So I'm in a bit of an odd situation. Last year around this time and for years before, I had a normal schedule job, raided like normal people do - in evenings after dinner, that sort of thing. Now I'm working a 2nd shift job. This means that I start work about 14:00, and get back home about 23:00.

Now sure I could just find a late night raid guild and reroll on their server and hope to get in. But... here's where things get even worse. I live in Arizona. Now Arizona was brilliant enough to do away with observing Daylight Saving Time. Yeah, sure, it sounds neat at first, but what it really means is that half the year I'm in PST, the other half of the year I'm in MST. So let's say I join a guild that starts raiding at 22:00 Pacific. That means that half the year I can just barely make it on time (because I get home at 23:00 Mountain = 22:00 Pacific) ... and the other half of the year I'm still at work and won't be home for another hour.

That means that I have to find a guild that STARTS raids AT MIDNIGHT my time, just to compensate for the time zone shifts that happen in my lovely little dusthole of a state. I've made a LFGuild post here after my first thread got locked (go figure, a "looking for guild" thread in the Guild Hall forum, I think the mods need to read their own sticy )... but still no replies, and I'm a bit worried that RL situations like this destroy one's ability to raid.

Alright. So that's my story. Any advice?

TLDR:

Does anyone raid with a job with weird schedules and has figured out a way to deal with it? Does anyone here raid from Arizona and has found a way to cope with the timezone fail?

So I'm in a bit of an odd situation. Last year around this time and for years before, I had a normal schedule job, raided like normal people do - in evenings after dinner, that sort of thing. Now I'm working a 2nd shift job. This means that I start work about 14:00, and get back home about 23:00.

 

Now sure I could just find a late night raid guild and reroll on their server and hope to get in. But... here's where things get even worse. I live in Arizona. Now Arizona was brilliant enough to do away with observing Daylight Saving Time. Yeah, sure, it sounds neat at first, but what it really means is that half the year I'm in PST, the other half of the year I'm in MST. So let's say I join a guild that starts raiding at 22:00 Pacific. That means that half the year I can just barely make it on time (because I get home at 23:00 Mountain = 22:00 Pacific) ... and the other half of the year I'm still at work and won't be home for another hour.

 

That means that I have to find a guild that STARTS raids AT MIDNIGHT my time, just to compensate for the time zone shifts that happen in my lovely little dusthole of a state. I've made a LFGuild post here after my first thread got locked (go figure, a "looking for guild" thread in the Guild Hall forum, I think the mods need to read their own sticy )... but still no replies, and I'm a bit worried that RL situations like this destroy one's ability to raid.

 

Alright. So that's my story. Any advice?

 

TLDR:

 

Does anyone raid with a job with weird schedules and has figured out a way to deal with it? Does anyone here raid from Arizona and has found a way to cope with the timezone fail?

Hiya Avanaco,

Yeah, you're in a bit of a pickle, aren't you? It's not impossible to find a guild that runs content during your available hours, but it won't be easy. Here are a few things I would try:

-Start your own guild and build your raid team around the hours that you are consistently available. I see a lot of people looking for guilds that run ops during 'off-peak' hours. Our guild has had good luck in the past by being on a PST realm running EST raids.

-Find a large guild that would welcome an additional raid leader to run another set of scheduled raids.

-Weekend raiding guilds are rarer but also not impossible to find. They typically run longer raids on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.

That's all I can think of for now. Good luck!

Hiya Avanaco,

 

Yeah, you're in a bit of a pickle, aren't you? It's not impossible to find a guild that runs content during your available hours, but it won't be easy. Here are a few things I would try:

 

-Start your own guild and build your raid team around the hours that you are consistently available. I see a lot of people looking for guilds that run ops during 'off-peak' hours. Our guild has had good luck in the past by being on a PST realm running EST raids.

 

-Find a large guild that would welcome an additional raid leader to run another set of scheduled raids.

 

-Weekend raiding guilds are rarer but also not impossible to find. They typically run longer raids on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.

 

That's all I can think of for now. Good luck!

Hey bud, thanks for the advice, I appreciate it.

I've actually thought of just starting my own guild, but... it's funny, because even though I've been gaming online for the better part of 20 years, I've never started a guild. I've led raids, but that's about it.

If I was going to approach something like that, I'd have to figure out WHERE to do it, and I'm not sure how to do that kind of "market research". If I had to guess I'd need the biggest server possible and the biggest faction possible. I'm guessing that means someplace like Mind Trick/Empire... I wish we could get actual server statistics.

Thanks again for the help.

Find a guild that raids but isn't "hardcore" about it. I have a very busy and somewhat unpredictable schedule. I enjoy raiding, but I don't enjoy raiding enough to be one of those people with the TV Dinner at the desk promptly at 7:00PM three nights a week.

My guild has a pretty relaxed schedule for raiding. Once enough of us get to 50, we'll pick a night (or two if we can) and start raiding with a core group of guild members. If real life intervenes and people can't make it, that's okay. We don't want any WoW widows or neglected children because we just have to clear NM Pylons on Tuesday so we can do the next boss on Wednesday.

Good afternoon,

My name is Titan and I'm the GM of Barely Lethal, a daytime/morning SWTOR raid guild on the server Juyo. We raid from 11am - 2pm EST on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, it looks like we might be able to fulfill your end-game needs. Check us out at http://bl.enjin.com if you're interested! We've cleared all content except HM Denova in 8man, and are progressing through the same content in 16man operations. If you're interested come check us out at http://bl.enjin.com or roll a toon on Juyo server and whisper one of our officers (Titan, Zombay, Azereth) or another member for information. Thanks!

Hey, Im a member of Nocturne, a late night re-roll guild on Jung Ma. The guild was formed with nighttime players in mind, as a lot of us don't have the time to play during the days like you. Our peak times of activity are 11PM - 5AM MTN, so really late nights, and that sounds like it could work for you. Now, we are not yet at the point where we are raiding yet, we are still leveling and getting our way there. But when we do start raiding, we will be doing so late at night, so that should fit for you. Our current thoughts are to go for 1AM EST (11 MTN) but nothing is set in stone, we may end up moving it a bit later if thats what works for us. And since we are a re-roll guild, you don't have to worry about being way behind us if you create a new character to join us, as we are still leveling and will all start endgame around the same time. We also do a decent bit of late night PVP, if you're also into that.

We would gladly welcome you. Just let me know if you are interested.

Otherwise, good luck, and i guess just keep trying to find a guild whose raid hours work for you.