What is the best excuse you have heard for a player missng your raid?

[Cherrytie]

You, both of you, have ZERO respect of other people's time! How dare you? I wouldn't make a child because it would be better to me, because first I need to respect others. So please change your mind. You can't do whatever you want and screw people in the process, you just can't!

</sarcasm>

Funfact : Our raidleader (we are actually a friends and family guild) went to em 2 days later and said something about those lines "Cuz of u 2 we missed realmfirst. Ur not allowed to do this ever again"
Now we wait to give that little fella a Wand and some robes to heal us in the next xpacks ^_^ /jk

[Chonar]

2008ish: Lvl 60 Naxxramas. Loatheb. "Ok guys let's do this." "Do we got the Onyxia buff?" "Check!" "Do we got the Hakkar buff?" "Check!" "Do we got the North Tower buff?" "Check!" "Do we got the individual Darkmoon Faire gnoll buffs?" "Check!" "CHARGE!"
- Warrior AFK.
45 minutes later: "Sorry guys, had to go, kids were throwing rocks at my windows."


2010ish: Lvl 80 Naxxramas. Loatheb. "Ok guys let's do this." "We want the achievement?" "Yes!" "Is Thorns clicked off?" "Check!" "No draenei with lightning shield?" "Check!" "No shield spikes?" "Check!" "No Retribution Aura?" "Check!" "CHARGE!"
- Priest AFK.
45 minutes later: "Sorry guys gotta go, someone drove their car into my house."

[Deleted]

What's wrong with some of you people? The title of this thread specifically states that it's about the best excuses you've ->heard<-. Are you so narcissistic that you think your own excuses are the best ones you're heard?!

[Seriss]

Here's a good one:

"I had a car accident. Got hit by a car when the lights were red for them and they just ignored it when I was crossing the street. I'm in hospital now."

He hasn't logged into WoW in a month, doesn't answer phone calls and SMSs. But he is logging into his profile on some silly facebook-style site regularly. Yes, we're informed. He got kicked. Raid lead was fed up. Funny thing: That guy did basically the same disappearing act in another guild he was in before us, when their progress wasn't going as smoothly as expected.

He royally screwed up our progress because he's a really good player and did crazy dps. But I suppose you can't look into people's heads.

[SherbertLand]

It all comes down to the level of sport you are playing. If you are just playing sports for fun, then it's fine. If you are playing in a very competitive league, then it's not ok.

So, the real question is - how serious is WoW to you?

You don't have to be playing in a league to expect everyone to show up for a few hours on time. That's a very small request.

[satanicway]

IT'S A VIDEO GAME. Raids, honestly, turn into a fucking contractible commitment, most of the people would consider it SRS BIZZ. This means, it more AKIN to a JOB rather than a HOBBY. More than you are willing to admit.

If I played Basketball on the weekends with some friends. Then I decided that I didn't want to play, for whatever reason, then the next day or next week, maybe next month, if I wanted to play I should be welcome. They are my friends, remember, and should be understanding. I uphold what I say on this too, and it's why I had a successful raiding time in TBC. We understood. We will move on, it's a video game. I'd rather be fucking then playing a video game as well, and I don't blame anyone that feels the same.

This isn't the case with most raiding guilds and you know it. Saying otherwise is a slap in the face insult.

Those friends can still play if you not appear.

Make it that, if you don't appear they CANT PLAY, and you will see pretty ANGRY friends, that will not want you again on the team.

Its about RESPECT of other person TIME.
Do you only value YOUR TIME?!
Seriously have some RESPECT!

Its not about knowing the person, its about being a MAN, about having respect for other human beings!
If you value YOUR TIME, you need to know that other people VALUE THEIRS!

If you cause no problem by not appearing, them sure you can skip whenever you want, but if by doing so you make everyone lose their time, them you are not right, you are acting against BASIC MORAL STANDARDS.

[Pua]

The level you’re raiding at doesn’t matter one bit; if you’ve made a commitment to people, then don’t show with no explanation because you “found something better to do”, that’s immature and discourteous.

As it turns out, LFR has made this problem worse in my humblest of opinions. Casual players who don’t want to play to a guild schedule can now see content and develop their characters without need of a guild, so they should stay away from organised activities they don’t intend to commit to.

As for my example…

“The fire alarm in the building has gone off”.

It was me who said it, by the way.

I suppose the coolest part is that everyone else on Mumble heard it while I was explaining how we were tackling Tsulong on that particular night and I was treated to more than a few “What the fukk is that?!” exasperations.

[Togasa]

Guild member was on wow all day, raid time comes "oh no i have a headache, I cant raid". I wonder why he had a headache...

[Wildtree]

Those friends can still play if you not appear.

Make it that, if you don't appear they CANT PLAY, and you will see pretty ANGRY friends, that will not want you again on the team.

Its about RESPECT of other person TIME.
Do you only value YOUR TIME?!
Seriously have some RESPECT!

Its not about knowing the person, its about being a MAN, about having respect for other human beings!
If you value YOUR TIME, you need to know that other people VALUE THEIRS!

If you cause no problem by not appearing, them sure you can skip whenever you want, but if by doing so you make everyone lose their time, them you are not right, you are acting against BASIC MORAL STANDARDS.

He's still right.....
And if we stay at the example FRIENDS it becomes more obvious. Guilds and raid groups within the guilds are for the most part not friends. Counting all the circumstances surrounding those raid events, it's a high chance that people simply don't comply with certain standards.
Like in his example, I am sure he would call a buddy and let them know he's got something else to do, and won't come for the game. On WoW? Well, let's start with giving out personal information.. No chance in hell will most people ever give anyone they don't know in real life any of their critical information like a phone number.
And no one should have to. So, giving notice before the raid isn't always an option.
I too agree that one should live up to their commitment of being part of a raid group. Be on time and all that jazz. But then, unless it's a habit, everyone has the freedom and the right to not show up, without a need for big explanations afterwards. Life outside the game has an almost unlimited amount of reasons available why someone would not show up. And all those reasons are more important. All of them. Real life always trumps virtual game life.
The people in the game are not stuck. That's an exaggeration. Just because one person doesn't show up, doesn't mean the other 9 can continue. You can always bring a sub in from the guild. Good organized guilds do have at least 2 - 3 people at hand, that can be brought in for emergencies like that. If that isn't possible, one can pug someone. And even if you won't kill the progression target, you still made progress through practice, which helps the next time.

And as far as basic moral standards goes.... Video Games, gaming etc. is well below any RL morality and obligation.

"Hey guys, hold on a moment, I need few mins to get on my comp and tell some ppl I won't be able to play with them tonight. "
"DUDE... are you fucking serious?? Get your ass in motion we have an appointment, and those freaks on the computer will figure it out if you don't show up. Tell em to get a life too, next time you see em. And now move, the women waiting. "

That's pretty much what moral standards are irl considering the attitude towards video gaming.

[Cerunnir]

"Hey guys, hold on a moment, I need few mins to get on my comp and tell some ppl I won't be able to play with them tonight. "
"DUDE... are you fucking serious?? Get your ass in motion we have an appointment, and those freaks on the computer will figure it out if you don't show up. Tell em to get a life too, next time you see em. And now move, the women waiting. "

In my friends circle this is completly acceptable to say. They have no issues with me telling them that I cant hang out because I got raiding tonight. They know im busy on wedensdays and sundays, and they dont call to arrange something on those days unless its something "timesensitive" like a concert that falls on those days for example. I treat raiding as any other group-based hobby where people expect you to show, unless you have a good reason.

Whats important is to find a guild that fit your definition of how important raiding is. The other raiders should be on the same page as you, or it will create drama. With the "screw gaming" im going out without telling attitude, you would not survive long in my guild even though its a casual one.

We are casual in relation to how much time we use per week, but hardcore in relation to meeting to raids and performing in raids. Majority of our players are former 5-6 raids a week players, that grew up and got other responsibilities while still wanting to raid.

[Tyler-Stormrage]

If you don't show up to a raid, people you don't know who have never seen your face will get mad at you, as to where if you miss a sports team practice etc. your coach, friends, teammates will be pissed at you and you will be kicked off and probably be talked about to other teams so that you can't even join another team. Virtual misbehavior/disobedience, virtual consequences. Real disobedience, real consequences.

The same things happen when you're kicked from a guild. People who do things like this get reputations on their server.

[TirielWoW]

The Rogue in my last gear had a disconcerting habit of falling asleep at the keyboard.

[Spalding]

Back in WotLK we had a Mage in our Raid team and back then there were floods in his area (Queensland, Australia). Not only that but his one armed girlfriend dumped him for another guy. Was pretty funny.

Different guy during DS was busy playing Yugioh cards with his girlfriend. They're probably the biggest 2 strangest reasons in my Raid-life.

[whathump]

I had someone in my first guild who missed raid because she went on a date then wanted to work out. She was quite a self-absorbed person though.

[Seriss]

The people in the game are not stuck. That's an exaggeration. Just because one person doesn't show up, doesn't mean the other 9 can continue. You can always bring a sub in from the guild. Good organized guilds do have at least 2 - 3 people at hand, that can be brought in for emergencies like that. If that isn't possible, one can pug someone. And even if you won't kill the progression target, you still made progress through practice, which helps the next time.

And as far as basic moral standards goes.... Video Games, gaming etc. is well below any RL morality and obligation.

"Hey guys, hold on a moment, I need few mins to get on my comp and tell some ppl I won't be able to play with them tonight. "
"DUDE... are you fucking serious?? Get your ass in motion we have an appointment, and those freaks on the computer will figure it out if you don't show up. Tell em to get a life too, next time you see em. And now move, the women waiting. "

That's pretty much what moral standards are irl considering the attitude towards video gaming.

Sorry, no way I'm PuGging someone to fill in for heroic Zor'lok or Ambershaper to get more 'practice' in when all it takes are people to pull crazy burst dps at the right moment and execute dancing or construct-handling properly. Sure, you'll do absolutely fine (sarcasm) when you PuG a random dude from trade and try to get him to perform just as well as the guy who decided that getting <insert some spontaneous RL thing> is more important than showing up for a raid that 9 other people have been looking forward to, especially when you already told someone else that the setup stands, everyone said they'd be available and that that guy therefore doesn't need to remain available.

Yeah, and then you have people spontaeously deciding that they have more important things to do.

So, you cancel your progress-raid or just do a quick normal clear because for that, you can quickly sub in a social member who hasn't got any practice on the heroic encounter. But does that really help? Does that really make up for it? People are disappointed. "That's what I get for making sure I have time for you guys tonight? Really cool.... Not."

Also, just to bring RL back into the discussion: I have this friend - my best friend for over 30 years now - who, over the years, loved to make appointments with me. We were planning to go have some pizza, or go to the cinema, etc. And she'd just more often than not call 1 hour before we'd go and say that she's not in the mood. Super! Very lovely. It's not like I've already made myself pretty and everything. It's not like I freed up the time for you already. It's not like I could possibly have been looking forward to spending time with you and watching that movie with you. Of course not. I'm angry at her when I start thinking about it. Because she'd do this so often. And of course, she'd get mad at me when I'd say "Seriously, why not just leave it be in the first place? You're just going to call 10 minutes prior anyway and cancel it for some obscure reason." Needless to say, we're still friends, but I'll be damned if I ever expect her to keep up with any kind of appointment. And she'll have to live with me saying "Sorry, can't. Already have other plans for tonight" when she's on her "I have time now, so you should jump up and leave everything just to spend time with me at a bar" trip. I've played this "my time is more important than yours" game for far too long.

See, that's RL. Your best friends can act just like the guys you're playing with on the net. And apparently, that's okay too. Because you're expected to take it. But in turn, they get upset when you decide to not bring them along anymore for anything that requires an agreed-upon point in time. Or if you say you've got other plans.

It doesn't matter if it's game or RL. In both circumstances, you're affecting the lives of other people. You're pissing them off. You're annoying the dart club, your piano teacher, your sensei, your church choir, your football team... by deciding to not show up for a scheduled lesson/game/practice. It's all about being part of a team. People are counting on you to be there. Some people are foregoing other things just to spend time with you.

Is your raid not a team?

Even on the most casual level, are you not part of a team of people who are planning to get together to have some fun and be successful?

[Herecius]

I legitimately stepped out of a raid in Wrath due to an earthquake.

"Wait a sec... guys we're having an earthquake. I'll be back later." Got up, turned my PC off, collected my cats in their carriers quickly (always keep them handy just in case) and jogged outside to wait it out. Lasted like a minute, no damage, couple things fell off the shelves, was back in raid in 30 minutes.

[Deleted]

We were missing two healers back in wotlk, we had a full raid signed but our priests just wouldn't show up. So we called them, and one of them said he didn't feel like getting out of his sofa.
The other one was playing LoL with a female friend (my cousin), and had totally forgotten he even signed up! He couldn't end the LoL game since my cousin would be mad, lol... They never showed up to another raid after that. :|

[Wildtree]

Is your raid not a team?

Even on the most casual level, are you not part of a team of people who are planning to get together to have some fun and be successful?

Yes it is a team, of course. Yet there's still a difference which cannot be overlooked. And that's that there is no real bond existing between a team of random strangers that make up a raid team within a guild, and any other event irl.

As for your friend, I know that kind of people too. And yes it sucks. But I'd still have that person as friend too. Because, at the end of the day, the honesty prevails to me. I take a "I don't feel like it" over any phoney excuse. Granted, I said that before already, not showing up cannot be a habit. If it happens times and again, then there's an issue. But once or twice a year? Everyone has and should have that freedom. And one should not have to fabricate an excuse.
It's 2 - 5 times per week, that progression guilds are raiding, week after week. I think most are at a 3 days pattern....
And here's the flip side to the whole thing.. If a guild has a raid team for progression, it is horrible organization to not have subs. Subs are an essential must have to avoid unwanted and unexpected down times. People missing raids frequently, and many many times the reasons are of serious nature, and are valid.
Accidents, Deaths, Illness, Weather interferences, and and and... A multitude of valid reasons. If you do not have subs for your raid, then you are doomed to down times. That puts the organization, be it raid lead or guild lead as much at fault as that one raider who just happened to prefer to get laid that night, over smashing keyboard keys and mouse buttons. You MUST prepare your raid for such occasions.
If the number of no-shows exceeds the number of subs you got, then there's a new issue. If 4 of 10 won't show, and you got 3 subs, then other issues are the reason why people aren't there.

[Krob]

i had someone not show up for a couple of raids because, apparently, he fainted from playing to much and not sleeping at all.

another guy going in vacation without saying a word.

Then you have the number of people falling asleep during raids, with everyone yelling trying to wake him/her up

[calamat44]

In an old guild that I was an officer of, the GM and his girlfriend, who lived together said, "afk for sex" usually they would mute the mike, but one night we heard everything. Let's just say, we got an earfull that night.