Highlighted Guild
- Obscuri Lateris – Sith Empire
Normally, if you focus on too many different ideas or styles, your end product or in this case, gameplay will be mediocre. That is NOT the case with the guild, Obscuri Lateris. They have had some core members together for a long time and have/continued to embrace even encourage members of their guild to play how they want. They combine this with a close knit family like atmosphere. Obscuri Lateris, reminds me of a time when friends gathered around a table and played their RPGs with pencil, paper and dice. The focus was on enjoying the game, completing dungeons, working as a team and most importantly having fun. Now sit back as we get the coordinates set for the Jump and meet the guild Obscuri Lateris.
More on this family friendly & “Get it done” guild after the Jump…
- Guild Q&A
How did Obscuri Lateris get its start? What does Obscuri Lateris mean?
Originally our founding members met in a guild called The Imperial Order which at the time had set its site as a guild for SWG. Shortly after release we felt it was time to venture out on our own to do our own thing. Our guild leader at the time named Junos Frakis came up with the name “Obscuri Lateris”. It is Latin for “Dark Side”. I can’t believe it has been nine years since our guild formed after SWG was released in 2003.
What games has or is the guild currently playing? How did the guild find out about SWTOR?
OL has played quite a few MMO games since our birth back in 2003. We were there for the launch of WoW on the server called Thunder Lord which was a ton of fun. We then ventured into other games such as DDO, and Eve Online. Our community have multiple backgrounds in many MMORPG’s such as UO, EQ, EQ II, Planetside, VGSOH, DDO, LII, LOTRO, AION, AoC, AO, STO, COH, and the list could go on and on forever. They also play tabletop games, FPS, consoles games, and many other types of games. We are avid gamers!
A good majority of our guild keep up on the MMORPG industry news. Prior to officially finding out about one of the worst best kept secrets that BioWare was making a Star Wars MMO, we could only speculate. I was glued to Massively.com and Youtube for all the rumors. Even Gamasutra speculated that BioWare was on course to making a Star Wars MMO before the official announcement. A friend of mine who is an amazing texture artist would always tease me that BioWares MMO was going to be Game of Thrones. Finally the rumor mill started hitting the internet. We found out through social media and each other when the announcement became official. It was a very good feeling to know they would expand on the design of KOTOR. We feel they have successfully created a story based PvE side of the game. Everyone in our guild is extremely into SWTOR. This is the game we want to play for years to come as long as BioWare and Lucas Arts honor their end of our Star Wars addiction.
“I can speak as someone who has been with OL since very nearly the beginning. I started in OL back in the days shortly after SWG launched. Astral found the small group of folks I was running around with and invited us into his guild. They have become like family. I’ve met two of them in person, and a lot of the original members from back in SWG are still in the guild today. I consider many of them among my best friends. I’ve been friends with Astral longer than I have most of my real life friends! He knows more about my past than just about anyone. He knows about my family, and I know about his. We chat on the phone very regularly, and it’s certainly not always about video games! I feel that way about a lot of my guild brothers and sisters.” – Othi
What type of server, server name and faction does OL represent?
For SWTOR OL represents a foundation for PvE that leads into end game Operations focusing on the Sith Empire. We are a Sith Empire guild, but we have a Republic side for Legacy reasons. Operations are definitely our direction after hitting the level cap. We were placed on Sith Wyrm with our alliances in the Alliance program BioWare implemented for release. Hopefully we will become a destination server for transfers.
In the guild’s FAQ it states you embrace all styles of gameplay. How does the guild encourage and accomplish this?
OL is about community and ideals. We like to encourage our community to be self-starters. We start by focusing on the fact that we are all individuals and we have to respect each other under our rules of conduct. Some members are hardcore at Operations, some want to just level characters, some are heavily into PvP. And some will only play the game casually due to family, school, military deployment, and employment. All these play styles are encouraged and accepted. We embrace the fact that real life comes first. As self-starters we want people to feel like entrepreneurs and not laborers. It is more of a Silicon Valley approach that is also reflected at game studios such as Valve. It’s that “Get it done” ethics. If you want to get groups going you can, if you want to lead OPS you can, if you want to have a server event you can. We have leadership that organizes these types of interactions for the game, but the guild is not structured to be dependent on one person which I feel makes it a community. So we use the calendar and in game shouts to get events going for our guild. We also work with our alliance like SHC.
What type of guild, would OL be considered, (i.e. Casual, hardcore, progression, PVP, RP etc.)?
As more members are accumulating at level 50 and guild mergers occur, OL is moving in a new direction where the OPS are becoming more hardcore. We are definitely lending a chunk of time into this part of the end game content to get everyone geared up and catch up to the more advanced and gear centric members. But we also respect the fact that some members are casual gamers. We welcome both sides of the spectrum. We do have some old school RP’s but no one really initiates it like we had back in the SWG days.
Your guild has a well coordinated calendar with several daily and weekly events listed. What type of events does the guild include on the calendar? Who is in charge of coordinating the calendar?
Everyone is in charge of coordinating the calendar. I think it intimidates some people while others embrace it. This is a natural process to be intimidated but we work to think as a community. Our events are primarily quest or gear based with world bosses or OPS. Some nights are a successful turn out while others may result in PUGS. It really depends on everyone’s real life schedule. We just had a new guild merge with us so our calendar is going to be “revamped” for any upcoming events.
One of the weekly events is called Friday Classes with OL. Can you explain what this is and is this a guild only event or can other players, guilds get involved in this event?
That is a direct inspiration on how Eve University will have classes to teach their community on how to play systems within the game they play. BioWare has their SWTOR banners all over the internet, as a direct result we are getting some members who have never played an MMO before. We try to teach players how to play the game and what its system consist of. For example some members have never raided (OPS) before. We educate them on the system within the game. The class is really in a beta phase at this point. It really lands up as a one on one with me. But I also think we have graduated past it as every Friday because SWTOR is still a young game. Down the road I feel it’s going to have an enormous amount of depth. Having this on our calendar opens the door to grow as friends and gamers. It encourages social interaction. The more events we have scheduled, the more active we are. We are a creative lot.
As far as events, does the guild plan any real life events or get-togethers? If so what sort of events and who is in charge of planning them?
We are talking about meeting up in 2013. Some want to meet in Las Vegas, some want to hang out with BioWare SWTOR Devs in Austin to talk games and SWTOR. Some just want to hang out no matter where we go! I would love to hit a game convention and hang out with the devs with all our guild mates. Nothing is laid in stone yet but it will involve Melchia reading us Star Wars lore with lots of shots involved- the guy has a natural podcast voice. He lives to game! And Othi will have to wear his 501st Storm trooper costume.
“In terms of OL, I’m newer to the family, because our prior group merged with them. What I have found here is a great place with a lot of active and connected people, not just online either. Folks know each other, their stories, and in many cases, even their families. In a day when a lot of people criticize the internet or social media for allowing for ‘shallow connections’ instead of deep meaningful relationships, groups like these, and I hope many other guilds, see a connection in a game as not just a way to cut back, relax, enjoy some good lightsaber-on-blaster-fire action, but also circle of friends and companions that can also support and walk with us in our daily lives. For a guy that spent 6 years in an MMO with the same group of people, I feel like perhaps I have found another crew just like them.” – Aviendha
Is Obscuri Lateris currently recruiting? If so what type of classes/advance classes do you need? What does a potential recruit need to do in order to apply or possibly get invited to the guild?
We are always recruiting! It seems like our server has a shortage of tanks, we could always use tanks! We are actively recruiting by word of mouth, or through message boards within SWTOR fan sites. We also like to get PUGS involved in our runs such as killing world bosses. When gamers see a guild is active that pretty much does all the recruiting anyone needs to do. We don’t try to shove our presence down anyone’s throat by spamming the Imperial Fleet. Maybe when we get chat bubbles we can type a recruiting space that says “Join our cult Obscuri Lateris, before the end of the world comes in 2012”! We use our website as a central location for signing up new members. All they have to do is fill out the application form and we will go from there. Our guild knows no borders as we think globally. We emphasize our code of conduct that clearly states no racism, no extremism, and no drama.
Is OL excited about Patch 1.3? How do you think LFG tool, and possibly Ranked Warzones will impact the game?
It seems like an intelligent debate has formulated in Ventrilo for OL concerning this patch. We feel it’s a necessity patch. Character transfers are highly needed for some servers which we know are a natural process for any MMORPG after launch. The LFG tool will be effective and is highly welcomed by the SWTOR community and OL itself. The issue that tanking have experienced are getting fixed. We hope this will elevate the tank population. We do like the rank system and how the XP Boost will work is fantastic, but we also feel leveling in this game happens too quickly. The crafting changes are essential and hopefully will help with augments as opposed to tracking down a crafter, giving them your items, and hoping they get a critical. Our social members are very happy for the freedom to wear social gear in a star wars universe where individuality is essential and how this will apply when in a Hard Mode or OPS. Legacy Perks are right up my alley! Free to play from level 1 through 15 is a great idea to get new subs with no time restraints. We see 1.3 as a way that BioWare is starting to fill in the gaps for requested features and systems. The Rank warzones were not really sure on until the server population increases with transfers.
Along the lines of updates, what did the guild think of the announced content and additions during E3 for the sometime this year? Was there any particular items announced the guild is really glad to hear will be coming to SWTOR?
The feedback I have listened too has been very positive. A lot of us are surprised and appreciative to see a new world and a level cap increase this early. Usually we have to wait two or three years for an MMORPG to add a new map to the game in the form of an expansion. New world design means new quests and new items. BioWare is returning to the origin worlds story design which is a huge strength for the game. As usual we want it sooner than later! And who doesn’t want a personal HK-47 droid!
How can potential recruits or those wanting to find more information about Obscuri Lateris the best way to contact the guild?
We use our website as our main form of communication as it is our guild Holonet. I would suggest registering on our site and introducing yourself on the forums! From there we can reach out to those interested within the game. We are highly addicted to technology and can track you down once you post! I also want to thank all the guild mates who have worked hard to make our guild a strong group of mature friends for STWOR and beyond.
This past week, I have had a great time researching and getting to meet and read from members their feelings, reasons and experiences being in the guild Obscuri Lateris. It has been just an honor to have been welcomed into their website. I want to thank all the members and leaders. You all deserve a huge shout out not only for the help in answering my questions, but the fun, close-knit family shown throughout your site. A special thank you to the guild’s leader, Astral Ablon for helping gather all the answers, even putting together a recruitment video in record time…a /salute to you sir!
Would you like to see your guild highlighted here at Corellian Run Radio? Maybe you would like to let the community know why your guild is better or does something different than the other guilds out there. If you answered yes to either of those questions, why not contact me and see if we can tell the community about what you folks are doing. Just submit your guild’s website and some basic information in an email to me at, jason@corellianrun.com. Look forward to highlighting more guilds here at Corellian Run Radio. Thanks and see you next week!
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