How To Apply
From Game Theory
Contents |
Are We The Right Guild For You?
Fancy Version
Who knows. If you like what you read, maybe we are.
We're the kind of people who use spreadsheets to decide if trinket A is better than B. The kind to find (or write) just the right addon to smooth off the rough edge of the stock UI. The kind who have tried so many talent builds we can't even really count them anymore. We understand the value of Theorycraft, but realize at the end of the day doing is the only measure. Math does not scare us.
We like gear, but we like progression better. We don't /afk out of battlegrounds; we aren't afraid to lose. We have jobs, school, and families, so we aren't in the server first market, but when we tackle new content, we do it well. We enjoy WoW, and play often. We also enjoy keeping our Friday and Saturday nights free for other activities, should they arise. Balance is good.
We're mature, sarcastic, fun-loving and generally drama-free. We think that adjective lists are a horrible way to describe oneself, as they all end up sounding the same. Just like Gnomes.
We take pride in ourselves, both in the way that we know and learn the capabilities of our characters, and in how we interact with the rest of the WoW population. Respect where respect is due.
Read through the Guild Rules and take a look around the wiki and see if this looks like a place you would be happy raiding.
Just The Facts, Ma'am, Version
- GT was founded at TBC launch, built membership up to 25-man levels by July, cleared through Illidan pre-3.0.
- We raid 3 nights a week, 8:30pm - 12:00 midnight Pacific, Sunday through Thursday (Sunday raids start at 7:30pm).
- We expect 60% raid attendance, and encourage higher, however we have a firm "real life first" policy, and won't ostracize members for having crunch time at work, finals, or family emergencies.
- Outside of evenings/prime time the guild can be pretty quiet; the median guild member is 30, works full time, and maybe has a family and kids. We have a strict 18+ age limit.
- Social fit is important to us. We don't need everyone to be Chatty Cathy, but we think it's important to enjoy the company of your fellow raiders.
- We have a long app process. Expect a three-week (at minimum) app period before a trial guild invite.
- We don't require two crafting professions on raiding toons, but we do expect maxed tradeskills, optimal glyphs, gems, enchants and consumable use (flasks and potions, generally).
- We strive for an atmosphere of constructive criticism when things go wrong. Thick skin and a positive attitude are ideal.
- Being able to both understand and speak conversational English on Ventrilo is required. A lot of raid instructions are given verbally, and not being able to call out a quick "X needs help" can be an issue.
What We Look For
In general, we want people who are enthusiastic about the game, love tackling a good challenge, and like feeling over-prepared when tackling new content. Our raid forums are open to the public, and we invite everyone to participate in our strat discussions.
Tanks
We expect our tanks to be leaders in raids. Typically our tanks have been ahead of the curve in understanding upcoming boss fights and strats. Timid tanks don't do well in GT. The gear standards for tank apps are also slightly higher than those we expect from dps or healer apps because a tank's survivability is directly related to the success of the raid.
Healers
Healer evaluation can be tricky - total healing output is important, but isn't the whole story. We don't care about overhealing unless the healer is having mana issues - we'd much rather see health bars aggressively topped off than a healer trying to minimize wasted healing. Quick responses to changing raid situations are key. Expect your healing performance to be looked at with some non-standard tools. Also, given the advent of dual specs a solid DPS (or niche healing) spec and gear will certainly be a big plus (but not necessary).
DPS
DPSing is easy. DPSing well is hard. We want players that know the difference - meter whoring is nice, but we want players that know when to focus on the more technical aspects of the fight. Still, we want our tanks to be fighting for threat and our DPS to be fighting to be in the top 5 every fight.
Post An Application
If you believe that you and <GT> will be a good match for each other, post an application on the guild forums, in the Application Forum. Create your forum account using the name of your main character, and enter your armory link in the indicated field (only forum registrations that list an armory link get approved for posting; everything else is assumed to be spam).
- Use the questions in bold below exactly. Deviation from the standard questions will be rejected unless the result is most impressive.
- Spellcheck, capitalize, punctuate and use complete sentences. We don't expect everyone to use the Queen's English in /g, but we expect everyone to be able to, should they decide to. An occasional type is acceptable, but the application should be proofread.
- Any application that contains one or more sentences ending in "lol" will be rejected.
- Use formatting and whitespace to make your application easy to read.
- Don't use an email address from a .info domain - too many spammers come from them, so they've been banned.
- Applicants must be at least 18 years old in order to apply.
- Who are you? Tell us a little bit about the player behind the avatar. What part of the country you are from (are you from outside the US?), what you do for a living, what school you go to. Favorite movie, other games you enjoy, interesting trivia, etc.
- What have been some of your favorite WoW moments? We want to know what boss fight you've liked best; why you're still playing WoW; fond memories from your first lowbie; what makes you tick, basically.
- What is your biggest flaw while playing WoW? None of this "I play too much" cop-out weakness. Tell us something you're actually bad at.
- How did you learn of Game Theory, and why did you choose to apply here? Tell us about how you found out about us. What made you pick GT - obviously there is a reason you're applying here. What is it?
- What classes and specs have you played, and which are you planning on raiding with in Game Theory? Explain what you liked, and why. Be specific about what alts you have available on this server as well.
- Describe your previous guilds and, if they were raiding guilds, list your raiding experience with them. Tell us about why you joined your past guilds, what you liked and didn't like, etc. Also, the raiding experience helps put your play style into perspective - saying "It's a standard dragon fight" or "Phase two is just like Sartura" won't mean much to someone who didn't raid WoW 1.0. This is also a good place to list references to current Game Theory members that you may know.
- What times are you available to raid? How many times per week do you want to raid? If you have work, school or bedtimes, please list them. In general, Game Theory raids from 8:30pm to midnight server time weekdays (some 10-man raid IDs might start an hour earlier each week), and earlier on weekends. Not having 100% attendance is not a problem (we do, however, expect an average of two raids per week for rostering and looting priority).
- (Extra Credit) Post a screenshot of your UI with an explanation of the addons you use. You don't need to have a full explanation of everything in your UI, but it would certainly help us to understand how you might play. Even fun UIs can give us a glimpse into your personality. If you use a very limited number of addons and like the standard UI that is fine, we won't necessarily hold that against you.
- (Extra Credit) Post a link to a recent combat parse that shows off your capabilities. Explanations are not necessary but would be appreciated.
Transfer Applicants
We are always very flattered when players from other servers are interested in transferring to Proudmoore in order to apply with us. Unfortunately, we are not able to guarantee any transfer applicants a guild invite prior to their transfer. Before inviting anyone to the guild, we want to evalute a player's skill in raids and also see if they would be a good social fit. We can't make this call without getting to know you and raiding with you for a few weeks, though, which is why we cannot promise a guild invite before a transfer.
If available, we try to use the PTR to do some introductory grouping before the applicant actually transfers. Otherwise, we highly recommend communicating with us before transferring to Proudmoore - officers would be happy to talk to you on venty first, and if you'd like to listen in on one of our raids that can be arranged.
Introductory Groups
After posting your application, you will be asked to sign up for any raids that you are available to attend using the raid calendar. Members will have priority for oversubscribed raids, but we do try our hardest to get our applicants in so we can see you in action. These runs will be used to do a rough evaluation of your ability to play your class, your ability to work as part of a team, and general personal compatibility. You will be expected to be on Venty during the raids. Members will be evaluating you; don't be afraid to ask questions, but bring your A game.
This is the most critical stage of your application, as this is the best opportunity for guild members to assess your potential. And it is important for us to get to know you as a person as well. We want to play with people that are a good social fit for us, so please don't be shy to suggest running a heroic or some dailies or just striking up conversation. The better we get to know you and see how good of a player you are, the faster your application will move along.
Our application process is a little longer than most guilds and usually runs between 3-4 weeks before a final decision is made on whether to invite you to the guild. If at any time during your application period you have any questions feel free to talk to the recruitment officer, Neverwind.
Required Addons
Please make sure that you have all of the Required Addons installed and working before joining Game Theory on a run or raid.
Co-Applicant
If you wish, you may apply with another person (for example, a spouse or family member). If your co-applicant is a raider, the two of you will be evaluated as such. If your co-applicant is not a raider (which is perfectly acceptable), then the guild will only consider personal compatibility with the co-applicant when deciding if a guild invite is appropriate.
Trial Period
Assuming that everything is in order during the introductory groups, you will be issued a guild invite. At this point, you will be considered a member of the guild, and will be expected to conduct yourself accordingly. You will have access to the guild forums, but not the wiki. You will be able to bid on loot at member priority. The guild bank will be fully open to you, including things like enchanting materials.
You will be expected to raid at least twice a week during your trial period. If you have exceptional circumstances that will prevent you from meeting this requirement, speak with an officer and we can delay your trial period a week or two. If you are going to be away from the game more than that, you should probably wait to start your application until you are able to play again. Obviously, life can be chaotic. Keeping an officer updated if something happens is a good idea.
If you are not accepted, you will be removed from the guild. Obviously, any loot or DKP debt you may have acquired will be ignored. In general, it is expected that anyone that makes it to the trial period will be accepted as a full member; failures in the trial period are a symptom of a problem earlier in the recruiting process.
Co-Applicant
If you have a co-applicant, it is expected that they will be at least moderately active during the trial period, so that the guild may also get to know them.
Full Membership
Once the trial period is over, assuming that you have been an asset to the guild, you will be promoted to member. The rest of the services the guild provides will be made available to you (additional forums, wiki, etc.).
