Category: Uncategorized

Pardon our dust as we migrate the Bible of Dreams website to its new server…

After nearly a decade of hosting this blog as a subdomain of another personal blog, it felt like time to finally give the blog a real home.

Stay tuned for new posts. In the meantime, come chat with me on Twitter; @Anexxia.

WoW Blogs I Read

About this Blog

You can blame the WoW Ladies Live Journal community for the creation of this blog. I’d been a long-time LJ member and found that community pretty soon after I started playing World of Warcraft in January 2005. I quickly became a frequenter commenter and occasional poster, and specifically got hooked on creating surveys and polls around holidays and in-game special events.

I’d long been someone with a binder full of WoW notes. I’d plan my post-patch talent builds, create my gear wish lists, and track my rare crafting recipes manually — be it on loose slips of paper and sticky notes or in epic posts on my guild forums.

Eventually, I decided I’d like to find a better home for all those loose slips of paper, and focus my previously scattered blogging energies on WoW, and thus Bible of Dreams was born in October 2008.

It is important to note that although my primary character throughout this blogging adventure has been my undead shadow priest, this is not, in the strictest terms, a shadow priest blog. You’ll see posts about all of my characters here, and about professions, guild leading, and myriad other WoW topics. And screenshots. Many, many screenshots.

About my Primary Characters

Alliance

Psychocandy, Night Elf druid.
My first character in WoW. Raided as a healer with a hybrid build of my own devising, and kicked butt doing so right up until her transformation, with patch 3.0, to Boomkin. Raided in vanilla midway through AQ; in BC midway through Black Temple; and in WotLK after a post-Naxx hiatus, came back and cleared through ToC and attained Kingslayer after completing ICC.

Horde

Anexxia, Forsaken shadow priest.
My first horde character, always shadow, never dabbled in healing despite that unused dual spec. Nexxi primarily laid dormant up until the end of Burning Crusade, at which point I server transferred her to play with some folks I’d met through WoW Ladies. Over these past two years, she cleared through all raiding content in WotLK as it was current, and became an officer in the server’s oldest still-active horde guild. You can blame her officership for all the guild leadership posts you see here.

About Commenting

Thanks to the proliferation of SPAM, all comments on this blog are now screened. Prior to publication, I read all comments and make sure any links are not pointing folks to SPAM or keylogger websites. I also make sure you’re not violating standards of civility or the DBAD rule. If you want to make catty remarks or be insulting, start your own blog! That doesn’t mean I don’t publish comments from folks who disagree with me — I do that all the time. But the key is making courteous, well-informed comments.

Contact Me

The quickest way to get in touch with me is by dropping me a note on twitter. I’m @anexxia on there. You can also leave me a personal note in a comment. Since all comments are screened by default it won’t be shared with the world until and unless I hit publish on it.

If you wish to republish screenshots or any other material on this site please note the contents of this website are all protected under copyright so please contact me on twitter to ask for permission. Thanks!

About SWTOR

After six years of playing World of Warcraft, it’s not surprising that I am looking to branch out into more MMORPG playing, specifically, Star Wars: the Old Republic. To that end, I’ve created another blog, Inquisitor’s Roadhouse, that is focused exclusively on SWTOR. As I noted in a post on this blog, it just didn’t feel right to mix the two worlds together.

A guide to guild leadership topics within this blog.

 

Administration

• 4 Tactics to Run More Effective Officer and Guild Leadership Meetings.
  Tips for running more effective meetings, including building a standing agenda to ensure you cover all your guild administration bases.
• When Raiders Only Partially Depart a Guild.
  Although it’s tempting to leave out the welcome mat, and the forums access, to departing raiders and officers, you should probably consider how that could impact the guildies left behind.
• Rank and File: What Kind of Officer Ranks Does a Guild Need?
  Some guilds have general officers with ad hoc duties, while others map directly to tasks such as raid leading and providing class advice. This post provides some brainstorming starting points.
• Why I have a Love/Hate Relationship with Guild Forums. Guild forum pitfalls to avoid, and ideas for how to avoid them.

Recruitment

• Creating a Guild Application With Some Oomph.
  Although most guild applications share the same basics, a truly great application will give the prospective guild member an opportunity to shine while also reinforcing the flavor and values your guild embodies.
• Managing Expectations: the Guild Application Process.
  Having a well-thought out and communicated guild application process is a cornerstone of a successful recruiting strategy.
• Guild Recruitment: Applicant Fact-checking.
• Don’t believe everything you read. If that new applicant seems too good to be true, there are some fast and easy ways to validate the accuracy of their application.
• Friday Five: Five Must-Dos When Starting to Recruit for Raids.
  Five tips for kicking off a successful recruitment campaign.

Retention

• Guild Retention Strategies.
  There’s no magic bullet to keeping your guild members happy and engaged, but here are some ideas to increase the likelihood of that happening.
• Care and Feeding of Your Guild Volunteers.
  Volunteers — be they called officers or not — are the backbone that keeps your guild running. Here are some thoughts on how to help ensure they stay energized and excited about their unpaid and sometimes even thankless leadership roles.

Misc.

• Leaving Your Guild Without Burning Bridges.
  Sometimes, despite all your good intentions, it’s time for you to move on. Here’s how to do so without being a jerk.

It's never too late to do something nice for someone else. You just might make their day! And given how many folks are in the pre-Cataclysm slump, we could all use some good cheer, yes? Luckily, it takes no more brain or physical energy to do something nice than it does to snark or bitch and moan in our blogs. And thus, I give you today's list:

1. Add someone new to your blog roll.
   That's right. That neglected list on your blog's homepage with links to blogs that haven't updated in half a year? the one that doesn't actually reflect who you read and retweet on a regular basis? You don't have to prune the dead weight to add links to some newer reads. And it's guaranteed to bring a grin to that blogger's face the next time they visit your blog.
2. Stop lurking! Start commenting!
   You don't even have to have something witty to say. Or anything significant to add to the conversation. Just say hello. Tell a blogger that the content made you laugh, or that you could relate. Just take the plunge and start some dialogue.
3. Raise your hand to do something for your guild.
   By now, your officers and GM are probably wincing under the strain of burnout and could use a hand. You can volunteer to help moderate your guild forums, or to organize the bank, or schedule alt runs, or to throw a social event. Most guild leadership teams appreciate the offer of a fresh pair of hands wanting to help out. 
4. Inject some fun into your next guild event.
   Whether you raid or hang out in a social guild, the next time you get everyone together for an event, inject some fun. Examples: set out a small feast and turn everyone tiny. Bust out those leftover Halloween wands and turn everyone into ninjas and pirates. Share your sandbox tiger toy with your group, and watch folks take turns riding that adorable playground toy. Have naked unarmed dueling matches. Start a new raiding tradition. Or just bombard people with leather balls. The point is — try to find a way to inject some fun into the day, in a way that's true to you and the spirit of the guild.
5. Just say yes.
   It's easier to say no when someone is asking for help in G. Or when someone suggests running a retro raid. Or doing any number of other activities that were not on your list of things you could do while standing around in Dalaran chatting. But try saying yes the next time someone asks for help or tries to get a group together to do For the Horde! You never know — you just might even have some fun while doing it.

Happy Friday!

A guide to raid leadership topics within this blog.

Raid Performance Management

• Personal Accountability: A Raider’s Checklist.
  One of the most visited and linked to articles in the blog, this checklist provides an overview for a conscientious raider of how to ensure they are bringing their A game to the table.
• Creating Benchmarks for Raid Performance.
  How to mine meaningful benchmarks and set minimum requirements with the use of free raid log reporting tools.
• When Your Raid Leader Says Everyone, This Means YOU!
  A discussion on why some players think their meter humping is more important than following a raid leader’s strategy, and how to correct that the situation.
• Friday Five: 5 Raiding Lessons to Remember in ICC.
  Lessons learned in raids past to keep in mind in Icecrown Citadel raids.
• The Right Tools for the Job: Raiding Evaluations.
  Free online tools to use for assessing when your raiding team or an individual raider is ready to move on up into a new instance.
• Providing Constructive Criticism Without Being a Jerk.
  Constructive feedback can be the linchpin to raid success, but if delivered in the wrong way — or at the wrong time, it can lead to a big pile of drama, and no improvement in results.

Progression Raiding

• What Does it Take to be a Great Raid Leader?
  It’s not enough to just want to be in charge — you need to have the leadership skills and attitude that makes the raid team want to follow you.
• Friday Five: 5 Things to Keep in Mind on a Progression Raid Night.
  A reminder for how to keep your raid focused and friendly on a progression raiding night.
• Addressing Growing Pains Before You Need a Splint.
  On the importance of thinking through your strategy for how to tackle progression-level raiding before drama ensues.
• When is the Right Time to Change up Your Riad Strat?
  If you’re changing the strategy every attempt, you’re not giving your raiders a chance to practice. Here are 4 questions to ask yourself before changing up your strat.

Raid Attendance and Recruitment

• Taking Attendance: Raid Signup Etiquette 101.
  Sometimes common sense is not so common as the discussion this post generated shows. Not everyone realizes how their behavior affects the other 9/24 people who sign up and show up for a raid ready to go. Thus, some food for thought.
• Common Sense: When in Doubt, Sit it Out.
  Holding raiders accountable for their signups; encourage folks who can’t commit to accept as tentative, or to sit.
• Friday Five: Five Must-Dos When Starting to Recruit for Raids.
  Five raid recruitment rules of thumb.
• Attack of the Absentee Raiders.
  How to identify and weed out bad apples before they ruin your raid.

Raid Alumni

• When Raiders Only Partially Depart a Guild.
  Tensions can flare when you have raiders who depart the guild on their mains, only to take up residency in your guild forums, bragging about their new conquests. Here are some suggestions on defusing this drama bomb.

Loot Systems

• Loot Systems Pros and Cons.
  In any sustained raiding environment, when it’s time to move beyond need/greed rolling, you have a few different loot system options to choose from, with their pros and cons laid out here.

Misc. Raiding Tips

• 10 Things You Should Know About Raiding…That Your GM Shouldn’t Have to Tell You.
  A new raider’s primer to making a good first impression.

For the first time in forever (or at least a year) it's vacation time! Which means missing a few raids in the pursuit of leisure.

But I do have a few things I hope to accomplish in game before the week off is up:

1. Get the warlock to 65 and get started on her last big engineering push.
2. Actually be online at the same time as Milchel so I can run him through SM (yeah for having an Alliance friend testing the horde waters! WTB more of same!)
3. Eek out another level each on the Alliance Mage and Shadow Priest.
4. Actually write up and send out the two WoW-related freelance pitches that have been on my mind.
5. Get through my screenshot backlog (rename and organize the shots from this year.)

BONUS: My guildie Naie gave me her extra eye of shadow, so if I am actually on at the same time as Axe, I have a willing paladin co-conspirator to help me take a crack at Majordomo in MC for the other piece I need to be able to do the Benediction quest line!!

What's on your WoW to-do list?

This weekend, our raiding team is going to be attempting ToGC. It’s Sunday morning, and I really want to go, but I’m not coming. I can’t commit to it. Why? Because I realize I am spreading myself too thin.

I have a big outside of game “to do” list, and a very busy job that has seen an uptick in urgent projects. Add to this my raid commitments 4 nights per week that I schedule around, and I am simply running out of time to do everything I want to do.

I plan to take a week off in April, with a goal of hitting up a ton of movies at our local international film fest. And this will also give me time to work on the recipe and scrapbook and photo board projects I have sitting around in varying states of completion. But until then, I am also going to try to do a better job of managing my time in game.

• If I am standing around chit chatting, I better be crafting something or doing a daily. No more standing around in Dal talking in /o!
• I know I want to do both Alliance and Horde pre-expansion questlines, which means getting the two Alliance 70s up to 80 and getting the 80 some better gear and replenishing their depleted banks. This also allows me to have some time to chit chat with the Alliance friends who have not yet made the leap to the horde and to further work on them in that vein. Consolidating all my characters back into the friends and family guild I love was a great step I made in this direction a while back. Realistically, you can only keep a pulse on so many guilds at one time.
• I want to work on my horde alts so they are all in a good place gear-wise for the expansion. Realistically, the horde is where my playtime focus is, so they will get the bulk of my spare time.
• In order to have some spare time to do the above, while managing to have quality time outside of the game I need to stop trying to do everything all the time. This one is hard for me because at the heart, I am an overachiever IRL. But I don’t want to be in a place where I become one of those people who overcommitt and underdeliver.