Officers Quarters Mailbox Roundup

Here at Officers' Quarters I receive a number of e-mails every week that don't get featured in the column. Sometimes they are too personal and the sender requests that they do not appear on the site. Others are topics I've already addressed. Some are questions that don't require a long and detailed response and thus don't have quite enough depth to merit an entire column. This week I am featuring a few of these latter e-mails with the common theme of loot. If you think the topic requires more discussion than I've given it, tell us about it below!

Culling the Strong

I am a part of a raiding guild which has been having a lot of growing pains. I have been with this guild for several years and many of the new players that we get are very poor players in general. I can often out dps someone in my same class running with my spec who has better gear. My guild has a loot policy which gears the lower dps players first in an effort to help progression, even if they have better overall gear than me.

I have decided to start looking for another guild and wanted to know if it is ok to stay in my guild while applying to another guild so I can still raid or if I should leave now so that I do not take badges and gear that could go to helping out the guild I am in?

Anonymous

I can sum up this loot policy in two words: rewarding failure. I don't blame you for leaving. If you're definitely going to gquit, the honest thing to do is to tell your officers that you are applying to other guilds. You could even do them a favor and tell them why, so they understand that their policies are pushing quality players out. Say this in private so you don't stir up public drama. Then let them decide if they want you in raids until you leave or if they want you to pack your bags immediately.

If you're undecided about leaving, then it may be better to keep your applications private for now and only reveal your intention to quit once you've made that decision. Keep in mind, however, that some guilds check rivals' websites to see if their players are app'ing around. If you get caught this way, you should expect a negative reaction. In the meantime, what you do about loot depends on the system. If you have unspent DKP that you've earned, you have the right to spend it. If your guild just rolls for loot, you may want to pass on items that other players want.

Good luck finding a new guild!

A Helpful Guild

I just yesterday had a problem with my guild that I've been very happy with, I got Battered Hilt out of Forge of Souls and announced my happiness in guild chat. I was asked if I was going to sell it *they go for 8k-10k on my server* I said Hell yes I'm going to. While shouting in Trade Chat a guildie on an alt character messaged me and asked if I would sell it to him, I gave him a discount of 6000 as everyone in trade chat was shouting with me saying 10k. Later that day GM and several other core raid members starting yelling at me because I "Sold" the item instead of giving it for free and how "we are a helpful guild" and I was being a douchebag for not giving it to the person for free. How he has limited internet and can't do raids with us and how I should have been nicer to give it to him for free.

As they were yelling at me and calling me all sorts of unpleasant things they invite me to group for our normal ICC raid night. Is it me, should I have given it to them for free? Confused and not sure what to do, stay in guild with people I've had a blast with in vent, or move to another guild I have friends with and get to another guild and become another core member. They say that the whole reason they are pissed is because I sold it to him and should have given it for free, but he messaged me offering to buy it not the other way around, he's been in guild since the beginging and should have known "guildies give for free" as I've only been in like 3 weeks.

I think you got a pretty raw deal here. You've only been in the guild for a few weeks. You can't be expected to know the guild's culture yet. When a member approaches you offering to buy something from them, how are you supposed to know that such things are frowned on? Is this policy in writing somewhere?

Certainly you could have asked an officer before selling, but I don't think that's something anyone would normally do for a private transaction between guild members. Furthermore, you did sell it for less than market price on your server, so it's not like you were trying to take advantage of the buyer. Blogging Is Good For Your

If they won't drop the issue and you'd like to remain in this guild, I'd recommend offering to return the money. It's not worth 6000 gold to be the focal point for abuse. However, such an over-the-top reaction is not an indication of a happy future for this guild or your place in it. Thus, you may want to shop around for a community that's a bit less judgmental.

For the officers involved, I would recommend setting down your policies and making sure new members are aware of them rather than resorting to guilt trips and name-calling.

The Abyss Gazes Also

Scott,

I'm the only officer in a guild that's falling apart, our guild leader along with several officers have left/are leaving the guild. A couple days before things started to unravel, I'd talked to the guild leader and told him that if the guild was going to fall apart that I was going to take the abyss crystals I helped put in the guild bank. I was told by him that it was ok, so when things started to fall apart i took the crystals I put in the bank as I was the official disenchanter for our raids.

I was later asked by a former officer of the guild why I took the items and was called a ninja. My question is should I put them back in the guild bank with no idea what's going to happen to them or should I keep them. As it stands there's a member of the guild that's wanting to become the new guild leader but I'm still uncertain of the right actions to take there

Uncertain officer

Hi, UO. I'm wondering why you feel like you have a personal claim to those crystals. Is it just because you DE'ed them? Your guildmates worked just as hard to down those bosses, so in my opinion they belong to the guild, not you. Your former guild leader apparently thought differently, and he's entitled to do so.

Regardless, I don't think it's fair to call you a ninja. You asked for the crystals from the person in charge at the time and you acted on the answer you were given. You did not steal them or obtain them through deception.

A better solution, if the guild does disband, would be to distribute the crystals evenly among the remaining raiding members. If the guild survives, the crystals should remain in the bank for member use (including you, if you stay). Either way, allowing one player to take them all isn't the right way to handle the situation as far as I'm concerned.

Send Scott your guild-related questions, conundrums, ideas, and suggestions at [email protected]. You may find your question the subject of next week's Officers' Quarters!