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How do you satiate the hunger of a group of killers? How do you soothe an unrelenting lust for death? How do you satisfy an unquechable thirst for murder?
The answer: You create a bloodbath.
Before we actually begin however, I would like to take a moment to discuss the previous news post from roughly 2-3 weeks ago. Obviously for those who check the News Forum, you might have noticed an ongoing debate about what actually happened. Did I kill Reree? Or did Reree kill me? The simple fact of the matter is, that the argument is pointless.
Members of OPP take it very seriously when our credibility is being assaulted, however.
I think it is painfully obvious to the general public that if you are better than someone, you should be able to consistently kill that person. And if you are not, you will obviously consistently die to that person. A picture speaks a thousand words:
And now... back to the bloodbath...
So our story begins...
Anyone who has been playing Vanguard for a long enough time understands that one of the more common practices on the FFA PvP server is the "camping of riftways." While this might sound foreign to those that does not play Vanguard, rest assured, this practice has been done throughout FFA PvP games under various names. For examples, in Ultima Online, you had the "camping of runegates," in Shadowbane, you had the "camping of trees of life," in EVE Online you have the "camping of stargates," and etc. and so forth.
Those familiar with the practice obviously understands its basic purpose: to kill. Position a group of friendly forces at a high traffic point, and proceed to kill everyone that shows up. While OPP as a whole has practiced this tactic in the past and will undoubtedly practice it in the future, however a distinction must be made between benign camping of traffic points vs. lame camping.
One of the fundamental characteristics of someone proceeding through a traffic point is "load time." This basically means that while proceeding to another area, you have to give your computer time to load. Obviously those camping your exit point has a distinct advantage over you, not with just numbers itself, but with the ability to strike at you while you are defenseless and loading the environment.
When you are bored and camping a riftway to get some PvP action, that is perfectly fine. When you camp it with a buddy or two, ok, that's a little lame, but still fine. What is unequivocably lame is when you camp an entire riftway with you entire guild. What is the point? Some poor sap shows up and gets instantly killed before his computer even loads? Where's the fun? Where's the competition?
OPP, as a competitive guild, frowns on anything that takes away from the competitive nature of PvP. When a guild camps an altar with 1, 2, or hell even 3 groups sometimes, It is pointless and stupid. No one has a chance to win coming through the riftway. What's even worse is when the guild camping the riftway is one of the biggest guilds on the server and allied to perhaps the biggest guild on the server. You are basically guaranteeing yourself cheap kills. No one can rival your numbers.
So why do guilds like OPP disdain such actions, while other guilds that are 2-5x bigger, embrace such actions? Simple answer: Balls vs. pussies. Most members of these large guilds know they can never win an even number fight, let alone one where they are outnumbered. While some people would obviously try to get better, these guilds go for the quick fix, and decide that numbers equate skill. Not feeling confident camping the traffic point by yourself? Call a couple buddies! Still not feeling confident? Hell, call your entire guild!
One of the guilds that has personified the above "lameness" is a guild called Magus Imperialus Magicus.
While this guild has been on the server probably as long as us, we initially regarded them as a honorable guild with a distinct desire to foster a competitive FFA PvP atmosphere.
Boy, were we wrong!
The last few days OPP has noticed a disturbing trend within this guild that we did not notice before. They have consistently been camping riftways with overwhelming numbers to the point where it is blatantly obvious they don't want a fight, they want to kill people that are still loading their screens.
OPP, unquestioned in our adhereance to our philosophy of competitive PvP, decided it was time to introduce ourselves to the Magus.
We knew before we even attempted our PK spree, that we would face an overwhelming disadvantage in numbers. While most people would have tucked their tails and avoided combat, OPP relishes the challenge Magus presents.
The plan was set, and put into motion.
We would strike them where they felt safest. Remind them that in the world of FFA PvP, there is no escape from death. We would attack them at their guild headquarters and leave for them a burning reminder that numbers will not always equate to safety.
When the time was right, we struck:
Caidyinz had no chance. He was killed before he even realized we were there.
Panic ensued for the enemy. Miscommunication undoubtedly lead a couple Magus to return home before they were suppose to...
Neoyoda (a 50 shaman), Laterian (a 50 druid), and Mrzek (a 50 warrior) answered the calls for help from Caidyinz, little did they know, they were already doomed...
Now they were really worried. In their minds they must have been thinking: How many OPP were there? How did they dispatch 3 of our level 50's so quickly and so mercilessly? They needed answers and they needed them quick. They sent a swift bard by the name of Illuga to scout...
He wasn't swift enough to run away though...
Now full on panic mode had set in for them. The Magus headquarters was undersiege and they would take no chances in lifting it. Before we knew it, the ENTIRE GUILD had simultaneously recalled home. We reacted quickly to this development and avoided any losses on our side. We even managed to pick off a Magus by the name of Keto as he chased us foolishly by himself.
12 Magus (2 full groups) had arrived at their guild headquarters (with 2 more on the way from nearby zones) to fight our mere 4-man strike team. I'll take it as a compliment they think they need more than 3-1 odds to have a chance. This was not a fight we could win, but we would not let them off the hook so easily.
We noticed a lone Magus by the name of Ezynite that did not heed their guild's call to rally and another Magus named Mylar that had just logged in. We decided a quick reaction and strike was necessary. If the Magus wanted to commit their entire guild to the defense of their headquarters, we would lay waste to any members they left behind.
We split our forces and within minutes we had arrived at our targets:
The Magus forces was now in complete disarray. Should they split their forces to help their members who were now being altar-camped? What if we struck their guild headquarters again? If they split their forces, can they be confident in fighting 4 OPP with 6 of their own?
The obvious answer was "no." The Magus that were being altar-camped eventually logged. The horde of Magus that showed up at their guild headquarters decided to stick together to avoid any chances of us picking them off.
The lesson of the story? No matter how large and vast you may appear to be, OPP's organization and willingness to fight will never be overshadowed by it.
Until the next bloodbath...
The answer: You create a bloodbath.
Before we actually begin however, I would like to take a moment to discuss the previous news post from roughly 2-3 weeks ago. Obviously for those who check the News Forum, you might have noticed an ongoing debate about what actually happened. Did I kill Reree? Or did Reree kill me? The simple fact of the matter is, that the argument is pointless.
Members of OPP take it very seriously when our credibility is being assaulted, however.
I think it is painfully obvious to the general public that if you are better than someone, you should be able to consistently kill that person. And if you are not, you will obviously consistently die to that person. A picture speaks a thousand words:
And now... back to the bloodbath...
So our story begins...
Anyone who has been playing Vanguard for a long enough time understands that one of the more common practices on the FFA PvP server is the "camping of riftways." While this might sound foreign to those that does not play Vanguard, rest assured, this practice has been done throughout FFA PvP games under various names. For examples, in Ultima Online, you had the "camping of runegates," in Shadowbane, you had the "camping of trees of life," in EVE Online you have the "camping of stargates," and etc. and so forth.
Those familiar with the practice obviously understands its basic purpose: to kill. Position a group of friendly forces at a high traffic point, and proceed to kill everyone that shows up. While OPP as a whole has practiced this tactic in the past and will undoubtedly practice it in the future, however a distinction must be made between benign camping of traffic points vs. lame camping.
One of the fundamental characteristics of someone proceeding through a traffic point is "load time." This basically means that while proceeding to another area, you have to give your computer time to load. Obviously those camping your exit point has a distinct advantage over you, not with just numbers itself, but with the ability to strike at you while you are defenseless and loading the environment.
When you are bored and camping a riftway to get some PvP action, that is perfectly fine. When you camp it with a buddy or two, ok, that's a little lame, but still fine. What is unequivocably lame is when you camp an entire riftway with you entire guild. What is the point? Some poor sap shows up and gets instantly killed before his computer even loads? Where's the fun? Where's the competition?
OPP, as a competitive guild, frowns on anything that takes away from the competitive nature of PvP. When a guild camps an altar with 1, 2, or hell even 3 groups sometimes, It is pointless and stupid. No one has a chance to win coming through the riftway. What's even worse is when the guild camping the riftway is one of the biggest guilds on the server and allied to perhaps the biggest guild on the server. You are basically guaranteeing yourself cheap kills. No one can rival your numbers.
So why do guilds like OPP disdain such actions, while other guilds that are 2-5x bigger, embrace such actions? Simple answer: Balls vs. pussies. Most members of these large guilds know they can never win an even number fight, let alone one where they are outnumbered. While some people would obviously try to get better, these guilds go for the quick fix, and decide that numbers equate skill. Not feeling confident camping the traffic point by yourself? Call a couple buddies! Still not feeling confident? Hell, call your entire guild!
One of the guilds that has personified the above "lameness" is a guild called Magus Imperialus Magicus.
While this guild has been on the server probably as long as us, we initially regarded them as a honorable guild with a distinct desire to foster a competitive FFA PvP atmosphere.
Boy, were we wrong!
The last few days OPP has noticed a disturbing trend within this guild that we did not notice before. They have consistently been camping riftways with overwhelming numbers to the point where it is blatantly obvious they don't want a fight, they want to kill people that are still loading their screens.
OPP, unquestioned in our adhereance to our philosophy of competitive PvP, decided it was time to introduce ourselves to the Magus.
We knew before we even attempted our PK spree, that we would face an overwhelming disadvantage in numbers. While most people would have tucked their tails and avoided combat, OPP relishes the challenge Magus presents.
The plan was set, and put into motion.
We would strike them where they felt safest. Remind them that in the world of FFA PvP, there is no escape from death. We would attack them at their guild headquarters and leave for them a burning reminder that numbers will not always equate to safety.
When the time was right, we struck:
Caidyinz had no chance. He was killed before he even realized we were there.
Panic ensued for the enemy. Miscommunication undoubtedly lead a couple Magus to return home before they were suppose to...
Neoyoda (a 50 shaman), Laterian (a 50 druid), and Mrzek (a 50 warrior) answered the calls for help from Caidyinz, little did they know, they were already doomed...
Now they were really worried. In their minds they must have been thinking: How many OPP were there? How did they dispatch 3 of our level 50's so quickly and so mercilessly? They needed answers and they needed them quick. They sent a swift bard by the name of Illuga to scout...
He wasn't swift enough to run away though...
Now full on panic mode had set in for them. The Magus headquarters was undersiege and they would take no chances in lifting it. Before we knew it, the ENTIRE GUILD had simultaneously recalled home. We reacted quickly to this development and avoided any losses on our side. We even managed to pick off a Magus by the name of Keto as he chased us foolishly by himself.
12 Magus (2 full groups) had arrived at their guild headquarters (with 2 more on the way from nearby zones) to fight our mere 4-man strike team. I'll take it as a compliment they think they need more than 3-1 odds to have a chance. This was not a fight we could win, but we would not let them off the hook so easily.
We noticed a lone Magus by the name of Ezynite that did not heed their guild's call to rally and another Magus named Mylar that had just logged in. We decided a quick reaction and strike was necessary. If the Magus wanted to commit their entire guild to the defense of their headquarters, we would lay waste to any members they left behind.
We split our forces and within minutes we had arrived at our targets:
The Magus forces was now in complete disarray. Should they split their forces to help their members who were now being altar-camped? What if we struck their guild headquarters again? If they split their forces, can they be confident in fighting 4 OPP with 6 of their own?
The obvious answer was "no." The Magus that were being altar-camped eventually logged. The horde of Magus that showed up at their guild headquarters decided to stick together to avoid any chances of us picking them off.
The lesson of the story? No matter how large and vast you may appear to be, OPP's organization and willingness to fight will never be overshadowed by it.
Until the next bloodbath...
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