Does this kind of guild exist?

[Alifeyl]

You may say I'm a dreamer... my husband and son do!

My husband and I were in a high level raiding guild on a different server pre-BC, and while we enjoyed it for almost a year, we eventually tired of the scheduled raids and large amounts of time we had to spend raiding. So we made new toons on a new server and leveled up to 70 without being guilded.

Now, we are thinking about joining a guild so that we have people to instance, pvp, and possibly occasionally raid with. At this point, we mostly do pvp, dailies, and the occasional 5-man.

What I am looking for in a guild:
* Enough level 70 players so that there are usually at least 10 -15 people on in the evenings
* Mature players who have raided in the past
* No minimum raiding requirement, no scheduled raid days
* Friendly, fun, relaxed atmosphere and attitude - I already have a job, I play WoW for fun

Am I living in a fantasy world? It seems like there must be other people like me - who enjoy the game several nights a week and want to explore as much content as possible, but who aren't striving to be the top raiders in the best gear on the server. What do you guys think?

[Phenix]

I will say that while I enjoy having scheduled raid days, I almost never can get a group together in my guild to just go run some heroics or instances. I usually resort to PUG using the LFG but that is always hit and miss. I saw a website this week that would theoretically taking looking for PUGs offline. I wish I could log in and be running an instance in ~15mins with people I know I can trust not to cause me to /slap forehead after every wipe. Anyway, it's good to dream.

[eshadowone]

KARA runs are already being pug. Maybe continue pugging till you get tired of Kara, and when you decide to join a 25 man raids then thats the time you have to join in a scheduled raids.

[Necronomis]

anything past T4 stuff pretty much requires scheduled raiding otherwise it's just an in-guild PUG which usually sucks just a bit less than a real PUG. Not having any tanks or healers can ruin your evening.

I know people feel that having scheduled runs makes them feel like their at work and are schedule for a meeting but for me it really feels like a LOT more work to get a run going when it's started ad-hoc.

[Akasha]

Definitely not dreaming - but those types of guilds, in my experience, can be hard to track down. Website + Newly built houseouse (so LOTS to do!) + 9 month old bubs + everything else that real life brings = not a lot of time to play WoW. Even less to raid, let alone meet a minimum raiding requirement.

That said, I've found (well, hubby found and I just weaseled my way in) a great guild that seems to meet all my needs, which are very similar to yours. They always seem to have a few people on-line, anywhere from 10 up to 30. They do raid, but you're not required by any means to attend... even hubby has dropped back in the raiding recently, with no repercussions. They know I don't have the time to raid, yet it was no problem.

That said, if I ever do find the time to raid, they actually have 3 Kara runs going - one consisting of the group already raiding higher instances and usually clear it in two hours if they choose to run it. The middle group that can clear it in a night or two, sometimes join the higher end raids, and farm Kara mostly for fun. Then there's the third group which are still learning their way through or/and consist of people like me who don't have the time to commit to anything full time.

The part I like the most is that they do run instances together, which is something that I personally feel is very impotant within a guild. They also all seem to have wicked sense of humour which is the most important thing – I also play WoW to have run, relax and enjoy myself. I love laughing and being a bit silly, although not childish, and to be around people that not only seem to accept my wacky ways, but embrace and encourage it is a lovely change.

That said, what Necronomis posted is also true. The higher end stuff does require organization. I’ve accepted the fact that I will never raid bleeding edge content because I do not fit into the catergory of people required to run it successfully. That is fine, it’s my choice to play this way. So long as you understand that part and are happy, then for sure you will find a guild that suits.

[wayfarers]

The guild I am currently is closed to what you are talking about, they are not the end game raiding guild i was in before. They are like hey we are raiding ssc/tk fri and sat sign up on the form, 3 or so kara team running on diffrent nights and 2 ZA. They don't really require you to do any thing just be freindly to your guild mate. Sure its not BT/sun well but I do enjoy WOW now more than before. And you know what it seen kind of fun hearing them in vent when they down there first boss that they never did before. Or when they wipe 4 or 5 time they are like "good work guys we got him to 40% will get him next week." I think raid some time fill more like a job to some than what this is a game to enjoy.

[Faraque]

Honestly, check with your high end guilds on server too. Many, like my current guild, offer a non-raider position to those with friends in the guild, and just want a place to call home. We are bleeding edge, especially for a less than 6 month old reroll guild. Having downed Illidan, and SWP being in our sights in the next month, month and a half. These same hard core raiders like to hang out with/chat with our non-raiders and run heroics once in a while, and ZA bear runs for anyone that's interested, and willing to make a minor commitment to it.

Your guild is out there, dont give up hope.

[Sashivna]

Silver Hand is pretty lucky in that we have The Leftovers.

For a sneak-peak of what that is, check out http://www.wowinsider.com/2008/07/16...ere-leftovers/

It's not a guild, but an organization of many guilds. And from the sounds of it, it looks like some other servers are thinking about trying their hand at this kind of setup.

--Mistress Sashivna

[DRKHEART13]

Well On the Duskwood server That is pretty much a spot on description of the guild I am in. Most of us have been playing for along time together but the guild is relatively new. Right now most of our tanks and healers are still learning so right now we are just doing Kara and a lot of Heroics. The people are great and We help each other, you don't see people fighting over drops.

[dyson]

This type of Guild does exist

They are not easy to find. I am in one on Mal'Ganis PVP server (Alliance side though)

It is more difficult to manage a guild like this because you need to manage that grey area between allowing people to not attend things (or be in and out depending on the week) and the frustration that others may have in not knowing whether their particular kara or ZA team has the full 10.

Too much flexibility and your good raiders who are a little more consistent may leave, too little flexibility and you lose the social nature. That's why such a balance can be fleeting unless guild management is always watching out for what people want and figuring out the right happy medium at the time.

We currently run 2 scheduled kara's similar to a prior poster talking about their guild being 3 karas. 25-mans are still a challenge to do without pugging a chunk of the team, but it's a good trade off to hardcore raiding. We eventually hope to getting a kara 3 and then 25mans prolly can be filled more from inside.

If you want other evidence that such guilds exist, WOWInsider has a series of articles on Casual Raiding Guilds and how to make them work. They are out there.

Good luck