No VC = No Guild?

Community General Discussion
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Before I begin I just want to mention that I really am not an active forum user at all so if this post is in the wrong section or generally unwanted please let me know :slight_smile:

Alright so, I think the title speaks for itself but let me explain it a little bit more:
Since late Legion I have been pretty much a solo player. I only raid/m+ with pugs and while I usually achieve what I want to achieve in a tier/season the struggles of pugs are well known around here.

Of course one could say the phrase I have read countless times over the years “just get a guild lol” and this is where my problem starts. Every single guild I have talked to had the requirement of being in VC for pretty much everything they do. Before you say anything: Yes I know its a social aspect of the game but I simply am not a social person. I struggle enough with severe social anxiety in my private life so I’d prefer if I didn’t have to continue that when I come home to play WoW.

As I just said, my anxiety is a giant problem. I’m not going to tell you all my past experiences and reasons why I completely avoid VC and other social situations. All you need to know is that I haven’t had it easy and that even small things like being in a channel with strangers is just not possible for me. I am sure that I’m probably a special case here but there isn’t anything I can do about it. That is just how my mind works.

I have explained this to every guild I have talked in recent months and it all either ended in “This isn’t going to work out, sorry” or “why play an mmo then?” which are responses I expected.
I am not looking for “progress 24/7 pushing m20+” guilds or stuff like that anyway. Most of the guilds I have talked to were behind my own progress. I just really wish I could be part of a guild/group where there is some organized stuff and not the random and sometimes unbearable nature of pugs.
I am well aware that voice comms make pretty much everything easier. I know that I am an obstacle with my problem but I think it is something that many guilds could work with. Bad example but pugs clear hc and progress mythic sometimes without more than just a few text messages. Is a guild really going to struggle just because one dps isn’t in a channel with them? No.

Of course I fully understand that playing WoW and going for some end game progress may not be the “right thing” for someone like me but well what am I gonna do about it now? Is it weird being a grown man who is completely unable to be in a voice channel with others? I don’t know. I have been asking myself that question for quite some time now.

“You just have to listen to calls” - Yes, many guilds do that and I understand it but simply the thought of being in a channel with idk 10-20 complete strangers makes my stomach churn and I lose the ability to focus properly.

“Just continue with pugs” - I will. But as I stated above I wish to have the ability to just be in a group where I could do something like
“Hey anyone wanna do [Mythic Keystone]?” or having a dedicated raid day instead of just relying on pugs every day.

I can imagine you see this as: “This is just some random dude complaining about not being able to find a guild.” And while that may be true in a way I hope at least 1% of you were able to understand the struggles I am going through with finding a guild to play with.

What am I trying to achieve with this post? Maybe someone out there knows or is part of a guild / group which would be able to work with someone like me.

Why am I using a random lvl 10 char? Don’t really know. Felt more comfortable posting it through this and not my main. Don’t really care if you find my main. Not my wasted effort. ¯\ _ (ツ) _ /¯

Edit: Kinda forgot to mention: Realms shouldn’t be an obstacle. Every guild I have talked to so far has been from a different realm and they were open to try playing with players cross realm (also other factions sometimes). I am willing to swap to a different realm if I am able to find something :slight_smile:

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Come to Argent dawn. Yes every roleplayer will hate me for saying this… But over here we are plenty people in the same boat as you who wants to raid but don’t feel like VC…

You are still expected to join the VC for most raiding guilds to listen to instructions and tactics, But your usually not required to talk.

Leave the roleplayers alone and respect that your on an rp server. And you should be fine.

If you try to get into rp too that is a massive huge + :eyes:

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your not the only 1 that avoids VC pal, in there we are others!

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I am sorry you cant find a guild, but I believe it might be your realm more than the whole community. Maybe you can try some smaller guilds, probably people are more like a family in them and they might understand you. And after a while you even might get more comfortable with them and you can try joining their VC and see how it goes.

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:open_mouth:

dis es War!!

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But its true :face_holding_back_tears: Outside of rp times. We all want to raid and m+ if we wanted too. But we all feel the same social anxiety as the OP

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i remember the days when MOST people refused to use voice chat Ventrilo over text chat lol in wow

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Eh i think for the vast majority you not being in VC even if just for listening is a deal breaker.

It is for sure easily workable around, at the end you just need to know the boss and RL need to simply type if you have some specific assignment.

Guess you would simply need to find a RL who is not bothered by doing that.

Problem also is, people on voice all day while playing bond faster and you will end up being left out and skipped over for someone who is in voice with them.

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Back in BC we were running heroics without voice chat. I marked up everything for CC then we went right in. We were typing everything in chat and it was alright. We cleared everything.

Try to find likeminded people, there must be some oldschool guys somewhere out there still.

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Forgive me everyone… The inquisition it’s… ?!! Sorry I gotta go. Seek out the Argent dawn! Remain subtle… Stay respectful! There is a place for all there. I swear it!

/Smokebomb!
/Vanish!

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if by VC you mean Voice Chat then yes, why should you be forced to listen to inane babble and even more inane giggling just to be in a guild. I avoid voice chat like the plague in the very few instances it’s been there because having a very thick accent no one would understand a word I was saying anyway and I don’t want to hear “internet speek” in my earhole screeched every two seconds.

If I type in my accent which I frequently do for comedic value most if not every reply varies along the lines of “what’s Soul saying???” to “I need a translator…”

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NGL…

that reads very much like a old person screaming at kids to get off their lawn

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Try just joining the vc and muting it. See how far you get. Maybe it’ll work and no one notices you’re not listening!

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I find that very odd. My guild does not try to force VC on anyone. I struggle to even listen to calls due to audio processing issues and quite frankly it’s exhausting and I end up with a migraine half the time. I feel like I miss out a fair bit but my health is infinitely more important. For raiding I basically mute everyone but the raid leader.

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Ofc they do. With idiotic changed to reporting and no real chance of appeal its only natural nobody wants to risk typing anything in game

On discord people can be as mean as they want without any risks

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Heck, I don’t feel to chat with voice even in M+ :rofl: let alone with 20 people.

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You don’t need to speak in VC, you don’t even need headphones, you can just join VC with no mic and consider what people say as part of the game sound if you like.

That said there are people who really don’t like VC, or a deaf and therefor simply can’t join a VC and they must find a way to succeed in this game.

I hope you find an answer

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Just yesterday I was writing novels about how WoW is designed in a way that voice chat is a must. Even in pug situations you have bosses designed with voice chat in mind, and you need weakauras to solve the problem.

Classic is much more friendly to people who want to type, mainly because it is designed around typing for communication. As technology got better, the game got faster and faster, so now you don’t even have the time to type.

It’s not that Classic is easy, it’s that classic is designed so you can type in combat to communicate. And inversely, you’re expected to read chat while in combat. Not so in retail.

I kinda wish the game focused more on being a chatroom again, but I don’t think this is going to happen. The faster and more bombastic the game is, the more voice chat will be a required form of communication.

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Make it 3.

/an exception for me is arena and RBG, but there people are most of the time serious and focused on what they’re doing, that is when it’s a serious arena and RBG./

Everything else - no thanks, VC, no. I’m not antisocial, but I have a very low tolerance level for “inane babble and even more inane giggling” (well said, mate). So this perhaps makes me antisocial toward…mainstream communication of the younger generation of players? If so, count me as antisocial.

But I’ve a suggestion to you OP - how about you look at things from a different perspective. Why would you hurt yourself in such a way to apply to guilds and be rejected, and spend time to look for suitable guilds, etc, and go about the problem in your head over and over - just for some progress in a game? In the next expansion, you’ll solo all this stuff, get the achievements and be done with it. I mean, if you play more casually than you do now, you won’t need to pug that much or to join VC of guilds. Just a suggestion to brainstorm about.

I learned from personal experience, that if an activity ingame causes me increased anxiety, I do not do it anymore. And you know what, skipping it actually doesn’t seem that dreadful or as missing out as we might think.

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