Name
Ryan
Age (must be 18+)
25
Do you have any friends in the guild? If so, who?
No
Main Character
Liam Stark, Sword-&-Torch Human Guardian
Character Name
Liam Stark
Race
Maining human, but eventually one of each
Profession(Class)
Maining guardian, with elementalist as a close second
What role do you wish to play in the guild? For example: PvP, PvE, Casual/Social
PvE mostly, with some PvP and Social. For me, finding a great guild is the key to enjoying PvP, so I doubt I'll see much of it if I can't do it with Arcanix. I love to create characters, but I don't foresee myself doing much RP.
Which previous MMO's or online games have you played and how long for?
I've owned Guild Wars since its release over seven years ago. I haven't played consistently since then - that time period is interspersed with years-long breaks - but I've been pretty invested in it in the run up to Guild Wars 2's release.
I played WoW one summer to stay in touch with a girl. Got a gnome up to level 40 so I could get my mechanical chicken mount and called it quits. Priorities.
Besides that, I've done a bit of Minecraft, Hedgewars (an indie version of Worms), Team Fortress 2, and Dungeon Defenders with some online friends. Usually, however, my tastes have tended toward single-player RPGs like Mass Effect, Dragon Age, The Elder Scrolls, and classic SNES fare like Chrono Trigger, Terranigma, and Final Fantasy. Tactics RPGs are ambrosia.
I'm an avid Dungeons & Dragons nerd, but it's been hard to keep a dedicated group together now that I've moved to a smaller city for grad school.
Were you a part of a guild? What was your experience?
In Guild Wars, I started out in Disciples of the Mix, a guild made up of forum members at OverClocked ReMix. The game was brand new, and GvG was in its heyday. I didn't have much experience or many skills unlocked, but I'd roll a big dumb hammer warrior and name him a big dumb manly name from MST3k's Space Mutiny (like Slab Squatthrust). This was the time I remember having the most fun.
I was a freshman in undergrad at the time. Classes took a toll, and the dorm internet was unstable, so I took a break for a couple years. By the time I came back, the guild was largely dormant. A friendly stranger helped me through a mission sometime later and invited me to his guild, One Big Family. The name was apt; while everyone was just as kind and helpful as that stranger, the atmosphere was more subdued than it was at DotM. I missed Slab Squatthrust.
After another college-induced hiatus, I'm back in a guild with friends from another online forum. It's almost completely inactive. My Hall of Monuments is nearing completion, but it's been a lonely road.
How did you hear about the Guild?
YouTube. Your extended discussion of the charr mesmer BWE3 shenanigans was delightful, and I had a big stupid grin on my face throughout the video. I didn't want that to be my only impression of Arcanix, so I listened through your other podcasts and scouted the forums in an attempt to get to know you better. Everything I heard and saw convinced me that this was the kind of guild I was looking for.
What will you bring to the ALTTABME community? (Chatty? Skilled? Funny? Helping?)
I'm usually the guy in map chat explaining how vistas work, clarifying mechanics, and showing people where the armorsmithing trainer is hiding. I love helping people, and my memory is extremely effective at retaining inane minutiae (whether I want it to or not). Once I get to know you guys, I expect to be joking around on Mumble a fair amount.
I've also got a master's degree in music composition, and I'm a reasonably skilled amateur at graphic and web design. It's great if you can find a use for me in that regard, but it looks like you've got the last two covered.
Will Arcanix be the only guild you join?
I may run with internet or IRL friends' guilds on the side before their interest wanes, but Arcanix will always be the guild I represent.
Is there anything else you would like to throw in here at the end?
One of the biggest problems I've had with the original Guild Wars lately is how many barriers there are to doing content with other people. In PvE, everyone has a party full of heroes, and you're unlikely to convince anyone to leave town to do the same thing you want to. PvP is even worse; the metagame is calcified into a strict set of cookie-cutter builds, and the community is absolutely toxic. Even trying something as light-hearted as the Halloween Costume Brawl, I was shocked at the childish vitriol and mockery I got for straying from The Way of Doing Things™.
With Arcanix, I see a way to get past all of that. I've researched a number of other guilds, and none have stood out to me like yours has. The philosophy I see you espousing made me nostalgic for my experience with early GW. This shouldn't be about DPS calculators or spreadsheets or being snide and judgmental about how other people have fun. Sure, try to play effectively and win, but there's no point in a joyless grind to 80.
To clarify the long breaks I took from the first GW - It took a couple years for me to become frustrated by the tedium. I've been rabid about the sequel since the manifesto video, and I sincerely doubt the same thing will happen. I'm also done with school, and while I don't know what my work situation will be like, I intend to be putting a lot of hours into this game.
I'm sorry I didn't find out about you until after you'd reached your cap. I understand your desire to curb the huge influx of members, but I hope you can find a place for me once August 25 rolls around. In the meantime, I'd be happy to contribute to the forums and chat on Mumble or elsewhere to help you get to know me.
Best of luck.
Ryan
Age (must be 18+)
25
Do you have any friends in the guild? If so, who?
No
Main Character
Liam Stark, Sword-&-Torch Human Guardian
Character Name
Liam Stark
Race
Maining human, but eventually one of each
Profession(Class)
Maining guardian, with elementalist as a close second
What role do you wish to play in the guild? For example: PvP, PvE, Casual/Social
PvE mostly, with some PvP and Social. For me, finding a great guild is the key to enjoying PvP, so I doubt I'll see much of it if I can't do it with Arcanix. I love to create characters, but I don't foresee myself doing much RP.
Which previous MMO's or online games have you played and how long for?
I've owned Guild Wars since its release over seven years ago. I haven't played consistently since then - that time period is interspersed with years-long breaks - but I've been pretty invested in it in the run up to Guild Wars 2's release.
I played WoW one summer to stay in touch with a girl. Got a gnome up to level 40 so I could get my mechanical chicken mount and called it quits. Priorities.
Besides that, I've done a bit of Minecraft, Hedgewars (an indie version of Worms), Team Fortress 2, and Dungeon Defenders with some online friends. Usually, however, my tastes have tended toward single-player RPGs like Mass Effect, Dragon Age, The Elder Scrolls, and classic SNES fare like Chrono Trigger, Terranigma, and Final Fantasy. Tactics RPGs are ambrosia.
I'm an avid Dungeons & Dragons nerd, but it's been hard to keep a dedicated group together now that I've moved to a smaller city for grad school.
Were you a part of a guild? What was your experience?
In Guild Wars, I started out in Disciples of the Mix, a guild made up of forum members at OverClocked ReMix. The game was brand new, and GvG was in its heyday. I didn't have much experience or many skills unlocked, but I'd roll a big dumb hammer warrior and name him a big dumb manly name from MST3k's Space Mutiny (like Slab Squatthrust). This was the time I remember having the most fun.
I was a freshman in undergrad at the time. Classes took a toll, and the dorm internet was unstable, so I took a break for a couple years. By the time I came back, the guild was largely dormant. A friendly stranger helped me through a mission sometime later and invited me to his guild, One Big Family. The name was apt; while everyone was just as kind and helpful as that stranger, the atmosphere was more subdued than it was at DotM. I missed Slab Squatthrust.
After another college-induced hiatus, I'm back in a guild with friends from another online forum. It's almost completely inactive. My Hall of Monuments is nearing completion, but it's been a lonely road.
How did you hear about the Guild?
YouTube. Your extended discussion of the charr mesmer BWE3 shenanigans was delightful, and I had a big stupid grin on my face throughout the video. I didn't want that to be my only impression of Arcanix, so I listened through your other podcasts and scouted the forums in an attempt to get to know you better. Everything I heard and saw convinced me that this was the kind of guild I was looking for.
What will you bring to the ALTTABME community? (Chatty? Skilled? Funny? Helping?)
I'm usually the guy in map chat explaining how vistas work, clarifying mechanics, and showing people where the armorsmithing trainer is hiding. I love helping people, and my memory is extremely effective at retaining inane minutiae (whether I want it to or not). Once I get to know you guys, I expect to be joking around on Mumble a fair amount.
I've also got a master's degree in music composition, and I'm a reasonably skilled amateur at graphic and web design. It's great if you can find a use for me in that regard, but it looks like you've got the last two covered.
Will Arcanix be the only guild you join?
I may run with internet or IRL friends' guilds on the side before their interest wanes, but Arcanix will always be the guild I represent.
Is there anything else you would like to throw in here at the end?
One of the biggest problems I've had with the original Guild Wars lately is how many barriers there are to doing content with other people. In PvE, everyone has a party full of heroes, and you're unlikely to convince anyone to leave town to do the same thing you want to. PvP is even worse; the metagame is calcified into a strict set of cookie-cutter builds, and the community is absolutely toxic. Even trying something as light-hearted as the Halloween Costume Brawl, I was shocked at the childish vitriol and mockery I got for straying from The Way of Doing Things™.
With Arcanix, I see a way to get past all of that. I've researched a number of other guilds, and none have stood out to me like yours has. The philosophy I see you espousing made me nostalgic for my experience with early GW. This shouldn't be about DPS calculators or spreadsheets or being snide and judgmental about how other people have fun. Sure, try to play effectively and win, but there's no point in a joyless grind to 80.
To clarify the long breaks I took from the first GW - It took a couple years for me to become frustrated by the tedium. I've been rabid about the sequel since the manifesto video, and I sincerely doubt the same thing will happen. I'm also done with school, and while I don't know what my work situation will be like, I intend to be putting a lot of hours into this game.
I'm sorry I didn't find out about you until after you'd reached your cap. I understand your desire to curb the huge influx of members, but I hope you can find a place for me once August 25 rolls around. In the meantime, I'd be happy to contribute to the forums and chat on Mumble or elsewhere to help you get to know me.
Best of luck.
