Ten Ton Hammer's Warhammer Online Guild of the Month

June's Guild - Vendetta

So there you are. Just made up your character and he/she looks cool. DAMN cool. You can't wait to get out there and play and level up! Oddly enough though, you start to find that the game gets boring for some reason. You log in and you're all alone, soloing or putting up with cheesy pick up groups just to get into some of the higher end content. You thought there would be more to Warhammer Online than just questing, ganking, and getting loot. This is where guilds come in. Guilds have many functions in MMOG's. They're a way to see higher level content. They're a means to get a chance at gear that you may not have ever seen othrwise. Most importantly, a good guild will become your online family. Full of friends you can't wait to jump online with and tackle the challenges of your game of choice.

We here at Ten Ton Hammer realize the importance of guilds in the world of MMOG's. That's why we're featuring a different Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning guild each month to give you a chance to get to know the different guilds of WAR and possibly help you find a group of like minded folks to make your gaming experience that much better.

This month, with the release of the game coming closer, we start interviewing two guilds a month. Also for the first time ever, we have two order guilds in a row! We welcome for the second half of the June guild of the month, Vendetta!

What kind of guild is Vendetta and what are they all about?

If I were to classify Vendetta for simplicity reasons, I would classify it as a hardcore guild with a casual undertone. To touch on the casual undertone aspect of the guild. Right now the average age for the guild is 30+ for its members, and with that comes a lot of real life responsibilities such as husbands, wifes, careers, school and so on. What we don't require from the guild members is that elitist mentality of 40+ hours a week required, must log on everyday, and must submit a blood, urine, and DNA sample just to be a member. Just because someone cannot log on everyday, or can't log 40 hours a week, doesn't mean that are not a quality gamer. Honestly I feel that ppl who may play slightly less can be even better, because they have that fire when they do log on, while someone who lives at their computer can lose that fire, or intensity of game play.

The hardcore part of the guild, is the intensity of game play that will be required from its members. We believe in quality over quantity. Every member, when they do log on must play at a skill level that is second to none. When you log on, members will not be sitting around in capital cities and chit chatting in general chat about the differences between windows and vista, or the something lame like Chuck Norris or Bruce Lee, when Vendeta members log on, you log in to win. You log in to play at the best possible level, no exceptions.

What other games have you been involved in and what sort of success have you seen in those games? What are the goals of Vendetta in Warhammer Online:Age of Reckoning?

I hail from FFXI, which is kind of a rarity since not as many ppl have played that game for a long period of time, and those that have, haven't left it haha. FFXI is one of those rare dying breed of MMO's that require grinding, skill, organization, and is ruthless on its gamers. Its not a fluffy bunny type game made for the masses and easy. Anyone who's had a max lvl toon in FFXI knows what I'm talking about. I was a guild leader in FFXI which they call a linkshell, but its the same thing. I was the leader for about 4 yrs of an endgame guild which included top tier raiding events such as sky, limbus, dynamis, and Earth, which are all types of boss and end game events. After FFXI I took a break from leadership and played a little Vanguard, and WoW. When I play a game I try and stick to it, I don't go around and play each and every game for 3-4 months, I invest in the game and play it as best I can.

What sort of time commitment are you looking for from members per week? Are there level requirements or restrictions for members?

One of the things that we did different that I have never seen from any other guild is our structure of raiding, and our raiding schedule. By raid I mean any and all guild oriented scheduled events, such as Keep sieges, RvR, PvE, things along those lines. Almost every guild application that says they are hardcore guilds asks the question "Can you make our raid times?", or something along those lines. The problem with having a set schedule with raiding means that if someone cannot make those set times then they cannot be a member of the guild, even if that person is a quality player, mature, and intelligent. To me this is seems to be just plain idiotic. What I have done in the past and it has worked exceptionally well is having a simplistic and easy to use rotating schedule that allows ALL members of the guild to participate in guild events. For example (this is not our schedule) If the guild were to raid Monday and Tuesday, what we would do, is have the 1st week of the month Mon & Tue, 2nd week of the month Wed, & Thur, 3rd week, Fri & Sat,then last week Sun. This allows for the raid schedule to rotate in a very simplistic and easy to follow way that will allow ALL the guild members to be fully participating in guild events.

Of course from start there won't be any level requirements for the guild, but that will change quickly as the game progresses. Vendetta isn't going to be a leveling guild, our intent is not to be a guild that people join to level their toon and when they get to max level they look for their endgame guild. We are their endgame guild, we're gonna be the guild that people look for after they have leveled their toon. Of course we'll help guildies level alts, and level their toons at start.

As far as restrictions, I'm a big fan of voice communication, for a PvP style game. With a lot of action going on, at a very quick pace, I'm sorry but needing to type for organization purposes is going to dramatically hinder guilds.

What level of importance do you place on the social aspect of your guild? Is Vendetta all about the end goal or more about the people involved?

To be honest we're about having a great social aspect for people who are interested in the end game goal. The guild will have people in all the tiers and all over the world, but ultimately everyone sooner or later gets a max character, thats when the game really takes off, and thats what we will be focused on.

If someone wanted to join your guild, what would be the best way to do so? Who should they get in contact with? Do they need to be a part of the Warhammer Online Beta test to apply or can they apply prior to release?

Paypal account under the name Arcadiea, send $20.00 to Arcadiea, thats how you get in. lol J/K

For anyone who hasn't checked out our website, its awesome, crazy active, and just a hell of a site for people to check out. The 1st thing you would need to do is register for the website using what you think will be you're in game name. After you register, everyone has to fill out an application. The reason everyone has to, even myself, is because there is an actual account that gets created for each member when they submit it. There will be no bias of some people having to fill an application, some who just get an invite and so on, everyone has to fill one out. After the application is posted, the application will be reviewed and they will be sent our vent info for a vent interview.

What the interview actually entails is an interview of the guild. Not us interviewing the applicant, but the applicant interviewing Vendetta. We have the applicant ask guild related questions about the guild. Most questions are about things such as the leadership positions of the guild, can I elaborate on the rotating raid schedule, is there a members cap for the guild, how will loot be handled, and why should they want to be a member of Vendetta. The reason we do it this way is because I want to know, what they want to know about Vendetta. It helps me know what peoples focuses are, and what they are looking for in a guild. After the interview process is over the applicant is put into a 3 week trial period.

What the trial period is not, is a quantified evaluation of the person. I believe most guilds that have a trial period do it wrong. They usually gauge someones play time, gear, gaming ability, raid attendance and so on, they judge to see if the person is a quality gamer. Honestly finding quality gamers is easy, there's millions of them out there, every server will have plenty. Finding quality gamers is easy, but finding quality people is hard, that's what a trial period is supposed to be about. To learn what type of person someone is. Will they be a positive asset to the guild?

Vendetta was formed during closed beta, we are not a pre-made guild from another game. It was formed from a few beta testers who continually ran across one another during the closed beta and we decided to start a guild and continue it through beta, and into open release. We are currently accepting members who are not in beta, but we do have a presence in closed beta atm.