Eanáir 2016
(January)

Gaiscioch Family News

Welcome to 2016 Everyone!

Boy, 2015 blew by us faster than we knew it was here. Even still we made huge progress as a community over the last year and as we find our footing in the new climate we are ready to start driving forward. When we look at our successes of 2015, one stands out among the rest. As a community we grew our developer contact list beyond just the few games we were playing to a list of over 35 key people in the industry. Our media contact list has grown, our developer contact list has grown, and we are beginning to gain a good reputation among the development community.

This has all been made possible by our Community Events team, our Magazine team, our Livestream team, and of course by our members who welcome all with open arms. So many doors are now opening for us where before they were inaccessible. I thank you all for your undying commitment toward living the Gaisicoch way. If we didn't build the reputation we have, these opportunities would not have presented themselves.

So to kick off 2016 let's review some of the new things you will find on our homepage.

The Gaiscioch Loot Vault

Bored with the same old MMORPG? Looking for something new? Have a bazillion Family Vault Credits you have no idea what to do with? The Gaiscioch Loot Vault is there to save the day. Between Yulan, Soren, Smitty, and I we have built a library of over 300 downloadable games via Steam, GOG.com, Origin, uPlay, and beta codes all available for purchase using Family Vault Credits. Simply visit the Loot Vault and claim the game you would like. A insite mail will be sent to you with the download code for you to acquire the game. This system is completely legal, no pirated products, and is a collection of donated unused game keys.

Some of our bigger named titles include:

• Orcs Must Die! Unchained Beta Access
• Tomb Raider GOTY Edition (2013 Version)
• Just Cause Collection
• Tropico 4: Special Edition
• S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Call of Pripyat
• Dead Space
• Lot's of Worms Titles!

Don't miss out on your chance to snag a new game. Head over to the loot vault either by clicking on the View Loot Vault link on the homepage, or going to the Marketplace then clicking on "Loot Vault" on the secondary navigation. These keys are first come first serve and as we get more beta keys we'll be listing them here.

You can also access it directly at:
http://www.gaiscioch.com/vault/

Revisiting Warhammer Online

With the continued development of the Return to Reckoning fan made Warhammer Online rebirth, we've decided to visit the old Order once again and wage war against the destruction forces. The Third Thursday of each month will be WAAAAAAAAARGH Night! We will be kicking it off this month on January 21st at 6PM by waging war in Tier 1 until we're all chickens! Join us in some reminiscent adventures in Warhammer Online.

Join the Adventure at:
http://www.gaiscioch.com/social/warhammer_online/

Gaiscioch Family Promotions:

I wanted to take a moment to say congratulations to a few members this month for accepting their next credo and stepping into a new role in our family.

War Council (Ard Tiarna)

The War Council is comprised of members who have stepped up to lead events and activities for the family. They have proven themselves on the battlefield and have collected 25 signatures of approval from their followers. They have accepted the Mark of Service credo and understand that Leadership is not a position of power, it is a position of service. They have committed themselves to hosting fun and friendly events for the community at large.

  » ScottE

Officers (Seaimpín)

The Gaiscioch Family officers act as a front line for questions and answers. These members have accepted the Mark of the Protector credo and have vowed to assist new members with familiarization and report any suspicious or unbecoming behavior to the eldership team.

  » Cyvil   » Eiahn   » LiveLifeHappy   » Lorelei

Veteran Members (Saighdear)

Veteran Members have proven their devotion to the family by participating in events and contributing to the family's success. They have been active more than 90 days and have continued to be contributing members to the family.

  » Shaaba   » xrist04

Official Members (Lorgair)

Official Members have earned the rank of Lorgair and have accepted the Mark of the Kindred credo. They have officially decided to become members of the family and start their journey to ascend the roles of the Gaiscioch Family.

  » Belena   » BZA   » Dirtboat   » Electrovs   » Freakcker   » Holyheart00   » Impulse   » Jerrone2471   » Myrzon   » RowenaJ   » Shimano   » Spartecus

Guild Wars 2 News

Guild Wars 2 Progress Report

The Guild Wars 2 crew has been hard at work over the past month. We've managed to get Gaiscioch na Rall up to level 35, with just 5 more levels to go. We've begun upgrading Anu and Morrigan and SORC is currently sitting at level 25. We now have armor recipes, 24 hour buffs for almost everything, the ability to claim and upgrade any objective, several buffs for our objectives, and were just 2 levels away from the +5 supply buff.

In addition with the help of so many family members we've managed to get me up to 400 Scribing which allows me to produce all the improvements, tactics, and siege weapons to support our siege war and also allows me to create world boss spawns for our Tequatl events with Soren. I will be putting my scribing experience to work to write a guide to scribing and then we'll begin training up a few more people once we unlock decorations 2. Right now that road is way too costly without being able to produce decorations.

As I explain to many. Scribing is not a personal crafting skill. It's a guild crafting skill. It largely revolves around what your guild is willing to help with and what they have unlocked in their guild hall. Then every single thing you make requires between 4 and 24 hours in the resonator and only 1 PvE and 1 WvW item can be built at a time. So with multiple people trying to craft decorations it puts all Banners and World Boss Spawns on hold. Fortunately for us, I'm working on building up a surplus. Once we hit level 40 I planing shifting focus to decorating the place and will be opening up the decorating ability to a few people to help me spice up the place.

Critically Needed Supplies:

So for right now the following items are going to constantly be needed no matter what level we are and will be permanently on the donation list for the foreseeable future. If you need some contribution be sure to farm some of these and send them in.

• Resonating Slivers (Critical, Earned from Guild Missions, Required for every siege weapon and upgrade)
• Siege Golem Blueprints (Standard Blue Golems)
• Flax Fiber
• Badge of Tribute (Exchange Mark of Honor for Badge of Tribute at the War Room in our Guild Hall)

The Road to 40:

See Full Details

In Other News

What's This, What's This? This past Tuesday for the first time in nearly a year we had to break into 2 squads for our Siege War livestream event. We capped out around 60 players. Populations slowly but surely starting to flow back into WvW. This past week we've seen more fights in WvW than we have to date since the new maps entered the scene. If you're interested in joining in the action be sure to join one of our many WvW events each week.

Please Welcome Our Newest Members

Please welcome our newest members to our Guild Wars 2 family.

  » Aeryenna [Liseth.1047]   » BigDave [BigDave.6819]   » Bogababs [Huggybear.9237]   » BrunoAD []   » Buk [xitd.5702]   » Bull [Bull.5203]   » Domus [Domus.5486]   » DroganWolf [Dragonshark.2510]   » Etherion [Etherion.7639]   » Fallyntalyn [fallyntalyn.9231]   » Fooo [Fooo.6819]   » Gentoo []   » Greenstone [Harakael.5830]   » Guardyogrill [Dominant.9801]   » Harmony [Slickes.7642]   » Hollistercole [Holister COle.3612]   » JieyeSun [jieye.3618]   » Kindo [kienneman.7634]   » MtDewd [mountaindewd.9314]   » Pyr0 []   » Randel [randellee.8937]   » Shako62 [Shako.4685 ]   » Tar [Tar.9821]   » Uncasbe [Uncasbe.6825]   » Varzil [varzilalton.3472]   » Xivor [Xivor.8754]

Guild Wars 2 Events at a Glance

Top Guild Wars 2 News For January, 2016

1. Guild Wars 2 Update: Game Update Notes - December 1, 2015
2. Tune in on Monday for Week 4 of the ESL Guild Wars 2 Pro League
3. Guild Wars 2 Update: Game Update Notes - December 15, 2015
4. Merciless Weapons, Winter Chimes Dye Kit, Slayer’s Outfit, and more in the Gem Store!
5. A Very Merry Wintersday on Guild Chat
6. Snowflake Glider, Exalted Mail Carrier, and Wintersday Wreath Backpack in the Gem Store!
7. Tune In on Monday for Week 3 of the ESL Guild Wars 2 Pro League
8. Happy Holidays!
9. PvP League on Guild Chat
10. New Hair Styles, Timekeeper Weapons, Winter Solstice Pack, and Festive Mist Champion Skins in the Gem Store!

Elder Scrolls Online News

ESO Shows Stability and Fun Times

Things in Elder Scrolls continue to roll forward. Population is remaining a constant teeter totter around the 205-215 active player range.  We've hovered around these numbers for about 4 months now which is very positive. We have started a new AvA for beginners event for people looking to be exposed to some AvA action, Foghladha will be running undaunted next Thursday... yes I said it :D.  If you want to see that and maybe be one of the unlucky people that has to endure a dungeon with me come out on 1/7 at 6PM PT to join in the fun.

Each week we also have a Craglorn questing group, a Orsinium boss hunt, undaunted key runs, Trials groups, PvP action, Hel Ra with Prissy, Vet map clearing, and IC dungeon runs. There's lots of action to get involved in so be sure to check the calendar and get involved.

Please Welcome Our Newest Members

Please welcome our newest members to our Elder Scrolls Online family.

  » AquaHam [@AquaHam]   » Datastar []   » DRose [@soccer_anyone]   » FSR [@FSRrosario]   » Lucid [LucidxNightmare]   » Lue [@tootype2crazy]   » Moliz [@noonesfang13]   » Shayks []   » Styxun [@Styxun]   » Tressillian [@Tressillian]   » Varzil [@Varzil]   » Volkorian []

Elder Scrolls Online Events at a Glance

Top Elder Scrolls News For January, 2016

1. ESO Free Play Weekend
2. The #ESO #MillionReasonsToPlay $1,000,000 (USD) Giveaway
3. Crown Store Showcase: December 2nd, 2015
4. A Look Back on 2015
5. ESO Live’s Next Episode: 12/4

Social Adventures News

The Social Adventures

Want to play a game that Gaiscioch doesn't play as a chapter? That's ok! We have the GSCH Social Adventures for this purpose. You can either join one of our existing social adventures or freelance in a game of your choosing using our Open Adventure system.

Simply click on "Adventure" on the top navigation to see a list of Social Adventures currently formed up and taking new members. You are not required to be a part of the in game guild to claim participation in these adventures. All that is needed is for one member to list the in game event by claiming leadership and then 2 or more people must claim the event for a total of 3 or more players. You are awarded Social Points for the event based on how many people were involved and how long the event ran. The more people involved the more points earned.

You can also earn EXP toward a game which will earn you up to 50 ranks in each game giving you a badge to show off your prowess in each title. If you don't see a game in the directory that you would like to play. Grab a few friends and list it as an open adventure. Open Adventures that happen frequently in a certain title will be first on the list to become a full Social Adventure.

In addition to this system we've launched a new livestream event series title "Social Adventures". In this livestream event we invite everyone and anyone to join us for a 2 hour romp in various games. This month's schedule is as follows:

January 2016 Schedule:

• 1/7 @ 6PM PT: Elder Scrolls Online (Dungeons!)
• 1/14 @ 6PM PT: Devilian (Level 25+)
• 1/21 @ 6PM PT: Warhammer Online (Return to Reckoning) (Level 1-9)
• 1/28 @ 6PM PT: RIFT (Level 11+)

Learn more about the Social Adventure system at:
http://gsch.info/getsocial

Join a Social Adventure Today!

Gaiscioch Magazine News

Gaiscioch Magazine Year In Review

Can you believe this next issue marks our completion of 2 years of publishing Gaiscioch Magazine! It seems like yesterday that we started this fun little project and it's grown so vast. We now have a developer contact list of over 40 major players in the industry. Gaming studios are now supplying us game keys for reviews and so many developers continue to support and advise our magazine even after we've published articles featuring them. It's opening so many new opportunities we've never had in the past and making introductions that otherwise were impossible.

I have to give a huge thanks to the Magazine Team volunteers for putting in the extra effort to get this all in place. Our team has gained some pretty personalities like Screenager and Sword&Keyboard who have joined the team to help bring some interesting perspectives on gaming. We are still actively looking for new team members to join up and help bring our magazine to more people. We need editors and writers desperately so if you have something you'd like to write about please submit it to magazine@gaiscioch.com.

I also want to give a bit of special thanks to the Massively Overpowered & MMORPG.com crews who linger in our family. You guys have been a huge source of advice and encouragement and we couldn't do this without you guys. Thank you for your support and advice.

So to kick this year off, here's the past 7 issues in case you missed  em!

Be sure to check out our latest stories and gaming news at: gsch.info/mag

Gaiscioch Livestream News

Gaiscioch Livestreams Year in Review

Over the past year we've really taken to our own in the livestreaming world. It began with the Streams of Epic Adventure which is creeping up on its 40th Episode. Broadcasting every Monday night at 6PM PT we ventured into all sorts of new cooperative games and enjoyed a diverse range of games. Over time even developers came to know and love the show and some even joined us on the show! Then we launched the Siege War and Side Quests and both have done fairly well.

More recently we launched the new Social Adventures livestream alongside the Social Adventure system and our very own singing commander Smitty launched the Smitty Streams on Sunday Mornings at 8AM PT. All in all we now have several successful livestream programs and are looking to launch 2 more in 2016 including Guild Systems Deconstructed and Love at First Frag.

We hope to continue our tradition of bringing exciting content, giveaways and opportunities to the community at large and hope that you will all join us in liking our new Facebook fan pages, supporting the streams through sharing the tweets and facebook posts and telling your friends about our programs. These streams open new doors previously inaccessible to us and provide us direct contact to many game development teams.

Be sure to Follow the Streams at:

• Streams of Epic Adventure: Mondays at 6PM PT

• Online at: http://gsch.info/soea
• On Facebook: http://gsch.info/soeafb
• On Twitter: #soea

• The Siege War: Tuesdays at 6PM PT

• Online at: http://gsch.info/siegewar
• On Facebook: http://gsch.info/siegewarfb
• On Twitter: #siegewar

• Social Adventures: Thursdays at 6PM PT

• Online: http://gsch.info/socialadventures
• On Facebook: http://gsch.info/socialadventuresfb
• On Twitter: #getsocial
• Join the Events at: http://gsch.info/getsocial

• Side Quests: Weekdays at 3PM PT

• Online: http://gsch.info/sidequests
• On Facebook: http://gsch.info/sidequestsfb
• On Twitter: #sidequests

• Smitty Streams: Sundays at 8AM PT

• Online: http://gsch.info/smittystreams
• On Facebook: http://gsch.info/smittystreamsfb
• On Twitter: #smittystreams

Recent Livestreams:

Mondays at 6PM PT
Streams of Epic Adventure

Tuesdays at 6PM PT
The Siege War

Dec 29th

12/29/15: The Siege War of Sanctum of Rall

Dec 22nd

12/22/15: The Siege War of Sanctum of Rall

Dec 15th

12/15/15: The Siege War of Sanctum of Rall

Dec 8th

12/8/15: The Siege War of Sanctum of Rall

Thursday at 6PM PT
Social Adventures

Dec 18th

Social Adventures in Elder Scrolls Online with GSCH @TESOnline #ESO

Dec 18th

GSCH Explores Devilian on the Social Adventures @DevilianGame #Devilian

Dec 18th

Social Adventures in Black Desert CBT1 #blackdesert #gaming

Dec 5th

Social Adventure: Chivalry Brawl! @TornBanner #Chivalry

Daily at 3PM PT
Side Quests

Jan 1st

Uncharted on Side Quests - Day 1

Dec 31st

Assassin's Creed: Syndicate on Side Quests - Day 1

Dec 30th

Viewers Choice: Tomb Raider on Side Quests

Dec 29th

Side Quests in Bloodborne - Day 1

Sunday at 8AM PT
Smitty Streams

Jan 2nd

Smitty Streams - Trailer 1

Dec 27th

Smitty Streams - Episode 9: Jazzpunk, Finale

Dec 20th

Smitty Streams - Episode 8: Jazzpunk

Dec 13th

Smitty Streams - Episode 7: It Came From Space, and Ate Our Brains

Closing Notes

2016 Off To An Exciting Start

This next year has a lot of potential to have some exciting times and glorious adventure. This year we'll be celebrating our 15th year as a community! So you know that PAX Prime Party is gonna get crazy! The social adventures give us opportunity to share adventures in all kinds of places and so far the lineup for interviews in the magazine is huge! We'll see Black Desert, Crowfall, Camelot Unchained, and Shards all come to market this year.

I'm certain that we'll see some change in our numbers on both ESO and GW2 side but rest assured we are committed to our chapters and will keep them going so long as we continue to have fun. There's going to be a lot of change this year, but that might just be what we need. Hopefully it will make us stronger and keep us going into our 15th year.

So buckle up and get ready for a wicked good time. 

Slan Go Foill!
(Goodbye For Now)

Benjamin "Foghladha" Foley
Ceannard De Gaiscioch Treubh