#0 - Jan. 13, 2010, 3:19 a.m.
Anyway, the question was raised that a lot of guilds are looking for ''exceptional'' players, and the original poster asking ''What makes an exceptional player''?
I read a lot of the comments, and while good points were brought up, I felt that it didn't cover the whole story about being an exceptional player. So I wrote my own list. I'm a nerd like that.
Since the post mainly focused on guilds wanting raiders, my list will focus mainly on PvE. And I posted this deliberately in the General Discussion because I felt there's something to be learned by everyone, not just the raiders.
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My two cents on the topic has to be categorized in order to give a full view. I want to summarize the below wall of text by saying :
''I understand how''.
Rather than,
''I know how''.
As Ghostcrawler brilliantly put : "Demonstrating mastery of the game".
CLASS KNOWLEDGE
Player is knowledgeable in more than one spec of his class, to the point that would rival a class leader, using his own words and reasoning.
Player has clearly visibly put in the maximum amount of effort into his gear and is able to elaborate on his gear choices, using his own words.
Player is able to elaborate on his spec, in his own words, and is constantly wondering if an improvement can be made, and is also constantly testing his ideas.
Player understands that rotations, spec, and gear choices are constantly changing to react to a situation. He can also elaborate, again in his own words, why he did a certain thing at a certain time.
PLAYING SKILL
This is a hard one to discuss.
Player has a higher degree of environmental awareness than the average player. One way this can be manifested is by seeing the player say ''I saw this and this happen, and I reacted so and so''.
Player employs the tools his class has been equipped with to react to situations.
Player is willing and capable of compromising his own performance for the better of the guild or raid, and still performing adequately and then some.
Player makes full use of opportunities that arise through understanding a given encounter, and is able to elaborate on his actions using his own words.
Player demonstrates a visibly better performance with each gear upgrade he receives.
Player demonstrates an already high degree of performance regardless of his gear level.
Player learns quick with incomplete information and employs his new knowledge whenever he can, then strives for improvement afterwards.
Player is never fully satisfied with his performance and constantly strives for improvement. This can be spec, rotation, gear choices, addons, UI changes or complete UI overhauls, etc.
Player is very often found communicating with other knowledgeable players of the same class, or doing research on the Internet about his class, and drawing his own conclusions from the mess.
Player is reasonably skilled in PvP.
PLAYER VALUE
Player proves himself (over time) to be a reliable and valuable asset to the guild. This is demonstrated in how often he signs up for raids or other events, he sticks to his promises (I'll be online then and then), his willingness to share his tradeskills with guild members and non-members, and so on.
Player demonstrates over time that he is one of the few players in WoW who knows how to get the job done, and gets it done.
Player builds up a solid history as a reliable, valuable member to the guild. This is manifested in whatever your guild is doing - Casual, Social, Raiding, no matter the activity.
Player proves himself useful by sharing his powers with guild members and non-members. Think of tradeskills, knowledge of any kind, items, consumables, and most importantly, trust.
Player is willing to help guild members and non-members. Both upon request and by offering.
Player shows initiative.
Player takes on an active role in participation in guild events, and does not sit back and wait for a statement from the superiors.
PLAYER PERSONALITY
Player is capable of getting his opinion across without (or minimizing) the chance of insulting guild members.
Player is willing to accept and admit personal mistakes, criticism, sarcasm, jokes and puns, and laugh about it.
Player does not cause any unnecessary trouble, drama or other often undesired behaviour in a social environment.
Player understands his position towards other people in the guild, that we are all equal on a personal level.
Player is willing to accept and admit when he stepped out of line and apologizes accordingly, whether it be through whispers or a public channel.
Player respects other people's opinions.
Player shows respect to other people, regardless of anything.
TECHNICAL EQUIPMENT
Player has a computer that can cope with whatever raid the guild is doing, and can cope with the necessary addons.
Player has a reliable, fast Internet connection.
Player replaces important equipment very quickly should they break down. Think of headsets, a mouse, a keyboard, and so on.
Player ensures his computer is capable of running Ventrilo and other such programs as well as running World of Warcraft at the same time.
Player ensures that technical settings such as screen resolution, video effects, sound effects and other are configured in such a way that it does not, or as little as possible, hinder his gameplay.
Player ensures his computer is free of viruses, malicious software, hardware errors, and other factors that can negatively influence the performance of his computer.
This list is far from complete, but I think it's pretty solid by now. In my opinion, this is what makes an exceptional player, by demonstrating such a complete picture as a player.
