Firing a raider

Last night for the first time we cleared Hyjal in one night. That's right, the same guild and many of the same exact raiders who last week struggled with Achimonde. We actually one-shotted Archi for the first time. It's a good thing but it's also a little frustrating. Last night I didn't do anything better from a leading perspective than I normally do. In fact, I cratered (yeah it was dumb, I'm ashamed, but it turns out conjured mana biscuits don't slow your falling at all) and nearly wiped us myself. We didn't recruit better players or do in depth training with our current raiders. I did spend most of the weekend discussing stuff with the raiders that came to me, seeking advice to better their game. I spoke with some of the other leaders to help determine who we should be actively seeking out for some one on one training, but we didn't actually approach any of them yet. Last night hit home for me that even though we steer this ship, it isn't entirely under our control. Wiping for 4 hours on Archimonde or clearing Hyjal in a single night, in the end our performance on a single night is entirely up to our raiders.

I wasn't sure I wanted to blog about this, because I thought it might be unfair to the initiate in question, should he or someone he knows stumble upon my blog. However, it's what's on my mind and not blogging about it has prevented me from blogging lately. So I've decided to type out my thoughts and try to treat the issue with as much dignity as possible.

We're considering asking an initiate to drop to friend rank or find another home. As a leader this isn't a new process for me, but it's something I've never enjoyed about being a GM. In the history of our guild we haven't fired many people. Certainly some of our raiders are more skilled than others, but typically we've made room for people who are aware their skill level is below our average but are actively working to better themselves and know that until they are the best option, they are going to spend some time on the bench. So the firings we normally have are for pretty concrete reasons; attendance, ninja-ing an item, not fitting into our guild culture. Also generally, these things are pretty mutual, and if it's just a "not the right fit" issue, I generally help them find a new guild.

This firing is bothering me though because he's not going to understand why. Personality wise this guy is a great fit and really someone I enjoy having in the guild. But when he's in raids they are less successful. It's gotten to the point where if I have the choice to bring him in or go with 24 people, I think I'd rather go with 24. He is generally smart player, but he is putting value on and excelling at the wrong things. I've tried to talk to him about it and I feel like I'm hitting a brick wall. I've tried assigning him to different roles to play to his strengths. I've tried respecing him to a build that allows his play style to bring more to our raids. I've tried explaining to him what I value from members of the healing team and how that differs from what he values. I even posted a link in our forums to a tongue in cheek article another blogger wrote that illustrated how the things he values are counterproductive to raid success. I think though that in his mind, he honestly feels like I'm valuing the wrong thing. I've tried to avoid articulating exactly where the point of dissimilarity is because he's not here to defend his point of view and he shouldn't have to. Also, his way of doing things may be a perfectly legitimate approach to healing, it just doesn't function as a part of the healing team my healing officer and I have built.

For my healing officer this firing isn't a problem. He's not functioning as part of the team, kick him and get a new one. For me, it feels like I have to share some brunt of the responsibility. It's my team, we've brought many others into the fold. At one point we had another member of the healing team that shared this initiates approach to healing. It worked out with her because I was able to reach her and help her understand what I needed from her to make it work. She didn't suddenly change her approach to healing or value the same things I did in the healing team, but she understood what I valued and how our team ran. Because of this understanding, she was able to adjust when the team was failing and function as a valuable member of the team.

Either way, I cannot put more energy into trying to integrate him into the team. I've run out of ideas and frankly energy. His lack of integration is a detriment to our raids and he personally has been the cause of many wipes. Removing him from from our raids will make them more successful. As the GM of a raiding guild, it's clear to me that my responsibility to the others who allow me to lead them, is to remove him from the raids. However, knowing it's the right thing to do doesn't change my feeling that this represents a failure on my part as well as on his part. While we have both failed, I will "get a new one" and he's going to be looking for a new home or end his raiding career.