Changing Guilds, By Force.

They’re really just not that into you…

On Sunday, I spent the entire day getting work done. And the entire night. When I finally finished, I looked at the time and realized that my guild would be wrapping up their 10 man Icecrown Citadel and heading into the weekly. It was the first night of my retirement. I’d given two weeks notice saying that I couldn’t heal the 10 man anymore because it ran too late, often going until 3am my time, and then they did the weekly afterwards. I’d been healing in the 10 mans since the second week that Trial of the Crusader opened. We’d gone through ToC, ToGC, went back and got the Yogg kill we’d been pining for, and had been advancing through Icecrown. I think I’ve missed maybe 4 weekend raids since early October.

I logged in to wish them luck before I went to bed. And then I discovered that the Guild tab was gray. There was no guild chat. There was no name above my head. I thought maybe my computer was just lagging in Dalaran. When it became clear that this wasn’t a loading error, I contacted the main healer and asked if I’d been removed from the guild. He said yes and to talk to the guild leader. Both myself and my roommate, Emmet, had been kicked from the guild.

One guild leader said, “You guys just don’t fit in anymore.”

The other guild leader, his brother, said, “This…and this…and this…and this…” And I stopped listening. None of the reasons were valid.

What it came down to is that the 10 man raiding guild was irritated that I was hosting an outside 25 ICC and wasn’t making guildies a priority.

The guild leader also got wind that I’d asked another guild about their policies a few weeks before – even though it’s the “parent” guild that they idolize and require us to give priority spots to under guild rules – and nothing every came about from my inquiry. I simply asked.

I was never the perfect guildmate.

When I joined, I was relatively new to raid healing and it was a rough start. The druid healer hated me and made it very clear during every raid. They gave me the benefit of the doubt, a raid spot, and a home. And oh boy, did they never let me live it down. Even after I’d been kicked, I was reminded of how I owed them for putting up with me way back when. I came, I healed, I put up with abuse, and I left frustrated on raid nights. I didn’t take kindly to guy-talk or good-natured vulgarity, and I got miffed when raids ran too late or I knew that we were two healing challenging content with undergeared DPS. I didn’t make guildmates a priority over all others, and I took reliable, interested, and adequately geared PuGs over my guildie brothers and sisters. I’ve now been punished for my insolence. And it’s kind of nice. I’m released of my obligations and my Sunday nights are my own again.

As far as I’m concerned, I did nothing wrong. I attended the 10 man raids faithfully, was on time, and put up with the crap, even if begrudgingly on some nights. I ran Heroics with guildies when it was requested and I had time. And I did make an attempt to involve guildies in the 25 man – but it failed miserably, and I stopped trying. The game is more fun when you aren’t having to force it. I am curious as to why they chose to kick us so suddenly and with no warning or real discussion. It’s a guild that never kicks anyone, even though half the roster hasn’t logged in for over a month and they struggle to keep a regular group together for 10 man – a ragtag group of well-geared and moderately geared and undergeared people that never quite has the right balance of classes.

How am I handling my newfound freedom?

It’s a little awkward when every familiar face stops me in the street and asks, “No guild? What happened?” I feel a little bit of a stigma looming over me when I announce that I was kicked from a guild. It’s a little different than leaving willingly. I’m trying to wear it like a little badge of honor. Not every day you piss someone off badly enough to boot you out on your rear. That has to count for something.

I have no idea where  I want to move to next. A big guild? A small guild? My own guild? Raiding? Roleplaying? PvP? Scratch that – I grew up in a PvP guild…not going back. Mainly how do I find a comfortable, friendly guild environment that I can exist in without constant browbeating or finding myself suddenly obligated to people? The choice of Alliance guilds on Twisting Nether is pretty limited.

Oh well. I’ve got a solid reputation and good friends. I’m one of the stronger Alliance discipline priests on my server. My ICC 25 is still delightful and it’s pretty easy to PuG a 10 man ICC to the same bosses that the guild was getting.

*taps her little badge* Second class reject. Beat that.