Open Discussion: Family Change: Casual & Competitive Rooms of our House

Greetings everyone,
As more and more of the family get to the last leg of their 70's there is becoming more and more demand for competitive gameplay. We have lost several key members to the family because of the lack of a way to express their competitive side.

Now one thing I want to make clear is that the Gaiscioch Family will remain true to the Gaiscioch Family ways. We still hold our 1 rule, Blades Out Not In. At no time will a member attack another member in any way. In addition our motto: Play when you want, how you want, for as long as you want is still in play here. Some of our family "want" to be competitive so by me telling them no I'd be violating our own code. Instead I've come up with a plan.

Gaiscioch na Anu, The room of our house where we greet new members. Members remain here until they gain the Lorgair rank and then can decide which of the other two families they would like to move to.

Gaiscioch, The Casual Gaming side of our family. All members within can do what they like when they like. This is the low stress side of the family where you can play day in and day out without people jabbering on about how best to play a class or what morale skill you need to cast when. Advise is given on an ask and you shall receive basis. This is the Non-Competitive side of the family.

Gaiscioch na Nuada, The Competitive side of the family. In Nuada you will be trained to be the best. Nuada will be the Guardians of the Gaiscioch family both supporting them on the field and off. This is where our organized premades, bomb groups, and high end dungeon runners will live. All members are welcome to join but expect to see a lot of chatter about high end competitive things over guild chat. Nuada will be focused of giving the Gaiscioch a more powerful name and help put our face on the map of the strongest guilds on the server. If you are a competitive player and want to run in 6 man bomb squads or do sc premades this will be the side of the family you want to be a part of. There is no saying that you cant be in the Gaiscioch and hang with the Nuada folk. We are one family and Nuada simply will become our big brother and see us through the challenges that lie before us. Both on the PvE side of the game and on the RvR side of the game. Competitive discussion will take place over /gu only.

Now I'd like to open this up to discussion. We are all Family and Im merely looking for a solution that helps those that want to be competitive without compromising our base family laid back feel. We will not be rude asshats that ignore you if your not "leet", we will be there for our family to help them out when they need it and help bring a strength to our family through allowing our strongest to work together to find to road before us and guide us through it. We must remain true to our families values and I believe this is the best solution for all of us.

P.S. Gregeff you still have a seat at our table if you want it. We miss you bud. Go Buckeyes! ;)

Ben aka Foghladha

» Edited on: 2010-06-11 10:42:30

I am keeping my charcters in Nuada so dont think block is going anywhere. I am working on my BW for the bomb group so depending whats going i will have a tank or dps.

If it would bring Greg and Arian back I'm all for it. I'm not sure which house I'd be in if we decided to do this. Any pre-made that would be happy with me wouldn't be an elite one. I like my whiskey while gaming... :) It's all good, so long as we remain groovy to one another.

Im hoping we can be something "Different" from the other competitive crews. Nothing says that Gaiscioch can't hang out with Nuada. Were still 1 family. I want to bring family and unity to competitive gaming.

Honestly, I like the idea. I am a very goal oriented person, which generally leads me to being very competative and focused. Since having reached 40 I find myself floundering looking for the next goal. Makes me less inclined to play, without that clear focus. (I know, it makes me sound crazy, but it's true.) I have been thinking about organizing SC or dungeon crawls or *something* to keep myself going, but I haven't settled on what that something is yet. I think that this would help me with my current focus issue and overall finding others who are interested in what i want to do. Of course, I can see the down side for someone in my position: I have a 6 year old, my playtime is not what it is for others. I have to spend time with her, its the right thing to do and frankly I want to. I hope that not being able to play everyday would not preclude me from being in Nuada. I do not think it takes away from me being focused while i am in the game and being a good healer. Also, I am not RR 60. I have no problem sitting out city seiges for the good of the order (pun accidental). I just don't want to be "punished" for starting the game late by not getting to go on those pre-made SC and dungeon crawls. Just my initial thoughts - Tearney

@Tearney The Nuada will be just like the Gaiscioch Family as a whole. To get in you merely have to ask. We will not discriminate based on level, age, skill, or gear. You can be a 22 and have the heart of a champion and you will be welcome. The whole process is based on "What YOU want". Do you want to be part of the competitive side of the family. If so your in. If you decide later that it's just not for you, no problem. This is all based around how people like to play. Our original goal with forming the Gaiscioch Family was to provide people a common meeting ground to develop friendships and relationship with each other through similar playstyles. Up till now we've been home to the casual types but with this commitment we can expand our social community into the competitive market as well and bring our family atmosphere to a competitive level. This does not mean we will stroke our epeens all over the flood and fight like a bunch of cocks in a hen house. This means that we as Gaiscioch, the same that cherish honor, respect, integrity, and fellowship, will be making a solid effort at bringing our families overall success higher than ever before. On Trinity Nights I plan on having warband leaders and then a warband of Tactical Ops Gaiscioch that will do the quick and dirty to help the overall success. We're merely adding a dagger to our sword and shield approach. In the city we will depend on them to help us establish victory. As we grow and the Nuada become more successful we will be able to bring a 6 man Nuada force into each of our city warbands and be able to cause some damage on a wider scale. By the Nuada working together to grow stronger they can ensure the overall success of the Gaiscioch Family as a whole. We have Grandfathers and Grandmother, Mothers and Daughters, Children and Families of all ages among us. Not everyone is going to be able or even want to be part of an advanced unit, however if we allow those that can and will to do what they do best they can become our families guardians and protect the rest of us.

I like the idea - would love to be a part of it. As Tearney alluded to - she and I both are quite competitive and enjoy pushing ourselves to play better and become as good as we can (it makes us a good couple!). When playing WoW we were the same way, but with the way that game was set up, it made it hard to be a competitive top of the line player unless you dedicated your entire life to playing (mostly thinking about the days of the warlord titles - now days, it's very easy to stay competitive). We probably would've been the same in DAoC, but she was hung up on being a midgardian whereas I was all about hibernia ;) Honestly, I think this will help me get out of the funk that I've been in trying to get the motivation for both leveling up some of my other characters and getting my RR up. As it is, this has already piqued my interest and has begun washing away the thoughts of unsubbing for a bit - so I'd guess for me it's a good thing. TLDR version - I like the idea. On a side note - I realize this probably wouldn't be feasible due to guild levels and such and the infrastructure already in place, but for whatever reason, it just seems like it would've been more fashionable (have to use the Xhao catch phrase) to have it set up so that Na Anu and Na Nuada are the branches and have Gaiscioch be the main central body. I tried to do a diagram, but the formatting defeated me. Then the suffixes sorta add to the overall body that is Gaiscioch. Or rather - they act as branches of the Gaiscioch body.

» Edited on: 2010-06-11 14:20:32

At this point it is more of a Guild Level and having people join just because of fast mounts etc. I want people to be a part of the family not leeches that just want a faster horse. Anu was our second family but when we came to Badlands Iron Legion became Nuada. Iron Legion and Gaiscioch were of the same rank. As soon as Nuada got fast mounts we had a wave of players flood into it and raise that guilds level quickly. Within 2 week it should be 40. In about 2 months Gaiscioch will be 40 as well and Anu will be well on it's way through the 30's. The new problem is that all of our newer members are in Anu. Getting them all to move to Gaiscioch will be quite the little task. Once Anu hits 37 and has the same toys Gaiscioch does we may just change recruitment to Gaiscioch and allow those in Anu to advance their way up. But were still a ways off. I don't want to punish the majority of the family because they chose not to be part of the advanced unit and leveled past lorgair. I want the new comers to like us for us. Not for shiny toys. I like the Idea but until Anu is high enough in level it wont be a very viable option.

just stick me anywhere. Just dont stick me in the mud.

To the DUNGEONS with you!

Ooh I like this explanation! Is there anyone on right now that could send an invite to nuada? While I do run solo I 90% PvP and will jump in most things (connection pending, it's been getting more stable)

Man Grolyn you gotta start loggin your stuff :P how have you not hit lorgair rank yet. Get 250 Family honor points and we'll get you into Nuada. I know you've participated in stuff you just need to mark it off in the Fellowship area.

Ha ha will do!

It's taken me a bit to get around to posting on this one, I mostly just wanted to see what the general response was first! In fact, I'm glad to see a number of people showing interest in this idea. I think it would be a cool move, and I think a number of players are already in Nuada and playing competitively. Just remember that if you arn't in Nuada, you can still play with people that are! Or the other way around as well, if you ARE in Nuada, don't disclude people in the other guilds from your groups.

yes I am 50/50, there are those days i dont want nothing to do with PvP then those days i want to kill and really not worry about the rp's. Just remember we are one big faimly with diferent rooms and i am pretty sure Nuada is in the attic. At least Block is that black sheep of the family.

I don't think 'competitive' is synonymous with 'PvP'. There are at least two dungeons currently in game that can really test the skills and coordination of any group, even a high rank one. Lost Vale and Tomb of the Vulture Lord are very important to competitive play because the Dark Promise and Tyrant sets are some of, if not THE best sets in the game for some classes. Tombs in Land of the Dead are also important for the weapons, pocket items, talismans and ankhs. So there's pleanty of PvE stuff that's needed for a competitive group to stay, well, competitive. Teaching dungeons to newer players is important, because Bastion Stair, Crypts and Sewers are imporant for some classes. Even farming for scavenging and butchering is important, it's all about staying at the leading edge of your options. You also don't necessarily have to be competitive at a T4 level. There are many times that I like getting together with people at T2 or T3 to dominate some scenarios or agressively capture BOs and Keeps in oRvR.

Please note that my comments are from the point of view of someone outside the three primary guilds, but within the alliance. And, from what I understand, the change of "focus" for the three Gaiscioch guilds would not affect the other seven alliance guilds, or the other 30(+/-) Tuatha guilds. If I had to choose, I know I honestly don't know where I would place myself - seriously, I'm pretty casual... heh heh... I would just recommend proceeding carefully. This is a pretty big change. Right now, I'm sure each room of the Gaiscioch house has folk discussing mods, and stats, and re-spec'ing strategies - mixed in with role-play, and general banter. We all see that spill over into /alliance chat, and we all enjoy taking part in it. Personally, I think if those conversations began to stay within their respective casual/serious guilds, we could all end up loosing something important. Also, it would be easy to confuse members about where they belong, and possibly hurt feelings. In particular, if folk feel like they aren't "good enough" for the competitive guild, or if everyone flocks to the competitive guild, leaving not enough of a core group to maintain a community within the casual guild. Currently the focus of the three lead Gaiscioch guilds are introduction, PVE, and oRvR. The only "real" difference between the three guilds are the stats on the banners (unless I missed something). Would that remain the main "physical" difference between the guilds? Groups and Warbands typically form-up quickly when advertised in the /as and /tuatha channels. As long as we all still continue to communicate as a family, and nobody starts looking for conspiracies-in-the-shadows, we should all be ok :) Well... those are my couple of cents... heh heh...

"I would just recommend proceeding carefully. This is a pretty big change. Right now, I'm sure each room of the Gaiscioch house has folk discussing mods, and stats, and re-spec'ing strategies - mixed in with role-play, and general banter. We all see that spill over into /alliance chat, and we all enjoy taking part in it. A: Personally, I think if those conversations began to stay within their respective casual/serious guilds, we could all end up loosing something important. Also, it would be easy to confuse members about where they belong, and possibly hurt feelings. In particular, B: if folk feel like they aren't "good enough" for the competitive guild, or if everyone flocks to the competitive guild, leaving not enough of a core group to maintain a community within the casual guild. Currently the focus of the three lead Gaiscioch guilds are introduction, PVE, and oRvR. The only "real" difference between the three guilds are the stats on the banners (unless I missed something). C: Would that remain the main "physical" difference between the guilds? " A: The Gaiscioch Family is instructed to use /a as primary chat. Those in the Alliance are considered to be part of the family. The idea is to take the Competitive Chatter into the /gu of Nuada rather than spilling over alliance chat where some people can get a sour taste about it. In Anu questions about the family frequent the /gu channel. And most in Gaiscioch never even use /gu. This policy will not change. B: Again being in Nuada will be entirely based on what the player wants. Not on some high mucky muck that doesn't think your leet enough. If you've earned your 250 honor points to be able to move to the other rooms you can move to Nuada. C: The standards would likely change for Nuada quite often based on what they decide they need for certain situations. It's relatively cheap now to respec.

Thanks for clarifications :)

Ah sure hope that in its real world application it doesn't accidentally result in either noticeably less alliance chat or a dumbed-down alliance chat where anything interesting tactics wise, etc. vanishes and we end up swapping schnitzel recipes. I've never had schnitzel btw. Bakery goods shouldn't sound like dog breeds. I digress. Ah hope that everything works out with yer changes. Best Regahds, Dwooid of Caledor

Foghladha said: "If you've earned your 250 honor points to be able to move to the other rooms you can move to Nuada." Heh...I've got 14 I think so far after being in the extended family for months....must be doing something wrong. ;) Anyway, the changes sound good on paper, but I also haven't noticed anybody commenting in guild/alliance chat about there being too much discussing what an optimal build is or the the optimal group. I think most people who play this game would actually like to hear more of those discussions....especially if they are new. I like those conversations myself. Often I learn something new about a class I didn't know previously plus it makes for good "watercooler" gossip. :)

Ya need to log in and claim your participation in events to gain family honor points for the events you've participated in.