The quality vs. quantity arguement

So there has been a lot of discussion recently both here and in-game about recruitment. I would like to raise a couple of points for consideration as we attempt to increase our ranks.

First, it is my deep-seated opinion that quality trumps quantity. I keep being reminded of this as we pick up players to fill in for our late night runs. If we get one quality player (not necessarily geared, but skillful) our runs are smooth and fast. If we get a monkey (even a geared one) we die, die, die. I don't mind helping someone to learn the ropes, but sometimes it's impossible.

We grouped with a rogue recently who couldn't find his ass with both hands. This guy kept getting us killed by wandering (sometimes backward) into groups of mobs, chasing runners instead of shooting them, and "scouting" while the rest of the group was recovering. Two players like that in a group doesn't make you twice as effective, just 2 times more likely to wipe. If we fill our guild with players like that, we will ultimately gain a reputation for failure. I, for one, don't want "Ronin" to mean "worthless" to other players.

Second, quality players are trained to become so. If you look at the way that we run instances these days vs. back 6-8 months ago, it's night and day. I was doing an instance the other night and Mormont was talking us through the strategy for an encounter on Vent. The thing was, MORMONT WASN'T IN THE INSTANCE. He got a list of what character types we had in the group and adapted a strategy without even seeing what we were looking at. That's training and experience. We can build that into a new guildie (usually). It just takes time and patience, which brings me to my next point...

Third, attitude is everything. Every member of our guild shares (to a greater or lesser degree) a sense of humor and a feeling of comaraderie. People know each other's names and, because of Vent, voices for the most part. We rib each other a little and respect each other a lot. Compliments are common. Blame not so much (except that I have heard almost EVERYONE apologize to the group if they think they've caused a wipe). People like that are a pleasure to group with because they're a pleasure to associate with in any capacity. We can train tactics, but we can't train "coolness".

So I guess what I'm trying to say is let's be a little selective with our recruitment. We have a few new members (Dreplen and Devileyes come to mind) who are quality players. If we can keep recruiting players like that, even slowly, we'll soon have a world-class guild.

And I won't have to group with that worthless clown-show rogue ever again.
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