Personal Information Please tell us about yourself, share where you live, what you do for a living, and

d how old you are. How long have you've played MMO's or WoW? Any other relevant personal information that may enlighten us about your personality and habits? My names Steve. Im a 23 year old (obviously male) law student in New York City, where I grew up. Ive been playing WoW since its release, and my /played on all toons easily tops 800 days. I currently play a Fire Mage on MalGanis. I have no plans to level or raid with any other characters in this expansion. As the 800+ days played figure might indicate, I play this game quite a bit. In MoP, Ive been playing on average maybe 6 hours a day, double that on weekends. My schedule is very flexible I need a certain amount of hours per week to spend on my schoolwork, but can be (and am) on at almost any time otherwise. I wouldnt normally include this in an app to a WoW guild, but given your guilds nature, I think its relevant; Ive played a lot of other games at a high level. Not to type out a full description of each, but in short: HoN: Multiple 1900's solo queue (Usernames: Broseph, Brosef, Brosmurf, Brocord, LadyGaGaXOXO). WCIII: Top 50 1v1 in US East as Orc (Username: DemonHunter but it has since been deleted). Halo (2, 3, Reach): 3:1 ranked K/D, 3:1 social K/D in Reach over 300+ games, ~10,000 games total since Halo 2 (Usernames: Pvt Steve, Villanova U). Diablo III: Picked up the game on May 15th, killed Inferno Diablo on May 29th as a Demon Hunter. http://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy300/theworm888/D3Account.png What are your PC specs? CPU: i5 3570k Mobo: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 GPU: 2x NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX+ RAM: Kingston 8GB

I built myself this computer at the beginning of last summer to play DIII; it handles WoW wonderfully. Ive also got a pretty solid internet connection. http://i1354.photobucket.com/albums/q690/BrosephsMG/Mage/RaidUI_zpsb38c6774.png http://i1354.photobucket.com/albums/q690/BrosephsMG/Mage/Net_zpsf8162f4c.png http://i1354.photobucket.com/albums/q690/BrosephsMG/Mage/Desktop_zps56ffee42.png

Character Information

 Share with us a little about your character. Why do you like to play him/her? What makes you good at your class? Ive played almost every class over the years, but Mage has always been one of my favorites. Its the glass-cannon class that does monster damage but will get hit once and die the trick, of course, is to not get hit It also seems like PvE Mages are somewhat overpowered in this patch that doesnt hurt, either. I strongly believe that what makes someone a good raider is transferrable between classes (less so between roles). Every expansion classes get new spells and the raid rotation changes; everyone has to relearn how to DPS. Reliability and situational awareness dont change. Id argue that a good Mage is about a day of playtime away from being a good Warlock, and vice versa.

What is your character's play time? My Mages playtime is 28 days. My overall playtime is well over 800 (a rough, but conservative, estimate). Post an armory link to your character. http://us.battle.net/wow/en/character/malganis/Brosephs/simple Link us a log from World of Logs or similar logging site from a recent raid you've been a part of, preferably showing multiple bosses. If you don't have a raid log, please go pug and come back before posting your application. Heres a link to a WoL parse from an Elitist Jerks / Serious Casual 10m MSV run that I did earlier this week: http://www.worldoflogs.com/reports/d6vw3b33we1daqss/

What is your comfort with sitting for fight(s)? I have quite a bit of experience with sitting for fights. I cant count the hours I sat outside the gates of AQ40 alone. Im fine with sitting when I am a new recruit, or when a raid requires class / role stacking. Im also fine with sitting if Im being outperformed by another candidate for my spot (I expect that to happen early on my gears ilevel is only 470). With that said, Id like to join this guild to raid. Sitting every night for three months, and everyother raid from then on, will not work for me.

Raiding Link us to a screenshot of your interface while in a raid or battleground. http://i1354.photobucket.com/albums/q690/BrosephsMG/Mage/UI_zps10a298fc.png http://i1354.photobucket.com/albums/q690/BrosephsMG/Mage/RaidUI_zpsb38c6774.png

Whats your level of comfort in talking on Ventrilo? Do you consider yourself a vocal player or one who is more subdued? Im very familiar with Mumble, Ventrilo, and Skype, have a working mic, and have a nonabrasive voice. I am able to articulate quickly and clearly when it is helpful. (With that said, I understand that many times, especially in larger raids, keeping the waves clear is very important.) On an out-of-five scale where 5 is most vocal, Id give myself a 4.

Share with us your raiding experience so far in World of Warcraft both in the past and in particular the current raiding content? Thats a hell of a question for me. I think its relevant for me to include a chronology of my guild memberships, spanning back nearly a decade. Its what has made me the player I am today, and a big part of why I think I would be a good addition to your guild. Ive been playing WoW since just after its release; my first character was a Shaman on Kalecgos Horde. Though only 14 when I started playing, I raided with The Unholy Legion, the #1 guild on the server. I joined them as they were mid-way through BWL and raided as Restoration for the server first Nefarian kill and the server first CThun kill. I cant remember how far we progressed into Naxxramas but we did not down KelThuzad. When TBC came out, I transferred to Cenarius Horde to play with a RL friend of mine he had his own guild, Resin. I cant remember exactly how it went, but sometime after clearing Karazhan and Gruuls the guild fell apart due to inactivity. I was not in a raiding guild for the remainder of TBC and PvPed almost exclusively, transferring to Hyjal in Season 4 for an arena Rank 1 shot that never quite materialized. Just before WOTLK came out I transferred to the best PvE rated Horde server that is hosted in New York. http://i1354.photobucket.com/albums/q690/BrosephsMG/Shaman/Shaman2v2TBC_zpsb626784 a.png http://i1354.photobucket.com/albums/q690/BrosephsMG/Shaman/Shaman3v3TBC_zps5d8226b a.png

After arriving on MalGanis, I joined Calamitous Intent, a guild that had cleared Black Temple and had a pornstar on its roster. I leveled to 80 in that guild and progressed with them from Naxxramas to Yogg-Saron/Heroic Ulduar bosses. Early in the expansion I was Restoration but later would swap my spec based on need by the end I was almost exclusively Elemental. I topped the guilds damage meters by a large margin on every boss and was the in-fact (though not in-title) raid leader of the guild. During this time I also hosted Naxxramas and Ulduar PuGs every week on both my Warrior, Brosephlol, and my Rogue, Trinketthis. http://i1354.photobucket.com/albums/q690/BrosephsMG/Shaman/DedicatedFew_zps487dcac0.p ng http://i1354.photobucket.com/albums/q690/BrosephsMG/Shaman/OfTheNightfall_zpsa13d3b27. png http://i1354.photobucket.com/albums/q690/BrosephsMG/Shaman/10mYogg_zps679b07b7.png http://i1354.photobucket.com/albums/q690/BrosephsMG/Shaman/UlduarEleDPS_zps06a22dda. png http://i1354.photobucket.com/albums/q690/BrosephsMG/Other%20Classes/RoguePvE_zps23f15 dbd.png In the year or so that I was raiding with CI, Im pretty sure that I got hit with exactly one avoidable raid mechanic (it was a lava wall during a 25m Of the Nightfall run). I remember everyone joking about it for months afterward, it was so rare. I finished my Shamans ValAnyr toward the end of Season 6; Im not sure exactly when it was, but it was very early possibly server second or third. It was just as my guild was falling apart due to poor attendance. I was also the leader of the Rank 1 5v5 in Stormstrike at the time. I decided to quit the game then because I had RL obligations and would be busy for the foreseeable future; I also sold my account because it was worth quite a bit of money and would be depreciating in value during my absence. http://i1354.photobucket.com/albums/q690/BrosephsMG/Shaman/Valanyr_zps271e7399.png http://i1354.photobucket.com/albums/q690/BrosephsMG/Shaman/GuildAttendance_zpsc7b4570 a.png http://i1354.photobucket.com/albums/q690/BrosephsMG/Shaman/ATeam_zps1867641d.png http://i1354.photobucket.com/albums/q690/BrosephsMG/Shaman/Shaman2v2WOTLK_zps95cf 8360.png About six months later I wasnt as busy as I had imagined and posted on Arenajunkies for an account to use I found a Shaman who was willing to share. (Elementlol on Tichondrius Alliance.) He quit the game shortly afterward so the account was virtually mine for the next few months. I hosted an ICC 10 and 25 man run every week for a few months. I later transferred the Shaman to Ysera Alliance to arena with Euneek, a Season 6 Rank 1 Ret Paladin. http://i1354.photobucket.com/albums/q690/BrosephsMG/Shaman/ElementLolPvE_zps65fb26d4. png http://i1354.photobucket.com/albums/q690/BrosephsMG/Other%20Classes/WarriorPvE_zps2b5 0ee79.png

I ended up quitting the game for the second time when Cataclysm came out I was going to law school and needed to study night-and-day for my first year. I started playing again about a month ago, and except for LFR, MoP world bosses, and a 10 man MSV I did with Serious Casual/EJ this week, I havent raided since ICC. To conclude: I understand that this might make me seem like an unstable guild- and servernomad, but bear in mind this is my complete guild history from nearly the past decade.

What sort of commitments in the past have you made in WoW to other guilds to be able to raid? When I raided with TUL, I showed up to very nearly every raid. I dont remember the hours, but it was hardcore; easily over 20 hours a week. Back then we not only had to be flasked (which were expensive as hell unless you farmed your own Black Lotus), but we had to chain-chug mana potions during progression fights. Id have to farm for almost as long as I raided to keep up with the cost of consumables and repairs. In CI, too, when I applied I committed myself to showing up on-time and ready to raid. I fulfilled my promise: http://i1354.photobucket.com/albums/q690/BrosephsMG/Shaman/DKP_zpsd765d0a3.png What is one positive thing your previous raid leaders would say about you? Im not sure if Balthazarre still plays he was CIs GM and in-title raid leader. He was always appreciative of my willingness to take on the role of de facto raid leader in his absence. I remember when we were deciding who the guilds first (and ultimately, only) Valanyr would go to, he said on the guild vent that it should go to me not only because of my attendance, but because I know Im doing. What is one thing your previous raid leaders would say you could improve on? I cant even speculate. I never died to raid mechanics, when I healed, I topped meters, and when I DPSed, I topped meters. If really pressed, he might say I could have tried harder on trash? Why are you looking for a new guild? What happened to make you look for a new one? Im a very experienced player and am looking to join a guild whose members are of similar caliber and dedication.

Ive had my fair share of PuGing Ive hosted easily 50 successful PuG raids myself. Its just not as satisfying as progressing with a guild, seeing improvement from week-to-week, even attempt-to-attempt. What led you to consider Shining Force? Do you know any current members? Your guild is well-known on MalGanis, and well-ranked on WowProgress.com. I could easily join a 6/16 guild with which to progress and see most raid content, but Id much prefer a guild where Id feel as though my fellow raiders were as invested as I am. I dont know any of its current members, but I definitely remember seeing the guild around in WOTLK. DPSing Where do you feel your class/spec stands in relation to other DPS specs/classes? From what Ive seen and heard, Mages top the highest theoretical DPS list. Ive seen it confirmed in raids; Mages (myself, especially) tend to outperform others with similar gear. What are some things that you do well and what are some things you wish Blizzard would change to help your class/spec's performance? I dislike how RNG-dependent Fire Mages are. Most of my rotation relies on getting that first critical strike (after which I can pop cooldowns, Pyroblast four times, and combust). With a 30% chance, that shouldnt be so bad, but when I get a chain of non-crits in a row at the start of a fight, my cooldowns are ready but not being used, and my DPS is 30k, it feelsbadman. Its also not fantastic when my first five spells crit and I am about to pull threat on the target. Over the course of a fight my DPS tends to be rock-steady, but when hitting Elegons sparks, for instance, its a very small window in which I can either gib the spark in two GCDs or barely get it down using PoM. A Crit-boosting or Crit-guaranteeing cooldown for Fire Mages (like Elemental Mastery) would clear that issue right up. Which fight(s) in the current raid content are best suited to your class/spec and which fights are terrible for you? Why? This is definitely an easier question for melee classes! Fire Mages are pretty versatile I havent felt underpowered in any encounter. I prefer lowmovement encounters, like Feng (as opposed to Spirit Kings), but its not that big of a deal because Mages have Scorch. Are you comfortable playing other DPS specs from your class (if applicable)? Why or why not? Why are the other specs currently not viable, and if they are, why did you choose your current spec over the other(s)? I did a fair bit of research to find the optimal raiding spec; there is no MoP Mage Thread on the Elitist Jerks forums yet, so my primary source has been what top mages are doing. Specifically, I used WoWProgress.com to find top guilds and inspect the raiding mages within them. I also

found confirmation for what I had seen on random internet sites (i.e. Icy-Veins.coms Fire Mage pages). As stated above, Im of the opinion that a good raider needs only a small time investment to master the rotation of another class. Another spec within the same class and role is even less of an issue. I have experience with Frost as a PvP spec, but am confident that if the best raiding spec changes, I could expertly raid as Frost or Arcane with minimal adjustment.

Final Thoughts You should recruit me because I am, for lack of a better phrase, good at this game. I recognize the self-serving nature of that statement, but you can look at what Ive achieved in my lengthy time playing WoW. Ive gotten and sold Gladiator titles in multiple seasons with multiple classes and led the Rank 1 5s on this battlegroup. Ive also raided consistently and at a high level, and got one of the servers first Valanyrs. New encounters will be released and I am expertly equipped to help you meet and defeat them. I recognize that my Mage is not the most geared character on this server. I also recognize that I dont have as much experience with MoP Heroic encounters quite yet. However, the value of experience and potential cant be understated. Realistically, at present I simply cannot compete on the damage meters with an ilevel 480 geared Mage who started playing at the end of Cataclysm. When I get the gear, though, I will be better than him by an immeasurable amount. Id bet anything on that. For these reasons I would be a valuable addition to your already impressive roster. I hope to hear from you.