Why are Statics so difficult sometimes?

[TyrTry]

Hello beautiful people!

This is partly a rant/vent/humor topic, so hang in there!

About 3 months ago, I set down with a few of my FC members (members I've known for a few years), and decided it was time to make our own static (I've tried statics in the past, but never found one to my liking or couldn't make the time allocated).

Now, we set ground rules and agreed on meeting times. And it wasn't before long until everything exploded into absolute chaos.

We set times in which we could meet (95% of us are working adults), annnnnnnd people would skip out or had an appointment or fell asleep or grandma died or grandma revived. This happened many times typically with the same people. Grandma must have died at least 16 times.

It took us several weeks to complete one tier of Delta savage because of the countless absents and people not learning the fight on their own. Finally, when I said something about possible removal of certain members from the static (not the FC, just the Savage group until they were ready) things really hit the fan. People started to point fingers at each other, saying "so and so was doing this" "so and so was doing nothing" "so and so is being a power troll" etc. etc. I honestly felt like I was back in middle school.

The FC started to break a little after the confrontations and members started to leave from the static as well as the FC. I lost some weight and hair (not really, but I felt like I did). I'm not sure what went wrong, but I've been trying to accommodate for past mistakes and trying to modify times and changes to help each static member. I just don't understand why the process had to be so difficult, and I was wondering if any of you had your own static horror stories or challenges before you finally got one settled int the ground.

[Valkyrie_Lenneth]

Because people are difficult.

[Lambdafish]

Because people are difficult.

You took the words right out of my mouth.

Finally, when I said something about possible removal of certain members from the static (not the FC, just the Savage group until they were ready) things really hit the fan. People started to point fingers at each other, saying "so and so was doing this" "so and so was doing nothing" "so and so is being a power troll" etc. etc. I honestly felt like I was back in middle school.

The FC started to break a little after the confrontations and members started to leave from the static as well as the FC. I lost some weight and hair (not really, but I felt like I did). I'm not sure what went wrong, but I've been trying to accommodate for past mistakes and trying to modify times and changes to help each static member. I just don't understand why the process had to be so difficult, and I was wondering if any of you had your own static horror stories or challenges before you finally got one settled int the ground.

Honestly, you have to bear some partial blame for that, unfortunately. Like any kind of management that deals with looking after a group of people, static management can be stressful, difficult and out of control sometimes. Confrontations could have been dealt with better, problematic behavior dealt with responsibly, strictly, and privately, and ground rules made absolutely clear. For any issues that occur, particularly attendance, the person in question should be approached and talked to about their options privately, and in a respectful way in order to try to find a resolution that benefits everyone.

Treat this as a learning experience on how to run the static in the future, and thinking of some ways in which you can prevent the problems in the future is the best advice I can give.

[TyrTry]

Honestly, you have to bear some partial blame for that, unfortunately. Like any kind of management that deals with looking after a group of people, static management can be stressful, difficult and out of control sometimes. Confrontations could have been dealt with better, problematic behavior dealt with responsibly, strictly, and privately, and ground rules made absolutely clear.

Completely agree. I've been trying to find other ways to communicate known issues and so far, things have been running more smoothly. The sad thing is, I have tried pretty much everything you've mentioned in the past, and the outcome was still the same. I've learned that sometimes, people really don't want to hear what you have to say, and they (like myself) need to search elsewhere.

[AppleJinx]

Consider the carebear attitude the devs have towards this game's playerbase and the average skill and motivation level of average players are you really surprised that it'd take time to find a static that's right for you.

[TyrTry]

Consider the carebear attitude the devs have towards this game's playerbase and the average skill and motivation level of average players are you really surprised that it'd take time to find a static that's right for you.

Surprised? Nope! That's why I wanted my own. The issue lied with people not commenting to the times that they themselves decided and the inability to study a fight before hand. My issue was more of the matter of incompetence. "It's only a game" is all good, but when you put 6-7 other people behind, that is where the tension starts rising.

[Kitfox]

Don't raid with friends or significant others. Raid with people who fit your schedule and goals. You'll become friends eventually when you run with the same people on a weekly basis, but it can take a while to find the right people (months). Compromising on every front, missing raids and trying to accommodate people because they're friends or FC mates is a recipe for disaster. Set boundaries and stick to them. If someone isn't showing up, isn't motivated, isn't skilled enough or has different goals than the rest of the group, you must absolutely replace them. There's no point keeping them around, they're bad for the group and the group is bad for them. Nobody's going to be happy that way so there should be no hard feelings letting them go.

Starting a new static from scratch definitely takes some effort, but the clearer you are about your goals and expectations, the easier it is for other people who join to know if the group works for them. When you find the right people it's a ton of fun though, and you might not have to worry about "management" for years if the people stick together.

[Bacent]

Don't raid with friends or significant others.

Befriended the people who are in my raid group from just being in the FC for over a year, as well as my Fiance well before being in the raid group. We have fun doing it, we communicate up front about everything, we're lenient when someone was running a bit behind, and we've only had a couple days in our months or raiding together, that someone couldn't suddenly make it (Like when I had rolling brown outs here for a few days in a row).

Saying not to raid with certain people honestly feels like you're preventing becoming better friends with them possibly. And if they're the one(s) that are holding your group back and unwilling to take blame for things, then you know who's whom.

You need to know who's actually dedicated from the get go. But as other people have said in the thread, things need to be handled in a personal business (I.E. talking to someone one on one). And if they freak the hell out over you on that, talk with the raid group and see if people agree or not that someone should be booted.

Personally, I think the key thing is to be straightforward about it. If they're not serious about raiding, then they're not fit to be in the raid group. Saying to ignore friends/spouses on that just sounds ignorant.

[Raven2014]

That's why FC's based static tend to be (not always, but most of the time) a drama pool. I know this may sound counter-intuitive, but the best statics I have tend to be a collection of 8 strangers. We tested each others, confirm that we have same goal, drive, and skill level. We don't talk much outside of raid, but most of the time we respect each other times, and that means showing up on time, pull your weight, study the fight on your own ...etc... If someone don't show that respect, then it's usually a pretty cut and dry case of removal. Go to most Static Recruitment posts on Reddit or Discord and you'll see most group post those same requirement.

The problem with forming static with people you know well, or "too" well, is they tend to think because of the familiarity, they can "slack" without consequence. Kinda how in real life, you love your family, you like to hang around and such, but if you gonna put resource out to run a professional business, then the same family members tend to be the worst employees. It's much better to actually hire "professional" who actively looking for the job, and aware of the afford required to retain that job without any kind of familiar entitlement.

[RiyahArp]

Savage isn't fun for most people, and rather than tell you straight out it isn't fun and leave, they make excuses until it blows up.

I mena, ffs look at these answers. What kind of videogame or endgame is it where the best advice is NOT to do it with friends or guildmates?