Highlighted Guild
- The Ghosts – a multi-faction guild
Even though Halloween has come and gone for this year there are still “Ghosts” around here. Now I’m not talking about those ectoplasm apparitions that go bump or scream BOO, the Ghosts we are looking at are one of the guilds in Star Wars: The Old Republic. We will meet their guild leader Fireshadow and learn how this multi-faction and multi-game guild got started and manages to keep their close knit feel even with hundreds of members. Members in the guild also tell us what they enjoy about the game and what they think could use some improvements.
More about The Ghosts guild right after the Jump…
- Guild Q&A
Your guild is no stranger to the Star Wars Universe, how did your guild started?
The Ghosts of Alderaan humble beings started from in Star Wars Universe 7 years ago in another Galaxy, far, far away. We were a group that formed on the Chilastra server in Star Wars Galaxies we had our own player city and thrived. The Ghosts took a break from the gaming world but the member’s continued to stay in touch. When SWTOR was launch a few of the original members reformed the guild on Hyperspace Cannon server. Over time we recruited new folks with the goal of building and promoting a gaming environment for all like minded players. We had some stumbles when the first server move was initiated having to reform the guild on Droogas Pleasure Barge Server. We start to thrive and opened our imperial wing of the guild which we them decided to reform our name to just the Ghosts. Since then we have even expanded into Guild Wars 2.
How has the Ghosts taken to this new Star Wars MMO?
The Ghosts truly enjoy the atmosphere, visuals and ultimately the story. I can truly say each day we talk about and relive as other members level their characters the different moments that made an impact in the class stories.
Warning: Ghosts have been known to lead to early death even among Rancors
What do the members like most about the game and what are a couple things the guild would change, if were developers for a day?
Likes:
Story, Story, & Story… Enough said we all enjoy the twists and betrayals found in the great class stories.
Improvements:
First thing our guild members said that needed improvement was Guild content and tools. Right now communication via the in-game mail system is extremely hard. If we did not have our Website, Twitter and Voice chat I would say we would not be able to have the same community we have today. It would also be nice to award guilds some form of achievements, pride items (guild colors or patch for armors etc) or additional group buffs when all the members in a group are same guild.
Our Guild members would love to see some more customization. For instance, a color system, like a kit, that allows a player to change the colors of their gear.
More level 50 areas for daily commendation runs. Some more variety by allowing all Flashpoints have a Hard mode setting.
Work to improve the End Game gear system. Right now Tionese gear is almost irrelevant nice players can take MK2 PVP gear set and its stats are more effective. Plus Columni pieces are so easy to get. But progression higher is a much more pays taking progression o f time. Can we even this out?
In Hard mode Flashpoints, since most bosses can be bypassed, people drive themselves thru the Hard mode with ease and not having to hardly kill anything to achieve a completion for the Flashpoint. Our Guild members feel you should not be able to skip Hard mode flashpoint bosses.
How would you define the Ghosts as a specific type of guild?
We are a Casual Group. We have a basic structure of volunteers to keep and maintain the guild. There is no over pressure to login x days a week or getting booted from the guild for taking a break. Life happens and we try to support all players from very active to once a week.
Has it been hard to maintain the casual feel, close knit community and yet have over a hundred members?
In SWTOR, it has been a struggle to maintain some of that close knit feeling between going to our Imperial side and back to the Republic guild. We wish there was a way to see who is logged in from both sides. Our biggest struggle is each side is almost its own guild with some crossover. We try to provide all the means to communicate without shutting out people that can’t or are unable to use certain systems. We have our website, Voice Chat, Twitter and in-game Guild chat. We use all forms to ensure we can keep the support high and the feeling that no one is without assistance.
As a guild leader, how do you “juggle” all the responsibilities and still find time for gameplay?
Over time I have found that a little daily maintenance can go a long way. Each day I check our rosters to see how steady our members are logging. My play time has decrease significantly from trying to maintain our guild strength and keep the avenues of communication open. Luckily I have made some strong relations ships and others help the guild thrive. No one person can be a guild. It’s the members and community that makes it enjoyable.
Humble beginnings for the Ghosts after the death of LR-5 droid, a Lost Island boss
What has been some of the biggest achievements in SWTOR the guild has had to this point?
Our Guild officers are a very strong group we leveled characters together and we where the first to enter highend PVE. One of the most significant accomplishments we had was defeating the Hard Mode Flashpoint Lost Island. We had at least 20 attempts and each time we struggle on the LR-5 droid battle. The reason our completion meant some much to our Officers was the fact thru those failures we got closer and closer as a team. Our final solution for the battle was moving as a unit controlling the elements and our strategies works for completion every time since with no difficulty. This strengthen has translated n the our passion to get others to experience the same enjoyment of that victory.
Speaking of achievements would you and your guild like to see guild achievements or maybe specific guild index unlocks?
This was our number one thing we would like to see implemented in the game. Some other MMO’s have taken the term Guild and evolved a game from that aspect. SWTOR is lacking in the guild department. Simple things from having the ability to see other members of our guild logged into Republic or Imperial. Guild specific unlocks for gear, buffs or even titles would go a long way it building a true gaming community within the Star Wars universe.
Have you or any of the other members of the guild tested out the Cartel Market features on the public test server?
Members have logged into test server and tried the Cartel Market. Everyone enjoys the items and the potential for the Market System. Two of the biggest things that came up were the adaptive armor sets and the new crystal colors (These were things they liked). With the Adaptive sets it is the making your character different then everyone one else, and truly making the experience with the story, gear and customization unique.
If so what did the members like and what are some ways to improve this new feature when Free-to-Play option goes live?
Our guild members definitely like getting the perspective of what the terms Free to Play Preferred and Subscriber mean. Thru this perspective it has helped people identify what system will work for them and their play style. There is still some tension from our members about the potential for massive population increase to the server. As we all know chasing the performance of game play eliminating the lag or freezing is always on a player mind. We like the new content and are eagerly awaiting the launch of 1.5.
What server and which faction is the guild associated with?
We are on the Harbinger Server. Under the Ghosts umbrella we have two guilds Ghosts of Alderaan (Republic) and Malicious Corpse (Imperial). From our beginning we have always maintained a Republic feel. But with SWTOR’s inter weaving stories we find ourselves wanting to experience it all.
Has it been difficult managing basically two guilds, one in each faction?
It is sometimes a struggle. We have players that our very passionate about Republic only and Imperial only. As a guild we try to ensure we have the support for both. We recruit and assist our members thru both sets of stories. Our guild officers find the time to spend in most factions.
Are the Ghosts currently recruiting? If yes, are there specific classes or advance classes the guild needs?
We are always Recruiting. We have found that in an evolving gaming world, a guild has to expand their player base and continue to evolve just as much. Failure to do so and the guild could very well wither and potentially fade away. We don’t target classes we target players that enjoy the same things we do. We are extremely lucky that our philosophy has translated into such a great group.
How is the best way for those seeking to join your guild or wanting to learn more about the guild to contact you or other officers?
Step one check out our website.
Next, fill out an application online or contact via in-game mail Fireshadow for Republic or Redvein for Imperial
We have several folks that assist and keep our latest and greatest information there.
We get the majority of people thru our members. One of our strengths is we seek out people that our like us and have them join us for the journey.
What is your current main character? What class/advance class is it? How many alts do you have?
Main: Fireshadow Jedi Guardian
I have 8 Characters total and four are level 50 on the Republic side and characters from levels 16-32 on Imperial side. Each of my characters is a different base class. My intention is to try each story in the game.
How would you sum up the Ghosts as a guild people should check out briefly?
The Ghosts are a guild unlike any other. We all want to have fun and enjoy the experience to the fullest. We seek Active and Casual Players to join us in the journey.
Here is how one member summed their reason for joining the Ghosts:
As one of the current officers of both Swtor and Gw2 I can honestly say I joined in the beginning because the leader of the guild Fireshadow and another leader Dacrez are super friendly and helpful. No one in our guild is uptight and thinks that just because you are an officer or otherwise in a position of power you are better than anyone of lower rank in the guild. I’m proud to say I switched guilds, because of the friendliness and willing to help others within and also those who aren’t in our guild. There is no discrimination amongst any of us and I love the fact that we can all just jump into whatever conversation is going on at any time and we’re all just willing to go with it and accept you for who you are. Fireshadow aka Chatterer thanks for creating an awesome guild! ~Vako
I want to give a huge thank you to all the members of the Ghosts guild for their answers to the questions and helping share a little more about their guild with the community. Another person that needs a big shout-out and thank you is their guild leader, aka Fireshadow in-game or Chatterer on their website, for all his help and quick replies via email and the added time gathering answers from members. Without folks like this in the community there would not be any articles and no game, in my opinion. For all those looking for guild on the Harbinger server, I would suggest reaching out to the members of the Ghosts and find out just what a great group of gamers they are.
That’s it for this week’s Community Checkpoint. Would you like to see your guild, event or server group highlighted on Corellian Run Radio? 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 or event could be who we highlight next here at Corellian Run Radio. Thanks and see you next week!
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