Highlighted Guild
- Dark Aftermath – Sith Empire
Each week I get the opportunity to meet a guild in the Star Wars: The Old Republic community. There is something unique about each guild along with a sense of pride they have in their guild. The guild Dark Aftermath is the focus this week. As we meet their guild leader and co-guild leader, we will find out what they feel is important in the game and even some suggestions for anyone looking to start a guild of their own.
More about Dark Aftermath after the Jump…
- Guild Q&A
How and when did the guild, Dark Aftermath get its start? Is SWTOR the only game your guild is playing?
Dark Aftermath was formed during Star Wars Galaxies in/around 2003.
Our guild has spanned many games like Warhammer, Age of Conan, Star Wars Galaxies, World of Warcraft, Everquest II and most recently Star Wars: The Old Republic as our only game at this time.
Can you tell us what faction and server the guild is associated with?
The guild is playing the Empire faction and located on the “The Bastion (US)” server.
What type of guild would you consider Dark Aftermath? Does it bother you or guild members how guilds that are not hardcore are perceived?
I would say we are a complete mixture of a guild. We like hardcore members, casual members, and everyone in between. We try to set up events for everyone to be able to attend. It is a delicate balance and we do our best to get everyone that wants too, involved.
Sometimes it does get frustrating. If you haven’t finished a certain operation or pvp rank you are looked at as inferior. However, our guild is strong…drama free, and everyone enjoys logging in. We also do not get burned out by seeing content too quickly. We have a core group of members that traveled through all of the games. We chose our guild to be this way instead of going full hardcore. It has worked great so far, and is what we plan to continue to do.
The guild has a focus of enjoying yourselves in the game. How are some ways the guild has found enjoyment in SWTOR?
We setup events on the calendar. At the moment it is PVE operations, and a Datacron event. We also are looking at adding PVP to the calendar for even more things to do. The big thing with us is we do not look for the “LEET” crowd. We much rather have a person that is good at heart, and likes to play the game at a casual, yet consistent, level. The gear can be achieved…skill can be worked on, and we always want to try our best to bring people that want to attend and make the event work with what we have.
Casual Guild or not here is a great guide by Dark Aftermath for taking on SOA in the Eternity Vault
How has your personal experience been in SWTOR as a player and as a guild leader? What are some suggestions you would recommend for new guild leaders?
My experience so far has been pretty similar to other MMO’s that we have been through. The hardest things so far for SWToR have been the guild move from another game. Some of us got on different servers, so that made it rough. Also the lack of population made it hard to recruit new members. The lack of specific guild options like a bank, guild house, guild log (so we know who joined/left while we are away) all have been minor annoyances but I am confident that Bioware will address them eventually. They already put the bank in!
Co-Guildleader Gorba responds – “Many complaints were that there were never enough people to go and do anything. With server transfers, and solid recruitment we have eliminated pretty much all of these issues.”
Some suggestions for new guild leaders…My main suggestion would be to stay patient and keep working on building the guild you want. Don’t listen to others that say bad things. Don’t let it bother you if people leave, because if you are consistent with your recruitment you will grow. Invite 100 and you might find a good solid 20 people out of that. Also, get a website (Enjin!), and a chat program established. Even if it is only a small one that has 10 or 20 users (Enjin also can supply Mumble!). This will give your guild a little credibility for new members to want to stick around. Just remember, a guild leader is almost another job in itself…..if you want to be successful.
Co-Guildleader Gorba responds – “Worry about learning about what you need to kill now in an operation. Do not worry about the next boss until you learn where you are. Do not worry about what others say and do, just focus on what you’re capable of doing and you will be fine.”
What would be some changes you would like to see BioWare address to help guilds?
- Guild log (so we can keep track of events while we are away)
- Guild housing (EQII had this is spades!)
- Dual guild leaders (with guild disband only relinquishing YOUR rights….so 1 guild leader could not disband)
- Cross guild – guild chat – for alliances
- Cash from operation kills have a % that can be set to go to guild bank directly
Even as a “casual” guild site shows your loot system is based on DKP (Dragon Kill Points). Is that the system Dark Aftermath is currently using? In your current loot system how might it vary from others? Has the need to get gear for companions changed loot systems in general?
Our guild does have a DKP system in place, however it is on hold right now. We have chosen to go with a random need before greed policy until the need arises for DKP. In our looting now, we have a master looter. If your main character (unless we request you bring an alt) needs the gear…you roll for it. If nobody needs it then it would go to an alt character and/or companions. This system works well right now and allows us to gear up our main players. Since we do not push content as fast as other guilds, this seems to work.
Our DKP system is a variant of a zero sum DKP. Basically we set it up that each piece of loot has a value. When someone wants this item they speak up. We look to see who has the most DKP of the people that wanted it, and the highest person gets it. The item value is then subtracted from that player and the remaining members at the operation split the value. So if 8 people are there…and the item costs 80pts…then the winner gets -80 and then 10pts get added to everyone even the winner. More often than not we institute a “phantom” raider to the mix…so the loot would get divided by 9 or 17 players. This way a guild phantom would get DKP points which allow us to buy BOE items nobody wants, or do first boss kill bonus or attendance bonus and not make the system get out of hand. Read up on ZeroSum DKP to get the basic idea, we just alter it slightly. But like I said, this system is not in use at this time.
Dark Aftermath, although maybe a bit slower pace, has been into clearing Operations. How has the guild done so far? What has been the guild’s greatest to date?
Right now we have cleared HardMode EV and Normal KP on 8man. Our biggest challenge to date is getting people interested/recruited to raid. Being a mix guild can sometimes slow the progress, however we have fun and still have plenty of content to see and do where others are done and quitting the game. We are currently starting 16 man raiding this weekend, and want to try to get some members into StoryMode Explosive Conflict. Also, a PVP event and Ranked War Zone is on the horizon.
We also want people that are just casual and want somewhere to chat! Not all of our members are raiders and/or pvp’ers.
What is your current main character class/advance class? Have you enjoyed playing this class and do you play many alts or if not is there one class you want to try?
I currently play an Immortal Juggernaut (Tank). I have usually played a healer class until we started raiding in World of Warcraft. We were usually hard pressed at finding solid tanks, so I decided to make one. This has worked well since I normally lead the raids, and as a tank, normally people do not move until I do 🙂
I also have a 50 Operative (healer), 42 Bounty Hunter (healer), and 31 Sorc (Healer). Yes, I know…all healers. But I usually only use them for PVP, and I really like the healing aspect in PVP. It’s a nice change of pace from PVP with my Juggernaut Tank.
Is Dark Aftermath currently recruiting? Are there specific roles or classes the guild needs?
We welcome all people into the guild. We never close our doors to good people. The only thing we ask is that you’re a good person. You are not a loot oriented person, or need things NOW… We are laid back, patient, and drama free. We will see all the content in the game, but we do not need to see it right this second. Be willing to help others, if time permits of course. Be social, chat in guildchat or on the forums.
If I was to pick any classes that we actually “need”, it would have to be snipers and marauders. Those classes are probably our weakest spots right now. But as previously mentioned, we do content with what we have and make it work. It might be easier with a certain class….but we never kick someone out just to bring another unless it is absolutely necessary. If a healer only has greens and we are trying to do HardMode….we would try it…. But if it isn’t working then we might ask them to step out. But the flipside is, most of us will get with that person and try to either help them directly get gear, or show them what they need to be ready for the next event.
What steps does a potential new guildie need to take to become a Dark Aftermath member? Are there rules every member must follow?
We prefer people fill out an application. The reason for this is if people take the time to fill it out well….it shows their character. It shows they have interest in being a part of what we are. Now it isn’t bulletproof, but it does weed out many people that wouldn’t be a good fit anyway. People can also contact Propz, Gorba, Drezure, or Otsana in-game and be invited.
We do have guild rules posted on our website. They are linked at the top in the menu. The bottom line really is just being a good person. We do not demand anything other than that.
For anyone seeking more information and/or wishing to join your guild, what is the best way to reach you or contact the guild?
- All of our officers can take questions. Propz/Gorba/Drezure/Otsana
- Also, anyone can contact a person from our guild and ask if any officer is on an alternate character. Gogo Legacy XP!
- Another way would be to use the “Contact Us” on the website.
I want to thank the entire Dark Aftermath guild. These folks are great bunch of gamers that really enjoy having fun…will they get to the new stuff day one it is out, probably not, but they will get to it and have great time getting to it. I would like to give a huge shout-out and thanks to the co-guild leader, Gorba, this article would have never come together without the fast and great work of their guild leader Propz. I have great respect and wish you all nothing but the best in SWTOR and whatever you do!
Would you like to have your guild highlighted? Is there something your guild is doing different than some of the other guilds in the game? If so, why not contact me, so we can share with the community about what you are doing. Just have your guild leader or an officer 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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