Fist of the Brotherhood Report

Fist Report #2! That was fast huh? Here it is:

Gaming Portal Google Form

This is in the process of being added to the new site, I've had a few email or IRC requests for the link to it. The link is included at the bottom of this report, but also here:

Gaming Portal

One of the projects as James, Arion, and company continue to improve our new (awesome) website will be integrating the Form completely into it. The Google Form itself will go away, and we'll have a Gaming Portal which assists in calculating the amount of CFs earned as part of our website! Why should you (and why do I) love this? Because of my errors in the...

Recent CF Awards

During the initial round of CF requests from the Crusade we had some discrepancies. These do not impact the outcome of the Crusade Competitions, I've checked that against information and independent calculations by other members. The CF amounts that were off either were caught and re-submitted with a correct amount, or will be modified in the database to correct the amount (if they haven't already). If your CF amount was incorrect you received an email from me letting you know of this error.

Feel free to review your CF amounts, and if you have any questions shoot me an email.

Crusade Gaming

Pretty soon we'll be staring down the next round of Planets in the Crusade. What do you need to know about it as far as Gaming? Download Alien Swarm over Steam, you'll need it.

So, want to know what games people were playing during the July Round of the Crusade? Maybe get a few practice repetitions in before the next round? Here's the list of the games that were played, from most popular to least:

• 77% of match submissions were Jedi Academy.
• 13% of match submissions were SWTOR Level 15 Dueling
• 5% of match submissions were Star Craft 2
• 3% of match submissions were SWTOR Level 50+ Dueling
• 2% of match submissions were Pazaak

JA/JO Servers

All servers are still in good shape. The JA server has been paid for through August 2014. You read that correct, I bought a year so I don't forget to renew it, and the discount was pretty nice too. What about the JO server? I've kept this on a month to month payment plan, in July we had zero matches played on the JO server. I'll be monitoring its activity through August and September to see if we're using it. If we determine the JO server isn't getting the use to make it worthwhile keeping I'll be looking for another platform to bring in as a Club Dedicated server in its place. If we make this move it isn't a change for me to save money, its about giving you all gaming servers for platforms you want to play.

There were a few changes to the JA server specifically over the course of the last month. I think we're in a steady state now though. You may have noticed that Shields and Health are now reseting to 100 when duels start, thanks to Ernordeth for your help working this out!

A small tweak that has been made is that the RGB Saber option has been re-enabled for JA. This lets you create a custom color for your lightsaber, so you can look even more awesome while slashing your friend's face off!

Moving forward I will be creating a Wiki Page for the information used to run both JA and JO servers. Specifically listing out the DJB approved Config File, Mod (JA Plus 2.4), and Command Line (to enable JA Plus Mod). This should help any future changes between servers or companies hosting our servers go MUCH smoother and keep gameplay for you all much more consistent between changes!

GMRG

GMRG members! Gorefest is currently in progress, get some! As I mentioned in my previous report, this event runs from July 26th through July 28th. Not familiar with Gorefest? Check the GMRG Wiki.

GMRG Echelon and Responsibility changes After careful examination of the Royal Guard's combat readiness I've decided to make a few changes to the more fictional side of things. These changes will not impact how or when you gain ranks, or which ranks are determined as "safe ranks".

Rank's associated with each Echelon will be modified. Previously a Safe Rank existed at the first Rank into a new Echelon, when considering the additional responsibilities I felt that in order to permanently earn a spot within an Echelon you should be at the Top Rank within it, rather than the lowest. Additionally, with these changes you will notice that for the 4th Echelon (those Guardsman assigned to the Grand Master) there is no safe rank. Why is this? From a fictional standpoint, if your character is going to be guarding the person in charge of the entire Brotherhood they should be totally on point, and continually training (with you earning CFs every month to maintain that). Since I'm sure someone will point it out... yes... fictionally Muz has ridiculous god-like Force Powers and really doesn't need any Guards. Anyway, here's the new Echelon Listing:

• Training: Rank I
• First Echelon: Rank II through IV
• Second Echelon: Rank V through VII
• Third Echelon: Rank VIII through X (Assigned to the Dark Council)
• Fourth Echelon: Rank XI through XII (Assigned to the Grand Master)

Responsibilities for each Echelon remain the same. If you have earned Rank VII as of August 1st you may request a Dark Councilor to guard, and will retain that assignment even if stay at Rank VII. Future members who wish to guard a Dark Councilor will need to be Rank VIII or higher.

TOR Guild

The TOR Guild Ranks have been updated to flow a bit differently. For anyone interested you can read the updated rank descriptions on the SWTOR Wiki.

We've run two Gear Grab Nights for the Empire Side TOR Guild so far, they're being held each Thursday at 8pm EST. The first was quite successful, we had a full 8 person raid and cleared 8 person Eternity Vault on Hard Mode with only a few deaths. Great job to Rayne, Busik, Cethgus, Relk, Raken (aka "El Solo"), Muz, and Sarin during that run! If you want to understand Raken's nickname, or listen in on some generally hilarious chatter while we do an Operation hop on Teamspeak and check it out.

Our second Gear Grab was a bit short on people, so it was cancelled to allow folks to continue leveling their characters. We'll continue to run these each Thursday, so if you have a level 50+ Empire Character and would like to see a some of the Operations hop online. For anyone thinking of starting a new character or just plain curious, we still need high end Tanks and Healers. Sith Juggernaut, Powertech Bounty Hunter, and Sith Assassins can all tank or do damage. Operative Agents, Mercenary Bounty Hunters, and Sith Sorcerers can all heal or do damage.

Seeking TOR Players Feedback: Its been brought up by some folks that the way we award Heroic Missions (not Flashpoints) may be flawed based on the general difficulty of them. Even though CF requests are only approved if a person is grouped when completing these many Heroic Missions can be completed by a single character. So... do you feel that Heroic Missions should remain as a CF rewarding activity? Do you feel they should be dropped? Currently they award 1 CF per Heroic, so I can't really decrease the amount earned.

Fist Staff Magistrate Openings

I am opening applications for two Magistrates to the Fist Office. Please send your application to both Archangel and me and specify which position you're interested in. I've listed some expectations below so you're not coming into this blind.

• Magistrate (TOR) - First, must be a TOR Player (prefer 50+). I expect this person to assist in organizing DJB Competitions for the TOR Guild, setting up and eventually leading Guild Raids, and some general administrative tasks related to the TOR Guild and DJBTOR website. Please explain a bit about your experience either with TOR or previous MMO guilds in your application. There will be a requirement to review/submit the CFs from the Gaming Portal Spreadsheet during Non-Crusade Weeks to ensure members receive their awards in a timely manner, this responsibility will rotate through the Fist Staff weekly.

• Magistrate (General Gaming) - This position will assist with many of Fist Staff projects. This could vary from CF Table Balancing, to ROC updates, to running Non-TOR related Competitions. There will be a requirement to review/submit the CFs from the Gaming Portal Spreadsheet during Non-Crusade Weeks to ensure members receive their awards in a timely manner, this responsibility will rotate through the Fist Staff weekly.

Useful Gaming Links

• Gaming Portal
• Rites of Combat
  
• Gaming Information
  
• Gaming Servers

-Valhavoc