Monday, July 20, 2009

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!

17 comments:

Petal said...

Congrats, Bell! Going straight into hardmode clears with a guild who looks like they are used to just waltzing in and downing them all the time must have been frightening! The fact that you did so well is testament to your skill and attention. Good job!

Glad you're raiding again... I can live vicariously through you as I take a raiding break for a while. ^_^

Anonymous said...

Wow well that's cool. I must say I was a bit shocked to hear you applied to a hardcore guild with ghetto enchants on your gear to say th least. I usually run 1000miles from players like that - wanting to kill hard bosses but too cheap to use the best enchants all the time... :)

Still, good luck to you, I hope you make the grade!!!!

Kayeri said...

Wow, Bell, thats awesome and congrats on making it in even on applicant status. That means they believe in you enough to see how you'll fit into their team. For a top guild, even that much is cool. :)

I dont think I'd ever have the chutz to do the same even if I wanted to put the time in on a hard-core raiding guild. :) We've been putting in 2 extra nights a week lately, and its wearing on me already. Enough so that I've been dreaming of some laid-back, only-do-it-when-you-feel-like-it place with fun people to hang out with...

btw, I've been wanting to ask you... did Feral REALLY ask about a vibrate settings on the jungle gnomes??? ::giggle::

Bell said...

@Petal - thanks, and I hope you enjoy your break :)

@Anonymous - that's just the point, I didn't apply til all my enchants were the best available (with one exception), I had done my research and I thought I was ready.

@Kayeri - Yes.

Jong said...

Grats! I hope you make the roster and have fun with the new guild.

Anonymous said...

Grats Bell! Good Luck! I have my fingers crossed for you =)

Anonymous said...

Good luck - I was petrified in my first week in my new guild as well - but it got better - You can be your own worst critic, I got some self confidence back when I realised that it was often the simplist things other people got wrong, and those things I could control. So be Vigilent :P and it will get better

Kae said...

Good luck! Hopefully the raids will become less stressful for you quickly, being worried about your own performance can actually make things worse :)

Anonymous said...

Ooooh. Congratulations! I fear the day I might have to go through the whole process of writing a guild application of my own, as I joined my current guild as it was founded. It's easy to judge and look down at when I read the applications to my current guild now, but if I had been the one looking for a guild, I would've been so damn stressed out.

I really hope you'll do allright in your new guild, so I'm wishing you the best of luck :D

Rensaelys said...

I was pretty pleased to see that you had applied, and was unsurprised when you were put on trial status. I'm also fairly confident that once you catch up in gear, you'll be seeing a lot more content.

The ten mans are rather obnoxious to try and get into, but there are various ten man alt runs that are highly successful (hard mode content and such) where you would be able to easily nab the gloves or chest that you need to grab the tier bonus.

*vlad* said...

Raiding with any new guild can be daunting, as you don't want to look like a noob, so raiding on hard mode content on your try-out as well cannot have been easy.

The fact you are still there suggests you are good enough.

Macbook said...

You guys only use 2-3 healers for XT Hardmode 25 man?

Man -- we used 5 healers when we downed him last night.

Bell said...

@Macbook - the hardmodes I was involved in were on ten man, not 25. :)

Averna said...

Wow - big grats on getting in! I'm sure that once you get into the swing of things, you'll be just fine!

Mokuso said...

I used 50 spell power on my staff up until a week ago when I switched to 69 because I was leveling enchanting on an alt. I don't blame you for not wasting money on that enchant. I am curious why you use a dot timer though you can use grid addons to monitor durations of your hots. Also power auras displaying when wild growth is off cooldown is nice.

WoW Characters said...

Well, I think this is really nice. I would surely congratulate you and wish you the very best for this. :)

Vanargand said...

I'm sure you'll be fine, Ulduar isn't that hard. :D Good luck and go team durid!