A few weeks ago Greg and I both hit level fifty with our characters on the same kill. That was pretty cool. I never expected to get that high in level. That same weekend we made our way to Lower Guk and managed to get an illusion dark elf mask for his bard. It's always been my goal to get around to killing a bunch of undead frogs down there, and we got the added bonus of getting him the oh-so cool dark elf illusion mask.

Since then I actually went on a raid with his guild. This was a raid for the purpose of helping three rogues get further in their epic quest. Oh wait, it was four rogues because we ended up doing it a fourth time for some non-guild person. This was pretty much the first real raid I've ever really gone on, and I learned quite a bit.

The first thing I learned is that people like to lollygag around and waste time rather than getting to it. I'll bet we wasted a good hour getting groups, waiting for stragglers, and people to get their almighty buffs on. No way would I have the patience to put up with it if I was leading. I ended up doing my laundry and various other chores while waiting for them to get ready.

The next thing I learned is that people don't listen. The guild leader and raid co-leader had to repeat everything about twenty times, and people still didn't follow their instructions. I'm suprised the raid didn't fail due to people who kept trying to kill stuff they shouldn't have.

The last thing I learned is that raids are boring. In fact this raid was really, really boring. There's little to no exp and no loot. All that I got was the warm, fuzzy feeling of having helped four rogues who I hadn't ever met before and aren't even Safehouse rogues. Don't get me wrong, I like doing good deeds but helping out virtual people in a virtual world when there are tons of people in the real world I'm ignoring seems a bit messed up. It isn't as though they'll ever be returning the favor for me either. Just like real life helping strangers is pretty much a thankless task. Now that I know this I'll go in with the expectation of never getting a piece of loot or experience from a raid. The only thing I might get is a better reputation for not screwing up and being willing to help.

Interestingly enough Everquest from level fifty on up is pretty much about raids. In other words I can look forward to spending many hours being bored and helping out people for no reward. What do I get out of this? Well, if I was a self-centered bastard I could try to get the guild to help me with my selfish little quest to get my epic or random_armor_01. I am a self-centered bastard, but I have some pride and self-respect. No way would I want other people to waste their time helping me out for no reward. Hence, I doubt I'll ever get my epic. At least that's the way it feels currently. I suppose if I become good friends with a large group of people in the guild I might be able to get their help without feeling like a mooch but I doubt it. I hate even asking Greg to resurrect my sorry ass with his cleric after I do something stupid.