Dirt Dogs

So You Wanna Be A Dirt Dog?

Tue, 02 Aug 2011 03:48:00 +0000

It's important that people know some things about our guild before joining, just so they know what they're getting into.

1) We're a casual guild, not a raiding guild.

Thanks to our hard-working Raid Leaders, there are raiding events several nights a week, but not EVERY night. We get loot, but we're not ABOUT the loot.

2) We care about the Dirt Dog tag.

As a large guild, we get seen around the world quite a bit. It is highly important to us that Dirt Dogs are seen as courteous toward others both inside and outside of the guild. If we verify complaints about you behaving poorly towards another player, we will remove you from the guild. Play fair, play nice, be gracious.

3) We are helpful, but we're playing the game too.

The primary purpose of the guild is to supply our members with allies, not freebies. We expect all our members to look for equal level group-mates to run instances with, not to ask for higher-level help.

4) We are low drama.

The Officers work very hard to make the guild both fun and safe for everyone who wants to participate. There are people of all ages and backgrounds in our guild, and our one demand is that everyone be treated with respect. You can read the rules here.

5) We want to get to know you.

Our application process is a bit involved. We'll review your app and talk to any sponsors you may have in the guild. Then we'll probably have a few questions to ask you.

If any of the above sound like they aren't right for you, there are many other guilds with different parameters for their members. But if that sounds like just the thing you're looking for, please fill out an application form.

Code Of Conduct

Tue, 02 Aug 2011 02:43:00 +0000

We ask our members to abide by the following guidelines concerning behavior in public channels and towards your fellow players. If World Of Warcraft Guild Members are found to violate these rules on a consistent basis or flagrantly, we will remove them from the Guild. Bans from the servers and the website forums are also likely.

1) Clean language and content.

Swearing and discussion of topics not suitable for general company are not permitted, no matter the circumstances. It doesn't matter if the person you are addressing knows you in real life, or if it's just a joke - there are always other people on and listening to these channels, and we will not tolerate an unfriendly or uncomfortable atmosphere. If you find this restricting, this is not the place for you.

2) No abusive or hateful language.

Derogatory comments towards groups or individuals are not acceptable. No Dirt Dog should be made to feel uncomfortable because of a public discussion being held. This includes but is not limited to derogatory comments regarding race, gender, sexual orientation, religion and background.

Abusive name-calling, deriding or needling of other players will not be tolerated. Officers and Wolves DO get complaints about rude behavior when it happens, and we'd all prefer not to have your name show up in our mailboxes in regards to another player's complaint. Play nice.

Political, religious and philosophical discussions are better left for private channels - we'd love to have an open forum for debate and enlightenment, but many are just here to play a game. Please respect that.

All Dirt Dogs may refer back to these rules and report any problems they have with another player to our Wolves or Officers. Removal from the Guild and server bans are a possibility as a result of complaints, so please don't give us a reason to be concerned. We'd all much rather have fun playing the game!

On Leaving And Returning

Tue, 02 Aug 2011 01:42:00 +0000

We understand that as you play, things change: your goals, how you want to play, what you want to accomplish etc. We also understand that sometimes people THINK they want one thing, but end up not wanting it, once they get a taste of it.

As such, we never hold it against people when they want to head out into the great big world. When people apply to other guilds, we don't take it personally and we don't sabotage applications. In fact, I have written recommendations for people who have moved on.

We also understand that sometimes people want to come back. And we don't slam that door closed. Not entirely.

At the same time, our responsibility is to this guild as a whole. We have to avoid situations that weaken the community - bad feelings can arise when players (and loot - let's be honest) dance in and out of the guild on a regular basis. We are not here to be treated like a safety-net for when you aren't on the team that you really want to be on. We're also not here to gear up your Alts until you can move them over to your Main's raiding guild.

We have a set of guidelines that we use when dealing with departures, returns and remaining alts. These guidelines are fluid. No two situations are the same, and we deal with them all on an individual basis.

1. Talk to us.

This is not essential, but if you have a plan in mind that's a bit of a custom fit, you will have a much better chance of success if you talk to us and we work it out together. We're pretty nice, pretty fair people - we want you to be enjoying this game and we will help you get what you want. I will be very, very honest here - the longer you've been with us and the larger a part of the community you've been, the more flexible we'll be.

2. You get to come back once.

If you leave, you may want to come back one day. So, you can re-apply if you can find a sponsor. Once. We aren't interested in someone who is going to guild-hop in and out. It's bad for the guild. That being said, there are situations where that second chance could be expanded to a third or even a fourth. Depends why you left, depends how you left, depends when you left.

3. All in or all out.

Keeping alts in the guild while you're off with your main in another guild causes some real administrative nightmares. It also can cause some bad feelings and it's our job to prevent bad feelings. Once a toon is in, it's in and if you take one out, you take them all out. If you change your mind, you can still reapply as per #2. Again - exceptions are possible, talk to us. It's easier for everyone if we can plan ahead for the day you might want to bring that toon back in and everyone knows what to expect.

Raiding As A Dirt Dog

Tue, 02 Aug 2011 00:57:00 +0000

Raiding is fun, but any time more than two people stand in the same place and try to accomplish something as a group, bad things can happen.

We try our best to run fast, fun raids with as little downtime as possible. Our raiding schedule is casual, our attitude is not, but it's that attitude that keeps our raids fun and free of frustration - the guidelines below eliminate the annoyances that take the fun out of raiding.

If you are new to our raids, or returning after some time away, please read the following:

Before The Raid: Sign Up, Check The Roster, Be On Time And Be Ready

Efficient raids start before they start. Sign ups and team postings are managed through the website. Once you're on the team, making sure that you're ready to go with full repairs, consumables and gear sets when the invites go out means that you can head straight to the instance and be ready for the first pull. And it's not just in-game consumables, either. Let the dog out, get a drink and a bag of chips, take one last pee break... We'll let you pee again later.

Be Ready For Loot

Here comes the math: If each item of loot takes one minute and five items drop per boss and we kill six bosses in two hours... We just spent 25% of the raid dealing with loot. BORING! Know what drops, know what you need, know what you want (distinguish between the two, please). Make sure you understand our loot system and you know how many trump points you have at the start of the raid.

Vent

Be on vent. Be silent. The raid leader leads, the rest of us raid. If you have a suggestion, whisper the raid leader or an officer. Save vent for DIRE emergencies and times when you've been assigned to call something out. The raid leader insn't ignoring you, he's busy because 8 people are talking to him and Lu is yelling at him.

Meters

We all use them, but we have a long-standing policy of not posting meters to our raids.

Cooldowns

Think for yourself, but follow the leader. Obviously there are some situations where you have to use your head. Others - like long cooldowns - should be saved until called for.

AddOns

We don't have any mandatory addons. Deadly Boss Mods is always a good idea. We do have some fanatical UI customizers who would love to talk about addons for days. Check out our UI Forum.

Toon Tune Up

We don't post meters and we don't bench people. But we do hope that everyone is squeezing as much as they can out of their characters. That means top enchants, glyphs, gems, talents, farmed gear and practice.

Trump System

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 22:55:00 +0000

Every guild that runs raid content on a regular basis has a system for handing out loot to equalize distribution over weeks and months of raiding.

In WoW Classic we used a zero-sum DKP system. While it had the benefit of being highly accurate in terms of rewarding players for their attendance, it was heavy on bookkeeping.

Today's smaller raids called for a new set of loot rules tailored to the new dungeons. These rules have been adusted and refined over the past couple years to the present system, which is described below:

Dirt Dog Loot: Trump the Roll!

Trump Points and Trumping

The basic premise of Trump the Roll is that the default loot dispersal method is to /roll Need or Greed to acquire upgrades, and the highest roll wins the item.

However, all participants earn "Trump Points" through raid attendance, and before the roll takes place they may call out "Trump X!" where 'X' is the total number of trump points they have accumulated.

When Trump is called, the player who trumps wins the item and their Trump points are reduced to 0 for the remainder of the raid. At the end of the raid, they receive the points for attending that raid, just as the non-trumpers do.

If multiple players call Trump, the player with the highest total Trump points wins the item and loses their points. Players who do not win the item retain their points.

Items won through the default /roll process have no effect on Trump points.

Important points:

You must call Trump BEFORE the raid leader asks interested parties to roll.
When you Trump you lose ALL your points. There is no partial point usage.

At the most basic level, the system allows you to /roll on upgrades and save your Trump points for one special item you have your heart set on. When to use your Trump is a strategic decision - the longer you wait the more certain you are of being unbeatable, but you will also be passing up the opportunity to Trump a lesser item and begin rebuilding your point supply.

Point Values:

25-man Raids = 2 points

10-man Raids = 2 points

Partial attendance (Arriving late/Leaving Early) = 1 point

Cataclysm Changes:

With the advent of the Cataclysm expansion, we have taken the opportunity to revamp our Trump rules once more. The new Trump system retains the elements described above, but with a crucial new addition, and a revised looting procedure that all raiders should familiarize themselves with.

Gearing Role Checks

At the start of each raid the Raid Leader will perform a role ready check using the raid UI. Each raider will be able to select Tank, DPS or Healer. This selection will determine the class of upgrade items they are allowed to roll Need on for that raid. Items that fall outside of that selection can only be Greeded or Trumped on.

The Gearing Role you select does not have to be the role you are performing in that raid, and it can change from raid to raid, but the expectation is that this selection process will help raiders focus on gearing up for specific roles that will benefit the raid long term.

The Rule to Remember: If the item would be an upgrade for the gear you use to perform the Gearing Role you selected at the start of the raid, you can roll Need. Otherwise, roll Greed.

The Trump Loot Procedure:

This procedure differs slightly from our previous Trump loot process, so please read it carefully. The Raid Leader will either have loot settings at Master Looter OR Need/Greed. The process for each is as follows:

Need/Greed

The Need/Greed window will appear for each item.
WAIT. Raiders will sit tight and inspect the items. PASS on anything you don't want.
The Raid Leader will ask if anyone wants to TRUMP on any of the available items. Players wishing to Trump will declare their current Trump Points in raid chat.
If there are any Trumps, the highest Trump for that item wins the item as per usual and all other raiders Pass on that item.
If there are no Trumps, the Raid Leader will instruct the raid to click NEED or GREED as appropriate for their Gearing Role and whether the item is an upgrade.
Loot is over.

Master Looter

The Raid Leader will link each item in turn in Raid Chat.
The Raid Leader will ask if anyone wants to TRUMP on that item. Players wishing to Trump will declare their current Trump Points in raid chat.
If there are no Trumps, the Raid Leader will ask if anyone wants to NEED on that item (based on Gearing Role and whether the item is an upgrade. All people Needing will /roll.
If there are no Needs, the Raid Leader will ask if anyone wants to GREED on that item. All people Greeding will /roll.
If there are no Greeds the item will be manually disenchanted.
Loot is over.

We would prefer for the sake of speed to use Need/Greed. To do this we need the cooperation and attention of all the raiders to understand the process and most importantly to understand the parameters for selecting your Gearing Role and Need or Greed. If raiders aren't able to do this we'll have to stick with the slower Master Looter process.

For posterity, the evolution of the Trump system is chronicled in the amendments below (click 'em to read 'em):

Amendment: Armor Class Rolling Restriction (2007)

With the BC expansion itemization in dungeons has been improved to the point that we feel comfortable enforcing class restrictions on armor types. Warriors and Paladins may only /roll on Plate armor. Hunters and Shaman may only /roll on Mail armor. Druids and Rogues may only roll on Leather armor. Cloth is reserved for Warlocks, Mages and Priests. Should the main classes for an armor type not be interested, a second round of rolling will take place for downstream classes.

Amendment: Weekly Point Cap (2007 - Repealed)

REPEALED 01/03/08
In order to properly balance the two unique scheduling styles of Zhalseran's 2-raid clears and Murigann's multi-short run clears with our overall efforts to bring 25-man raiding to the forefront, we have decided to implement a Weekly Point Cap. 25-man raids are still worth 3 points, and Karazhan raids are still worth 2 points, but the total value that your trump point total can increase by each week will be capped at 5 points.

Amendment: Kharazan Out Of Rotation (January, 2008)

Starting in Jan 2008, Kharazan is downgraded to a non-trump instance. Trump points won't be granted for attendance and Trump will not be used during loot distribution. Instead the Trump system will be reserved for the more 'cutting edge' content: 25-man raids and Zul'Aman.

Amendment: BOE Boss Drops (December, 2008)

WOTLK (re)introduces some boss loot that is BOE. Starting December 15, 2008 BOE loot will be handled in the same way as BOP loot, with the following stipulations:

1) You may only roll/trump on BOE loot if you intend to equip the item immediately after winning it.
2) If no characters in the raid desire/qualify for the item, a second round of roll/trump takes place in which rule #1 does not apply, and raid members may win an item for use as they please.
3) Players may only win 1 item using method #2 per raid

Amendment: 10-man Trump Rotation Change (April, 2009)

As we did during The Burning Crusade expansion, we wi ll be taking the "starter" 10-man WOTLK raids out of the Trump system beginning April 3, 2009. 10-man Naxxaramas, Sarth, Vault of Archavon and Malygos will no longer be worth trump points and trumping on loot will not be an option in those raids. The purpose of this change is to shift our focus to 25-man raiding and 10-man Ulduar, as we have been very successful in outgrowing the current 10-man content.

Amendment: No Bartering (August, 2009)

The recent patch introduced the ability to exchange BOP items with other members of the raid, for a short period of time. This was done to make it easy to correct accidental looting mistakes. However, it opens up the possibility of using your trump points or your /roll to acquire an item for another member of the raid. Your trump points are for your toons. They reflect the amount of raiding you've done and the quantity of loot you've received. They are designed to keep all members of the raid progressing at a steady pace, with more frequent attendees having better chance at loot. One /roll per raider assures that, over time, non-trump loot is distributed randomly throughout the raiders. This benefits the entire raid. Circumventing this by bartering, gifting or selling your Trumps Points or your /roll to another raider is detrimental to the raid. Please don't do it.

Amendment: What If Someone Makes A Mistake? (August, 2009)

Sometimes people make mistakes. It happens. We ask that everyone comes to the raid knowing what their trump points are. Two possible scenarios exist: You could report your trump points as lower then they really are and lose a piece of loot to someone else, or you could over-estimate your points and acquire loot that should have gone to someone else.

If you under-represent yourself and lose loot, unfortunately that's your problem and we can't back-track a redistribute loot. If you need to, jot your total points down on a piece of paper before joining the raid. If you accidently over-report your points and notice before the cool-down for trading item s has expired, please notify an officer and we'll work to straighten out the error. If the error isn't noticed until the trade deadline has passed, we will have to chalk it up to experience and ask that you be more diligent with your reporting in the future. Again, you might find it helpful to make a note somewhere of your points before the raid.

Amendment: Earn Points On Raids Where You Trump (January, 2010)

To allow players who want to focus on specific roles to be able to do so without impeding the ability of players who want to be ready for multiple roles to also do so. By allowing a potential 100% increase in the amount of Trumping you can do, we hope players can feel like they have the ability to target their gear choices by Trumping more often to overcome rolling competition.

Trumping will now only spend the points you have earned leading up to the current raid. At the conclusion of the raid you will be awarded the normal amount of points based on your attendance. Effectively meaning that it is now possible for players to Trump once per raid if they so choose, instead of once every other raid.

Amendment: Gearing Roles (November, 2010)

The Rule to Remember: If the item would be an upgrade for the gear you use to perform the Gearing Role you selected at the start of the raid, you can roll Need. Otherwise, roll Greed.

Amendment: New Loot Procedure (November, 2010)

Earning and spending Trump points remains the same, but the handling of the looting process will change. The Raid Leader will either have loot settings at Master Looter OR Need/Greed. The process for each is as follows:

Need/Greed

The Need/Greed window will appear for each item.
WAIT. Raiders will sit tight and inspect the items. PASS on anything you don't want.
The Raid Leader will ask if anyone wants to TRUMP on any of the available items. Players wishing to Trump will declare their current Trump Points in raid chat.
If there are any Trumps, the highest Trump for that item wins the item as per usual and all other raiders Pass on that item.
If there are no Trumps, the Raid Leader will instruct the raid to click NEED or GREED as appropriate for their Gearing Role and whether the item is an upgrade.
Loot is over.

Master Looter

The Raid Leader will link each item in turn in Raid Chat.
The Raid Leader will ask if anyone wants to TRUMP on that item. Players wishing to Trump will declare their current Trump Points in raid chat.
If there are no Trumps, the Raid Leader will ask if anyone wants to NEED on that item (based on Gearing Role and whether the item is an upgrade. All people Needing will /roll.
If there are no Needs, the Raid Leader will ask if anyone wants to GREED on that item. All people Greeding will /roll.
If there are no Greeds the item will be manually disenchanted.
Loot is over.