Mabuhay Kabayan!

Syroth's Note: I want to thank anyone who has been involved in organization of US/Canada raids so far before the Eraption Americas project.  I just heard about those raid recently, so apologies for not addressing those raid members and organizers earlier.

I'm calling on all Eraption members who want to raid during the evenings in the Americas' Time Zones, primarily from GMT -0500 to GMT -0800 time zones (i.e. Eastern, Central, Mountain, and Pacific Time Zones).  These will be on Friday evenings, Saturdays, and Sundays.  All kabayan in North America and South America are welcome.  (All Eraption members are welcome if you can make the times regularly ... good luck!)

This is currently only a feasibility study for the entire project of organizing raids in the Americas.  Code name of this project is Eraption Americas.  We are trying to determine i) numbers, ii) raid makeup (i.e. tanks, healers, and dps) and people's schedules, to see if we have the people and determine what works for the majority.  We will start with 10-mans first.

If we find we have the interest, roles, and schedules for regularly scheduled weekend raids, I will begin organizing the teams.  If not, I will check again every month or so in case the situation changes.

If you are interested in raiding during these times on a regular basis, send me (i.e. Syroth), in game mail with the following information:

Main Spec: Pick only one of: (TANK | HEALER | DPS)

Off-spec: Pick only one of: (TANK | HEALER | DPS | NONE)

GJ

Loot will always be a sensitive matter to handle and a complex thing to manage in a raiding guild. Mismanagement of it will always result to having unsatisfied and unhappy players. I need not emphasize how much guild drama happens because of loot based on Eraption’s own experience.

There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to loot distribution. Various systems can be used and they have their own merits and disadvantages. However, a mature guild will always try to employ a system that is transparent, fair, and equitable when distributing loots to its members. Our loot system is still evolving and is in no way a perfect and flawless system. But the general idea and goal of our scheme is to be as fair as possible to all members of the guild. For that I wish to list down the official rules that we are presently using and shed a light to those who are still confused and have queries regarding this matter.

Here we go:

1. Tanks and Healers get priority over DPS.

The core members of the raid are the tanks and healers. Tanks bear the brunt of the bosses and so they should be able to outlive boss attacks with the help of a good gear otherwise raid will just wipe. Healers should be able to keep the tank up and the rest of the raid or it will mean a clean death to all. Tanks and healers roles are so important that their death would mean a meager 5% or less of surviving in a given fight. Hence, priority is given to them because of such pivotal roles they play.

Welcome Back Red!

From Eraption's friend: Matt Low of worldofmatticus.com

Guys, I have a theory. I want to write about the perceived “easiness” of Ulduar. Random conversations with other WoW players on Twitter and reading of blogs inspired today’s post.

Here’s the theory.

“Ulduar’s easy mode wasn’t cleared because it was easy. It was cleared because the top guilds raid way more than you and I.”

No really?

But let me explain further to the guilds, leaders and raiders who appear to be frustrated by their guild;s lack of progress. Many guilds have forgotten what it’s like to hit a progression wall. Raiders who felt good about themselves and their abilities started having doubts about themselves. More on this later.

Don’t compare your guild to Ensidia or Vodka. Don’t use them as benchmarks to your guild’s success. They are the top guilds in the world for a reason (One of the raid leaders likes to occasionally remind players of this fact). They’re on a completely different level.

It boils down to hard work.

These are guilds that spent extensive time on the PTR. Every time a new boss was active, raids were already in and ready to engage. They would spend hours in there wiping relentlessly experimenting and trying new things and making strategy adjustments.

Sounds like your guild right now, doesn’t it?

The learning process that guilds are going through right now have already been experienced by top guilds on the PTR already.

Don’t be ashamed of yourselves or disappointed. Flashes of sadness, anger, and determination (in that order) routinely flood through me during raids. I’m disappointed at myself for not executing. I become angry because I know I can do better. I’m then determined to prove myself right.

It’s called challenge.