Grilled and Humbled

It's always good to get knocked down a few pegs, and what better way than to apply for the top Alliance guild on your server?

Since I was on vacation for two weeks without a schedule of events, I had plenty of time to work on my application. I spent the first week reading through their application archives, and especially any threads about Druids, both accepted and declined. I looked at what questions they asked them, how they responded and what changes were suggested. I looked at expectations and attitudes.

Was I ready to write my application then? Oh, no, I had a lot of improving to do. I spent almost 2k gold upgrading enchants, changing gems, and putting all my ducks in a row, including enchanting and gemming a Moonkin set. I reorganized my UI five times, updated all my addons, added DoTimer, and finally pushed my reputation with Hodir to exalted.

Then I wrote a novel for my application.

Where most people answered the question "Is there anything else about yourself we should know or consider?" with a sentence or two, I wrote nine "paragraphs" explaining things that might look unappealing or that they should know. For instance, my mace has a 50 Spellpower enchant, not the 63 one. I explained why I had chosen not to upgrade the enchant, while at the same time expressing my ability to do so if requested. I explained why I was still using Heroe's gloves when I had other Valorous Dreamwalker pieces, and what I was doing to try and upgrade this piece of gear. Everything from gem choice to the state of my DPS gear was examined and explained. I covered every angle I could, posted it up, and then waited for the questions to follow.

Without my experience in heroics hardmodes, there were certainly a large amount of questions, most of them exploring how I would theoretically heal heroic hardmode fights. And so I researched, wrote, edited, rewrote, agonized over, and finally posted my responses. I was given follow-up questions and I went through the same process again. And, by the second day of my post being up, I was invited into Vigilant in the "Applicant" status.

Of course, things don't stop there.

Have you ever gone from being the one compensating for others to being the one who is compensated for? I did not know the heroic versions of the fights. I was scared out of my wits, trying to pay attention and hoping I didn't screw up. Four tower Flame Leviathan I was on a motorcycle, when I was really hoping they'd stick me on a cannon so I could see the fight without being responsible for the health and control of a vehicle. After one wipe, though, I managed to kite lashers and avoid the majority of the free-standing damage when FL went down.

Razorscale was a cinch, but I floundered a bit in XT hardmode. I went to the wrong sides to drop the novas or move the light bombs into position, and we had to move from two-healing to three-healing. I was disappointed in myself, but pushed on.

Iron Council went down, Steelbreaker last, with a mix-up on the first pull causing a wipe. Heroic Kologarn dropped like a rock as well, and then Auriaya after a bit of a healing snafu, though that one I wasn't sure whose fault it was...

All in all, it was very productive and eye-opening for me, but I feel I came up a bit short in some areas. I've adjusted some keybinds and done some more reading, and all I can hope is that I improve. Applicant status means my full induction into the raid group is shaky, and because of that I have to show constant improvement.

So cross your fingers for me, and hope a glove or chest token for T8 drops...I could really use that bonus to Rejuvenation about now!