United Defense of Daggerspine

The 12 Days of Warcraft Christmas

Rahnir — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 08:39:12 -0000

Posted 12/25/2011 01:39 AM by Rahnir.

The 12 Days of Warcraft Christmas (From an Alliance perspective)

On the first day of Christmas, Blizzard gave to me,
A daily quest near the world tree!

On the second day of Christmas, Blizzard gave to me…two brutal nerfs,
And a daily quest near the world tree!

On the third day of Christmas, Blizzard gave to me…a three day forum ban,
Two brutal nerfs,
And a daily quest near the world tree!

On the fourth day of Christmas, Blizzard gave to me…four failed pugs,
A three day forum ban,
Two brutal nerfs,
And a daily quest near the world tree!

On the fifth day of Christmas, Blizzard gave to me, FIVE! GANKING! HORDE!
Four failed pugs,
A three day forum ban,
Two brutal nerfs
And a daily quest near the world tree!

On the sixth day of Christmas, Blizzard gave to me…six losing BG’s,
FIVE! GANKING! HORDE!
Four failed pugs,
A three day forum ban,
Two brutal nerfs
And a daily quest near the world tree!

On the seventh day of Christmas, Blizzard gave to me…seven farmers farming
Six losing BG’s,
FIVE! GANKING! HORDE!
Four failed pugs,
A three day forum ban,
Two brutal nerfs
And a daily quest near the world tree!

On the eighth day of Christmas, Blizzard gave to me…eight measly gold
Seven farmers farming,
Six losing BG’s,
FIVE! GANKING! HORDE!
Four failed pugs,
A three day forum ban,
Two brutal nerfs
And a daily quest near the world tree!

On the ninth day of Christmas, Blizzard gave to me…nine more daily quests,
Eight measly gold,
Seven farmers farming,
Six losing BG’s,
FIVE! GANKING! HORDE!
Four failed pugs,
A three day forum ban,
Two brutal nerfs
And a daily quest near the world tree!
On the tenth day of Christmas, Blizzard gave to me…ten buggy bosses
Nine more daily quests,
Eight measly gold,
Seven farmers farming,
Six losing BG’s,
FIVE! GANKING! HORDE!
Four failed pugs,
A three day forum ban,
Two brutal nerfs
And a daily quest near the world tree!

On the eleventh day of Christmas, Blizzard gave to me…eleven hours of wiping,
Ten buggy bosses,
Nine more daily quests,
Eight measly gold,
Seven farmers farming,
Six losing BG’s,
FIVE! GANKING! HORDE!
Four failed pugs,
A three day forum ban,
Two brutal nerfs
And a daily quest near the world tree!

On the twelfth day of Christmas, Blizzard gave to me…twelve recycled dungeons
Eleven hours of wiping,
Ten buggy bosses,
Nine more daily quests,
Eight measly gold,
Seven farmers farming,
Six losing BG’s,
FIVE! GANKING! HORDE!
Four failed pugs,
A three day forum ban,
Two brutal nerfs
And a daily quest near the world tree!

Merry Christmas everyone!

-Rahnir

The Fast and the Furious

Resjudicator — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 20:26:35 -0000

Posted 10/04/2011 01:26 PM by Resjudicator.

<h2>Ragnaros, we're coming for you!</h2>

<p>In typical UD fashion we seemed to have picked the most difficult fights to perfect first. We got Shannox and Beth'tilec pre nerf - after a pretty meager amount of solid attempts on each. Since then, like it was predicted, the bosses have been dropping like flies.</p>

<p>Walking a mile in <b>Rhyolith</b>'s shoes was a walk in the park. Three shot</p>

<p>All we needed for <b>Alysrazor</b> was a little practice tornado dancing. Five shot.</p>

<p>Fly you fools! Right on past <b>Baleroc</b> who provided no problems what-so-ever. Three shot, and the second attempt produced a 31k hp wipe.</p>

<p><b>Majordomo Staghelm</b> - Majordeado. Three shot.</p>

<p>Ragnaros - your time is soon</p>

Stop at the Door!

Rahnir — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 07:33:57 -0000

Posted 09/17/2011 12:33 AM by Rahnir.

And take those mucky boots off! I don’t want you tracking spider guts into the house!

It took hours. It took days. It took blood, sweat and rage. It took getting overrun by tiny little bugs. And it took falling down from webs when we stepped in the bad stuff. But, in the end, we made a boss dead. Be proud United Defense. We are now officially exterminators of the arachnid variety. Tales will be told of this day for ages to come. When you’re regaling your grandchildren with stories from the good old days of sitting in front of your computer on a video game with your internet friends, you will tell them that you killed the biggest spider you had ever seen. And it was on fire. And you did all walking uphill. In the snow. Wearing your oldest, dingiest sweatpants. AND YEH DERN RITE LIKED IT THAT WAY!

Take in the glory.

Next up...a big rock dude. Which should be weak against my Vaporeon.

-Rahnir

Ready to Rumble!

Resjudicator — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 17:42:16 -0000

Posted 09/05/2011 10:42 AM by Resjudicator.

<h2>Shannox is dead, many, many more to follow</h2>

<p>After several >5% wipes, we finally downed our first boss in Firelands. " Just our first boss?" you say, "after all this time?" Valid question - but remember this was only our third real trip into Firelands together as a group, and only our second night of solid attempts on Shannox. Our first night of attempts saw several >5% wipes as well, primarily due to the fact that neither night were we able to bring a heroism. On our kill, an epic one last man standing nail-biter, we survived five magma ruptures - you're really not supposed to be able to do that.</p>

<p>Additionally, and more importantly, I thoroughly believe that this kill is a harbinger of great things to come. Recently United Defense has been bolstered by the return of some old friends like Servet and Vahlanos (and some silly warlock who just hit 85!) as well as seen some solid new additions arrive like Cupquake. We've spent the time necessary farming old content to get geared up, we've been running Firelands dailies like mad, we've been crafting the new epic gear, we've been farming our valor and justice points. We also have a stable roster that provides Miracleblade with some options, multiple heals, tanks and dps. In short, we are ready.</p>

<p>As such, we intend to make both Monday and Wednesday night raid nights = Firelands raid nights. We've seen enough of BWD, BOT, and To4W. We'll go back there and romp through from time to time to gear up folks who need it, but our progression focus is now solidly fixed on the elemental plane of fire. As such, it's time to educate yourselves. Look to these message boards this week for thorough boss strategies and tactics. Fill out those empty slots and be sure you've done everything you can to maximize your dps/hps. Free up your commitments for Monday and Wednesday night. It's on.</p>

<p>Ragnaros, here we come.</p>

By Fire Be Purged!

Resjudicator — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 19:04:34 -0000

Posted 06/28/2011 12:04 PM by Resjudicator.

The Rage of the Firelands is upon us:<BR>
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We must enter the elemental plain to defeat Ragnaros yet again. But don't you fear fellow guild members - remember we've been there, done that, have the t-shirt and another excuse to post the youtube clip:
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The past several months have been a tremendous period of change for United Defense.<br>
We have successfully transitioned leadership, not only of the GM, but also with our Raid Program. Supershock has gracefully accepted the yoke that is leadership of our raiding exploits, and despite lagging interest in raids, busy schedules and variable attendance, through his leadership we have been able to progress. Many thanks to those who have been showing up and demonstrating the commitment that is necessary to help us achieve our goals. Moving forward into 4.2 we plan to step-up our raid program another notch. In order to progress even further and to achieve the goal of downing Ragnaros -- we need a renewed commitment. We need to maintain two dedicated raid nights (Wednesday and Monday) as we must strive to achieve more balanced and consistent raid attendance. Supershock will be working on providing clear incentives engineered to meet these goals and Rahnir and the recruitment program will be tasked with finding adequate reinforcements when necessary.
<BR><BR>
Additionally, 4.1 saw United Defense's first foray into the world of Rated BGs. Thanks to PvP Executive Quessir and the leadership of Riley and Wimper, we were able to make our Thursday Rated BG nights a success. Moving forward into 4.2 we plan on hitting the ground running. Those interested must be prepared to farm honor and do the requisite amount arenas to get the gear. We have a legion of crafters ready to assemble the baseline starter sets, but those are not sufficient for Rateds - we need purples! Again, Rahnir is going to be tasked with looking for recruits to fill out our PvP ranks as well.
<BR><BR>
So, as 4.2 hits us - United Defense is in a pretty strong position. We have a large roster of friends enjoying the game for the camaraderie it brings. We are about to ding Guild Level 25 and soon will have the full allotment of available perks. Our guild finances are solid and will easily support the repairs of 2 raid nights and 1 battleground night. The ranks of leadership are full with people willing to step up and help newer members get trained and geared. We are going to hit the ground running in 4.2.....
Ragnaros beware the rampaging Furbolg army...
<BR><BR>

- Ben.

Strong. Sexy. Played by a Dude.

Rahnir — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 06:13:25 -0000

Posted 03/14/2011 11:13 PM by Rahnir.

A special something I painted up for the occasion.

-Rahnir

Passing the Torch

Hieronymous — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 01:49:36 -0000

Posted 03/08/2011 06:49 PM by Hieronymous.

Dear Members,

I’ve been UD’s GM for the better part of the past five years—and I’ve enjoyed the heck out of it. Hiero’s /played reads just under one full waking year out of the 80 some years I expect to spend on this planet—and the vast majority of that time played has been as GM. At times, the job has been challenging and rather stressful: I remember spending sleepless nights, starting at the ceiling in bed, trying to solve some of the guild’s more difficult developmental problems (*cough* 40-man loot system *cough*). At other times, the job has been filled with excitement and accomplishment: I’ll never forget the wild furbolg reverie through Stormwind and Ironforge after UD first killed Ragnaros. On the whole, the experience has been a deeply rewarding one for me.

As you know, there have been periods of time when I’ve spent pretty much all my waking hours online, and during which (I believe) I’ve done a pretty decent job of leading the guild. There have also been periods during which I haven’t had as much time and energy to invest in leadership as I would have liked. The past few months have been such a period: I’ve been unable to provide the guild with the leadership that it deserves.

UD means a hell of a lot to me. By that I mean you, the people in UD, mean a hell of a lot to me. You deserve a more active, more energetic GM to lead the guild forward into this expansion.

We’ve discussed succession planning in past at officer meetings. There’s a reason why politicians have term limits and corporate directors have mandatory retirement ages: it’s good for organizations to bring in new leaders from time to time. New leaders bring new ideas, new perspectives, new enthusiasm, and new direction. Fresh leadership can represent an enormous step forward for an organization.

And so, the time has come for me to pass the torch.

Ben (Resj) will be United Defense’s next Guild Leader. It’s hard for me to imagine anyone with whom I’d feel more comfortable entrusting UD. He’s been my confidant and friend. He’s been an active officer for a very, very long time. He knows everyone in the guild—most of us on a first-name basis—and we know him. He understands UD’s core values and philosophy. He has a great deal of experience leading the guild through raids and other events. In short, he’s both competent and willing to take on the weighty responsibility that leadership entails--and I know he’ll be an excellent trustee for our guild and the United Defense name.

I believe the leadership transition will be fairly seamless. Ideal succession involves a time period in which the former leader’s powers and responsibilities diminish and the new leader’s powers and responsibilities increase… only then should the actual transfer of title take place. This has occurred somewhat organically over the past months: Ben has arrived at a point where he is operating as a sort of de facto guild leader. Accordingly, I expect that the transfer of leadership won’t be a jarring threshold, but will rather prove to be more of a smooth continuation of the guild’s current state.

As for the actual passing of the metaphorical torch, that will happen next Monday, March 14th. At 7pm on that day, there will be an informal party in Stormwind. We’ll meet up at the Blue Recluse and throw back a few drinks. I’ll pass GM on… and Ben will take it from there!

So what’s gonna happen to Hiero afterward? I’m not going anywhere. If Ben thinks I’d be of use as an officer emeritus going forward, I’d be happy to serve in that capacity. If such an arrangement doesn’t fit his guild leadership vision, then I’ll be more than happy as a member. In fact, I intend to remain a part of United Defense for as long as Daggerspine’s cooling fans continue to whir away… and perhaps even longer if the guild continues to live on in some other form! Though I may not be able to be online 16 hours a day, 7 days a week like I once was, I WILL be around.

Thank you, Ben, for offering to lead United Defense forward. You know how much this transition means to me, as a person—how much of myself I have invested in this guild. And I know for certain that UD will be in good hands.

Above all, thank YOU, my fellow members, for all of the time, energy, dedication, and devotion that you have given to the guild over the years. UD may be, taken in a literal sense, just a collection of bits on a server in a lifeless, air-conditioned room somewhere; but to me it means infinitely more. UD is a collection of very real people—people whom I’ve come to call friends. It is these friendships and shared experiences that make United Defense worthwhile and such a meaningful element in my life. I know that I’m not alone in these sentiments.

It’s truly been an honor serving as your GM. Thank you all for your trust, faith, patience, and support. And above all, thank you for your friendships. I have no doubt that, many years from now, when World of Warcraft has long since faded into an antique video game, I will still remember all of the good times and all of you who’ve made the UD journey with me.

In the mean time, I look forward to watching the guild grow and evolve, to sharing life’s daily twists and turns via green text, and to perpetrating evenings of drunken, late-night, furbolg-ridden shenanigans with you in the days yet to come!

Your friend,
John/Hiero

WAAAAAGH!!!

Dear Great-father Winter

Rahnir — Sat, 25 Dec 2010 07:40:02 -0000

Posted 12/25/2010 12:40 AM by Rahnir.

I write this letter to you on the Eve of Winter’s Veil, with hope that it makes its way to you safely and without delay. My Guild has been quite busy as of late. And, with the chaos wrought upon us by Deathwing, we’ve not had much time for celebration.
United Defense has always been a bastion of good in the war-crazed nations of Azeroth. While such an outlook can sometimes make things difficult, the very fact we still stand is a testament to our devotion. We are blessed by the presence of many heroes within our ranks. Those that would stand to bring honor and justice to the streets of Stormwind and the branches of Darnassus. However, in the wake of destruction, times have become increasingly difficult.

Throughout the ages, we have witness the rise and fall of many other mighty guilds. Names such as Eternal, Holy War and Drunken Lords rush to the front of my thought. Some, have chosen a path of treachery and joined the Horde. While others have simply vanished, as if another realm had scooped them from their feet and claimed their soul. As such, the spirits of our brave warriors are at low. I ask of you but some small requests, for those who are deserving.

Ill begin with our leader, Hieronymous; A dwarf of unquestionable belief in our cause. He is a man with an unfortunate face, but a heart of Truegold. He has taken on an appreciation for small things recently. I once caught him staring longingly into the window of a tailor’s shop run by a nice Draenei girl. He took quite an interest in the native undergarments of Argus and the function of the hole designated their people’s tails. A gift of those would be most welcomed.

Quessir is a rogue of remarkable talent. I’ve known her to make a weapon of just about anything. Even your words. If there is one thing she lacks though, it’s daggers. I do think she needs some more. I once caught a glimpse into her personal bank stores. The number of daggers she had was just simply not enough. I’ve overheard her lamenting over daggers over heroic quality. Those would do nicely.

Conjeneratur. What do you wish for a man who can craft everything that whirls and wizzes with his two tiny Gnomish hands? The one thing he cannot craft for himself, sanity. He continues to astound me with each new device. But, I often times find myself worried for my own safety.

There are none more tolerant of others as Resjudicator. She is completely understanding of others shortcomings and is never short with anyone. Ever. She has the patience of a saint…or Priest. In the role that she plays on Azeroth, one is destined to repeat themselves many times. Many, many, times. This would drive most other mortals to the edge, but, Resjudicator pushes onward with a smile. Such a person would never accept a gift for themselves while others are suffering. So, instead, I wish only to assist her by requesting a large stack of pamphlets reading… “Please visit www.tankspot.com”.

I once heard of a species of Goretusk, which lived in a climate so cold that its entire body was already chilled when slain. There is a Paladin I know well that would make much use of pre-chilled Goretusks. He is what you would call an expert on all things swine. He owns a whole farm of the beasts in the forests of Elwynn. That’s why we call him Farmerdan.

Camaron is a human who you can really rely on to take a few hits for you. He has been doing it for years now. Yet, shows no scars for the time he spends in combat. Its truly amazing. In his off time, he is a collector. He’ll collect anything really. I donate various items to his collections on a regular basis actually. He isn’t picky. He would appreciate anything and everything. Lots of it. Often times, if I run out of room in my bags, ill just send some random treats off to him. The whole guild does it. Oh, and just a little tip from me…he very specifically likes it when stacks of items are sent one piece at a time. I hope that helps!

That brings me to Riley. Or, he used to be Riley. The poor soul thinks he is someone else every few months. To appease him, we are referring to him as “Apostate” currently. I once made the mistake of calling him “Veriant”, which was a past iteration of himself. He was quite upset. I was even naive enough to think he had recovered when I heard him utter the name Riley a few months back. I was wrong. It was “Reilee”. Apparently, there is a big difference. I wish for him only the best. And perhaps a vacation. I hear Loch Modan is nice this time of year.

Two of people that I have been spending a great deal of time with recently are Vahlanos and Supershock. I value each of them as guild members and fellow nation-men. However, during recent events, a squabble between the two broke out. I wont go into detail about the happenings, but I wish for them many Chaos Orbs apiece.

Unfortunately, my time is running short, and I must be off shortly. There are just so many people I wish to make mention of, but cannot. I would like to write about all of them, but I’m sure you already know what they want. After all, winter magic is the most powerful magic of all. I thank you for your time in consideration of all those who need their spirits lifted. I hope the season meets you well.

-Loremaster Rahnir, Recruitment Officer of United Defense

My goodness. In all of the thought that I lost myself in, I forgot to make a wish of my own. You see, as a hunter, I appreciate all of Elune’s great creatures. Keeping stables of wild animals in need of a home is the least I can do. Secretly though, I do enjoy collecting them. There are however, two openings needed to be filled. I’ve given this much thought in the past, and would really like a tiger and a raptor. Preferably in a size that would be mountable by a full-grown Night Elf male. Thank you.

MERRY CHRISTMAS UNITED DEFENSE!

*I referred to the gender of the character, not the person playing. Just to be clear.

For Gnomeregan!

Resjudicator — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 22:55:08 -0000

Posted 12/01/2010 03:55 PM by Resjudicator.

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<p>Given the recent upheaval in Azeroth the gnomes of United Defense have found themselves unwelcome guests upon the unbalanced pvp server. Leveraging their ingenious ability to dance and unquenchable spirit of shenanigans, the gnomes have begun to reevaluate their role on Daggerspine*.</p>

<p>Under the inventive leadership of GM Hieronymous the gnomes now plan a daring campaign against the barbarous remnants of Darrowmere, to level as a guild in PVE peace and harmony. </p>

<p>With the odds stacked against them, they are now counting on you to stand and dance.</p>

<p>Your people's greatest hour draws near.....</p>

<p><small>*So we've created a leveling annex on a pve server - Darrowmere. Check out Hiero's post on the matter here: <a href="http://www.united-defense.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1217">LINK</A></small></p>

Azeroth Shatters, UD Comes Back to Life!

Hieronymous — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 01:04:10 -0000

Posted 11/23/2010 06:04 PM by Hieronymous.

Most of you probably know my bear, Spamburger. He’s been my trusty sidekick since 2004, and we’ve sure been through a lot together. You see, Spam is a bit lazy—sometimes he takes breaks from adventuring and raiding at the end of expansion cycles when there isn’t much new going on in WoW. And so, like United Defense itself, Spamburger spent most of this summer and fall sleeping happily in a sort of hibernation:

Today, however, Azeroth as we know it will cease to exist.

The Shattering will forever change the lands that that have become familiar to us, leaving in its wake a brand new and exciting world for us to explore--just look what it did to Westfall:

Not surprisingly, world-shattering events are the kind of things that wake bears up:

And so too has United Defense been awakening over the past weeks. We’ve seen a steady flow of old members re-activating their accounts and logging in with fresh enthusiasm. Doc is once more devastating our raid nights with his nefarious toy-train-mongering. Rahnir is turning up the heat on his endless crusade to capture every mount in the know universe. Quessir is once again teaching good manners to Horde children in Stranglethorn Vale. Farmerdan is preparing to log in and cook us up a fresh batch of Cold Bacon. And Conj, of course, is donning his Gnomish X-Ray Goggles and RP-ing airport security screening procedures at the Stormwind gates. There’s excitement in the air, and UD just feels good right now.

So what will UD look like going into the Cataclysm expansion? Well, the guild character is going to change quite a bit from what we saw in Wrath. We’re going to get back to our roots as a smaller, tighter-knit group of friends. We, the UD members, have personally grown a great deal since our early days nearly six years ago. Farmerdan, Teesha, Brothermunro, Jadelouise, Camaron, and others have become fathers and mothers. A number of us have recently gotten married. Some of us have embarked upon new careers. UD’s atmosphere is going to evolve to reflect our growth as individuals. We’re going to move away from a top-down leadership style and towards a more relaxed, natural, informal organizational identity.

Here are some specific changes we can look forward to:

With 10-man raids becoming equally viable alternatives to the larger raids, we’re going to focus on them exclusively. Gone are the days of cumbersome loot systems and herding cats into 25-man raid groups.

We’re hoping to reduce the number and complexity of official policies and encourage individual members to schedule, plan, and execute guild events.

We’re going to create a “United Defense Leveling Annex” on a PvE server where members can level Worgen and other alts in peace without having to deal with pesky gankers. The Annex will help us stay in touch and level together, and provide benefits such as an active guild bank. Once our lowbie alts mature to level 85, we can then transfer them back to Daggerspine and begin pursuing end-game content with the main guild.

We’re going to offer a Horde sub-guild on Daggerspine: “Defense United.” DU will provide benefits similar to those of the Annex, with the added advantage of being able to mail heirloom items to young Goblin alts and transfer other items through the neutral auction house. The Defense United tabard features blue laurels on a gold background, and the top rank is, of course, Conjeneratur.

And then there are the Guild Leveling System and Guild Achievements. This new aspect of the game deserves a front page post of its own, since it will totally revolutionize how we work together as a guild. It will offer tangible benefits ranging from the ability to produce a guild bank anywhere, to speed increases, to new mounts and pets, to spells that summon and rez all raid members at once. UD has always been a kooky bunch of eccentrics. Suddenly, all those crazy side-projects we all love to work on will have real benefits for everyone in the guild. We’ll finally be able to hold guild progression events that aren’t raids: it’s as though Blizzard has created an institutional Shenanigans system just for us!

I could go on and on about all the new possibilities, but I’ll cut myself short here.

In order to better capture the excitement that’s currently building in UD, I sent Conj out into the field with a video camera. He asked a bunch of otters what they thought about United Defense’s prospects in CATA, to which they replied:

WAAAAAGH!!!
See you in game!
-Hiero (and Spam)