Survey: WotLK in Review

Please take a few minutes to complete this survey. Your honest answers are very important, and will assist with the shaping of the guild as it transitions into Cataclysm. Thank you.

Section 1: Goals (General)

With the release of WotLK, a number of goals were set to shift the ideals and core values of DoD in a more positive direction. The following questions deal with whether or not those goals were achieved.

Overall, I felt like I was playing with peers than with a bunch of strangers.

I felt that there was much more knowledge surrounding the inner-workings of the game, and that members of the guild demonstrated a deep understanding of the game's mechanics, which led to expertly played characters.

I felt that the players were far more mature and responsible than what I had been previously exposed to, were respectful toward one another, and polite/helpful to those outside the guild.

Section 2: Goals (Raids) 

For WotLK, a number of core changes were made to raiding in the hopes of improving its efficiency, maintaining fairness, and rewarding players based off their dedication. Please answer the following questions regarding Raiding in DoD.

Raiding in DoD was a rewarding experience, and I looked upon it as recreation rather than work.

I felt that raids ran on time, and were extremely efficient.

I felt that raids were run professionally, and relatively free from wasted time and inappropriate behavior.

I felt that the sign-up / rotation system was a good idea, and that players were treated fairly, and given ample opportunity to prove their worth in progression.

As a guild, DoD progressed through new bosses:

DoD's raid schedule was perfect for my tastes.

I felt that DoD rewarded loot fairly and without bias.

I felt that I received adequate time to learn fights, and was given proper instruction by officers on how to perform.

I felt that my role officers were able to provide me with appropriate feedback on my performance and helped improve my play.

Section 3: Ranks

For WotLK, the DoD guild ranks were overhauled. Please answer the following questions regarding the changes that were made regarding guild ranks.

I felt that the guild ranks more accurately reflected a player's contribution to the guild than what I was previously used to.

It was easy for me to figure out who was responsible for what, based on what rank they held.

I liked the idea of the "Avatar" rank.

I thought the the "Avatar" rank was awarded:

I liked the idea of the "Elite" rank, and rewarding players whom were the most dedicated to the guild the ability to 1st-round items in raids.

I thought that those players who earned "Elite" ultimately deserved it.

It is a fair assumption to say that the players who did not earn the rank of "Elite" simply did not try hard enough, did not care about having the rank, or had caused a few too many "red flags" for it to be a risky bet.

Section 4: Hanzo's Way (Or the Highway)

In WotLK, the guild leader implemented a number of changes to the basic rules of what was allowed in guild and what he would use as grounds for swift retribution. Following are a list of questions regarding his tyrannical rule.

I think that implementing the age limit of "21 years or older" was a positive thing, and helped improve the quality of guild pool.

When I observed a player or a situation that got out of hand, I felt that Hanzo's resolution was typically:

If and when I got a little out of hand, it is a fair statement to say that Hanzo handled my personal situation in this manner.

If I had an issue, I felt that Hanzo took the time to hear me out and made an effort to resolve the issue.

I felt that the amount of people Hanzo put in charge was:

Overall, I felt that the people Hanzo chose to help lead the guild were:

The officer that I felt helped Hanzo the most with the guild was:

"Neps"
"NEPS"
"Jungard"
"Neps"
"Cheeseus"
"Neps"
"Jungard"
"Neps"
"Neps or Jungard imo"
"Jungard and Neps"
"Jungard"
"Neps"
"neps"
"Jungard"
"Neps"
"Ikey"

The officer that I felt helped Hanzo the least with the guild was:

"Gunsmokeco"
"Guns"
"guns"
"Ikey"
"Eacavissi :("
"Can't really pick one...they all did fine in my books"
"Eacavissi"
"Gunz"
"Guns"
"Eacavissi"
"Ikey"
"Eacavissi"
"Blain"
"No one. I put neps as the oen who hepled most, but Klocker is always around to help as well. I'm excluding raid leaders from this, as the questions pertaining to them was already asked."
"Kelden"
"Eacavissi"

Section 5: Guild Leader For a Day

In an alternate universe, everything is as it exists in Descendants of Draenor, except for one small difference: Mature is just another new recruit to your long list of Death Knights waiting to get into a progression run...and you...are the 6+ year long guild leader of the best damn guild on Deathwing. How would you do things differently?

The first three players that would be promoted to an officer-like rank would be:

"I like this alternate universe thing!

One person who's been in guild for a long time, but may have raised a few red flags is Aeden / Ben. While he can become drunk and disorderly, he only wants the best for the guild. I wouldn't hesitate to promote him to something other than raider.

Sixfold should also become an officer (or officer-like role). He's been more absent lately, but he's always been a great healer and steady attendance at raids.

Blaine. I am unsure of Blaine's current rank (apart from Tyrant.. not sure what that entails). While people have had disagreements with him, he's a very good raider, and when I've raided with him, always positive, looking for ways to beat an encounter."

"Daliah, Mangestu, Sarge" 

"Mangetsu, Lexxii, Joredin"

"For the most part I like the officer core the way it is. I do not like Guns as an officer for healing as I feel that his immaturity and ego get in the way of him being a good leader. As far as the healing officer role, i do not have a person that I would rather like to see in that position outside of Klockerr, and well we know all about that. I feel that Jungard is a good fit for his role as the melee officer and I am indifferent on Eaca as I have not had to deal with him directly, but he is a bit quiet for my liking as a leader."

"Ben, Sixfold, Mangetsu" 

"Jungard, Neps, Klocka"

"Neps first and foremost. As a long standing, faithful, dedicated, and selfless member of the guild the promotion of this individual would be a no brainer.

Jungard. Although initially selected as a roll officer, he has always taken the extra step in game mechanics and fight strategization. He demonstrates a raid leader initiative without trying to overthrow the current appointee, moreso to help with the weight the position requires.

??? - The third individual is a toss up. =/ I'm interested in someone who would place their e-peen second to getting a boss learned and downed. Guild advancement > personal advancement"

"Lexxii, Drecca, Mangetsu"

"Assuming we wiped the slate clean, in terms of officers and the like, I would say Neps, Klockerr and Guns"

"Seeing as how the people I would promote already are officers and I haven't played in some time I can't really think of three new people that I would promote."

"Aeden (Ben), Hellspectral, and Bonechatters."

"neps, jungard, guns"

"Jungard, Drecca, Hells"

The first three players that have long since worn out their welcome and I would take great pleasure in /gkicking are (if no current names, you are free to put in names of players that *were* kicked that you agreed with):

"None immediately come to mind. I think my mind purposely blocks out douchebaggery.

In all seriousness; I feel the quality control of applicant addmission is adequate with little need for improvement. I have not personally run into a problem scenario (or one that I can recall) in my almost two years with this guild."

 "Ben, Divinepants"

"None. I haven't been around long enough to see people get kicked (apart from Bulwinkle)."

"UNDECIDED"

"Deathonwings, Hellspectral and I agree with giving Bul das boot."

"Aethernight (He's not a bad guy, just a bad player... and he complains too much). Helmeron (I love the guy, but he's had a very bad track record never showing for runs and he almost never runs progression). Can't really think of a 3rd at the moment"

"Nobody in guild right now requires a kick.  Ok maybe I wouldn't mind seeing Aetherknight go."

"No one that has really worn out their welcome, but maybe a couple people who have been with the guild many many months, but no one knows them at all :( and in that, idk their names or who they are, but i do know that their are a few people here and there who got added into the guild one way or another, and never contribute at all in any way shape or form. Just log in for their own personal use, never talk in gchat, never respond to any of the guild, and then just log out. And no, these are not muted players."

"Well, I don't know if I would go as far as /gkicking, but I did not take well to all the alliance converts joining DoD.  Maybe it's just my old hatreds of the faction itself.  Did any of them even apply to join the guild?  There was a month or so of time where a few of them would join each week."

"I probably wouldn't boot anybody unless they did something really disrespectful to someone else in guild. Bulwinkul for example. As for bad raiders (Aether, Raina) I would just not rotate them in if I had the choice, but I wouldn't boot them from guild. Just let them run in their 10mans. It's a guild and people should be able to stay in guild to hang out and do whatever."

"Gunsmokeco: Simply put: Guns' attitude is beyond poor and the way he conducts himself as a Role Officer (as well as general member of the guild) is garbage! He may be a knowledgeable player, but his ego holds him back from being an asset to the guild. Crasian: I realize that he is not currently playing the game, but I figured to make mention of him as an example of the type of player I would not like to keep around. More specifically, his cut-throat approach to gearing up. I felt he did a real disservice to the guild by taking advantage of his elite status in order to always have the best of the best, while other players struggled to simply upgrade to a new tier. In my opinion, this does nothing but hold the guild back from progressing. Bulwinkul: Having witnessed the situation that lead to his /gkicking, I feel that the way he behaved was absolutely uncalled for. That sort of attitude toward your fellow player should have no place in a guild (let alone game) and would not be tolerated in 'mine'."

"Aethernight, Bullwinkle"

"Aetherknight"

"withheld"

"Fred, Rainaterror, Helmeron"

"Ummm, I am not that mean"

"Bul, Sentra, Pook"

I would change the Progression Raid Schedule to (Enter "as is" to leave unchanged):

"As is"

"AS IS"

"N/A"

"WED/THURS"

"as is. sometimes i wish we raided a little more but at many times throughout the year another raid night wouldn't fit my work or class schedule. Since 10 mans have the same lockout, and 99 percent of the people in progression we're running 4 days a week combined between 10 and 25 man. I honestly think you should add a third day. Maybe Tues for some server firsts."

"As is"

"as is"

"as is"

"as is, however i know that cata will bring same lockout 10s and 25s. My suggestion for that is to have prog focus on one raid, and 10 mans are in agreement to focus on another."

"Sunday is Fine.  Anything other than Friday night that people can agree on."

"No more Friday nights."

"Unchanged"

"Move towards cutting back hours instead of pushing mind-numbing achievements"

"As is. While the current schedule isn't the greatest (In my opinion, of course. I'm more partial to weeknights, personally), I do feel they are probably the most convenient for the majority of players."

"Sunday could be an hour later."

"No idea"

I would change the Loot System to (Enter "as is" to leave unchanged):

"N/A"

"As-is. DKP is fair."

"as is"

"1st round - starting at 70, main spec - starting at 20, off-spec - starting at 5"

"With the exception that this would be too difficult to keep track of for the master looter. Unless we had an addon to auto-track the bids, I would keep things the same."

"AS IS"

"as is"

"Jettison the first round bidding. Add a 200 DKP hard cap to keep the pts flowing, and potentially restructure the pts so that elites earn at 1.25 pts, while raiders earn at 1. If that isn't agreeable, then increase the 1st round to 100 pts, seriously make the elites think since they're at all raids anyways, they're going to be earning pts left right and center. "

"Elites spend more than 50 DKP in first rounds"

"as is"

"as is"

"make the first round bid a bit higher so that it can't be used as often."

"The first round maybe should be higher or shouldn't be able to be used more than 1 time a week."

"as is"

"as is"

"As is"

"I like the DKP system we are currently using."

"As is. DKP is probably the best loot system on the market to date. I'm a fan of Loot Council, but probably wouldn't recommend switching to it because favoritism gets the best of people sometimes and that would lead to nothing but trouble. In addition, I  would implement a "Don't be a dick!" policy. Gear yourself up, but do so with an understanding of what's best for your team, not just yourself. The same would be enforced with the Elite system. They, of all people, have a great deal of responsibility to look out for the guild's best interests."

"by the time I get in the raids, I pretty much get the loot that drops, the guildies are very nice in passing it on to me"

"As is... DKP is a wonderful thing. People that don't participate a lot of the time shouldn't get the loot that's deserved."

"Have less emphasis on the "elite" system.  Either you are a hardcore raid guild or you aren't.  Trying to do the best of both worlds ends up screwing over people in the long run."

"Revamp elite bidding in some way (larger minimum?) so that the advantage of 1st-rounding must be strategically used rather than be available virtually every week."

"As is"

"as is"

"as is"

"as is dkp has always worked, no reason to change it now"

I would change the minimum age required to get into the guild to (Enter "21" to leave unchanged):

"21"
"21"
"21 is fine, but I know a lot of very mature 18 yr olds who play... I say 18 with a long trial period to test maturity."
"21"
"21"
"19"
"21"
"18"
"21"
"21"
"21"
"21"
"21"
"18"
"21"
"21"
"20"
"21"
"25"
"18 (All members should be subject to observation. Age doesn't always equate to maturity)"
"21"
"21"

My additional changes to the guild would be:

"In my personal opinion, some red flags are less red than others. I don't consider being drunk for a raid (while still performing very well) a very red flag. A minor one, sure, but not one worthy to keep someone from being promoted. Some raids need fun characters.
While all promotions ultimately come from the guild leader, taking into consideration how the guild feels is also important. Some promotions can cause pretty big rifts between people/groups, whereas some others are well deserved and no one would complain.
Other than that, I've never noticed anything wrong with the guild and why change it if it isn't broken? There's a reason it's the best damn guild!"

"Stricter minimum requirements to become main-raid raiders."

"Can't think of any off the top of my head.  This is a pretty well ran ship you've got here."

"All in all Shawn, I feel that the way you and (for the most part) your officers do a great job leading this guild.  Our presence is known and with the guild tag comes a great deal of respect on Deathwing."

"The guild has been around since launch, keep up the good work. Just make sure Neps/Klocker keep Taba and Omaric in check."

"This is an amazing guild... I fucking love it and I'd never leave it for anything. I really would like to see us starting to raid a little more hardcore though... Our 25m raids generally have a lot of people messing around and not enough raiding for me. The fact that we haven't even started attempting H LK seriously by now should be testament to that."

"More structured raid leading, less goofing around during wipes."

"First, let me start with the positive stuff. I love DoD and I have been in it for a good while now. Being in this guild has enriched my experience playing World of Warcraft by a bajillion times. Sure, I have had my own scuffles with Mature but after I thought about what we was telling me, I realized that he is just being fair. I really respect him for that, and I cannot even imagine what it has been like to run this guild for as long as he has. DoD is the last dinosaur on Deathwing as far as Horde guilds go, hell probably even Alliance side too. I am very proud to be a Descendant of Draenor.

However, I do not like what some of this guild has become. A good chuck of of guild members have become extremely elitist. Elitist to the point of saying some pretty terrible things about other guild members. I am sure that I too, am guilty of saying some bad things about someone in the guild at some point in time but, I have never gone to the point of genuinely thinking that I am above any of my guildmates. I feel that as of lately, pretty much from Ulduar and on, I feel that DoD has slowly seperated into cliques. One being the elitist assholes, another being elitist wannabes, and then a small group of people who keep it fun and simply play to enjoy the game. It disgusts me, in game and irl, when someone actually feels that he is better than someone else. The specific example I can recall is a discussion where these particular elitist guildies were discussing how a particular piece of loot was 'wasted' on a fellow guildmate because he was not good enough to wield it. Reading that honestly made me feel horrible; to know that the DoD that I love was slowly turning into something terrible. These elitists are egotistical and just straight up assholes. I can honestly say that it negatively impacted my playing experience and I have been playing less because of it.

Now - I don't expect a guild leader to be able to control a mess like that. I know that a person cannot control how another person thinks, feels or reacts. Hanzo, I just want to make you aware of what is in the guild and what could potentially lead to problems in the future of this guild. I don't really have any suggestions as to what to do from here - other than to tell people to not be assholes and hope they listen."

"Drecca or Blaine raid lead."

"More COWBELL!!!!!!"

"Be more social.  Have in game meet and greets.  aside from general random (usually sarcastic and put-downish) guild chatter, it was very lonely.  The couple 'alt' raids i was able to attend with my 'Main'  I felt out of place, uniformed, and disliked because I was new to the area and didn't understand the logistics/fights as well as the others who have been through on multiple characters.  By the end I feel sure that I would not be picked up to run again with anyone, nor would I bother signing up out of embarrassment. Other events felt like speed runs and that i was missing out on game play rather then hurry to get the next boss for loot drops. I understand for the hardcore who have seen it a hundred times its old hat, but not everyone has ever done every single instance already."

"the way the 10 man teams are. I know there are a number of ppl who would like to finish up their drakes, but are without anyone in the team to be able to do this. Help from those who have their achievements, etc, would be nice - not essential, nice. Another guildy and I were talking of the fact that one of the responses for such a request was "we've done it, we're not doing it again"

"I am doing this for Cataclysm, not WotLK, all in all, as I read the rules and announcements I am LOVING the changes(at least in theory) that are being/have been made. I really applaud your efforts hanzo, you put a lot of fucking time into making this guild what it is, and it certainly shows."

"Rather than bashing people over guild chat or vent, speak with them individually about any questions or concerns. Also a new recruit performance review after a month so the new recruit can view some constructive criticism and maybe realize why they are not rotated in as often as they would like."

"You don't make changes to a team that's winning."

Section 6: Fun Stuff!

Time to generate some fun, raw statistics! For the following questions, you must pick someone other than YOURSELF.

My favorite guild member is:

"Mangetsu"
"Mature"
"Omaric"
"Aeden"
"Jungard or Gunsmokeco"
"Ben"
"I'm not brown-nosing, but you."
"Hellspectral"
"Jungard"
"Ekasra"
"ben"
"Klockerr"
"Ben"
"Neps"
"Ben =/"
"Fred (Daliah)"
"Jungard"
"Jungard"
"Rainaterror"
"Neps"
"Sixfold"
"Ikey"
"Neps, Moorawr"
"Neps"
"lexi"
"Ben"
"Mangetsu"
"Ben"
"Klockerr"
"Sixfold"
"Neps"
"Mature"
"Neps"
"Aeden"
"Neps"
"Plantxor"
"guns"
"Pook"
"Mature and Jungard imo."
"bonechatters, he is very open minded to those new people that need our assistance"
"Ben"
"Neps"
"Mangetsu"
"Drecca"
"Jungard"
"Mature"
"Hanzo"
"Jungard/Goldenrod"
"Dalans"
"Bullshark"
"Jemb/Goldenrod"

My LEAST favorite guild member is:

"Aetherknight"
"Ekasra"
"Scruffie (Ben)"
"Lexxii
"Lexii"
"Ætherknight
"Don't really have one, though Riskers made a Jew comment I didn't much care for one time."
"Daliah (Fred)"
"Deathonwings"
"Jungard"
"deathonwing"
"meh not worth saying"
"Deathonwings"
"Aether"
"Aethernight"
"Bonechatters"
"Rainaterror"
"Wings"
"Aetherfail"
"Blainne"
"Lexxi (undeserved elite promo, and lippy)"
"Gunsmokeco and Deathonwing"
"Deathonwing"
"bonechatters, duplicitous in the way he runs his team"
"Gunsmokeco"
"Aetherknight"
"Ben"
"Fred"
"Blain"
"Blainne"
"Fred"
"Deathonwings"
"Ikey"
"Me"
"nobody really... some people can be dicks at times, and sometimes more time than others. Those same people can be nice, too."
"a couple that like to run their mouth, but nothing a good shot of patron doesnt take care of"
"Aetherknight"
"Aetherknight"
"Aetherknight"
"Ben"
"Dunno"
"Nobody"
"none"
"Blaine"

The ex-guild member I miss the most is:

"Annihilation"
"Ater
"Bulwinkle"
"None"
"Turtleman"
"Cheeseus"
"Divineseal"
"Taba"
"Ater"
"Dalans"
"dalans"
"Dalans :("
"shim"
"Ater"
"Anni.. Who else?"
"Cheeseus"
"Anni"
"Chopliver"
"Dalans"
"Cheeseus"
"Bovie and Aterea"
"Anni"
"bregs (Breginna)"
"Annihilation"
"Cheeseus"
"Dalans"
"Cheeseus"
"Annihilation"
"Annihilation"
"Annihilation"
"Turtleman"
"Annihilation"
"MightyCow"
"/shrug"
"Dalans"
"undecided"
"Dalans"
"Aethernight"
"Ater"
"Dalans"
"noone"

The most exciting boss kill in a DoD Progression Raid for me was (Enter "n/a" if you did not participate in a progression raid):

"Mimiron"
"Sarth 3D"
"Heroic Professor Putricide"
"The Lich King"
"HM Mimiron"
"Heroic Sindragosa"
"Professor Putricide"
"illidan"
"Algalon"
"Bitch King"
"Leotheras the Blind"
"Kael'thas"
"Freya/Mimiron (Hardmodes)"
"Putricide Heroic, the day we finally killed that bitch. We also one-shot him that night iirc, epicness."
"H Putricide"
"H. Putricide"
"Heroic Deathbringer"
"3d sarth"
"Heroic PP"
"Putricide"
"Lich King 10man"
"Gruul (put me on the raiding map with DoD)"
"All"
"Lich King"
"Lucifron"
"Vaelastrasz"
"Lady Vashj"
"Razorgore"
"Firefighter"
"Mimiron Hard Mode"
"Archimonde"
"Sindy"
"Prof. Putricide"
"Team Si LK kill"
"lich king baby"
"Lich King"
"Kael'thas Sunstrider"
"Lich King"
"PP HM"
"Mimiron HM"
"Heroic PP!!"
"Any that took a bit to figure out the strategy."
"Haven't been around for real progression"
"all 11/12 Heroic ICC"

The ex-guild member I am glad is gone is:

"Crasian"
"Divinepants"
"None"
"Wyse"
"Divineseal"
"Kelden"
"UNDECIDED"
"Pollar"
"Azraella"
"Crasian"
"Shimmerice"
"bloodynukels"
"Kargor"
"Lol.. Shim."
"Bulwinkle"
"Bulwinkle"
"Illumine"
"Grimegore"
"Wyse I guess."
"Cheese"
"the prick loud mouth lock, ive blocked out his name"
"Lithium"
"Pollar"
"Azraella"
"Kurst"
"Evilexan"
"Crasian"
"Ekasra"
"Bulwinkul"
"Plainsrunner"
"/shrug"
"creepindeath"
"undecided"
"Chopliver"
"Dunno"
"Jemb"

In Cataclysm, I plan on raiding:

I know Hanzo is dead-set on playing his Death Knight in Cataclysm, but if it were up to me, I would totally force him to play his:

~~~

Thank you for your contribution. You may now send Hanzo a PM with the secret code:

"fantasmical"

to earn your Karma points.