Since the last patch we have been finding it harder and harder to get a consistent group of people into our raids. Seeing as how we have over 190 accounts in our guild it is troubling that we can not fill a 10 man raid on a consistent basis. I know that there are few upgrades for people in older content but at the same time it is content we haven't cleared. Do we want to raid? if so how do we make it happen? are we actively recruiting? do we need to put forth a better effort at bringing new blood into the guild?

This guild means a lot to me and i understand that raiding is a large part of the fun that we get from playing this game. I don't want to lose a bunch of people to our lack of activity. I need an effort on the part of everyone to make this happen. so please if you are available to raid on a given raid night please sign up. if you run a heroic with someone who is kicking ass and guildless try and get them to talk to an officer or a recruiter.

If in the end we can not get this thing rolling again we will have to figure out where to go from that point forward. so please do what is within your ability to help us rebuild the fun raiding atmosphere that we all know we can create.

If you have any suggestions please leave them here.

There are multiple reasons why the raiding is getting slack lately. Obviously the recruiting sucks nuts and that just isn't for this guild but what makes it hard to actually get people to join is that this guild is very casual. When people join a guild like this, they are either joining because they think they can get into raids or because they just can't put the time into the game like other people. The people that look to raid are constantly left on the whims of others on whether or not people will show up for a raid. If people don't show up, the raid doesn't happen and they just wasted their time logging on and waiting to see what happens. People want stability and unfortunately, thats not what this guild has to offer. For a guild like this to actually have that kind of stability, you would literally have to have a few hundred accounts to balance out everyone just coming and going whenever they feel like. On Thrall, that just isn't going to happen because there are way too many guilds out there looking for the same thing. What exactly do you tell someone when you try to recruit them? You can tell them its a casual guild and to make it clear that raids might not always happen but how many people would actually want that?

Another reason why raiding might be getting slow is because look at the content. Honestly, this game is a lot easier then it used to be, thats a fact. Here is a quote from GC and even he dodges the question about raiding being easier:

"Hmmm. This sounds a bit like elitist chest-thumping, but I'll try not to read between the lines too much. It's hard to talk about a typical hard-core raider, but a lot of them do their progression raiding (25 heroic Coliseum at the moment) on 3-4 nights a week, and spend other nights also doing the 10-player version or even going back to Ulduar to get a second hammer or whatever. I don't know very many progression-oriented players that breeze through the content and then log off.

I'd also put the complexity of fights like Yogg, Mimiron or the Twin Valkyr against any ever offered in the game. If it feels like you aren't struggling to learn these fights as much as you used to, then that's probably true: there are now many sources for videos and strategies that have become a lot more robust and user-friendly, as well as pretty sophisticated UI mods to help you track everything going on. The whole raiding community is just more well-connected than it was in the MC and BWL days. Many casual raiders could name a handful of cutting-edge guilds these days, which just didn't happen 4 years ago.

I don't think the server first folks are beating their heads against the content any less than they used to. What has changed is that the rest of us are able to follow in their footsteps a lot more easily now. Blizzard will definitely take some credit for letting a larger population of our player base to enjoy raiding. But I don't think the cutting edge folks are finding the cutting edge encounters any more trivial. "

Why do I add something like this? Because the game is just getting boring now as well. Blizzard has catered to the casual player more and more. This is extremely evident with the new heroic stuff dropping Emblems of Conquest which allows people to just grind out easy mode 5 mans and get 25 man raid gear. This doesn't help anyone because these new people hitting 80 are getting this easy gear without properly learning what their characters can actually do or how to use them. Yeah thats an elitist attitude but thats what happens when you have played for close to 5 years and have cleared the hardest raid instances this game has ever seen.

Unfortunately I'm not sure what to do to fix these issues. Harder recruiting just adds more and more people with little knowledge of their class. Guild merger is an option but chances of that actually happening are slim to none. Guild "alliances" never seem to work out. I hate to be the person preaching doomsday but for now, at least in my eyes, things are looking pretty grim.

First, let me address Sol's post. As a newer member to SoN, I can tell you I picked this guild because it is a casual raiding guild. Too many of them out there raid 4 hours a night, 4 nights a week, with the expectation that everyone is there 90% of the time. That's not for me. But, I do like raiding, just to see the new content and for the occasional new pretty purple. So, I think the key is to have a casual schedule (like maybe 2 nights a week, and no penalty ofr not being able to log in because you're out of town or have a work conflict), but be serious about the raids once you are in them. I know I make every effort ot be on time and prepped, so it gets frustrating when it takes an hour just to get the raid going. I understand we are working with many different schedules here, so it's hard to find a time that works for everyone, so maybe we need to play with the schedule a little bit.

As to Add's points, I agree, the game is way easier than it used to be and I do think Blizz went overboard in giving T8.5 gear from 5 man badges. I ran LBRS the other day because I never had and I needed the achievement. While it was easily soloable for me at 80, I can't imagine doing somethign that large and complex at 60. And that's just a 5 man! Now, on ToC, you walk in, and it's 1 room. Ulduar is a bit better, and I have high hopes for Icecrown Citadel, but when that coems out, I'd like us to be ready for it, and that means raid practice and gear. I hope we have at least 9 other people in the guild who feel that way. I would hate to end up guild shopping again if this one falls apart. (And I DEFINITELY don't want to have to get back in my old guild..I'd never hear the end of it, lol)

I believe once the colder weather hits we will start seeing larger numbers logging on, and signing up for raids again. Remember in March and April when we peaked at 46 players on a few days a week and 30+ the rest? I think we will see those days again. I think the appeal of our guild like Oscal said is it's casual. The folks that haven't logged on much or at all this summer know they won't be guildless when they log back on. As for doing what I can, I will try my best to raid again once a week. Whether it's the Tuesday TOC10 or the Friday Ulduar continuation I will really attempt to make one of them.

I agree with stump,
I would much rather be out playing with my kids in this nice weather or laynig in the dark watching the stars on these clear nights
Well see it pick up some more when it starts rainign and shit. I konw i cant raid as much because all the raids on on nights that i work. but hey thats life. I still enjoy doing heroic and achivnmnets before i go to work . Mabye someday ill quit my job and raid full time again
but untill then hang in there things will get better
LP

Sorry about not being able to get on lately. Just started at college, and it takes some adjustment to get used to the schedule and workload. Combined with the fact that I was unable to log on to WoW on the internet provided by the college dormitories meant that I was unable to play for a good three or four weeks.
That issue has now been resolved though, so I can get back to playing WoW when I am able to. As I am currently in school, I won't be able to play as much as I used to, or as much as I would like to. Friday evenings are mostly free for me, so if i'm on don't hesitate to ask for help with anything. Looking forward to raiding with the guild again, so i'll see you all soon.

my toons are behind in gear now but i should be back soon to help