Stuck in the Trash Run (A Warcraft Story)

It's been four months since Cataclysm launched, and lets face it, the guild is not where you thought it would be.  You powered your way through levels 80-85 as fast as you could to keep up with the guild "bigshots;" doing everything in your power to not get left behind. 

...then what should happen.  Those guildies you heard so much about from the Burning Crusade days, the ones who quit for Wrath of the Lich King, are back.  Everyone wants to play with them, to remember the "good old days."  Before you know it, the spot that once belonged to you in the 5 man heroic groups now belongs to one of the "returnees."

Then real life hits.  Due to circumstance your WoW time is put on the back burner.  Any moment you get to play is spent doing Archaeology, an activity that allows you to get up and walk away without incident.  A month goes by, you now have "The Inn Keepers Daughter" instead of a Hearthstone and that damn two-handed sword is still buried in troll fragments somewhere in Azeroth, but still your toon sits at a stand-still.

Then you hear over vent, someone is putting together a BoT trash run and that invites were out on the calender.  You check and, to your great disappointment, you were not invited.  Its no worry though, they probably just forgot; honest mistake.  You send out a /whisper and your invite is sent out immediately. 

The trash runs go perfectly.  Your guildies are impressed at how well you've geared yourself; amazing what gear you can buy with the Archaeology gold you've made.  Before the guild realizes, they have two trash runs farming on a regular basis.  To your surprise, you are in Group 1 with all the "bigshots."  These runs go smoothly for several weeks before it is announced that Group 1 will be attempting bosses.  Now's your moment.  All that spare time spent watching tankspot videos, learning these fights, has finally paid off.

Groups start forming, and you realize you have now been bumped to Group 2.  After questioning the raid leader you find out that "Miss I'm too good for WoTLK, but am back for Cata" apparently has better gear than you do, and your spot now belongs to her.  Really!!

So here you are, stuck in the trash runs, never to progress.  Oh, and FYI, Group 2 is fail!!

Now What Do We Do?

Obviously sitting back and not standing up for yourself is not working; big surprise there.  It's time to gather everyone up who feels the same way you do, because guess what, you're not the only one.  As a group you must now confront your Raid Leader and maybe have a few Guild Officers and maybe even the Guild Leader present. 

Here's where you express how you and your "posse" have been feeling left out.  Show them why Group 2" fails:  Lack of CC, bad group formation, personality clashes, etc.  Offer suggestions: for instance Paladin A from Group 1 should swap with Warrior X for CC purposes.  Group 2's tank needs a more experienced healer to keep him alive.  As long as your list of suggestions are reasonable than there is no reason for any good Guild and Raid Leader to ignore them.

Where's A Good Place To Start To Include The Forgotten?

Try setting up nightly heroics that you'd sign up for on the calender.  These groups should have a mix of well geared and experienced players and players that need a little more help.  This is a start and will get your guild geared, prepared, and experienced quicker than you'd think.  Give these groups a week or two and before you know it you all will be considered for the boss attempts.

That's my lesson for the day.  You can follow me on twitter @akadarcee.  All this week I will be working on a review of ARGO online, so stay tuned for that.