Q: What brought you to our website? A: Your recruitment post on MMORPG and one other GW2 forums site whose name I forget. Q: This recruitment process requires that we get to know you a little bit. Please tell us a little about yourself. A: You'll find out a lot about me from reading my answers below, but for what I don't cover there, I shall here. Age: 42 Sex: Male/Straight Location: Near Rochester, NY Status: Single and not looking, have no children and do not want any. Occupation: I work mostly from home as a technical support engineer (networks, PCs, servers, that sort of thing). Favorite Movies: Serenity, Matrix, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Shrek, Star Trek, Avatar, Harry Potter Favorite TV: Firefly, Dollhouse, 24, Sopranos, Farscape, all Star Trek except TOS, Xena, South Park, Futurama, Family Guy, The Universe Favorite Music: Devin Townsend, Jorn Lande Hobbies: I work out at home 3x/week, go grocery shopping on Monday afternoons, spend a lot of time watching movies in my Blu-Ray home theater and sometimes I like to make loud heavy metal-like noises with my guitar. I also tend to type a lot when filling out guild applications. Q: We have found that guild members have a better gaming experience if they use the forums and the events calender. This allows you to get game information and join guildies in events as your real life time permits. Do you intend on being active on our website forums and events calendar? A: I'm more of a reader than a poster. Not being of the Facebook or Twitter crowd, I have little interest in afflicting (read: boring) the rest of the world with my life's minutia. If I post, it will be because I feel I actually have something meaningful to contribute to the topic. I have the same philosophy when it comes to raiding: shut up and listen to the raid leader, do what you're told, and save the suggestions for after the raid. Q: Once you learn how, we would like you to create events or RSVP for other scheduled events as your real life schedule permits. What are your thoughts on this? A: I am a soldier, a trusted advisor, a loyal comrade who will come to your aid. I will of course participate in the events that others create as often as I possibly can, but I will not initiate events. Q: Have you been playing MMO's for a while, or are you just getting started? A: Short answer: Since 2003. Long answer: I've been playing MMOs for nearly a decade, having started with EverQuest right after LDoN was released. As my first MMO, it remains my first true MMO love and provides me with my fondest memories. Relationships change over time, and in 2006 I decided to retire from EQ and join EverQuest 2. My first character in EQ2 was the one that stayed with me throughout my adventures in Norrath: a dark elf assassin. I loved the playstyle, the mechanics, the high dps; everything about the class spoke to me on a level no other MMO class had before or since (naturally I'm hoping that changes with GW2). My favorite expansion was Rise of Kunark, loved everything about it. I loved the crafting in the game, having every profession available across nine toons. Unfortunately, as is their mandate apparently, SOE was determined to do their best to destroy the game that I loved and I retired to seek my fortune elsewhere, specifically in Rift. ...two months later, bored and frustrated by what was essentially, IMO, "WoW and their community in a game with better graphics and dynamic events," I retired from MMOs entirely, shut down all my site accounts and took a much-needed break. I started to wonder if the problem was me, and not the games I was playing. I knew I couldn't get back that feeling I had in EQ no matter what game I played, and I knew I was older and that my Real Life schedule had changed as well, relegating consistent raiding to one of my back burners. Throughout my time in the MMO space, I'd tried other games for brief periods, including WoW, LoTRO, AoC, Alganon, Guild Wars, Runes of Magic, Vanguard, and some others, but none of them really captured me. I so wanted to be caught and held and into my ear sweet nothings whispered making me want to come back again and again to get lost in a world that I loved. So, throwing that crazy want right out the window, I un-retired and came back to EQ2 for a while, waiting for SW:TOR to come out. But the game just wasn't the same for me any more, as the latest expansion (Destiny of Velious) made me really hate the game. All but a few of my friends were gone to other servers or other games, and though I got offers to join some good raiding guilds my heart just wasn't in it any more. So when SW:TOR was released I retired again from EQ2. I have not been back since. With the adorable T7 (who, IMO, had the most personality of all the companions) and a whiny Corso by my side, I found not one but two - gasp! - fun classes to play in SW:TOR: the Jedi Sentinel and the Gunslinger. Who wouldn't want to be Han or Captain Reynolds? I leveled both to 50, plus I had five other non-adventuring crafters or gatherers so I could be self-sufficient. I enjoyed the game, and loved the class stories especially. I was in a couple guilds, and did meet some nice people - likely because I chose a RP server - but the game quickly got boring after hitting max level. Again, my heart just wasn't in to being a Jedi Hamster running in the gear wheel trying to get a treat. I accomplished what I'd wanted to, and it was time to move on. And so I come to the next chapter in my MMO life: Guild Wars 2. I've been watching its progress since it was first announced, and every new tidbit of information made me more excited. Could this finally be the game I've been searching for for so long? (Stop me if you've asked yourself that before... yep, I know, I have too.) It's the little things that make me so eager to play: a limited number of keys to mash, that everything is about cooperation and not competition when it comes to PvE (including combat, harvesting nodes, their version of public quests, and so on), that it takes 15 minutes to traverse a zone, that you can fight your way out of a downed condition, etc. When April 10th finally came, I threw my MasterCard at the monitor with great expectations! And now I'm here, hoping to find a home not only in a new game world, but to experience it with new like-minded friends. Q: We expect all members to submit and update their characters in our Guild Wars 2 sub-forum. Are you okay with this? After reading the above content, why do you think it might be important? A: Yes, I'm okay with that. I assume it's so you can more effectively coordinate events. Q: What kind of character do you typically play? Tell us about your main character you envision, and please list any alts that you know you will be bringing into the guild as well. A: I like to do damage. I've always played DPS classes, and although I realize the "holy trinity" has been modified for GW2, I will still endeavor to primarily be a damage-dealing player. I plan on playing a Thief and a Ranger to start, but may decide I like one over the other. Q: What type of playstyle do you enjoy the most? A: (I just figured out what you meant by "playstyle" by reading ahead.) I'm a casual, PvE, role-playing crafter that may partake in raiding and WvW but does not PvP otherwise. I love dungeon runs if I have the time. Q: If you violate any rules defined within the gaming EULA, you will face disciplinary action up to and including removal from this community. Do you understand, and agree with this rule? A: Yes, of course. Q: What time of day do you typically play? How often? A: Morning, afternoon, evening, late at night, weekends. I don't get a lot of sleep. If I'm into a game, I'll play a ton of hours, but my schedule (job) does not always permit me to devote a large contiguous block of uninterrupted time to a particular task. Q: Are you affiliated with any other guilds? A: No, I am not. If I join you, I am dedicated to you and only you. I do not apply to, join, or leave guilds without considerable thought or reason. Q: How do you think you can best help this community? How can this community best help you? A: I am, in my not-so-humble opinion, a very funny guy - I love making people laugh. I enjoy easing tensions and helping when and where I am able. In every guild, group or raid, I will make a positive difference. That difference may often be behind-the-scenes, as I don't care for notoriety and don't require applause. You may best help me by asking me to be a part of whatever it is you're doing. Q: OSD is generally a "casual, do it all" guild, meaning we welcome players from all playstyles and don't limit our focus to one playstyle in particular. We welcome PvPers, PvEers, Roleplayers, Crafters, etc. For example, while we may offer weekly raids, we are not a hardcore raiding guild that requires you to raid 5 or 6 nights a week. We also do not consider any one playstyle to be more important than another, all members of OSD are equal. For example, a hardcore PvPer will never be considered "more valuable" to the guild than a casual Roleplayer would be. Are you okay with this? Any additional thoughts on this topic? A: This is the kind of guild that I'm most comfortable with, and I feel it gives me all the choices I could want. It's nice to know that if I decide to get back into some raiding, that I may have the chance to do so. Or if I want to try my hand at WvW with guildies, that I could do that as well. I approve. Q: With the previous question in mind...We will never force you to participate in any activity or event that falls outside your playstyle of choice. However, from time to time you may be asked to help the guild out if we are short a particular class, or just need to fill up an empty group spot. Are you okay with this? Any additional thoughts on this topic? A: That's what I'm here for. My goal is to get to know as many of you as I can, to be known as the guy that will drop whatever he's doing to help out. Unfortunately I do have to add the obligatory, "if I have time" caveat, as work - much to my annoyance - takes precedence. Just because I'm online may not mean I'm available, but please do not let that stop you from asking. Q: What previous experience, if any, do you have with the original Guild Wars? A: Briefly gave it a try for a couple evenings a few years ago, some free trial thing, but it didn't appeal to me. I seem to recall not caring for the game's mechanics or I just wasn't willing to put up with yet another "kill X" or "FedEx Y" quest game. My impression of it, anyway. From what I've seen, besides the lore there isn't much that the two games seem to have in common. Much like EQ and EQ2. Well that was quite the wall of text, sorry about that. Thank you for your time!
Hi Maser. Nice to see you here at our Silver Gates. You are correct about Guild Wars 1 and 2 being two different beasts... held together by their amazing lore. At this time we will accept your application. I've gone ahead and granted you the permissions you've requested so you are all good now. You can access all relevant forums on this site, specifically the Guild Wars 2 sub-forum. Please take some time to review the following information: READ THIS Please join us in the Mischievous Drake Tavern, take time to learn our mystic ways and have fun! No doubt many of our members will be interested in meeting you! Welcome to the guild!
minutia [mi-noo-shee-uh] - plural, meaning very small amount. I love new words. Anyway, my friend, you had me at your mmo history. I like the fact that you go horns first and without looking back into a guild that you've put time into researching. You won't be sorry, I can promise you that. The OSD foundation has laid the path for our GW2 division and we'll be triumphant in any endeavors that we set our minds to. You damn near had me shed a tear at how passionate you are about mmorpgs; it's almost staggering. One piece of advice that I've learned in my many years of gaming: although you might want to play and play and play some more, you should take everything in life with balance. Many people get burned out from games in general simply from the fact that they play them too much. Another piece would be that don't go into an initial release (GW2) expecting that it will have everything you want and more, mmos build upon themselves (although I could go on and on about how games can be released at a "gold" level). Just a bit of relation to you, I spent many moons playing EQ1 and 2. The first was my great intro into the 3D world of mmos and after that, I never looked back. I've played many more since then and up until now, GW2 is the only one I've been this excited for more than any other game in my history. I'm stoked to have you here and I hope you enjoy your stay with us. Welcome to the Order of the Silver Dragons!
This is what impressed me so much about your guild, and why I knew I had to apply to become a part of it. I'm a big fan of organization (to the point of OCD, though I'm sure that's not a rare trait in those of us who enjoy progression-based games!), experience and longevity. Yep, good advice, I definitely agree. Although I haven't actually uninstalled the lone MMORPG I have on my gaming rig (SW:TOR), I haven't played it in weeks. This has given me more time to spend watching movies and, admittedly, GW2 gameplay trailers on Youtube. :awesome: I've been at the point a few times where raiding was no longer fun, but a second job. I got to Anguish in EQ (my favorite raid zone in any MMO ever, btw), got my 1.5 update (or was it 2.0? been quite a while) along with the rest of the guild, and decided that I'd had enough. But it's not just raiding that one can burn out from. My search for a new MMORPG to call home also took its toll in frustration when no game seemed to speak to me as I'd hoped. At the moment I prefer to be bored with no game to play and one to look forward to, than to just pass the time playing something I simply don't enjoy. I feel the same, and I know we're not alone in how EQ impacted our gaming lives. I would say I'm hopeful in an Episode IV sort of way, having learned about features I've been wanting to see in an MMORPG for a very long time. That bit about harvesting nodes being available to all, that really made me say "wow, someone finally figured that out." One of the few things I absolutely hated about Rift was that their city-based events were always a competitive node or mob gank-fest. And this was on the Guardian "nice guy" side, too. Really, how hard is it to let more than one person harvest a node or get credit for killing a mob? To me that's like being on a PvP server, and it just aggravates me. This is also why I am intrigued by GW2's WvW, despite not liking PvP: it may be far more enjoyable doing it alongside guildies. That being said, I am soberingly aware that I may loathe some major aspect of the game such as combat mechanics. I spent so much time in EQ and EQ2 because I absolutely loved the way the rogue and then the assassin played, and couldn't play any other class well at all. Or maybe simply moving around the world will annoy me. I could never figure out how to get my toon to move in DDO, so my entire gameplay experience consisted of about 2 square feet of the starter zone. :shock: Thank you so much!
Awesome app Maser Glad to have you in the Order of the Silver Dragons and looking forward to many adventures together.
