< Raiding Guild > LFM! Have tabard.

Or, how Faction Changes are going to affect you.

So, you log on today, and notice that several of your raiders seem to have vanished into the night. Your efforts at tracking them down prove fruitless, and eventually you give up after crying yourself to sleep at night for a week.

You, in the back. Stop with the snickering.

/cough

As I was saying, one day, you are happily frolicking through the Argent Tournament, ready to do roll some faces in jousting, when all of a sudden you come across a name that looks vaguely familiar. Scratch that, VERY familiar. Why does this gnome seem to be so similar to that orc that disappeared a few days back?

Oh, right... He must have Faction Changed. Punt him. Now.

For most guilds, you'll likely only see a small number of losses due to this new service. Hopefully, you and your guild's admin will have seen the signs prior, and won't be too surprised that the mage that had been applying to various guilds on your side of the server has taken to searching the greener pastures on the other side of the faction line.

Depending on your guild, especially the loyalty of your members, the Faction Change (FC from here on) may bring no negatives at all. This doesn't mean that it's a good time to ignore the service however.

Your potential recruits just doubled.

You're a Horde side guild, but the Alliance on your server are more populated, though less progressed. Guess what just became one of the hottest places to raid in '09.

You're a Ally guild, and while Horde is farther progressed, the raiding guilds on their side seem to have no open slots right now. A potential home just opened up for them, a lot closer than a server transfer.

So, as an officer or GM, what do you do about it? How do you take advantage of this sudden new opportunity?

1. Make a post on your realm's forums. Some guilds have already taken this step in their past recruiting attempts, but at least update your advertisement to reflect your guild currently.
2. Make a post on both the official Horde and Alliance guild recruitment forums as well as Plus Heal. Be sure you indicate what faction that your guild is, but that applications are welcome from those looking at a FC.
3. If your guild is one that uses General/Trade/Guild Recruitment channels in game to advertise, don't forget to make an alt of the other faction and use those macros there too.

Unfortunately, there are also (as always) some negatives to recruiting FC players. In most cases, there isn't a way to do a trial run prior to them changing. Someone paying $30 to change factions (with a 60 day cooldown) in order to join your raiding guild is not going to be happy if they suddenly get denied right after arriving.

As such, I recommend that you be extremely cautious when looking over a potential FC app, and make sure that you spend some extra time talking with them as well. Ask them to make an alt on your side and have them spend an hour or two talking with you and various guild members. Drag them into Vent and allow some of your officers to get a better idea of their personality.

Take a few extra steps to get a better idea if this person is someone you'd like to have joining your raid team, or not.

Now, your turn! As a GM or officer, how do you think the Faction Changes are going to affect your guild? What steps are you taking about it?

Raiders, is a Faction Change something you're considering? Why, or why not?