17/06/2020

Quo vado Classico?

In case your Latin isn't up to scratch (or in case mine isn't, hah), that subject line is meant to say: "Where do I go in Classic?"

My night elf hunter is slowly but surely approaching the level cap, and I finally gave in and rolled up another Alliance alt as well, a pally. I don't know what it is with me and paladins...

Nonetheless, I can't deny that I'm feeling a bit of ennui in regards to Classic. I've had a great time casually levelling to sixty on both factions, and I certainly wouldn't mind doing it again either - but probably not immediately, or with much haste. Maybe I should let my subscription lapse for a bit once my nelf hits sixty?

More than anything I've been feeling lonely in the game as of late. The other day I found that I had been kicked from my Horde guild for inactivity. That probably sounds more dramatic than it was, but still... Basically, I always knew that they had pretty strict activity requirements, so when I first started playing my nelf I still made sure to log into all my Horde characters at least once a week - but eventually I forgot, and was therefore removed. They didn't boot me from their Discord, where I'm still tagged as "guild friend" so there are no hard feelings or anything, but it still made me a bit sad in a way I hadn't anticipated.

I hadn't chosen this guild myself and just kind of ended up staying there after the friend who'd got me in stopped playing, and I never really got that tightly integrated due to my casual play style... but I did run a few dungeons with people, during all of which everyone was friendly and helpful, and of course being there when the main tank got his Thunderfury was exciting and memorable. I guess that despite of my limited involvement, I liked the feeling of belonging that being a member of the guild gave me. Playing completely on my own, without any attachments whatsoever, just makes me feel unmoored.

But do I have it in me to get attached again in Classic? I don't even know. For one thing I'd have to choose a faction/server to focus on - and despite of having more Horde characters, I find myself leaning more towards Alliance when given the choice. Horde has always been the faction I played because other people asked me to.

I'm just not sure I can bring enough value and regular activity to a guild to be a worthy member. I only really know how to be part of a guild in a pretty hardcore way, the sort of person who "lives" in that particular MMO and logs in every day, which is not how I've been playing Classic. I have of course observed other players being more casual members, but the kick from my Horde guild has been a harsh reminder that it's all too easy to be disposable when you're not around often enough, and as someone who gets pretty invested in guild matters I don't want to set myself up for more heartache if I forget to log into a particular character for a few weeks.

4 comments:

  1. No-one other than me has logged into my EQII guild, which I co-created and where I'm the Guild Leader, for more than five years. There are two members, who were there when the guild was founded, who haven't logged in for a decade. I haven't kicked anyone for lack of activity!

    In my EQ guild, which I joined so long ago I can't remember - probably at least fifteen years - I've also been the only one logging in for about five years at least. Before that, though,when the guild was stil active, I'd gone through long periods of not logging in there - months, possibly more than a year between visits. Far from being kicked for inactivity I twice logged in to find I'd been promoted! I'm now a senior officer!

    If a guild is so active it's not only at the capacity limit allowed by the game but also has a waiting list to join, then I understand why there'd be a rule about inactivity. Anything short of that, though, and why kick anyone? I wouldn't, not for just not turning up!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. In my SWTOR guild we sometimes have to kick people because we've run up against the maximum character limit of 1000 again, at which point we remove a few that haven't been online in a long time to make room for new recruits. Those characters have usually been inactive for a year or more but I still feel a bit bad about it.

      I've never truly understood the desire to remove inactives from a guild as long as there's room, but I've been told that it makes the guild "look bad" in the eyes of potential recruits or something? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

      Delete
  2. A propos of something, I almost always have at minimum a priest, a hunter, and a warlock, and possibly a pally. Why? I don't like to let anything go to waste. A plate drop for a higher level Hunter may prove useful to a lower level pally later.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'll just say that there are guilds and there are guilds. Some, like the Horde guild you used to be part of, go hardcore. Others less so. And really, some are so gigantic that if you don't show up for a couple of weeks, the leadership likely doesn't notice (unless you're on the raid list).

    So if you feel the need to belong, being part of a casual leveling or social guild is likely where you want to be. The ones who advertise in chat about filling out their raid requirements is not what you're looking for.

    ReplyDelete