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Games Site Mass-Update 2011
by Eonwe-(Valar)
August 3, 2011
Hail to All members of the Valar Guild!
It is I, Eonwë, and the
time has come once again for the Games Site Mass-Update :} For those who
joined since last September, it's the time of year that I, the Games
Site webmaster for the Valar Guild, wipe the slate clean, clear out all
the old gaming info for last year, and ask you the members to send in
your most current gaming info. Why? So that YOU the membership can get
with other Valar Guild members in any online game you play :}
Another
purpose is to let us know that those of you who may not have a chance
to pop in on games or come to meetings quite so often are still
interested in being members of the Valar Guild. As such, replying to the
GSMU e-mail counts as contact when Varda conducts the Activity Sweep :}
A response saying "I don't play any games currently" is better than no
response, as it lets us know you're still there, and your e-mail is
still working, you're just a little swamped at the moment. All replies
should be sent in by September 30th.
What am I looking for?
Simply,
what games you play, and the name by which you'd like other members to
find you in those games. If you're in our guild branches in Lord of the
Rings Online or World of Warcraft, that's all I need to know for those.
So what have we been up to on the Gaming front over the last year?
Lord
of the Rings Online (aka LotRO) continues to be our strongest game,
sporting the most active members. We make our home on the server
Landroval. Regular runs are scheduled for Monday and Wednesday nights at
8pm US Eastern time (Valar Standard Time), but plenty get together
during the week as well. Since last year, players have had a
free-to-play option for Lord of the Rings Online, so if you want to get
with us but can't shell out the money for a monthly subscription, LotRO
might be an option for you. There are two other options: Premium (which
one gets the moment they buy something i.e. Turbine Points for LotRO),
and VIP (which is the standard subscription model).
Recently,
all LotRO servers have been brought under Turbine's control into a
single realm list. This is a boon for a guild like us, with members all
over the world, as now members from anywhere can join us on Landroval.
The
third expansion, Rise of Isengard, will be launching on September 27th.
For more info about LotRO, you can check out the official site at http://my.lotro.com/home/.
World of Warcraft (WoW) is our second strongest game,
with regular activity and appearances by members throughout the week. We
make our primary home as Alliance on the US server Lothar. Our regular
runs are scheduled for Friday and Sunday at 7pm US Eastern time/VST.
Fridays are for Cataclysm-level content (80+), and Sundays we go back to
older stuff for Achievements/mounts/rep/the fun of it.
Since Cataclysm came out last year, Guilds have had the
ability to level up to gain perks, and the ability to gain Achievements.
As of this writing, we're closing in on level 13. We've also been
working on getting the guild Achievements, as noted above. To get guild
Achievements for dungeons and raids, a guild group (of course) is
required. For dungeons, this is defined as at least 3 out of the 5
members being in the guild. For 10-man raids, it's 8/10, and for 25-man
raids, it's 20/25, except for the level 70 25-mans, which work with
8/10. For the old 40-man raids, it's 10/40. For arenas (a PvP option),
the requirement is all members of the group be in the same guild.
We also have a Horde presence on the server Uldaman, though it has not seen much use of late.
For those interested in joining us in WoW, you can just
ask me (our lead Vala in WoW). You got this letter so you have my e-mail
already :} Unfortunately, Blizzard still has servers separated by
region, so anyone joining us will need a US copy of the game.
For those looking at a trip back to the lands of
Sanctuary, Diablo 3 should be entering its beta phase soon. Blizzard has
recently launched the D3 Community Site, which you can see here:
http://us.battle.net/d3/en/.
As always, there's more to do for the Valar Guild than
game, if you can't join us in any games. We take Tolkien-inspired art,
stories, and poetry. We're always looking for articles for the Valar
Guild's Tolkien Encyclopedia. For more information on contributing any
of these, contact Varda.
We have a Forum where you can chat with other members
about Tolkien, Games, or other stuff, or just say hi. You can find it
here:
http://valarguild.proboards.com/index.cgi. Make sure to use your Guild Name so we know who you are :}
We have weekly meetings on AIM, every Sunday at 5pm US
Eastern time, channel Valar Guild Meetingplace. We discuss guild
business, then move on to Tolkien chat. All members are welcome to come.
If you need help getting in, you can whisper VardaValar1 (Varda
obviously :}) or Eonwe Valar (me obviously :}).
Member-written game reviews, game tips, etc., are always welcome for the Games Site.
Got something else you think we need on our Guild web site? Let Varda and me know :}
Lastly, but certainly not least, we'll be celebrating the
Valar Guild's 14th Anniversary on October 4th. Members are welcome to
send in contributions in celebration of the Anniversary (make sure to
indicate it's such in the e-mail) or participate in our other forms of
celebration. Our annual weeklong chat marathon will begin the Sunday
Meeting before the Anniversary and run through to the Sunday after the
Anniversary. All members are welcome to come in, say hi, and help us
keep the chat room up and open for the whole week. For info/suggestions
on celebrations in individual games, namely LotRO and WoW, you can
contact the respective leads in those areas.
So, to wrap up:
1.)
Send me your gaming info by September 30th. As a perk to those who
attend meetings, you can respond to the GSMU letter there.
2.) Chat and game with other members :}
3.) Continue to bear the emblems of the Valar Guild proudly and honorably :}
4.) Read Tolkien :} Or at least read :}
Take care all, and hope to hear from you soon!
Eonwë
"There Iluvatar permitted the Valar to maintain upon
Earth an abiding place, a memorial of that which might have been if
Morgoth had not cast his shadow on the world." -The Silmarillion
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