Name
Rhia Aryx or Virhia
Age (must be 18+)
23
Do you have any friends in the guild? If so, who?
Daddy Bear/Apothikary
Main Character
Rhia Aryx (I think. Maybe.)
Character Name
1 - Rhia Aryx, 2 - Valos Miirym, 3 - Virhia, 4 - Zaevir, 5 - Rhea Silvia, 6 - Zaerhia (maybe? this one might be male.)
Race
1 - Human, 2 - Norn, 3 - Asura?, 4 - Sylvari, 5 - Charr, 6 - Charr
Profession(Class)
1 - Necromancer, 2 - Warrior/Guardian, 3 - Elementalist, 4 - Ranger, 5 - Mesmer, 6 - Guardian/Warrior
What role do you wish to play in the guild? For example: PvP, PvE, Casual/Social
I'm at a loss! Right now, I can't decide what character to make first (Rhea Silvia just changed from a Human Mesmer to a Charr Mesmer today after I read some background on the Charr), let alone what I'll be playing. But I can say what I'd be looking for in each, and I think GW2's going to hit it right on the head.
PvE: Oh please no grind. I want to explore all the little niches when I feel like it, kill big monsters, go find and help guildies/friends when they need it, find all the pretty places, develop each of my characters in a fluid way and get them either badass or gorgeous armor, collect as many ranger pets as I can... and craft, can't forget crafting. The only thing I really *don't* want is grind. If I can float about enjoying the game and make progress doing whatever the fancy strikes me to do, I'll be happy.
I've been in a bit of a game rut since I quit WoW. I've started to think of games as something I do to pass the time or that I do just to get some achievement in the game--even Skyrim, which I've been waiting for since 2006. But in the brief exposure that I had to GW2 during BWE3, something amazing happened: I lost track of time. I wanted to find everything. My Sylvari was cute and pretty and I wanted to find out more about her and her story. I started to pick up on some of the nuances of the game. I didn't want to stop playing to play D&D. There was no yelling, no sense of not being able to do things just because you hadn't been playing for very long... it was awesome. More of that. Which leads me to:
RP: I'm a huge fan of D&D and my characters all have a personality. Rhia Aryx is the first MMO character I ever made, she was a Necromancer in GW1. Valos Miirym was my first D&D (3.5e) character--a Half-Dragon Monk/Cleric that you couldn't touch before she ripped out your spine with a flurry of harm. Definitely a Norn, can't decide if she should be a Warrior or Guardian... Virhia is my mage in WoW; Zaevir my current D&D character (3.5e Half-Orc Druid). Rhea Silvia is the mother of Romulus and Remus. I think Charr Mesmer's appropriate. Zaerhia's my WoW Warrior--I may drop this name and make a male Charr Warrior or Guardian.
So all my characters have a bit of a story behind their name/race/prof/etc. But more importantly I want more RP in my life, I love my D&D group but once a week (at best) of tip-toeing around the overly sensitive... other party member isn't really the type of RP that I want. I want to live a character again. Will I like doing RP in GW2 with other people? Maybe not. But I'll definitely be basing my character decisions off of my RP reasoning, so I want to give it a shot.
PvP: I played GW1 with Daddy Bear; we did GvG together up until I quit (blah school). I have never found a PvP system that compared to it. The strategy and fluid chaos were amazing. I loved the limits, the delineations between what made a good team build versus a great one. I loved working with Bear to find things that worked and refining my skills. And I loved that there wasn't a barrier to entry. I never played PvP in WoW unless someone was ganking me in the world. I had no interest in grind grind grind until I can maybe get some gear so that I don't die all the time. None. I did it a bit at first and a bit while leveling alts, but... I want PvP to be about skill, not who has the bigger gear dick.
Casual/Social: In WoW I was the mage who popped around giving free ports to guildies and helping out with random stuff. Unless I was currently stuck doing something, if people needed help I want to help. I'm not interested in having the richest character in the guild, so all crafting supplies that I didn't need (and weren't overabundant) went into the guild bank. Stuff like that. I've never been the sort of person to play all day every day, but if I can do a little bit to help the rest of the guild I will (unless there's that one person always asking for freebies and never helping anyone else. Why do they always seem to pop up?).
I miss having that group of friends to chat about all the random things with. Just pop into vent/teamspeak/whatever and say what comes to mind. No yelling about people not knowing fights, just having fun together. Generally speaking, I'm down for whatever. Unless I can't help, but then I can come for the lulz. Lvl 20 elementalist in lvl 50 area? Sure! Get me there and I'll die a lot, it'll be funny!
But, seriously, if I start feeling like I have to play (instead of really really want to play), if there's an obligation, I'm out. I never want to feel like I'm required to play a game like I'm required to take a gen ed ever again. No. If someone thinks they can tell me that I should suck it up and play because the team needs me even if I'm not having fun and sacrificing work/school to do it? I'm not interested. I'm here to have fun, not work a second job
TL;DR: I want all the things. But not the obligation.
Which previous MMO's or online games have you played and how long for?
MMOs:
Guild Wars 1 : 2 years? Not sure. But I can say that it was 1,946 hours! My hall of monuments is pathetic, though. I'm working on that. Rhia Aryx was my first character in Prophecies. Her Vabbian Armor is awesome, but for some reason she's wearing Necrotic boots? I can't find the Vabbian ones. I know I bought them...
WoW: I got the game during WotLK and stopped not too long after Cata came out. Something like a year and a half? Maybe longer? My main was a Mage. I wanted her to be a fire mage, but my guild never let me. I was stuck with Arcane until a bit of Firelands, where there was a fight that Fire was better on. So they let me play fire, but the second it seemed like we were having trouble they made me switch back But that's WoW, right? Amazingly, I wanted to tank. They wanted me to be a mage
Non-MMOs:
I started my RPG love with Morrowind. I had notes upon notes upon notes of how to get from here to there and the map taped to my wall (I still have it, I'm going to frame that...). I never did beat it (HDD crashed D. I need to go and play it again. I played Oblivion, but I didn't love it like I did Morrowind. Skyrim made me a bit sad--it was so pretty and had so much potential, but it was quite anticlimactic. I should make a mod to make the final quest line much much harder.
I'm a huge fan of Borderlands, despite not having played it much. RPG + FPS = awesome. I hate FPSs (just not for me, except LFD2), but borderlands was amazing. So much character and I loved the outline shader (also, that sort of shading isn't that hard to implement! I've done it, though not quite as well as they did... but I also only spent two weeks on it while learning GLSL). The shader in Borderlands was like the stripe on a Balboni--makes you want to buy the car, just to have that stripe.
Non-PC:
D&D! 3.5. Still play that Been playing off and on for two or three years.
Were you a part of a guild? What was your experience?
Yes! I was in a guild with Daddy Bear in GW1 and we were briefly at the same University, before he moved to where he is now. That guild was pretty awesome We had a great team and did lots of GvG & random PvP with a bit of PvE thrown in.
In WoW I had one main guild. Raiding with them for ICC in WotLK was awesome! They were fun, we joked around, etc. But for Cata/Firelands they decided to be all serious business. Except for being an awesome fire mage flying around burning a phoenix, it stopped being fun. Getting yelled at for messing up a mechanic you've never seen before is no fun. Nope! I want the camraderie, not the anger!
How did you hear about the Guild?
From Daddy Bear ^^ But I've also seen your videos in random places and watched a few of the podcasts. Tristan said in the podcast #2: "people don't get mad, yell at each other, have real life excuses that are needed etc when doing serious stuff"--that's a large part of what convinced me that I should heed Bear's advice and apply.
What will you bring to the ALTTABME community? (Chatty? Skilled? Funny? Helping?)
Well, apparently I babble. I usually try to see both sides of things, which means I usually end up over-analyzing or talking too much or not saying anything before I figure things out. But really, I think I bring a certain amount of silliness with a dose of sober compassion and crazy logic. I'm a programmer, but that doesn't mean I make sense to anyone else. I think I'm funny, especially when I drink.
Honestly, I don't know what I'd bring to the table! I have a certain enthusiastic tenacity, when I like something I grab it and experience it as fully as I can. My characters become extensions of me: for instance, Valos (my D&D half-dragon monk/cleric god of strength) is more like a different facet of me, who I would be if I were a fearless conqueror. I get attached. I have good instincts but sometimes I do stupid things.
I can bring random knowledge of programming and good beer (Gulden Draak being my favorite, when I can afford it) and a bit of bourbon on the side, with a gorgeous trimetal hookah... With some silly classical & literary references thrown in. I also know a bit of latin, a bit of Japanese, and am trying to learn German and Italian. Also LUA.
Sometimes I wish I were Zoey, sometimes I want to be Inara, but really I end up being more like Kaylee with less foo-fer-a.
Will Arcanix be the only guild you join?
Most likely it will be the only one I represent. I may have some small IRL friend guild, but I'd rep Arcanix for as long as I'm a part of it.
Is there anything else you would like to throw in here at the end?
I have no idea how this got so long...
What didn't really fit in anywhere is who I am outside of games: I'm a Comp Sci undergrad at (some good school). I graduate in December and will be applying for some traditional Software Engineering jobs as well as Zenimax Online Studios' openings that I qualify for. These next few months will be a bit nuts, the job search is going into full swing. I'm totally not ready for it! I'm looking for a game and a group of people where I can just get some R&R and have lots of fun doing whatever strikes my fancy. I feel too adult these days
Rhia Aryx or Virhia
Age (must be 18+)
23
Do you have any friends in the guild? If so, who?
Daddy Bear/Apothikary
Main Character
Rhia Aryx (I think. Maybe.)
Character Name
1 - Rhia Aryx, 2 - Valos Miirym, 3 - Virhia, 4 - Zaevir, 5 - Rhea Silvia, 6 - Zaerhia (maybe? this one might be male.)
Race
1 - Human, 2 - Norn, 3 - Asura?, 4 - Sylvari, 5 - Charr, 6 - Charr
Profession(Class)
1 - Necromancer, 2 - Warrior/Guardian, 3 - Elementalist, 4 - Ranger, 5 - Mesmer, 6 - Guardian/Warrior
What role do you wish to play in the guild? For example: PvP, PvE, Casual/Social
I'm at a loss! Right now, I can't decide what character to make first (Rhea Silvia just changed from a Human Mesmer to a Charr Mesmer today after I read some background on the Charr), let alone what I'll be playing. But I can say what I'd be looking for in each, and I think GW2's going to hit it right on the head.
PvE: Oh please no grind. I want to explore all the little niches when I feel like it, kill big monsters, go find and help guildies/friends when they need it, find all the pretty places, develop each of my characters in a fluid way and get them either badass or gorgeous armor, collect as many ranger pets as I can... and craft, can't forget crafting. The only thing I really *don't* want is grind. If I can float about enjoying the game and make progress doing whatever the fancy strikes me to do, I'll be happy.
I've been in a bit of a game rut since I quit WoW. I've started to think of games as something I do to pass the time or that I do just to get some achievement in the game--even Skyrim, which I've been waiting for since 2006. But in the brief exposure that I had to GW2 during BWE3, something amazing happened: I lost track of time. I wanted to find everything. My Sylvari was cute and pretty and I wanted to find out more about her and her story. I started to pick up on some of the nuances of the game. I didn't want to stop playing to play D&D. There was no yelling, no sense of not being able to do things just because you hadn't been playing for very long... it was awesome. More of that. Which leads me to:
RP: I'm a huge fan of D&D and my characters all have a personality. Rhia Aryx is the first MMO character I ever made, she was a Necromancer in GW1. Valos Miirym was my first D&D (3.5e) character--a Half-Dragon Monk/Cleric that you couldn't touch before she ripped out your spine with a flurry of harm. Definitely a Norn, can't decide if she should be a Warrior or Guardian... Virhia is my mage in WoW; Zaevir my current D&D character (3.5e Half-Orc Druid). Rhea Silvia is the mother of Romulus and Remus. I think Charr Mesmer's appropriate. Zaerhia's my WoW Warrior--I may drop this name and make a male Charr Warrior or Guardian.
So all my characters have a bit of a story behind their name/race/prof/etc. But more importantly I want more RP in my life, I love my D&D group but once a week (at best) of tip-toeing around the overly sensitive... other party member isn't really the type of RP that I want. I want to live a character again. Will I like doing RP in GW2 with other people? Maybe not. But I'll definitely be basing my character decisions off of my RP reasoning, so I want to give it a shot.
PvP: I played GW1 with Daddy Bear; we did GvG together up until I quit (blah school). I have never found a PvP system that compared to it. The strategy and fluid chaos were amazing. I loved the limits, the delineations between what made a good team build versus a great one. I loved working with Bear to find things that worked and refining my skills. And I loved that there wasn't a barrier to entry. I never played PvP in WoW unless someone was ganking me in the world. I had no interest in grind grind grind until I can maybe get some gear so that I don't die all the time. None. I did it a bit at first and a bit while leveling alts, but... I want PvP to be about skill, not who has the bigger gear dick.
Casual/Social: In WoW I was the mage who popped around giving free ports to guildies and helping out with random stuff. Unless I was currently stuck doing something, if people needed help I want to help. I'm not interested in having the richest character in the guild, so all crafting supplies that I didn't need (and weren't overabundant) went into the guild bank. Stuff like that. I've never been the sort of person to play all day every day, but if I can do a little bit to help the rest of the guild I will (unless there's that one person always asking for freebies and never helping anyone else. Why do they always seem to pop up?).
I miss having that group of friends to chat about all the random things with. Just pop into vent/teamspeak/whatever and say what comes to mind. No yelling about people not knowing fights, just having fun together. Generally speaking, I'm down for whatever. Unless I can't help, but then I can come for the lulz. Lvl 20 elementalist in lvl 50 area? Sure! Get me there and I'll die a lot, it'll be funny!
But, seriously, if I start feeling like I have to play (instead of really really want to play), if there's an obligation, I'm out. I never want to feel like I'm required to play a game like I'm required to take a gen ed ever again. No. If someone thinks they can tell me that I should suck it up and play because the team needs me even if I'm not having fun and sacrificing work/school to do it? I'm not interested. I'm here to have fun, not work a second job
TL;DR: I want all the things. But not the obligation.
Which previous MMO's or online games have you played and how long for?
MMOs:
Guild Wars 1 : 2 years? Not sure. But I can say that it was 1,946 hours! My hall of monuments is pathetic, though. I'm working on that. Rhia Aryx was my first character in Prophecies. Her Vabbian Armor is awesome, but for some reason she's wearing Necrotic boots? I can't find the Vabbian ones. I know I bought them...
WoW: I got the game during WotLK and stopped not too long after Cata came out. Something like a year and a half? Maybe longer? My main was a Mage. I wanted her to be a fire mage, but my guild never let me. I was stuck with Arcane until a bit of Firelands, where there was a fight that Fire was better on. So they let me play fire, but the second it seemed like we were having trouble they made me switch back
But that's WoW, right? Amazingly, I wanted to tank. They wanted me to be a mage Non-MMOs:
I started my RPG love with Morrowind. I had notes upon notes upon notes of how to get from here to there and the map taped to my wall (I still have it, I'm going to frame that...). I never did beat it (HDD crashed D
. I need to go and play it again. I played Oblivion, but I didn't love it like I did Morrowind. Skyrim made me a bit sad--it was so pretty and had so much potential, but it was quite anticlimactic. I should make a mod to make the final quest line much much harder.I'm a huge fan of Borderlands, despite not having played it much. RPG + FPS = awesome. I hate FPSs (just not for me, except LFD2), but borderlands was amazing. So much character and I loved the outline shader (also, that sort of shading isn't that hard to implement! I've done it, though not quite as well as they did... but I also only spent two weeks on it while learning GLSL). The shader in Borderlands was like the stripe on a Balboni--makes you want to buy the car, just to have that stripe.
Non-PC:
D&D! 3.5. Still play that
Been playing off and on for two or three years.Were you a part of a guild? What was your experience?
Yes! I was in a guild with Daddy Bear in GW1 and we were briefly at the same University, before he moved to where he is now. That guild was pretty awesome
We had a great team and did lots of GvG & random PvP with a bit of PvE thrown in.In WoW I had one main guild. Raiding with them for ICC in WotLK was awesome! They were fun, we joked around, etc. But for Cata/Firelands they decided to be all serious business. Except for being an awesome fire mage flying around burning a phoenix, it stopped being fun. Getting yelled at for messing up a mechanic you've never seen before is no fun. Nope! I want the camraderie, not the anger!
How did you hear about the Guild?
From Daddy Bear ^^ But I've also seen your videos in random places and watched a few of the podcasts. Tristan said in the podcast #2: "people don't get mad, yell at each other, have real life excuses that are needed etc when doing serious stuff"--that's a large part of what convinced me that I should heed Bear's advice and apply.
What will you bring to the ALTTABME community? (Chatty? Skilled? Funny? Helping?)
Well, apparently I babble. I usually try to see both sides of things, which means I usually end up over-analyzing or talking too much or not saying anything before I figure things out. But really, I think I bring a certain amount of silliness with a dose of sober compassion and crazy logic. I'm a programmer, but that doesn't mean I make sense to anyone else. I think I'm funny, especially when I drink.
Honestly, I don't know what I'd bring to the table! I have a certain enthusiastic tenacity, when I like something I grab it and experience it as fully as I can. My characters become extensions of me: for instance, Valos (my D&D half-dragon monk/cleric god of strength) is more like a different facet of me, who I would be if I were a fearless conqueror. I get attached. I have good instincts but sometimes I do stupid things.
I can bring random knowledge of programming and good beer (Gulden Draak being my favorite, when I can afford it) and a bit of bourbon on the side, with a gorgeous trimetal hookah... With some silly classical & literary references thrown in. I also know a bit of latin, a bit of Japanese, and am trying to learn German and Italian. Also LUA.
Sometimes I wish I were Zoey, sometimes I want to be Inara, but really I end up being more like Kaylee with less foo-fer-a.
Will Arcanix be the only guild you join?
Most likely it will be the only one I represent. I may have some small IRL friend guild, but I'd rep Arcanix for as long as I'm a part of it.
Is there anything else you would like to throw in here at the end?
I have no idea how this got so long...
What didn't really fit in anywhere is who I am outside of games: I'm a Comp Sci undergrad at (some good school). I graduate in December and will be applying for some traditional Software Engineering jobs as well as Zenimax Online Studios' openings that I qualify for. These next few months will be a bit nuts, the job search is going into full swing. I'm totally not ready for it! I'm looking for a game and a group of people where I can just get some R&R and have lots of fun doing whatever strikes my fancy. I feel too adult these days
