Nakama....busting the azian out

Nakama - Nakama (仲間) means colleague, compatriot, friend or comrade.

Today is Friday and I would like to intoduce ya'all to some of the peeps I see in the crack know as WoW. (disclaimer - if i forget someone I am sorry!!! You all rule!)

As I mentioned before I part of the guild Shadow Rising on Drak'Tharon!! BTW we are recruiting so check it out!

http://shadow-rising.wowstead.com/

Prot/Ret pallys, warlock....and of course maor priests!!! (well that is my pref!!)

The boss lady, overlord, mistress of the dark abyss, aka our GM.

Arioch. - Awesome mage, great leader...and for some reason people find her intimidating? I don't see it lol. And did i mention - purple hair? (Fashion 1st! Do not cover up da foxtail!)

and her life mate - Zambra - cool guy, great rogue, and seems to always be chill and calm? At least that is they way it sounds on vent. (Rogue buffs, also has killed me 2x, once in HoS and then last night in the plague works....evil stun)

Dozzer - Warrior mooooo tank. Awesome tank. know his tanking stuff, has a lot of alts. Very amusing as well, his comments are amusing, great ldr as well. (Doz tanked the 1st ToC i was in, likes to fall thru floors though :P)

Zug! Orc DPS and has a PHD in WHIRLWIND!. funny guy...also a great tank...but refuses to tank anymore :P Awesome DPS. Always seems to be needing those shiny rocks. Also very knowledgeable about all aspects of da game, and an army of alts. (one thing of note - tried to get me to rhyme in my interview)

Moogik (crit chicken) - smoking is bad!!!! jk..i am an addict as well. Our resident boomkin....moonkin aura...yum...other then that...that is all we need him for :P Kidding aside, great DPS, cool guy, and pro at rooting those blood beasts.

Tel (holy/ret pally) - poor poor Tel. Always getting picked on. Nice guy though....never around when SP plate drops though.....just recently promoted to an officer...so Ari and the other officers cant trash him anymore lol.

Unholysoth (DK) - cool name. Lord Soth from Dragonlance is a great character. At least that is where I am assuming he got the name from (his alt is Darkdalamar...so has to be Dragonlance). Cool guy...very good player...rock DPS charts. Solid player. (seems to have bad luck in getting his trinket for his mage though)

Kagan (DK) - don't know too much about Kagan, but also a solid tank and player. His cats....dont seem to bright sometimes...lol. One tried to eat its own tail last night XD

Sorak (resto/enhance shaman) - great guy, and healer. Also has an army of alts.....*cough* no life. However, he has one flaw....seems to like to die!!! 3x in one fight! Suicidal Cow....prob on the inside wants to be a troll. Also I cant seem to beat him in the healing charts....ever....hax....

Del (bear/rest druid) - awesome dude. Great healer....talkative and does his research on fights. Seems to be infatuated with GS though :P (aint we all though, GS is life!) Also seems to kick me arse in healing...haxing druids and shammys. Also has an army of alts...with "del" somewhere in there. (he is an ally spy - he was a NE Druid.....need to watch him.)

Hal (orc hunter) - nice guy....a little tooooo infatuated with Pie. Beer is better then Pie imo. He is gearing up nicely to raid. Listen and researches. thumbs up imo.

Lyss - (lock) - new lock to the guild...lvl 50? Has an evil ally druid and lock on Bloodhoof.....recently transferred her horde lock here and joined up. Nice person, talkative and has a blog....named DoT and HoTs. (Likes to post WoW pron pics)

Spliff (MOOO hunter.....er....troll now) Dont know too much about Spliff....except pro dps and kiting those bloodbeasts.

Zar (troll shammy - elemental) Also dont know too much about Zar - except he is good player, and will not heal :P

Shirl - (belf lock) - alchy/herb - nice person. always courteous etc. Much grats to anyone who can get loremaster....I could never do that.....(she hooked me up with some herbage in game!)

Too anyone I may have forgotten about...sorry!!...as i said before...u rox. TGIF I'm out...well i wish....5 more hrs to go.

Guilds....fashion accessory or permanent plastic surgery?

Figured I would try this posting stuff....seems like a good way to convey my ideas, in a not so concise manner.

Will try a simple topic, but an important one nonetheless.

Guilds, the primary social grouping feature in many MMO's. They go by several names, in FFXI they were called linkshells, LoTRO - fellowships, WoW and others - guilds. No matter what these social structures are called, they all provide one important service, a way for players to gather together etc.

Guilds can further be differentiated in what they may stand for, what they do, and why they were created.

We have social/casual guilds, "hardcore" guilds, family/religion etc. guilds, special purpose - i.e. bank guilds. Even with these labels, in different games they may mean different things, or even be a compilation of a multitude of characteristics.

One may have a family guild, composed of family members (moms, dads, kids etc), and then also be founded on a basis of Christianity (it exists I saw one while playing LoTRO). Another example, would be the best of the best raiding guilds...."hardcore" and l33t players...where they are on so much etc etc etc.

But in MMO's are guilds really needed? In some games one could argue you need to...or you are not getting anything accomplished (FFXI, LoTRO). However, in many other games where PuGs are common and they are always going on....are guilds even needed. For example, take a look at WoW. There are shouts for 5 man instances, and with the LFG tool....makes it even easier.

Also there are many shouts for raids (LFM 25 ony, 10 ToTGC, 25 man VoA), and for the most part depending on the quality of the PuG these groups can be very successful....without the structure, support, and leadership of a guild. For the players who have no guild, PuGs are the way to go, and looking at some players while in Dalaran...there are some well geared people with no guild.

With the ability to get l337 loot without the "guild".....why do we have them in WoW? I think Blizzard has seen this and hopes to address this with the next expansion. I do think the idea of guild levels and other assorted benefits are very nice....feels like WAR. Without a system to benefit players to be in a guild (or have game mechanics that require a guild), WoW guilds sometimes, do seem to be window dressings...to be discarded when they are no longer in style. Scrub guilds come and go, morons get booted...mechanics to keep people in guild, keep guilds together are needed. I love guilds, they are a place to chill. find things to do, and meet cool new people.

Currently I am in Shadow Rising on Drak' Tharon....awesome guild. So glad i joined....if i hadnt seen them recruiting...I think I would have canceled WoW months ago.

The posts that made me think Shadow Rising is "da bomb" or the posts that have sealed my fate and condemned me to eternal slavery?

http://clearcasting.wordpress.com/2009/11/13/recruiting/#more-909

http://clearcasting.wordpress.com/2009/07/21/fashion-first/ - very amusing post.

random fun for the day.

http://rpgfan.com/news/2010/40.html ----- Boobie mousepad. win. fail? win!