper and larger in quantity.

But, seriously...a Dark Whelpling!

/indecision

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Stealing is Wrong...Right?


EDIT: Just so everyone is aware, what follows turned out to be an elaborate and convincing troll. The question, however, is interesting enough to continue exploring.

You ever get that question, about the guy whose wife is dying? The one where there is a doctor who has the medicine to cure her, but he won't sell it for less than a certain price, and the husband can't afford it, so he breaks in and steals it? It's at that point in the scenario where you get asked whether or not his stealing was a justifiable action.

Now, stealing is generally wrong and difficult to justify. I have never seen a justified ninja of a guild bank, and I'm not entirely sure my mind has been changed. However, this thread throws it into a new light.

Basically, a four-year guild founding member, officer and guild leader (all rolled into the same person), was passed over for a Warglaive of Azzinoth to a new, server-transferred applicant in order to complete his set and increase DPS. The guild leader, Aqua, proceeded to take 200k gold from the guild bank and gquit.

But wait, there's more to the story.

You see, the guild he's in, Casual, have been clearing Kil'Jaedan for a while. They cannot progress any farther, and therefore do not especially need an increase in DPS (the speculators in the thread value it at about an extra 200-300 DPS, or 5-10 seconds off a Brutalus kill). Their forays into BT are, on the flipside, for filling in spots in people's gear, probably to keep them busy while waiting for the expansion and for nights on which Sunwell is a cold, empty, boss-less shell.

200k, however, is a lot of gold, and would hurt an entire guild, not just those responsible for the, in my opinion, horrible call to give a two-month unknown a glaive over a 4-year vet. (For those of you wondering, the glaive was not distributed via loot council.)

What follows is a conversation with a fellow blogger and guildmate about the issue, presenting several facets and sides to the argument.

[14:31] Harl: I see petty guild drama so far... what am I looking for?
[14:31] Bellwether: Ha
[14:31] Bellwether: Well, it's kind of the scale of the drama
[14:32] Bellwether: As in, some guild thought a 2 month old app deserved a warglaive over a 4 year officer/guild leader because it would be a "complete set" and would "up dps," but this guild clears KJ every week and cannot progress any farther, so the increase in dps is obviously unnecessary.
[14:33] Harl: I dunno, it doesn't really sound like a very clear-cut issue
[14:33] Harl: and based on the behavior of the former guild leader, i have to think there was gross lack of maturity involved...
[14:34] Bellwether: Well, you have to believe he was doing something right to have a raiding guild last 4 years, be just under the top 50 in the US, and be regularly clearing KJ.
[14:36] Harl: hard to say if it was him or the people he surrounded himself with, though
[14:37] Harl: I mean, I can understand getting fed up enough to quit - I've done that myself. but to ninja the bank and whatnot? that's not what I'd expect out of a high-quality leader
[14:40] Bellwether: True enough, but it's also the scale of things. As in, 1) it's a legendary, which aren't the easiest to come by. 2) It's four years of dedication versus a server-transfer applicant who people have known for two months total. 3) As they regularly kill KJ, an increase in dps is not paramount for guild progression, as the guild can no longer progress.
[14:42] Harl: yeah, all fair points. I guess I feel that his behavior overshadows all of that, though, and puts him clearly in the wrong. you just don't *do* shit like that. esp. as someone in a leadership position
[14:43] Bellwether: (Not saying he's right in what he did)
[14:43] Bellwether: But at the same time, do you just let it go? It's truly a gigantic slap in the face by an organization you've put four years into.
[14:44] Harl: oh, I wouldn't let it go at all. I'd walk. you're right, it's absolutely a bitch-slap. but there are mature ways to deal with it and immature ways to deal with it. he chose poorly ;p
[14:46] Bellwether: He could have done worse. /gdisband? But still, "walking" doesn't really drive the point home at all. He wouldn't get anything, they wouldn't feel a sting (if they're clearing KJ and getting rogue w/ glaive applicants, they can't be hurting badly), and it'd be like they got out of a horrible decision virtually scot-free.
[14:48] Harl: I guess I disagree there. that's a desire for revenge that I hear, which is petty and non-constructive. it's not going to change anything in the end, it makes the perp look like a douche and it ends up hurting a lot of other people (other guildies) that weren't even involved in the drama.
[14:49] Bellwether: I'm still not saying he's right. But walking wouldn't fix anything. It's not, in my opinion, petty to be deeply hurt and angry about a two-month applicant being valued over four years of dedicated service and wanting some sort of restitution. Not saying he went about it the right way. I'm just saying walking wouldn't fix anything.
[14:51] Harl: I guess my point is that there isn't always a way to fix something.
[14:51] Bellwether: There should be.
[14:51] Harl: that's not how reality works
[14:51] Bellwether: Reality sucks.
[14:51] Harl: it has it's moments, true

In the end, both were in the wrong, it's true. Both could have handled it better. But a feeling of betrayal cuts deep, and I can't help but sympathize with how Aqua felt, even if I can't with how he chose to address it.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Failure Never Tasted So Much Like Sweet, Sweet Awesome

Let's set the scene.

Warsong Gulch. 8:30am my time, 5:30am Dark Iron server. 10v10, for most of the time.

This match lasted 58 minutes, ended 2-3 (Alliance to Horde).

Highlights included:
~Me never capping the flag, yet ganking it from the Horde base a total of six times.
~One time I grabbed the flag right as the enemy flag carrier dashed in to cap ours and made it out of the base alive.
~Second Alliance cap continuing fifteen minutes after the flag carriers had received the 100% increase in damage taken.
~For those fifteen minutes I was the sole healer on the flag carrier.
~I ended the fight with over 414k healing done.

In the end, I walked out with minimal honor, a daily incomplete, and still 29 marks away from my Ram Elekk.

But I walked away with pride in knowing I had done everything I could to win, and the only whiner who tried to convince us to give up the flag and just end the game never convinced anyone to stop playing, to stop trying. And when he left, we received a new addition who put in effort and helped us get our second cap. I also gained the respect and gratitude of the warrior flag carrier, who is on my server.

And in all honesty, though it was a hell of a turtle and lasted forever, it was fun.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Explanations, Ponies and Blasphemy

All right, I’m going!

Sheesh, she’s been so pushy lately. I mean, what’s a paladin got to do to get a break around here?

Oh, and now I’m apparently talking too loud. She’s got a hangover from Brewfest, that lush. And no Kodo, either. Though, I suppose she could maybe deserve the break. Bellwether apparently just got a new job and she has intensive Uni courses, and her computer decided to be a royal bitch and refuse to run WoW without regularly freezing and killing itself (and subsequently me and her). She said something about it being outdated before it was even off the shelves, but she's probably getting a new one. Or something.

But, anyway, I doubt you care about why she’s been gone. You’re probably all like Button, who is sitting there going “I don’t care that you’re tired! You have to post! I don’t care about that stats test or Japanese blog or thesis paper, write about dr00ds or something!” I’d forgive him, as he’s just sore about the royal ass-kicking Sharlet handed him, except Bellwether’s making me write something for you all, and she demands I don’t get blood on the paper.

Such a perfectionist, really.

Anyway, you guys haven’t really heard from me since I was chewing out that hunter who’s doing naughty things with pets on the beta. Since then I’ve gained a ton of levels, replaced Princess Sparklebutt with the as of yet unnamed but shinier Charger, and gotten perhaps the sexiest weapon on the planet (if it was alive I would marry it and we would have dangerous little spiky paladin babies).

Anyway. I suppose you’re wondering how I did it. After all, Bellwether is a failure at leveling alts! It’s true, just ask her.

Well, it’s because I didn’t have to do anything. No, really. I just hit auto-follow and Sharlet has decimated Razor Fen Downs(1), Zul’Farrak(2), Mara(1), Sunken Temple(1), Scholomance(3-4), Dire Maul(1), Stratholme(2), Ramparts(2) and Blood Furnace(1). Those numbers are how many times he took me through. He let me attack Horde with little interference other than cleansing fears off me, and decimated any ganker who thought I might be easy prey. When your bodyguard is a titled and T6+Brutal Paladin, you're almost guaranteed an easy experience in PvP zones.

Okay, so that’s not entirely true about the auto-follow; I’ve done some leveling on my own. I’ve done almost every quest in Hellfire Peninsula, even ones Bellwether never did! She was astounded when I told her about bombing runs and burning blade throwers.

Of course, she was a pansy little healer trying to solo everything, so I guess it’s to be expected she’d miss out on a lot. Those ravagers she had to sneak around to get eggs, I just cut them down.

DPS is delicious.

Bellwether’s been pushing me lately. She wants me to play in Kara before the expansion, as it’s apparently an undeath-fest and I’ll get to Exorcise with impunity. Perhaps even Turn some Evil!

It might be blasphemous, but by the Light, I love undead. They’re so delightfully fragile.

So, that’s it. While Bellwether gets drunk at Brewfest and does school work (in, perhaps, that order), I’m ripping Outlands apart in the hopes I can slash Arthas in two. I may be an embarrassment to the Light, but I sure as hell am not some emo boohoo why does no one love me no one understands my pain I’m so mistreated Death Knight.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

WotLK or Bust...?

At this point in time, I’m with “bust.” I feel a little on the minority side, with all the beta hype and the cheering, speculation, whining and caterwauling. Recently I typed about some things I didn’t like, but I was having a bad day and it was horribly done. Now, every time I look at beta information or hear about new talents, I’m not excited or outraged. It doesn’t even seem like the same game anymore, to be honest.

So much is changing. I understand that BC changed a lot from vanilla-WoW, but WotLK is remodeling the entire game. Removing down-ranking, switching over to spell-power, raid-wide buffs, odd categories and non-stacking, potion sickness…it’s almost as if they’re trying to make an entirely new game from the same cloth. Classes that gained usefulness and notoriety for special features are losing their uniqueness to other classes and losing their importance through randomized nerfs and buffs that change from week to week.

I understand the impermanence of the beta, but there are certain things Blizz has said they’re definitely going to change, that have been around for four years and that they’ve seemingly never bothered to work with before. They’re doing a lot of fun things, like with hunter pets, but I can’t seem to look at WotLK with hope or excitement.

Perhaps some of it is the impermanence. I can’t get interested in anything that I know might be gone or changed or revamped or whatever in days or hours or minutes. Perhaps some of it is that it is possible my class (whichever class at that time I happen to be) could be much less important to the raids, and it’s a little hard to imagine that your niche is no longer your niche. Perhaps at the core of it, it’s just me lacking too much information.

In the end, I’m not sure if I’ll play Wrath. I have a copy on reserve, so I suppose we’ll see. Though, I wonder, besides myself and perhaps one or two people I’ve talked to, is anyone else kind of…ambivalent towards, or even not looking forward to Wrath?

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

The Time is Now, Part Five: Overview and Reader Response

The Time is Now is a five-part series on joining a raiding guild before the expansion. Part One covers reasons that now is the best time to join. Part Two details how to go about finding what you’re looking for in a raiding guild. Part Three describes how to get noticed by and join your chosen guild. Part Four goes into further detail of the pros and cons of joining a guild pre-expansion. Part Five is a cheat-sheet summary with final thoughts and response to any reader commentary or questions.
*~*~*

It’s been an (unfortunately) long journey to complete this series. However, it can all be summed up easily: if you want to raid in WotLK, and you want to raid in a 25-man, the time to be looking for a guild is now, hence the title. It’s better to be settled in and working with people you know than to enter the mad recruiting rush at the beginning stages of the expansion. You can find a stable environment and even find out if you want to continue raiding 25-mans when the expansion hits. Plus, 25-man experience now will give you an advantage against people trying to get out of the ten-man track.

Readers have had a lot to say about this series, and I’ve picked out some really good ones to bring to the front page and share.

First off, in reply to Part One, anonymous wrote:
one more reason: l2raid now, before wrath hits, and your fellow raiders will love you.

Right. Experience, experience, experience. Running ten man’s is much different than 25’s Learning to synergize with 24 other people, knowing different dps rotations and how your skills buff others is very important. For example, Regrowth is often necessary in tens, but mostly wasteful in 25’s.

Part Two generated a lot more, longer responses.

Anonymous also replied:
We use

http://www.wowjutsu.com/

to rank the guilds on a server. It's impartial and ranks guilds by scanning the toons for the drops they got.

Which is absolutely correct. Though, be careful, if the guild’s members haven’t been queued recently, WoWJutsu can be slow to update ranking.

Another response from Graylo of Gray Matter had this to say about recruitment:
"Most importantly, check who is recruiting. If they’re not recruiting, you need to look elsewhere."

I disagree with this. Recruitment thread let you evaluate your chances of getting an invite, but they are by no means a guarrentee or a wall to getting into a guild.

My perspective may be out of the norm since I play a moonkin, but I have two examples of why you shouldn't pay 100% attention to classes a guild is recruiting.

1) My first 25 man raiding guild wasn't recruiting a moonkin. I apped because a friend had just joined them. They weren't actively looking for a moonkin but they were interested in giving one a shot. I got in and raided with them for almost a year.

2) My new guild actively recruited a moonkin. I apped and got invited quickly. I was also told that I would be the only raiding moonkin in guild. I took a look at one of the recruiting thread they have up and it says they are still recruiting a moonkin. Maybe I should be worried, but the more likely explanation is that they didn't update the class recruitment.

When it comes down to it you should find a guild that best suits your needs, and app. Most guilds will make an exception for high quality applications. Plus you don't know what the situation is in the guild. Maybe one of the resto druids wants to go feral. Maybe they have a player that is a real pain in the ass, but they can't actively recruit in an attempt to keep the peace. Maybe they had someone leave suddenly. You never know.

Whats the worse that can happen? They turn you down and you go on to the next one.

He’s correct, and I’m sorry I discouraged people from going for it. It’s true, you never know until you try. However, I encouraged peopled to look for a guild actively recruiting, as it’s more likely you will not find yourself benched, but with a static raid spot.

Jeremy Rowland also replied:
I recently joined up with a 2/6 Sunwell guild even though my gear and BC raiding experience was a little underwhelming (I was an active raider pre-BC). A few things to add...

* Top progression guilds are almost always recruiting, even when they aren't, if you catch my drift. People come and go, issues come up in real life and players have to take a break from raiding. The best guilds on any server often get enough applicants without asking that they can simply bring someone in. Sometimes they keep an eye on the horizon and will recruit and gear up players (via farm bosses) they see as being at the top of their class, even if there's not a current spot for them on the progression bosses.

* Since this post seems directed to undergeared players with higher aspirations, it's important to stress any past experience you have at playing at the level they will be expecting. Progression guilds aren't about farming loot, they're about wiping endlessly on frustrating bosses night after night, and they don't want to bring you in just to find out you're a loot whore who only shows up on farm boss nights. But also be a little realistic, you're not gonna be useful even in Black Temple with only Kara gear and blues, and chances are guilds aren't gonna believe you've got what it takes anyway if that's the best you've done so far by now, in the era of "welfare epics".

* Be at the top of your game when you get a trial run invitation...I got a guild invite when they were impressed that I was outhealing the tier 6 players in my tier 4/5 and badge gear. It might not be fair, but a stupid mistake or two could cost you an invitation into the guild, so focus and make it the best raid you've ever done. Also, be sure to show up to at least 80-90% of raids for at least the first month and at least 60% for the first 3 months or so, to show you're serious about the commitment.

* Figure out what's really important to you. Do you want to be in the furthest progress guild on the server and top 50 in the world if it means a psychotic raid leader screaming and swearing at you every night? I chose my guild because it was the only top 5 guild on the server whose raid times I could reliably meet, but I was also ready to leave (and have before, from a guild at similar level, in the past) if it simply wasn't the place for me (fortunately they turned out to be a fantastic bunch). In the end, it's just a game, and there are other great guilds out there!!!

This is a great overall summary, with great advice! The comment about raid attendance is of utmost importance; the more they know they can depend on you, the more likely you’ll get a static raid spot through WotLK.

Part Three was the most responded to of the series, and many people had things to say! Most of it is about the logging out in PvE gear and spec.
Ithilien of Tarec’s Hunt-O-Rama wrote about a certain service called CTProfiles:
Re. the logging out in your gear - I've found it easier to post links to e.g. CTProfiles profiles in applications, rather than relying on the armory to be a) up to date b) functioning c) functioning corrently. Far too often have I looked up applicants for my previous guild only to find out their profile was 2 weeks out of date, the armory would be down or it would crash my browser.

Added bonus is that you can define multiple profiles with various talent builds/gear sets on CTProfiles allowing you to showcase secondary gear sets (FR/NR/SR gear sets for example) or alternate talent builds (allowing a hunter to show their prefered MM build for SWP while they're currently BM for BT/MH for example).

It's a bit of a hassle to set it up correctly the first time I'll admit, but the benefits (like always being available for starters) far outweigh that initial drawback.

This is a great service, despite the hassle involved in the initial setup, but it’s good to remember that when you haven’t actively applied to a guild, people will be scoping you out on armory first and foremost.

Jordan had this to say about applying to a guild:
Remember, too, whilst applying to a guild, if you happen to have caught the eye of a paladin in the guild, who happens to also be their multi-class officer and theorycrafter, you've higher chances of getting in. ;P

Of course, if you don’t know this, then it’s impossible to take advantage of. And if you were unsure, yes, he is referring to himself and me, and yes, we are together. ♥ Raiding isn’t just a fun and challenging thing to do, it’s also a way to meet the most amazing person in the world.

Mae of Electronic Escape had this advice to offer:
Those are really great suggestions!! I know for us, we look at armory when we're recruiting so logging out in your gear with everything appropriately enchanted/gemmed is really, really important!

Our guild app specifically asks for armory link, so with us, we get a little perturbed if an applicant doesn't include it. My suggestion would be if you're going to offer a link to something like CTProfiles or Sandbox, which are great, that you put your armory link on there also. If it's asked for an not given, the applications is incomplete, at least for a lot of guilds. We rely on the applications as the first sign that a potential guildie knows how to follow instructions completely. :D

Great post!!

Right on the money. Answer all questions completely. Offer extra information if you want/need to, but always give the guild exactly what they ask for!

No one’s offered a response on Part Four, so I’m either grossly mistaken or intensely correct. Either way, if people do leave important comments, this part of the post will be updated.

I’d like to thank all of you who contributed (knowingly or unknowingly) and for being patient while my life was in moving chaos!

Friday, September 5, 2008

Didn't I Just Do This...?

So, I'm moving again. This should be the last time. Until then, I present you a link to a World of Warcraft special from CNN.

Link!


I'll be back soon, you awesome readers, you.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

The Time is Now, Part Four: Pros and Cons

The Time is Now is a five-part series on joining a raiding guild before the expansion. Part One covers reasons that now is the best time to join. Part Two details how to go about finding what you’re looking for in a raiding guild. Part Three describes how to get noticed by and join your chosen guild. Part Four goes into further detail of the pros and cons of joining a guild pre-expansion. Part Five is a cheat-sheet summary with final thoughts and response to any reader commentary or questions.
*~*~*

Let’s just jump right into the nitty-gritty, shall we?

Pros
~Most guilds that survived the summer attrition and the return of many raiders to that evil place known as school have great staying power. This means, barring drama llama explosions, your guild should be around a while, including into Wrath. You should have a stable, long enduring home with a core group of loyal raiders.

~There’s a good chance they will continue to advance in content right up until the imminent release of WotLK. This means gear, bosses, experiences and, hopefully, fun. You know, that thing you’re supposed to have in a game! *gasp*

~Gear may drop like vendor grays for you. The members of Sunder who moved on have gained several T6 and T6 equivalent pieces (as well as TSunwell), many of them within their first few raids.

~Even if your guild does fall apart, you’ll gain the rep of an advanced guild and will have an easier time finding your way into another one. Experience, gear and name can go a long way into easing your application process to other guilds.

~More raid instances cleared = more achievements!

Cons
~Sunwell is hard, and if that's where you're going, watch out. If you’re not prepared to put in effort and don’t have the patience to wipe continuously, don’t put yourself through it.

~All this effort is going to count for naught when WotLK hits shelves. You may be working on KJ, but expect to never see his loots if you can’t get him down before the expansion release date announcement.

~Many large guilds that survived summer may have glutted due to the influx of characters from guilds which imploded. If you’re in that guild, it’s quite possible you’ll be seeing the bench more than the bosses.

~Raiding is expensive. Repairs, potions, elixirs, flasks, oils, gems, enchants and food all stack up to a pretty pricy bill. If you’re trying to hoard your gold for the expansion, raiding is only going to eat right through it.

If you’ve weighed the pros and cons, and it’s still largely positive for you, what’re you waiting for? Get raiding!