Last night, we still didn’t have 25 people initially, but after the Father’s Day dinners (Happy Father’s Day, dads out there!) ended and people started filing in, we were able to get Thorim himself down to about 40%. At first, it felt like we were beating our heads against a wall, but finally things started to come together a little bit. However, I’m not sure exactly what pushed us from “slowly dying” to “keeping things tight”, aside from my guess that having three more people helps a bit.

I’m thinking we can most certainly down him tonight, as long as we have 25 people again.

I’d just like to touch on how happy it makes me that these bosses have been difficult for us. With Naxx, I was so worried that everything would be simple, and that Blizzard was going for impressive graphics and “new” styles of play, but neglecting strategy and teamwork. Clearly, this wasn’t the case, and these fights are requiring everyone to do their job in order for your raid to be successful. For me, a greater sense of accomplishment comes from knowing that my 24 friends and myself have the skills necessary to get the job done.

I’m about to get incredibly geeky here.

I was a band geek. Yeah. Guess what I played?

Clarinet, Flute, Piccolo, Trombone, and French Horn. I marched with the Flute, Piccolo, and Trombone during Junior High and High School.

So what does this have to do with WoW?

Raiding is incredibly similar to Marching Band, and I think that’s why I love it so much. Firstly, choosing your class is like choosing your instrument. You find the one that best suits you and then perfect it slowly, building your skills and knowledge every day for years. Sometimes, the first instrument you choose doesn’t quite suit you, so you swap. And sometimes, lots of instruments suit you, and you can pick them all up relatively easily, but perfecting one is more difficult. Sometimes you play one for Marching and one for Concert – PvE and PvP.

Then, you find a well-balanced group of players who complement your style. You learn and practice with each other. Sometimes you quarrel over picking your toes up or where you belong in the charts. Sometimes a player doesn’t get along with the rest, or sometimes a player gets along too well with everyone. Sometimes a player is lacking the skills they need to be a helpful part of the group, and sometimes another player feels they need to overperform to cover it. Unlike other sports, Band doesn’t need a star player, and everyone has a different but equal importance, just like in WoW. And when someone, even just one person, doesn’t show up, there’s a giant gaping hole where they should’ve been. But regardless, everyone comes together with their different instrument (class), does what needs to be done, and either succeeds or fails. When you’ve spent an entire year with this group of players, success feels amazing for the sole reason that you share your success with people you love.

I was in a tiny Marching Band of 50 members throughout school, and we were almost always rated Superior and came home with trophies. Those were some of the most memorable times of my life, and the Band was my family. I now also see it as my guild. My Band Director was my guild leader, the Field Commander was my raid leader, my Flute squad was my Hunter squad, and the rest of my band geeks were my guild geeks.

Every night when we raid, we’re marching. Progression is a Contest, and one-night clearing is after-school practice. Running Vault of Archavon is like Football games.

The difference between Band and every other hobby I’ve ever had is the fact that never, once, did I quit when it got rough. It was the one thing I loved even when things weren’t going our way, even when there were conflicts, and I believe that because of the similarities between Band and WoW, I’ll treat WoW with the same attitude – work hard, play hard, fight hard, and succeed. The difference between Band and my other hobbies is that I had 49 other people who I respected and admired to drive me toward improvement and make me a better player, and more importantly, a better person. In Band, I learned respect for authority, the importance of practice, the ins and outs of teamwork, how to work out personal issues and still get things done, coordination and self-control, and how to lose gracefully. It is my belief that you can also learn these things from WoW with the right people.

To all my old bandies out there – thanks for the memories.

To all my guildies now – thanks for the same.

Turning my inner-geek off now, thanks for listening to my cheese.