Epic Ten is now open for reporting. Please post your reports in the Tournament Discussion subforum. (I see mostly_harmless didn't even wait for the official announcement! )

Now the sponsor just needs to get his report together. I've got, what, until Tuesday night? Yeah, it'll be done by Tuesday... maybe LATE Tuesday.

Here the report:
http://www.schumacherswelt.de/realmsbeyo...rt_mh.html .
Defeat in 1544AD.
A fun game nevertheless.

W/Mo Conjure CripSlasher
Sword Mastery 12+1+3
Strength 9+1
Tactics 9+1
Protection Prayers 3

Crippling Slash {E}
Gash
Sun and Moon Slash
Frenzy
Rush
Healing Signet
Mending Touch
Resurrection Signet

W/E Shock Axe
Axe Mastery 12+1+3
Strength 9+1
Tactics 9+1

Eviscerate {E}
Executioner's Strike
Shock
Bull's Strike
Rush
Frenzy
Healing Signet
Resurrection Signet

W/A Shaker
Hammer Mastery 12+1+3
Strength 12+1

Earth Shaker {E}
Crushing Blow
Mighty Blow
Hammer Bash
Enraging Charge
Dash
Flail
Resurrection Signet

Me/Mo MoR Vortexer
Domination Magic 12+1+1
Inspiration Magic 9+1
Fast Casting 9+1

Mantra of Recovery {E}
Shatter Hex
Diversion
Energy Burn
Mirror of Disenchantment
Power Drain
Remove Hex
Resurrection Chant

E/Mo
Air Magic 12+1+1
Energy Storage 12+1
Protection Prayers 3

Blinding Surge {E}
Lightning Orb
Lightning Strike
Gale
Glyph of Lesser Energy
Air Attunement
Draw Conditions
Resurrection Signet

Mo/A Infuser
Healing Prayers 12+1+1
Divine Favor 10+1
Protection Prayers 8+1
Shadow Arts 3

Light of Deliverance {E}
Infuse Health
Reversal of Fortune
Dismiss Condition
Signet of Devotion
Deny Hexes
Protective Spirit
Return

Mo/A Restorer
Protection Prayers 12+1+1
Divine Favor 10+1
Healing Prayers 8+1
Shadow Arts 3

Restore Conditions {E}
Gift of Health
Reversal of Fortune
Spirit Bond
Mending Touch
Deny Hexes
Divine Intervention
Return

E/Rt Shattering Flagger
Water Magic 11+1+1
Energy Storage 9+1
Air Magic 6+1
Restoration Magic 9

Icy Shackles {E}
Freezing Gust
Deep Freeze
Blurred Vision
Storm Djinn's Haste
Glyph of Lesser Energy
Wielder's Boon
Weapon of Warding


Go Us!!!

Jude

Check this out:

http://www.gametrailers.com/umwatcher.php?upid=128

Made by a German guild; it actually has a storyline to it, and is very, very well done. I can only imagine the time it took to get all the shots, and then edit it into the seamless whole!

First off, I don't know whether I'll make GvG on Friday or not, it depends on what's happening and whether I feel I'll make a contribution to the team or just be dead weight.

Anyways, I think we need to divide GvG into 2 groups. We'll still have the Friday meetings, but instead they'll be a bit more casual, like what AB does. This doesn't mean it'll be bring whatever you want, but it does mean we won't be running a specific build. People show up on a char they want to play (hopefully some people will want to monk) and then I can make some changes to bars to "tweak" them (aka if someone shows up with Spiteful Spirit, that's getting replaced), along with Fox if he wants to. The atmosphere will be more laid back and match reports will be optional. Also, and here's the big kicker, leadership will be changed around so that everyone will eventually get experience leading the group.

The other team will meet more regularly, maybe 3 times per week to start out, and will be more of a focused group for those who want to be competative. Egos and jokes will not be allowed in the match and we will analyze every match after we play it, watching observer to see what we did right and where we can improve. We will be running a specific build that we all agree on (probably taken from observer) and it's up to each person to make sure they have the skills and items available to play at least 2 of the characters in case we want to change around between matches. This will be the team with higher expectations on players.

Obviously, neither team should expect to make it on the ladder (or very high on it, if we somehow manage to get our rating up to that point), but it's very clear, to me at least, that people in the guild have very different expectations for GvG and I know I'm not the only one that would like to get a bit more competative without becoming a hardcore GvG guild.

That's all for now.

http://www.strategyinformer.com/pc/civil...rview.html

I have to admit, when Beyond the Sword was announced I was somewhat skeptical, Warlords seemed to be a bit overrated to me, and was overall weak on content and to me didn't have much of a draw when it comes to making you want to buy and play the game. This interview just released is actually very encouraging, and if this stuff he talks about is balanced and fully implemented (not vassal states all over again), then I think we've got some stuff to be excited about. Here's a few things that were news to me:

Quote:One of my favorite leaders is Queen Boudica of the Celts. Not only was she impressive in real life (she almost kicked the mighty Romans out of Britain), but in terms of gameplay her charismatic and aggressive traits have an awesome synergy. In terms of units, the coolness factor of Privateers and Paratroopers has finally returned to Civilization, only this time the AI knows how to use them. Beware!

Quote:One option that I think will prove popular in multiplayer is the ability to select any leader-civilization combination. Not only is there something fascinating about using Gandhi to lead your Mongol Keshiks into battle (!), but with this new option Civilizations and leaders that were previously unpopular in multiplayer will receive new attention. Another feature that may revitalize the traditional sequential turn play mode (as opposed to simultaneous turns, which seems to be more popular in multiplayer) is the fact that now all players on the same team take their turns simultaneously. That way you can combine fast online play with traditional game mechanics.

Quote:Thanks to our fans, we knew the shortcomings of the game and we have worked hard to address them. My personal favorite has to be the fact that the AI has now been transformed into a formidable opponent who no longer needs hefty bonuses to compete with a smart human.

I've been tinkering with something off and on over the past few days. A proposal for a Realms Beyond page on Guild Wars Wiki in the guild pages section. Basically I've been contemplating doing this for about a month now (after having gained a little familiarity with wiki code fixing content in fan made wiki and also seeing ZoS have recently got their page up).

Before I go ahead with putting my BS up on the Net I want a little feedback and I'm planning on refining so we start off with more of a "Realms Beyond brought to you by Realms Beyond" thing happening instead of "The World According To WarBlade".

Here goes...

1.) Do we actually want this? We can broadcast our existence to the world and I'm picking that most here will say yes, but I think we should hear from anyone who thinks this is a bad idea as well.

2.) What have I missed? What do people want to see that I have not yet included?

3.) What have I included so far that we don't want on the page?


And here are the sections, complete with basic wiki formatting, ready for you guys to mercilessly rip apart and make me feel like a tiny piece of snot stuck to a snail's arse...

Quote: Realms Beyond is a gaming community spanning several games, one of which is Guild Wars. The roots of the Guild Wars guild can be traced back at least a decade when some of the founding members formed their in-game and forum friendships in gaming communities based around earlier PC Games. A core ethic that has been with the RB community for a number of years is the desire to seek challenges and fun, which has given rise to Realms Beyond's embracing of "variant" gameplay.

Quote: == Variant Gaming ==

A Variant is a self-imposed handicap that can significantly increase the challenge of any game to which variant rules are applied. In Guild Wars [[PvE]] these variants have largely been item handicaps for Realms Beyond, although skill and profession restrictions can also apply. PvP players in other guilds have become familiar with the idea of "Sealed Deck" rules, which is another example of a variant.

'''Nudist Variant'''
Realms Beyond launched its "nudist variant" a long time prior to the release of Factions. In a nutshell these players eschewed all armor and restricted their characters to starter weapons, thus taking the idea of skills-over-equipment to the extreme. The challenge was more than simply negligible damage attacks and suffering much harder hits due to the lack of armor. Having no armor also results in heavy constraints on a character's base energy supply for skill use as well as a mere two pips of energy regeneration.

'''Living of the Land'''
The "LoL" group launched shortly after the release of [[Nightfall]]. The rules were a simple collection of restrictions ensuring that the characters only used items and armor acquired 'out in the field'. Purchases from outpost merchants and armor vendors were not permitted, which left the Living of the Land players to scavenge for collectible loot to trade to various collectors and with any luck find and salvage desired [[Runes]] and [[Insignias]].

Quote: == Achievements ==

'''Title Hunters'''
Realms Beyond players have frequently pursued challenges within Guild Wars that other players find daunting or perhaps even tedious.
''Survivors:'' Their affinity for PvE challenges has led to a number of attempts at [[Survivor]] titles, some of which have reached the third tier, [[Legendary Survivor]].
''Cartographers:'' A number of Realms Beyond have forayed into every corner of [[Tyria]], [[Cantha]] and [[Elona]], literally, to achieve 100% explored [[Cartographer]] titles.
''Maxed titles:'' [[Maxed titles rank]] is something people eventually acquire after multiple titles have reached their maximum levels and some players in Realms Beyond are able to sport this title if they choose to do so.

'''Dominant Secondaries'''
Some of Realms Beyond's player base have been very quick to grasp the idea of a dominant secondary profession played over a character's primary profession to the point where some of the recognizable PvE characters within the guild are well known for a very specific mix of primary and secondary professions. Such character builds have been refined over time to become fairly competitive designs, occasionally springing nasty surprises on PvP battle fields.

'''Alpha Testers'''
Several members of Realms Beyond have been active in [[ArenaNet]]'s Alpha Test program. The [[NPC]], "Mahk Jenshan" in the [[Wilderness of Bahdza]], was named after one of these people.

Quote: == Recruitment ==

Recruitment into Realms Beyond has historically taken place when chance meetings between players within the guild and others highlight a mix of people who get along well with eachother. Realms Beyond can be also be contacted on their forum at [http://realmsbeyond.net/gw/ www.realmsbeyond.net]


== Contact information ==

'''Website:''' [http://realmsbeyond.net/gw/]
'''Forums:''' [http://www.realmsbeyond.net/forums/]

Red Team (Anc) verus Blue Team (SkY).

Both teams had fairly balanced builds. Red opted for some interesting choices, as did Blue.

Red had your average D/W, W/E, and opting for a P/E for support. This cost them, I think, as he didn't seem to add much overall. Me/Mo, Mo/A, and a Mo/W LoD Infuser, along with an E/Mo Water Trident / Hexer, and an E/Rt Flagger utilizing Weapon of Warding and Wielder's Boon, Mind Shock, and Arc Lightning. Their P/E used some support with some offense, Defensive Anthem and "Brace Yourself!" keeping up the defense, and Aggressive Refrain, Anthem of Flame, and "Go for the Eyes!" coupled with Spear attacks to go offensive.

Blue, on the other hand, decided to be a bit more creative. They brought along a whopping 3 Monks (1 LoD / Infuse, 1 Divert Hexes / Purge Signet, and 1 Smiting / Protection Monk using Balthazar's Aura, Zealot's Fire, Smite Hex, Auspicious Incantation for E-management, and Air of Enchantment, along with a few Prot Prayers spells. Standard Me/Mo and Ne/E Hexers coupled with your standard E/Mo Flagger (packing Martyr with Water Hexes). The W/D was your average Crippling Slash with Pious Haste (more popular than W/E lately, it seems), along with unique skills like Rending Touch and Final Thrust. With no self-Enchantments, Rending Touch worked well to rip enchantments off would-be targets, and Pious Haste has full benefits with no additional cost from Enchant removal. The D/E was also unique, packing Conjure Frost + Grenth's Fingers, and using Wounding Strike as en Elite. Two more quick-attacks for spiking, along with Harrier's Haste for anti-kite rounded him out.

It started off with Blue beating Red to the flagstand, and was pretty much a stalement from then on, with Red taking control of the flag shortly after, and maintaining it until about the 8 minute mark, IIRC. Blue suffered a death here or there, and Red may have, too, but for the most part it was a see-saw battle between toddlers. :P In other words, no one was going much of anywhere. By the 8 minute mark, Red had been pushed back and Blue took full oppurtunity of the advantage, grabbing the flag and keeping their flagger at bay over the coral, before she finally gave up. Locked in ice, Red's flagger could not cross the coral at more than a snail's pace, and suffered damage because of it, so she retreated to rejoin her comrades near or in her base. Blue pressed Red right into their base, and by 11 minutes, the Overall Status was showing a steep decline by Red, with Blue staying pretty level. Red would never recover from this point onward.

Blue kept Red pinned in the base, battling back and forth until about 19:30, when they called the retreat for VoD. Red took full advantage and ventured out towards the first bridge, where when VoD was called both parties met at the flag stand, each coming from their base. It was here that Red's NPC disadvantage was took its toll, and by the 21 minute mark Blue had secured yet another in a string of Morale Boosts, which Red could have easily prevented. They didn't, and instead opted to stand around waving the flag like a peace-symbol until Blue got a morale boost at 21, before stealing it back. It did no good. By the 22 minute mark, 3 Reds had collapsed under very coordinated spikes from Blue, only to res mere seconds later. It would do no good, however, as Blue now had an extreme advantage (mass NPCs + 3 more players), and Red was in full retreat shortly after.

By 23 minutes, all but 2 Reds were gone, leaving only their Dervish and one other. They spiked one down in mere seconds, then spiked the Dervish down while hammering the Guild Lord. It was almost a close battle as to who would die first, but the Dervish flopped at about 23:18 and the Guild Lord followed at 23:21.

Red confused me a bit with their skill. They didn't seem to be keeping up with the healing nearly enough, especially evidenced in the Party Health meter and despite having a Morale advantage through almost half the game. It's not that they were dying in droves, just that they didn't keep their players topped off. Blue, on the other hand, rarely fell as low party-wide as Red did, and continued to spam massive Hexes onto Red, while pushing major spikes against certain targets. That Smiter Monk played a key role, I think, almost spiking a Red caster to death in the blink of an eye (from 100% to 15% Health in a few seconds) with Zealot's Fire and Balthazar's Aura. There was plenty of Hex removal, both on the casters and the meleers, so Red's Water Hexer / Flagger was simply outdone. I would assume the Red Me/Mo was your average Migraine Hexer, but I'm not positive, and in any case it did NOT seem to hurt Blue much at all.

Blue seemed to play a better game overall, but I can't help but think their unique build choices coupled with their high spike potential and powerful Hex pressure helped significantly, as well. They would have stood up against a more generic Necro / Mesmer Hex pressure build just as well, I should think, given the amount of removal they had, but a Condition heavy build might have caused them problems. They weren't very heavy on the healing, but what they had worked well enough. Triple Aegis coverage probably helped here, as well, but I can't say by how much.

All in all a good match that went the distance. It was very fun watching it, although I can't say I learned much, spending most of my time cataloguing Blue's builds. Still, I learned some, and it was worth it just to see some unique builds.

Hope this small write-up proves helpful to someone here, as well. Sorry for the lack of coverage on Red's builds, but I was having too much fun watching Blue, and the game got pushed off by the third or fourth watch-through.

Red:
----------------------
The Ancalentari (Anc):
----------------------
W/E

D/W

P/E
Spear of Lightning
Wild Throw
Agressive Refrain
Anthem of Flame
Defensive Anthem (E)
"Brace Yourself!"
"Go for the Eyes!"
Resurrection Signet (?)

E/Mo
Water Trident (E)
Deep Freeze
Blurred Vision
Frozen Burst
Convert Hexes
Glyph of Lesser Energy
Water Attunement
Resurrection Chant (?)

Me/Mo

Mo/A

Mo/W
Signet of Rejuvenation
Protective Spirit
Light of Deliverance (E)
Holy Veil
Dwayna's Kiss
Infuse Health
Draw Conditions

E/Rt Flagger
Weapon of Warding
Wielder's Boon
Storm Djinn's Haste
Mind Shock (E)
Arc Lightning
Glyph of Lesser Energy

Blue:
----------------------------------
What is the Smell of Clouds (SkY):
----------------------------------
D/E
Harrier's Haste
Conjure Frost
Grenth's Fingers
Pious Restoration
Wounding Strike (E)
Mystic Sweep
Eremite's Attack
Resurrection Signet (?)

W/D
Rending Touch
Pious Haste
Crippling Slash (E)
Gash
Sun and Moon Slash
Final Thrust
Frenzy
Resurrection Signet

Me/Mo
Mantra of Persistence
Conjure Phantasm
Spirit of Failure
Migraine (E)
Power Drain
Signet of Humility
Spirit Shackles
Resurrection Signet (?)

Ne/E
Reaper's Mark (E)
Faintheartedness
Price of Failure
Parasitic Bond
Reckless Haste
Glyph of Lesser Energy
Vocal Minority
Resurrection Signet (?)

Mo/Me Protection / Smiting:
Auspicious Incantation
Air of Enchantment (E)
Guardian
Reversal of Fortune
Zealot's Fire
Smite Hex
Balthazar's Aura
Resurrection Signet (?)

Mo/E
Divert Hexes (E)
Aegis
Gift of Health
Protective Spirit
Reversal of Fortune
Glyph of Lesser Energy
Purge Signet
Dismiss Condition

Mo/E
Signet of Rejuvenation
Light of Deliverance (E)
Dismiss Condition
Holy Veil
Glyph of Lesser Energy
Aegis
Reversal of Fortune
Infuse Health

E/Mo
Martyr (E)
Mending Touch
Aegis
Teinai's Prison
Freezing Gust
Blurred Vision
Storm Djinn's Haste
Glyph of Lesser Energy

Hi

I have recently started playing the game of NationStates with my children.

It takes about 5 to 10 minutes a day, and has become the springboard for some great discussions about government, government policies, ethics, environmental concerns, etc.

I have two nations on the go, the nation of Karen S, in the region of Pike Bay and the nation of Ornery Tree Huggers , in the region of TheAmazonBasin.

The outcomes are often amusing, as the game does take any decision to the extreme. But they are issues that our governments must juggle all the time. In each case, you can chose to act on one of the proposals given, or you can dismiss the issue (ignore it, like governments so often do).

I liked that it is possible to set up password protected regions in which to place your nation(s) and that you can track the activities of other nations of interest to you.

It has provided quite a number of good discussions with my sons. For the eldest, it has mitigated some of the rants he used to direct my way about how unfair taxes are, in general, now that he is deciding what he is buying with those tax dollars in the game. For the youngest, it has been an educational tool on what sorts of things governments do (and great practice at reading aloud as well as expanding his vocabulary).


Since I am not the only parent around here, I thought I would share.

Edit: I suck at posting links.

Hi, here's a mod I knocked up to eliminate WW. It's mainly meant for those who enjoy always war games, but don't want to be crippled with WW. I'm currently playing a AW game on monarch/highlands/celts with it and it's working fine for me. I might do a write up about it when I finish. However, I wouldn't advise it for normal games because I think WW affects other AI decisions, like when to make peace. It could turn it into a game where the AI will never sign peace .

I'm not a modder (this is the first one I made) and it's quite a crude way of doing it. Basically I changed every civic to include "No war weariness". Instructions: Drag the folder to your warlords/mods folder. Open warlords, then go advanced->load a mod.

Mod is for warlords because I thought that's where the majority of AW games are played (the great generals are fun!), but I can easily make a vanilla one.