My interview with Applemask, GM of the Alliance guild, The Mediocre Men.

_____


Greetings Apple. First, let me start by extending the usual congratulations on your realm firsts, both individually and for your guild, The Mediocre Men.

Applemask: Thank you, Findecano, it is a tough job being awesome.


Now, you've been playing WoW for quite some time. Give us a brief look into your guild history.

Apple: I originally started out in Cosmic Fish, and then went on to make Mediocre Men... sat there for a couple months doing nothing productive until I decided to play with a guild that later turned into Cobra Kai Dojo from BC popularity, then did some soul searching flipping between Incultus and it's later merger, Indomitus, then Inquisition... and then finally back to Mediocre Men at the start of BC.


Was this the CKD prior to their notable strides towards progression?

Apple: Yeah, way back in the day when they were Dementia. They caught up to the other high end guilds fast, but didn't really find their niche until Burning Crusade.


Gotcha. Reflecting back on it, how was your time with Inquisition?

Apple: It wasn't too bad. It was great fun to be in a guild that was by far the most progressed on the server, but I think what drove me to dropping it to turn Mediocre Men into something worthwhile, was that it felt like a 'job.' No one really liked each other, it's like a guild full of those coworkers that you enjoy talking to at work but can't wait to get home.


So what exactly happened with Inquisition? And how did it lead to you creating (or recreating) TMM?

Apple: At some point right before BC was released, after our Kel'thuzad kill at 60, the officers decided they didn't want to push for progression anymore. They wanted a more 'casual' guild, and I think everyone cna agree that the people like Doughboy, Renwo, and even Artemis were the main force that pushed that guild to the success they had. When they wanted to call it quits, we knew we were pretty much done for as that guild.

I think that's about when I started listening to Exare that we should build our own guild, and after we decided we couldn't think up a better name, pulled Mediocre Men out of retirement from our alts.


We often hear how stressful and time consuming leading a guild can be. How has the experience of creating and leading a top-end guild been for you?

Apple: It actually hasn't been too bad. Recruiting always makes me twitch in a bad way, especially on a server like Thunderlord. Keeping the schedule rolling is annoying, but then everything feels peachy when you finally get a new kill down.


Several server-first kills to be peachy about.

Apple: True story, I was edgy at the beginning of the expansion because a whole lot of people weren't the super awesome levelers I thought they could be, but we ended up surprising even ourselves.


As you know, Vires Veneratio recently snagged the realm first for 10-man Sartharion (3 Drakes), reclaiming at least some of the glory they lost via TMM's clinch server-firsts on 25-man OS (3 Drakes), Malygos, and Naxxramas. Any comments?

Apple: I knew they would come along and grab something, after how well they did in BC it'd just be crazy talk if they didn't. I think our 10 man crowd isn't quite as motivated as most are, so we'll probably lag a bit on that front.


How is TMM preparing for the next batch of content Blizzard will [someday] release? For that matter, is TMM prepared to stay competitive?

Apple: We're hoping to grab some more server firsts in Ulduar and anything beyond, we've actually started up a second Naxx group to try and gear up anyone we can't quite make fit into our main raid. We're hoping to have a raid force fully batch of content... but then, we already know it's so far away, that stagnation and boredom might snipe some people before we see it.


That’s certainly a concern that many guilds have. Over the past few years, we've seen a lot of guilds crumble and even more players retire. What's kept you around for so long?

Apple: I think for a lot of us, this game is as much about social interaction as it is about the game play itself. That's mostly what's kept myself, and Mediocre Men too, here this long - we all enjoy the social aspect. Our raids are as much about discussing all the annoying noises Varran can make on vent as they are about how to slay internet dragons.


That actually addresses my next question for you: what do you like about Thunderlord? What keeps you here over another realm that might boast "more competitive" progression?

Apple: Yeah, it's pretty much the social aspect. Having a reputation and a boat load of friends makes playing here a load of fun, even when you look at the empty barrel of recruits and die a little inside.


Is retirement in the near future for Applemask?

Apple: I actually give it a good deal of thought all of the time, but I think I've got a good deal more I can pull out of the game. Logging onto vent and listening to the crew will always be one of my favorite activities when I come home from work.


Well, I think we all look forward to seeing what Applemask and TMM have in store for Thunderlord, and we wish you the best of luck.

Apple: Thank you sir, and I wish I could have your babies.

Name:

 Comment:

me.

applemask sucks