Project Lore

No, it isn't the name of the latest Legendary item to appear in Azeroth, although it certainly possess that kind of power.  Summer, with all of its sunshine, growth, and activities, may not be in Azeroth directly, but the season is a force to be reckoned with nonetheless.  With school over for most kids, nearly every human being is going to want to enjoy their few months of sunshine.  Me?  Well I turn in to a freckled lobster when those rays lick my skin, so I do my best to avoid the giant ball of fusion. Here's the rub, my guild isn't full of pale Irish people who's only natural UV defense is to catch a tan through a screen.  Due to this pesky little "evolutionary" trait I have found summer to be an incredibly boring period inside World of Warcraft, at best.  At worst, it's nearly caused my (two times former) guild to collapse, twice, and my former guild to all but disappear from the WoW.  Now I am fearing if my current guild will have a similar fate. Looking back, it seems like previous summers were set up to be a disappointment.  By the time kids left school the most recent content was incredibly stale.  To boot there was nothing on the immediate horizon, a dangerous pairing of inactivity and zero hype.  I would never think that Blizzard would plan such a thing on purpose, after all, letting people escape the game for too long is dangerous, but the early days of WoW were marred with inconsistent content development that caused these unfortunate coincidences. Fast forward to June 2009 and it looks like we might be safe.  First and foremost, Ulduar is still fresh to nearly the entire playerbase - especially Chinese players, a group that hasn't even received Wrath yet!  Backing up, or filling out if you prefer, the new raid content is the excitement around Patch 3.2.  We already know some basics, and major changes, have an inkling of the upcoming Battleground and have been teased with massive additions to the Argent Tournament grounds.  As guilds begin to put Ulduar on farm (I don't see this happening for at least another month) players will increasingly turn to waiting for the next big thing.  But the hype can only hold onto us for so long.  I think Blizzard timed Ulduar correctly, whether by coincidence, or on purpose, who knows, but here's to hoping Ulduar stays fresh for the summer.  If not, then let's hope that Patch v3.2 comes out in a timely fashion. Has your guild been destroyed or nearly so by a past summer?  Do any of the GMs, officers or raid leaders have any tips to keeping things running during these lax months?  The second time All That Remains almost failed we rolled the bored players into PvP groups and tore apart Magtheridon's horde for a solid month.  The mass genocide of five races held us over till the end of the summer.  Twas an interesting way to save a hardcore PvE guild to say the least. We'll see how things play out, but I am looking forward to spending a portion of my lazy summer days in Azeroth.  I just hope there will be others to play with.

Click to read more ...

Have you ever been in a group or pug that you thought was going in one direction and went the complete opposite? I mean, you thought you were going to do The Violet Hold so you could finally get the chance to complete Lockdown to get one step closer to your new Red Proto-Drake, but 10 minutes into summoning they decide that Utgarde Keep is easier to do for badges because the tank isn't defense capped just yet. This sort of indecision, lack of focus and disregard to certain members almost guarantees that I will leave the group immediately and go do dailies. And I have found out that doing just that is perfectly fine no matter what anyone one spams at you in chat. Let's face it, in WoW there are a few people, regardless of actual age, that are... well.. how should I say this... big cry babies who piss and moan when they do not get their way. That's fine by me. They can go their own way and I can go mine. I truly do not care if someone spams me that I am a traitor for leaving a pug or that I was now put on some list by them because I didn't finish a Heroic when everyone in that pug knew the tank couldn't hold aggro in a two-ton bucket. That is what /ignore is for. And the same thing goes for some guilds I have been in. Years ago, I was in a guild that felt that every member had to help every other member, not on a voluntary basis or when available, but right now, no matter what it was that had to be done by whichever member. Around the same time, I saw a guild advertising on their web site that in order to move up the ranks, you had to drop whatever your were doing at a moments notice while soloing to come the the aid of a guildie even if it was just the GM's lowbie alt that couldn't down Hogger. Now for some that is fine, and if that's you or someone you know or even if that's your guild now, great. You go your way I'll go mine. I have no animosity toward you not should you have any against me. It's just what you do or want me to do is not something I want to do or a way that I want to play. Everyone has a right to play the game how that want in the way they want at whatever time or frequency that they want. As for me, I will go my own way, and as far as being in a guild, if that includes hanging out with mature respectful people taking down end-game content on a daily basis, I'm in. And as you probably guessed, in RL you can go your own way too. If you want to be a florist, flautist, or philanthropist, be me guest. Better yet, be your own guest. It is your life - don't make a pug out of it. Go your own way and find people who are cool and hang with them. And always, /ignore those QQ peeps who want to pee on your parade. What do they know? So if you've ever gone your own way and it worked out better than you ever imagined, let us know. Your story can help others, and maybe you'll help give someone the confidence to go their own way. Thanks and have fun.

Click to read more ...