Meitheamh 2014
(June)


Cead Mile Failte!

Greetings Everyone! What a month! Where did it go? Ready for the chaos that is summer? By the time you're reading this my plans to move will be well underway. Last month I bought a house here in the Portland, Oregon area finally bidding the renter’s life farewell. This month I will be moving and traveling for several weeks and will likely be unable to run some of my events. I will do my best to plan around them but with 4 events a week and a roadtrip to California all in the same month things will be a bit chaotic.

So what do we have to look forward to this month? Lots! Check out this lineup!

Gaiscioch Family News

Any day Now
PAX Prime Tickets Go On Sale!

Want to join us for our annual Gaiscioch birthday celebration at Fado's Irish Pub in Seattle? Want to attend the largest consumer focused gaming conference on the west coast? Watch the website like a hawk. These tickets will sell fast. Last year PAX Prime sold out in less than 4 hours. This is by far the hottest conference in the west. Regardless of if you're one of the lucky ones to get tickets feel free to join us at Fado's Irish Pub on Saturday Night at 8PM for the Gaiscioch celebration. Chances are we'll be able to get you into some parties even without tickets for the big show.

Subscribe to @Official_PAX on Twitter and watch:
http://prime.paxsite.com/

June 1st, 2014
Gaiscioch Magazine Editorial Deadline

All the articles are in and the editorial process begins. We're just 1 month away from Issue 2. Who's excited? I know we are! This issue will be a wee bit larger than the past issue and feature 3 exclusive interviews with the legends that helped build the MMOs that Gaiscioch calls home.

Be sure to check out issue 1 at:
http://www.gaiscioch.com/news/magazine/

June 10th, 2014
E3 Goes Live!

The biggest gaming conference of the year kicks off on the 10th of June. There's a lot of excitement about what will be revealed at this years conference. A whole lot of upcoming console games are expected to make their announcements here as well as some big announcements from the big 3 consoles. We should get a huge wave of release dates and new product announcements.

Be sure to watch the announcements live at:
http://www.e3expo.com/

Happening Now!
DoubleUP Charity Blitz 2014 Continues!

We're halfway to the conclusion of our 2014 DoubleUP Charity Event and are sitting at 22% of our goal. We've got a long road ahead but I am confident that we will reach our goal. For $5 + shipping you can both support the Kohls Cares foundation and provide a child with a friend in their darkest hour. In addition by claiming the donation on Gaiscioch.com by providing the order number you will also receive 500 Contribution Points per donated animal. Additionally there are a few stuffed animals currently 50% off. Feel free to send those as well. every animal counts.

Help out by visiting our charity section today:
http://www.gaiscioch.com/charity/

June 21st, 2014
Gaiscioch Family Pubcast

This month I'll be moving the first two weeks of the month so we will be holding the Pubcast later in the month. I want to make sure that my wife and I have time to settle and get everything setup in the new studio. This month we'll be discussing the new WvW Scene in Guild Wars 2 and changes to ESO including a report from the all new Adventure dungeon Craglorn. Join us Saturday June 21st at 5PM PDT on RaidCall: 1101

Elder Scrolls Online News

The Dust Settles

Over the past couple months we've experienced a bit of growing pains, endured some pretty nasty bugs, and have finally found our footing. I have seen the family start settling into it's own within Elder Scrolls Online and I think in the next few months we'll start feeling that closeness that we're all used to.

Marketplace Update

Over the past 2 months I've been working very diligently on getting the new marketplace up. We are almost 100% ready. At the time I'm writing this you can order any weapon and any cloth and plate armor. I am still working on getting all of the leather armor entered into the system. With the Craglorn update they introduced 2 more recipes for each item type which I have begun adding as well. Provisioning, Enchanting, and Alchemy all have systems in place for adding recipes as well so if you discover something feel free to add it.

Craglorn Update Brings Many Much Needed Features

This last patch isn't only about the first Adventure Dungeon. Inside there were a few pretty major changes that made the quality of life a lot nicer. Here are some of the biggest gems I found in the patch notes:

Dungeons:

  • An Adventure Zone designed for groups of four Veteran Rank characters to explore, located between Cyrodiil and Skyrim. A new quest available in Mournhold, Wayrest, and Elden Root will lead you to the zone.
  • You can earn up to Veteran Rank 12 as you continue your adventures in Craglorn. Additionally, the veteran XP earned from killing enemies has more than doubled.

AvA:

  • All monsters in Cyrodiil and its caves are now Veteran Rank 5.
  • A new population underdog bonus has been added. When your alliance is outnumbered in a campaign (determined over several days of population samples), it will receive a bonus to potential scoring and alliance points. You’ll see an indication of this bonus in the scoring UI if it is active.
  • The XP awarded for killing enemy player characters has been doubled.
  • XP rewards for completing the quest to kill 20 enemy player characters have also been increased.
  • Stats that you receive through battle level bolstering in Cyrodiil and its delves have been increased.

General:

  • Added a new overhead icon for group leaders.

What does it all mean? Well for many of you who played in the opening weeks and watched as 1 enemy player melted entire raids of people, that has been mostly resolved. With the new bolstering, AOE limit and changes to costs of vampire and emperor abilities these titans are now not only killable but sometimes they die before we notice them. This was a much needed change and has raised the quality of life in AvA. I can also tell you firsthand that the EXP in AvA has greatly improved. I have been averaging about 2 levels per night whereas the first event we ran when we captured 5 scrolls I didn't even make half a level.

See the full patch notes at:
http://elderscrollsonline.com/en-uk/news/post/2014/05/22/patch-notes-v112?ref=news-list

Volendrung
A New Campaign Welcomes Us

For months we have fought a war on Hopesfire against Gods. We have been tried by fire and forged by killing the unkillable. This however has taken it's toll. We have seen a sharp decline in the amount of players that have been attending our family events in AvA. I can understand the frustration of repeatedly getting wiped by the hundreds by a few players. It gets old quick. This month I spent some time traveling around the other campaigns and seeing the quality of life for the Ebonheart Pact.

What I found was a wide three way fight on Volendrung. Now Volendrung is also the official roleplay server of the teso-rp.com. This might explain the friendliness of the people who call it home. One of the things that struck me about this server is how the natives leave the opposing factions a foothold out of respect. They leave the home keeps alone to allow the opposition a base to work from. The only time they take them is when they hold a scroll. But even still it's common practice to leave the doors open for the opposition to retake their keep. This level of respect for not only your own soldiers but for the quality of life on the campaign is refreshing. The 3 realms are all very close in points with the Ebonheart being the underdog.

Over the 2 weeks I spent guesting on the server we were very welcome from the locals and they have even come to join us in our events. As the first campaign comes to a close we have plans to relocate our forces to Volendrung after the campaign ends. A few of us have already switched our home campaign in preparation however if you have rank 2 or more in the rewards tier for Hopesfire you may not want to transfer until the rewards have been distributed. For the foreseeable future all of our major family events will be located on Volendrung. Feel free to join us and experience how AvA should be.

Top 10 Elder Scrolls News For May, 2014

  1. Official Tuatha ESO Campaign Post - Updated 4/4
  2. Subscription or Game card required to continue to play beyond Sunday
  3. Taking Action Against Cheaters In ESO
  4. Massively.com: One Shots: You won't believe what color this horse is
  5. State of the game address -Matt Firor
  6. Elder Scrolls Off The Record: An Open Letter: Why I’m Playing ESO
  7. Massively.com: The Daily Grind: Do you feel pressured to level faster?
  8. Elder Scrolls Off The Record: Major Bank Bug Terrorizing The Elder Scrolls Online
  9. Tamriel Foundry: ESO Adds Target Caps for AoE Abilities
  10. Massively.com: Leaderboard: Does Elder Scrolls' lack of an auction house bother you?

Elder Scrolls Links of Interest

Guild Wars 2 News

Rebuilding Sanctum of Rall

Over the past few months we've had wave after wave of hits to our server. The WvW Elite jumped ship after a disagreement with each other, the megaserver killed our largest draw of new blood, and we've had our share of population drop due to so many new games on the market. That's the backstory, now for the comeback.

Sanctum of Rall is not just a server, it's not just a gaming community, Sanctum of Rall is a living memorial to a legendary man who changed many of our lives. It is because of this that we as Gaiscioch put so much effort into keeping Sanctum of Rall alive and well. Over the past month we have witnessed a significant change.

Players and guilds from Sanctum of Rall are pulling together to get our server back on their feet. Guilds like EG, FIRE, Zero, and NICE have pulled together to start the recovery process. Soon we will be released from the Silver League and can descend to a more favorable position for our rebuilding process. Once this happens we have a few key things in place to draw attention. I've spent quite a bit of time building some new systems on SanctumofRall.com to help with this process.

There was 1 very important question that we as Sanctum of Rall had to answer if we had any hopes to attract people to our server. "Why would someone want to come to Sanctum of Rall?". We aren't a top tier server, we don't have 24/7 coverage, our strongest aspect just got nullified by the megaserver. What would make someone want to be here? This is where a bit of brainstorming and human psychology come into play.

What is it that drives us as human beings? Each of us have different motivators, for some it's recognition, for others it's rewards, for others it's the satisfaction of feeling useful. One thing and one thing alone is present in every human being from the moment we are born to the moment we die. The need for Acceptance. Infants want the love of their mother, elderly want the love of their God, teenagers want to feel accepted by their peers and businessmen want to feel accepted by their colleagues. Regardless of what stage you are in life acceptance plays a major part of every decision we make. So how do we apply these natural desires to video game and server? We create a rewards and recognition system.

Recognizing & Rewarding Leadership

Our first priority was to build a system that serves multiple purposes. First and foremost a way to recognize leaders for their leadership ability. Second to encourage PPT play to assist us in our comeback. Third to allow others to see where a commander is and who to contact to get involved. This is where the WvW Commander On Deck comes into play. Each leader (marked as a commander on their profile) can claim leadership on any borderland, eternal battleground, or be listed as a roaming unit. The leader sets the allocated time in case they forget to end their event. During the time of their event the SanctumofRall.com website tracks the PPT on their battlefield every 15 minutes and awards points accordingly.

In addition to displaying several statistics on PPT the new system also allows followers to give the leaders Commendations as a sign of approval and make a few comments on their profile. We have also added a leaderboard that ranks leaders based on commendations earned, time spent on the battlefield, and total PPT earned.

Key Features:

  • Track Time on Deck Performance
  • Leaderboards
  • Weekly & Monthly Raffle for Commanders
  • Highly Visible Event Promotion
  • Livestream Plugin to Events
  • Badges for Leadership

Recognizing & Rewarding Participation

A warlord is only as good as the people who follow them. One of the major pieces to this puzzle is how to encourage players to join the leaders on the field. By presenting their ArenaNet ID directly on the SanctumofRall.com along with where they're leading at they're able to quickly see where to get connected. By participating in an event the Leader will pass out a passcode that the participant can use to claim participation on the SanctumofRall.com. Participants also have a leaderboard based on the leaders that they follow and their activity.

Key Features:

  • Participation Score based on performance
  • Leaderboards
  • Weekly & Monthly Raffle for Participants
  • Highly Visible Information on Current Events
  • Badges for Participation
  • Rewards & Recognition

The most important part of this system is the rewards that leaders and participants can earn from using this system. Each week there is an automated raffle based on how many times players lead and participate. Each time they do so it counts as a raffle entry. Each week 3 winners are declared, each month 2 winners will receive a gold prize award.

Get Involved

I would like to welcome everyone to get involved in this push to help bring back Sanctum of Rall to it's glory in a new found light where friendliness and kindness take the stage. Feel free to jump into any one of the Sanctum of Rall commanders groups and enjoy some magnificent battles. If you want to lead an event in WvW please mark yourself a commander and use the Commander on Deck feature.

Learn More At:
http://www.sanctumofrall.com/discussion/sor_wvw/post_44089.html

Call For Nominations / Votes
SOR WvW War Council Elections

The Sanctum of Rall community has decided to put together a war council to help guide our WvW efforts, come up with strategies, and build a plan for recruiting new guilds to Sanctum of Rall. Be sure to cast your vote for your favorite commanders who display strong leadership, calm stature, and a mature demeanor at:
http://www.sanctumofrall.com/discussion/sor_wvw/post_44092.html

Top 10 Guild Wars 2 News For May, 2014

  1. Megaservers, Sanctum of Rall, and the Death of Community - Updated
  2. About refunds from the devs
  3. Massively.com: How Guild Wars 2 megaservers affect guilds, WvW, events, and world bosses
  4. Guild Wars 2: Black Lion Trader - Armorsmith
  5. Monthly Puzzle Jumper Achievement
  6. JOB UPDATE:: TO :: May 19th thur May 23rd Many Guild Wars 2 events ( Birthday Bash week w Balor Gorgon )
  7. Guild Wars 2 Guru: PAX East Feature Patch Interview
  8. Guild Wars 2 Guru: Bags, Banks, and More
  9. Massively.com: Guild Wars 2 offers 50% off sale on digital editions
  10. Massively.com: One Shots: Bobble heads

In Closing

This month is going to be a bit crazy for me so if I'm not around please know that I miss you guys and gals and will be working towards having an established house and basecamp to work from. Life is moving forward. Thank you all for being understanding.

Slan Go Foill!
(Goodbye For Now)

Benjamin "Foghladha" Foley
Ceannard De Gaiscioch Treubh