[GW2] Becoming a Leader: A Learning Curve

Change is hard for everyone. Back when my few guildmates and I decided enough was enough and we moved to Tarnished Coast, it was a bit of an adjustment for some of us. The players on this side of the mountain were friendly and active, and covered a variety maps, made an effort in WvW and then some, and it was something we hadn't seen in months. However,  this was a needed change, as I expressed in my post a few months ago. The adjustment was big for me, however. 

Dance for Dolyaks 2013! 

During this initial period, I was given rights to the guild; full leadership rights both ingame and in the mumble provided to us. I was excited,  but wary. Back on Darkhaven, I didnt do much leading, although Valkyria was my idea and created under my name, so how exactly how was I supposed to lead a guild that was more goal-orientated and had the same mentality leader prior to me? I expressed my uncertainty multiple times but the core members didn't seem to think the same way. Conscious of these feelings I had, I embarked on a new lesson of leading in game.

Our numbers had dwindled, and after recruiting two of my old gaming friends and a couple of other players, we started working towards goals as a small group. Getting people to eighty, grinding dungeons and fractals, and working towards buying guild missions, which we learned was costly and time consuming. We pugged frequently, often short numbers or people with high enough levels, and I didn't do much leading. Sure, I made executive decisions when we didn't know what to do, but I wouldn't call that the entire definition of leading at all. And Miraza, I know you'll be reading this and that you'll disagree :), but nonetheless. We continued on like this for a couple of weeks before two things happened: I encountered a problem player among us, and we unlocked guild bounties. I'll start with the ladder.  

As we built bounties, I studied them. I wrote out a master list of names and what maps for easy reference, I tried to understand mechanics, and I tried to know every path. When we were finally ready for bounties, I was initially lax. I didn't stop side chatter in mumble and we were always short on time,  so we ultimately failed a few, even with two experienced returning players and our arsenal of core players. Our communication was weak, and our coordination suffered. Tired of constant failures, and frustrated,  I constantly said how I was sure we were capable of this. We had tackled Arah before, I knew we could make this work. And then, what did Anet do? Bounty training missions. One target in fifteen minutes, 3000infl reward.

We queued up a handful.

After evaluating our previous strategies amd listening to my officers, I put my boot down. No more chatter. Either you're calling locations for bounties or you're not talking at all. You were to listen for battle strategies while in fights, and you were taking this as seriously as Tybalt takes his apple cider. We made a day with eleven of us and tackled a few training missions, all successes, before I asked if everyone wanted to tackle a real bounty. No one said no. So we popped a bounty tier 1.

Our first target was Poobadoo, arguably the easiest bounty.  A heavy hitting quaggan with a small path in Kessex hills. We found and burnt him down with nine minutes on our clock, and we raced off to Timberline falls for 2MULT, a new bounty golem with a scary mechanic. Thankfully,  I spawned on top of him. I pinged my location and everyone arrived, excited.  We could do this! We started the fight and struggled at first, but upon getting the mechanic with the sparks down... we burnt him down! We succeeded, and with two minutes to spare. I congratulated everyone, stressing how integral the communication we just showcased played a massive part in this win. We took success screenshots, and went on our way. Since then, bounties always yield successes rather than fails (unless we're just going for rewards to catch others up) and we understand what it means to communicate efficiently and effectively.

I was on my laptop at the time, but Mimee sent some screenshots my way! Our first victory!

Now, back to the former. While we learned what effective communication meant and how to use it, we struggled with a player with a... I-know-more-than-you mentality in our roster. Initially we felt this player was great. They were friendly and listened... until they got comfortable with us. Our core is close, but not too close as to alienate others. We include others and are always friendly, but we also like to pick on each other verbally, though always in a joking way; I see us as a family, and I hope the others do, too. 

While running with this player, he would make jabs like the rest of us, which is great! It's welcomed, it shows us you're comfortable with us, and as long as it's playful, there's no foul. Sometimes, the guys pick on me, but that's fine because I'm sassy back, so no harm... However, I started to feel that some of these jokes from this particular player were a little mean. Often I can take a hit; I'm pretty resilient or will roll my eyes or something. Usually. Though, when these jokes from this player were said, I often felt a little cornered. I raised my concerns with Miraza and an officer, but stressed that maybe I was being a little too sensitive. 

It wasn't until the Super Adventure Box came around that my officer noticed this behaviour too, and asked me about it. I explained that I wasn't sure why there was a different tone of voice being used with me. Long story short, my officer spoke to the player and then they spoke to me, and apologized. We left that at that, and the relationship seemed better again after we had talked it out. I felt initially if I had spoke to them first, it would be confrontational. Moving on, however, we started bringing this player and their new character into dungeons with us, after they had made it to 80. Being able to relate, as they were playing a condition-spec engineer, I tried to offer advice where I could. 

This is when we started to have a bulk of our issues. Countless times we explained that their spec should have them standing at mid/long range, as their max was 1500r with their spec, but they always preferred melee-range, which resulted in a lot of downs and deaths, and often frustration on our part. There was a lack of miscommunication, and it resulted in longer runs, more repair bills, and higher frustrations.

My officers and I were starting to lose our patience, so one day, I took it into my hands to research another build that might be more viable for their particular playstyle. Maybe Power/Toughness/Vitality, Tool kit and Rifle or Pistol/Shield with some elixirs and the bomb kit that would let them get into that melee range they enjoyed staying in. I brought this up in mumble to them, explaining I had looked it up and thought it would work really well. When I explained it all, excited to hear if they wanted to try it out, they responded that they liked their spec, and they liked being in melee range. I explained that although they had loads of toughness, they were still prone to taking heavy hits and going down pretty fast. Response? They liked dying!

Now frustrated, I explained that it really bogs down a party. They said we didn't have to bring them with us if we didn't want to. Anyway, this went on for a few more minutes before they got frustrated, and we decided to just let it go. However, after this conversation, this player became even more difficult, refusing to take part in bounties or events with us, and eventually left because they felt that they were left out and that I had targeted them. 

Were there things I could have done differently and better? Absolutely, I'm willing to admit that. I could have made that conversation a lot more private than it was (two idle people in the channel who added nothing to the conversation until the end, when voices were starting to rise) Did I have to research other builds? No, but I did want them to understand what constructive criticism was. 

These two things, bounties and this player, have taught me a lot in a short span of time... Since then, we've gained several active members, we've opened our own mumble for just guild members, we've unlocked Treks, and I've become more willing to raise my voice and... actually lead. I make sure there are items on players that are helpful, skills we might be need, organize parties for large events, and make sure everyone is up to speed. I'm more willing to have an open door to others, and be firm when I have to be. I don't know if this is earning me respect or if our newer players see me as an appropriate leader, but if there's anything I've learned, is that there's always more to learn and there's always ways to improve. 

I wouldn't have been able to do it without help, though. My SiC/officers/core members are all supportive and I know they all step up to the plate when and where necessary. I just hope that as we continue to play this game, and maybe branch out into other games together, I am still capable of being a strong leader, and that I can become even stronger and more knowledgeable. For now, though, I'll continue to move up in this learning curve.

Tarnished Coast!

So, lately some of my guildmates (as well as myself) have been feeling... lonely. Northern Shiverpeaks became a very quiet server, and their WvWing has been less than acceptable. Not wanting to stand by idly anymore, I asked my guildmates if they were interested in moving, and it turns out, some of them were already considering the move before we had started talking about it. Our guild leader and some of our officers had unfortunately lost interest and other games were more appealing, and we wanted a fresh start on a busier server.

With this in mind, on top of the server issues (NSP has some people who are very elitist, and some of the community is quite rude, if you ask me) and the inactivity we were facing, I rounded up two of my former [VALK] guildies who were going to start playing again, Mininae and Pinkie, and the rest of us on NSP who wanted to see a change (Miraza, Wooly, Talon, Crimson, Becs, Slone and Baba.. Others showed interest but seemed on the fence) and we considered our server options. I named a few, but out of our options, Tarnished Coast stuck out the most. It's the unofficial roleplaying server for Guild Wars 2, it's a tier 2 WvW server, and on the WvW official forums, there was a very comprehensive post that provided infographics about the server population. The only problem was, it's very busy and "Full" most of the time, so getting in can be a little tricky.

After about an hour of waiting, Miraza, Crimson, Baba and I all managed to make a transfer a few nights ago, Talon the day afterwards. We're still waiting on the rest, but so far, Tarnished Coast has been lovely! People are friendly, and there are people on almost every map I've visited so far! Plus, I enjoy watching the roleplayers; it's very inspiring, and it kind of makes me want to try it out as well. :) Wooly brought our move to the attention of our guild leader, who today has moved leadership over to me. I feel fancy, I'm a guild leader of NeX now! Phew, leader of two guilds; originally, those who moved were planning on making a move to [VALK], but which the leadership of NeX being passed onto me, it's nice to know we can continue to represent. Over the next few days, I'm going to clean up the inactivity, and hopefully see if we can get some new players into the guild and make it a community again.

All in all, the move was much needed. I feel rejuvenated, and excited, like I did when I first started during head start! I feel like the updates coming up, too, will be amazing, and will hopefully bring back some players.

Tuesday coming up, DMC comes out, too! I'll be picking that up and giving that a whirl. It'll be my first DMC game, so I can't wait to try the series (even though its a reboot!). I can't wait to talk about my first impression here. Definitely will be updating next week!

Guild Wars 2: October - Present (very image heavy)

So, with my decision to update my blog more often and keep up with that sort of thing as a part of my new years resolution, I hope to be updating here more often! Hopefully at least once every couple of weeks, as this is a gaming blog after all, and I'll be busy once school starts to pick up. Nonetheless, time to do my update on GW2, OCT-PRES!

October:

After getting settled in to my new guild and getting acquainted to my fellow guild members through chat and mumble, I finally started to run dungeons! At first, I was hesitant; I felt as though my guild leader + others thought too highly of my abilities as an engineer, because in my world... I was still learning the class I had yet to solidify my skills and traits, and I had no idea what to do with my gear... like, at all. My guild leader suggested COF (Citadel of Flame, the level 70 dungeon) would be ideal for my class.

A screenshot from some of my first ever dungeon runs in explorable mode: COF.

Sometimes, you just have to do things in the nude.

Goodbye COF, hello TA!

After getting two pieces of the gear, I realized that I would prefer a Condition Damage/Precision build, so I started to run Twilight Arbour (TA)... a lot. Above is a screenshot of when I first started doing TA. Thankfully, my guildmates were very helpful and provided a lot of instruction for me, so I quickly picked up all three runs of TA no problem! ... little did I know that I would be running TA whenever I had the chance between studying and writing reports for school. ヽ(#`Д´)ﾉ

Towards the end of the month, Arenanet launched the halloween event, featuring Mad King Thorn! The beginning of the event was fairly simple, and much like a scavenger hunt. It was interesting learning some lore about the Mad King, and I'm quite the lore junkie so I indulged several times over a couple of characters. Among the scavenger hunt, there were pumpkins scattered everywhere to carve, candy corn nodes to mine, and trick or treat doors to open! There was even The Mad King's Clock Tower, a horrid jumping puzzle I could never master... so it's the only achievement from Halloween that I don't have. There was also a sPVP game style called Lunatics Inquisition, where one team are villagers, and the other team is ghosts... it's kind of like Halo's game type of zombies. It was hilariously fun. Oh, also, when the Mad King appeared, he destroyed the Lion statue in the Piazza! To this day, it is still being built! I love how it's progressively being rebuilt, rather than all at once with an update. 

In addition to all these event activities and running dungeons, I also started taking part in more dynamic events, such as dragon champion events!

Jormag's Champion

The Shatterer, Khalkatorrik's Champion

 November: 

I knew November was going to be a busy month, as the Lost Shores event was announced prior to Halloween. Even though the weeks leading up to it were busy for me (midterms, lots of reports to write, and some struggles with work), I still found time for the interesting event. ANet told us we would be getting a new map, and some strange new enemies to fight, as well as a new dungeon, Fractals of The Mists (my favourite part about the event!). The event was about the Karka, ancient crab-like creatures that were invading the bay and subsequently destroying the lighthouse in Lion's Arch. During the weekend, we followed another scavenger hunt to learn about the Consortium's involvement with Southsun Cove and the Karka, as well as how to take them out safely, as they have incredibly thick shells that prevented them from taking much damage.

Exploring a new, untouched map was very interesting. We got to see some deforestation (no, I'm serious) and some jumping puzzles. It was neat to be on a map that we were all visiting for the first time.

Cutting down trees to make paths and camps with the Consortium, as a part of the multi-hour finale to the weekend.

The final day of the weekend was the longest, as it included a multi-hour event that took us through Southsun cove as we built paths and bridges and camps. At the end of the event, we had to blow up the Ancient Karka's hive and kill it so that we could live in Lion's Arch peacefully knowing that the large threat was gone.  The final fight was strenuous as essentially a large zerg fest, but it was also incredibly fun.

WHAT 9000??!!!

At the end of the event, we were awarded with a 20 Slot Box and an Exotic Accessory... and if you were lucky, a Precursor to make a legendary weapon!! My friend got Dusk (the precursor to make the legendary greatsword, Twilight). I got a named rifle. 〜(￣▽￣〜)  It didn't sell as well as my friend's Dusk, but it was neat to get something named!

Comparing the rifle to my rifle at the time.

After the event, I purchased a Young Karka transformation potion for karma. Worth it.

But, as mentioned before, my favourite part of the weekend was the new dungeon becoming available! Basically, you run three instances (four if you're doing every even number) that can take a few minutes, to an hour or more depending on how coordinated you are as a unit. What I really love about FOTM, is that it really  requires team work and communication, unlike TA (if you've done it a few times, you've done it a hundred, and you can do it without talking almost...) Also, it gets marginally harder with every new level!
Even though FOTM introduced a new gear type (Ascended), I still don't feel affected by the gear-grind. I mean, I just don't care if I have to grind - even if I was told that I wouldn't have to do it. I like working with others for a common goal, and helping out others who might not know what they're doing.

Just before our first fight with the Jade Maw (at lv2 Fractal)

Seriously, all these fractals are so interesting! This is climbing up the Colossus fractal.

And just for fun, my guildie's bear, who he now calls "Happy" per my request :3

 Once the weekend was over and people were tired of trying to catch others up to our fractal level, a lot of people became inactive. :( I had been promoted to an Officer's position in my guild, so it was frustrating we had fewer members than ever. This is still a problem, but it doesn't stop the few of us who are still active from having fun. We regularly WvW in our "serious business" (pink&purple coloured armour ONLY) colours and run dungeons and level up alt-characters.

We're super serious; don't mess with us.

Norn Dance Party

In addition to the event that happened in November, I also got my world completion star, and finished my personal story! 

So shiny （*´▽｀*♥ 

Finally!

 December: 

School ended fairly early in the month for me, just in time for Wintersday! In anticipation, I made friendly with some randoms on my server, and we danced like Kodan for ... a good hour and a half before the server updated with Wintersday fun.

Dance, minions, dance!

I even completed my TA armour set at last!

Merry Wintersday, Tyria!

When the server finally did update, there was snow everywhere! I loved running around building snowmen and throwing snowballs at other players ♥. I was excited for Tixx's workshop too, since it was supposed to be like a mini-dungeon where we could earn materials to make new minis for our collections. My favourites were the Plush Griffon and the Toy Ventari. Other than doing the jumping puzzle and each toy instance, Wintersday was okay but I made more use of my time running other dungeons or levelling my Sylvari Ranger. But below is a picture of my struggles with a group of randoms.

At least I died a very cute death!

Present: 

Currently, my guildmates are fairly inactive. Most have moved on to other games, or are waiting for more content updates to bring them back. This leaves the guild with only a half a dozen or so players, including myself and some close friends I've made, which is somewhat depressing at times. To combat this, we play on our alternates a lot and run fractals (we're finally at level 10!), which is just fine. As long as I still have people to play with, I'm content. ♥

ANet said in an interview recently that the content updates this month and next month will equate to almost a full expansion's worth of game content! They've also eluded to some new WvW maps... I can't wait! Even though I'm taking seven courses this semester, I'm still finding enough wiggle room for some game time.
I don't know what Anet has in store for the GW2 community, but I am very, very excited.

With all that being said, phew! I think I summarized and caught up my blog on my GW2ing... I'll be posting my Engineer Build soon, I think, so I can keep track of it somewhere. Also, with DMC coming out in a week and a bit, I'll be posting about that too! In the meantime, back to levelling my Ranger and playing Dead Island.