Raiding our own way
Recently there’s been a lot of buzz in the ECC forums in regards to our raiding success. Our top progression team has made huge strides in Ice Crown Citadel.  The Achievements Heads have dug deep into Ulduar hard modes, and are close on the heels of a meta-achievement there. Our other official teams continue to make progress on the content they’re facing, and as a result of all that, ECC has recently moved into first place on the farstriders server for strict 10 man raiding progression.
Thats the plot twist. Well actually its the first plot twist. ECC, despite being a large guild that continues to grow rapidly, doesn’t raid 25 mans like many other guilds. We raid 10s, and for the last 5 months or so, pretty much only 10s.
That has a lot to do with the second twist: Ex Cinis Cineris is not a raiding guild. From inception, ECC has identified itself as a social guild first and formost, and that continues to be a very important part of our identity. That doesn’t mean we don’t raid at all. It just means that the point of being in ECC isn’t to raid.Â
We don’t recruit people to raid. We recruit people to be part of a community, and to follow their interests alongside players who share their values and want to have fun. It’s no small coincidence that people like to raid. Raiding has become the backbone of Blizzard’s design. Its where the stories reach their climax. Its where they put the most time and energy in development. Its what they balance the classes around.
So ECC raids, but we do it our own way. We’ve tried 25 man raids. We’ve tried 10 man raids. It seems that the majority much prefers the 10 man experience, and its not hard to see why, if you think about it.Â
In a 10 man group there is ample time to laugh and chat as we progress along. In 25 man raids, its much more common to ask people to clear vent because its hard for leadership to get a word in.Â
In a 10s, we have the option of running multiple different schedules. In 25s, you need everyone to commit to the same rigid time each week.Â
In 10s, you have a small tight knit group learning to work together. In 25s you have something more akin to a mob, where indidualy familiarity is trumped by the need for group mentality and supression of indivdual playstyle.
Perhaps you think I’m being too dismissive of 25s, and its possible that I am. Whatever the reasons though, every time ECC has tried to run 25 man raids, it has not lasted. People don’t sign up for the runs, or when they do, raid leads burn out quickly from the frustration of choreographing a larger group and leading them to victory. The main draw seems not to be that 25 man raids are more fun, but that they offer the best gear. For ECC, gear is apparently not motivation enough to raid in a format we don’t find fun and enjoyable, and to that I say bravo!
In our mission it says quite clearly: The ultimate goal is to have fun playing WoW with other gamers who enjoy the experience as well.Â
Thats what we do.  Thats what we embrace, and I believe its because we raid to have fun that we have become so very successful at it. Even in our progression raids, we are constantly joking and cracking each other up. That, to me, is just as important as our ability to play the game well, because when you get right down to it, progressing as a raid is very challenging. You are always moving on to harder fights, wiping, recovering and trying it again to see what you can do better. If you’re not doing that because the challenge and experience is fun for you, its just too easy to get disheartened.
Its nice to be tops at something like strict 10 man progression. I think it helps frame our sense of accomplishment, and that accomplishment is not small. Frankly, I think strict 10 man raiding is much harder than 25 man progression raiding. You don’t get the top level gear to help you overpower the 10 man content. You don’t have a way to see the fights on an easier setting before you try them on a harder level. Its you and the raid boss, toe to toe, and you have to find a way to beat him while he’s the toughest boss available for you to fight.
The fact that ECC has taken the top spot in that field confirms that we have great players. It confirms we don’t take the easy way out. It confirms that what we put our minds to we achieve.
That said, I think whats really impressive about our accomlpishment is that we do it our own way. We stick our values of community and fun. Raiding is not the tail that wags the dog in ECC, and we aren’t really strutting around trying to impress anyone else with our phat loots or our world firsts. There are myriad other guilds with better gear and more achievements. We don’t raid just to compare ourselves to anyone else. There are plenty of other guilds that exist just to raid, and we don’t want any part of that.Â
Furthermore, while some may have seen our different teams as divisive at points, over time it has born out that players from each of the other two teams have worked their way up into the progression team, and in that way all of our raid teams have become integral to the progression of the top team. We wouldn’t have the raiders we need to be so successful at the top end of progression if we didn’t have so many excellent leaders providing raiding opportunities at every level of experience and gear.
Those of us that raid, do it to have fun. We face challenges together because we want to be pushed. We want that feeling of breaking through and doing something that just didn’t seem possible before we found a way to do it. Then we celebrate together with the kind of joy you can only experience among a community of people that care about each other and enjoy each others company.
None of that means the journey is over though. The challenge with organizing raids for a guild of people who believe in fun and community first is that there are always different needs and different interests to manage. We do not all have the same goals and interests. We do not all have the same motivations.Â
So my call to action for everyone is to think honestly about what it is you enjoy in the game. If you are getting it, thank the leaders and your peers for helping you reach that level. Then think about ways you can give back. There is always a need to help lead and support activities for other people.
If you’re not getting what you want. Communicate that to the people you see as leaders. Don’t tell them whats wrong, and hope they fix it. Take an active part in finding ways to meet your own needs.  Be clear with your raid leaders and officers about what it is you really enjoy and what your goals are. Whether or not they have the power to make it happen, I promise you that your officers and leaders care about helping you find ways to have fun within ECC. To find enjoyment in a communal activity, you have to find a what you have in common with the community. Start by communicating.
Be well and love fiercely,
Ecco
March 12 2010 11:58 am | Ecco Sounding Off - Editorials
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