About Twilight Circus

[Humphries]

Who we are:
Twilight Circus is a Horde guild on the Garona server with a primary focus on heroic raiding with a flexible roster size. We invite you to learn about our casual, yet unique and structured, raiding system that is designed to allow enjoyment of heroic progression while providing well defined breaks between raiding tiers.

Raiding Schedule:

• Tuesday 9pm-12am (CST)
• Thursday 9pm-12am (CST)

Frequently Asked Questions: show

Why these nights? We want to eliminate weekends completely from the raid schedule which, in addition to Friday, Saturday and Sunday, knocks out Monday which is often part of a long weekend and also the last day of a typical raid reset anyways. That leaves three days, and spacing those out by one day offers everybody a chance to prepare between raid nights, when necessary. It just so happens these are two of the historical nights that TC had always raided on, so it worked with many pre-existing schedules of raiders.

Why these times? We have members from all North American time zones, and these raid times offer us the best flexibility, while allowing us to raid for three hours. West coast members are getting home in time to eat dinner and raid at 7pm Pacific Time. East coast members are raiding until 1am Eastern Time which is already quite late. This was the only three hour window that seemed to make sense.

Raid Tier Duration:
We plan to kill each raid end boss four times as a full raid group. Because of the limited duration of a tier, we expect raiders to commit to a full four end boss kills in advance (barring emergencies of course). Notably, this means raiders are not committing to an entire expansion of raiding up front.

After that, breaks between tiers are expected. By default, we assume raiders will be returning for the next tier, even if they’ve taken a brief break from the game. If that is not the case, we ask that each raider let the officers know ahead of time so that we may make plans for the next tier.

Frequently Asked Questions: show

Why four total boss kills? Boss teleports unlock with four kills, so this will give everybody the chance to complete those quests. In addition, the loot system is now Personal Loot, so this gives everybody ample kills to get a few pieces of loot and give our raid team the power level it will need to take on the next raid after we break.

Why do you have all these breaks? In the past, when we did Mythic raiding, there was never a break between tiers for an expansion. Often the social pressures of raiding might have caused you to think that you were committing for two years of your life with no break. With our new goal to simply do heroic raiding, the idea is to kill the final boss of the tier, then kill it an additional 3 times (for a total of 4 final boss kills), and then go on break completely until the next raid. This should work out to be a couple of months of raiding, followed by a couple months of break, repeated. The commitment that is now being asked for is a tier-by-tier commitment, rather than feeling like you signed up for an entire expansion.

What happens during the raid breaks? This is up to each and every individual person. You can take a break if you want and recharge your batteries, or you might want to organize with other members to do particular things. Maybe you want to run the raid a few more times? Maybe you want to get buyers and carry them through the raid for gold? Maybe you want to level some alts and run them through the raid? Maybe you want to push M+ dungeons or do some organized PvP? Maybe you want to play a completely different game? Whatever happens, we are dubbing this phenomenon the "Lighthouse Team". This is a group of individuals that is keeping the lights on for the rest of the guild, so that there is a place to come back to for the next raid tier.

What if I want to stop/start raiding? Ideally you finish out the tier, as you entered into it knowing exactly what the commitment was for a single raid. Then, if you plan on not returning for the next raid tier, please inform the guild/raid leaders in advance, so they can plan accordingly. The default assumption will be that raiders will return for the next raid tier. If you plan on coming back from a break/hiatus, similarly please inform the guild leadership of your interest in raiding and we will see if there is an available position and talk about what you need to do to prepare.

Loot:
Loot is now Personal Loot, so the game is randomly deciding who gets what. In cases where the loot is tradeable, the raider decides who, if anybody, will get the piece of loot. When requested, raid leadership is always willing to give advice.

Frequently Asked Questions: show

Are you worried about raiders making “bad” loot decisions when it can be passed? Blizzard has taken away our power to do anything. If they decide to keep it as a sidegrade, so be it. If they decide to give it to another raider because they are best friends, so be it. If they decide to give it to another raider in exchange for a foot rub, so be it. Everybody needs to be prepared for a bit of disappointment on these kinds of things happening. There is nothing we can do about it.

Recruitment:
Please see our recruitment needs here.

Guild Ranks:
One of the things that makes Twilight Circus so unique is the diversity of our members. We have several guild ranks to help define our different types of members and to reward those who are more dedicated, hard-working, and skilled.

• Friends\Family - Close friends and family of guild members who enjoy socializing and being a part of the guild. Please see the Friends and Family section below for more details.
• Recruit - Those going through the recruitment process to become a Member or Raider. If you are interested in joining, you can find a list of our current openings here.
• Member - Guildmates who are not as interested or committed to raiding at this time.
• Raider - Our raid-eligible rank. Raiders show the skill and preparedness necessary to raid.
• Officer - An active member who helps run and maintain the guild.

Friends and Family:
After our members settle in and decide how much they love being part of the Circus, they often ask whether their friends, family, and/or co-workers can join. Since our priorities include having fun, keeping our members happy, and making our guild an even bigger and more awesome family, we have methods in place to allow this.

If you want to play on a more casual basis, we have a Friends\Family guild rank that is perfect for those looking for a place to socialize and make friends. Please talk to your friends in the guild for more information on how to join in this way. However, if you want to be part of our raiding ranks, then you will still need to apply as anyone else would here. Please note that we do not allow existing casual members to invite their own friends and family, as this domino effect on the guild roster could quickly get out of hand.

We ask that regardless of your guild rank, you are respectful to all citizens of the server while wearing our guild tag.

Guild Events:
In addition to our formally scheduled raid nights, guildmates often organize additional events on off-nights. Some of these include social events like races or scavenger hunts. Others involve guild PvP events like battlegrounds or wargames. Auxiliary raids are often organized for various reasons (eg. a focus on achievements, or gearing alts). These events are always fun, and by default, normal guild policy and rules apply. However, the organizer of these events is given the power to specify their own custom rules. As an example, a raid designed to gear up alts might choose to adjust the standard loot policies to make more sense.

[Humphries]

The raid team is a group of select Raiders that are dedicated to progressing through current raid content. If there are more people interested in raiding than flexible roster size allows (currently 30), the raid leadership will make hard decisions about who to cut based on available information. This includes historical and current versions of the below expectations.

We want everyone on the raid team to experience new raids together. Because of that, we expect Twilight Circus to be each raider’s primary raiding guild, the guild in which they are furthest progressed, so that the raiding atmosphere is not damaged by people who have already experienced that content.

Frequently Asked Questions: show

Why no tryouts or multiple teams when more than 30 people want to raid? Part of the reason we now raid flexible heroic is to eliminate some of the logistical roster problems that exist with a fixed size team. Since we are moving in a more casual direction (i.e. heroic raiding), the raid leadership does not want to deal with the logistical problems that tryouts or multiple teams would bring.

Why can't I raid with another guild and TC? You can, with some constraints. You just have to make TC your primary raiding guild. The reasoning for this is that a lot of people are now raiding heroic with TC as their main (and only) form of progression content. We do not want to lessen that experience with raiders who are also in more progressed guilds and hoping to join us for friendly fun times as well.

Raider Expectations:

• Attitude - Be cool and respectful of others. Handle difficult encounters and numerous wipes with grace. Be willing to take on special jobs in encounters. This is a progression team, and the right attitude is paramount.
• Attendance - Participate in most raid nights. Do not be tardy. When possible, give ample notice for absences via AFK forums. Have a stable internet connection.
• Raid Preparedness - Be knowledgeable about current and upcoming encounters. Have all proper materials that you need for the evening (eg. consumables). Be in voice chat (we use Mumble). Have Exorsus Raid Tools installed.
• Situational Awareness - See and react appropriately to raid mechanics (don’t stand in fire). Help identify failure points in strategy or execution.
• Performance - Understand and execute proper class rotation. Time cooldowns appropriately. Consider talent selection based on encounter and personal preferences.

Our ultimate goal is success in raids. Being friendly, open-minded, and respectful towards both our own members, as well as the rest of the server population, is non-negotiable. You do not have to be decked out in BiS gear to be a part of the guild, nor have any experience in the latest raids or fight mechanics. As long as you have excellent situational awareness, exhibit a willingness to learn, accept constructive criticism, and demonstrate that you are driven to improve and contribute, the Circus is the place for you.

Attendance and Communication:
Our Raider rank has attendance requirements in order to reward our most dedicated guildmates with guaranteed play-time. Since both attendance and communication are important to the success of our raids, they are key metrics used to maintain raid eligibility. Knowing that our raiders have lives outside of WoW (vacations, business trips, etc..), we allow you to miss raids and still keep your raid eligibility as long as you give advance notice. Fail to communicate your absences in advance, however, and you will be warned on your first offense and possibly demoted to Member rank if absences continue with no advance warning.

Regardless of your reasons for absence, and regardless of whether you have given advance notice or not, if you miss a substantial amount of raids, you will be warned first and eventually demoted to Member (as an example, you will not be demoted for missing two weeks due to vacation and giving us advance notice, but you would be considered for demotion if your job changed your work schedule and you are now going to miss one night of raiding every week for the foreseeable future). In addition, if you go on hiatus or take a break from raiding, you will automatically be demoted to Member. When you are ready to participate in raids once again, you will need to re-earn your spot in exactly the same way that anyone else would.

We expect you to communicate your inability to make events in a timely manner. The preferred method of communicating your absence is the AFK guild forum. The more notice you give us, the better. If you find yourself in an emergency and cannot let anybody know of your absence in advance, please contact us the next time that you are able. If we have to chase you down to find out why you were absent, your raid team will not be happy with you. Please use common sense and understand that all we ask for is your cooperation and communication.

Hypothetically speaking, if you were ever asked what color your nose would be if you were a clown, you should say, "blue with a gold jester hat" because that would imply you have read and understand the guild policies.

Apprentice System:
Apprentice is not a raid rank. Instead it is a label that can be applied to our Raiders for several reasons: Raiders that are not meeting established expectations, Raiders in training, and extraordinary veteran players that cannot make a full commitment to the team at this time. Apprentice status is evaluated on a case by case basis. In performance-based cases, you will be contacted if the Apprentice label is being considered for you. Think of this is a verbal warning, along with the things that need to be improved. If no improvement is made, then the Apprentice label is given to you and a forum thread is started about your Apprentice status that will include the following details: reason(s) for Apprentice status, what kind of playtime you can expect while the label is active, and most importantly what you should be working on in order to have the label removed. In cases of performance based Apprentice contracts, the standard path will likely be that you will not be involved in any progression fights (unkilled bosses), and only be brought into farm of those bosses in future weeks.

Frequently Asked Questions: show

Apprentice seems super confusing? The idea is to provide the raid leadership with a completely flexible system, rather than generalizing people into buckets. It is also designed in order to give one-on-one attention and complete transparency to people labelled as Apprentice. It is a system that worked fairly well for us in Legion when we did Mythic raiding, and we are trying it out again (with a few tweaks) in Battle for Azeroth, now that we are only raiding heroic.

[Humphries]

========== UNDER CONSTRUCTION ==========

The Lighthouse Team is the name given to the group of raiders that wishes to do things between raiding tiers. Because we have two to three month breaks between raiding tiers due to only raiding heroic difficulty, there is lots of down time.

Will flesh this out more as we see what develops after the first raid of Battle for Azeroth

========== UNDER CONSTRUCTION ==========