Runes of Magic US / AU

Well, as you may all have heard, we've suffered a bit of a setback (if by setback, you mean half your guild leaving for another guild).

Now, before you start chuckling maniacally about how the mighty have fallen and all, consider this:

We've been here before. Twice, actually. Three times if you count when we were still little.

We know how to come back. Mind you, this time it feels a lot harder, for a lot of reasons. It hurts when your family breaks up. It hurts when you feel like you spun your wheels for no reason, and alienated people you cared about for people you didn't, really. Sometimes life just sucks. It is what it is.

But here's the deal.

We know how this works. We know failure just as well as we know success. And most of our best victories grew out of desperate failures. I looked in the mirror and asked myself the honest question: do you still want to do this? And after a lot of soul-searching, the answer is a resounding "YES." I'm not done with Noto, and Noto isn't done with RoM. We still have something to say, and things to give, and places to go.

So, we're recruiting. Like, actually recruiting, something we haven't needed to do in a long time. So, I guess the question is, why would you want to join Noto?

Well, I could talk about how we've endured over the years, growing stronger despite setbacks like this, and point out that we've been the strongest guild on the server longer than any other in Palenque's history. I could talk about how we're killer at progression, how we have more server firsts than Anakin wet-dreams about. I could talk about how many strong players got stronger here.

But as much as all that is nice and all, really- what we have is a home and a family. Like any family, we're dysfunctional as hell, we fight all the time, we have a drunk uncle who shows up to almost every family gathering, and we have a few loud ones who don't know when or how to shut up. You all know this already lol.

But the thing is, underneath all that, we have a deep and enduring love for each other. We couldn't do this any other way. Lots of good guilds have that though. What sets us apart, what makes us different, is our dedication. Our willingness to strive to get better- to push, as hard as we have to. On a server like Palenque, where we have every disadvantage possible, you have to be willing to push pretty damned hard. We're not the smartest, or the richest, or the most skilled- we're just the most stubborn. We've been declared dead so many times it's not even funny- as a server and as a guild. But we just keep going. If we're dead, we're the walking dead, baby. We just don't know when to quit.

So, here's what I'm looking for in the next generation of Noto: dedicated people willing to work hard to push content, who want to have fun, but who also want to get the job done. It sounds like a pain in the a$$ cause it is. Progression involves pain, death, late nights, massive repair and consumables bills, tears, blood and more pain. And more bills.

I don't care what your gear looks like, as long as you show you've been working on it and you've done the research and have some clue what you need and you don't expect us to gear you for free and/or overnight, cause it don't work that way honey-baby. I don't care if you've never been in an instance higher than FA as long as instance running is your true vocation in life, and you don't think you can live without it. I don't care if you're the noobiest noob in Noobville as long as you're willing to work hard. I don't care if you're free to play or pay to play, as long as you're willing to put in either the money or the time.

We're not standing still and we're not stopping this train. It may be a long slow slog back up the hill but we've been there, done that and I have a whole drawer full of t-shirts.

Greeders and leeches need not apply. Casual or family types please don't apply either- we're too adult for most family types and way too intense for casuals. You won't be happy here, and we won't be either. The casuals and family people we already have grew up here and are used to our antics. If you want to progress, if you want to push new content and you're willing to work your A$$ off with us to get there, please do. I usually don't take people who haven't hit level cap, but we'll consider motivated people level 65+. Spanish-speakers are always welcome. Healers and tanks will get extra hugs and cookies. Dps classes better be prepared for a longer slog- just being honest. Insanity isn't required, but it does help!

If you're interested in joining the most notorious guild on Palenque, whisper me on Khazidhea or Jiara, Caohmin, Nerf, Ihoro or Warlabane. We don't bite. Usually

(oh, and Ihoro wanted me to add, if you're dedicated enough to read all the way through all this, he wants you no matter what level you are!)

Lol, Ruisen, we can only be who we are.

I can't stop being prolix, and Noto can't stop being what we are- kinda crazy and over the top. We'll always make people go O.o lol. I would rather be honest about where we stand and attract the two crazy people who a) read the forums and b) think our brand of crazy is great, than attract ten people who aren't going to like us once they get here.

Besides, who can resist it when I tell a long story?

WHAT DO YOU MEAN "Almost everyone"??? Lol

You can always reroll I take refugees from other servers happily lol. Just ask Green. Right, Green? SHUT UP, GREEN!

Ruisen, lordy, why didn't you tell me it was the badly constructed sentence that made it sound like I thought family/casual people were just like greeders/leeches that made you go o.O??? Gahhh. Fixed that. Obviously no one wants greeders and leeches (though they're pretty hard to avoid) and plenty of guilds are perfect fits for family and casual people- just not ours. Lol. This is why I try and reread before I post. Aaack.

I love casuals and family people. We have lots. But they grew up with us and have learned how to tolerate us... mostly. New people on the other hand... not so much lol. If you are a family type with a tolerance for people who cuss like sailors, or a casual who finds it entertaining to be harassed endlessly to play more/get better faster- come on in, lol, the water's fine! Otherwise, Noto is not for you. May as well be honest about it.

It's cause Quaffy is a social butterfly. Heck, a lot of us are. Bor is right, sometimes we have more in vent from other servers than from Palenque lol.

Lateraluz, language can be a barrier, I understand that. But your english is very good, as is most of the people who play on Palenque. I dunno if we're too close. You can have twelve people in a party, and you have to have a tank and at least two healers who can deal with whatever instance you're attempting. In an instance as strat-heavy as ToSH or KBN, you also need at least a few people who can successfully execute strategy. You also need the people who can deliver the dps.

That seriously limits the number of people you can take in either of those instances. Well, not ToSH so much anymore, but KBN still has some pretty hefty requirements outside of normal and first boss farms.

We don't take 15 or so people because we like them better, we take them because we need them to successfully complete the instance. We add new ones in a little at a time, unless they're healers or tanks. That's why I said it's a harder slog here as a dps class. As a dps class you have to prove that you can bring either the dps needed or the clean execution of strat (preferably both). And that takes a little time. Four days really isn't enough.

Patience is a virtue in any progressive guild. And here, absolutely everyone would be thrilled silly if someone made a party for an instance that can be completed without harsh requirements- we do that as often as we can. It just requires someone willing to start a real party- and that can be challenging too.

Being in a progressive guild doesn't just require patience, it also requires determination. You also have to be a squeaky wheel. That's the difference between a family guild and a progression guild. A family guild says "Oh hi new person, what can we do for you?" and then helps them with questing or gearing or whatever. A progression guild sees a new person and says "Oh hi new person, what can you do for us?" and then expects the new person to deliver. It's not easy. Now, I'm not saying that we don't help people with quests or gearing- we do. But that's not our primary focus, and if you need help with that you have to do a lot more hollering.

The other issue is that it's a high-pressure atmosphere. People who live to push tend to have egos the size of small moons. And they all want what they want RIGHT NOW. Keeping those egos from destroying each other is a full-time job- and I don't always have 8 hours in a day to give to it. Which is why we are what we are- messy.

If you're a type-A personality, Noto is for you. If you're a highly-motivated social person who can tolerate type-A people, Noto is for you. If you're not... well, you might feel like we're too demanding and/or not friendly. It's really not a lack of friendliness though. It's just that we aren't laid-back. We're intense. And that throws people off sometimes. It takes time to get used to. And some people don't ever get used to it and just don't like it. We're not for everyone.

There's a fine line between being elitist and getting the job done, and we do try and walk that line. We try and accommodate all playstyles. But our main focus is progression, and has always been. So- if that makes us unpalatable to some- that's the price you have to pay.

Or we could be like Core and only have cutting-edge endgamers in guild. But then we'd be lonely.