Is Ghallanda raiding dead?

[redraider]

Where are the big raiding guilds on Ghallanda now? We used to have:
THAC0
Ravensgard
Plague
Valiant Accord
Vegas
The Old Timer's Guild
White Council
The Knights of Myth Dranor
Sun War
Face Stabbing Misfits
Shadowblade Assasins
Sabbat
Runs with Scissors
New Outriders
Evilempire
Eutopia

And those are the recent ones. I'm sure I missed a few really good ones.

My question is: What guilds are still raiding hard? Are any of these actively recruiting or are they just now small groups of friends?

The only really active groups I see now are :
Souther Tenant Farmers Union - weekly schedule at 7pm est
GRR - All but Tues and Thurs in evenings
DDO Korea Season II - mostly during the day EST

Please don't flame me here. I am making no judgements, just looking for information on where the long time players are playing and what they are running.

[Sirea]

Where are the big raiding guilds on Ghallanda now? We used to have:
THAC0 still around
Ravensgard still around, with a healthy raiding schedule
Plague gone for the most part but I still see the tag from time to time
Valiant Accord still around
Vegas still around
The Old Timer's Guild still around
White Council gone
The Knights of Myth Dranor don't see them around as much anymore
Sun War gone for a while but it seems they're reforming
Face Stabbing Misfits haven't seen them for a while
Shadowblade Assasins still around
Sabbat still around
Runs with Scissors still around
New Outriders still around
Evilempire still around
Eutopia still around


in red

[Bronko]

Where are the big raiding guilds on Ghallanda now? We used to have:
THAC0
Ravensgard
Plague
Valiant Accord
Vegas
The Old Timer's Guild
White Council
The Knights of Myth Dranor
Sun War
Face Stabbing Misfits
Shadowblade Assasins
Sabbat
Runs with Scissors
New Outriders
Evilempire
Eutopia

And those are the recent ones. I'm sure I missed a few really good ones.

My question is: What guilds are still raiding hard? Are any of these actively recruiting or are they just now small groups of friends?

The only really active groups I see now are :
Souther Tenant Farmers Union - weekly schedule at 7pm est
GRR - All but Tues and Thurs in evenings
DDO Korea Season II - mostly during the day EST

Please don't flame me here. I am making no judgements, just looking for information on where the long time players are playing and what they are running.

I know that we still raid, albeit not myself as much anymore due to RL time constraints. Thankfully I have the best Officer corps on the server to keep things going. ;)

As for the others you mentioned you might want to take a peek at the Ghallanda Rerolled roster. Many of their players came from those various guilds, including THAC0.

[Samadhi]

What Sirea said, although to back it up, we have had all but two players now return to the game from long absences, so we do not PUG nearly as much as we used to.

[Junts]

Pug raiding on ghallanda has been pretty dead since the exp exploit bans.

[MissErres]

I see raiding going on all the time, albeit they are mostly announced in private channels. I haven't done much because I've been busy just trying to get 14 previously capped characters to lvl 18, but I'm almost done with that... only 3 to go. ;)

Raid on Ghallanda!!

[oberon131313]

my playtimes are weird, but I see just as many raids as I used to...

[Guder]

Where are the big raiding guilds on Ghallanda now? We used to have:
list
My question is: What guilds are still raiding hard? Are any of these actively recruiting or are they just now small groups of friends?


Please don't flame me here. I am making no judgements, just looking for information on where the long time players are playing and what they are running.

YES, Raiding on Ghallanda is dead...and many of the guilds you named look quite different these days.
Only explanation I can offer you is to look at the very nature of man...maybe an analogy will help clarify:

Serve a man a fish and he will eat it for a meal.
Teach a man how to fish and he will eat for a lifetime.
Show a man how to 'range a fish' with DynomiteTNT and not only will he kill the entire lake, he will also brag about how 'many he got', 'how easy it was', and 'how wonderfully UBER a fisherman he has become.'

And then he will also teach his technique as the 'WAY'....to any that will listen...UNTIL, 'Along comes Mr. Game Warden. Who will ask many questions about "just exactly what techniques he used to amass such a fine mess 'o fish?"

Sometime later...after things settle out...someone will ask why "No one seems to fish around here anymore?" :)

[issiana]

well i moved to argo to play with freinds there after taking a big break, and now am permadeathing on sarlona with the same friends, lol.
mind you i doubt many will remember xiane the sorc as i was a way way late night player.

[Sirea]

I see raiding going on all the time, albeit they are mostly announced in private channels.

^This. There definitely has been a shift in how many PuG raids you see on Ghallanda. There are more and more private userchat channels springing up so that raids can get formed quickly with competent players. That combined with the new high-end content and people only wanting to run it with those they trust, unfortunately you do need to be associated with a kind of an "in crowd" to get into the good groups that you know will succeed.

That and people are **** sick of running Shrouds. Shroud LFMS have definitely decreased since the mod.

[krud]

Plus, the flagging raids in Shavarath aren't very pug freindly either. Many of those are being run in the same manner that raids are (private, guild), so not as many random people are getting flagged.

[GlassCannon]

Sounds like you need to disband the private channels. I knew these would be a bad idea, but kept my trap shut about it...

Segregation (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/segregation).

[Anthios888]

Just to clarify - I'm sure that GRR does raid on Tues and Thursday nights. It's just that those are days Fan and I are taking a class and don't get on to lead the big organized guild raids we stay on timer for. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure the rest of the guild is capable of playing the game and having fun without my brilliant leadership ;)

[Junts]

I think it would be accurate to say that GRR is raiding pretty much every day at nearly every time that isnt the middle of the night, and I suspect a lot of the other larger raiding guilds and their associates are in similar positions.

Just last night there were 5 different ToD groups that completed and were, at one point or another, lfming as a pug.

[Junts]

Sounds like you need to disband the private channels. I knew these would be a bad idea, but kept my trap shut about it...

Segregation (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/segregation).


Yeah that people play DDO with their friends is such a horrible, terrible, evil thing.

[Draccus]

Just to clarify - I'm sure that GRR does raid on Tues and Thursday nights. It's just that those are days Fan and I are taking a class and don't get on to lead the big organized guild raids we stay on timer for. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure the rest of the guild is capable of playing the game and having fun without my brilliant leadership ;)

We ran some DQ and ToD last night (Thursday) and nearly failed the latter without Rocka and Fan...or because Jaerlach, the main tank, has an internet connection that's about as stable as the Somali government.

Here's a picture of his home system:

http://jayveenetwork.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/images/bad_closet_3.134131521_std.jpg

[Anthios888]

Sounds like you need to disband the private channels. I knew these would be a bad idea, but kept my trap shut about it...

Segregation (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/segregation). It kills communities.

Why? Am I really not allowed to invite my friend from high school to join a group with me? Or some poor Canadian like Bronco who has been so kind to me in this game? Part of the allure of MMOs is that you can network with people you meet and get to group with them in the future, just like tabletop D&D. Sure, we'd be PuGging a lot more without any way to contact each other, but it would be a pretty lame game. If you get rid of chat channels, you might as well get rid of guild channels and friends lists. I use channels a lot. They are part of what keeps my guild & guild family connected even when people have alts in other guilds or do not want to leave their guild to be able to play with us. My style has not changed at all since channels came out, but it has made it easier to get in touch with my friends instead of combing a buggy and limited friends list. Channels are less insular than guilds are because they let people to get in on some of the chat without making the commitment to join guild. I still invite PuG spots into my guild raids and join groups when things are slow - that much has not changed.

Just because you may not be outgoing enough to make any friends on this game, does not mean that the game itself has to change to keep you from crying. Maybe you should organize a server-wide public "raid" channel for those interested in plugging into raid. The convenience of having a LFG flash on your channels instead of having to keep the group window open might appeal to some folks.

[Junts]

Why? Am I really not allowed to invite my friend from high school to join a group with me? Or some poor Canadian like Bronco who has been so kind to me in this game? Part of the allure of MMOs is that you can network with people you meet and get to group with them in the future, just like tabletop D&D. Sure, we'd be PuGging a lot more without any way to contact each other, but it would be a pretty lame game. If you get rid of chat channels, you might as well get rid of guild channels and friends lists. I use channels a lot. They are part of what keeps my guild & guild family connected even when people have alts in other guilds or do not want to leave their guild to be able to play with us. My style has not changed at all since channels came out, but it has made it easier to get in touch with my friends instead of combing a buggy and limited friends list. Channels are less insular than guilds are because they let people to get in on some of the chat without making the commitment to join guild. I still invite PuG spots into my guild raids and join groups when things are slow - that much has not changed.

Just because you may not be outgoing enough to make any friends on this game, does not mean that the game itself has to change to keep you from crying. Maybe you should organize a server-wide public "raid" channel for those interested in plugging into raid. The convenience of having a LFG flash on your channels instead of having to keep the group window open might appeal to some folks.

I've gathered long ago that Glass has a bit of a reputation on his server and has a wee bit of a hard time getting into a pug raid with the serious raiders on his server.

[BattleCircle]

Scissors is still around, although it seems that life is getting in the way of playtimes for most of us. These days if we want to run SoS there is usually a pug slot or two :(

[Sirea]

Sounds like you need to disband the private channels. I knew these would be a bad idea, but kept my trap shut about it...

Segregation (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/segregation).

Cool story, bro.

[oogly54]

Sounds like you need to disband the private channels. I knew these would be a bad idea, but kept my trap shut about it...

Segregation (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/segregation).

I can see his point to an extent. The private chat channels DO lesson the mixing of people from different cliques. Some may think that is a good thing, but remeber you do/did not actually know anyone that you run with on a regular basis, you met them in game, by runnig with people you didnt know. If you stop running wih people you do not know, then you stop gain new friends. Eventually everyone leave games, so eventually your friends will leave and you to will leave because you know nobody else and no longer hae fun.

As bad a name pugging gets, it is what lead to getting to know the friends you have now. What he is saying, I believe, is chat channels stifles this, which is bad for new people and ultimately bad for the game.

As for Raiding, many guilds, including Sabbat, has had a huge influx of players come back to the game and the need to pug out the last few spots is not needed now. We have a very healthy raiding schedule, you just do not see the LFMs because there are none.

[oogly54]

Just because you may not be outgoing enough to make any friends on this game, does not mean that the game itself has to change to keep you from crying.

If I didn't already know you Rock, I would think you were a pompus ass!

[Junts]

If I didn't already know you Rock, I would think you were a pompus ass!

Nah, I'm the pompous jackass around here.

She's just a human being addressing GlassCannon; I understand how it would be possible to blur the line, but keen forum observation will inform you that its quite normal!

[Turial]

Part of it is due the lack of content. I know many people who have all their greensteel wants covered, made their main and spair DT armors, have their hound, VOD, Queen, Titan, and Dragon items.

This leaves us with TOD and the Abbot.

The abbot has the MD bug which has some people avoiding it like the black plague and TOD is in the early stages where there are few pugs because many aren't flagged or don't have boots. The boots are really the key in keeping people out of that raid.

[oogly54]

Part of it is due the lack of content. I know many people who have all their greensteel wants covered, made their main and spair DT armors, have their hound, VOD, Queen, Titan, and Dragon items.

This leaves us with TOD and the Abbot.

The abbot has the MD bug which has some people avoiding it like the black plague and TOD is in the early stages where there are few pugs because many aren't flagged or don't have boots. The boots are really the key in keeping people out of that raid.

All good points.

[smatt]

Adding to the points that OOg, Turial, Rock, and Jaeer have made... It's also a new Mod this has always happened when new mods come out. People are into flagging, and preparing their toons for the new raid. As well as rolling new toons, with all the game changes etc. Add in the mass forced vacation of many of the prolific raid leaders ect. Thee's more to do in game now than ever, therefore things will be far less focused than before. Surely, some of the older raids will be run more as more of the new crop of players start getting leveled up and experianced, as well as when the big crops of rerolls get start moving forward.


Ebb and flow....

[Mhykke]

I can see his point to an extent. The private chat channels DO lesson the mixing of people from different cliques. Some may think that is a good thing, but remeber you do/did not actually know anyone that you run with on a regular basis, you met them in game, by runnig with people you didnt know. If you stop running wih people you do not know, then you stop gain new friends. Eventually everyone leave games, so eventually your friends will leave and you to will leave because you know nobody else and no longer hae fun.

As bad a name pugging gets, it is what lead to getting to know the friends you have now. What he is saying, I believe, is chat channels stifles this, which is bad for new people and ultimately bad for the game.

As for Raiding, many guilds, including Sabbat, has had a huge influx of players come back to the game and the need to pug out the last few spots is not needed now. We have a very healthy raiding schedule, you just do not see the LFMs because there are none.

Two points:

1. Before there were channels, nothing different was going on compared to after channels were put into game. People would look to form a group, they would check their guilds, they would send tells to friends in other guilds and ask those people to ask their guilds. All channels did was make this process more efficient. Now, people don't have to ask someone they know in another guild to ask his/her guild if anyone wants to do X quest/raid. They simply type it into a channel.

Anyone that thinks that either before channels existed, or upon the removal of channels, that people would simply stop trying to group with people they knew, is only kidding himself.


2. Channels can be a barrier, but they could also be a valuable resource. Just b/c channels exist doesn't mean that those groups never put up LFMs. Just b/c channels exist doesn't mean that people in those channels don't join PUG groups also. All someone has to do is not be a tool, and be somewhat competent, and sooner or later that person will get invited into a channel. Once that happens, that person has access to many different people and guilds. Much more so than simply joining one guild. Channels can be a good thing too.

[Chiapet]

Hi there. I aman Officer of NewOutriders, and I can tell you that we are getting stronger by the day. We are still very active in recruiting also. As far as raids go, we kind of slacked off for just a little bit, but we are still raiding, and it is getting more consistant. Thing is, when we do raid, we usually have enough guildies to fill every spot, and if not, we have alliance guilds that get private invites first. If no reply from the private invites, then we throw up a LFM and go from there. A problem that I have seen in putting LFM's up is that for raids, they seem slow to fill. I don't know why, but they have been here lately. There are some times that we only have a few guildies on, want to run a raid, and PUG most of the group.

If you are intrested in joining our ranks, give us a look. Go to www.newoutriders.com and pay us a visit.

Have a great weekend & great questing.

[Samadhi]

Sounds like you need to disband the private channels. I knew these would be a bad idea, but kept my trap shut about it...

Segregation (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/segregation).

Pfft. I'm a consumate "let's just shortman" vs. getting pug's type of player. Chat channels actually have me meeting/grouping with more people than I otherwise would.



The abbot has the MD bug which has some people avoiding it like the black plague and TOD is in the early stages where there are few pugs because many aren't flagged or don't have boots. The boots are really the key in keeping people out of that raid.

I don't know anyone actively avoiding abbot for that reason. I see far more of 1) People that have wussed out on the raid because the puzzles are "not fun" to try and learn after a couple bad experiences 2) folks that just deprioritize getting flagged to the point that it never gets done and 3) people that are always on timer :D

The boots are definitely a huge factor though for TOD. It is just beyond ******** that these are so absurdly rare to get. Makes me glad I don't play melees as much as many.

[wamjratl1]

Sounds like you need to disband the private channels. I knew these would be a bad idea, but kept my trap shut about it...

Segregation (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/segregation).

whatever dude. GRR is having social intercourse nightly. :eek:

Also, for many of us, the channels presented an opportunity to expand our network of folks and do cross-guild raiding, etc... When Samadhi left Souls of the Night and formed Sabbat, theirs was the first channel I joined. It doubled the folks i could easily communicate with in-game, let me meet new folks, and expanded my network of players (cuz folks from other guilds would advertise open spots in their groups in the same channel) ... But yeah maybe because of the channels, if a guild has room in a group, those spots now go to allied guilds rather than pugs.

But in short response to Redraider ('sup Paul!), I don't see any fewr lfm's than I used to.

[Strakeln]

Is Ghallanda raiding dead?
Yes. Move to Khyber. :D

[Junts]

Yes. Move to Khyber. :D

He's all yours.

[Strakeln]

He's all yours.

Eeeeeeeexcellent.

http://episteme.arstechnica.com/eve/forums/a/ga/ul/299008287931/inlineimg/Y/train_wreck.jpg

I'm a big fan of these :D

[Junts]

And this? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkCNJRfSZBU)

[Strakeln]

And this? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkCNJRfSZBU)

If it involves turmoil and has a high potential to cause bad things, I'm down.

The game is too easy without at least one person in a party working against you.

[Junts]

If it involves turmoil and has a high potential to cause bad things, I'm down.

The game is too easy without at least one person in a party working against you.

Thank god we have Coldest!

[Guder]

When I swapped toons out last night my alliance chat channel had 41 logged onto it.
Prior to setting that channel up I received numbing amounts of tells upon logging in about 'what are we running tonight?'
Now, I type in the schedule once and off we go. Far fewer headaches for me.
I know that is selfish but I am hardcore about assisting as many players as possible to enjoy this game...sometimes too much for my own good. Alliance chat is a HUGE benefit to that end, IMO.

As far as diversity goes...I know of at least 4 full guilds that have the majority of their players attuned to one chat channel...with many individuals from lots of other guilds and even some solo players that use the same channel.
I think that is also a good thing, if used appropriately and not abused, and may actually lead to an increase in the diversity of the game...I know of two guilds that are too small to raid independantly but with alliance chat access can join raids and groups, which I believe allows them to stay independant and not be absorbed into a larger guild because they otherwise would have tremendous difficulty finding groups/raids.

[redraider]

He's all yours.

Jeez, a guy trys to get a feel for what guilds are raiding regularly on Ghallanda and he gets sent off to Khyber, home of the original drama queens... Oh heck, I'm already there too.


Nah, I'm the pompous jackass around here.

You crack me up dude!

Now, having said that, which current raiding guilds are recruiting player who know their ****?

[Junts]

Jeez, a guy trys to get a feel for what guilds are raiding regularly on Ghallanda and he gets sent off to Khyber, home of the original drama queens...



You crack me up dude!

Now, having said that, which currenlty big time raiding guilds are recruiting player who know their ****?



I was just being generous to my pal Strakeln; we like to give each other gifts! ;)

[Urguwno]

Serve a man a fish and he will eat it for a meal.
Teach a man how to fish and he will eat for a lifetime.
Show a man how to 'range a fish' with DynomiteTNT and not only will he kill the entire lake, he will also brag about how 'many he got', 'how easy it was', and 'how wonderfully UBER a fisherman he has become.'

And then he will also teach his technique as the 'WAY'....to any that will listen...UNTIL, 'Along comes Mr. Game Warden. Who will ask many questions about "just exactly what techniques he used to amass such a fine mess 'o fish?"

Sometime later...after things settle out...someone will ask why "No one seems to fish around here anymore?" :)

Brilliant. :)

[valorik]

chat channels are horrible, people like me are always sneaking in...

also on teh guilds you mentioned

THAC0- still around, seen a couple of raids by them on the lfm, they're pretty big so I don't think they pug that often
Ravensgard- still around, and raiding often
Plague- you can see the rare member around still. but a lot of the members have left
Valiant Accord- still around
Vegas- still around, and as active as ever
The Old Timer's Guild- still around, though I've never thought of them as a raiding guild
White Council- been gone for a while
The Knights of Myth Dranor- not around as much as ever
Sun War- collapsed LONG ago, been coming back apperantly
Face Stabbing Misfits- don't know what happened to them
Shadowblade Assasins- still around, I consider them similar to the OTG
Sabbat- still around, though I don't think they pug very often, to avoid bad pugs
Runs with Scissors- still around, but small
New Outriders- still around, not raiding often at least
Evilempire - still around
Eutopia- still around and raiding


I have found myself putting up my own raids lately, because there's not much in teh afternoon, in the evenings there's usually plenty going on.

[ReeseFlamelocks]

Are raids dying? Christ I hope so!

Never liked raids. They tend to the follow the mentality of: "Lets-get-through-this-as-fast-as-possible-then-break-out-an-inane-strategy-which-usually-involves-standing-around-in-a-corner-until-something-very-large-dies." It's just not fun, and only rarely does it justify the massive repetition required to get good loot.

Raids require very little skill. The only skill required is for one person to be a good competent leader. I'm sure the loot is worth it, if you get any, but I've never been a huge loot person. My char is stocked pretty well with non-raid loot.

[Junts]

Are raids dying? Christ I hope so!

Never liked raids. They tend to the follow the mentality of: "Lets-get-through-this-as-fast-as-possible-then-break-out-an-inane-strategy-which-usually-involves-standing-around-in-a-corner-until-something-very-large-dies." It's just not fun, and only rarely does it justify the massive repetition required to get good loot.

Raids require very little skill. The only skill required is for one person to be a good competent leader. I'm sure the loot is worth it, if you get any, but I've never been a huge loot person. My char is stocked pretty well with non-raid loot.

You've been gone a long time; the dragon and titan were particularly poorly designed raids, but you might want to try the newer ones before you make that statement.

[smatt]

I'm scared :eek:

[ReeseFlamelocks]

You've been gone a long time; the dragon and titan were particularly poorly designed raids, but you might want to try the newer ones before you make that statement.

Perhaps you're right. Though this has been a theme across MMOs, hence my lack of enthusiasm for raids.

[Sirea]

You've been gone a long time; the dragon and titan were particularly poorly designed raids, but you might want to try the newer ones before you make that statement.

Poorly designed? At least they're something other than one-room beatdowns :)

I'd rather do a raid like Titan or Dragon where people have to split up and do different things like huge puzzles and mazes and simultaneous pulling-of-switches and using the environment to beat the boss rather than brute strength, makes it more interesting. Yeah, it might make it a little harder to learn, and even harder to bring PuGs in there lest they screw something up, but there's an element of teamwork in there I like, too. Being able to trust in your teammates to split up and be able to get the job done. I wish more of the newer raids were more like this, TBH.

I was actually talking to Cerial about this the other day. Raids like Titan and Dragon actually *look* like some dev spent weeks planning it all out and what the puzzles would look like and what the objectives would be and what kind of party you'd need, etc, etc. There's detail and depth and it looks like someone really put their heart and soul into those quests. Some of the newer raids look like something they just slapped together over a caffeine-fueled weekend. Walk in, beat down, loot. Bo-ring.

So I'll have to respectfully disagree that these are "poorly designed" :)

[valorik]

Poorly designed? At least they're something other than one-room beatdowns :)

I'd rather do a raid like Titan or Dragon where people have to split up and do different things like huge puzzles and mazes and simultaneous pulling-of-switches and using the environment to beat the boss rather than brute strength, makes it more interesting. Yeah, it might make it a little harder to learn, and even harder to bring PuGs in there lest they screw something up, but there's an element of teamwork in there I like, too. Being able to trust in your teammates to split up and be able to get the job done. I wish more of the newer raids were more like this, TBH.

I was actually talking to Cerial about this the other day. Raids like Titan and Dragon actually *look* like some dev spent weeks planning it all out and what the puzzles would look like and what the objectives would be and what kind of party you'd need, etc, etc. There's detail and depth and it looks like someone really put their heart and soul into those quests. Some of the newer raids look like something they just slapped together over a caffeine-fueled weekend. Walk in, beat down, loot. Bo-ring.

So I'll have to respectfully disagree that these are "poorly designed" :)


/signed

[Twerpp]

Where are the big raiding guilds on Ghallanda now? We used to have:
THAC0
Ravensgard
Plague
Valiant Accord
Vegas
The Old Timer's Guild
White Council
The Knights of Myth Dranor
Sun War
Face Stabbing Misfits
Shadowblade Assasins
Sabbat
Runs with Scissors
New Outriders
Evilempire
Eutopia

And those are the recent ones. I'm sure I missed a few really good ones.

My question is: What guilds are still raiding hard? Are any of these actively recruiting or are they just now small groups of friends?

The only really active groups I see now are :
Souther Tenant Farmers Union - weekly schedule at 7pm est
GRR - All but Tues and Thurs in evenings
DDO Korea Season II - mostly during the day EST

Please don't flame me here. I am making no judgements, just looking for information on where the long time players are playing and what they are running.

We're all on timers. We'll be ready in 2 day 3 hours 45 minutes 29 seconds.

[Justicesar]

Where are the big raiding guilds on Ghallanda now? We used to have:
THAC0
Ravensgard
Plague
Valiant Accord
Vegas
The Old Timer's Guild
White Council
The Knights of Myth Dranor
Sun War
Face Stabbing Misfits
Shadowblade Assasins
Sabbat
Runs with Scissors
New Outriders
Evilempire
Eutopia

And those are the recent ones. I'm sure I missed a few really good ones.

My question is: What guilds are still raiding hard? Are any of these actively recruiting or are they just now small groups of friends?

The only really active groups I see now are :
Souther Tenant Farmers Union - weekly schedule at 7pm est
GRR - All but Tues and Thurs in evenings
DDO Korea Season II - mostly during the day EST

Please don't flame me here. I am making no judgements, just looking for information on where the long time players are playing and what they are running.

There is a tactic(LOL) that requires ranged toons for TOD. Until this quest is changed don't expect many LFMs with balanced classes to be posted. Most running the quest this way are very selective on who they include.....don't know why though hmmm...

[MissErres]

We're all on timers. We'll be ready in 2 day 3 hours 45 minutes 29 seconds.

Only for Tempest Spine tho. :D

[Galbbatorix]

Runs with Scissors is still around, but yes we have slowed down on our raiding, along with being a small guild, a few players had to take breaks due to real life issues, getting laid off etc. I'm still on, but a little less often than before because I just recently started college.

We still do the occasional raid, but the little we play, we normally just short man a few quests. Look for us on weekends, we try to get at least a couple shrouds, etc in. Hopefully we will get back to our regular raiding schedule soon.

As for most of the other guilds on there, they also are still around, but the number of raids they run have gone down, at least the ones they pug on the lfm, from what I have seen.

[Sirea]

As for most of the other guilds on there, they also are still around, but the number of raids they run have gone down, at least the ones they pug on the lfm, from what I have seen.

Don't assume that we don't run raids just because we don't PuG :) Many of the larger guild have had members come back from extended breaks, so there is no need to PuG as often.

[Galbbatorix]

Don't assume that we don't run raids just because we don't PuG :) Many of the larger guild have had members come back from extended breaks, so there is no need to PuG as often.

Must have typed what I meant poorly, the number of pug raids from the big guilds have gone down from what I have seen.

[Junts]

Poorly designed? At least they're something other than one-room beatdowns :)

I'd rather do a raid like Titan or Dragon where people have to split up and do different things like huge puzzles and mazes and simultaneous pulling-of-switches and using the environment to beat the boss rather than brute strength, makes it more interesting. Yeah, it might make it a little harder to learn, and even harder to bring PuGs in there lest they screw something up, but there's an element of teamwork in there I like, too. Being able to trust in your teammates to split up and be able to get the job done. I wish more of the newer raids were more like this, TBH.

I was actually talking to Cerial about this the other day. Raids like Titan and Dragon actually *look* like some dev spent weeks planning it all out and what the puzzles would look like and what the objectives would be and what kind of party you'd need, etc, etc. There's detail and depth and it looks like someone really put their heart and soul into those quests. Some of the newer raids look like something they just slapped together over a caffeine-fueled weekend. Walk in, beat down, loot. Bo-ring.

So I'll have to respectfully disagree that these are "poorly designed" :)

I should clarify

twilight forge and von5 are brilliant quests, unparallelled 12 man instances.

von6 is an abysmal failure of a raid fight, one in which there is no strategy needed or really achievable, and where most groups gain success either through taking advantage of a geometric oversight or pure brute force. It is the least interesting and worst-designed boss beatdown in DDO. Even Arraetrikos in shroud 4 requires more thinking, strategy and awareness ... Velah is a huge letdown in every way but graphics.

The Twilight Forge Core is a brilliatnly designed 6 man quest; unfortunately, it only has roles for 3 or 4 people tops; bottom pillars, laser, and crystal runners.

Everyone else spends the raid piking, staying alive and avoiding standing on the floor to move the Titan; the raid is a failure as a 12 man instance, because 50-75% of the raid party does nothing but watch.

It would be the best 6 man quest in DDO, if it were one, but as a 12 man instance, its a collosal bore.

[smatt]

There is a tactic(LOL) that requires ranged toons for TOD. Until this quest is changed don't expect many LFMs with balanced classes to be posted. Most running the quest this way are very selective on who they include.....don't know why though hmmm...


Well that particular tactic seems to be legit..... It's effective for groups with no sets of boots or melees to handle the big guy...... In fact I'd say it's far less cheesy than all the people who took the huge advantage of the bard shenanghans to take their time and figure out the quest. Which in turn gave a huge upper hand in general quest knowledge, which in turn made it far easier to master far quiker than many. The Devs knew about the perch prior to the first update, they put it there, they decided to leave it after 2 updates so far, when it would e a very simple quik fix.

I personally don't see anybody hiding the ranged method..... The big downside is that it takes a VERY long time. If a group has at least 2 or 3 sets of boots melee is far faster and more effecient. Some of the groups I've seen doing it are VERY caster heavy.

There's lots of raiding going on.... The larger guilds are raiding a lot together because many of the peopel need the same raid completions. It's not the mish-mash hodgepdge that happens when there's almsot a year between Mods, and people have toons that all need different things, which leads to far more pugging. Happens every after every new Mod....

[Truenuetral]

chicken nut bread still raids everything solo in complete secrecy.

[Justicesar]

I personally don't see anybody hiding the ranged method..... The big downside is that it takes a VERY long time. If a group has at least 2 or 3 sets of boots melee is far faster and more effecient. Some of the groups I've seen doing it are VERY caster heavy.

......which is why when big "H" does what he does...(______) fil in the blank....Peeps are asked to leave if they don't like it. I forsee the Red Willow Nerf bat swinging sooon LOL

[Thriand]

chicken nut bread still raids everything solo in complete secrecy.

Do you have a guild website? I'm very interested in joining your guild.

[smatt]

......which is why when big "H" does what he does...(______) fil in the blank....Peeps are asked to leave if they don't like it. I forsee the Red Willow Nerf bat swinging sooon LOL


LOL, there's already been 10 threads on the subject and no cube :D Don't be a big chicken ;)

There's certainly a difference between causing Horoth to become unresponsive and not.... He can indeed still hit you on the perch, as can Suulo.... I'm not saying it isn't cheesy though, and boring....

Boots boots boots..... :D

[Kintro]

......which is why when big "H" does what he does...(______) fil in the blank....Peeps are asked to leave if they don't like it. I forsee the Red Willow Nerf bat swinging sooon LOL

I hear it's being fixed in the next update. Whether that's the one currently on Lammania (anyone tried it?) or the one after that I'm not entirely certain. Also whether that means removing the perch or fixing the unresponsiveness I'm not entirely sure either.

I know that's very vague but the fact that something relating to this tactic is being fixed implies exploit.

[Sirea]

von6 is an abysmal failure of a raid fight, one in which there is no strategy needed or really achievable, and where most groups gain success either through taking advantage of a geometric oversight or pure brute force. It is the least interesting and worst-designed boss beatdown in DDO. Even Arraetrikos in shroud 4 requires more thinking, strategy and awareness ... Velah is a huge letdown in every way but graphics.

But I'm sure it was a challenge to figure out when the quest first came out and now to all the new players coming in and trying it who don't have it down pat like we do.


The Twilight Forge Core is a brilliatnly designed 6 man quest; unfortunately, it only has roles for 3 or 4 people tops; bottom pillars, laser, and crystal runners.

Everyone else spends the raid piking, staying alive and avoiding standing on the floor to move the Titan; the raid is a failure as a 12 man instance, because 50-75% of the raid party does nothing but watch.

It would be the best 6 man quest in DDO, if it were one, but as a 12 man instance, its a collosal bore.

On this I agree with you 100%. You definitely don't need 12 people to get Titan done, even after the "black barrier" changes.

[Junts]

But I'm sure it was a challenge to figure out when the quest first came out and now to all the new players coming in and trying it who don't have it down pat like we do.



On this I agree with you 100%. You definitely don't need 12 people to get Titan done, even after the "black barrier" changes.

Im sure it was challenging to figure out von6 without spoilers, but that doesn't mean its a well designed raid; a well designed raid remains entertaining and engaging when repeated the 10th time, a really good one the 100th time (eg, shroud) .. von is boring by the 5th run, because the fight is such a letdown.

[shinmade]

I've gathered long ago that Glass has a bit of a reputation on his server and has a wee bit of a hard time getting into a pug raid with the serious raiders on his server.

GC is a competent player, his POV on the forums is independent of him getting into groups as far as I am concerned.

[zavozod]

For me my beloved server of 3 years died with the bans. So with the birth of a new server. I went to Cannith. Ya it is full of DaDb's and wannabe uber pretend zergers, but arent they all?

[smatt]

I hear it's being fixed in the next update. Whether that's the one currently on Lammania (anyone tried it?) or the one after that I'm not entirely certain. Also whether that means removing the perch or fixing the unresponsiveness I'm not entirely sure either.

I know that's very vague but the fact that something relating to this tactic is being fixed implies exploit.


I think the fix will have to do with the AI on raid bosses which not only invovles ToD, but many of the other raids as well. There are specific things being used BESIDES the perch, and in conjunction with the perch, which are claerly off limits. But by definition and according to what was layed out by Turbine, using the natural terrain to your advantage is NOT an exploit.

[smatt]

Im sure it was challenging to figure out von6 without spoilers, but that doesn't mean its a well designed raid; a well designed raid remains entertaining and engaging when repeated the 10th time, a really good one the 100th time (eg, shroud) .. von is boring by the 5th run, because the fight is such a letdown.


Well yes, now with the cleric spot...... Tell you what go in there with a group of level 10's and get back to me Junts, and with loot that was availble at that time... Oh and no safe spot for the cleric....

I agree things could've been done a lot better in hindsight..... But the game was brand new..... It was a great raid at thta time..... Not so much now...

[Junts]

Well yes, now with the cleric spot...... Tell you what go in there with a group of level 10's and get back to me Junts, and with loot that was availble at that time... Oh and no safe spot for the cleric....

I agree things could've been done a lot better in hindsight..... But the game was brand new..... It was a great raid at thta time..... Not so much now...


Im just saying, I could understand why a player would look at the first 3-4 raids in DDO and see:

hero method heal spam = boring
8-9 party members just stand around and heal = boring
casters and archers are the only people needed = boring
and even arguably that the reaver is boring.

I run these raids with decent regularity and dont htink that way, but I can easily see how some people would find all those raids not particularly interesting.

[smatt]

Im just saying, I could understand why a player would look at the first 3-4 raids in DDO and see:

hero method heal spam = boring
8-9 party members just stand around and heal = boring
casters and archers are the only people needed = boring
and even arguably that the reaver is boring.

I run these raids with decent regularity and dont htink that way, but I can easily see how some people would find all those raids not particularly interesting.


Oh ya, I get it.... But you see the hero method wasn't how Von 6 was runw ay back when, there was no cleric safe spot. Healing was very limtied as was gear, and even HP's for tht matter. It was a chaotic mess at times back then at levels 8-10, and even when cap went to 12. At the time the raid was released and for a good time aftrwards, all the classes had a job in there, either in Von 5 or 6 or both. You're missing the point that at the time allt he great weapons even fro lowies wern't common yet, the skills wern't spread over all the classes like they are now.... Imagine a wand whipping cleric a Von 6 elite at level 10 It's like saying a commodore 64 is a piece of ****.. Ya now it's a relic.. But when it came out it was a pretty cool thing ;) I think it's hard for oyu to imagine, not only be low level but not realising the gear limits of that time.... A level 8-10-12 char. today is far superior to one at that time.

The same goes for the Titan, at the time and for a good amount of time after it came out even post-nerf, it was a challenge to get through the pre-raid, sure the raid was mroe or less 6 person affair but the pre-raid at level with the gear/skills/spells availble at the time was a challenge. Gaming moves forward and improves at an amazing rate. By the time soemthing is released it's already obsolete 3 or 4 times over.


In any event raiding isn't dead on Ghallandra :D

[Jefro]

I always open my DQs to puggers, but being on 103 counter now on my cleric, I do not run it much more, have pretty much what I want on all my other toons.


If I have 4-5 people who can trust with puzzles, I will open up rest of the abbot to puggers, though I rarely lead an abbot more then once a month myself.

I will join pug shrouds, abbots and reavers. I will only join hounds and vods only if knew some of the people in the raid, despite their bad choices of puggers with no pots.


I will only join a pug ToD if it is forming quick and going immediately since time consuming and may push into time set aside to run with guildies. So far had to bail out before starting, because taking too long to form. Always running late for people raids, because of helping someone else raid out lol
Everyone likes running their raids at the same time as the rest of the population, 8-midnight EST


With reincarnation coming you see less raiding and more people doing leveling. After last night, I do feel like needing a reroll :mad:

[smatt]

With reincarnation coming you see less raiding and more people doing leveling. After last night, I do feel like needing a reroll :mad:


You and me both Mr Fro........ I hate leveling toons :o

[Reisz]

What Sirea said, although to back it up, we have had all but two players now return to the game from long absences, so we do not PUG nearly as much as we used to.

Ditto

[Sothary]

Raiding is dead on the server? cmon!

I'll run 14 shrouds in a row, pug many VoD & Hounds

Ask many, I have raids up all the time...

[wamjratl1]

Raiding is dead on the server? cmon!

I'll run 14 shrouds in a row, pug many VoD & Hounds

Ask many, I have raids up all the time...

'tis true.

[smatt]

Raiding is dead on the server? cmon!

I'll run 14 shrouds in a row, pug many VoD & Hounds

Ask many, I have raids up all the time...


Soth, while I salute your constant LFM's for raids... I must reccomend that you see a shrink...... 14 shrouds in a row :eek: You sir are insane :D I can just barely handle 1 in a day anymore.... :o

[MissErres]

Raiding is dead on the server? cmon!

I'll run 14 shrouds in a row, pug many VoD & Hounds

Ask many, I have raids up all the time...

Ya, he just has this nasty habit of announcing them right after I jump into something. :p

[Destivona]

The Bladesinger Elite Guild raids as often as we can get enough peeps to do it, look us up if you'd like, we schedule for Monday nights at 10pm EST guild raids

[Sirea]

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc225/Kenori_Merrik/Necro.jpg

[Comfortably2]

For me my beloved server of 3 years died with the bans. So with the birth of a new server. I went to Cannith. Ya it is full of DaDb's and wannabe uber pretend zergers, but arent they all?

Yeah man, I'm still pretty sore over that. I have trouble getting into other games even now. How ever much I *****ed and moaned about content or lag or whatever nothing makes you realize how good you got it until someone takes it all away. I lost three years of work and fun to that lame ass ****. Lost a lota good friends too.