Possible Tabard Designs

If we decide to change our tabard to reflect our name, we would like to do something with the in game "Rising Sun" icon.  Send in your color schemes to:  OgamiGoro@yahoo.com, and I'll post the screenshots here.  Here are some of the mockups so far:

#9.  Black Icon on White BG, w/ Black Border.  By Selvina

#8.  Bright Yellow Icon, Pail BG, Black Sectioned Border.  By Vaaele.

#7.  Inspired by the Argent Dawn.  By Ogami

#6.  Pale Grey BG, White Solid Border, pale yellow icon. By Neimue

Cho'gall Has Fallen!

Hail, intrepid warriors of the Horde!

War Party Alpha, led by Warbringer Shammycakes, has successfully assaulted the Bastion of Twilight, and defeated the long time scourge of free peoples of Azeroth, the warlock Cho'gall!  A menace since the start of the Second War, Cho'gall turned what was once a small but insidious clan of orcs into a global cult with far reaching, and disastrous, influence!  

War Party Alpha prepares for the final battle!

Thanks to our courageous warriors, this lieutenant of Deathwing has been sent to the abyss he so cravenly sought to bring to the world in life!

Well done, comrades!  Next up:  Nefarion, son of Deathwing, in the Depths of Blackwing Descent!  Onward to glory!!

~Ogami, High Chieftain of the Shades of the Rising Sun

Vent Drive!!

Greetings, comrades of the Rising Sun!


One of the greatest assets that our clan possesses is the Guild Bought and Owned Ventrilo account!  Here, we can converse in real time, share experiences, jokes and stories, and of course, coordinate our attacks on our enemies with the utmost speed and efficiency!


The time has come once again for all members to step up and ensure that our Vent stays active.  For how long will depend on the total contributions we are able to generate.  It could be for 3 months, 6 months, a year, or even 3 years!


Please look to the sidebar and find the Donate button for our Vent fund.  No amount you contribute is too little, so give what you can! 


Of course, there will be some added perks for your contributions!


Firstly, everyone who contributes to the vent fund, no matter the size of the contribution, will receive a one time payment of 100g from the Guild Vault!


Secondly, there will be fabulous prizes available to win through a Guild Lottery!  Eligibility will be determined by a set amount of donation!  Each donation of a set amount will enter a random number for you for that particular prize!  You are welcome to donate as many times as you wish for a particular prize!  A Guild Lottery on December 1, 2011 will determine the winners of each prize!  


And without further ado, here is the list of prizes!

1. Every $3 donation enters a number for you in a drawing for:  

A Blizzard Authenticator!  Protect your account from despicable hackery with this marvel of online security technology!  A total of 3 Authenticators will be available to win, and shipped to the winners at no cost!  Winners of these coveted items will also win an additional 200g!

     

     2.  Every $5 donation will enter you to win:

An Epic Character Airbrush T!  That's right!  This hand crafted depiction of your avatar comes artfully rendered by the High Chieftain himself!  Shirts come in all sizes, and images can be painted on the front or back!  Own a unique and awe-inspiring shirt unavailable anywhere else!  There will be 2 Epic Character T's available to win!  Winners will also receive an additional 300g!

     3.  And finally, the grand prize.  Every $10 donation will enter you to win:

A Mechano-Hog!  Cruise the rough roads and tough terrains of Azeroth in ultimate badass style!  A fold-away passenger car lets you ride with a wingman, and all will watch with envy as you kick up dust in every town!


So there you have it!  Starting today, all donations will be logged and tracked!  Click on the Donate button under the Vent fund to get started!  Go forth to Victory!!

~Ogami, High Chieftain of the Shades of the Rising Sun

**Additional Rules and Regs:**

• All contributors should send an email to the High Chieftain with their character's name, guild rank, and class to OgamiGoro@yahoo.com.  Included in the email should be to which prize the random numbers will be assigned.  This will help in tracking and awarding lottery numbers and prizes, as well as allow large donations to count to win multiple prizes.  For example:  If Champion Tulkhas were to donate $10 to the Vent Fund, the donation could be divided into: 3 entries to win an Authenticator, 1 Entries for an Authenticator and 1 entry for the Epic T, or 1 entry to win a Mechano-Hog.  A simple email stating which prizes you're gunning for will assure you get the chance you wish!
• The Vent Drive is open to everyone, regardless of guild rank or financial standing!  Donations to the Guild Vent Fund are done through PayPal, and requires a credit card.  If you don't have a credit card, an alternate means of donating will be available for the duration of the Vent Drive...  
• Those who lack funds and/or a credit card may instead donate gold to the guild vault!  Every 500g donated will equal $1 to be donated by the High Chieftain on the character's behalf.  Those who wish to participate in this alternative means of donation must first get approval from the High Chieftain.  Approval can be obtained by sending an email to the High Chieftain at: OgamiGoro@yahoo.com.  Please include your character's name, guild rank and class, as well as the reason why you should be considered for alternative donations.  Characters may participate in either traditional donations through PayPal, or alternative gold donations.  No Double Dipping!
• Donations will be taken all the way up to the day of the drawing on December 1, 2011.  Winners will be announced on that day, as well as the results of the Vent Drive.  Winners, please allow 4-6 weeks for your prizes to be delivered.

New Guild Website Up!

Check it out, comrades!  It is a fully stocked site with forums and links to improve your game and guild experience!


Visit Shades.enjin.com, register, and log in as your character!  Do it today!


~High Chieftain Ogami

Guild Meeting Results

These are the resulting suggestions from a meeting held by Anivas on 6/30/11. During this meeting, which was an open forum of what you, the rank and file of the Shades, would like to see from the guild. The points were then conferred to me, and I'd like to address all of them with you now! As always, you are free to post further thoughts and questions as replies to this forum.

1. Recruiting 
• With Patch 4.1 came the new Guild Interface which includes Guild Recruitment tools. Since its implementation, our guild has grown from 20 accounts to over 80! On top of this, all ranks except Peon have the power to invite new members, and are encouraged to do so. But many perhaps don't know about their permission, or how to do it, or even how to promote us as a guild. The question came up, "What kind of guild are we? What to we tell prospective members about us?"  The linked post is from 2009, but it still rings true today. We are more of a social guild than anything, and I think it's important to maintain the fun, friendly environment of cool people hanging out. This is priority over gearscore, raid experience, and PvP 'leetness.' That being said, with our eye toward Raiding, it will be important to look for max level, geared members. But equally important are crafters and gatherers. Every item crafted, every flask created, every meal cooked, counts toward guild achievements and level, and cannot be forsaken. Where do you think flasks and feasts come from? More on this later, but for now, know that Champion Ehrik summed up the type of guild we are pretty accurately in a single sentence:
• "We are a social, Heroic guild with an eye toward Raiding."
• So if you would like to see more members, then do your part, comrades! Create a recruitment macro. Fire it off in the cities, in Trade and in General. Farming, doing some Archeology? Pop it in each new zone you get to. See low levels running around? Talk to them. Find out what they're up to, and see if they'd be a good fit here. Run a dungeon with a skilled, friendly, but guildless high level? Reach out. The power is yours!
2. Increase Repair Allowances
• As we take on tougher and tougher opponents, gear repairs are an important, yet expensive, part of the game. Blizzard recently took action to try to lessen the burden that plate wearers carry, while attempting to equalize gear repairs accross the classes. While warriors, paladins, and dk's may now be paying less, balance dictates that other classes are paying more.

The Truth about Nerfs in 4.2!

There has been a lot of chatter, both online and in the forums, about the upcoming Patch 4.2.  Most players are worried about the same thing: the dreaded Class Nerf!!


While it is true that, in the attempt to balance the game in all its aspects, ungainly decreases in power and abilities have been known to occur, and will continue to occur, I call upon you to use your Reason, comrades, and remember these key points:

1. The game is Always changing and Always evolving.  Changes that do not work out are very likely to be changed again.  It's part of the game, just as much as it is a part of Life.
2. Virtually all Nerfs to player classes are due to QQ'ing of the PvP community.  While class nerfs may affect all members of a class, the actual effect may be considerably less detrimental than one might think, especially if one spends more time questing and in dungeons rather than battlefields.  
3. Every Nerf, regardless of its origin, is almost always accompanied by at least one Buff.  

This last fact becomes glaringly apparent in the following list, which I've compiled from the 4.2 patch notes.  It is a fact of life that nothing is free.  Every benefit has a cost, comrades.  The trick is to lessen the cost while increasing the benefit.  

As you'll see from this list of class changes, any and all Nerfs of 4.2 are actually reasonable costs for the incredible benefits to be experienced by nearly every class!  The patch notes have been compiled and separated into 3 categories, followed by a summary:

1. Nerf:  A change that lessens the stats and/or abilities of a given class.
2. Buff:  A change that positively modifies the stats/abilities of a given class.
3. Superficial:  A change that, while it may be cool to look at or neat in some way, does not significantly alter the stats or abilities of a given class.  (They can still be awesome though.)  

Come, comrades, click "Read More" and see for yourselves.  It's not going to be what you think!  As always, the official, original patch notes can be found here.

Rule Revisions!

There is a new system for dealing with inactive characters.  It is detailed under the Rules and Regulation Post, under "AWOL."  Basically, Inactive Characters will lose rep at an increasing scale, thereby losing Rank and Privileges, the longer they are inactive.  When they have no Rep left, they will have another month to get back into the game before being let go.


Also, the Rules for Earning Rep in Dungeons have been modified.  It is now possible to earn Rep in a guild dungeon run regardless of how many Guild members are actually in the group.  There is also a new Bonus Rep system to encourage Tanking, Healing, and Full Clears.  Raid Rep rules have also been modified similarly.  


Go forth, and Glory to the Horde!


~High Chieftain Ogami