Ready Check is a column focusing on successful raiding for the serious raider. Hardcore or casual, Vault of Archavon or Ulduar, everyone can get in on the action and down some bosses.

One of the most difficult tasks any raid leader is going to face will be one of communication. Communication is a complex, ugly issue. It can be one of your strongest assets, but it can equally be your biggest downfall. This is because communication operates on two levels.

First, there’s the obvious data-based communication. Things like “The next boss is named Anub’arak” are data-based. It’s fact, unassailable, and fairly meaningful. Almost everyone’s going to agree with quantifiable information. You’re not going to round the corner of the instance, and find something that’s not Anub’arak.

Second, however, is “shadow” communication. This is a level of communication that can be a great deal more complicated. In the absence of quantifiable information, the recipient will “read into” your words a whole series of meanings and concepts that you may not have intended. For example, “This next boss is Anub’arak, so you should get ready” can be interpreted as “Get ready because we’re going right now” or “get ready by reading up on the boss strategies.” Now, that’s a fairly hyperbolized example, but it’s a true one none-the-less. We’ve all had experience with “I didn’t mean it like that” in our lives.

One of the oldest business cliches is that “Workers don’t leave companies, they leave supervisors.” While a raid leader isn’t a supervisor in the same way as a business manager, some of the viable tips from the corporate world can still apply to raiding life. Let’s take a look after the jump at some simple tips to enhance communication.

In the context of this post, I’m not necessarily talking about “on the spot” communication, but the overall level of trust and engagement between your raid leader and your raiders. This kind of meaningful communication will enhance your raid’s trust and cohesion, and should hopefully prove for a longer, more successful raid team.

1. Pay attention to what your raiders tell you.

Sure, it seems like a simple thing to understand when a team member says, “I hate waiting around to find out if we have enough people to raid.” That’s a fairly simple statement at the surface.

But if your raiders are saying that more than a few times in a row, then you could be facing a more serious problem. Not only is their statement true, but the repetition of that kind of complaint implies “I hate waiting around and I’m not going to do it much longer.”

Be honest when you listen to your raiders. It’s easy to alt+tab and surf the web when they’re talking to you, but resist that urge. Be present and real in the conversation, and actually try and engage in what the raider is telling you.

2. Make time for each person in your group.

It can be one hell of a task trying to talk to every active raider in your raid group. Some simple napkin-math says that if you talk to 24 raiders for 10 minutes a week, you’re looking at a 4 hour commitment in raw communication. But, if you consider the standpoint that your raiders are also spending their valuable time and effort on the raid (maybe just as much as you), then 10 minutes a week doesn’t seem unreasonable.

While you’ll probably have to find a middle ground, taking time to communicate one-on-one with each of your raid members is going to be key to their longevity with your raiding effort. It stresses to them that you value their opinion and time, while allowing you the opportunity to satisfy the first tip: paying attention to what they say.

3. Ask engaging, maybe painful questions.

Few raid leaders want to ask “Where are my biggest failures in the raid as a leader, in your opinion?” It’s a pretty harsh pill to swallow if a raid member opens up and tells you where they think your weaknesses are. But, still, you’re getting two things out of doing so.

Again, just like we said in #2, this communicates to the raider that you value their opinion and knowledge. They’re trusting you with their time and energy, so it seems fair to ask them whether they’re seeing a return on that investment. It also channels purposeful, meaningful feedback to you without having ugliness crop up in the middle of a raid.

The other thing you’ll get is another perspective. It’s not only possible, but downright probable, that your raid’s going to have perceptions and opinions different from your own. And while the raid decisions are usually up to the raid leader, having another approach to each problem will provide you more tools and better data to find your solutions.

4. When you make decisions, communicate in a predictable way.

Nothing frustrates team members more than finding out about decisions from an unexpected source. If you usually communicate decisions on an internet forum, it’s bad form to announce the information on Ventrilo one night and leave it at that. You need to be consistent every time, to reinforce what channels of communication you’re going to use.

If you announce raid lineups at the same time every week, your raid members will know that is the day to check the forums. This also provides you the opportunity to include other information at the same time, insuring your raiders will actually encounter it.

5. Be consistent about your message, goals, and values.

If you’ve been saying for two weeks that you’re going to use DKP for a loot system, but spend hours chatting about how a loot reel would be pretty cool, you are guaranteed to confuse some of your raid members.

Sure, it seems somewhat restrictive to think that you have to monitor what you’re saying even during “off times.” But you don’t stop being the raid leader just because you’re not actively raiding. Your raid members will continue to look to you for information and guidance. Be aware that your communication will always be received, if your raiders are capable of seeing it.

6. Avoid surprises

This is somewhat on the tertiary side of communications, since expectations and surprises can be considered a leadership issue as much as a communication issue. Still, the idea that you should avoid “surprising” your raid members is a huge part of the “shadow” communication I was talking about before.

Not only are surprises bad for morale (and thus an instant failure to meet any existing expectation), they create a situation by which raiders have to figure out why the surprise happened.

Have you spontaneously changed loot rules? In the absence of contrary information, your raiders will wonder if maybe someone complained loudly enough that you capitulated. Or, they might wonder if there’s a statistical reason you changed your loot system, maybe to benefit yourself.

Have you suddenly changed which instance you’re going to do? Your raiders will speculate that maybe someone wasn’t pulling their own weight. They’ll wonder if you lack the faith to go further in content. Or, even worse, they might think you’re “bored” with them, and might panic that you’ll leave for greener pastures.

Avoiding surprises means you never have to mitigate the stories people make up for themselves.

Summary

Communication is pretty significant to any group. As you build your raid group and try to extend its longevity, keeping these communication tips should help you get a better, strong place. Good hunting out there.

Dodge the drama and become that player everyone wants in their group with the Drama Mamas. Lisa Poisso and Robin Torres are real-life mamas and experienced WoW players — and just as we don’t want our precious babies to be the ones kicking and wailing on the floor of checkout lane next to the candy, neither do we want you to become known as That Guy on your server. We’re taking your questions at DramaMamas (at) WoW (dot) com.

“Reading is hard.” We’ve seen that snarky little comeback all too often around WoW.com comments, the Blizzard forums and various cracks and crevices in between. Judging from the number of comments we get from readers for whom “skimming” has obviously replaced “reading” (yes, all of you who bunnyhopped over the point of last week’s advice on playing a character of the opposite gender – we’re looking at you!), we might be inclined to concur, in a most un-snarky, literal way.

What concerns the Drama Mamas is when players blunder through their game without really reading what their fellow players are communicating, both explicitly and between the lines. We all know how easily humor (and especially sarcasm) can fall flat on the internet. Disaster strikes when players stop reading and start reading into what others say. It’s all too easy to miss connections when we stop “listening” halfway through. Players can even do this to themselves, second-guessing situations and making assumptions that prevent them from truly enjoying the game the way they’d like.

This week, we’ll help two players slice through their anxieties and clearly communicate their wishes. Say what you mean! Mean what you say! And in the meantime, we urge all our readers to read up, line by line, when other players have something to say. Don’t seize upon a single phrase that inflames your sensibilities while heedlessly abandoning the rest. Connecting with other players is best done in black and white — and “read” all over.

Is the grass greener over there?
Dear Drama Mamas: The guild I belong to is very small (maybe 12 players at 80), but all of us know at least one person in the guild in real life and a few of my guildies are very good real life friends of mine. I’m looking to progress to more difficult and interesting content — but at least half of the guild isn’t there yet (or they aren’t able to play very much right now). I’ve recently made in-game friends with a few different raid-happy people and have gone with them on a few non-official runs. And I loved it. And then one of my new friends invited me to apply to her guild — a guild that raids four times a week and seems to be making good progress through the latest content.

I know that once I start school again I’m not going to be able to play much, so I’d like to get in as much content as I can while I have the time. I also feel that my guild isn’t really ever going to be capable of raiding on a regular basis. In some ways, I feel that playing with my friends is the most important part of WoW — even if we’re not able to do any sort of progression. On the other hand I REALLY, REALLY want to raid and I’m REALLY bored with everything else. Signed, Confused

Drama Mama Lisa: I think you’ll have better luck, Confused, if you’re simply honest about what you’d like to do.

• Make the leap. Join up. See how you like the raiding lifestyle. You may love it … You may lose interest after the initial adrenaline rush … Or you may not find the schedule or the guild such a good fit after all. You’ll never know unless you try.
• Don’t burn any bridges with your casual friends. “I’d like to try more raiding, and I’ve got this window to try things out before I get back into school” is different than “You all suck Cracked Eggs and I never want to hear from you again.”
• Wait and see how much school actually does change your schedule. People who are passionate about a hobby manage all sorts of tricky maneuvers to keep things moving productively in the face of work or school. If it turns out that you love raiding as much as you think you will, it’s not unreasonable to think that you’d want and be able to find a way to overcome scheduling hurdles.

You’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain. Speak up, then dive in! No matter how things turn out, with something you obviously care so deeply about, you won’t regret having given it a shot.

Drama Mama Robin: I know from experience that you can have it all. You just need to be completely honest with both guilds.

• What to tell the old guild Tell them what you’ve told us: you really want to try out raiding but still want to remain friends. Ask them for a chat channel so that you all can have a friends chat, regardless of guild.
• What to tell the new guild You really want to try out raiding but aren’t sure if you can do it when you return to school. If you are honest about your prospects, they are much more likely to be understanding when your schedule changes. As Lisa said, you may find out you can still squeeze in a little raiding and still keep up with all your studies. After all, leisure time is important.

If you have to drop raiding when school starts, the raiding guild may still allow you to remain and raid during holidays. If not, you won’t have burned any bridges with your more casual guild and will be able to return to them. Enjoy both eating and having your cake.

A toad in your “greener pasture”
Dear Drama Mamas: Earlier this year I left a small, casual guild I had joined to seek greener pastures with a large, casual and raiding guild. The casual guild was filled with members who did very little else but beg for higher level members (specifically me, as the only guild 80) to help them with runs/quests/etc. and displayed very little gratitude. I’m a veteran casual player since 1.7, and I don’t mind helping out or passing along some wisdom when I can, but I have no interest in helping people who expect to be “babysat” or catered to without some form of consideration or any thanks. After leaving, I severed ties with most of the guild and was accepted into my current guild, where I help the lower level players when I am able to, but members are understanding if I am unable to.

All these months later, a member of my former guild suddenly reappeared after a long, prison-related absence from the game. I greeted him back warmly, but now I can’t get him to leave me alone. He whispers me every time I log on, has whispered me from alts, and has had other people whisper me to ask if I’m ignoring him when I’m AFK. It’s getting to the point where I’m starting to feel harassed and don’t even want to sign into my main, the only character he knows about. I know I’m going to have to ask him to stop pestering me, but I’m not sure of the most firm yet polite way to go about it. Sincerely, Harassed Ex-Guildie

Drama Mama Robin: Harassed, you’ve got yourself a parasite. Having other people send you messages to see if you’re ignoring him is particularly emo (also ignorant of how WoW works — you get a message when you try to whisper someone who is ignoring you). Because of his excess neediness, this is not likely to end well. But here is something to try:

I am very busy these days with my new guild. If I don’t answer, I’m either AFK or busy fighting. Please just ask someone else if I don’t answer. You may try finding a guild that is able and willing to help you more.

Go as far as helping him find a casual guild, and hook him up with a leveling guide. Then make yourself unavailable on your main for a week or two in order to wean him off of you. Hopefully, your raiding guild will be understanding of your playing alts exclusively for a little while.

If that doesn’t reduce his pestering to something you can deal with, then you have to close the door on this guy. Just before putting him on /ignore, tell him:

I am sorry that you can’t respect my time.

Good luck with Mr. Ex-Con.

Drama Mama Lisa: Now that you feel cornered, Harrassed, I suspect you may not be able to realistically enjoy chatting with this friend without feeling put-upon. If you’d like to try, you need to figure out when you’d actually be willing to visit.

• When is a good time for you to chat?
• Is there a good time?
• Are the only good times to chat so specific that it falls to you to initiate conversations?
• Are you interested and willing in initiating conversations at times that are convenient for you?

You might be able to manage his pestering with a strategic AFK message. Especially if you communicate with guildmates more via voice comm than text chat, try setting an AFK message during raids. To set an AFK message, go to your Interface Options and uncheck “Auto Clear AFK,” so that your AFK status remains in effect while your character is active. Then type “/afk Raid in progress; unavailable for chat,” or whatever message you choose. Anyone who whispers you will automatically receive that message in reply.

If in fact you were just being polite upon his return to the game, then follow Robin’s advice to loosen and then sever ties to this relationship. Be sure to explain why you can’t talk — “The stuff I run with this character now makes it really hard to chat when I’m playing. Sorry, gotta run …” – and then let any additional whispers go by without any reply at all. You might have to repeat this a couple of times on additional days before he gets the hint. If he doesn’t, it’s time to /ignore.

Welcome back to The Queue, WoW.com’s daily Q&A column where the WoW.com team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Adam Holisky be your host today.

I initially wrote an entirely different Queue for today, and then I came across Tim’s question:

The two expansions have fleshed out stories that I understand to some extent, especially WotLK. This has led me to ask myself, what is the story of vanilla WoW?

That is an amazing question, and has lead me down a path to an answer I did not expect. While my answer took a good three hours to write last night, it was probably the most fun I’ve had writing in quite a while. So thanks, Tim.

My full answer is after the break.

I’ll start off by saying that while I’m going to attempt to answer what the story of vanilla WoW is, it’s really a question best left to The Man himself, Chris Metzen. In fact, I’ll try something: Chris, if you’re reading this, we’d all love to hear your answer — drop me your email via the tip line and we’ll get in touch. Perhaps we can do an interview about this and post it for everyone.

Okay, probably a snowball’s chance in hell of him actually responding, but what kind of editor would I be if I didn’t try?

I think the story of vanilla WoW is three fold.

One – Passing the Torch to a New Generation

The heroes of yesteryear are passing the torch to a new generation, and represent a significant part of the story in vanilla WoW. This new generation of heroes are not represented by an NPC in the game, but by the players themselves. As a player you develop your reputation from simple tasks of clearing out wolves in the relatively peaceful Elwynn Forest to taking down Ragnaros and defeating the old god C’Thun. This sets the stage for future stories where the heroes, the protagonists of the story, are more developed — namely the overall story arcs of the Sunwell, Illidan, and Kil’jaeden from the ancient war in Burning Crusade, and the battle with Arthas in Wrath. I’ll note here that Arthas has a definitive presence in vanilla WoW even now out in the Plague Lands, and even more so prior to Naxx’s removal; but the real story with Arthas ends in patch 3.3 (we think).

Two – The Nation-State Reconstruction

Another story of vanilla WoW is about the consequences of the reconstruction of Azeroth from the third war. Approximately 4 years have gone by since Arthas and his scourage forever changed the face of the planet. We’ve seen old allies fall into strained relationships, and have seen new friends spring up from the most conflicting of groups. These varying relationships have led to nation-state interaction that propels the heroes (the players) into epic battles between factions like the Horde and the Alliance, and between the Dark Iron Dwarves and Bronzebeard’s forces.

And while the aftermath of the third war and the subsequent reconstruction provides a great bed upon which to weave epic tales, the actual reconstruction and the eternal human spirit play a central role as well. Azeroth was devastated after Arthas. Land which was once green and fertile became gray and dead; creatures of the world found themselves corrupted by the evil force of the Lich King, and entire civilizations found themselves turned upside down with an attack directly on their capital (Lordaeron and Silvermoon)*.

In this way the compelling story of the successful yet difficult reconstruction is one that is able to connect with WoW’s audience directly in their sense of nationalism (belonging to a nation), and of dealing with our world which was directly changed after the terrorists attacks of 9-11. No matter where you’re from or what your particular political and social philosophy is, the 9-11 attacks somehow changed the way of life of your country. For Americans in particular, and indeed for any peoples which had to go through terrorism, there is a strong sense of having to deal constructively with these difficult situations. We must rebuild, we must make sure this doesn’t happen again, we must never forget. Such are universal slogans in the fight against evil. Azeroth must rebuild, enemy and ally alike. Azeroth must make sure the Lich King is never able to wrought his kind of destruction again. Azeroth must not forget what he did, lest the Lich King is able to snake his way back into power over the peoples of the entire world.

This story and the feelings it presents reverberate deep within the primary audience which plays WoW now — the 20 to 30 year olds who were young adults when the attacks and subsequent global terroristic outbreaks entered into our global consciousness. In many ways Azeroth represents a return to normalcy and strength. Concepts that, while we might not identify directly with it ourselves, we can at least identify with it on a nationalistic level.

And here too we reach the finality of such a reconstruction — the ultimate triumph of good over evil. The Third War was evil. We outside the game will triumph over evil, just as our characters do in the game. At a very basic level this story is perhaps the most compelling out of all stories from all expansions — and as detailed above, fits into the psyche of people so well today that it’s uncanny.

Three – New and Emerging Threats

The Lich King, the Horde, the old gods — all of those are old threats. The ancient war dealt with the great sundering and Queen Azshara, the first war dealt with initial conflict between the Horde and the Alliance as the Horde entered through the Dark Portal from Draenor. The second war saw continued conflict between the Horde and the Alliance. And finally in the third war we saw the Lich King assert his presence in the land. They are all very astounding tales of dramatic movement on both the individual level and national level, however they all represent relatively old threats.

In vanilla WoW, new threats emerge. While many of these new threats are the reemergence of old creatures like Ragnaros or C’Thun, they feel like the modern time is the right time for them to rise from the depths and become victorious over the people of Azeroth.

“Too soon, you have awakened me too soon, Executus!”

Even though Ragnaros is planning on taking over Azeroth, starting with making life from stone in Blackrock Mountain, he knows he’s not yet made the necessary preparations. As new heroes of the land we have to go and stop this elemental lord of the age of the Titans, to stop this new threat from returning us to the evil that we saw during the Lich King.

This story can be repeated, more or less, for the events of AQ and ZG. Stop old gods (not the old gods, well, not always) from coming back into the evil-power-vacuum left by the Lich King.

Conclusion

The story of vanilla WoW is not as clear cut as BC or WotLK. It does however still provide amazing plots and adventures that hearken back to the very nature of an MMORPG; you face a world in which you have to fight against evil, struggling to win a battle that can never be won. The forces of the Lich King might be banished to fester in the cold north, but in his place other denizens of the underworld creep up and try to take his place. In an MMORPG, you are left forever defending your freedom and way of life against forces which attempt to end it.

In many ways vanilla WoW is the most compelling story of all the iterations of WoW, because it’s the story of Humanity’s spirit and relentless will to live.

I must insist that all comments are kept civil. The piece is here not to debate the merits of American hegemony or the democrats vs. republicans, but the story of vanilla WoW and its connections with all of us.

*I’d be amiss if I didn’t note that I debated adding a fourth major story arc — that of environmehttp://blog.ecmmo.com/wp-admin/post-new.phpntalism. The night elves, tauren, and orcs have very strong and compelling story lines dealing with protecting or in someway acting as the agent of the earth. And while this story line is a major part of WoW for some, it’s not for all. For instance Putress representing the undead for awhile seemed pretty hellbent on poisoning everything, including the land. And while the dwarves revere the land, they also like to dig a ton of it up. And the gnomes are particularly bad with their oil dropping out in the Borean Tundra. So while the story of environmentalism is there, it’s not a major part of WoW yet, and it doesn’t follow an overall path yet either (those stories about being pro-earth and anti-earth are not really connected). An example of a story having an environmentalism arc would be Lord of the Rings (the book version, not the movies) or Dune; and WoW doesn’t have it to that extent yet.