<Balance> is a friends and family gaming community focused on progressing together while maintaining an adult environment and "balancing" real life with this game. That being said, we're NOT a "casual" raiding guild. If you feel some people take raiding "too serious" then this is not the guild for you.

We are a guild that strives to clear progression content ("hardcore" to some) yet enjoy the company of the guild on off nights by playing alts, goofing around, or spending time with our families. We believe that it is possible to experience ALL major endgame raid content without spending a majority of our week doing so. However, that means our raids MUST be focused and get the job done in the time we allot per week; it's a constant battle for us to raid hard yet not turn into assholes.

So what makes <Balance> different from all the other "casual hard-core raiding guilds" out there that have popped up since Wrath of the Lich King?

1. We were formed in Feb 2007, and we have been successful raiding 9 hours a week since then from Karazhan to IceCrown Citadel.
- What this means to you is we're not a new guild. We are the original guild on Bronzebeard who pioneered the notion beginning in TBC that it WAS possible to spend less time raiding but achieve the same results. As you can see, other similar guilds have mirrored their raid/guild approaches to the model we've created through trial and error over the past 3 years.

2. We have defeated all 25pp encounters (with the exception of Algalon) up to Sindragosa.
- What this means to you is we get things done. Initially the new released Xpac content was super easy and there were so many new guilds popping up which made recruitment very difficult. We managed to clear 3D, Yogg, and up to HTwins in ToTGC before the release of ICC. With our nine hour weekly raid schedule it's been a challenge to find sufficient learning time for hard modes and unlocking Algalon, but Arthas is our ultimate goal.

3. 3.3's goal will be to start ICC immediately to continue content pace so we are prepared to kill Arthas when he is released.
- What this means to you is we're going to kill Arthas. We don't want to fall behind content pace and not have a realistic shot at Arthas before Cataclysm. As you know, once that happens raid motivation takes a big hit, which is what happened to some of our key raiders in our guild during Illidan in September 2008.

4. Our median age for this guild is from 25 - 35.
- What this means to you is that there are adults leading and playing in this guild and we place a HIGH emphasis on accountability and communication. You are treated with respect, and likewise we expect our responsible members to not act the fool in public and to communicate weekly. Any displays/proof of douchebaggery will be handled appropriately despite "skill".

25pp guild sponsored raid progression
- Dreamwalker freed 3/4/10
- Heroic Faction Champs cleared 11/5/09
- Ulduar: Yogg cleared 8/9/09
- Sartharian 3D cleared
- Malygos cleared
- Naxx cleared

10pp optional raids:
- Arthas cleared
- Heroic (Mad Skill) ToC cleared
- Ulduar: Yogg cleared
- Sartharian 2D cleared
- Malygos cleared
- Naxx cleared
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Just as we did in TBC, our three raid days are Wednesdays/Thursdays 6pm-9pm and Sundays 430pm-730pm. Invites are 30 minutes prior and all times are PST.

As of 1/11/10 we're not actively recruiting, but if you feel you'd be a good fit to the guild please specify why we should consider you even though we're sitting people for each raid.

I don't care about your gear score if you're dying to retarded things, but you should have adequate gear for mid to final ICC encounters. Applicants should have solid attempts on Putricide and preferably killed him. I will need to see parses from your recent raids on Putricide, so please leave out the VoA and Ony stuff. At this point in the expansion if we do find ourselves recruiting we are looking someone who can jump right in and contribute versus "grooming" someone or waiting for them to gear up.
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Future preferred raiding applicants:

1. Will be able to raid a MINIMUM of 2 out 3 days per week; if you can't do this every week don't bother applying.
2. Have mid-T6+ raiding experience PRE nerf 3.0 at level 70 (Vashj, Kael'thas, Archimonde kills preferred). In WoTLK we expect you to have killed Festergut and Rotface with solid attempts on Putricide.
3. T9+ PVE raiding gear (i245+) and meet all requirements for our raider category (please review our policy regarding this).
4. Exalted reputation with Sons. This is important; if you don't have Son's rep, you won't be considered barring very special circumstances.
5. Communicate their weekly status on our raid calendar. Don't slack on this; we gkicked people for not doing it.
6. Spec at least 45-51 points in their primary talent tree.
7. Understand that "stand-by/subs" are a necessity for this guild. For clarifications on this please talk to Holymoley.

If you feel you're a viable raider with a mixed spec please specify the reason(s) in your application. We will always consider applications from people who seem like a good fit for our guild.

We look for adults 25 and older who are mature enough to understand the basic etiquette of WoW, however not so mature that they've forgotten how to laugh at sex jokes and bathroom humor. Our current membership is largely working professionals with a few college students and we have quite a few couples and families playing within our guild. Guild chat is NC-17.

Please DO NOT apply if you're not interested in getting to know your guildies (never talk in gchat), a raid logger (never see you except raids), a "1337 rayder wit skillz" looking for fast loot, an attention deprived drama-llama e-whore, a fucking idiot, or an social retard/asshole/douche. Also, while we're more casual regarding our raid schedule, it is REQUIRED from our players to improve themselves (ie: not carried) and are "raid professionals". If you're not sure what being a "raid professional" means, we're probably not the guild for you.

To find out more about <Balance> please read ALL the stickies in the "Rules and Information" section to ensure this is the right guild for you. Filling out an application means you've read them all and will abide with our policies & guidelines.

To speak to an officer if you have additional questions after reading those threads, please look for HolyMoley, Aranethon, Cylviana, Shawarma, Tenley, or (If you want to be abused, insulted, or yelled at) Kendral.

Practice, practice, practice.

With only 9 hours a week to raid and some folks who only started raiding in WoTLK, this represented a quite a challenge to them as they learned the REAL meaning of "personal accountability". Imo that term isn't just based on your "class role"; but instead I've learned that it's based on your role for each encounter, and smart players adapt that additional job to their "rotation" and excel.

This means that if you need to interrupt a cast/action, dispel/cleanse, remove curses, deflect spells, disarm, etc at the expense of your DPS or overall damage/healing, THAT'S THE ADDITION TO YOUR ROLE for that particular fight.

As many of you can attest, it's extremely satisfying to "earn" a kill. It's also very rewarding to do it on a mass scale, because there's an "epic feeling" when a large group of players colaborate and work together towards that common goal. I don't want to go back to 40pp raids, because that was simply too aggravating on an operational scale, but setting the stage for 25pp working to free Dreamwalker and then charging Sindragosa makes me smile.

I'm extremely proud of every one of you as you forge ahead and ultimately face and defeat Arthas.

Looks like a scene from that James Bond movie "The Spy Who Loved Me".