Culture, Structure, and Policies

Velocity is, first and foremost, a progression raiding guild. Secondarily, it exists to foster a community of friends. We believe that friends and progression are not mutually exclusive. We understand the need to set the success of our raids as priority, because that is the foundation of our community. The following charter reflects our standards and our rules.

Guild Ranks

The guild has four formal ranks: Leader, Officer, Raider, and Friend & Family. Each rank is held to the standards of the rank preceding it. Two of our ranks are divided into the sub ranks of Bank Officer and Core Raider, which denote bank access privileges, no more no less. The rank of Bank Officer is an Officer who has a Blizzard Authenticator attached to their account. The rank of Core Raider is a Raider who has a Blizzard Authenticator attached to their account. The rank of Treasurer is a Bank Officer who spends a ton of free time organizing our raiding bank. Please thank her when you get a chance. :)

• Friend & Family

• Velocity Guild Members at the Friends & Family rank are expected to adhere to a zero-drama policy both inside and outside the guild. This includes responding to or creating drama or PvP-related forum posts on any public web community.
• Friends & Family are not expected to be available for regularly scheduled raids while they are online. They may participate occasionally in raids as needed. They are eligible for all EP awards, and may request to be on Stand-By during a raid.
• Friends & Family rank are not Raiders. Friends & Family do not have priority over Raider rank for loot distribution.
• Friends & Family will not have access to the Guild Bank.
• Friends & Family are expected to support the idea that when we are raiding the Raid Focus is our highest priority. They will refrain from creating distractions in guild chat, through whispers or tells, or any other format that may inhibit the raiding effort.

• Raider

• Raiders must be available at least fifteen minutes prior to raid start time.
• Raiders are expected to have appropriate talent distribution for their given roles and actively research their class to strive for excellence in gameplay.
• Raiders are expected to be up-to-date on all strategies. Questions, suggestions or ideas are to be brought up in vent or on the web site forums prior to or after raids.
• Raiders are expected to clearly articulate any issues they see within or outside the guild to our Officers.
• Raiders must be actively involved in our recruitment system, both in-game and via our forums.
• Raiders must be comfortable and able to speak and listen on ventrilo.
• Raiders must be able to quickly install non-exploitive modifications.
• Raiders are expected to maintain at least one PVE spec for all raids.
• Raiders must be able to provide consumables and gold for repairs through periods of heavy progression.
• Raiders who are not able to consistently attend raids for a period in excess of three weeks may be moved to Friend & Family rank but may reapply for Raider rank at a later date.

• Officer

• Officers are expected to assist in the forming of raids by showing up early.
• Officers take responsibility for solving any issue within or outside the guild by use of mediation, education, discipline, demotion, or removal.

In-Raid Conduct

• Raid Members must not AFK regularly, arrive late, leave early, or otherwise hinder smooth raiding. Any AFK must be announced clearly in the appropriate channel.
• Raid Members must be prepared with everything necessary for top performance.
• Chat and ventrilo channels are to be kept clear at all times during raids. Ventrilo is to be used strictly by players who have a clear and necessary statement.
• Raid Members should be constantly engaged in strategy discussions via our forums and when specifically requested during raids.
• Raids require 100% of our focus and attention on the task of raiding. All Guild members in the raid, on stand by, and outside the raid will respect this. Any issue within or outside the raid will be addressed in between raids.

Attendance

• There is no minimum attendance requirement. If you are online and playing during one of our scheduled raids, and are a Raider rank, you are expected to be available should the raid need you.

Being on Stand-By

• Our Stand-By list is a crucial tool for the overall success of our raiding. Members on Stand-By are to be rewarded for their efforts at being available but must ensure they are just that: immediately available.
• Being on Stand-By means being available on a moments notice to join the raid. This includes being prepared with consumables, PvE gear, everything, ready to go.
• Members on Stand-By earn 100% of the effort points awarded to members in the raid.
• When on Stand-By you may quest or party with others on your main or an alt, Battleground, and even raid with a PuG to earn Emblems.
• Whether on a main or an alt it is your responsibility to make sure the raid knows exactly how to contact you immediately.
• If and when you are contacted to join the raid you must drop what you are doing right away and join us.
• A good idea is to make others you are grouped with aware of your situation up front ("Hey everyone, I'm on stand-by for a Velocity raid, so I might have to drop on a moments notice.")
• If you are called upon by the raid, and you are not available for whatever reason, all the effort points you have earned that evening will be erased.

Recruitment

Velocity recruits prospective raiders from proven members of our team. Approved Applicants are first offered a spot on a single raid. Once a raider has established him/herself as an asset to the raid they are offered a spot on the invite list to every regular raid. Efforts will be made to include applicants on every raid they are invited to, but we cannot guarantee space available. Following a sufficient period of time to assess a players skill, courtesy, and compatibility, a decision will be made by the Guild Leader whether or not to offer guild membership. New Raiders will be invited to join at the rank of Raider. This does not apply to Friends & Family.

The following are definitions of the criteria we use to evaluate prospective raiders:

1. Skill

   Quantifiable by combat logs. Damage/healing output, ability to stay alive and other information can be viewed at Velocity's World of Logs.

2. Courtesy

   Members are expected to treat each other with respect at all times.

3. Compatibility

   A person compatible with our guild culture is defined as someone we enjoy playing with.

Member For Life

• Velocity believes the community and friendships we hold are the most important facet of the guild structure. Once you've been accepted into Velocity you will never lose your membership so long as you abide by the rules of that membership. Raiders moved to Friend & Family rank for performance or attendance reasons will not be removed. Self-removal from the guild nullifies this clause.

Equality

• Velocity never rewards seniority and, wherever possible, does not distinguish between guild ranks. The rank of Officer grants responsibility, not entitlement. The rank of Raider grants opportunity, not entitlement. There is no “trial” rank. Once invited to the guild you are a respected Raider or Friend & Family member. We will not guild invite people we do not enjoy spending time with, and, once invited, we will not treat members as anything less than equals.
• There are limited situations, particularly when dealing with crafting, where resources are focused to individual players for quicker progression. Also, the final word on substantial guild-wide decisions always lies in the guild leader.

Raiding

• Raiding is a part of Velocity, but it is an important part that founded the guild, created our community, and will continue to be the foundation for our gaming enjoyment, our current friendships, the recruiting of new members and creation of new friendships. For Raiders, our standard is excellence, always. Being quick and efficient, maintaining consistent excellence in regard to the combat log, having a deep and intuitive understanding of your class, being prepared with consumables (if not provided by the guild bank), understanding strategies discussed on our guild forums, and being able to be a part of a raid without AFKs is critical to us.
• In Velocity raids, the Raid Leader has the final say in all raid strategy related decisions. The Raid Leader determines player invites and player exchanges. Guild members of Raider rank and higher will have priority on raid slots prior to invite time. Players will not often be cycled out on content they are both familiar and capable with.
• Velocity will take necessary steps to increase raid productivity if it provides a tangible and articulated progression benefit. Though we have no plans for it, strategies such as specifically gearing a tank or extending our raid time will be used if they seriously benefit the raid.
• While we enjoy our time, we do take raiding very seriously in terms of our goal for progression. If Raiders cannot regularly meet our standards, they are moved to Friend & Family rank.

Loot System

Our 25-man raids utilize the EP/GP (Effort Points/Gear Points) system for loot allocation. The formula at the heart of this system is Loot Priority equals Efforts Points divided by Gear Points.

Effort Points are awarded for participation, and Gear Points accumulate as players receive loot. Both are tracked to a single player, never divided among alts. Here are some examples of how Effort Points are earned:

• Attendance. Fifteen minutes prior to raid start time, 20 Effort Points are awarded to everyone in the raid and on standby. This award recurs every fifteen minutes for the duration of the raid. Standby players receive attendance effort points equal to members in the raid. If a player is on standby, but is not available when called on, they lose all points accrued that evening.
• Progression Boss Kills. All players in the raid receive 20 EP per attempt on progression boss fights, and a 200 EP bonus for a first time boss kill.

Gear Points accumulate for a player as they receive loot. The EP/GP system assigns a value to each item based on slot, rarity, ilvl, and other factors. Players start with a base Gear Point total of 100.

• Off-Spec. All off-spec items are awarded at 10% of Gear Point value.

More information on the EP/GP system can be found here. Current standings can be found here.

Loot For Guests

Anyone not on our EP/GP list is welcome to one piece of loot per raid, plus any item not desired by Velocity members. If an item is desired by guild members and non-guild members alike then all interested participants should /random. When the highest roll goes to an EP/GP raider, that item defaults to EP/GP priority within the guild. When the highest roll goes to a non-EP/GP raider who has not received any items, they take it home. Tier Tokens are always EP/GP items unless everyone declines, and main spec always has priority over off-spec. We encourage tryout raiders to show courtesy and pass on loot in situations where one of our long time raiders may have been working toward a specific item.

Guild Bank

The guild bank is a raid enhancement tool, and a cooperative effort. Raiders are welcome to any item(s) within reason that will enhance their raid performance. If you take an item, replace it with a resource of equal value. The rank of Core Raider may be obtained by ordering and installing a Blizzard Authenticator on your account. This rank will have access to enough mats to supply a whole raid on any given night. Only one main character for any account will qualify for this status, as the bank materials are raiding materials and not intended for alts.