Welcome to the new Officers

Please welcome some new officers:

Warrior Class Leaders: Fabz and Tbevdaman
Administration Officer: Osharia
Guild Event Officer: Starbaby

Osh's responsibilities will include helping to keep the web site updated as well as keeping track of new members (for when they get promoted from initiate status to full member status). Starbaby, being the enthusiastic 'idea woman' she is, will be charged with conceptualizing and organizing fun guild events.

Congratulations are in order!

How to Spec -Talent Builds

Please note that there is no "best" build for any class. Every build is generally a trade-off in efficiency -- an increase in efficiency in PvP usually means a decrease in PvE or endgame instances, and vice versa.

What is most important is that your build is thoughtful and designed for what you do in game. If your personal Warcraft goals are aligned with the goals of Auroa Citadel, you will spec in a class build that is effective for PvE instancing.

Please review the link for your class below and make sure you've got the best build for you and your play style.


Mage
Priest
Rogue
Warrior
Druid
Hunter
Paladin
Shaman
Warlock

Guild Event - Slave Dethkrusher

Alas, the Colorado Rockies were 'krushed' by the Red Sox in a 4 game sweep and Arulaeh has won her bet with Dethkrusher!

This coming Sunday at 12pm server time, Deth will be on hand to pay up. If you'd like the chance to /roll for Deth's servitude for a whopping 3 hours (from 12-3 on Sunday), please make sure you're logged in at 12 pm.

The plan is to have all interested parties join a raid group for the roll, and then the lucky winner of the roll and Deth will go off to do exactly what the winner would like to do--quests, instances, you name it.

Anyone want to bet Aru that the Patriots won't beat Indy this Sunday? ;)

Outland concepts to consider

Aldor Vs. Scryer

One of the choices you'll have to make upon reaching level 60 in Outland is with which faction to align yourself--Aldor or Scryer. Which you choose will have impacts on your character including which faction rewards you can buy, and also in which quests you can do. And while you can switch from one to another, it is a long process so it's best to choose wisely in the first place.

Reading the following guide should make that choice easier for you. Consider both your class and your profession in your decision.

Comparison of Aldor and Scryer Rewards

Heroic Dungeons

All of the normal dungeons in Outland have Heroic versions which are considerably more difficult, have much better loot, and a Heroic Key is required to enter. You won't be ready to actually go into and successfully complete a Heroic Dungeon until you're very well geared and level 70. However, it's never too soon to start working on your reputation since getting your Heroic keys requires Revered reputation (changing to Honored with patch 2.3) with whatever faction controls the dungeon.

Here are the factions considered the "big 5" as far as obtaining Heroic Keys is concerned. Contained within each article are strategies for efficiently gaining reputation there.

Honor Hold -
Cenarion Expedition
Lower City
Sha'tar
Keepers of Time

Post Level 60 Instance Attunement

Certain post level 60 instances have prerequisites in order to go into them. The following is a chart of the steps you should take at the appropriate levels to get yourself "attuned" so you can enter all the Standard instances and get yourself geared up for the Heroic Instances. (Entrance into Heroic Instances requires keys which are obtainable only be acquiring Revered reputation with various Outland factions.)

Instance Name:	Start Attunement at:	Description:
Caverns of Time: Escape from Durnholde (aka Old Hillsbrad)	66	Complete an introduction quest near the instance portal. It takes about 10 minutes. Save your guildies from having to wait and grab this quest in Tanaris as soon as you hit 66.
Caverns of Time: The Black Morass	66	Completing the Escape from Durnholde instance will give you access to the level 70 Caverns Instance.
Auchindon: Shadow Labyrinth	66ish	Run Sethekk Halls (Auchindon) and defeat the last boss Talon King Ikiss in order to acquire the Shadow Labyinth Key.
Hellfire Citadel: The Shattered Halls	70	On the Northern Balcony of the Black Temple — at the top of the first ramp leading from the ground just to the right — is a Named orc mob called Smith Gorlunk. Kill him and loot a key mold to start the quest. I recommend having a flying mount because the enemies leading up the ramp are literally immortal and it is much easier to bypass them. Later parts include handing in a few enchanting mats and motes and then killing a Fel Reaver in Hellfire Peninsula.
Tempest Keep: The Arcatraz	70	Starts in Area 52 by an ethereal named Nether-Stalker Khay'ji. The first quest in the chain is “Consortium Crystal Collection”. There are about 8 quests to do in the chain all soloable (except maybe the last one which involves killing an elite demon where the help of one other person may be needed). Completing all these quests yields a quest to do both the Mechanar and Botanica (lvl 70 five mans in Tempest Keep) for the key to the final one - The Arcatraz. Again, easiest to do with a flying mount at 70.
Karazhan (10-man Raid)	68	1. Restless Activity and Arcane Disturbances 2. Contact from Dalaran 3. Khadgar 4. Entry Into Karazhan 5. The Second and Third Fragments 6. The Master's Touch KEYED FOR KARAZHAN

Guild Goals and Recruitment Policy

Our short term goal is to find or create talented players interested in leveling with us and eventually to focus on end game content such as Heroics, 10-mans, and 25-man content when the time is right. If you are looking for a "hardcore" endgame guild (raiding 5 nights a week) that is not our goal.

In order to achieve long term guild goals, we all have quite a bit of work to do. If you'd like to participate in end game content with us, you should be focused on leveling, learning how to play your class as effectively as possible (requires research!), acquiring great gear, and becoming skilled at playing your class in group settings.

As far as recruitment is concerned, in order to achieve goals as a guild, we must focus on quality over quantity. More bodies doesn't equate to a successful team--just more drama and headaches. When you are approached by someone inquiring about joining our guild, talk with them. Find out if they are the sort of person you'd like to team up with. Are they polite, respectful, intelligent and mature? Are their goals in line with our guild goals? If you determine they are, ask them send a mail to me (Arulaeh) and I will put them in touch with their Class Leader for an interview. The Class Leader will determine if the recruit is welcome to join us on our journey to the end game.

What is end-game content?

The End Game refers to the part of the game where level advancement is no longer the goal, and other activities take center stage. In World of Warcraft, these include, but are not limited to:

• Obtaining an Epic Mount


• Heroic mode 5 man instances


• Running intances which require more than 5 party members and are only accessible at the highest attainable character level. (10, 25 and 40 man raid instances)

Please stay tuned for more information related to exactly how we're going to get there, including new Officer roles, scheduled instance runs, etc.

It's Warcraft

This has been around for a while, so some of you may have seen it, but if not...

Aru's Favorite Addons

I get asked a lot which addons I use and where to find them. If you have some favorite addons that aren't featured on the list below, definitely let the rest of us know by using the comment link at the bottom of the post.

Here's a just a small sampling of some of my very favorites:

Titan Panel (with lots of plugins--see download page for info on how to get those)
ArkInventory - Organizes your bags and bank automatically. Requires a bit of easy configuration.
Bongos2 - Bongos2 is an action bar replacement designed to be both low memory, and easy to setup.
Auctioneer - an addon which makes your time spent at the AuctionHouse more productive by remembering prices, finding bargains and suggesting prices based upon past data. It's not meant to be an all-in-one perfect solution, however in the hands of an expert, it will help make lots of money.
Informant - contains item information such as which items are parts of quests, vendor buyable and what the vendor prices of items are. It contains it's own database of items so even on a fresh install it's useful, and doesn't have to gather prices.
X-Perl Unit Frames - a complete replacement for Blizzard's default unit frames, including raid frames and raid tools
MobMap - an ingame database browser. It displays the positions of all known mobs and NPCs on the ingame map as well as the minimap. It also integrates itself into your questlog and finds the positions of quest mobs with just one click. And it does even more: it allows you to search the MobMap quest database, the merchant database and the recipe database.
MetaMap - MetaMap adds features to the WoW world map, keeping all mapping type features in a single place. (Must have mod!)
MobInfo2 - provides you with useful additional information about Mobs (ie. opponents/monsters). It adds new information to the game's Tooltip whenever you hover with your mouse over a mob such as # of kills, drop percentages and more
Lightheaded - very simple addon that displays quest information and comments from http://www.wowhead.com in game, eliminating the need to Alt-Tab when you get stuck on quest.
TomTom - allows you to simply click any coordinate in LightHeaded to add it to your map as a waypoint.
Doublewide - works great with Lightheaded, makes your quest log easier to read on screen
EquipCompare -When you shop for items at a vendor or the Auction House and you hover over an item, you get a comparison tooltip showing the "currently equipped" item too. This AddOn adds such a feature everywhere in the game where you can hover over items, such as in your bags, in the loot window or on the reward page of a quest. You also receive comparison tooltips when clicking an item link in the chat box
CTMailMod -makes it easy to open up all your mail at once, as well as a bulk mail sender for attaching multiple items to be sent to one person. Both work really well, are simple to use, and integrate cleanly into the existing mail window. As an added bonus, names are auto-completed when you send to someone on your friends list or in your guild.
GroupCalendar - featured in a separate web post
Outfitter -Outfitter allows you to create multiple outfits and equip them with a click of your mouse. You can layer outfits, create outfits optimized for a particular attribute (ie, fire resist or maximum defense), and have outfits which automatically equip. Automatic outfits include riding, Argent Dawn (plagulands), battlegrounds, and class-specific automatic outfits like shadowform, stealth, warrior stances and druid shapeshifting.
Omen Threat Meter - Omen is a threat meter. Basically, enemies in WoW decide who to attack by deciding who is the most threatening based on the abilities you use. What Omen attempts to do is provide reasonably accurate estimates of your group's relative threat level on individual enemies, so that you can see when you're in danger of pulling aggro (or, if you're next on the snack list if your tank bites it).
LiteAssist - LiteAssist is a very basic addon to replace the standard /assist macro.
It provides extra key bindings to learn who to assist and to assist them. You can (and must to use this addon) set them up via the WoW Keyboard Options menu.
Possessions - Possessions is an AddOn to keep track of all your... possessions.
It will keep track of the items and money on all your alts (per server), including worn items, items in your inventory, items in your bank and even items in your mailbox (that you've seen).
QuestHistory - An in-game history log of quests that have been accepted, completed, failed, or abandoned.

Dungeon Spotlight - Zul'Farrak

Now that you've read and digested the incredible Instance Grouping Guide from Wowwiki, you're probably itching to go and test out the principles outlined therein.

Stop! Before charging into the guild chat channel to try to put together your group (tank, healer and 3 damage classes--remember?), there are some important steps you should follow first.

1. Check to make sure you have all the quests you're eligible to do in the dungeon
2. Repair your armor
3. Clear unnecessary items from your bag
4. Stock up on any consumables you will need such as mana drinks, food, scrolls and potions, etc.
5. Familiarize yourself with the dungeon by doing a little research

It never ceases to amaze me how many people skip step 5. Knowing nothing about the layout or boss tactics in some of the lower level dungeons might have worked just fine for places like Deadmines and the Stockades, but by the time you reach places like Zul'Farrak, it's necessary for a good run for your party to know what to expect inside. Plus, if all the members of the group are adequately prepared by having read a guide, your run will go MUCH faster since the group leader won't have to spend nearly as much time explaining every single event and boss inside the dungeon.

Here are some useful guides to Zul'Farrack:
Ceejbot: Pocket Guide to Zul'Farrak
Allakhazam's Guide to Zul'Farrak
Wowwiki Zul'Farrak Guide
TenTonHammers guide to: Zul'Farrak

Too Funny

If you're in a need of a laugh (and who isn't?) check out the following.
Felica Day who played a recurring character on Buffy as well as other shows, brings you this live-action comedic webisode called "The Guild."

Note, if you're easily offended, you probably shouldn't watch these. There's some cursing and 'adult' humor.

Episode 1


Episode 2


Episode 3

How To Level Your Profession Efficiently

One of the ways you can make leveling up your chosen Profession much easier (and less expensive, too) is to utilize one of the many Profession guides available on the internet. Profession guides tell you which recipes/plans/etc you are should be making at your current level and beyond and are a highly efficient method of skilling yourself up.

There are many available guides out there that you can find using a simple Google search such as "warcraft tailoring 1-375" (just substitute your chosen profession if you're not a tailor)...or you can use the handy guides on Lootables.com. After you find your Profession in the menu on the left hand side of the Lootables menu, simply use the drop down navigation box at the top of the page to find out what you should be making at your current level. Check it out---it's really cool and useful.

How to Party Like a Pro

One of the more difficult things to do in WoW is to transition from spending most of your game time playing solo to learning how to play your 'toon in a group situation. If you enjoy questing there comes a time in the game where you begin to notice that your quest log is full of Group and Dungeon quests, so learning how to be a good group player is important if you want to progress further in the game. If you're skilled at group play, you'll find it much easier to find people who are willing to group up with you than if you're mostly clueless. Grouping successfully is not something you can generally just cross your fingers and wing--there are fundamental concepts that are necessary to understand.

The following link is to an article that is long and detailed, but should be required reading for anyone who wishes to become clear on the concepts of how to work with a group in an instance. I would hope that all of you take the time to familiarize yourself with this information not only for yourself, but for the good of the guild!

Instance Grouping Guide

Group Calendar Addon

Announcing a new guild feature -- a guild event calendar!

The GroupCalendar addon allows guilds to share an in-game event calendar. Members of the guild with the addon installed can post events for dungeons they'd like to schedule a run for. This addon will also be used to schedule guild events.

Download this addon here

If you're unfamiliar with installing addons, this post might help.

After you install the addon (by using an unzipping program to extract the files into the Interface/Addons directory in your WoW folder) you'll see a folder called Documentation. There's a handy file inside called UserManual which explains how the program works. Configuring the program is simple. You should use the options in the Quick Setup section of the program's User Manual.

Guild Event: Foolish Bet?

Everyone's favorite Pally Class Leader Dethkrusher has bet your GL Arulaeh that her beloved Boston Red Sox will lose the World Series against the Colorado Rockies.

Why should you care, you ask?

Winner of the bet will draw a Guildie's name at random and the loser will be their 'slave' for 3 hours in game. Instance runs, boot polishing, dancing for silver on tables in AH's...some lucky Guildie names it, the loser of the bet has to do it.

So.....Go Sox!

How to install an Addon

Here is a link to some easy to follow instructions for how to install an Addon in WoW.

Installing an Addon

Still having trouble?

• In order to "extract" a folder from a zip file, you need a file unzipping program. One way to determine if you have one is to right click on a zip file you've downloaded and if you have an option that says "Extract" you do. If not, you can search for and download a free program for unzipping files at Tucows.



• Make sure you are exited out of the Warcraft program when you are copying the unzipped addon folders into your "C:\Program Files\World of Warcraft\Interface\Addons" directory.



• If all this makes absolutely no sense to you, then you might want to find your friendly neighborhood computer geek and invite him or her over and bribe them to show you what the instructions in the above link mean.
  

Exciting Organizational Changes

I've put quite a lot of thought into many ways we can enhance and improve Auroa Citadel to make it more useful and more importantly--more fun-- for our guild members.

I believe that we all play this game to have fun and being the best that you can be is fun! My goal is to create a system where it's easier for our members to find and get the help they need in game and to facilitate a community of players that know their stuff--because it's always more fun to play with people who are just as good as you. :)

And now for the exciting part...

In the past, the Officer rank was attained simply (someone promoted you)and required little to no responsibility. For the good of the guild, this will be changing. Officers will chosen based on merit and be required to have a function within the guild. They will carry out their roles and responsibilities with honor, maturity and respect for our members.

Officers are top-ranking guild officials with the power to invite new members to the guild and take part in guild administration through officer chat and the upcoming officer forum. Officers will also have the ability to post news on this website page as well as alter officer and player notes. Officers will also help moderate guild chat and promote a friendly and non-argumentative environment at all times.

In the upcoming months we will have various Officer positions to fill including recruitment & coordination, guild events, and more. More on that later.

The new roster system is as follows:

Guild Leader (officer)
Deputy Guild Leader (officer)
Class Leader (officer--duties described below)
Veteran (long standing member)
Member (guild members)
Initiate (brand new guild members with less than 2 weeks active in guild)
Alt (all alts)

Since Class Leaders are new, here is an explanation of what they do:

Class leaders are generally in charge of looking after all the guild members of their responsible class in the guild.

Their responsibilities include:
--To support and help their responsible class members to the best of their ability to become better players. This means that your Class Leader should be the go-to person if you have questions that pertain to your class.

--To monitor behavior and performance of their responsible class both in and out of instances. This is meant in a constructive way, we need to help people to learn to play their classes better.

Your new Class Leaders are the following:

Paladin: Dethkrusher
Hunter: Moonfalody
Rouge: Maggiethecat
Mage: Yvesan
Priest: Arulaeh
Druid: to be decided
Warrior: to be decided
Warlock: to be decided
Shaman: to be decided

Class Leader status is in effect as of now. Please be respectful of your Class Leaders and keep in mind that it is going to take some time before they will be able to answer all of your questions off the tops of their heads. Also, please keep in mind that they each have their own in game agendas (just like you) and be patient when it comes to getting answers.

If anyone has any questions, please use the comment link below this post. I'd rather answer questions here about this so everyone can see the answers rather than in game where I'm usually about to be killed by something :)

Interesting Summaries

Curious about who may be able to craft you that weapon, potion, jewel, armor, etc. you need, or who could use the spare raw materials you have?

Click this link to view a summary of everyone's professional skills:
Profession Summary

Ever wondered how others in your class have specced or what stats they're stacking?

Click this link to view a Class Stat Listing summary:
Class Stats

General Guild Rules

These are general rules that everyone needs to follow in day to day guild life.

1. First and foremost, our goal is to have fun. World of Warcraft is a game, and although people have many different reasons for playing, most people will agree that you play a game to have fun. We ask that you not purposely say or do anything hinders another players fun, such as harassing them or interfering their gameplay.

2. No begging! Don't beg for items, instance run-throughs by higher level characters, or money. Asking for help is fine, but constantly asking isn't. A good rule of thumb is to offer help more than you ask for it.

3. You must be at least a level 10 to join the guild, and this includes alts. The reason for this is because it is important to develop some independence with any new character, begin to learn how to play your class, and are less likely to drain the 'helping energy' of your fellow guild members.

4. Try to get along with other guild members. Handle disputes with maturity, tact, and common sense. Name calling, cruel teasing, and talking negatively about other guild members is strictly prohibited. If you have an issue with another member, first try to handle it in whispers or party chat, if you are unable to do so then bring it to the attention of an officer so they can help you deal with it.

5. Players who are caught blatantly ninja'ing items will be removed from the guild, no questions asked. Ninja'ing means purposefully taking an item that you did not win fairly. If a set of plate armor drops in an instance, and a priest "needs" it, that is a ninja. Only need on items that the character you are playing can use and is an upgrade, unless you have discussed it with the rest of the group and other circumstances are agreed upon.

6. Our guild members are not obligated to give away found or crafted items for free. While many may choose to do so, no one is expected to take a loss. Most members will be happy to craft items for you if you provide mats.

7. Remember that you are representing the guild at all times. When someone looks at you or does a /who on you, they can see what guild you are in. Spamming, arguing on the general or trade channels, or being a general annoyance is not okay.

8. Channel etiquette:
A. Spamming, either on the tell channels or in person is prohibited. Spamming is repeatedly posting the same message over and over.
B. Do you use !!!!!!!!!! or ???????. Don't do that! It is annoying and doesn't get your point across any better than using correct punctuation does. It just annoys people. Did I mention that is is annoying?
C. Avoid the use of the CAPS LOCK KEY! You may be drawing attention to yourself by using all caps, but it is negative attention.

9. Purposefully offending another player with blatant sexual comments, racial jokes, etc., is not allowed. If someone asks you to stop a behavior or conversation because they find it offensive, don't argue with them. Just stop it! It is not up to us to determine what offends or bothers another person. You can move the conversation to another channel or to private tells.

10. Inactive members will be removed from the guild roster. An inactive member is one that has not logged on in more than 30 days. Exceptions can be made here if your absence is discussed first with your GL.

We want to keep our rules to a minimum. We strive to provide our members with a non-restrictive and fun environment. As long as you follow basic etiquette and don't purposefully do anything that stops someone else from having fun, then you will get along in the guild just fine.

If another player is doing something that you believe is against guild rules, then please bring it to the attention of an officer. An officer can address the situation, while keeping your anonymity if you ask them to.

Need Professional Help?

No...not THAT kind. ;)

Until we've set up another interface for collecting this information, please use the comments link below to state what your professions are, what levels they currently are and what particular materials you're seeking in order to help you level up as well as what materials you have to spare and share. Don't forget to indicate what your toon's name is too.

Important: Be specific. Most people don't know what materials are used in professions other than their own. If you need khorium bars, or mageweave or citrine to level...say so. Just naming your profession isn't going to get you the items you need.

For example:

"This is JoeSchmoe and I've got Leatherworking (203) and Mining (234). I'm in need of rugged leather at the moment. I've got a bunch of spare ores to share for anyone who might need them, just mail me and let me know."

By the way, JoeSchmoe is fictional.

Please review the comments that have been posted already, and if you have some of the items that people need send them through the mail system. Keep in mind, generally what comes around goes around and if you're generous it'll come back to you.

Hopefully lots of people will post in this thread and some sort of useful exchange of materials will result!

Welcome!

Hello everyone. I've set up this blog as a resource for Auroa Citadel Guild members.

Eventually I'll expand the site to include various features and info such as a Guild Charter, Guild rules, forums, events calendar, and perhaps other features like surveys, profession requests (a place you can post that you're looking for cloth or herbs, for instance), etc. It's a big job however, so it'll take a bit of time to get it all set up.

For the time being, please check back here for interesting links, tips, and guild news.

I'm interested in everyone's opinions and ideas about all guild related matters and encourage you to use the comments function here to express yourself.

-Aru