casualalliancedoughboy

Zatha, here is the info I emailed to everyone. I looks much better in Word format but I did not have your e-mail.

Here is a summary of the guild alliance after it's first 10 days. (Gee ……we are 10 days old! Where is the birthday cake? :) Very nice start for such a big undertaking! The alliance chat channel is working well (thanks Allurana). More players are getting Ventrilo so keep plugging it via your guild mail and MOTD's. Kuriu has stepped up as trial guild coordinator for Solace. Solace is still tentative about their participation but with our initial success I hope they jump in with both feet. There are some events on the calendar that have no leaders. If your guild is not set (on calendar) to lead 3 events during October, please e-mail me with the ones you wish to pick up. If the event is OK, but the time or date is bad for you (or your leader), let me know when you wish to move it to. If you do not like the ones suggested for this first month, please e-mail me with what you wish to do and a date. I want to either cancel or replace events by the 16th so I can form an accurate calendar up to the end of the month.

The events I really want to try to keep are the Peacock starter, the Wondrous Inventions (for 32-slot bag with 99% weight reduction) and at least the Fire and Ice for Prismatics. Deception and Darathar may need to be postponed until next month because players are still working on runes for To Speak as a Dragon. We may run a second Fire and Ice in their place so all can be ready for Deception in November. Updates to the calendar will be sent to you via this e-mail list. It also makes it easy for you to cut-and-paste info to your forums or web sites. Info from leaders about events should be sent to me here as well. It is easier than in-game mail and I check my e-mail more often than I log on to EQ2. Since we started on Oct 1st , we had to cancel a couple events that had no leaders, did not run another because no one showed up (which was OK because the opportunity was there if someone really wanted it), and changed tomorrow's event (raids in Perma/Everfrost) to a Blades faction-building event because the raids had no leader.

Please start thinking about a wish list for November events. I want to have a tentative calendar ready to post by Oct 21st . The only things that will extend from October into November are the Primatics and the quest lines for Ring of Fate and Peacock (ending with the Godking!) PLEASE chat with your guildies and ask them what they want to run. The October schedule was done with suggestions from many players but with no commitments. What I should have done was ask, "What events do you really want to see done?" When they responded I should have asked……" If you can pick the date and time, would you mind leading it if no one else can? At least this way I would have known which events had potential leaders. I am up for any and all ideas.

I was just thinking….why schedule an event for just Blooodskull Valley to finish the Lightstone HQ? If we have a large group of players, why waste it on just one Epic? Why not kill Drull, then run to RoV to kill Varsoons, then run to Cove of Decay and finish off Octogorgon and the Captain?!? All three wouldn't even take 2 hours and players could knock off two or three HQ's. Put all your thinking caps on and let's make this alliance a force to be reckoned with !! Always remember……IT IS ONLY THREE EVENTS PER MONTH. Each coordinator can do the three themselves or designate all to different guild members.

The rest of this e-mail consists of the most up-to-date, modified information for you and your guildies. Please review and post as needed in your forums, mail or web site. It is broken down into the following "easily-digested" categories: " Guild leader and coordinator contacts (not to be distributed!!!......except Doughboy's as needed)

" List of zones, instances, raid zones and Epic mobs to get ideas for future events. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Finest Hour is no longer in consideration for admittance and Solace is participating on a trial basis.) -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ventrilo is a voice chat program that allows many different players to hear each other while playing on-line games. The server costs Casual Alliance money but the clients (players) can download and use it for free. You do not need any special equipment. If you do not have a headset with a microphone, you will hear the chat over your speakers along with EQ2's sound and music. However, use of a headset is preferred for its sound quality. If you have a desk microphone, please listen to game sound on headphones or your game music will cause an annoying echo for the other listeners. CA will allow members of the four alliance guilds use of it's Ventrilo server as much as they like with the following rules: " You do not give out the password to non-member players. " You must log on with the exact same character name you are playing at the time. " There will be a short leash on the use of swearing in Vent. Usually this is not a problem because only 2 or 3 players are talking. Some players without headphones have children that can hear what comes over the speakers. " No rude comments or jokes. Please stick to chatting about the game. No negative talk about other players, even if they are not on. " Abuse of the privilege will result in being banned from the server. And if you cant use Ventrilo ….you can go on raids. "Nuff said."

Ventrilo is free for the users (clients) and can be downloaded at ventrilo.com. Go to the "Download" page and look for the "Client" program with your computer's format. (Windows or Mac) Save it to your desktop. When this is done, open it and enter the following for each of your toons that will be participating in events

6. Go to Setup page if you have a microphone. Ask for help from someone that has it loaded if you are having trouble. If you do not have a mic……

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Right click on your chat box (in game) and you will see an option for a custom chat channel on the right hand side. Type in "alliance" as the channel and "fun" as the password and you can now see all the communication between our four guilds. You may want to change the chat colors to make it easier to spot the difference between all the stuff that pops up. Go to "Options" and then to "Chat Colors". If there are no CA members doing stuff of interest at your level, use this channel to see who is doing quests or looking for groups within the alliance. Knowing our calendar will help you in this regard. Try posting something like…. "39 Pally looking to progress HQ quests in Zek in preparation for alliance raid on Emperor Fyst next week." Using this in addition to level chat, OOC and LFG search can form a group in no time.

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We are currently four guilds that join together to do quests and raids that would be more difficult for "casual" (or smaller) individual guilds to do. We have specific, organized procedures that ensure we are prepared, have enough players, and start on time. Goals of the alliance include: 1. A firm calendar every month of pre-scheduled quests and raids. 2. A good mix of Weekday and Weekend events with times ranging from early to late. 3. Some late night events (eg: 10 or 11 pm EST start time) 4. A method of giving participants info on the planned event so they know what to expect and what to prepare for. 5. Effective communication through Ventrilo for more successful and quicker quest/raid completions. 6. of an inter-guild, in-game chat channel that allows quicker coordination of pick-up raids or groups. 7. More events for lower levels (raids or HQ quests) 8. More high level events (for 65+) added to the calendar as the alliance becomes stronger and more successful. 9. As players participate in the events they learn how to run groups (or raids) themselves and become future leaders. 10. Although all events are optional, it will allow those that crave this content to "scratch their itch". 11. Foster a friendship between these guilds (whose members share a similar "casual" philosophy) that will help our members to find group-mates much quicker even on non-event nights. Why an alliance? Many non-elite (read "non-hard-core") guilds find themselves in the same situation we do here at Casual Alliance. Players wish to do high-level (Hallmark, HQ, etc.) quests but not enough similar-level players are on at the same time to join them. Others wish to do the occasional raid for some nice loot or AA points but a planned event will only find 8 or 12 of the necessary levels log on for an 18 to 24 player raid. This alliance of four guilds will increase the numbers available so that we can fill and run between 3 and 5 events/raids per week. It should also help us all avoid the long waits, disorganization and pitfalls that occur with many pickup raids. There are no attendance requirements but those that choose to attend have clear guidelines to follow. These "rules" ensure timely completion and greatly increase the chances of success.

Each of the "Alliance" guilds has an event coordinator. This does not have to be the guild leader. The coordinator discusses among their own guild what events or raids are needed or would be fun to do each month. Each coordinator is responsible for getting a leader for 3 events per month, one of which should be an Epic type raid mob (2,3,or 4 groups) The coordinator can run all three themselves or can get 3 volunteers. The leaders of each event need to provide some basic information in addition to the date and time so Doughboy can put it all on the calendar. (See "Alliance Leader Guide") Leaders can schedule events for times that are convenient for them personally. Remember, any player from any of the guilds can lead a raid as long as they know the way and are somewhat familiar with the mobs. Any player from any of the guilds can use the alliance chat channel to form a pick-up group for XP or raiding. But if a member wishes to do a certain raid or quest that interests them, they may add it to the calendar as long as they give enough notice and they follow the "Leader Guide". Although only three events per guild, per month is required …… we hope players will offer to run these "extra" events that will increase the number of things our alliance members can participate in. The "coordinators" communicate regularly with Doughboy of Casual Alliance. They give him the potential dates, times and leaders of the three events for the upcoming month. Doughboy takes the ideas of all 4 guilds and puts together a monthly calendar. This calendar is updated regularly on the alliance web site "eq2ca.com" Any member of the participating guilds may attend a planned event if they are of the right level and follow the basic rules. So, in return for the work of planning and running 3 events, your guild has access to an average of 15 planned, organized raids and/or quests per month that will usually be full (or near full). These events will be held for all different levels and will include raids for loot plus much needed HQ's. The coordinators also are responsible for updating their guild MOTD's or sending out guild mail concerning alliance events. This should not be as necessary once the alliance is up and running after a few months.

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The most important job a leader has is to plan the event beforehand and type up a brief summary of the event to go on the calendar at least 2 weeks before the event. This includes a brief summary for the calendar slot and a more detailed description that can be seen by clicking on that calendar day. (examples below …… or look at our calendar) Send the info to Doughboy at his RL e-mail address. Ask your guild leader or coordinator for it. The leaders should be familiar with the mob or zone BUT if you have never been there you can still lead the event! Just read up on the raid or quest through the internet and get the info to type up and send to Doughboy for the calendar. (Keep an internet walk-through on your lap if you have to :) The most important thing is for the leaders to be familiar with the "Event Rules" and the "Ten Commandments of Raiding". You also need a microphone for Ventrilo. Leaders do not have to be a tank or healer ….. or even the highest level. All you need is a walkthrough, a map of the zone and a microphone to give info to the group members listening in on Ventrilo. We are easy-going players and will not "bite" if the raid doesn't go as planned. Casual Alliance has a Ventrilo (voice chat) server that we will use for all events. Only the event leader and one or two others will be using mic's. The others can just listen to the instructions. This is a huge time-saver because it eliminates most typing. We will allow alliance guilds use of our server but there will be some basic rules for it's use (explained later). All participating group/raid members understand that the leader has to make some tough choices. Choosing the players to invite (if you have the luxury of having to many), picking the enemy (in a group) to tackle first, or deciding whether to back for someone that died in Lava or continue on without them. You can make this choice yourself, you can ask for suggestions from the group/raid, or you can flip a coin. Remember that our members will be helpful and understanding. For those few who end up disappointed, remember that they could have run this event,…… yet chose not to. If they felt they could have done it better, they can offer to run it again next month. We all learn by "doing" and want to encourage players to try their hand at leading events. Events should run between one and three hours. If it is a long quest, divide it into 2 parts over a couple days. If the Epic is at the end, schedule that as a quick 1-hour event to pull in more for the last battle. If it is a series of quests (like Prismatics, Ring of Fate, or Peacock Club) allow players a chance to update at their leisure with a week or two between "bouts".

(Clicking on that calendar date will call up the info the event leader has sent to Doughboy. This detail will include all that you need to know such as …. who, when, where, why, how long, what to know, what to bring, etc.)

This event will be led by Bigboy of CA. It is the beginning of the quest for "Giant Slayer Sword". You must know Giant language if you want to update your quest when we get to the part where you hail the named Giant. Look for Bigboy on TS docks at 8 and be on Ventrilo. We will try to get through the first half of this long quest, starting in TS and moving to Everfrost. If we start on time we should be done in 2 hours (plus or minus 15 min.) This is for levels 38-higher only, but very high levels may have to mentor down to "green" the mobs. Most mobs we see will use Crush or Slash so any armor or potions with those resists will help. This quest ends with an Epic x 3 mob in Everfrost which will be scheduled two weeks from this day and time. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The official alliance web site is eq2ca.com. it is updated by Doughboy and Maximis (guild leaders of CA) It is the non-Sony guild site of CA but is where all the alliance info is posted. The heart of the site is the alliance calendar. On the calendar itself is a brief explanation of each event (time and mob/zone name). When you click on the date of the event, further details will show up.

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Players do not need to sign up in advance for these events. They log on a few minutes prior to the start time to get food, drink, mend, log onto Ventrilo and make their way to the start point. When at the meeting place they send a tell to the raid leader asking for an invite…..or ask on Ventrilo if you have a microphone. There will be guidelines and rules for these events (explained later). Just because we are "casual" doesn't mean we can't be organized. We don't care if you don't have Master spells or Fabled armor, but we do care if you don't follow the basic rules or listen to the raid leader. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

" The raid leader will make all decisions….for better or worse. They will pick select the players for the raid from those that are at the meeting place on time. Those that show up one or two minutes late will be selected based on need and/or space. If 30 players show up on time for a 24-man raid the leader has complete say in who is selected. If you have camped an alt at the meeting location and they are a class that the raid leader may need, let him/her know in advance. A higher level player may be picked over a lower level player making the raid more effective. A healer may be selected over a mage of the same level. Again, the leader makes the strategy and the players abide by it. If you don't like how a raid is run, you are free to volunteer to run one yourself. Being a leader is fun but it is not the easiest job in the world. It takes a little practice but these rules take most of the headaches out of it. If anyone has a problem with a decision the leader makes, they are to bring it up with their guild coordinator…..NOT at the event itself. " All selected participants must be logged onto Ventrilo before we start. Their Ventrilo tag must be the same as the name of their character. If you have multiple characters, please set up Ventrilo for all of them before the event. " Participants must show up to the start location….1) On time 2) Be fully mended 3) Have player made food and drink appropriate for their level 4) Be fully equipped with no empty armor, weapon or jewelry slots. " Read and follow the "Ten Commandments of Raiding" printed below. These are the basic and time-honored guidelines for running a successful event. " Be accepting of all the different personalities you will encounter during these events. (Low-key, authoritative, joking, serious, etc.) The only caveat….. we will not be very tolerant of those who swear or put down other players. " Raid times tend to be very "fluid". We will try to plan raid end times accurately but keep a 15-minute buffer available. If a raid is planned to end around 10 pm and the end boss goes later….no one will fault you if you stay till 10:15 and leave then. Mobs that take a long time to pop will be scheduled as follows: Time: 8 pm EST to "until he pops!" In those cases, be prepared to stay for as many as 4 hours. (Bring plenty of good stories :) " Loot Rules: Most individual guilds use "need before greed" for smaller groups or complicated DPS rules for larger raids. There are many problems with using either of these in a multi-guild grouping. We will keep things simple to start out with and see how it evolves over time. The basic loot rule for any Alliance events is "All lotto all the time." For instance, if you win a Fabled item you are free to use it, give it to a guildie, give it to one of your alts or sell it to buy the rares for those Adept 3 spells you need. The only exception is for "class-specific" items or "no-trade" Lore items you don't need. " All Alliance events are optional ! But if you do show up, you should follow the above rules for the success of the event. The Ten Commandments of Raiding 1. Stay alert and follow the raid leaders instructions. If you have a suggestion you strongly want to make…do it with a private tell. (The raid leader and the two best tanks will have their microphones on.) 2. Know the difference between the Main Tank (MT), the Main Assist (MA), and the Off Tank (OT). We will assume that the tanks know how to tank. 3. Make three or four different macros…such as "ON ME !" or "Out of Power" … and use them. If you do not know how,…. ask a guildie or an officer. 4. Stand behind the mob! (The tank will usually turn the mob.) Casters should stay at the very limit of their casting range to avoid those nasty AOE's. 5. Wait till the MT gets aggro (usually after 2 or 3 hits/spells or 6-10 seconds) before blasting away. Some MT's have a macro to let you know when to begin assisting. 6. If you obtain unwanted aggro, use your "ON ME !" macro and stand still ! (If you are in a crowded group you can take a couple steps back so you can be targeted easier.) 7. Use HO's ! The raid leader will say who starts them. 8. Remember to cast and re-cast your friend and group buffs ! Many of them will time out. 9. In the event of a RL interruption, state in raid chat… "Emergency AFK. Auto-follow on ____". Then re-confirm with the player you are auto-following before you leave. 10. Stick to task and do not wander off to collect a "sparklie" if you are in a high aggro area. All Zones, Raid zones/mobs and Instances:

This page can be reached by going to "swimcoaching.com" and clicking on the tiny copywrite (©) icon in the far lower right of the page

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