On running a guild, WoW, and managing a collection of rats, events, and the friends we made along the way
The Call to Adventure
Ah, World of Warcraft: the nostalgia-filled world of my childhood. Countless memories spent playing with friends and family members; hours wandering through the Barrens, running dungeons, raiding, PvPing, and socializing.
Getting together with your friends (online or otherwise) and hanging out. Meandering through Stormwind or Orgrimmar as you wait for your group to fill, shooting the shit late at night while you run yet another heroic. Attempting to teach your father how to tank while various people scream in Ventrilo. Smacking your head against your desk for hours on end while your raid leader explains the simple mechanic of standing behind an ice cube for the 50th time. The good old days.
I spent a majority of my childhood within WoW, and I wouldn’t take back any of those hours. But like all passions, eventually the fire fades. The friend group dwindles, the raids get quieter, and one day you realize the game that raised you has gone still for a while.
The greatest MMO memories for me have always been the social ones. Raiding and getting loot is great, the inner chauvinist in me demands the best gear so I can flex my prowess, but my favorite moments were the most casual: Hanging out with friends, Christmas in Orgrimmar, leveling up alts(making hunter alts for the 100th time), getting brutally camped by rogues, meeting new people. etc. etc.
That’s the spirit of an MMO to me. Without roleplay and social events, the game becomes too selfish. Players motivated only by loot end up being bad raiders: raid logging, barely participating, expecting the world while giving 10%.
The Return to Azeroth
After many years away (I quit around Mists of Pandaria), the nostalgia hit peak levels. When WoW Classic was announced, I knew I had to hop back in. But this time would be different; I was older, more mature, more grizzled. Ready to no-life harder than ever.
My friends and I reunited, I bought a sub for my then-girlfriend (now fiancé), and we rolled up new characters: first Alliance, then Horde, then back again. Eventually, we settled into a social pugging environment on Alliance in a lovely, chill, but skilled guild: <Adventure Time>.
We raided through all of Vanilla, got geared to the teeth, and lived that full-tilt raider life. Raid logging, selling mage water, chasing world buffs across Azeroth. But as most guilds do, it eventually fell apart around Naxxramas. We briefly joined a serious guild to finish the content, but their vibe wasn’t for us.
After conquering Naxx, everyone went their separate ways, and we drifted for a bit through The Burning Crusade until Wrath of the Lich King came calling. My favorite expansion. The one that brought us the edgy, powerful Death Knight. One of my all-time favorite classes.
Building the Guild
So we set out with one goal: to recreate that fun, chaotic pugging energy, and scoop up some like-minded weirdos and set out to kill the Lich King, but with our own flair.
We’d be the cool kids. The ones having fun. We’d host Christmas events, treasure hunts, and most importantly… fishing competitions.
Thus, <RATS> was born: headed by four real-life friends on a mission to clown around and get some loot.
As Wrath launched, we set out posting in general chat as we leveled:
“Old Blanchy’s #1 Fishing Guild is recruiting! Looking to chew wires and climb through insulation? Join <RATS> today!”
Recruiting is all about sending the right message, and <RATS> wasn’t here to mess around. We were here to barely clear content and look good doing it.
The Raids and Events
We pulled together enough PUGs to start clearing Naxx 2.0. My girlfriend Kiwi and I learned to wrangle a Discord server and manage 25 semi-chaotic humans.
We cleared all the raids. Most of them on heroic. Sometimes we parsed pink, sometimes grey, mostly green and blue and we carried on. Guildies came and went, but a few real homies stuck through it all.
We even attained a few legendaries for our raiders (and yes, the expected drama that came with them).
But most importantly: we fished, we caroused, we RPed, we did scavenger hunts, back-alley level-1 gnome fights, late-night chats, and drunken social therapy sessions.
We made new friends, reunited with old ones, and lived life to the fullest in Azeroth, and yes, we kicked the Lich King’s ass along the way.
The People
Amatore – The Truck
Class: Mage
Always striving to do better. Active on Discord, a theater enjoyer, and the guild’s resident humanoid truck hybrid.
Esaellea – The Guild Counselor
Class: Druid (Resto)
A calm presence in the chaos. Always ready with advice, a heal, and a perfectly timed sigh when things inevitably went off the rails.
Nashkawaka – The Feral
Class: Druid (Feral / Balance)
Alternated between cat and boomkin depending on which had higher DPS that night. Never afraid of a complicated rotation. Supreme, loyal, and perpetually feral.
Rondesantis – The Gambler
Class: Shaman (Enhancement)
Always the first to bet too much gold in HiLo, and never met a loot roll he didn’t believe he could win through sheer willpower. The spirit of Vegas in <RATS>. Not to mention the best Shaman to ever live.
Napture & Vaaris – The Heart
Classes: Hunter / Shadow Priest
The chill duo. Always around for the fun runs, socials, and fishing contests, never the drama. The beating heart of the warren.
Ghostgum & Rowscarind – The OGs
Classes: Hunter / Druid (Tank)
From the early days of Vanilla to Wrath, these two were there through it all. Reliable, unshakable, and always down for one more pull.
Kiwiberry – The G.O.A.T Disc
Class: Priest (Discipline)
The backbone of every raid, and the champion of <RATS>. Without Kiwi, none of us would’ve made it past Patchwerk.
Chelgam – The Tank
Class: Paladin (Protection)
Took hits, both literal and emotional, for the team. Known for immaculate rotation and an excellent attitude provided everyone knows the fights.
Philipfry – The Hype Man
Class: Paladin (Retribution)
The first to cheer, the last to leave voice chat. The kind of energy drink Blizzard wishes it could sell. Always one to champion the little guy.
Kenge – The Rival
Class: Death Knight (Frost)
Our resident storm cloud with a heart of gold. Gruff exterior, but always the first to show up and the last to log off. Always down to play other games, always active.
Budnotbuddy – The Chief
Class: Warlock / Warrior
Sweetest and most chill guy you’ll ever meet, always AFKing in discord immediately after hopping in for some reason or another. Absolute unit of a farmer. Secret WoW billionaire?
Ozwaldo – The Psych
Class: Paladin (Holy)
The only snowboarding, memeslinging, brain fixing, blue parsing, Holy Pal you’ll ever need, super cool dude. Wears gloves while he games.
Dronk / Piekel – The Morber
Class: Death Knight (Unholy)
Yours truly: guild leader, rat king, master fisher, and serial rotation addon user. Bringing order (and memes) to the <RATS> since Wrath.
A toast to some of the cool homies we met and shared experiences with along the way. Here’s to you, you beautiful bastards:
The Challenges
Leading a guild of 30+ people can wear on anyone, and <RATS> had its fair share of divas.
We’ve had death threats, reports, nod-outs, full-blown Discord crashouts, crying, missed sign-ups, loot drama (orange loot drama especially), heroic vs. normal arguments, parse wars, and real-life tragedies that bled into game nights.
But we also had amazing people to rely on, friends who staved off the hurt, cringe, and chaos. Love all you guys.
During ICC, I’d started a new job with a two-hour commute, on top of configuring raids, managing Discord, consumables, and the guild bank. It was a lot. But thankfully, the officers of <RATS> stepped up. Farming mats, scheduling raids, keeping the dream alive.
Legacy of <RATS>
With Wrath finished and Cataclysm on the horizon, burnout set in. Kiwi and I felt it, as did much of the roster. Server transfers forced a rename, and <RATS> scurried forward into the future.
My fervor waned, nostalgia quenched, but the guild endured. The torch passed to the officers, who continued into later expansions as <RATACLYSM>, until another transfer brought the name <RATS> home once more.
And you know what?
<RATS> still lives on today.
Lovingly managed by Phil, the guild Discord remains active, full of banter, memes, and memories. Many of us still chat daily, keeping that same chaotic, hilarious energy alive all these years later.
🐀 Long live <RATS> 🐀
The #1 Fishing Guild on Old Blanchy, and in my heart.
