Old Timers of Ahn'Qiraj

Raid start times

Krakesh — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:13:53 -0000

Posted 09/03/2010 07:13 PM by Krakesh.

We've historically started at 8.15-8.30 server due to the family committments of UK raiders (selfish, I know :) ). However, many of those have left WoW, so it's worth revisiting this start time. I'd be happy to move the time earlier by one hour, giving those in non-UK time zones (i.e. the majority of the guild) a bit more of a comfortable time.

Comment here please on what your thoughts are as to a 7.15pm server time start for raids, either Sunday or Wednesday.

Personally, Sunday shouldn't be a problem, though Wednesday might be better for me if it was, say, 7.45pm server.

Raid Philosophy

Krakesh — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 14:22:39 -0000

Posted 28/02/2010 02:22 PM by Krakesh.

Before you proceed, you need to have read this please:
http://undecalt.wordpress.com/2010/02/27/the-february-post-the-state-of-old-timers/

Welcome back.

So, raiding isn't working. We're bouncing into the same problems over and over again. There are several issues here, but I can summarise the major one to explain our lack of progress in ICC. DPS is too low. Now, this is not the same as saying 'gear is bad'; I honestly think our top-tier raiders have the gear to clear Lower Spire, and there are many reasons why the DPS on an encounter is too low (DPS dying too early for example). No, the issue is the conflict between what ten of us want to play versus how ten of us need to play. I also need to impress that this is not just about DPS... points 2 and 3 apply to all roles, but point 1 is for DPS.

1) Raiding specs:
Some of us are running outdated talent specs or trees. These are the top-performing DPS specs in ICC25 at the moment. If the top one is scaled at 100%, you can see what percentage of that damage others do:
Mage - Arcane - 100%
Hunter - Marksmanship - 98%
Rogue - Assassination - 96%
Rogue - Combat - 96%
Warrior - Fury - 94%
Paladin - Retribution - 93%
Priest - Shadow - 93%
Warlock - Affliction - 92%
Druid - Cat - 89%
Druid - Balance - 89%
Hunter - Survival - 88%
Warlock - Demonology - 88%
Death Knight - Unholy - 88%
Shaman - Elemental - 87%
Warrior - Arms - 80%
Mage - Fire - 79%
Death Knight - Blood - 77%
Death Knight - Frost - 67%
Hunter - Beast Mastery - 61%
Mage - Frost - 56%

Obviously, you can't change your class, but you can change your spec. This will be easier for some than others, but if, for example, you are not an Arcane Mage, you could be losing out on nearly half of your dps!

Where I have multiple specs competing for raiding spots, when all other things are comparable, I will consider the spec as the balancing point.

Don't have dual-specs? Then I will put forward 500g of my own gold to help pay for your second spec. Meet me halfway... You'll have to gear accordingly as well too of course. And gem, and enchant.

2) Gems and Enchants:
Raider will now become a rank of importance. 'Raiders' will frequently demonstrate that they gem and enchant at the highest possible level. www.wow-heroes.com is my friend. Let it be yours.

3) Raid Locations:
ICC will not be our default instance. We won't have one. We will choose the instance based upon the quality of the raiders.

This is not about gear. If I don't think we have the skills to do anything other than Ulduar, then I will lead a raid to Ulduar. If no-one can benefit from drops, then so what? :) This, once again, isn't about gear. It's about not standing in the fire... it's about knowing the theory of the encounter so that the boss drops on the third attempt, not the third week... it's about decursing as a mage, druid and lock... hell, it's about decursing as a ret paladin and shadow priest!... it's about assisting the tank... it's about reducing work of the healers... it's about 1 person realising 9 others are trying to play hard, so that 1 person should play harder... it's about realising that 10 people want this boss down, so all 10 need to work as one.

It's about making my job so easy, so damn easy, that it's fun to lead Old Timers into action.

Account Security

Krakesh — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 10:33:39 -0000

Posted 30/01/2010 10:33 AM by Krakesh.

One of our Custodians was hacked. The GB was emptied of anything of value. All Officers have been demoted to Raider and everyone has had access to GB removed.

I will not be available today except for an hour or so from 6.45pm server today. After that, I will be online tomorrow afternoon.

Officers will not be promoted back to their ranks until they have been able to demonstrate that an Authenticator is attached to their accounts. No exceptions.

New WoW Blog...

Krakesh — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 13:45:41 -0000

Posted 24/01/2010 01:45 PM by Krakesh.

With an attempt so thinly veiled you'd think it was naked, I'm publicising my WoW blog here. It's new, and relatively shallow at the moment, but it does relate to my experiences with guildies and will (I hope) help to while away the seconds during your loading screens.

http://undecalt.wordpress.com

Feel free to leave comments... I know how supportive you will all be... :D

Raiding update...

Krakesh — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 22:16:24 -0000

Posted 17/01/2010 10:16 PM by Krakesh.

Hi all,

Just thought I'd let you know my ideas for our raiding in the next few weeks or so. As the gearing continues apace, we should be delving further into Icecrown Citadel soon. I want us to have one more week at ToC10 and Marrowgar (ICC) before we venture onto Lady Deathwhisper. When we have a strong group, we have the instance on farm, and it would be nice to continue that success.

Before the end of January, I would like the groups to move on from ToC and into ICC permanently. All of you who plan to raid need to make yourself familiar with the bosses of the first wing.

Finally, I would like to keep Sunday's raid flexible. Our primary goal will be ICC, but depending on raid strength or energies, it would be nice to clear up some of the older content. As a guild, we haven't got everyone through Naxx yet or Ulduar. I would like to see Sunday as a Casual Fun day, with achievement runs in Naxx, Eye of Eternity and clearance of Ulduar (Ulduar should be casual I hope :)... up to Thorim anyway :) ). Let me know what tou think about this... it makes a nice relaxing change from progression and wipes.

Gary

PS. I am still looking for support with raid leading, and for more comments on the Loot Distribution topic. Are you all actually happy with me leading everything? :)

Alts

Krakesh — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 13:17:40 -0000

Posted 16/01/2010 01:17 PM by Krakesh.

Hey all,

Just spent 3 hours sorting out the guild roster and alts. Can you all check on the guild roster (in-game) to check that all of your alts have the correct notes? Please notify me of
- Alts that are yours but not attached to your main
- Alts that aren't yours but are attached to your main
- Alts that have been deleted or are no longer played by you

Any Raiders should now be able to sign up with either mains or alts too. Let me know if this is not happening for you.

Thanks,

Guild Ox

Krakesh — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 23:20:42 -0000

Posted 13/01/2010 11:20 PM by Krakesh.

Remember that site? They monitor guild progress across all servers. We were doing pretty well as a strict 10-man guild, within the top 25 on the server. Then we got a few too many 25-man achievements within the guild and dropped from the strict 10-man rankings...

Well, it seems things have changed. Not only are we back in the 10-man rankings, but we are currently the 4th most progressed Strict 10-man Alliance raiding guild, and 13th overall (12th if you take achievements).

Old Timers are back in the 10-man raiding big time :D... thanks to all who have helped make this possible.

Suicide Kings List - A plea...

Krakesh — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 18:49:44 -0000

Posted 13/01/2010 06:49 PM by Krakesh.

To all Raid Leaders:

Please do not edit the SK list. Mistakes have crept in, and I need to manage its use. I will clean it up today and we will continue as is from the last posting.

If I am not present on the raid, this is the information that raid leaders need to collect during the raid:
- Who goes on the raid; this includes anyone who joins midway through the event,
- What loot drops; this must include the order that it drops in,
- Who takes what loot; this must include the order that they take it in

Many thanks,

Changes to guild admission

Krakesh — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 19:25:09 -0000

Posted 11/01/2010 07:25 PM by Krakesh.

Previously, all potential guild members were directed to the forums to apply. This enabled them to see the website, find out a little about us, and for us to learn a little about them before we invited them.

Guild invites have now been opened up to the discretion of Officers (Custodians and Lieutenants). If someone wishes to join Old Timers, please ask the applicant to whisper an Officer.

Changes are a-comin'

Krakesh — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 14:29:13 -0000

Posted 21/12/2009 02:29 PM by Krakesh.

Hi all,

I'm going to make some changes regarding GB access, ranks and the website over the next week. My thoughts behind these changes are as follows:

- Minimise admin... a lot of time could be spent maintaining these 3 features at the moment. I intend to reduce the time needed to be spent doing so.
- Improve accessibility... the GB is too restrictive for Officers, and the Website is, in places, a mire of information
- Introduce a Code of Conduct... we have an implicit CoC already within OT, but this one puts it 'on paper' for new and existing members. We have very few dismissals, and this just shows how effective our atmosphere is. A CoC lets new applicants know what to expect.
- Collect ideas from you guys... a lot of the wesbite and content is driven by myself. A lot of what the guild does is built upon that, with excellent contributions from countless others over the last 2 1/2 years. I want to make these contributions easier to monitor and process.

Most of these changes will be seen as freeing up how we communicate, but I want to introduce one that restricts. With the introduction of Authenticators in the last few years, the number of hacked accounts as dropped. However, OT still suffers from this. Opening up access to more Officers requires increased security. With the introduction of the Core Hound vanity pet, guilds now have a convenient way to check who has Authenticators. Authenticators will become a requirement for Custodians.