Highlighted Guild
- The Imperial Guard – Sith Empire guild
This week we take a look at a guild that got their roots from another Star Wars MMO, Star Wars Galaxies. We find out how they were able to create the guild and follow through on their vision from pre-launch, to launch and are truly thriving to this day in Star Wars: The Old Republic. They have maintained this vision through a few key elements, recruit the person not the class/role, scheduled events – some with a “dash” of role-play for flavor, but as we will find out it really boils down to respect. Respect for guildmates, other players and game developers. That is only a small glimpse into what makes up The Imperial Guard.
More about The Imperial Guild including their Guild Summit reaction after the Jump…
Guild Q&A
How did The Imperial Guard get their start as a guild?
We were actually a “re-birth” of a guild that played SWG on the Naritus server. I was in an officer role in that guild and was always really impressed with the standard The Imperial Guard or TIG (what we call TIG1 internally) held itself to while playing SWG… so when I saw SWTOR and wanted to make a guild I did some research and figured out that TIG1 had fully dissolved and no one had claimed the name for SWTOR… so here we are 🙂 We took many of the things that made TIG1 so great and used them as a template to design what TIG2 would be like.
In the guild history it mentions some “RP-ish” gameplay in another game, has the guild still continued using some RP elements in SWTOR?
We consider ourselves “RP tolerant” more than “RP participant”. We have a very small number of members who would qualify as RPers, generally we think its fine for folks to do it, respect their rights to do so and can see how (for some) it adds another layer to the game.
Our guild approach to ‘RP’ has been on the PVP events we design. We include a ‘story’ element to each fight but there is no scripting in the event, no characters or monologues 🙂
Did your guild get a chance to attend the Guild Summit down in Austin or see it via livestream? What did the guild think of the new content and features that were revealed?
Yes we were fortunate enough to be able to send one of our SC members to the summit. We were excited to see the content additions with increased difficulties, the guild bank of course, as well as the validation of crafted items becoming superior to looted items. The changes to PVP we think will entice players who previously might not have considered it worthwhile for advancement to check it out. The chance to interact face to face with the core designers of the game allowed us to communicate our perspective of what was important to the growth of the game. To have them listen to the concern or idea, and look you in the eye and say, “We understand, and want to address it” was invaluable.
Was there something the guild was hoping to see or discussed at the Guild Summit, but was not?
We’re dying for more of a focus on end-game content… so Bioware’s focus on alt-leveling was disappointing. They’ve made it clear this will not be SWG2 but we really need some more things to ‘do’ at 50 then what’s currently available.
What server is the Imperial Guard located? Are there Allies/Adversaries to TIG on this server and if who are they?
We’re on the Jung Ma server and we’re fortunate enough to have an official Ally & Adversary relationship with Eternal Vigilance. We also do some heavy PVP events with The Guardians and House Angeles. We’re hoping to continue adding some more Republic guilds to that list!
Has your guild started making routine runs in Operations? How would the guild rate their experiences in Operations and Flashpoints for that matter? Does the guild have favorite Flashpoints or even yourself?
We typically have four Operation nights a week where we rotate doing normal 8/16 man, Hardmode and nightmare mode content. Two of the raids are dedicated to normal 8/16 man and the other two are for the 8 man Hardmode and Nightmare. We’ve completed all normal content and with Hardmode, Soa seems to escape our grasp but he will be taken care of very shortly. For HM flashpoints, all have been downed and we run them whenever people are willing to get a group going for them, which is a daily basis and a good amount of them are ran daily.
Considering we’re a casual guild, I’d rate that we’re fairly successful in our PVE content. At times, the bugs definitely get the best of us but we always know that we can handle all content thrown at us and we move on. So our experiences for the most part are very positive. We go in to get a job done and complete it the majority of the time. In terms of favorite flashpoints… that’s hard to say. Our guildies have run them all multiple times, but if I had to choose a favorite it would be Foundry…HK-47 and Revan, Hell yes! Now favorite Operation, that’s a story of itself because the bugs have been very frustrating but Karaga’s seems to be what the guild likes the most (although a lot of us have grown to hate Bonethrasher).
TIG strives to make the gaming experience better than playing alone. How does the guild work to make this happen? Are there scheduled events or specific things organized to help keep the gaming environment in the guild enjoyable?
As most guilds are, we’re focused on both the PVP and PVE content in SWTOR. For PVE we do the two operation runs a week and then do 4 man Hardmode Flashpoints as schedules permit. For PVP we have a weekly PVP event… it will range from “taking over” a Republic Starport to a schedule TIG vs. (Republic Guild) event with a backstory and gameplay parameters…(such as VIP escort, king of the hill, etc).
One area, in the guild’s vision section, it states the guild works to help in-game to support the game developers. Can you explain this more and how TIG goes about doing this?
We pride ourselves on being a guild that tests all available content and, more importantly, takes the time to fill out bug reports / surveys to provide quality feedback to the developers.
TIG has a code of conduct, like most guilds. Do you find that having a set of rules to hold members accountable is another way to keep the quality of the guild’s membership high?
Absolutely, over our 3 years of existence we’ve only had a dozen or so removals for Code of Conduct violations, but having these rule sets a clear standard for applicants to the Guild.
Respect seems to be a high priority with the guild. Do you find it harder to find those gamers willing to be respectful?
Not as much as you would think… we strive to help show our members that if you defeat an enemy player in PVP and /bow to him afterwards, he’ll keep logging back in and fighting against you. He might even go back and get some friends and create an impromptu world PVP event for you… On the other hand if you tea bag him and call him a F&!@$ Noob and then corpse camp him, he’ll probably just log out. So if your goal is to have more PVP, the only way to really support that is through Respectful PVP.
If someone hears that and still concludes that the ‘rage-quit’ goal of many PVPers is a better choice, they weren’t the right fit for TIG.
What has been the biggest accomplishment for the guild thus far in SWTOR? Is there a challenge or goal the guild is currently working towards now?
I’d say our biggest accomplishment was a successful transition from a pre-launch guild into a live guild. We’ve hit the ground running and have been expanding since launch. We hold world PVP events each week and are successful in Warzones and PVE alike. We’ve conquered almost all of end game content and our goal is to continue to provide and support for our guild to be successful for all future content that SWTOR has to offer.
What is the current level of your main character, and what is its class/advance class? Do you have many alts? Will the news about unlocking new species, buffs, abilities, etc. in the Legacy system have you working on more alt characters?
I have two 50’s (Juggernaut and Sorcerer) and am leveling up a Marauder. Yes our guild has embraced the alt fervor in response to the legacy system perks.
TIG makes building and maintaining a great looking website a priority, as well as making videos – both recruiting and in-game footage of gameplay. How did this get to be such a high priority? Are there some tips you could give to say newer guilds or established guilds looking to update their website and maybe get into showcasing videos?
We’re pretty lucky in that we have some guys who do that stuff for a living, so it became as simple as putting the right people into the right places and supporting them with whatever they need. The #1 tip I could give is don’t be afraid to spend a few $$ on the templates that are out there. You can snag a real neat flash based template for around $20 and then it becomes as simple as tweaking the xml files to fit your needs. Eventually our guys were able to custom build our website which is what we have now. It is 100% custom work!
TIG – Prologue video
In this video you will notice a strong attention to details as they worked hard to emulate Bioware’s style used in the timeline series. It is really well done and I am looking forward to more videos.
Another area you might checkout in their forums is the Fan Art section. In there you will come across this forum topic: Sekhmet’s Photoshop Tutorials and Tips. If you have ever wondered how or even wanted to create a very professional looking signature for forums posts…you should really give this thread a good read. I am going to give making a personal signature a try with Sekhmet’s tips.
Is the guild currently recruiting? If so what classes and or advance classes do you all need? What steps does a potential recruit need to do in order to apply to the Imperial Guard?
We are always recruiting but we don’t actually recruit based on your class or play style… what we recruit based on is your personality. The entire recruitment process is centered on letting you give a little history on yourself and then jumping onto our mumble server and spending some time with our guildies… if the personality fit is there we’ll take a level 1 character. If the personality fit isn’t there, it doesn’t matter if you’re the best geared tank on the entire server. The first step is registering on our forums and completing an application. After that (if your application passes the pre-screen for age verification and a few other red flags) you’ll have a Q&A session with the guild via the forums and then move to the play sessions on mumble to get to know you better.
For those wanting to checkout your website, see your videos, or maybe apply for membership, what is the best way to get a hold of the guild?
Going to our website is 100% best way to get a hold of us. There you can read more and then hit us up on the forums… if you have any direct questions feel free to email publicrelations@tigforums.org
That’s it for this week’s Guild Checkpoint. If you are looking for a guild that is looking for the right person over the right class/role and looking for a guild that holds respect as a high value then I strongly urge you to contact the guild members in The Imperial Guard.
Huge thanks to Shawn for all the relaying of information and correspondence. Also thanks to Vic for his help with getting me the images and screenshots. Each member of The Imperial Guild should be proud of their guild and all the best to them in-game and all their endeavors!
Does your guild do something that is unique to other guilds? Why not share it with the rest of the game community? All you need to do is submit your guild’s website and some basic information in an email to me at, jason@corellianrun.com. Your guild could be who we highlight next here at Corellian Run Radio. Thanks and see you next week!
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