Pirate

We Want YOU!

Editor's note: While this page may be awesome it is a bit out of date. Dispite what the lies below say, we raid 10-mans now; 1-2 times per week. Fridays at 7pm til whenever (usually around midnight) and then sometimes on some other day during the week.

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Please read this entire page thoroughly before continuing, as there is a lot of pertinent information. You'll be quizzed on this later, so don't think you can skate through by just clicking this join link.

Our general policy is that we are always on the lookout for quality people, both in terms of personality and skill; that said, due to the limited space available in raid groups, applicants of certain (full) classes are more likely to spend more time sitting out than applicants of classes that are in high demand. If this is the case for you, please keep in touch and keep grouping with/talking to Pirate members. Please review our class needs in the box to the right. Like all things, class demand is a fluid thing, and is subject to change.

Our standard raid times are 6:30 - 10:00 PM Server Time / Pacific Time on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Please note that due to the lack of content we have removed Thursday as a raid day until Cataclysm.

Additionally, I would like to state upfront that much - though not all - of the content (in regards to language, behavior, and subject matter) that goes on in Pirate, in and out of raids, is on a fairly mature level. Now don't let me be misunderstood; when I say "mature", I don't mean that we're discussing current events or summarizing the latest novels from our book club. So, while we don't have rules, per se, in regards to the age of applicants, please keep this in mind when deciding whether Pirate is the right place for you.

Who Are These Pirate Guys and Why Should I Join?

We used to ship authentic pirate hats to our new members but unfortunately a few bad apples robbed a bank wearing them as disguise so we had to stop that. Now all we can do is recommend a WhiteSpot Pirate Pack for dinner.

Pirate and its members have a long and rich history. We've been tracking raids since we were back in Stratholme and Blackrock Spire, moved through Molten Core, Zul'Gurub, Blackwing Lair, Ahn'Qiraj (20/40), and through a significant portion of Naxxramas.

With the introduction of the Burning Crusade, we continued with Karazhan, Gruul's Lair, Magtheridon, Serpentshrine Caverns, Tempest Keep: The Eye, Mount Hyjal, Black Temple, and Sunwell Plateau.

Now that Wrath of the Lich King has been released we've cleared Naxxramas 2.0, Vault of Archavon (lol?), Ulduar, Trial of the Crusader, Icecrown Citadel and the Ruby Sanctum.

If truth be told though, the friendships and bonds that hold this guild together extend back much further than the beginnings of WoW. At its conception, Pirate was an accumulation of people from various guilds in Everquest. Luckily for both us and you, we've gotten rid of all those scumbags and replaced them with moderately intelligent individuals of questionable decency.

A Few Things You Should Know

Guild Tag: Our standard procedure for recruitment generally consists of bringing eager applicants to a raid or two times before giving you a <Pirate> tag; just to see if there's no obvious or glaring flaws between us. If we like you, and you like us, we will /ginvite you as a Swabbie rank. After three months the long-standing members will vote; if we still like you, you'll be promoted to a full member.

Loot and DKP: Pirate operates on a modified Dragon Kill Point (DKP) system. Points are earned through raid attendance; during raids we run a mod that tracks player attendance and assigns points to all players present in 15 minute increments with a modifier based on what we are raiding, usually 3x or 4x.

When loot drops, officers will "open" the item for bids. You will be sent a tell with how much DKP you can bid. You get a single bid per item which is whispered to the officer who opened the item. The winner will be charged the value of second highest bid, plus one.

There is a cap on how much you can bid per item based on your recent attendance. This is roughly 2/3 of the total DKP you've earned in the last 30 raids for 100% attendance raiders; the more recent raids are weighted heavier and worth towards your cap. It's OK if you're not a math whiz and don't understand this formula - but the system is as transparent as possible for those that do.

All applicants earn DKP and increase their bidding cap the same as full members and have no other bidding restrictions.

The minimum bid for most raiding zones is 50; even if you do not currently have 50 points you are always able to send a bid for the zone minimum. You may also bid "rot" which will be awarded to you for the zone minimum in the case where no one else wants the item. PVP gear (anything with resilliance) will always have a minimum bid of 1. Frill or 100%-drop-rate items like bags or quest-starting-items will often have a lower minimum as well.

You can view more details on our DKP system on our DKP Page.

What We Need From You

As a potential recruit, we have several expectations of you. The first is that you show up. It's difficult to assess the progress of someone you never see, so please try to make the raids you can. Sometimes people experience personal issues that take them either away from the game completely, or severely limit their playtime. That is entirely understandable, but if that situation arises it is advised to cancel your app for the time being. You are always welcome to reapply when things settle down and you're able to commit to playing. We are not a hardcore raiding guild by any means, but we can't kill mobs if there's nobody online!

The second expectation is that you know your class. Nobody expects you to have played 9 different classes to level 80, or to speak Dwarven in real life, or any of that jazz. What we do ask, is that you know your role, and be good at performing it. If you're a rouged up rogue at level 80 and put out a whopping 1330DPS, you may want to re-evaluate your decision to apply, at least until you get a bit more experience.

Third, we expect you to come prepared. That means repair before coming to raids - repairs are covered by the guild bank for all raiding members including swabbies. Make sure you have reagents and any consumables like potions, flasks, bandages and your favorite teddy bear; or whatever else it is that you need to be successful. These are things that will make or break a raid, and we take them very seriously. I said bring your teddy bear, but please do not touch André the Dog you see to your left and up a bit. He may be cute, but he is our enforcer and very dangerous.

Fourth... LISTEN. We don't expect you to be born knowing every encounter in the game, inside and out, but having the ability to listen to directions and intelligently carry them out is one of the most valuable skills in any MMORPG. Further, if there is something you don't understand, whether it's how an event works or what your specific role is, please ask. Questions ahead of time save us from wipes later on.

Lastly, remember to have fun. At the end of the day, this is a game, and everyone has a real life. Have some fun, joke around; just make sure that when it's time to raid, you are focused and prepared to win (or die).

Enough Already! Steer Me In The Right Direction!

The format of your application is up to you. Keep in mind however, that your application post will generally create your first impression with the majority of the guild. Some general guidelines are as follows:

1. Format the title of the post similar to: "<name> <class> [<spec>]"
2. Include information about yourself, past playing experience, past guild experience, bra size (if applicable), expected playtime, annoying habits, pics of aforementioned cute sister, etc.
3. Include information about your character: flags/keys/attunement, gear, race (if gnome, otherwise we don't care… if you're a night elf just lie, because you've already lost at life), spec, a link to your armory profile, etc.
4. Include a description of what you would expect out of joining us, what your in-game plans are, etc.
5. Haiku or other forms of poetry glorifying gnomes and/or pirates is highly recommended. A lot of apps don't include a haiku. Add one and we'll like you better.
6. Anything else you feel is relevant
7. After you've posted, go ahead and /join nihaopirate chat channel in-game; nihao is our way of communicating with untagged apps as well as disseminating crucial information. Once there, go ahead and say hi to a few folks.
8. The people there will be able to point you in the direction of somebody who (mostly) knows what they're talking about, and they can assist you the rest of the way.

You may post your app on our forums here

If you've read this far, I feel confident that I can share with you the fact that I've just been making this stuff up as I go. In essence, that reflects a lot of what the core of Pirate is really about. There are a lot of times that we fly by the seat of our pants, but it's carried us this far and we're sticking to our guns. Congratulations, and we look forward to seeing you in game!

Kindest regards,
Willan