Breakfast Topic: Voice Chat
by David Nelson 
Nov 7th 2006 at 8:00AM
My first real raiding guild didn't use voice chat for the longest time. No TeamSpeak, no Ventrilo, just the raid leader typing like a madman and long, long, long waits in between boss pulls. Yes, it was not the most efficient manner of clearing raid dungeons, but my old friends are making nice progress in AQ40, so hey, whatever works. I heard from some RL friends still in the guild that they have some folks on voice chat now, but it isn't required, and it creates more drama than it's worth.My current guild uses voice chat extensively. Folks are always on the Vent server, hanging out in different channels...just chatting with people, listening to music, etc. And once we started raiding, I really began to wonder how my last guild survived without Vent. But the words of my friends, in regards to drama, rang true, as I notice that voice chat tends to start more drama than raid or guild chat. People will occasionally blurt stuff out in Vent that they'd never say in guild chat. It's easy to censor yourself if you have to pause a moment to type a message, but with real time communication? Not so much. But, in the end, the annoyance of the occasional drama is well worth it, as the advantages of instant communication helps us push through content pretty quickly. And, to be honest, by using voice chat I get to know my guildies a lot better than if it was simply text chat.
Which brings us to today's breakfast topic...do you guys like voice chat? Does your guild use Vent or TeamSpeak? Or are you all content with guild and raid chat? Do you think voice chat is a requirement for any raiding guild?
Filed under: Breakfast Topics
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Altan Nov 7th 2006 8:16AM
This is a topic I see recurring a lot in guild chat. Should we or should we not use some kind of Vent or teamspeak option. Well, playing on a Euro server it's generally felt that with a mix of French, Danish, Swedish, German, Scottish, English and several other languages/accents it would be more trouble than it's worth.
Sometimes typing in english is easier than speaking it. I'm Irish and some English people can't make me out :) I hate to think of the multilingual chaos that could erupt in thge middle of Molten Core.
Personally I can think of another reason why folks are so negative about chat options - all those 16 stone blokes playing female night elves would at last be found out!
Keep up the great work on this site. I love it - and can view it from work :) always a bonus ;)
Anthony Nov 7th 2006 8:24AM
You know it's intresting, I just started playing WoW a few weeks ago and I have joined a guild, nothing end game however. But I started playing with a personal friend of mine, so we often play while chatting on Skype, although our guild does have Ventrilo.
skype...ftw
Tritonal Nov 7th 2006 9:04PM
With the extensive time one must put in to raid, a voice chat system is a must. It speeds things up and allows the raid leader to communicate organized battle plans so much better.
Vent all the way.
Hory Nov 7th 2006 8:30AM
Vent/Teamspeak is a necessity for raids, but not necessarily guilds in general.
How else would you tell the rogue to get the $*#@ away from the tail or stay out of the #@*!ing whelp caves in the middle of a fight?
Obsidian Nov 7th 2006 8:34AM
I feel Vent/TS is required for WoW period. Doesn't matter if your raiding or not, its just great all around. Hell I'm on my guild's vent server even when I'm not playing WoW. lol
Yz Nov 7th 2006 8:35AM
I can't imagine raiding without voice chat. Heck, I even groan when I have todo 5 mans the old fashioned way. It's just more efficient.
That being said, social voice chat and raid chat are two different things. Raid chat needs to be much more rigidly disciplined to be effective and efficient. Social channels on a voice server are nice for building camaraderie.
As for adding drama... If folks are prone to drama, they will do it in whatever venue they have available. I don't think voice chat adds to that, although, it may accelerate how quickly it gets noticed.
Chris Nov 7th 2006 9:14AM
My guild uses vent. I like vent a lot more than teamspeak; maybe because I used ventrilo so much when I played Counter-Strike.
Lokana Nov 7th 2006 9:21AM
I think it's very usefull. You get to know people in the guild more quickly. You also cut by half the time if you're talking instead of typing.
Sometimes we can have a hard time to understand some people if they have crappy mic or huge accent etc... People talking over other people or doesn't stop talking or crappy voice! But in the end it's better that then typing everything.
And it's always fun to talk for the first time and people realize that the person they play with which is really good is, in fact, a girl!!
NeuroMan42 Nov 7th 2006 10:37AM
Have used both, and recently got to try the quality of the Typefrag systems. I was amazed by them, as many of the other Vent/Teamspeak servers sound like ass. I also use MorphVox from Screaming Bee, for adding that extra touch to RPG gaming. I too cannot imagine playing an MMO without some kind of audiochat with a guild.
Arras Nov 7th 2006 9:39AM
we used to have Teamspeak, but switched to Vent a few months back. We pretty much use it for raids, pvp and 5-10 man runs. It's so much faster than typing out strats (especially if you're a lousy typer like me).
We haven't had the issue of people blurting out too many inappropriate things in Vent, just some silly random things so far.
A voicechat program isn't really required, clearly some guilds can pull off raids without it. It is a very useful tool and a great timesaver.
Bunkai Nov 7th 2006 10:00AM
Our guild started out as a PvP only guild. Once we were around long enough to turn out multiple Warlords, at least one High Warlord, and more people with rank 11 than you can shake a stick at, we decided it was time to move to PvE content. We are now working both AQ20 and ZG at the same time.
We always used vent for our guild PvP groups, and now in the raid instance content, one of the requirements for a raid invite is that you at least be able to hear vent, even if you can't talk on it. That and CT_Raid are both *required* by us to join our raids... it's too difficult to get boss encounter instructions to everyone in the raid chat (text) channel.
If you're playing on Hakkar (US; Central Time) and need a good home, stop by our site and fill out an application.
L8rz.
Lightwell Nov 7th 2006 10:22AM
I've got dialup so can play or use a voip service. Not both.
Tim Nov 7th 2006 9:57AM
our guild is also Euro, with a lot of different nationalities.. that is also what makes it cool. We do have a rule that officers and RL talk on TS almost exclusively during Raids, which works very well.
Sylythn Nov 7th 2006 10:13AM
I just started with voice chat last night...the guild I'm in uses it for raiding - and although I'm not yet raiding, we are doing guild-sponsored lvl 40-60 instance runs. I'm liking it so far, it's far more natural for me than typing, and takes me "out of the game" less.
However, a couple things I learned quickly - you really don't want voice activation...as cool as it is, yelling out $%#@! in the middle of a run with voice activation means everyone gets to hear it...vastly different from yelling it out in my room where no one else is around.
The other thing is, it's another level of distraction to get used to. Another button to press (push-to-talk), or buttons (if you set up whispers between users), and another source of distracting sounds or conversation. But you get used to that after a while.
Haven't been around long enough to experience any vent drama...but I haven't run across any /gchat drama either, so maybe we're lucky (though forum drama...now that I've seen).
Cheston Nov 7th 2006 10:55AM
I remember back in the EQ days we never used any voice chat and these were very high end raiding guilds, and I have to say it was much nicer back then. Things seemed more civil and thought out. After having been in serveral raiding guilds in WoW on different servers I can say I have a love/hate relationship with voice chat. As the article said it just creates so much drama, people would play music at inappropriate times, make irritating noises during raids, or just not be on vent at all in which we explained all raid information, which would seriously hurt the raid. Someone might say "well its your guild that was the problem not ventrillo", and yes this is true, but vent helped us get on each others nerves. But honestly with WoWs high end encounters you need a voice chat system, many fights now are just too complicated to type things out.
Fabian Nov 7th 2006 10:50AM
I love our guilds TeamSpeak server. Lots of people hang out there, there almost always someone nice about to chat and its a lot more fun to play.
I think you get a better feel for the other players and whom you like. I've been playing less the past few weeks and I start missing my old group and buddies that I used to level with.
There's nothing like the always caring guy that is always able to recite some funny rhyme when you ask him.
I can only say I enjoy it a lot, even though it gets hectic sometimes and I just have to mute everyone or go mad. ;-)
I can honestly not imagine doing a raid with n00bs like me without voice comm. Even with a lot of people in training its still easy to do if everyone has voice comm and know discipline (raid lead talks, others only when spoken to - like 'okay druids you do XYZ, clear' - some druid 'ehm sorry I shall stand over there and...' or some such).
My guild proposed a complete RPG-run through ZG without voice comm but too many objected. ;-)
Druid dude Nov 7th 2006 11:27AM
I was in a guild that used Vent for raids. I led many raids, and it was absolutely an essential tool.
I transferred servers for various reasons, and got in a Nax guild. They do not use Vent! Like this article describes, this means our raid leader spends 10 minutes some times typing out instructions, and then gets bent out of shape about our lack of effective communication in the heat of battle! This is like using a telegraph to send someone instruction on how to disarm a nuke before it blows up in their face. Good luck! Well, unless you are Jack Bauer of course.
I made this analogy freguently in guild and raid chat over the last few weeks. Starting tonite, we are required to use Vent in raids! Woot!
Aaron Nov 7th 2006 11:11AM
Vent or TS is neccessary when you have more that a single group and you're trying to coordinate between them.
However, requiring that people use the "Push to talk" option is essential. Without that then Drama will result. But I've been using Vent/TS for over 3 years now, starting with DAoC.
davoman Nov 7th 2006 11:21AM
haha reminded me of this clip, im sure uve all seen it b4 but just incase anyone who hasnt http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DU0AB6xAtMg&mode=related&search=
Dur13l Nov 7th 2006 11:30AM
PUSH TO TALK!!!
o and rules really take away all drama. and people say they dont like rules all the time but since we have started them there has been no troubles and everyone is happier for it!
Dont be afriad to Mute someone!