Message from the Fist

Welcome to my 2nd report as Fist of the Brotherhood! October was extremely busy for the Fist staff, with some pretty massive gaming updates, changes to Pendants of Blood, updates to the Wiki, and other housekeeping activities. And, as you will see below...November’s report will show much of the same!

This month, we have updates that many of you have been waiting on (Destiny PvP anyone?), a huge change in how PoBs are granted for Star Conflict, and some really cool competitions for you all to take part in. Also, the Nerf Hammer is in the shop, so you can all rest easy...for now.

Some quick admin notes:

• Competition Incentive clusters are for DB-Wide, Fist-Staff organized events. I will consider exceptions for Vendettas, feuds, and some clan-level events.

• Teamspeak Server has changed again. See announcement here. We are not moving to Discord. Please stop asking.

• Ernordeth dropped a big gaming digest last week. Go check it out!

I am extremely fortunate to have such an incredible staff of gamers who pour their heart and soul into ensuring that all of our supported games are properly balanced and provide the best experience for our community. Ernordeth, Aexod, Celahir, and Beef are four of the hardest working folks in the DB, and without them, NONE of these updates would be possible.

Now, on to the good stuff!

The Daily/Weekly Cluster Cap, Explained

There have been a few questions about this as of late, so allow me to clarify how Clusters of Fire/Earth work over the course of a gaming week.

The gaming period is a seven-day period that begins and ends at Site Reset on Fridays. To simplify: when you get the “Cluster and Pendant Digest” email from me, that means the reset has occurred.

At this point, all Clusters earned during the week will begin to accumulate. There are daily caps in place for all PvE and PvO activities. PvP activities reported through the Fist-o-Matic are uncapped. If you submit over the daily cap for a specific game, any clusters over the cap will roll forward to the next day.

Using Diablo 3 as an example (Daily Cap, 30 CE. Weekly max: 210):

Member submits activities that equates to 180 Clusters of Earth on the first day of the week. As Diablo 3 has a daily cap of 30 Clusters of earth, this 180 equates to six days of “max clusters”. This member can submit for the remaining 30 Clusters of fire in order to fully max the available Clusters of Earth for Diablo 3 for a single week. Should the member submit for MORE than 210 Clusters of Earth, any additional Clusters earned will NOT transfer over after the weekly site reset.

Gaming Updates

Destiny Updates

Pendants of Blood

Effective immediately, Pendants of Blood will be awarded for the following milestones:

• Level 40
• Light Level 295
• Light Level 320
• Light Level 340
• Light Level 365
• Light Level 385

As a reminder, you may only earn six (6) TOTAL Pendants of Blood for playing Destiny.

Example: If you have already earned three under the old tiers, you will not be eligible for your next pendant until you reach Light Level 340.

Destiny Private Matches

I am happy to announce that Destiny Private Matches are now live. As with all PvP events, you must utilize the Fist-o-Matic on telegram for matches. Get out there and fight for glory, Guardians!

Match requirements: minimum of 5 minutes per match, with the exception of Elimination mode.

Elimination Mode: requires at least a one minute timer with 5 kills equating to a win.

Established values:

• 2 players earn 1.00 for a win and 0.33 for a loss
• 3 players earn 2.50 for a win and 0.83 for a loss
• 4 players earn 3.00 for a win and 1.00 for a loss
• 5 players earn 3.50 for a win and 1.17 for a loss
• 6 players earn 4.00 for a win and 1.33 for a loss
• 7 players earn 4.50 for a win and 1.50 for a loss
• 8 players earn 5.00 for a win and 1.67 for a loss
• 9 players earn 5.50 for a win and 1.83 for a loss
• 10 players earn 6.00 for a win and 2.00 for a loss
• 11 players earn 6.50 for a win and 2.17 for a loss
• 12 players earn 7.00 for a win and 2.33 for a loss

Star Conflict Update

Last month, it came to my attention that Star Conflict PoBs were incredibly difficult to earn. Until today, there have been a total of 5 obtainable PoBs through Star Conflict. Not a single person in the DJB has made it to that threshold, considering the amount of time and the dedication you would need to commit to the game in order to do so. After consultation with the most prominent Star Conflict players of the DJB, I have decided to establish the following thresholds for PoBs:

Awarded for achieving Max Synergy on one ship in each of the following Ranks:

• Rank 1
• Rank 2
• Rank 3
• Rank 4
• Rank 5
• Rank 6

Be advised: You may only earn six total PoBs for Star Conflict. If you have earned three under the old tiers, you will not be able to earn another until you achieve Max Synergy for a Rank 4, 5, and 6 ship, respectively. You may not earn a PoB for six rank 1 ships or any combination thereof. One ship in each rank. That’s it.

DB-Wide Gaming Competitions

Diablo 3 Season 8 Competition

This competition will run for the duration of Season 8. The Fist office’s resident D3 expert, Aexod, has come up with some new and unique ways for you to enjoy playing a seasonal character. The full list of events can be found below! Make sure you sign up for the container event as well...the individual with the highest overall score at the end of Season 8 will earn an additional Crescent!

• Rift it Up (Volume 1)

• Loot Hoarder

• Autumn Journey Through Hell

• Efficiency is the Key to Success

• Only the Fittest Survive

• Dinggggg!

November Monthly Gaming: MOBA Test #2: Defense of the Ancients 2

For our November Monthly Gaming, the Fist office will run a second (and final) test to see if a MOBA is feasible for inclusion into our list of supported games. You will play DOTA 2 (a free to play game, with the exception of specific skins and cosmetic items which are not required to win or excel in the game). You may submit an individual screenshot, an online image gallery link, or a .ZIP file with multiple screenshots. You will earn 1 Cluster of Earth per valid screenshot, up to a maximum of 20.

This screen will be accepted as a valid Screenshot:

November Mobile Gaming: Transmission

This month’s mobile game comes from the UK Science Museum! Transmission is a puzzle game where you create communication networks and reveal their strengths. Submit a screenshot showing your progress, and the member with the most stars (displayed on the top right of your screen) will win! Any ties will be broken by submission date, so get out there and start playing!

Example Screenshot:

As an added bonus, all members who submit a VALID screenshot (meaning you have to actually play the game, not just take a screenshot showing zero progress) will earn 5 Clusters of Earth at the close of the competition!

Club First Info

Celahir is working hard on building a brand new wiki page highlighting all past Club Firsts! This is a pretty monumental task, and is taking a great deal of time and effort to research and publish.

If you believe you have completed a Club First for one of our supported games, please send me the details so I can make a determination. Club Firsts award a snazzy new Pendant of Blood and eternal glory on the DB Wiki!

And speaking of Club Firsts, I’m waiting on the edge of my seat for the first full DB teams to complete Wrath of the Machine on Normal and Heroic modes! .In order to qualify, the team MUST be made up of six members of the DB. Additionally, as much as I would like to be part of a full DB raid team, I have decided that I will not be making myself available to round out any team. Your entire team does not have to be in the DB Clan to qualify, but you do have to have your Xbox Gamertag/PSN ID listed on your dossier.

Can Team Xbox finally see a full DB raid team or will team Playstation bag another two Club Firsts? The race is on!

Weekly and Saturday Pendant of Blood Awardees

During some of the housekeeping activities, it came to my attention that it has been a LONG time since we awarded weekly Pendants of Blood for PvP activities. This is a pretty big oversight by me...so for that I apologize. Congratulations to the following individuals on earning Pendants of Blood for the highest overall PvP score for the weeks/Saturdays listed!

Weekly PoBs

• 28 Aug-3 Sep: Frosty
• 4 Sep-10 Sep: Frosty
• 11 Sep-17 Sep: Frosty
• 18 Sep-24 Sep: [Frosty(https://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/members/4017)
• 25 Sep-1 Oct: Frosty
• 2 - 8 Oct: Edgar
• 9-15 Oct: Blade
• 16-22 Oct: Blade
• 23-29 Oct: Andrelious

Saturday PoBs

• 3 Sep: Frosty
• 10 Sep: Aexod
• 17 Sep: Edgar
• 1 Oct: Bentre
• 8 Oct: Bentre
• 29 Oct: Andrelious

November Gaming with the Fist

October’s Gaming with the Fist was pretty successful. I enjoyed the opportunity to talk with some of our PC players about Star Conflict (and look...there were changes!!!) and some really great ideas about team-based PvP gaming.

For November, I’m heading over to console land! This month’s “Gaming with the Fist” will be on 12 November at 10:00 AM PST (5:00 PM GMT) on PS4, where I will be playing Destiny and Overwatch! Parties are limited to 8 members on PS4, so if I fill up on one game, I’ll swap over to the other after about an hour. I want to have a chance to talk to everyone, so please be understanding when I have to cut out of one discussion party to move into another!

See you all on the 12th! Come with ideas and questions. As stated last month, I will not make any decisions during these events. This is just a chance for me to take your questions and ideas back to the staff for further discussion.

Ask The Fist

You asked, I answered. Order of responses prioritized by level of seriousness. Serious questions get answered first. Silly questions at the end. But I will answer pretty much everything.

Tra’an Reith di Plagia asks: “What’s your greatest challenge as Fist going to be?”

Answer: You mean other than taking a HEAT round every time I nerf something? Probably keeping all of our supported games balanced. It’s a lot more work than you might think.

Lexiconus asks: “So as an active gamer who enjoys playing multiplayer and story, I sometimes find it difficult to grab someone at the right time. With me being European, my friends being American, some of them Serbian etc. there's a diverse timetable to consider. As the head of this gaming community and the moderator of a healthy and fun environment, what can you do to aid us gamers in motivating us to play more, to invest more and prevent people from breaking the Good Guy rule?”

Answer: Play more, remember that this is about having a good time, and don’t be a douche. Find someone new to game with if all of your friends live on the other side of the planet. Game for fun and not just for clusters. And seriously...don’t be a jerk. I refuse to play games with people who have bad attitudes or who are toxic to other members.

Wally asks: “Do you think we’ll see more new SW games being created in the future by developers beyond skinned versions of Battlefront, more in line with a new JA or TIE Fighter?”

Answer: A pretty wicked run-on question from the Voice :). In short, I hope so. There’s a lot of options out there for some pretty decent games. And Disney is smart. They know how to make money. And they know how to make a lot of it. So hopefully they take advantage of the opportunity to provide us with games that don’t suck. Then again, with enough hype, we’ll all probably drop money on any Star Wars game that comes out in the near future, anyway.

SOME FICTION RELATED QUESTIONS

Lexiconus asks: Where does the Fist live on Arx?

Answer: According to the Voice (who writes all the fiction so I don’t have to), in one of the big shiny buildings.

Blade asks: What does the Fist fictionally do? Desk job? Super warrior? Coffee pourer for the GM?

Answer: I defer to the wiki for this. Because it’s fiction. What the Fist does!

Nero asks: “What’s your GMRG Accessory?”

Answer: It’s a surprise. You’ll see it when Vyr has finished it.

SILLY QUESTION

James Entar asks: “Horse-sized duck, or duck-sized horse?”

Answer:

Conclusion

There you have it. Lots of updates, a new gaming mode, and plenty of competitions to keep you busy throughout the coming month. I have already started looking forward to December and beyond and I think we have some great stuff in the works. One area I’m placing some particular emphasis into is Galaxy of Heroes. Mobile games are inherently single player, but with the guild running as strong as it is, and the introduction of Raids as cooperative events, this game merits looking into in some form. More to follow on that in the coming weeks.

Thanks to all for your support as we work to make gaming in this club an enjoyable experience. As always, please feel free to contact me on telegram or over email if you have any comments or concerns!

TL;DR

1) Destiny PvP through Private Matches are now live. Use the Bot!

2) PoBs for Star Conflict are not as hard to get anymore. You’re welcome.

3) Diablo 3 Season 8 Competition is live and it’s epic. Go kill some demons!

4) Gaming with the Fist on 12 November. PS4. Be there.

5) Wiki Updates

6) I’m still waiting on that Wrath of the Machine Club First...

Until next time!

-DDP