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Star Wars Galaxies producer's letter talks galactic civil war, Officer updates
Despite the old "make love not war" saying, Star Wars Galaxies' January producer's letter is making both, and it's also crammed full of update news for a galaxy far, far away. Tony "Teesquared" Tyson talks about various high-level design concepts currently in the works for SWG's galactic civil war system, including player city invasions, space-based scenarios, and balance issues. There's also a sizable update for the Officer profession in the works, including a new melee special ability, increased viability for carbine users, increased troop strength, and the oft-requested ability to equip Mandalorian armor. Teesquared also mentions upcoming Galactic Senate nominations, tweaks to the game's bazaar, and the Ewok Festival of Love which kicks off on February 10th and runs for a month. This year's festival features new storyteller props, a new badge, and new rewards to tickle your fancy. Last but not least, new veteran rewards are on the way, the Tyson says they favor function over form this time around. "One will have something to do with profession respecs and the other will be resource related. And they will be tradable in case none of those ideas interests you," he writes.
The Guild Counsel: Let's take a power trip!
Ah, ranks! There's nothing like the highly structured, caste-like system of guild ranks. Even when ranks aren't a feature in the game, guilds will still sort their members into tidy ranks, like member, alt, officer, and the all-important Guild Leader (with a capital G!). A metagame ensues, and it often resembles an episode of My Super Sweet 16, with everyone elbowing in to curry favor and receive his gilded stamp of approval. But what exactly do those guild ranks mean, and why are they so important to people? Let's take a look at ranks and see why they actually can be important (but not the way most view them).
Breakfast Topic: Have you tried your hand at running a guild?
This Breakfast Topic has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW Insider's pages. It happens to all of us at one point or another. You're riding into Stormwind, perhaps admiring the dragon head that someone has strung up on the gates, and you're headed to the auction house when your eyes light upon the Visitor's Center. Inside, a bright-eyed young hero, very much like yourself, is speaking to Aldwin Laughlin, the Guild Master. Suddenly, you think, "That could be me. I could be in there, buying a guild charter and designing a tabard. I could found my own guild." You dismount, take the first two steps at a bound -- but suddenly, you stop in your tracks. All at once, you stagger under the weight of responsibility. The trouble with starting a guild, you realize, is that once you do it, you actually have to run a guild. Of course for some, this isn't a drawback -- it's a perk! There are plenty of aspiring guild masters out there who have a vision, execute it, and become great leaders. Then there are those of us who consider starting a guild but balk at the particulars; others who create small, friends-only or alt guilds just to have a fun guild name or a guild bank; and many more who are happy to leave the burden of leadership to someone else. Have you thought about starting your own guild? If you went through with it, how did it turn out? Is the guild still around today? If you thought better of it, what stopped you? Or are you still making up your mind? %Poll-56456%
Raid Rx: A rock and a hard place
Every week, Raid Rx will help you quarterback your healers to victory! Your host is Matt Low, the grand pooh-bah of World of Matticus and a founder of No Stock UI, a WoW blog for all things UI-, macro- and addon-related. If you're looking for more healing advice, check out the Plus Heal community. Stop me if you've heard this one. You're taking on some dragon. Some really powerful spell is about to hit you and the rest of the raid. You don't have any cooldowns to use because you had to pop them earlier. The tank who is busy yelling obscenities at said dragon just took a massive fireball to the face and is down in the red. You know for a fact that the next blow is going to be lethal and you have maybe 2 seconds to react. If you move, you may well have condemned your tank to death. If you stay and heal, you'll end up taking some damage which could be lethal. Normally, this isn't that big of a deal, but we're in an age where we have so many informative addons that tell us which attacks successfully hit a player and when it happened. What's worse is that this data means the difference between staying and getting cut from a raid (or a guild). This is a topic of one of the emails that I received from a healing shaman. So what is a healer to do? Is he wrong for making the decision to take avoidable damage to keep the raid or the tank alive? Is he better off just taking the damage so that he doesn't look bad? Either way, you're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't. Lots of players don't understand that these are some of the decisions that have to be made.
The Daily Grind: Are you a leader or follower?
Today we want to know one very simple fact from you: Are you a leader or follower in game? Are you the take charge, "Follow me into the gaping maw of hell, gentlemen!" figure who grabs the reins of every situation? Do you get disgruntled when a group sits around, twiddling its thumbs because nobody can make up his mind? Are you a guild master, an officer, a raid leader or even a community leader for your game? Do you enjoy creating teams and being the one calling all the shots? Does being a leader even give you a heady rush of power? Or are you a laid back, "You guys decide what we're going to do and I'll do it!" gamer who likes lining up behind someone else? Is it less stressful being a follower because you can just play without having to worry about organizing and figuring things out too often? Is your personality just incompatible with being the go-to guy or gal? Would you much rather have someone take care of the big details so you can enjoy the smaller things in life? In MMOs, are you a leader or follower?
Drama Mamas: Invasion of privacy
Dodge the drama and become that player everyone wants in their group with the Drama Mamas. Lisa Poisso and Robin Torres are real-life mamas and experienced WoW players -- and just as we don't want our precious babies to be the ones kicking and wailing on the floor of checkout lane next to the candy, neither do we want you to become known as That Guy on your server. We're taking your questions at DramaMamas (at) WoW (dot) com. Captain Obvious says that communication within guilds is a very good thing. But as we've seen before, sometimes too much communication can cause more drama than keeping quiet. It is smart to anticipate problems and make preparations in case they occur. But is thinking the worst of people the same as proactive problem-solving? When thinking ahead to avoid trouble, it is usually a good idea to examine your own motives and see if any prejudices are lurking that color your viewpoint. If it's possible that envy or disapproval are clouding your judgment, it is usually best to keep your mouth closed and your eyes open. I assume the best about this week's letter writer's motives for wanting to prevent drama in his guild. But in this case, motives are irrelevant to the possible drama bomb that would explode from an invasion of privacy.
Anti-Aliased: Leadership tips from a former roleplaying raid officer
"Roleplaying" and "raid" both in the same sentence? Blasphemy! Yet, that was my position back in World of Warcraft, and I certainly roleplayed while participating in PvP and massive PvE (almost akin to raids) in The Matrix Online before its demise. Before all of that, I was a roleplaying guild leader in Final Fantasy XI and Phantasy Star Online, so I've been around guilds for a long, long time. If there has been any constant throughout my long string of positions as guild leader, linkshell leader, faction leader, and raid officer it has been thus -- leadership is tough. Sure you can surround yourself with raid guides, memorize every battle perfectly, and be wearing the most epic of epic gear, but if you don't learn how to work with others then you're most likely doomed to fail. Raiding and multi-man content means working as a team, and that means someone's got to step up to the plate to take the reins. Leading a group or raid isn't easy, but I can tell you that it's well, well worth it. To that end, if you're just starting out on the path of leadership or are looking for a few tips to help out your raiding group, I think I might have some advice for you guys. (Editor's Note: Sorry about the glitch! Part 2 is now available!)
We Have a Tabard: Gone but not forgotten
Looking for a guild? Well, you can join ours! We have a tabard and everything! Check back for Amanda Dean talking about guilds and guild leadership in We Have a Tabard.Over the last several weeks, we've talked about everything that guild leaders need to do to try to maintain peace, order, and progress amongst your ranks. I'm going to let the rest of your guild in on a little secret: it's like a job, except you don't get paid.Theoretically it should be a job that your GMs and officers love. Your leadership has less flexibility when it comes to scheduling than rank and file members. When it comes to raiding or other activities, your leadership doesn't have the opportunity to slack off. They are working hard to make sure things run smoothly and to set a good example for their members.Is it better to burn out than to fade away? I am currently on a wee bit of a leadership hiatus. After struggling to fill raids and going over the same fights countless times, I kind of snapped. I told my team I needed a break. I have to admit that while I feel a little bit guilty, it's been blissful. I've slept more, had fewer migraines, and generally enjoyed WoW more for the last couple of weeks than I have over the last several months. It won't last though. Let me offer you a few suggestions to avoid getting to the place where I was:
Drama Mamas: Is it time to leave?
Dodge the drama and become that player everyone wants in their group with the Drama Mamas. Lisa Poisso and Robin Torres are real-life mamas and experienced WoW players -- and just as we don't want our precious babies to be the ones kicking and wailing on the floor of checkout lane next to the candy, neither do we want you to become known as That Guy on your server. We're taking your questions at DramaMamas (at) WoW (dot) com.When an elephant walks into the room, it may be time to leave. OK, I admit the above picture is a stretch for the topic at hand, but I just couldn't resist the elephant butt. The picture for the Officer with No Respect letter may also be an obscure choice, but I just felt that the Dead Bunny Police Officer depicted in that photo didn't look like he got the respect he wanted. And I could probably hold my own in a layman's debate as to whether or not Mary, Queen of Scots was a Manipulating Queen, though I doubt that I would do well against a real historian. But enough of my excuses for this week's choices from The Commons, let's get to the letters.
We have a Tabard: To 25-mans, and beyond!
Looking for a guild? Well, you can join ours! We have a tabard and everything! Check back every Friday for Amanda Dean talking about guilds and guild leadership in We Have a Tabard.Founding and nurturing an up-and-coming raid guild can be quite a daunting task. We see it every day in trade chat <New Guild Name> is now recruiting players of all levels. "We're a fun, friendly guild that regularly raids 10-mans and is looking to build our 25-man team. We have a tabard, bank tabs, and Ventrilo. PST if you're interested." The bark is always the same, the only difference is the number of spelling errors. How do you gracefully move from 10 to 25-man content?If that's your guild, first of all, congratulations on some early success in progress in getting to 10-man raids. When you're not quite there, you have a few options are a few options, all of which have their upsides and their downsides. You can pug into 25-man content, you can run guild raids and take pugs along, you can work with another guild, or you can be content with 10-man content. Let's take a moment to explore each of the options.
We have a tabard: Make it so
Warning: This guy is probably not someone you'd want as an officer. Nor is this video safe for work, small children, or anyone who is sensitive about cursing or animated depictions of sexual acts. But with that said, everyone and their grandmother has seen it, so enjoy.Adding officers to your guild can help ease burdens on the Guild Master, and up efficiency within the guild. But poorly chosen or corrupt officers can do more harm than good within. Even before you select a cadre of officers, you should have an idea of what you'd like them to do for you. Let's take a look at the different types of officers you should consider having in your guild, and how they all interact with each other and your fellow guildies. Class leaders are the first to come to mind. This type of authority should have a keen knowledge of the common specs and rotations for their class. They should be familiar with itemization for their charges and advocate for them in loot decisions.Raid leaders are an absolute blessing for dungeon-crawling guilds. He or she can either be in charge of raiding as a whole or just fill in for the GM as needed. It is very helpful to assign an assistant Raid Leader to the Loot Master position so that the raid can continue with trash pulls as loot is distributed. Raid Leaders should be intimately familiar with the fights, and have enough patience to be able to explain them.
We Have a Tabard: A little help from my friends
The We Have a Tabard series is designed to help guild leaders, officers, members achieve their goals to maximize their cooperative experience.I'm relatively new to leading a raiding guild. I've been working on building and training my team for about six months. I've been leading the recruiting and correcting members, managing raids, and in general trying to make my online family as functional as possible. It's a lot of work for one person, and no matter how much I love my guildies I have to admit that I am tired.The best thing that I've ever done for myself and my guild is to ask for help. I have some great players in my guild that are well respected by other members and the server community. They have expertise in areas that do I do not. Probably most importantly they are less likely to mince words than I do and are willing to do what it takes to get the job done. Having some backup has helped some become more invested in the guild and has really lightened my load.Choosing who to ask for help can be a tough call. It does little good to select only your favorites or your friends, if they are not successful leaders. Take several factors into account when selecting a council of officers:
The Daily Quest: Of orphans and officers
We here at WoW Insider are on a Daily Quest to bring you interesting, informative and entertaining WoW-related links from around the blogosphere. Our sister site Massively asks, "What's in a name?" You have a few days left to get your Children's Week achievements taken care of, and Herding Cats has a few tips for everyone's bane: School of Hard Knocks. Less QQ, More Pewpew has continued their Ulduar video series with their latest addition, Mimiron. You can watch it at the top of this post, or over on their site! World of Matticus's Lodur takes a very close look at the transition into becoming a raid leader. Click here to submit a link to TDQ
The Wordy Warrior's 10 ways to make your guild love you
The Wordy Warrior has added to their series of "10 Ways..." posts with today's 10 Ways to Make Your Guild Love You. Whereas her first couple of posts in the series were aimed at the rank and file of a guild or raid, aiming to warm up to your raid leaders or guild officers, this one is aimed at those very officers. How do you get the rank and file to like you?As a Guild Leader, I absolutely agree with the points she puts forth, and I recommend this list to any guild officer, especially those that are just getting started with their guild. Over the last four years of being a GM, the #1 thing I've learned is that there are absolutely real faces behind those pixels, and you need to know how to interact with those people. You need to get to know them, you need to try and be a little personal with them, and you should know how to talk to them. Everyone is a little bit different.
Star Wars Galaxies releases update 7.1 to live servers, includes dancing Ewoks
This morning marked a small update to Star Wars Galaxies as the development team updated the servers to the new update 7.1.7.1 doesn't mark any major changes coming to the galaxy -- instead it focuses on just a few fixes and updates to the game. The bounty hunters and officers will enjoy having the restrictions of armor expertise removed, so they aren't stuck in battle armor or assault armor.The main update, update 7, added in the Ewok Festival of Love to celebrate the Valentine's Day season. All the standard fixings of food, chocolate fountains, and dancing Ewoks are back for another appearance, and this year you can even play Cupid! In addition, update 7 provided some really hefty changes to the spy class, but we'll leave that for you to read over.
The Queue: Shields, forums, and more on raid difficulty
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW Insider's daily Q&A column where the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft.I have an extra-special request for all of you! We've had a few people asking for recommendations on other class-specific blogs, and I think that's a good thing to light the Reader Signal for. So in addition to your questions and feedback, recommend class-centric blogs in the comments below! Personally, I read A Dwarf Priest and World of Matticus when I'm looking for something Priestly. Now, to the questions... shadowsun asked...I have yet to get Wrath (I know, "PRAISE BE") although I am getting it this Thursday. I was wondering about the new raiding system. Which is harder, 10-man or 25-man? For example is the 10-man easier in the point that you need less players but harder as in they need to be more well geared? Or is the 25-man harder?
Changes to the Officer class highlighted in latest Star Wars Galaxies video
Game Update 5 to Star Wars Galaxies went live earlier today, but there have been a number of changes to the game over the last few months. So much so that Sony Online Entertainment wanted to be sure we understood some of the most drastic changes to the Officer class. Previously a competent ranged DPS stand-in, the Officer is now a highly specialized aggro management and group organization mechanism.Check out the video for full details on these class changes. They include several methods of redirecting mob attention where the Officer wills it, a unique rally point ability that allows players to teleport right back into the action, and the ability to 'toggle' buffs onto the group for ongoing benefits. As per usual, the video is below the cut.
Winterblink: asset control and consolidation in EVE Online
Warp Drive Active podcaster Winterblink is a man who's got everything, apparently. And too much of it, scattered throughout his hangars in New Eden. It's a common problem in EVE Online, particularly for players who roam a lot throughout the galaxy. Mission runners, ratters, and adherents of most any trade or livelihood in the game accumulate a lot of random assets, individually of low worth but which can hold substantial value when seen as a whole. Unfortunately, what Winterblink describes in his blog gets even worse when a player uses containers to organize their possessions by category across multiple stations. The contents of those containers cannot be viewed remotely; one has to be docked in that particular station to see what's inside. Winterblink decided he couldn't handle the clutter anymore and shared the most efficient way he's found to deal with it all, step-by-step. He also had a good idea about having a container that only has the modules for his preferred ship fittings. Slowboating all over New Eden to consolidate his assets worked out for Winterblink. But this writer found that the negligible value of his junk and the time lost consolidating it wouldn't be worth the effort, and opted to ruthlessly destroy a fair amount of it, rather than collect and reprocess or resell the odds and ends. The slash-and-burn approach works for Tech I modules, but once ships and Tech II of anything enter into the picture, Winterblink's way is best. Especially in that he opted to reprocess the materials rather than trying to sell them all on the market.
WoW Insider Weekly
We post a lot of stuff here at WoW Insider, and chances are that you missed some of our weekly features. But don't fret it -- here are our top weekly features from the last seven days, so if you missed them the first time around, we're here to make sure that doesn't happen again. Raid Rx: Analyzing your healers, part 3Marcie Knox continues her series on how to get the most of your healers during a raid. Officers' Quarters: Cracking the whipHow to keep your guild rolling all the way up through the expansion. Ask WoW Insider: When to gem and enchantOur readers sound off on the best time to take advantage of getting your gear min-maxed with gems and enchants. Spiritual Guidance: Seven tips to prepare your Priest for WrathMatt "Matticus" Low gives you a nice checklist for getting your Priest ready to head up to Northrend. More of our great weekly content after the break.
Officers betting against the raid
After the 20th Supremus kill the game can get a tad boring. There's no doubt about it. Raiders know well that you have to spice things up to keep it fun. One way to do that is to have a lively bunch of people you raid with. With them things can get "interesting" at times. The fellow officers and I in my guild have decided to make things interesting by betting on the number of people that will die during Supremus.For some reason Supremus always manages to kill a few too many people. Not too many that we can't one-shot him, but enough that it makes you scratch your head. No one dies on Illidan, Council, etc... but Supremus? Run for the hills!So to keep the fight interesting someone picks a number, say nine. That number is "the line." Myself and a couple others will take under the line, and a couple others will take over. If less then nine people die, each of us gets 20g. If more than nine die the other folks get 20g each.Is betting against the raid like this a good thing?
