Have no fear, this will not be a teary eyed goodbye to WoW or to the blog. I still cannot foresee a situation where I cancel my account or stop writing. I have a sizable list of topics I’d still like to cover, and I get new ideas to add to it every day.

This is about the WoW apathy I see around me. The release of Age of Conan took a minor toll on my guild, and I’m sure I’m not alone. I don’t think we flat out lost anyone permanently, but some key members have been spending most of their time in AoC.

Now, I could rail and complain about this, but I can’t blame them. Many of them have all the 2.4 badge gear they want, have run every instance in the game 20 times over, and can only really progress through raiding. The funny thing is, with the 2.4 badge gear, we really have to start hitting BT to start progressing some of them. Oh well, I hope they’re having fun over there, I really do.

The problem is most of them were key members of the guild. People who were on often, and available to run instances and such. Our best geared tank is one of them, as a matter of fact. For those of us who remain, it has made things a bit more difficult as far as regular five mans, heroics and Kara, which for a long time have been our bread and butter. More than one run has had to be cancelled recently due to lack of interest.

This is particularly difficult for me, as I already have a hard time getting into guild groups due to the times that I play.

So, has your guild lost some people to AoC? Have you had a more difficult time of late because of it? I’ve been thinking about it, and I’ve come up with a few ways to fight through it.

Get Raid Organized for 5 Man Content

If you’re in the situation I am in, it might be a good idea to start treating five man runs like raids. What do I mean by that? Plan ahead. Set a date and time, and get some signups going. It might be the most effective way to still get five mans off the ground. Sure, it was easy to make runs on the fly a little while back, but now you might have to really work at it. You might as well use your raiding tools to do it. Don’t be afraid to make a post on the guild boards to organize a regular Shadow Labyrinth run! This might also help you find the people in the guild that are like you, still devoted to WoW and looking to get things done.

Help Out the Lowbies

I know who you are. In the past you ignored the calls for help in guild. When someone needed a hand to take down VanCleef, you were busy in Shattered Halls. When your guildy was trying to clear his quest logs of group quests in Loch Modan, you were tied up in SSC. Well, now is the time to change your feathers. Be that guy. The guy that drops everything to help out people with “old” and “newbie” stuff. The guy who ports and flies to the very ends of Azeroth to help those in need. Remember, a lowbie you help today will be a 70 down the road to maybe fill YOUR Kara run.

Get Back to that Alt

You know, that beloved Shadow Priest or whatver that has been on the back burner for a long time. The one you swore you’d get to 70 before Wrath. Now is the time to really get it in gear. (To make things easier, Jame has now updated parts 1 and 2 of his Alliance leveling guides to reflect the changes in 2.3. Go take a look. I can’t tell you how great his guides are. Trust me, give it a look.) I’ve personally been sitting on a host of characters in their 40s, and I now have to pick who to focus on and run with it. I’d certainly rather level an alt than go PUG crazy! It’s also an opportunity to work on a new tradeskill, or perhaps just get a devoted mat farmer for your main with a Mining/Herb/Skinning mix of skills.

Finally Farm That 5k Gold

Yes, I haven’t been talking about it, but even your good old PTD is close to getting an epic flyer. With the Sunwell dailies, it’s actually been quite painless. I mean, there is still a whole “farming” aspect to it that I don’t like much, but I’m sitting at around 4400g right now, and I’ve been working at it for about a month. A long time, I know, but that’s what Part Time is all about.

Quick tip for casual dailies: just focus on the ones that are ON Quel’Danas. Don’t bother with the ones that send you to blade’s edge, Netherstorm, etc. When time is an issue, the best bang for your buck is right on the island. You can grind out all the ones there in about 40 minutes, maybe less. Sure, you don’t net any of the Shattered Sun Supplies for possible badges, but it’s been a long time since I saw one out of a pack anyhow. So I no longer care.

PvP

While it helps to have premades for battlegrounds, it’s not entirely necessary. This is something that’s not reliant on your guild to participate. You can be the only one logged on and still get into a BG. Heck, you might even find you like it. The great part about this option is that if you can stick with it, you can get yourself some pretty nice gear. Welfare epics they may be, but I never saw a purple I didn’t like. Maybe you’ll find your a whiz at PvP and end up decked out in Season 4 gear some time down the road. It could happen!

There are my five meager suggestions to help you pass the time. I know it might be a little painful now for those of us that are ignoring AoC, but I have a strong feeling most of those people will be back. This is just a gut feeling, but I don’t see AoC having real staying power. As Wrath approaches, I’m sure the guild will build itself back up to full strength - it’s only a matter of time. Thanks for reading!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008 at 2:10 pm and is filed under Alts, Casual Play, Leveling, Top 5. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.