Ask Gauss

Happy Sunday all, and as with every Sunday here it is time to answer the questions of the week. As always if you want your question answered just send them throughout the week to Gaussafication@gmail.com and I will answer them regardless if it is on here or not. So there is for all the people who have told me it is impossible to see the link in the top right to the email. Anyways, let's get on with this week's questions.

What qualities do you think makes a good guild leader?

I think patience is something which is a must. You cannot expect that your guild is going to be the best of the best always. Every guild has there ups and downs and it is about how you manage both situations, which will show your true abilities. In good times it is about making sure your guild doesn't fall into the trap of entitlement and expectations. In the bad times it is about keeping people happy and being encouraging. Guild members regardless of what they say take their guild master's feelings and mood to how well the guild is going and to see the direction. This is why someone who acts as if the world is going to end is never going to be able to keep their guild together through the hard times.

Also I think you need to have someone who is approachable. You have to be someone that everyone can talk to on an even scale. People need to be able to talk to the guild master about the guild. State their concerns and give feedback. Sure the Guild is pretty much a dictatorship, but it is about handling it in a way that gives every guild member a voice. It really all comes back to patience saying something when it needs to be said and acting at the right times.

With Cataclysm and 10 man guilds being on the rise, will this be the end of practice of Loot Systems?

Well 10 man guilds first of all probably have no more than 12 active raiders. That is,of course, ssuming they are for progression and only running 1 group. In this one group lets assume 2 tanks 3 melee, 3 healers, 4 range for the 12 people. The overlap on loot between people in a 10 man is pretty minor. Sure there will probably be a couple items that a couple people want but it would be pretty minor. Also the atmosphere of a 10 man is much different than a 25. A 10 man is generally more relaxed,people tend to more open and talk with one another, where as a 25 man people are quiet except for 4 or 5 people. This makes 10 man a more open and friendly type atmosphere where in fact a roll system could work just because the lack of people interested in specific items and the atmosphere of the group itself. If this be the case then shoudn't we end all loot systems? No of course not, but you can go with a much more simplistic system which is focused on a smaller group. Something like suicide kings is a great example. Where as a a point system such as EPGP would be in my mind a waste of time. Loot council as well might be bordering on too much time for that size of people. So really I think loot systems will be less important, but I truly doubt they will disappear.

What makes you smile?

Watching a ret pally die.

That is it for this week. Send me all your knew questions throughout the week and maybe you could be featured here next week. Next week's Reader Post will be about what you are looking forward to most come Cataclysm.

Enjoy the remains of your weekend.

I Loot Therefore I Complain

Today is Friday, which means it is time for a Reader Post. The post where all of you send in your submissions and make the post what it is. This week I asked for submissions about that time people complained about loot for one reason or another. So here goes

While in VoA 25 man I was the only Enhancement Shaman. The PvP legs drop for Shamans, a Hunter rolls on them and wins and the raid leader didnt bother to check if he was a Shaman and he got the legs... Ya I had a few choice words for him to be certain. In the end his excuse was....I didnt see the "Shaman" part!

While i was on my warlock, in tanaris, i was groupign with a mage a priest and a warrior, and the Underworld band droped, so i said neato, this- would be nice for me (me being the only warlock in the party, so i rolled need, and so did the mage. the mage won 17 to 6 (i rolled the 6) and then i asked what the mage was gonna put it on, and they replied, no one, i need the mats for my enchanting, and before i could get another word in, they got a small radiant shard, and i was slack jawed (to say the least) then after the priest finished typing her novel as to who should be rolling for it, she spoke up and said to the mage that that epic ring has shadow damage, and the 'lock could have used it a lot more than the mage could have used the shard, about 8 minutes passed and everything re spawned, and we all got raped.

I was running my friend through gnomer, he was a hunter and going to be a twink. He also invited this priest from the guild which was begging to go too, so we get there and around the last boss the BOE gnomer leggings drop!!! The hunter asks may i have, for my twink set? i say of course and the priest says Hell no, AND NEEDS and i was just WTF BITCH?!? The Hunter died in that fight *i was only lvl 43 when i tried running them* and the priest freaking left, w/o rezing!!! Left the guild! and cussed us out in psts! i reported him for cussing 0=} *i don't ussaully report anyone for anything but i was pissed* I found out he had been reported for this before and got his account frozen.Yay *reason i found out cause he made another account and cussed me out, again and tried reporting me for NOTHING*

Omfg, running ZF yeh, ran it for 2 months straight, what was i looking for [Jang'thraze the Deflector] already got Sang'thraze. Anywho, 9th run of the night, im um to chief ulkorz skullcap, and we down him, like we have the previous 8 times, it drops, im like so excited i nearly fell out of my chair, i click need, then the hunter clicks need, im like WTF Dude, i really need that, he wins the roll and i have a go at him and he says, " I needed the other half more than you did" im like " Dude, i have been farming for two months, and i been paying you guys for the run, you got 45g outta me tonight, what the hell?" he replies " You dont deserve this sword, i do, get fuxed, eat cock, and good luck trying to get it again loser" he left the grp. worst ninja ever, i almost gave up on it, it was because of him it took me so long to get to 62, and i never got it, always wanted that Epic 2h

So i was in deadmines on my mage. When we got to the foundary im like "i want this ring (Lavishly Jeweled Ring) so please let me have it." Everyone agrees but the pally (i think she was dps), she also asked if she could need it and we all agreed (still i was really hoping she lost). we kill the boss and i dont get any loot pop-up menu roll thing-a-majig, all i see is "[Assholepally] recieves loot: [Lavishly Jeweled Ring]" so im like WTF and then i see it.. the loot bag of doom sitting there next to the pally's portrait, laughing at me with its stiches and whatnot. So basically the moral here is dont let the person who you are up against for loot be leader.

We had this mage in our guild that would roll on everything he could use even if he shouldn't use it. Then everything he didn't win somehting regardless of it would improve him or not he would go on and go about how it would change the very face of the world if he would have gotten it. It became this big joke everytime he lost and people would say "oh noes here it goes"

That is it for this week. As always if yu want to have a submission for these posts check out the topic on Sunday and then you have till Thursday night to get it in. Can't be part of it if you don't take part.

Enjoy your weekend!

You Fail At Loot If...

It is upon us, a new Fail Day. The day where everyone tunes in just to see what special kind of fail exists. So just sit back laugh, say I know someone like that, and say "oh shit that's me". Without waiting any longer here it goes

You Fail At Loot If...

• You say something is an upgrade just because it increases your gearscore
• You don't put gems in or enchant new gear because you are going to upgrade it soon
• Your alts have better gear than your main
• Regardless of the loot rules you roll when something you want drops
• You complain endlessly when an Armor Penetration trinket goes to a class that benefits from it more gets it first
• You show up once a week and expect your BiS pieces
• You're a hunter that thinks everything is a hunter weapon
• You want more hit so you can raid Cataclysm content in level 80 gear
• You got a Legendary and still believe you can sell items you looted
• You expect the boss to hand you the loot without learning the encounter
• Your dice only roll up to 31
• Whenever you don't get a piece of loot you immediately find your caps lock button and seemingly smash your face on your keyboard to make a point
• You complain how your class never gets a legendary. We know give it a rest
• Your 0s and 1s make you feel better about yourself

and finally

• You're a loot whore

That is it for this week. Enjoy your Free Loot Tuesday hope you get everything your heart desires.

Ask Gauss

So the first Sunday edition of Ask Gauss. First off today is a pretty intense day, got a crazy hockey game in a little over an hour that some of you might know something about. Nothing really to do with WoW besides the trash talking I have had with all my temporary American enemies. Anyways, let's get to what you all came here to read.

What is your thoughts on 10 man ICC for a 25 man raiding guild?

Well this is pretty easy. My guild Three Score is a 25 man raiding guild. I set aside one day of raiding to do 10 mans. I don't do this for gear or badges. I do this so people can see the encounters and learn from them. This way when we do them on 25 man mode people have seen them and know what to expect, rather than just reading a strat or listening to me going on and on about what to do. To achieve this goal I form three 10 mans a week. It is very important not to stack one group for success and then put leftovers in another. I make these groups so that every group has the required raid buffs and everything else for a successful raid. If I can't make three good groups one week I will settle for two. No point stretching to extremes to leave no chance for success. Think again of the purpose to see the content for the most number of people possible so your 25 man raid is better prepared. If you keep that as your focus then all will be good.

Since you use a loot council how do your choices work between tanks, healers, and DPS?

I can't always say that we always favour any one particular type of raider. I will say I am aware what is coming up and prepare for that accordingly. I don't like giving gear to people who have hit a plateau and it won't seem to help the raid as it would to someone else. I am always looking for the best possible result to improve the raid and make us successful. One of my raiders has a saying "it's not personal, it's raiding" I would say this is a great way to loot at loot distribution. You will never make everyone happy, but if you make the raid happy by making them more successful by killing more bosses they will thank you.

Your choice for the Gold Medal game?

GO CANADA GO!!! As the song says I BELIEVE OUR TIME IS RIGHT NOW!!!!!!

That is it for Ask Gauss this week. Not Friday's Reader's Post will be about the interesting spots you have found in WoW. Feel free to include screenshots to go with your stories and I will gladly include those as well.

Ask Gauss

Wednesday means time for the weekly Ask Gauss. I got a lot of worthwhile questions this week so I may save a couple for next week to publish, but I will still mail the response to the readers in question, so they do not have to wait. So let's get down to business.

What is your opinion on loot and how it should be distributed?

I am a firm believer that point systems don't work. There is always a way to horde points or cheat the system. Point systems also make it very hard to reward performance or lack of it. In my opinion point systems are for guilds who want the easy way to distribute loot. It can be quick and easy. It is final obviously most points wins. There is no ifs, no ands, and no buts. This just brings to mind the countless examples of drama after the fact. If you are interested I could explain another time, but this just isn't the place.

Three Score uses a system I firmly believe in. It is a loot council. Now I know what people are thinking this can lead to a whole list of different problems. Favourites, gear heavy people, and so on and so forth. The difference is if the council is done right and you pick the right group it can be the best way to do loot. First of all everyone should be unknown on the council besides obviously the master looter. This way people can make decisions without their friends knowing they pasted over them. They know that their vote is unknown to everyone outside the council and can make what they believe is the right decision. Secondly, it cannot be an officer group. You need a mix of regular members so their voices can be heard, which leads to the next point. The people on the council need to know what they are talking about and need to be vocal. It doesn't help to have people who just agree. There will be arguments, but in the end people will understand everyone has the best interest of the guild at heart. The only down side is the time it takes, but your guild will understand since they of course are trying to make the best possible decision.

What is the age range of people you play with and you recommend having in your guild?

This is pretty simple. I just want to be able to say what I want and not second guess myself because some one's mother is going to come on vent and tell me I shouldn't be talking like that. I play this game for fun during certain times of my day. I expect when I schedule something people also commit to those times as to not waste my time and those of everyone elses. So maybe this does set a minimum age requirement maybe it doesn't. I guess it just depends on a particular person's environment. But I will tell you this at the first signs it seems to be a problem they will be removed without a question.

Is 71 Points in frost a bad spec?

...

So those are the questions and answers for this week. Keep sending them in, and I will keep answering.