• You will need to create an account on our forums in order to complete the application. Please use your character name as your account name.
• We raid 7:30-11:30 est Tuesday through Thursday.

  Do not apply if you cannot make our raid times.

  Please be online and ready to raid at these times to try out!
• Please contact us in-game about your app. Be pro-active! Don't wait for us to come to you- come to us! It's easier for you to track us than it is for us to track you sometimes- around raid times things get chaotic setting up. Also, this gives us a chance to let you know if you need to work on your app.
• As a trial you will be expected to maintain a high attendance level.

Being pro-active does not mean harassing any officers, please keep that in mind! Also, be aware of the content that our guild is working on. (Feel free to inquire if you are unsure of our progression)

If you're reading this, that means you're probably interested in raiding with Anonymous. And if you're interested in raiding, then we're interested in helping you make sure you're ready. These guidelines and information are intended to aid you in being the best raider you can be, and getting the most out of those four hours you could be spending outside on any given night. But who wants fresh air anyway?

Being Anonymous
Anonymous was formed in early 2007 as a joint venture between the most progress-minded members of Ravenwood and RoU, with the intent of seeing and completing all the endgame content in each new expansion. We succeeded at that in Burning Crusade and Lich King had a lot of fun along the way, and we're on track to do the same in Cataclysm.

Anonymous has recently reformed into a 10 man progression guild. We are currently 6/7 T12 in Cataclysm. We're a goofy, irreverent bunch by and large, but when it comes time to get things done, we take our raids seriously, and the results show. If you dream of one day engaging in an epic battle with Deathwing, read on!

Preparation
The hallmark of a good raider, preparation is necessary for raids to run smoothly and bosses to fall quickly and painlessly. Good raid preparation comes in three parts: your UI, your character, and perhaps most importantly, your knowledge. Anonymous uses Ventrilo for voice chat to coordinate tactics and give orders. You don't need a microphone to raid with us, and you don't need to speak even if you have a microphone, but you do have to listen. This is mandatory and a requirement for consideration as a member.

Raid Gear & Spec
Readying your character for raiding is something you're probably already doing if you're looking to join a raiding guild. We expect that you'll have prepared your spec, your gear, and your consumables before showing up for a raid, and failing to do any of these things is a very good way to make a very bad first impression on the people making decisions about your membership.

You will be expected to be competent in the function of your spec, and to put effort into knowing how to spec effectively for your role (you don't need to number-crunch every last detail, but if you're an ElitistJerks regular and you want to crunch numbers, you're more than welcome to, and you definitely won't be alone in Anonymous).

Gear sufficient for entering raids is fairly easy to come by, particularly if you're already level 85 and have spent some time in Heroics. We're not going to tell you what you should be wearing and we're not going to tell you any minimum numbers for HP or Attack Power or anything like that; you should already know enough about your class, role, and spec to make those decisions on your own, though most of our number will be glad to help you out with any questions or advice if you ask. We're not expecting you to top the damage/healing/etc meters the instant you show up (though if you do, consider us impressed), but we do want you to be able to hold your own, and gear choices and quality contribute a lot to that.

Consumables are the easiest character-related preparation we ask for, because all you have to do is buy them or have them made, but they're also the easiest to forget, so make sure to double-check that you have appropriate consumables for your class and be ready with them before raid time each night. If you're using Flasks, make sure you have enough of them for the night's raiding (Anonymous presently raids from 7:30-11:30 PM EST, meaning four hour-long flasks should be sufficient). Food with proper buffs is, like Flasks/Elixirs, also mandatory, and its impact on your performance should not be underestimated. As noted earlier, we do have guild cauldrons and feasts but everyone should prepared in the event they miss it or it is not available. You'll probably want to have a stack of bandages just in case (it saves the healers a lot of mana if you can bandage yourself in a safe moment), and a stack of pertinent potions for dps races.

Please note that being unwilling to use consumables, or unable to due to a lack of preparedness, could lead to your being sat or even removed mid-raid, even once you become a raiding member. Consumables are not optional.

Raid Knowledge
Know the fights. We're not blazing any new PVE trails here, as much as we'd like to; once Paragon or one of the other "professional" guilds completes something, the strategies are all over the web, followed shortly by videos explaining them. Except in rare cases, there will be ample information resources for you to research and understand the day's fights well in advance of the beginning of raid time. The guild's Message of the Day will usually state where we'll be starting that night, and of course you can ask the raid leader in advance of the raid if you're wondering what our plans are.

Raiding with Anonymous
Besides the above notes about preparation, there are a few things to know about how Anonymous carries out its raids.

Our 10-man raiding schedule is Tuesday through Thursday, from 7:30 to 11:30 PM, Eastern Standard Time. If you cannot show up for those times on at least two of our raiding days, we can't consider you for membership.

Officers are currently Kyak, Holyshoe, and Nightsights.

Loot is normally set to Master Looter with an epic or rare threshold. Epic loot is open rolls MS > OS, raiders > trials, which is explained in detail in other posts in this forum section. When epic loot drops, the master looter will first list all the drops off that boss, then will link an item and call for MS rolls. Raiders have priority over trials.

Ventrilo is to be kept fairly quiet during raids. Encounters which we've already mastered, we tend to be less restrictive and more forgiving of random chatter, but since Ventrilo is our primary outlet for tactical coordination, we generally request that the channel be kept quiet except for raid-related conversation, particularly in new encounters or ones that demand a lot of coordination.

Trial Information
Anonymous trials lasts one month, but may be shortened for exceptional applicants (people who are especially talented at their role and have 100% attendance). Retrials for those who have gone inactive or changed classes may be shorter, and trials may be extended under special circumstances, but one month is the standard and what most trial members will experience. During this time, you will have second priority on epic loot (after full raiding members), and you will be gauged based on your performance during your trial. Officers make the decision to promote to full member status based primarily on:

• Attendance: As a trial for Anonymous, we require for you to have 90% attendance (unless you have an emergency and let us know by the next day or so). Once you become a member, that number drops to 70%, but we request that all members (Raiders and Trials) post in our forums if you're going to be absent. We want people who are enthusiastic enough to show up regularly. We are a progression guild which means we need everyone to show up.
• Performance: A good raider is one who knows what they're doing and how to do it. Those who have the talent and knowledge to play their class well stand a much better chance of admission, so be sure to brush up on the ins and outs of your class, role, and spec. You don't need to be an expert, and the capacity to improve can be just as important as existing ability, but if you just slack your way through the trial period and don't show any talent or interest in improving it, you're probably not going to make it to member.
• Attitude: We're a particular sort here in Anonymous, and we like to surround ourselves with people who work on the same level. We're not ridiculously strict or serious; we crack jokes and poke fun; we even say a few things our mothers probably wouldn't want to hear from time to time. A happy raider is an attentive raider, so we tend to look for people who mesh well with the quirky social melting pot of the guild, who get along and have fun with their fellow members. We also want to make sure we're not recruiting someone problematic and argumentative, so don't start fights with your fellow members; remember, we're all one big, happy, dysfunctional family here.

Know the rules. Know the fights. Know your character. Keep all these things in mind, and you should pass your trial with flying colors.

Good luck! If you feel Anonymous is right for you, please click below to fill out the application.