User:Tero Gein/My Journey

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My Journey Through Guild Wars
Ever since I can remember, I've played video games, but have never considered myself a "gamer." It was always just casual console play (since NES) or adventure RPGs on my computer (Hero's Quest FTW!!). I played Diablo II for a good number of years with my brother, but I never really played it as much as some. I had a pretty good account, but I gave it up once I lost interest.

Then, upon deciding to pursue a career in pharmacy at the University of Toledo, I stopped playing games almost altogether to focus on getting into the program. I was accepted in May of 2005, and a giant weight was removed from my shoulders. With time to relax, I got back into console games with my roommates, playing games like Madden and whatnot. It wasn't until I moved in with my girlfriend (now fiancee) that I found Guild Wars.

Around January of 2007, I started hearing some things about an MMORPG with no monthly fees, that didn't rely on you spending hours upon hours of your time just to be able to compete. I did some reading up on Guild Wars, and was intrigued with that fact that it was more strategy-based than it was having elite gear (much like Diablo II was). I decided to give it a shot, and bought Guild Wars: Prophecies. I had fun with it at first, but around April I had to go back home and get some internship hours in for the Board of Pharamcy. I took about 2-3 months away from the game, and sort of forgot about it.

Shortly thereafter, I had a semester where my classwork demands were extremely low, and decided to give Guild Wars another try. This time, I got hooked. I joined up with a guild called Reaping Scythe, and learned the ins and outs of the game from some of the members. I finally had a basic understanding of the fundamentals of the game, and was able to venture out on my own without having to lean on my guildmates so much. That, and the game was suddenly much more entertaining.

Once I got to the Ring of Fire Islands with my main character, I joined up with a PUG to finish all three missions there. One of the members of this group was a player named Darrian Darkwater, with whom I became almost instant friends. It turned out that he was the leader of a guild named Knights of the Blazing Phoenix (KOBP), and asked if I wanted to join. At the time, Reaping Scythe was becoming stagnant, and had been at around 35 members for over 3 months. I decided to join up with KOBP at that point, which is where I met the vast majority of the in-game friends that I have today.

Within this alliance is also where I met Holy Hottie. At the time, he was an officer of Guardians of the Cosmos (GotC). After being a member of KOBP for several months, the guild (and alliance) leader Darrian decided to retire from Guild Wars and dissolve the guild. It was at that point that Miss Draxis, the leader of GotC, became the new alliance leader. GotC decided to take in whichever members from KOBP that wished to stay within the alliance. It was then where I became close friends with a core of players, including Holy Hottie, Killah Kayla, Warriors R Mint, Mannimarco Vic, Lord Zakurah, and Great General Kael.

After some time, there began to be some rumblings within the guild, and, eventually, Holy Hottie decided that it was time to part ways with the alliance. Rather than stay with GotC, I decided to stay true to my friends, and left with Holy. At this time (right around this past December), Holy founded Keepers of the Holy Flame (KOHF), which we all joined. Surprisingly, a large number of fellow guildmates followed, and the guild roster shot up. After only 3 months, our membership reached 80 members, and our alliance grew to 5 guilds. I was promoted to officer in January, 2008, and quickly learned the ropes of recruiting and policing members. Not too long thereafter, our guild peaked at 92 members and a 9-guild alliance, and in April I was promoted to Head Recruiting Officer.

Some of our original core of players eventually moved on down their own paths, including Kayla and Mint. However, I met several other players within our new alliance from a guild called The Barracks (TBRX) whom I now call good friends. These include Atoran Jugan, Aralos Nosnibor, Citarra Deterra, Mephistopeles Devi, Moto Rolling, Xx Wren Ohmsford Xx, and Lord Kaseth. With these new friends, I was introduced to some of the elite areas of the game, and completed the Fissue of Woe, Urgoz's Warren, and several vanquishes.

Right around October, 2008, Holy decided that he wasn't up to the task of running a guild and alliance, and we ultimately decided to dissolve the guild. Most of the members of KOHF merged with TBRX, as their leader graciously decided to invite all KOHF members who wanted to stay. However, some of my good friends, including Atoran Jugan, decided to go their own ways. Not too long after, Holy and some of the leadership in TBRX (including myself) had a falling out, and Holy left. Some of the original KOHF members decided to follow, but most have since returned to TBRX.

As a member/officer of TBRX, I have grown leaps and bounds with regard to my in-game abilities due to the quality of some of the members, as well as their willingness to share their knowledge. TBRX is a very tight-knit group, with members who have been together since the beta phase of Guild Wars. Throughout my time with the guild, we have bounced between several alliances, but were largely unable to find a good fit. Certain alliances made empty promises with regard to activity and/or alliance events, and at times we felt a need to join more PvP-oriented guilds to allow members to get a taste for that venue (our leader, in fact, is a PvPer first). It wasn't until around April 2009 when I contacted an old friend, Miss Draxis, to ask about a possible alliance opening in the GotC alliance. They were more than willing to accept us, and many of the alliance members were actually good friends of mine before my original parting of ways back in 2007. Many of TBRX's members think that this alliance is a good fit, and several new friendships have already been formed. It's funny how things come full-circle.

Currently, I am spending my time just relaxing and playing with friends with minimal grinding. I have reached rank 2 of the KoaBD title track with my main character, Tero, and will eventually try to dust off and max those last few titles before reaching rank 3. I've decided to set a goal for 2010 to be rank 3, but that plays second-fiddle to my upcoming residency. Until next time, take care!

(Updated 6-29-09)