15 Minutes of Fame: Mixlering it up in world PvP
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Safety is serious business on US Feathermoon (RP). The Guildwatch, Feathermoon’s Alliance global defense network of guilds and individuals, strives seven days a week to protect Alliance towns and territories from Horde attack. Sound like something that’s taken pretty seriously? That would be affirmative. Says Guildwatch leader Mixler of the group’s some 400 members, “Most of the major players Alliance-side have been members at one point or another, all of the Horde PvPers have fought us, and I believe we’re still the largest organization on Feathermoon.”
While Feathermoon is not a PvP realm (it is one of the game’s original realms, created before there were such things as RP-PvP realms), world PvP is in fact a significant part of the Feathermoon experience. The Guildwatch has played no small part in developing that legacy. 15 Minutes visited with GM Mixler for an inside look at the mechanics that keep the sprawling network working like a well-oiled machine.
Main character Mixler
Guild “I leveled from 1-60 without a guild, to better facilitate my roll as an inter-guild diplomat. When the timing felt right, I founded a mage/warlock training guild called the Arcane Academy. It takes in new mages and warlocks and teaches them how to play their class and how to roleplay.”
Server Feathermoon
15 Minutes of Fame: Tell us how you first got started in WoW, Mixler, and how that led to your involvement in the Guildwatch.
Mixler: I rolled on Feathermoon release week, as it was an RP server in my time zone, and I remember thinking, “No self-respecting Counterstrike ganker is gonna roll on a server named ‘Feathermoon.’” I’ve never been disappointed in that choice.
WoW is actually my first MMO. I was a big fan of the Warcraft strategy games and Blizzard as a company. Some friends played the open beta, which I tried to stay away from due to classes. But my cousin brought it over to try out Thanksgiving weekend, and I bought it myself the next day.
I think the fact Feathermoon is an RP server helped with the formation of the Guildwatch. The energy folk had when Warcraft was just starting up was phenomenal, and everyone saw themselves as true heroes. Tapping into that to get people to work together for the Alliance was key. Since I was there from the beginning, it helped me get to know *everybody* who was playing a lot. PvP in general was different back then, too. There were no rewards, no honor points, so combat was purely for enjoyment and bragging rights.
How does the Guildwatch actually work in practice?
The Guildwatch maintains two channels, Guildwatch (for defense) and Guildwatchchat (for socializing, debates, looking for group, etc.) Both channels are in-character, though use of OOC brackets is frequent, and some practical game mechanic jargon is tolerated. We also host a roleplayed policy meeting every other week in Stormwind Keep.
In practice, at the most basic level, a Guildwatch member will have joined the defense line. If he is in the area where an attack occurs, he reports to the larger ‘watch what he knows: ideally, who is attacking, their numbers, classes and levels, and whether or not locals are handling it or if support is needed. Knowing who the Horde attacker is lets us better predict their behavior. More involved members actively seek out sources of World Defense alarms, respond to calls for backup from other members, participate in Guildwatchchat and attend the in-game meetings. Another way to help is to make use of the web site, submitting character/guild profiles, threat dossiers on repeat attackers, and battle reports for notable fights.
Feathermoon is an RP but not an RP-PvP server. Do a large number of players run perma-flagged? Do Guildwatch members run perma-flagged?There were no RP-PvP servers when I started playing, and the Guildwatch was entrenched on Feathermoon by the time they became available. There are a handful us who do run perma-flagged, most often found among the officers, myself included. I figure if someone wants to try to kill me, they should have the opportunity. Very satisfying killing someone who’s tried to jump you while blue-flagged. The PvP quests have helped; I just keep one in my log at all times. That way it auto-drops in instances and pops right back up again when I leave.