Every week we highlight EverQuest community members. If you are interested in being highlighted in a Meet the Community, look for instructions here! This week we are putting the spot light on a guild...
Meet the GuildWind of TranquilityServer: Antonius Bayle |  |
Originally it was going to be called Hand of Thorns (HoT) but that wasn't allowed and it ended up being Wind of Tranquility (WoT) instead. The why; I don't know that was a long time ago when AB was formed. What server do you play on?
Antonius Bayle Was the guild started specifically for EverQuest? Is your guild present in other games as well?
WoT only has an active presence in EQ, however quite a few ex-guildies went on to form a guild in EQ2. So yes, we were formed just for EQ. When it comes to your player base, what is the group's MMO background like? What games have you been playing over the recent past?
We have players from a wide range of backgrounds. FPS games, Ultima Online, WoW. EVE, Conan, Warhammer, and Vanguard. People play a lot of MMO's between them, also there are a number playing WH40K games e.g. Dawn of War. We've even had a few team up and play in Unreal tournament. 'Wind of Tranquility' has members that come from different European countries as well as the US. Where is your member base located geographically? How do you manage to accommodate all these players from different countries?
The biggest core of our guild comes from all the Scandinavian countries, UK and Germany; Denmark and Sweden appear to play a lot of games. Although we have fewer members from Europe countries, the guild leader is from Estonia and we have people from Switzerland, Belgium and France. Our US members are a mix of armed forces and those who have moved to Europe. Getting on is simple, we use English in guild chat and use typed language as primary communication, those that don't have good written skills soon pick up the basics of what to do on a raid; there are also enough native speakers to translate if people have problems. Occasionally jokes are not understood or language misinterpreted, but it all sorts itself out. Most countries in Europe seem to type English very well. The voice chat is also popular and it helps promote the other languages. There are some cultural differences, especially over holidays etc., but nothing that is significant. How many people are in the guild so far?
We have 84 active mains, and 500+ main and alt on the roster. Our policy is once in WoT always in WoT. If people stop playing we don't kick them out, they have to remove themselves. Are you currently recruiting? How many members would you like to see in the guild eventually?
As with any guild we are always looking out for good clerics and druids, they seem the hardest to find and are often the key to a successful raid. We don't have a goal number; we just want enough so that every raid is full to maximize our chances of winning. Being a family-raid guild and not super hardcore we need a reasonable roster to maintain this. Are you the original guild leader? And what is the best part of running the guild?
The original leader is no longer playing, though some of the original officers are still in the guild, but no longer officers. The best part of running a guild? Being right even if you're not and killing gnomes and bards. Tell us a little about your gaming experience and your role as 'guild leader'?
I'm the Raid Leader and have been on a temporary basis guild leader while our guild leader was on sabbatical. Raid leader is an often stressful job. I used to play a lot of FPS games, Quake, Unreal Tournament and the like, and had played EQ for a few months, but being in UK on US servers didn't work for me. When I had an injury to both of my hands I had to give up computing for 3 months when I returned, not able to play FPSs any more I moved onto Ultima Online. I saw it in a shop and bought it, played that for several years, then moved onto EQ when Luclin was launched. Again, I saw the box on the shelf and the whole Vah Shir race thing sold it to me. Have played EQ ever since. Occasionally, I get distracted when a WH40K game appears, but apart from that I don't play that many games. As a 'guild leader', tell us what is the hardest set back you've had to deal with and how you handled the situation and what was the outcome?
The hardest set back was the launch of EQ2 and WoW, it took many members away from the guild. Our numbers went from healthy to dreadful in a short time. A good portion of the guild stuck together, and even though we had to raid the same targets for a long time they put up with it as we rebuilt. This was a fantastic result and just shows how people see guilds as an important group of friends and not just a game. A lot of the core from the rebuilds are still very active members. We just recruited more people, of any class we could get. In many cases group of friends worked out a lot better than individuals. How many officers does the guild have?
Active we have 1 leader and 6 officers with a couple others who pop in occasionally. What resources do you provide to enhance interaction between members of your guild?
We have a forum, where dkp and discussion take place. Occasionally some people meet up in real life. How many times a week do you raid or have planned gatherings with other members of the guild and if so, how often?
We raid 3 days a week, and are currently working on finishing off MMM raids, and have killed Bahgresh in SoD. We aren't cutting edge, but we make good pace. Some raids are more serious than others and I think we make good progress; some always want it to be faster though. It's a difficult balance. Do you have many females in your guild? Do you think EverQuest is popular with women?
Yes we have quite a few females in the guild, our leader is one, and several clerics are shaman rogues. We also have a lot of real life partner combinations in the guild. And quite a few babies! I don't see why women wouldn't enjoy EQ as much as men; it is a great social forum, especially on a euro server where a lot of cultures mixing. Is 'Wind of Tranquility' currently in any alliance? If so, with which guilds; if not, are there any EverQuest guilds in particular that you hold in high respect right now?
We are not in any alliance at the moment, but many years ago, we did do an open friends raiding scheme, which built up numbers. AB is a raid guild heavy server, and a lot of good guilds are here. Guild dynamics change a lot over time so holding a single guild in respect is difficult. Some guilds are very different now compared to how they used to be. For those that have never visited your site, please introduce us to it?
Yes it can be found at www.wot-ab.net there you can follow our exploits, and some of the more interesting verbal exchanges in GU. Sometimes it appears to get out of hand, but honestly it is not always like the sound bites. Does the guild have a chart with its set of rules?
Yes we do. It is broadly applied to all members of the guild; discussions are hard if rules want to be changed. Would your guild give out free items to new players? How do you help them?
We don't see many genuine new players in WoT. On AB, there are some excellent family guilds who nurture these players that are part of the Musketeer alliance, doing raiding means that new players have a lot to catch up. We do see inexperienced players and the more experienced players help them to catch up in the raid scene, we also have strategy's, and quests needed posted on our forum to help them. Officers and many members do go out their way to help the newer members. If there was any one thing you could change or add to the game tomorrow, what would you ask for?
Less trash clearing on raids, and more tank-and-spank mobs to gear guilds up quickly with latest focii. Who's funniest Member?
For the funniest member I suggest you check the website out, lots of out of context screencaps there, some not for the faint hearted. Finally, if you were banished to live in a cave for the rest of your life, what one thing would you bring with you?
A wind-up radio. Do you have anything you'd like to say about the guild or EverQuest that we haven't touched on?
Just a big thanks to all the WoTies that have made the guild a success.
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