I have been playing MMOs since there were MMOs.  I have experienced everything from PvE raiding to PvP raiding and all things in between.  I have taken part in more events than I can probably remember and I have served guilds in every position from the grunt all the way to the leader.  Generally, I prefer a certain measure of civility when I am taking part in MMO activities.  My instinct tells me that leading doesn’t require you to act like this…



However…

There are occasions, pivotal moments and the like…a threshold is crossed…and suddenly we find ourselves hurtling like mad to a place where angels fear to tread and noobs dare not speak for fear of being pwned.  It is in the face of horrific, abject stupidity that we stand during these moments, and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out how even a mild mannered person can go from sounding normal to sounding like this…


NOT SAFE FOR WORK



I was reminded of this tonight during another wonderful Battle for the Badlands, hosted as always by The Gaiscioch Family.  The issue was only with a few lazy morons, but it really does make you see how the poor people who try to lead raids in MMOs can go nigh-insane.  We had a few moments where, despite repeated orders, people somehow found themselves in places they were not supposed to be and doing things they were repeatedly told no to do.

But such is the way of things when you get large numbers together, right?  Now onto the Season Finale!  I was going to try and do something different this time around, so I made recordings of our adventures rather than just taking screenshots.  Sadly, during some of the more intense moments, my 3 year-old computer really started to chug and the lag is painfully evident.  But I figured what the heck, I might as well throw some of these up here anyway.

The war was still raging when I left after two hours, so I cannot speak to anything that happened while I was gone.  But things began with the raid gathering together for a lovely photo…group hug!!!  :)



We then quickly moved to take our first keep in what would be one of many glorious keep captures as the night went on.  The onslaught began in Troll Country, as the smoke bellowed over the hills and the howls of war blended into the whistling wind upon the treetops.



After that we stayed on the move with reports that Destro were out there lurking, and we soon discovered their strength all too well as we ran into a load of them while trying to take Mandred’s Hold.  They kept up their oil, sniping at us from atop the keep until they swept us out of sieging position with a quick burst from the keep floor.



We huddled back up at our Warcamp and licked our wounds, deciding that it was best to keep the enemy on their toes.  So we quickly hopped over to the Elven lands and began sieging keeps straight away.  We strode unhindered across the sun-lit peaks and valleys, taking the first keep we came upon with ease.  As we moved back to the Shadowlands to begin our assault there, we learned that one of our keeps was being taken back by Destro, so many of us immediately ported back to aid in its defense.

This is the part of the story where people need to learn how to…you know…read.  The Gaiscioch Family had no difficulty following the orders of their leader, but it seems that some of our other more aloof participants were not so wise.  So half the raid went back to defend the keep while the other half stayed in the Shadowlands, oblivious to the whole thing despite repeated orders.

This lead to yours truly racing into an already heavily besieged keep and discovering a big ol’ pile of destro waiting for me as they took the keep upon my arrival…then used my face to clean the shiny new floors.



Wasting know time, our leaders had us regroup and move back to the Shadowlands to continue our offensive there.  To my delight, Destro was waiting for us once again and as you can imagine…there was blood and it was glorious.  It was my hope that the video would reflect the thrills of battle all too well, but by the end of it I fear that lag will be your overriding memory.  With the recording going on I was fearful that my computer would catch fire.



As we stood victorious upon the broken corpses of our vanquished foes, we continued the rampage and moved back to Troll Country.  We took several more keeps before I called it a night, and declared the Battle for the Badlands Season Finale to be another roaring success.  It was nice to see such a positive response from the populace as well…and we received quite a few new members who were most impressed by our continued forays into the realms of chaos and mayhem.  :)

A good time was had by all, and once again I would like to thank my Gaiscioch Family, those who fought with us, and Destro for putting up a fun fight as always.  Until next time, friends!