Still more fun to come in Lavastorm for GU52: See the article here
http://www.massively.com/tag/eq2-gu-52/
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
SHARD ARMOR Primer - Your Questions Answered!
As more of our guildies are reaching Level 80, I thought it would be good to post a primer on what shard armour is, how you can get it, buy it, get it made for you, and wear it in the absence of becoming a raider. There will also be more info to follow about new shard items that were just released yesterday with GU51 ... but for now ....
1. What is "Shard Armour"?
Shard Armour is a Level 80 special armour / jewelry / items that can only be bought or made using void shards (http://eq2.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?eq2item=108235). Shards are quest items that are obtained on the successful completion of quests in end-game, triple-heroic instances, and are bestowed on the entire group when a major 'boss' mob is killed.
The shards are NO-TRADE between distinct players, but they can be placed in your Shared Bank ("Heirloom") so that all characters in one account can access and use them. The only way that shards can be given to another player is to a commissioned crafter, in the 'Materials' window at crafting time.
Shard Armours were developed late last year when SOE realized that most of the end-game content was going to hard-core raiders, leaving many solo and group players to feel left out in the cold. While the equipment is not rated as FABLED, as items are from a raid zone, they are rated as high LEGENDARY, and as a player collects up to at least five pieces of a set, the spell/heal/melee/ranged and bonuses grow as a result. Once a player outfits him or herself in full Tier 2 shard gear, it is said to be equivalent (or very close) to Level 80 Fabled Raid Gear.
Before GU51, there were only two tiers of shard armours. Each player begins by collecting pieces for T1 armours, usually starting around 5 shards per piece and growing upwards of 12. Then, Tier 1 armours can be upgraded to Tier 2, for the piece of armour itself, and still more shards (16 or more . . . ) With GU51, new "Elemental Essences" were added, along with some new "soloable" quests that, as long as you have T2 gear, you can trade up yet again to even more glorious stuff in Lavastorm. We are learning about that process now and will post more on it soon.
2. How many shards can I get at once?
Each featured instance will offer at least one shard each time that you 'run' with a group. There are possibilities, depending on the quests offered, that players might be able to pick up two or more shards in a run. If you are running a zone for the first time with some experienced players, ask them if there are any completed quests that they would be willing to share with you to increase your chances of gathering more shards during your session.
Daily Double
Every day, changing at around midnight Mountain in the US, an Erudite at the Dropship Landing in the Moors of Ykesha will offer a quest that will award two shards instead of just one. This quest is called the Daily Double. The instance featured for the 'DD' changes every 24 hours but the quest can be completed within 2 days to still receive double credit.
3. Where do I find the 'Shard' Quests in my Journal?
All 'shard' quests will appear in your journal categorized as a 'Mission'. If you do not complete a mission within 2 days of receiving it, the mission will expire, and you will need to pick up the new missions for a given zone from quest givers located just outside of the zones' entrances.
4. What are the zones that offer shards?
There are many, and you must have the Shadow Odyssey expansion pack to experience them. They are all instances (no creature reset) that allow you to enter roughly every 1 day and 11 hours.
The missions are listed on the right side of this site: http://eq2.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?eq2item=108235. The zones and locations are as follows:
1. What is "Shard Armour"?
Shard Armour is a Level 80 special armour / jewelry / items that can only be bought or made using void shards (http://eq2.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?eq2item=108235). Shards are quest items that are obtained on the successful completion of quests in end-game, triple-heroic instances, and are bestowed on the entire group when a major 'boss' mob is killed.
The shards are NO-TRADE between distinct players, but they can be placed in your Shared Bank ("Heirloom") so that all characters in one account can access and use them. The only way that shards can be given to another player is to a commissioned crafter, in the 'Materials' window at crafting time.
Shard Armours were developed late last year when SOE realized that most of the end-game content was going to hard-core raiders, leaving many solo and group players to feel left out in the cold. While the equipment is not rated as FABLED, as items are from a raid zone, they are rated as high LEGENDARY, and as a player collects up to at least five pieces of a set, the spell/heal/melee/ranged and bonuses grow as a result. Once a player outfits him or herself in full Tier 2 shard gear, it is said to be equivalent (or very close) to Level 80 Fabled Raid Gear.
Before GU51, there were only two tiers of shard armours. Each player begins by collecting pieces for T1 armours, usually starting around 5 shards per piece and growing upwards of 12. Then, Tier 1 armours can be upgraded to Tier 2, for the piece of armour itself, and still more shards (16 or more . . . ) With GU51, new "Elemental Essences" were added, along with some new "soloable" quests that, as long as you have T2 gear, you can trade up yet again to even more glorious stuff in Lavastorm. We are learning about that process now and will post more on it soon.
2. How many shards can I get at once?
Each featured instance will offer at least one shard each time that you 'run' with a group. There are possibilities, depending on the quests offered, that players might be able to pick up two or more shards in a run. If you are running a zone for the first time with some experienced players, ask them if there are any completed quests that they would be willing to share with you to increase your chances of gathering more shards during your session.
Daily Double
Every day, changing at around midnight Mountain in the US, an Erudite at the Dropship Landing in the Moors of Ykesha will offer a quest that will award two shards instead of just one. This quest is called the Daily Double. The instance featured for the 'DD' changes every 24 hours but the quest can be completed within 2 days to still receive double credit.
3. Where do I find the 'Shard' Quests in my Journal?
All 'shard' quests will appear in your journal categorized as a 'Mission'. If you do not complete a mission within 2 days of receiving it, the mission will expire, and you will need to pick up the new missions for a given zone from quest givers located just outside of the zones' entrances.
4. What are the zones that offer shards?
There are many, and you must have the Shadow Odyssey expansion pack to experience them. They are all instances (no creature reset) that allow you to enter roughly every 1 day and 11 hours.
The missions are listed on the right side of this site: http://eq2.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?eq2item=108235. The zones and locations are as follows:
The Commonlands: Ruins of Befallen
Befallen: Halls of the Forsaken Mission Group
Befallen: Cavern of the Afflicted Mission Group
Befallen: Necrotic Asylum Mission Group
Befallen: Halls of the Forsaken Mission Group
Befallen: Cavern of the Afflicted Mission Group
Befallen: Necrotic Asylum Mission Group
Everfrost: Miragul's Phylactery
Miragul Upper Mission Group
Miragul Lower Mission Group
Miragul Shard Mission Group
Miragul Upper Mission Group
Miragul Lower Mission Group
Miragul Shard Mission Group
Loping Plains: The Libant Vampires
Evernight Abbey Mission Group
Mistmyr Manor Mission Group
Ravenscale Repository Mission Group
Evernight Abbey Mission Group
Mistmyr Manor Mission Group
Ravenscale Repository Mission Group
Moors of Ykesha
Dropship Landing Zone
Norrath Mission Group
Firmroot Moot
Upper Guk Mission Group
Lower Guk Mission Group
Guk Stronghold Mission Group
Dropship Landing Zone
Norrath Mission Group
Firmroot Moot
Upper Guk Mission Group
Lower Guk Mission Group
Guk Stronghold Mission Group
5. How do I know if I am still locked out of a shard instance?
If you join a group and the group cannot zone into an instance, chances are that you need to 'reset' the zone. A message will pop up to indicate which player is currently unable to enter the zone.
Under the Persona --> 'Zone Timers' button in EQII, click on the Persistent tab, search for the zone name, and check to be sure that it is "Unlocked". If so, also be sure that you hit the 'Reset Timer' button to allow yourself access to the zone. This allows all of the mobs in the instance to reset and for the group to enter it together. The reason why some people need to reset this timer is because they might have been in a group within the last 18 hours or less, but the main named mob wasn't killed, the group kept wiping out, everyone had to leave, etc and on and on... You know how it is, so just check your zone timers before you offer to get into a shard group. It's embarrassing to have to admit that the timer hasn't expired yet.
I had posted a whole bunch of suggestions on how to put together a great group, and Blogspot ate it. I will post more later . . . please feel free to ask me, Zapest, Shadowdeath, Lugara, or any other Level 80 about these shard runs, and we'll be happy to help!
Darkly,
Shutixa
Merriam-Webster Online Recognizes New "User-Submitted" terms in its Open Dictionary
It's only a matter of time before everyone and his sister knows the terms we use in the game all the time:
From the Open Dictionary on http://www3.merriam-webster.com
aggro
(adjective) : short for "aggravated"
Dude, he's totally going aggro on you!
Submitted by: trfreak from California on Jan. 24, 2007 21:10
(noun) : A term used to define the quantitative value used in MORPG's (Massive Online Role Playing Games) to determine who a NPC (non-player character) attacks.
The mage gained aggro on the drake when he hit it with a fireball.
Submitted by: David Ip from New York on Aug. 10, 2006 16:27
---
noob
(noun) : [from newbie] someone who is new to an activity or subject
He's such a noob.
Submitted by: Jason Wolfe from North Carolina on Feb. 18, 2009 09:27
(adjective) : The definition is mainly used in the gaming community. It means someone who is new. (Usually also not that good)
Roger is such a noob he can not even get to level 2!
Submitted by: The Best Gamer! on Sep. 18, 2007 14:55
* (Note: this guy thinks the usage here is an adjective? Nope. A Noob to Grammar, I see! There were several people on this list . . . and there were LOTS of entries for this 'word'.)*
----
bot
(verb) : to use a bot program in an online game
I bet he's botting right now.
Submitted by: metrex from Philippines on Feb. 03, 2009 22:51
* (What? No noun versions to describe all those plat farmers??)
----
cyber
(verb) : To engage in descriptive sexual stories, "cybersex" while online.
I'm not doing anything at the moment - want to cyber? —EverQuest II Online Gaming
Submitted by: Anonymous on Apr. 01, 2009 12:35
--
good to go
(adjective) : ready; prepared; all set; complete.
With the quarterback's injury fully healed, our team is good to go for a championship.
Submitted by: Ken from Tennessee on Aug. 02, 2006 10:10
---
RPG
(noun) : Stands for "Role Playing Game". eg. Final Fantasy, Dungeons and Dragons.
Have you heard of that new RPG game that's coming out next month?
Submitted by: La Ivonne from California on Sep. 27, 2006 00:02
---
pwned
(verb) : The verb to pwn (past tense: pwned, pwnd, pwn'd, pwnt, pooned) as used by the Internet gaming subculture, means to beat or dominate an opponent. While it probably originated as a typing error of the word own, it is now used intentionally by many members of the subculture.
My character pwned this battle. —Spohn, Dave, Internet Gaming Glossary, 2006-01-01
Submitted by: Chris Lin from Utah on Jan. 11, 2007 12:01
*(I've seen OWNED, but ... hm, ok.) also under 'Pwn':
(noun) : This is a misspelled version of "own" where the letter O and P, being close to each other on the keyboard were often mistyped and then adopted into "kiddy speak". This is not a word, but a mispelling of the word "own". This is not even an acryonym. It has no place in a dictionary.
Submitted by: Scallawag from Kansas on May. 01, 2007 11:03
(verb) : To utterly dominate an opponent.
I just pwned that noob!
Submitted by: Mike and Carla from Pennsylvania on Apr. 07, 2007 23:08
(verb) : To easily overtake in a battle. Mostly used in computer games to describe an easy victory over an opponent. Derived from the word "pawn". Forms include pwnage and pawnage.
I totally pwned that noob!
Submitted by: Hyla Crepitan from Kansas on Jan. 24, 2007 19:27
* (It's NOT derived from pawn. She's dreaming. I agree that it was a typo that everyone now uses.)
--
ch00b
(noun) : A variation of the word in the MMORPG Runescape, n00b.
It is often used to describe a high level character who acts like a noob.
I owned some level 100 ch00b.
Submitted by: Anonymous on Feb. 27, 2007 17:37
--
gtg
(abbreviation) : got to go. Commonly used in "online language." Usually: g2g. Synonyms: bbl (be back later), bibi (byebye), biiii (bye), cya (see you), ttyl ( talk to you later)
g2g soon, soccer practice!
Submitted by: Anonymous on Apr. 14, 2007 10:50
* (Nope. In the MMO world, if someone in the group says this, it's "good to go" or ready!)
---
PVP
(noun) : Abbreviation for Player Versus Player; most commonly used with online gaming but useable with any multiplayer game to indicate a confrontation between two or more human players. "I'm kind of bored playing the story line; do you want to try some PVP?"
Submitted by: Duke from Illinois on Jul. 12, 2007 14:40
--
MMORPG
(noun) : An abbreviation for Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game. Made famous by games like World of Warcraft, Everquest and Final Fantasy XI
MMORPG's are the newest and biggest wave in gaming today.
Submitted by: Duke from Illinois on Jul. 12, 2007 14:35
---
From the Open Dictionary on http://www3.merriam-webster.com
aggro
(adjective) : short for "aggravated"
Dude, he's totally going aggro on you!
Submitted by: trfreak from California on Jan. 24, 2007 21:10
(noun) : A term used to define the quantitative value used in MORPG's (Massive Online Role Playing Games) to determine who a NPC (non-player character) attacks.
The mage gained aggro on the drake when he hit it with a fireball.
Submitted by: David Ip from New York on Aug. 10, 2006 16:27
---
noob
(noun) : [from newbie] someone who is new to an activity or subject
He's such a noob.
Submitted by: Jason Wolfe from North Carolina on Feb. 18, 2009 09:27
(adjective) : The definition is mainly used in the gaming community. It means someone who is new. (Usually also not that good)
Roger is such a noob he can not even get to level 2!
Submitted by: The Best Gamer! on Sep. 18, 2007 14:55
* (Note: this guy thinks the usage here is an adjective? Nope. A Noob to Grammar, I see! There were several people on this list . . . and there were LOTS of entries for this 'word'.)*
----
bot
(verb) : to use a bot program in an online game
I bet he's botting right now.
Submitted by: metrex from Philippines on Feb. 03, 2009 22:51
* (What? No noun versions to describe all those plat farmers??)
----
cyber
(verb) : To engage in descriptive sexual stories, "cybersex" while online.
I'm not doing anything at the moment - want to cyber? —EverQuest II Online Gaming
Submitted by: Anonymous on Apr. 01, 2009 12:35
--
good to go
(adjective) : ready; prepared; all set; complete.
With the quarterback's injury fully healed, our team is good to go for a championship.
Submitted by: Ken from Tennessee on Aug. 02, 2006 10:10
---
RPG
(noun) : Stands for "Role Playing Game". eg. Final Fantasy, Dungeons and Dragons.
Have you heard of that new RPG game that's coming out next month?
Submitted by: La Ivonne from California on Sep. 27, 2006 00:02
---
pwned
(verb) : The verb to pwn (past tense: pwned, pwnd, pwn'd, pwnt, pooned) as used by the Internet gaming subculture, means to beat or dominate an opponent. While it probably originated as a typing error of the word own, it is now used intentionally by many members of the subculture.
My character pwned this battle. —Spohn, Dave, Internet Gaming Glossary, 2006-01-01
Submitted by: Chris Lin from Utah on Jan. 11, 2007 12:01
*(I've seen OWNED, but ... hm, ok.) also under 'Pwn':
(noun) : This is a misspelled version of "own" where the letter O and P, being close to each other on the keyboard were often mistyped and then adopted into "kiddy speak". This is not a word, but a mispelling of the word "own". This is not even an acryonym. It has no place in a dictionary.
Submitted by: Scallawag from Kansas on May. 01, 2007 11:03
(verb) : To utterly dominate an opponent.
I just pwned that noob!
Submitted by: Mike and Carla from Pennsylvania on Apr. 07, 2007 23:08
(verb) : To easily overtake in a battle. Mostly used in computer games to describe an easy victory over an opponent. Derived from the word "pawn". Forms include pwnage and pawnage.
I totally pwned that noob!
Submitted by: Hyla Crepitan from Kansas on Jan. 24, 2007 19:27
* (It's NOT derived from pawn. She's dreaming. I agree that it was a typo that everyone now uses.)
--
ch00b
(noun) : A variation of the word in the MMORPG Runescape, n00b.
It is often used to describe a high level character who acts like a noob.
I owned some level 100 ch00b.
Submitted by: Anonymous on Feb. 27, 2007 17:37
--
gtg
(abbreviation) : got to go. Commonly used in "online language." Usually: g2g. Synonyms: bbl (be back later), bibi (byebye), biiii (bye), cya (see you), ttyl ( talk to you later)
g2g soon, soccer practice!
Submitted by: Anonymous on Apr. 14, 2007 10:50
* (Nope. In the MMO world, if someone in the group says this, it's "good to go" or ready!)
---
PVP
(noun) : Abbreviation for Player Versus Player; most commonly used with online gaming but useable with any multiplayer game to indicate a confrontation between two or more human players. "I'm kind of bored playing the story line; do you want to try some PVP?"
Submitted by: Duke from Illinois on Jul. 12, 2007 14:40
--
MMORPG
(noun) : An abbreviation for Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game. Made famous by games like World of Warcraft, Everquest and Final Fantasy XI
MMORPG's are the newest and biggest wave in gaming today.
Submitted by: Duke from Illinois on Jul. 12, 2007 14:35
---
Monday, February 16, 2009
CoSers on the Leaderboards!
Circle of Shadows places as of one the Top 100 Guilds on Permafrost (2/26/2009), listed as #33 in distinct account membership! Nice work, all!
#33 - Circle of Shadows - Level 70 - Permafrost - http://cos.everquestiigui ... 66
Player Leaderboards
*Slightly late Congrats go to ZAPEST for a server discovery of the Knight of Unholy Vengeance on January 28, 2009. If you have the EQ2Players.com utility, you can see it here: http://eq2players.station.sony.com/items/item_profile.vm?itemId=406334 If not, this is the entry, found on the second day after it was launched.
Zapest - Permafrost - Circle of Shadows Jan 28, 2009
Top 100 Server Players from CoS (or alts) by Health Points
#5 (on entire server, all classes, #2 among server Monks)
Setsuka - Permafrost - 80 - 14,649
#76 (of all Perma Templars)
Zapest - Permafrost 80 7,985
Overall Guild Stats as of 2/16/2009
Items Discovered - Global - 5
Items Discovered - Server - 116
Latest Item Discovered Knight of Unholy Vengeance (see above!)
Average Quests Completed - 311
Total Rares Harvested - 6,448
Total PvP Kills - 0
Total NPC Kills - 1,449,442
Total Arena Kills - 0
Average PvP Kills - 0
Average NPC Kills - 8,947
Average Arena Kills - 0
Total Items Crafted - 252,434
Total Deaths - 22,285
Deaths Per Member - 137.56
Kills vs. Deaths Ratio - 65.04
Way to go, folks!!
Darkly yours,
Shutixa
#33 - Circle of Shadows - Level 70 - Permafrost - http://cos.everquestiigui ... 66
Player Leaderboards
*Slightly late Congrats go to ZAPEST for a server discovery of the Knight of Unholy Vengeance on January 28, 2009. If you have the EQ2Players.com utility, you can see it here: http://eq2players.station.sony.com/items/item_profile.vm?itemId=406334 If not, this is the entry, found on the second day after it was launched.
Zapest - Permafrost - Circle of Shadows Jan 28, 2009
Top 100 Server Players from CoS (or alts) by Health Points
#5 (on entire server, all classes, #2 among server Monks)
Setsuka - Permafrost - 80 - 14,649
#76 (of all Perma Templars)
Zapest - Permafrost 80 7,985
Overall Guild Stats as of 2/16/2009
Items Discovered - Global - 5
Items Discovered - Server - 116
Latest Item Discovered Knight of Unholy Vengeance (see above!)
Average Quests Completed - 311
Total Rares Harvested - 6,448
Total PvP Kills - 0
Total NPC Kills - 1,449,442
Total Arena Kills - 0
Average PvP Kills - 0
Average NPC Kills - 8,947
Average Arena Kills - 0
Total Items Crafted - 252,434
Total Deaths - 22,285
Deaths Per Member - 137.56
Kills vs. Deaths Ratio - 65.04
Way to go, folks!!
Darkly yours,
Shutixa
State of the CoS Union - First Six Weeks of 2009
Dear Guildies,
Many exciting changes have happened in the six short weeks since the New Year began, and I wanted to take a moment to outline a few of them, as well as to thank you, always, for your time and contributions to the guild! You all are what makes being a member of Circle of Shadows great!
1. Membership
At the end of the first week of January, I performed a guild purge to remove most mains and alts that had not been on the game for 180 days or more (90 days longer than our previous policy had stated.) While I kept a few old friends that I knew would be back someday (Kushi, Josua, Wylder) and purged some alts where I wasn't wholly sure (again, sorry Wylder!), by the time I finished, the guild retained 37 distinct accounts. However, through your amazing recruiting efforts, keeping your recruiter flag on, and grouping with unguilded folks, our membership has almost doubled to house 66 distinct accounts!!
We have also proven this month that CoS is not about gathering members and letting them languish on their own. Of these 66 accounts, easily 10 of these folks are on online at peak times of the evening, sometimes stretching a rolling count closer to 13. This is a huge achievement for a small guild. In fact, larger guilds like League of the Extraordinary have 15-20 people on at a time, and also have 323 distinct accounts. If you do straight math on this, that means that 4% of their membership is on at any random given time, while ours is more like 19%. That's what keeps people coming back for more and I have no doubt that this number will only continue to grow.
2. Exploration Events
We did two major events in January and just this last weekend and both times were very successful. The EEs are opportunities for high-level players that might have missed AA in a zone to group with lower-level friends and help them to grow through mentoring exp. Kaledin and Mindor have been champions of these events and have done an outstanding job. The first event took members through the Wailing Caves of Commonlands and Fallen Gate (20s), and the most recent one last weekend explored Deathfist Citadel and its quests (40s). Plans are in place to explore Acadechism next weekend and to feature a new "tier" every week to ensure that various zones throughout Norrath are covered. The best thing about these events is that it's fostering a spirit of teamwork between high and lower-level players and only serves to make our guild even stronger.
3. New Services in Guild Hall
Our Guild Hall is also growing by leaps and bounds. Throughout these six weeks, we have obtained new crafting stations, a mender whose costs are covered 10% by guild escrow, new furniture and accessories, a new materials depot, and so much more. Many people have noted that the Guild Hall is the most convenient way to buy, sell, mend, and get back to adventuring, all of which is very cool.
4. Treasury
One of the greatest signs of growth and giving is in our Treasury. There are two places where people can see where we are slowly prospering. One is in the Guild Hall's escrow, which has many millions of status points and about 27 platinum (2p in upkeep) to keep us going for many weeks.
However, in addition, Guild Bank #4, "The Bling" is our liquid account, boasting more than 17 platinum in there to assist with whatever guild members' dreams and needs may come. The Treasury had been liquidated when the previous GL decided that we needed new guild cloaks and was practically empty when we started the new year. The best way that we have kept this Treasury full is through the sales of lower-tier rare crafting items. Any rares over a stack of 10 in the Depot will be sold for fair market value and revenues from those sales will be placed in The Bling. I have attempted to spread the monies out a bit between banks, just in case our tradeskillers need a little loan as they craft, and all proceeds from foods and books that we sell are placed into Banks #2 and 3, respectively.
5. New Officer and Shadow Touched Partnerships
One of the best things about the guild lately has been the great partnership between our new officer panel (Shadowblood) and the highest player rank available, The Shadow Touched. Many of these fine people have paid close attention to the needs of players as a whole and assisted in obtaining armours, weapons, jewelry, new spells, new foods ... anything at all that can make their lives easier. Still others have jumped into action to teach people new zones and tactics (body pulling, fair looting, targeting through tank, etc). Finally, the tradeskill artists among this group have also made available great items in the bank for guildies to try, and the response has been outstanding. This is exactly what Officers and High Ranking Players should do to keep us growing and progressing.
6. Atittude
Lastly, I feel that the "friendly, casual but skilled" attitude of the Guild is returning to its former sunny disposition. When people log on, everyone tends to say hello to the new arrival; the same happens when a player announces his or her departure. When players achieve great new accomplishments in loot, status, rank, and adventure and crafting levels, the guild is there to cheer them on every time.
Again, while many here may take it for granted that supporting its members is what a guild is "supposed to do", I have heard many stories over the years that other guilds simply do not deliver this level of consideration to their members. This is an amazing compliment to us!
I believe it is important for us to continue this tradition, as caring for each other is one of the few things that will set us apart from many guilds on the server. In a game where people can choose to join a raiding guild for the choicest fabled loot, admittedly, CoS is at a slight disadvantage. However, when we compare the attitudes of guildies in such places with the friendly disposition of CoS, it is no wonder why people stay and choose to do pickup-grouping and raiding for the opportunity to snag the loot. This is again due to you and your care for your fellow guildies that makes us special and help people call us 'home'. Thank you!
I cannot express my pride and happiness at putting the remnants of the lost Circle of Shadows back together; thank you so much as always for everything that you have done, do now, and of course, will do as we move forward.
Darkly yours,
Shutixa
Many exciting changes have happened in the six short weeks since the New Year began, and I wanted to take a moment to outline a few of them, as well as to thank you, always, for your time and contributions to the guild! You all are what makes being a member of Circle of Shadows great!
1. Membership
At the end of the first week of January, I performed a guild purge to remove most mains and alts that had not been on the game for 180 days or more (90 days longer than our previous policy had stated.) While I kept a few old friends that I knew would be back someday (Kushi, Josua, Wylder) and purged some alts where I wasn't wholly sure (again, sorry Wylder!), by the time I finished, the guild retained 37 distinct accounts. However, through your amazing recruiting efforts, keeping your recruiter flag on, and grouping with unguilded folks, our membership has almost doubled to house 66 distinct accounts!!
We have also proven this month that CoS is not about gathering members and letting them languish on their own. Of these 66 accounts, easily 10 of these folks are on online at peak times of the evening, sometimes stretching a rolling count closer to 13. This is a huge achievement for a small guild. In fact, larger guilds like League of the Extraordinary have 15-20 people on at a time, and also have 323 distinct accounts. If you do straight math on this, that means that 4% of their membership is on at any random given time, while ours is more like 19%. That's what keeps people coming back for more and I have no doubt that this number will only continue to grow.
2. Exploration Events
We did two major events in January and just this last weekend and both times were very successful. The EEs are opportunities for high-level players that might have missed AA in a zone to group with lower-level friends and help them to grow through mentoring exp. Kaledin and Mindor have been champions of these events and have done an outstanding job. The first event took members through the Wailing Caves of Commonlands and Fallen Gate (20s), and the most recent one last weekend explored Deathfist Citadel and its quests (40s). Plans are in place to explore Acadechism next weekend and to feature a new "tier" every week to ensure that various zones throughout Norrath are covered. The best thing about these events is that it's fostering a spirit of teamwork between high and lower-level players and only serves to make our guild even stronger.
3. New Services in Guild Hall
Our Guild Hall is also growing by leaps and bounds. Throughout these six weeks, we have obtained new crafting stations, a mender whose costs are covered 10% by guild escrow, new furniture and accessories, a new materials depot, and so much more. Many people have noted that the Guild Hall is the most convenient way to buy, sell, mend, and get back to adventuring, all of which is very cool.
4. Treasury
One of the greatest signs of growth and giving is in our Treasury. There are two places where people can see where we are slowly prospering. One is in the Guild Hall's escrow, which has many millions of status points and about 27 platinum (2p in upkeep) to keep us going for many weeks.
However, in addition, Guild Bank #4, "The Bling" is our liquid account, boasting more than 17 platinum in there to assist with whatever guild members' dreams and needs may come. The Treasury had been liquidated when the previous GL decided that we needed new guild cloaks and was practically empty when we started the new year. The best way that we have kept this Treasury full is through the sales of lower-tier rare crafting items. Any rares over a stack of 10 in the Depot will be sold for fair market value and revenues from those sales will be placed in The Bling. I have attempted to spread the monies out a bit between banks, just in case our tradeskillers need a little loan as they craft, and all proceeds from foods and books that we sell are placed into Banks #2 and 3, respectively.
5. New Officer and Shadow Touched Partnerships
One of the best things about the guild lately has been the great partnership between our new officer panel (Shadowblood) and the highest player rank available, The Shadow Touched. Many of these fine people have paid close attention to the needs of players as a whole and assisted in obtaining armours, weapons, jewelry, new spells, new foods ... anything at all that can make their lives easier. Still others have jumped into action to teach people new zones and tactics (body pulling, fair looting, targeting through tank, etc). Finally, the tradeskill artists among this group have also made available great items in the bank for guildies to try, and the response has been outstanding. This is exactly what Officers and High Ranking Players should do to keep us growing and progressing.
6. Atittude
Lastly, I feel that the "friendly, casual but skilled" attitude of the Guild is returning to its former sunny disposition. When people log on, everyone tends to say hello to the new arrival; the same happens when a player announces his or her departure. When players achieve great new accomplishments in loot, status, rank, and adventure and crafting levels, the guild is there to cheer them on every time.
Again, while many here may take it for granted that supporting its members is what a guild is "supposed to do", I have heard many stories over the years that other guilds simply do not deliver this level of consideration to their members. This is an amazing compliment to us!
I believe it is important for us to continue this tradition, as caring for each other is one of the few things that will set us apart from many guilds on the server. In a game where people can choose to join a raiding guild for the choicest fabled loot, admittedly, CoS is at a slight disadvantage. However, when we compare the attitudes of guildies in such places with the friendly disposition of CoS, it is no wonder why people stay and choose to do pickup-grouping and raiding for the opportunity to snag the loot. This is again due to you and your care for your fellow guildies that makes us special and help people call us 'home'. Thank you!
I cannot express my pride and happiness at putting the remnants of the lost Circle of Shadows back together; thank you so much as always for everything that you have done, do now, and of course, will do as we move forward.
Darkly yours,
Shutixa
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Exploration Event from Kaledin - for Sunday, Feb 08, 2009
Repost from in-game mail:
Kaledin wrote:'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
Hi folks, This Sunday I am planning on leading an exploartion event to one of two locations.
We will be heading to either the dank, dreary Wailing Caves found in The Commonlands, or we can go and explore the ruins of Fallen Gate, also found in The Commonlands. If we are feeling industrious enough we may even do both (for those that can).
We will be starting at 2pm CST (Noon PST) so anyone wishing to attend should be assembled in The Commonlands at about that time. The Wailing Caves are geared towards characters in their teens and lower 20's and Fallen Gate is geared from the 20's to the lower 30's. We will have at least one person available in the appropriate level range to mentor so older characters are encouraged and welcome to join.
Hope to see you all there!
Kaledin Stoneforge
Templar of Brell
Healer Mentor
Descendant of the Lords of Kaladim
Kaledin wrote:'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
Hi folks, This Sunday I am planning on leading an exploartion event to one of two locations.
We will be heading to either the dank, dreary Wailing Caves found in The Commonlands, or we can go and explore the ruins of Fallen Gate, also found in The Commonlands. If we are feeling industrious enough we may even do both (for those that can).
We will be starting at 2pm CST (Noon PST) so anyone wishing to attend should be assembled in The Commonlands at about that time. The Wailing Caves are geared towards characters in their teens and lower 20's and Fallen Gate is geared from the 20's to the lower 30's. We will have at least one person available in the appropriate level range to mentor so older characters are encouraged and welcome to join.
Hope to see you all there!
Kaledin Stoneforge
Templar of Brell
Healer Mentor
Descendant of the Lords of Kaladim
Friday, January 16, 2009
Officer / Coach Plans for CoS
Hi Guildies,
It's been a heady few days as new co-GL for CoS, and a fun time at that. Thank you again for placing your trust in me and our fellow veterans to lead CoS into the right (and fun) direction for the future! I hope everyone's enjoying the new changes that are taking place.
Lately, I have been thinking about how to formulate our new officer structure so that we can best continue in our goals to mentor, coach, and assist players of all levels, as we all mature in rank, class, experience, and level in the game.
In choosing Shadowblood (Officer) ranks, instead of just putting people into the officer role in a general fashion, I'd like to appoint people to posts based on an underlying coaching system. This coaching system would concentrate on growing members throughout the four major classes of our world (Fighter, Mage, Cleric, and Scout), and in turn ask that the officers of each serve short terms (maybe 3 - 6 months at a time?) If the coach in a given class discipline is doing a great job and wants to hold his/her post, they are welcome to do so for longer than those terms. And if not, the coach is welcome to put his/her seat up for nomination to someone else that they feel is qualified.
I'd also like to keep one officer position in charge of Recruitment and Growth, for a total of no more than 7 people on your Leadership Council (2 GLs, 5 Officers). Almeric would remain on this council as Founding GL Emeritus and also serve to resolve any voting ties.
I will be approaching these seasoned veterans this week, and pending their response, may then open the officer application process up to anyone else who may be interested in representing their class to the Guild. Please stay tuned for further developments on this process.
Darkly yours,
Shutixa
It's been a heady few days as new co-GL for CoS, and a fun time at that. Thank you again for placing your trust in me and our fellow veterans to lead CoS into the right (and fun) direction for the future! I hope everyone's enjoying the new changes that are taking place.
Lately, I have been thinking about how to formulate our new officer structure so that we can best continue in our goals to mentor, coach, and assist players of all levels, as we all mature in rank, class, experience, and level in the game.
In choosing Shadowblood (Officer) ranks, instead of just putting people into the officer role in a general fashion, I'd like to appoint people to posts based on an underlying coaching system. This coaching system would concentrate on growing members throughout the four major classes of our world (Fighter, Mage, Cleric, and Scout), and in turn ask that the officers of each serve short terms (maybe 3 - 6 months at a time?) If the coach in a given class discipline is doing a great job and wants to hold his/her post, they are welcome to do so for longer than those terms. And if not, the coach is welcome to put his/her seat up for nomination to someone else that they feel is qualified.
I'd also like to keep one officer position in charge of Recruitment and Growth, for a total of no more than 7 people on your Leadership Council (2 GLs, 5 Officers). Almeric would remain on this council as Founding GL Emeritus and also serve to resolve any voting ties.
I will be approaching these seasoned veterans this week, and pending their response, may then open the officer application process up to anyone else who may be interested in representing their class to the Guild. Please stay tuned for further developments on this process.
Darkly yours,
Shutixa
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Guild Hall Lowdown
Hi Guildies,
Over the past few months, since we have beenworking with the new CoS Guild Hall, some have asked how the upkeep of the place works, and I thought I'd send a little mail on that subject.
There are actually three "tiers" of Guild Halls available in Norrath, and since our guild is relatively small, we have purchased a Tier One Guild Hall, located across from the giant sword statue (The Claymore) in North Qeynos. If you are of good alignment, you will have no trouble entering the city and zoning in. However, if you are of evil alignment, you will need to use the dock bells from Commonlands -> Nektulos Forest --> Antonica --> and Willow Wood , then sneak into NQ from the The Down Below (sewers).
Once you surface in NQ, you need to be super careful because both Epic and Heroic city guards may be roaming about, and they do see through invisibility. The good news is that once you come up from The Down Below, it's a very short run to the long building that sits at a diagonal on your map.
The Guild Hall is a community work in progress and has been made possible by some *extremely* giving people (THANK YOU)!! To see the volunteers, and to make donations yourself, once inside the Hall, RIGHT CLICK on the FRONT DOOR and choose ACCESS. Then go to the DEPOSIT tab, and you will find that you can make as many donations in either coin or personal status that you'd like. You can also click the History tab to see what these generous guild members have contributed over the course of the ownership of the Hall. The AMENITIES tab will show items that are still up for sale, along with their costs in coin and status.
Please note that the status listed there is Personal Status and does not reflect, depend on, or pull from your Guild Status balance. Furthermore, if you were promoted to new ranks under the new Guild Status system, giving to the Guild Hall will not affect your new rank and in fact, may help as we develop the promotional system. Writs, status items, and conventional methods do not automatically give to the Guild Hall's upkeep; this is a voluntary measure entirely!
The Guild Hall depends on a large amout of coin and status that is paid every 14 days, and that bank is called the "Escrow" account. Click the GENERAL tab to see Escrow. As long as there is money / status in that account to feed Upkeep, everyone has a Guild Hall. If not, once the Upkeep is paid, we can re-enter the Hall. So far, there have been no issues with this, as everyone's been amazing to keep it going, and thank you again. Please feel free to post any questions about the GH here or ask in-game on the chat.
Best,
Shutixa
Over the past few months, since we have beenworking with the new CoS Guild Hall, some have asked how the upkeep of the place works, and I thought I'd send a little mail on that subject.
There are actually three "tiers" of Guild Halls available in Norrath, and since our guild is relatively small, we have purchased a Tier One Guild Hall, located across from the giant sword statue (The Claymore) in North Qeynos. If you are of good alignment, you will have no trouble entering the city and zoning in. However, if you are of evil alignment, you will need to use the dock bells from Commonlands -> Nektulos Forest --> Antonica --> and Willow Wood , then sneak into NQ from the The Down Below (sewers).
Once you surface in NQ, you need to be super careful because both Epic and Heroic city guards may be roaming about, and they do see through invisibility. The good news is that once you come up from The Down Below, it's a very short run to the long building that sits at a diagonal on your map.
The Guild Hall is a community work in progress and has been made possible by some *extremely* giving people (THANK YOU)!! To see the volunteers, and to make donations yourself, once inside the Hall, RIGHT CLICK on the FRONT DOOR and choose ACCESS. Then go to the DEPOSIT tab, and you will find that you can make as many donations in either coin or personal status that you'd like. You can also click the History tab to see what these generous guild members have contributed over the course of the ownership of the Hall. The AMENITIES tab will show items that are still up for sale, along with their costs in coin and status.
Please note that the status listed there is Personal Status and does not reflect, depend on, or pull from your Guild Status balance. Furthermore, if you were promoted to new ranks under the new Guild Status system, giving to the Guild Hall will not affect your new rank and in fact, may help as we develop the promotional system. Writs, status items, and conventional methods do not automatically give to the Guild Hall's upkeep; this is a voluntary measure entirely!
The Guild Hall depends on a large amout of coin and status that is paid every 14 days, and that bank is called the "Escrow" account. Click the GENERAL tab to see Escrow. As long as there is money / status in that account to feed Upkeep, everyone has a Guild Hall. If not, once the Upkeep is paid, we can re-enter the Hall. So far, there have been no issues with this, as everyone's been amazing to keep it going, and thank you again. Please feel free to post any questions about the GH here or ask in-game on the chat.
Best,
Shutixa
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
NEW Guild Rank PROMOTION Plan!!
Hi folks,
As promised, below please find a small concept that I'd like to pilot to promote folks based on their contributions to the guild through status points. Some have mentioned that it may also be fair to do so on personal status / $, but that's a little trickier to figure out, so that will be the next phase of perks for your good work to support everyone in CoS! This system is effective immediately, so if you're in line for a promotion, congrats, and if you already pull a given higher rank, it will not be lowered by this system.
1. INITIATED BY FLAME --- Remain with CoS for at least one calendar week ORshow extraordinary dedication to the guild (donation of status to Guild Hall, lead some groups, etc)
2. SWORN TO SHADOWS ------ Achieve 5,000 - 19,999 Guild Status
3. PROVEN BY DARKNESS ----- Achieve 20,000 - 49,999 Guild Status
4. DARKENED SPIRIT -- Achieve 50,000 - 99,999 Guild Status (Highest Grandfather Level)
5. SHADE ----- Achieve 100,000 - 149,999 Guild Status
6. SHADOW TOUCHED -- Achieve 150,000 + and become eligible for extra 'Point' System
7. SHADOWBLOOD -- Officer, (Appointed by Shutixa or Almeric for now)
8. THE GREY - Guild Leader (Appointed by Almeric, Guild Leader Emeritus)
Every 10,000 status in addition to the SHADOW TOUCHED 150,000 Status Level would make a player eligible to be awarded extra 'Points.' These points (in Yellow) are used most often in Raid Guilds, but since we do not have such a system, we can use them toward extra bonuses. This is where _your_ suggestions on what would be fun and fair would be most helpful.
Every 10,000 Guild Status above this minimum = 10 Guild 'Points' and Point Award milestones could be perks like the following:
10 Points: Four free stacks of 20 (40 total) of highest level food & drink of player's level, customized to that player's stats
20 Points: TBD ...
30 Points: TBD ...
When the GL or Officers grant Points to Guildie, a Comment should always show the perk and level granted. Thanks again also to TheBalance for implementing new Rank Names!
Darkly yours,
Shutixa
As promised, below please find a small concept that I'd like to pilot to promote folks based on their contributions to the guild through status points. Some have mentioned that it may also be fair to do so on personal status / $, but that's a little trickier to figure out, so that will be the next phase of perks for your good work to support everyone in CoS! This system is effective immediately, so if you're in line for a promotion, congrats, and if you already pull a given higher rank, it will not be lowered by this system.
1. INITIATED BY FLAME --- Remain with CoS for at least one calendar week ORshow extraordinary dedication to the guild (donation of status to Guild Hall, lead some groups, etc)
2. SWORN TO SHADOWS ------ Achieve 5,000 - 19,999 Guild Status
3. PROVEN BY DARKNESS ----- Achieve 20,000 - 49,999 Guild Status
4. DARKENED SPIRIT -- Achieve 50,000 - 99,999 Guild Status (Highest Grandfather Level)
5. SHADE ----- Achieve 100,000 - 149,999 Guild Status
6. SHADOW TOUCHED -- Achieve 150,000 + and become eligible for extra 'Point' System
7. SHADOWBLOOD -- Officer, (Appointed by Shutixa or Almeric for now)
8. THE GREY - Guild Leader (Appointed by Almeric, Guild Leader Emeritus)
Every 10,000 status in addition to the SHADOW TOUCHED 150,000 Status Level would make a player eligible to be awarded extra 'Points.' These points (in Yellow) are used most often in Raid Guilds, but since we do not have such a system, we can use them toward extra bonuses. This is where _your_ suggestions on what would be fun and fair would be most helpful.
Every 10,000 Guild Status above this minimum = 10 Guild 'Points' and Point Award milestones could be perks like the following:
10 Points: Four free stacks of 20 (40 total) of highest level food & drink of player's level, customized to that player's stats
20 Points: TBD ...
30 Points: TBD ...
When the GL or Officers grant Points to Guildie, a Comment should always show the perk and level granted. Thanks again also to TheBalance for implementing new Rank Names!
Darkly yours,
Shutixa
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
* * * The SUGGESTION BOX * * * *
Well, folks, it's been a great few months back, and the guild is starting to kick up again with some great members - thank you all! The purge also went off fairly smoothly and no one was kicked that shouldn't have been, based on the post I did earlier (;
Recently, there have been some good discussions on the chat about extra "perks" that you'd like to see from your guild, and as Almeric and I have been discussing promotions and prizes of the future, I wanted to start this thread as a means to hear from you, the beloved membership, of what you'd like to see from us? What are some things that a guild provides that really get you going and keep you coming back for more? What are some things that we do now that could stand to change a little? It's all valid, and all should start right here.
Darkly yours,
Shutixa
Recently, there have been some good discussions on the chat about extra "perks" that you'd like to see from your guild, and as Almeric and I have been discussing promotions and prizes of the future, I wanted to start this thread as a means to hear from you, the beloved membership, of what you'd like to see from us? What are some things that a guild provides that really get you going and keep you coming back for more? What are some things that we do now that could stand to change a little? It's all valid, and all should start right here.
Darkly yours,
Shutixa
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