Into the Emerald Dream

EDIT: Sorry guys, until I reactivate the blog, comments are locked. This will keep me from having to police the comments for spam until then. If you need to contact me, please use 4haelz AT gmail DOT com. ♥

If you notice the blog template has changed, that is not a sign that 4Haelz is coming back, but rather that the other template was broken and I still have some pride with what I leave behind.

I know I have said for a while that once things slowed down, I would start reporting on the beta and testing things.

Unfortunately, it won't happen.

4 Haelz is closing. My time with WoW is over. Maybe temporarily, most likely permanently.

If it was just boredom with the current game, that could easily be overcome through my access to the beta. But I haven't logged into Cataclysm except twice since I got it. It holds no appeal.

I just recently got a job as a TSS (Therapeutic Staff Support), working with kids who have behavior and/or mental problems. Besides this, there are many different aspects of life I want to explore, including improving my art (two of the pieces in my gallery have Mature Content filters on them; i.e. NSFW) so I can perhaps take on more commissions such as what I do for BRK, actually sit down to write the book ideas I've had forever, whether or not they go anywhere publicly, and volunteer more at the animal shelter until (and probably after) I can afford to have my own dog. I also need to find another job, as my TSS position is only part time. I just recently purchased car insurance on my own policy for the first time, and paid to have the title of my car (that I am terrified will now break down spontaneously) into my own name.

I'm becoming an adult (or something similar), and frankly it is as terrifying as it is exciting. I just don't have the time, or inclination, to play WoW, and stringing you guys along saying how I'll get to it just isn't fair to either of us. Not fair to you because you wait for it, and not fair to me because then I'm forcing myself to play a game due to expectations I created.

My account has actually been canceled for nearly a month and a half, and I haven't been playing for longer. I wrestled with closing the blog, because I have possibly enjoyed writing in here as much as I had playing the game. When I received the beta, I had hoped it would rekindle things so I wouldn't have to close it. Then my guild collapsed, my friends transferred, and my boyfriend quit WoW immediately after I did. I felt the pull less and less.

It is sad for me, really. I played this game for nearly three and a half years without any account cancellations or real breaks. In that time I made a lot of friends, a few enemies, a couple creepy stalkers, and managed to become a trusted source of information and advice (who occasionally screwed up). I will really miss it.

I'll still be around on Twitter as @Bellbell, I'll still have my 4haelz AT gmail DOT com e-mail. You ever feel like chatting, hit me up. I've said before; I'm pretty friendly, and at the moment I just moved to the middle of the woods. I'm gonna attempt to be regular again about updating my RL blog, but that sounds super boring to you guys, I'm sure. My home life is unfortunately not a high flying adventure, QQ.

Who knows, maybe this isn't forever. Maybe I'll get the itch again and I'll have the time to scratch it, and Bellwether will romp through the plains of Azeroth. But, until that day, I will hibernate in the Emerald Dream, as all Druids eventually do.

Love you guys.

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.
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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!