Gaiscioch Magazine - Issue 15 by Gaiscioch Magazine

Gaiscioch Magazine Issue 15, 2018 Greetings! Looking back at the past 15 issues I can’t help but be proud of all we have accomplished. So many great stories, so many adventures captured. While these magazines have been great to produce, they also have been very time consuming and by the time we get them out the news is rather stale.

Benjamin “Foghladha” Foley Founder & Managing Editor

Gaiscioch Magazine

foghladha@gaiscioch.com

Follow the Gaiscioch Magazine Online at: https://gsch.info/mag Learn more about the Gaiscioch Community at: https://gsch.info/ Discord: https://gsch.info/voice Facebook: https://gsch.info/facebook Twitter: https://gsch.info/twitter Google+: https://gsch.info/google YouTube: https://gsch.info/youtube Twitch.tv:

We have decided to focus our efforts on creating a new style of magazine the web has never seen. Our new format, which will debut with Issue 16, will be entirely web based and will release over time. You will find it on https://magazine.gaiscioch.com/ early this summer. Our goal is to create “Quarterly” sets of articles that will free flow into a digital magazine that is entirely

Magazine Staff Gaiscioch Magazine is a quarterly, volunteer driven, no-profit, digital magazine for game developers and enthusiasts alike.

Issue 15 Team Managing Editor & Layout Benjamin “Foghladha” Foley

Senior Editors: Briseadh Gilliebod GmaFog

web based. More specifically, in a format that can be read on any platform or browser with ease. It is our hope that we can focus our attention on creating great content that is released when it matters most. We will be releasing new stories every week, so be sure to visit often and subscribe to our newsletter. Let’s get to the nitty gritty of Issue 15. This issue we managed to land some pretty cool interviews with the teams behind Kingdom Come: Deliverance, Warhammer Vermintide 2, Atom Music Audio, and Guild Wars 2. In addition to our interviews you will find a preview of NIGHTMARCHERS, a review of Shadows of Mordor, and a wealth of guides, fiction, and other content for Guild Wars 2. Lastly we regret to announce the loss of our longtime columnist Wally “Pops” Anderson who was well known for his Bottom Nine inspirational articles. We pay tribute to him and Paolo “Findan” Aceto, another Gaiscioch member who passed during the production of this issue. While this will be our final printable quarterly issue, we do hope to provide you the same great content in a more punctual manner. Please feel free to share your feedback and comments at: magazine@gaiscioch.com.

Slán go fóill!

Jairone

Editors / Columnists:

Eiahn Matthews Haggal Elaenna Robdalf Rofii Edward “Screenager” Orr Donaliam Brett “Radiologikal” Chouinard LordMelchom

Special Thanks To Our Patreon Supporters: P. McCabe D. Viera B. Chouinard S. Starkey R. Reynolds D. Pope M. Smith Rhynor K. Riseling H. Townsend R. Livernois Void M. Bukraba L. Knudsen A. Smith

V. Hamilton G. Godwin R. Gale S. DeRouen Lorax K. Burns Whoflung R. Mayer Zoewii E. Fulham J. Boucher-Zamzo E. Matthews D. Rush C. Bradley

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Contents

COVER STORY:

Breathtaking Adventures Kingdom Come: Deliverance Brings Bohemian History to Life

Page 8

INTERVIEWS Atom Music Audio

16 4

Warhammer Vermintide 2

FEATURES 74

NIGHTMARCHERS

Top 10 Games To Lose Track of Time To

A Return to Mordor in Shadows of War

GUILD WARS 2 INTERVIEWS 28

Amazing Friendships

Nobody Expected the Asuran Inquisition!

GUIDES Acquiring Your Legendary Weapon

Easy Mastery Insights in Desert Highlands

Easy Mastery Insights in Elon Riverlands

REVIEW 56

Guild Wars 2 Brings the Heat with Path of Fire

FICTION 61

Tinteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Adventures in the Crystal Desert

Gaiscioch Targets Tamriel for its Next Major Community Event

Contents

LIFE & COMMUNITY

In Memory of Pops: The Man Who Conquered Time

Courage and Kindness Hallmark the Life of Findan

Fiction: Save Yer Own Skin

What the Gaiscioch Values have Taught me

Worth Playing

ClubGaiscioch Winter 2017 Picks

79 5

About the Gaiscioch Family

he Gaiscíoch (pronounced Gosh-Kia) began on November 11th 2001 in the industry pioneering MMORPG “Dark Age of Camelot”. They began on the Nimue roleplaying server with a focus on creating a fun and enjoyable community for players of all ages and skill levels. The Gaiscíoch takes it’s name from an Irish legend found within the “Lebor Gabála Érenn” and “Cath Maige Tuired” which chronicle the first people of Ireland, the Tuatha de Danann. Specifically the First Battle of Moyturna where the Tuatha de Danann hand picked the most honorable and loyal warriors to fight alongside the Celtic Gods in a battle against the Fir Bolg. These warriors were known as the Gaiscíoch. The Gaiscioch are a social gaming community with a relaxed approach toward gaming. They allow their

members to play how they want, when they want, as long as they want and do not constrict them with quotas or requirements. The overall focus of the Gaiscioch is to support the server communities and real world communities they are part of. They accomplish this by hosting public community events, participating and hosting community forums, interacting with game developers, and providing new players information through our in-game advisers and out-of-game guides, maps, and videos. With a strong focus on community our endgame goal is to create memories, friendships, and participate in the overall success of the community. It is through gaming, athletic competition, and social interaction that we forge new friendships and relationships.

Supporters

e would like to take a moment to thank all of our readers for their continued support and encouragement. Without your support we would not be able to keep this magazine going. In addition we would like to thank the following companies who have our undying gratitude for their support of the Gaiscioch Magazine & Livestreams productions. These companies have shown their support by providing interview opportunities, special access to their games, and social media exposure for our publication.

Without the support of our readers and the contributions from gaming studios we could not make this magazine so successful. We are happy to report that Gaiscioch Magazine has been read more than 250,000 times by over 30,000 unique readers to date. This is a huge accomplishment for a team that is staffed entirely by volunteers and we thank all of you for your continued support. Thank You!

We Appreciate Your Support!

Welcome Home!

re you in search of epic adventure, glorious battles, and more loot than your pack mule can carry? Join Gaiscioch as we prepare for what might become our greatest chapter yet!

Ashes of Creation offers a wide selection of activities including Siege Warfare, Raiding, Exploration, Crafting, Politics, Housing and an expansive Guild and Alliance system to allow coordination and teamwork. Learn More At:

https://gsch.info/play/aoc

Note: Gaiscioch is still evaluating Ashes of Creation for chapter consideration. An official decision will be made by late 2018.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance Brings Bohemian History to Life By: Benjamin “Foghladha” Foley It’s a rare experience to find a game so true to history that you feel you are wandering the streets of a medieval version of today’s world. This is the case for Kingdom Come: Deliverance as you wander the countryside of the now Czech Republic and was then Bohemia. The towns and villages you come across are still there today and a great deal of diligence went into recreating their original look. The main characters you interact with and the events you survive can all be looked up on Wikipedia. Such detail has never been attempted in a game. For a person who grew up playing the Oregon Trail, Railroad Tycoon, Civilization, and Colonization, I know just how much a game can help when learning about history and geography. Kingdom Come: Deliverance sits firmly upon that bench of educationally enjoyable games. Today we are able to sit down with the Game 8

Designer and Writer of Kingdom Come Deliverance, Ondřej Bittner, as he shares the story of his experiences in bringing the game to life.

It’s been awhile since we last spoke. Now with the release in your rearview, what would you say the hardest part of releasing Kingdom Come: Deliverance was? The valley of doubt that you go through. RPGs tend to be rather complex and multi-layered. At the beginning, all the features are developed in parallel and thus separate pipelines, so it’s hard to imagine what the final game will look like. Then you finally combine them, and voilà … the result is a huge mess. Almost nothing works as intended, systems are clashing, unexpected patterns occur, and bugs are everywhere, and at that point you start to worry that the game WILL look like this.

The recreation of historical sights and events are quite a challenge. Just within the first few hours of the game you get a rich and detailed look at Bohemiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s past. You can tell this was not an afterthought, but one of the core features of the title. How did Warhorse Studios approach this task?

Czechs are in general, seldom proud of their country, but one thing that usually hits our patriotic string is the landscape, the castles, and the peaceful bohemian image. So, I guess there was a little bit of that in our efforts too.

At the core of this game is its storytelling. How much liberty did you take in creating the Historical realism was our number one priority, story behind Henry and the fate of Skalitz?

which is our major selling point. This is what separates us from the rest of the games by a very wide margin. Sure, you can say that some things are not 100% accurate, and this is a valid criticism, (which usually comes from real historians), but for the 99% of gaming population who take their image of medieval life from shows like Vikings or god forbid, Game of Thrones, KC:D is the closest they think they can get to reality.

Henry is a completely fictional character. That being said, everything around him is not. Silver Skalitz is a real town as all other major landmarks on the map are. Even the villages whose layouts were recreated using some neat methods. Also, the major characters in the story are real and the biggest ones have quite chunky Wikipedia pages, even in English. So, they are

not just regional historical characters. The story itself has some real parts (like the burning of Skalitz by Sigismund’s army) and some fictional ones. We use the great historical events, not as a passive background, but as an active, sort of “causal” background. Everything that happens in Kingdom Come happens because Bohemia has been invaded and there is a civil war going on. To simplify it, we picked up the books, filled in the gaps, and then sprinkled some “spice” on top.

Early on the player will encounter a few moments where they must fight. So far no matter how many times I try, I have not succeeded in these fights. Is this because I’m a pathetic noob or is there a greater game design mission here? I get the feeling you’re teaching us something with these first few fights. Well, that pathetic noob is Henry. Most of the people who play mainstream RPGs tend to forget that Henry is not a chosen one with an ultimate prophecy in his backpack. He is a VERY regular guy. He can hardly handle a sword or ride a horse, but Henry will get 10

better and so will the player. And because of this, the link between the player and the character gets much stronger.

For those that are just starting out, what would be the top 5 things you would suggest for them to learn and observe? 1. Take the game slowly, explore the mechanics and the world. KC:D is a slow-paced game after all. 2. Train hard! Take lessons with captain Bernard and you will get much better at combat and so will Henry. 3. Roleplay. Choose what Henry you want to play. Do you want to be a sneaky thief, honorable knight or a silver-tongued alchemist? No problem. 4. Get hammered, you might be surprised at the result. 5. Don’t take advice from the game devs on how to play this game. Just play it.

For those who are clumsy like me and happen to fall off a wall and break both of my legs in the early moments of the game, what’s the best way to treat a bleeding wound with little to no financial reserves or bandages? Am I destined to die or is there a way I can be redeemed? Healing is an essential part of this game. What are the different ways I can treat my wounds?

Do you feel you will use Kickstarter again when the time comes to launch your next title? This is always hard to say. We will surely evaluate all options in the future.

There are several things Warhorse Studios is still working on from the crowdfunding campaigns stretch goals. How are they progressing and do you think we’ll see them Sleeping in a comfortable bed will put Henry back make their way into game by summer?

in top condition. We are realistic, but not that much. Although, there are some folks out there who would enjoy dying from a splinter after a putrid infection swallows their hand.

We are hard at work on the promised features. However, we have to wait a while until we will announce a release date. I think it’s safe to say that the past has taught us that we do not have the most precise assessment when it comes to release dates.

I understand the Kickstarter campaign raised just a fraction of the cost of producing Kingdom Come: Deliverance. How was What’s next for Warhorse Studios? Is there Warhorse Studio able to offset the costs and any chance we could see an expansion, sequel or DLC in the future? bring the game to market? We were lucky to have a private investor on our side who gave us a mile of breathing space. We also teamed up with Koch Media (aka. DeepSilver) who knew a thing or two about publishing and that helped us immensely.

Let’s hear what Gandalf the grey has to say about that: “Look to my coming at first light on the fifth day. At dawn, look to the East.”

A Return to Vermintide By: Benjamin â&#x20AC;&#x153;Foghladhaâ&#x20AC;? Foley

In 2015 Fatshark Games introduced the world to the first fully cooperative first person action roleplaying game set in the Fantasy Warhammer Universe. With daggers blazing, arrows flying, and more skaven giblets than you could ever want. It ported us back to the cite of Ubersreik for some mayhem and hardcore action packed adventuring. My first take on the game was a great one. I streamed it solo, then I recruited some friends to help me stream it on the Streams of Epic Adventure and Weekend Warriors livestreams.

Before we get started, can you tell us a bit about yourself, your history, and your role in developing Vermintide II? My name is Victor Magnuson, I am one of the Game Designers at Fatshark. On Vermintide 2 I have worked on the World Team who are responsible for all the missions in the game. I have been working at Fatshark for nine years and have been a part of most of our games to date.

When you set out to make a sequel to the hit Vermintide was a brilliantly fun cooperative co-op FPS/RPG Vermintide, what key design adventure that only got better as you progressed, and ideas did the team feel they needed to change itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s still releasing new content today. This is why it in the next chapter? brings me great enjoyment to be able to chat with the development team behind Vermintide II. 12

One of the most important design ideas was not to take away anything from the original that actually

worked really good. Rather, we wanted to expand on everything that we felt worked well in the first game and fix some of the problems that we felt we didn’t get 100% right the first time around and that couldn’t be fixed without doing some major changes to how we approached certain aspects of the game.

the original, the maps in Vermintide 2 are much more ambitious and we do have some levels that are much more open in their layout than anything we did in the original.

The first game was quite linear. Does the second offer any variation to how missions An example of something we felt worked well is the can be carried out?

melee system. We have been really careful to make sure that the improvements we do don’t change the core feeling in the combat but rather adds layers to an already solid system.

What are the major improvements over the first Vermintide? We have looked over and improved on almost all aspects of the game, but one of the biggest changes is the addition of three career options for each Hero. The career system adds a new layer of options for players, allowing us to keep the heroes from the first game and continue their story, but at the same time add a bunch of cool new player choices to the game, which is something that players have been asking for since we launched Vermintide, but with the way that game was setup, was something we simply couldn’t do. With the new careers come talents that will allow players to further customize how they like to play the game and will do a lot to the endgame meta, which will be really cool to see.

In comparison with the first campaign, would you say Vermintide II’s maps are more open? We try to vary the levels as much as we can so it is hard to say that in a general sense, but compared to

In Vermintide 2 the player had to complete the campaign in sequence in order to progress in the levels. This time around we allow players to tackle the three Acts that the levels are divided into in any order they want. This adds many more options when it comes to what level a player wants to play when they are going through the campaign. When it comes to the missions, we are still using a linear story approach since it is really important to keep the missions balanced to each other. However, the addition of the Heroic Deed system will add a bunch of variation to how you approach levels, and the addition of a new faction adds a lot when it comes to the variation of any given level.

I understand we will be facing a new foe in addition to the legions of Skaven? The biggest change in Vermintide 2 is the addition of the Warriors of Chaos. Our skaven protagonists have signed a dark pact with the followers of Nurgle and together they have unleashed an assault on the Empire. The ruthless Chaos Army will bring a new challenge for our heroes as they are individually much tougher

than their more numerous Skaven allies. It will take a lot of coordination for the players to effectively handle the threat of both factions. The Stormvermin in Vermintide were formidable opponents, but will pale in comparison to the mighty Chaos Warrior. These guys are completely clad in thick armor and wield huge two-handed axes that will send their victims flying and completely disorient the receiving player. In addition, the Skaven faction have not been idle and have recruited new units to their ranks. The Stormfiends are perhaps the most prominent ones. These monstrous beasts are basically armoured Rat Ogres with flamethrowers strapped to their arms. They spew out warpfire at their opponents, completely engulfing the area. Compared to the Rat Ogres, who are completely loose cannons on the battlefield, the Stormfiend is a more tactical enemy, being controlled by a mutated packmaster brain thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attached to its back.

I hear you have made some significant improvements to the loot system. Can you explain what has changed in Vermintide II? Loot is a very large part of this type of game and we have taken drastic measures to ensure that we improved on the system without losing what made the original good. We have completely revamped the way we approach itemisation, with a new power level system that should prevent the worst aspects of a RNG-based system. We have also redone how we handle crafting and streamlined it to be less of a barrier without losing any functionality from the original. The way we handle loot this time around will also allow us to be more generous when it comes to the amount of items players will receive. Lastly, measures have been taken to ensure that players get items that feel relevant to not only the hero they are playing but also the career they have decided to play as.

Do you have a rough estimate of how many Where can someone learn more about missions will be available in the initial launch Vermintide II? of the game? There be a similar amount of missions in Vermintide 2 as there were in the original, but the scope of each mission is much bigger and the addition of the new Heroic Deed system will add a lot of replayability to the game.

All the latest info is at the homepage, www. vermintide.com, and on our social media channels.

Finding Epic Inspirations in Music By: Benjamin “Foghladha” Foley

Thank you so much for speaking with me What artists are currently involved in the today, I have a few questions for you but first Atom Music brand? can you please share with us who you are We work with very talented composers with an and what is your part at Atom Music Audio? Thank you for your invitation. My name is Lyubomir Yordanov, CEO Director of Atom Music Audio, newly born company for premium music production for motion picture and entertainment advertisement. A little bit about me, I will keep it in short – music composer, music producer, sound engineer and having 10 years experience in music distribution industry business, as holding post as Manager of AMAdea Music (digital distributor & aggregator) company (www.amadeamusic.com)

How did the Atom Music Audio production company begin and who was involved in its creation? Atom Music Audio launched in the summer of 2016. That was originally only a thought I had many months ago, based on my participation in Epic Music VN, another publishing company where I held sound engineer position, also it has always been my dream to create and manage my own company for Trailer & Film Music and last but not least, I had the support of my closest friend Borislav Slavov, who pushed me further to persue my dream. Borislav is multiple award-winning video game Composer, the former Music Director of Crytek and composer of Crysis 2 and Crysis 3. Basically he gave me the first tracks and helped me start the Atom Music Audio with some kind of music content, which I will never forget. 16

addiction to perfection in every aspect of the music production process. I can mention few names as Alexandros Nikolaidis, David Chappell, Jonathan Mayer, Iliya Zaki, Mayrain, Danny Rayel and many more. We are constantly in search of new talents.

What drew you to epic music? How did your personal journey to the genre begin? Honestly, it was the music of Two Steps From Hell and moreover Thomas Bergersen’s music. I was influenced also by Hans Zimmer, James Horner, Immediate Music, E.S. Posthumus, Globus, Brian Tyler, Tyler Bates, Geoff Zanelli, Harry GregsonWilliams and many others. Film music has been my favorite genre since a little boy, you know how it works - you watch a movie and then you go out of the cinema and you feel like your world is no longer so small, something new has happened and you feel enchanted by the music! I remember my first bought CD, it was ‘Brave Heart’ soundtrack by James Horner.

When you see your work used in a film or advertisement you know there will be little recognition to your name, but people will know your work. What inspired you to take the selfless route and create beauty in the world without self recognition? Indeed, sometimes our names are not credited properly or at all! It is a burden to everyone in this

industry, but I believe it is far more important to place your music, rather than leave it in your own drive space. As everything else it takes time to put your name on the table, as well as people to know it or recognize it easily. Until that time, we focus entirely in the beauty to create our music with passion and love.

directly, submitted to us. Even, if it takes longer time it is vital to follow our own path and have the music we want.

When you’re starting the process of creating a track for a client, what process do you typically follow to capture the essence of the What’s the typical process for creating music film or advertisement you’re composing for? for Atom Music Audio? Does the music Where do you find inspiration? production company assign artists tasks or We generally know what the industry requires, do the artists provide inventory for the group so as we said earlier we plan well our albums to be to license? We usually assign projects (albums) based on specific theme – Emotional, Action, Epic, Adventure and etc, then we work out this process with various composers to assemble the submissions. The music written for Atom Music Audio is an exclusive only and specially composed for us. Even if artists send us submission, we cope with them to take part in different projects we are working in or settle individual albums with them if possible. We do rarely tahe finished tracks

classified by proper moods and genres. This is essential for the editors, when they listen to pick quickly the right music they need. We do also a custom music, where usually we receive exact requirements to follow as: (timing, mood, description, references and etc,). Inspiration is very important, which is why we assign the music we want to different composers, based on their skills. Not every composer is good in every style, especially in the nowadays modern film music.

What type of hardware and software do you Do you have a goal or dream that you’re use while composing your music? Do you striving for? Any project you would love to have any preference of microphones, mixing take on in the future? boards, software etc? We do not create any music ourselves, the composers we work with do it. Most of them have professional setups of gears and software, enabled them to create high quality content. However we provide mixing and mastering to every album of ours, so we have our own studio where we create and give the final touches to our sound quality.

Of course, we have! I believe everyone in this business have a goal and dream. Our own is very simple – we want to push our music to become a significant factor of the industry itself. We are patient enough to know the success comes with the right steps. Recognition is the goal we aim for, when someone listen to our music to connect it directly with Atom Music Audio!

How can people learn more about Atom If a YouTube Creator, Livestreamer, or Music? Podcaster wanted to license your music, how We are in process of creating soon our website, but much would they be looking at spending on everyone interested in us can find us here: average? It depends, if the YouTube creator or Podcaster is non-profit organization with ideal purpose looking to create quality content, we would love to help them and let them use our music in favor of promotion they do. If they still want to earn through monetization in YouTube, they will need to acquire a license for and it is on average basis around € 25 per track.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/atommusicaudio Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/AtomMusicAudio Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/atommusicaudio Bandcamp: https://atommusicaudio.bandcamp.com/ Google + : https://plus.google.com/+AtomMusicAudio

Top 10 Games To Lose Track of Time To By Don “Donaliam” Rush

I have heard stories of many gamers that have started playing a game and get so lost in it that time just seems to disappear. I have had this happen to me a few times. I have reached a point that when I play a certain kind of game, or a “time lost” game, I have to set a stop playing alarm. Now, this is not necessarily a bad thing, it’s just a sign of a really good and immersive game. However, if you’re not careful, it can cost you in real life. Sleep is important. Here is my top 10 list of games that I have played where time seemed to disappear. Also, the same thing seems to happen when I replay the games listed. 20

Honorable Mentions These game have caused me to lose time, however they didn’t quite make the top ten. The games are: The Witcher 3, Shadow of Mordor, Shadow of War, Tom Clancy’s The Division, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands, Guilds Wars 2, The Elder Scrolls Online (PS4), The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Warhammer Online, and The Lord of the Rings Online.

10. Serious Sam My number ten was a first person shooter I played on PC that was introduced to me by Benjamin Foley. I was getting ready to leave, but he wanted to show me this game. We played co-op on the first level which turned into a “one more” session. Before we knew it the sun was rising and we had finished the game.

9. Star Trek Online Most MMOs could make this list. As a mega fan of all things Star Trek, this makes the list. At launch, I did not really enjoy the game. I came back to it a year later, after Perfect World took over the game, and I

found myself in the “one more level” trap. I was having fun unlocking the next tier of ships. See my Star Trek Online review in Gaiscioch Magazine: Issue 2.

8. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of TIme This was the first Zelda game I could play without a parent telling me to stop playing games and go to bed. As a result, in my first playthrough I got all the way to the Water Temple before I turned the game off for the first time, and that included doing all kinds of side exploration. The visuals at the time were incredibly good.

7. Fallout 4 This was my first entry into the Fallout series. I was taken by the start of the story, then I got lost in the world and would lose time just from looking around the map. The biggest time loss was being able to create

settlements. I lost more time getting into the buildingup of my settlements. Like Skyrim, the other cause of lost time was just trying to get back to a merchant to sell off stuff because I was always over encumbered.

6. Dragon Age: Inquisition I personally enjoyed the Dragon Age series up to this point - however, with the previous games, I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t lose track of time like I did here. In Dragon Age Inquisition, I lost time doing everything from exploring the various zones to scouting for crafting materials to upgrading the castle. There was also running around the zones trying to find the Astrarium Puzzles - or worse - endlessly trying to kill those pesky dragons. 22

5. Far Cry 3 When I first played this game, I was hooked. Whether it was climbing one more tower to unlock the map or capturing one more outpost. Then there was the “Oh, what’s that over there?” I enjoyed the

story and the dialogue from Vas and his constant explanation of insanity. I also fell into the in-game poker and would get lost playing poker over and over. I’d say my win percentage was about 50-50.

4. Horizon Zero Dawn This is the game that inspired this article. I only recently started playing over the 2017 holiday season. The first night I got so immersed into the gameplay that it was nearly 4 a.m. when I stopped playing. Oops. Good thing it was a weekend when I started playing. What captured me most is the story. It’s the

31st century - how did things get this way and what is the main character’s purpose? I also lose time just exploring and looking for places that appear familiar. So far it looks like the game is set in the Colorado Rockies or drew inspiration from them.

3. Just Cause 2 While Just Cause 3 was just as good as Just Cause 2, I chose Just Cause 2 simply because it introduced me to the Just Cause franchise. The world is so massive and has so much to do besides the storyline. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a giant sandbox where your job is to destabilize the

government. How? Simple - Just cause chaos - and causing chaos is addicting and fun. Now, because it is so fun, you can very easily lose time in doing so. I can admit this may have happened a few times.

2. Mass Effect Trilogy This is the only entry on this list that will include three games as one. This is because all three games had a massive effect on me. Sorry - harmless pun. I previously reviewed (Gaiscioch Magazine, Issue 1) playing the trilogy from start to finish. Each game had their own charm as well as great storytelling. Despite 24

some issues with how it ended, I enjoyed the game and got so into the story that time disappeared. The other reason for listing all three games together is that when playing the games again, I always start a new character in the first game and progress them through Mass Effect 3.

1. Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Was there any doubt that this would be my #1 “time lost” game? Skyrim was my first entry into the Elder Scrolls universe. I had played RPGs before, however I had no idea what I was in for when I started Skyrim. My first play session went well into the night and on into the early morning. I fell into this cycle of, “Okay, I have a quest to do over here,” but on the way to my destination, I say “Oh, what’s that?” Then I ask myself, ”What’s that over there?” Then I wonder, “What this over here?” Then it became, “Darn it, I am over encumbered; time to go back to town. So I go to town, unload the junk, and maybe craft a new weapon. So now I’m thinking, “Okay, I crafted

this new weapon; let’s go try it out then go to bed.” I test the new weapon and realize I am almost leveled just a few more minutes and then I can level up. One hour later, I notice I have leveled, but I’m encumbered again - time to go back to town. Rinse and repeat this cycle. The other time sinks in the game are dwarven ruins. It always starts with, “Oh I’ll just check this ruin out real quick - it won’t take long.” Two hours later, I am finally back on the surface. The game was so well done that friends would stop playing MMOs only to come back and say, “Sorry, I fell into a ‘Skyrim coma’.” I didn’t think that would happen to me.

In Conclusion I have noticed one recurring theme among my top ten list: along with great visuals, excellent storytelling, and fun gameplay, there is one aspect that all of the games really have in common. That is the “one more” trap. One more being whatever it is. One more ruin to go explore; one more outpost to capture; one more

area to open on the map; one more quest to do; or one more item to craft. Whatever that “one more” is, it keeps you playing longer and longer. So much so that you lose track of time, then you look out the window and say, “Is that the sun coming up?”

Cover Story

Contents INTERVIEWS Amazing Friendships

Nobody Expected the Asuran Inquisition!

GUIDES Acquiring Your Legendary Weapon

Easy Mastery Insights in Desert Highlands

Easy Mastery Insights in Elon Riverlands

REVIEW Guild Wars 2 Brings the Heat with Path of Fire

FICTION Tinteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Adventures in the Crystal Desert

Guild Wars 2 Talks Amazing Friendships By: Ed “Screenager” Orr It is safe to say that video games can touch lives. Guild Wars 2 is one of the friendliest MMORPGs you can choose to play and it shows. Its launch manifesto encouraged players to play their way, and ArenaNet built a game that fundamentally rewards you for playing with others. It is no surprise that over the last six years, Tyrians have pulled together to help push back the undead, destroy dragons, and right some wrongs in the real world. The launch of ArenaNet’s Friend/Ships campaign comes at an especially poignant moment for the Gaiscioch community. While this community looks back at how one of its members touched so many lives, we took some time to talk to Elisabeth Cardy, Associate Global Brand Manager at ArenaNet, about Friend/Ships and community in Guild Wars 2.

Can you tell us a little bit more about the inspiration behind the friendships campaign and why Arena Net launched it? Elisabeth Cardy: We’re big fans of the way that video games, and MMOs especially, can bring people together. Guild Wars 2, especially, has a strong emphasis on collaborative gameplay and many of its systems are designed to ensure that it’s always good news to see another player. Fans have been telling us about friendships that they’ve made around the game for as long as it’s been announced, which has always been a really touching experience. We’ve often said that we think the Guild Wars 2 community is one of the friendliest around, and so we were excited to take an opportunity to really shine a spotlight on that, and how people are changing each other’s lives for the better through the game.

Elisabeth Cardy: I think it’s different for everybody! What has the response been like so far and The neat thing is that because partying up or playing have you had any early highlights ? Elisabeth Cardy: The response has been staggering! It’s a delight to read through each story that gets shared. I’m a sap, so it’s really hard to pick favorites because they’re all so clearly important to the folks sharing them.

together without a party is so easy, people can kind of engage to whatever level they’re comfortable with. I’ve had whole interactions with folks that consisted of nothing but a couple /emotes, jumping up and down enthusiastically, and taking on a champion as a duo or carefully tip-toeing around each other in the dark room in Obsidian Sanctum.

One of the most poignant examples friendship can change the way we play a game was the What is the thing that you’ve done for a friend naming of Sanctum of Rall. Are there any in Guild Wars 2 that you are most proud of? other examples like this that still sit with you Elisabeth Cardy: I love helping friends get mats for today? Elisabeth Cardy: Folks from all over the Guild Wars 2 community have stories of people who had an impact on them like Oldroar did on the Gaiscioch community. It’s stories like those that led us to putting the guild hall monument decorations in, so that people could celebrate and remember friends in their own way.

their legendary weapons or other high-end crafted items. Whether it’s running content for lodestone drops or doing gathering runs, it’s fun to get to walk part of their legendary journey with them.

What’s the best character name on your friends list (puns permitted)?

Elisabeth Cardy: This is weirdly on-topic: I met It is coming up to Valentine’s Day, do you a very dear friend because we happened to run the expect to see a few love stories? Elisabeth Cardy: There are already so many!

Having somebody to watch your back is great if combat starts getting a bit Dredgeful but how important is it to know the players behind the screen?

Claw of Jormag event at the same time each day in early 2013, and their character’s name tickled me so much that my guildies and I started pestering them. It was a charr necromancer named Master of Whiskers (a pun on a character from the original Guild Wars). Cracks me up to this day.

Guild Wars 2 Living World: Nobody Expected The Asuran Inquisition. By: Ed “Screenager” Orr If you’ve had a chance to play through the latest episode of the Living Story, you’ll notice more than a few new additions to the world. A Bug in the Works proved to be one of the most interesting experiences I have had in Tyria in some time, upturning traditional tropes and introducing a whole host of new tricks and traps to the game. We got a chance to reflect on our thoughts with the team behind the latest update to Guild Wars 2’s Living World. Also, if you’ve not played A bug in the Works yet, there are some spoilers, and why haven’t you yet? It’s fantastic.

Gaiscioch: The latest episode of Living World seems to have a sense of reinvention about it, from the Inquest facilities to the new Charr. Was this the intention? Jessica Price, Story Editor: I’d say it’s less reinvention than two major (and in some ways, conflicting) storytelling principles colliding: The Commander’s actions have consequences, and those consequences often mutate and reshape themselves in unexpected ways. Put another way, the Commander’s choices get the consequence ball rolling, but once

it’s moving it often takes on a life of its own. Simultaneously, the world does have a life offscreen, so to speak. Just because you’re familiar with the charr—or even playing a charr—doesn’t mean you know all of charr history. We haven’t shown it all. Just because you fought one major Inquest initiative doesn’t mean you know everything they’ve been up to. It’s a big, complicated world and while your attention is on one thing, life on other continents and areas goes on and develops without the PC’s involvement.

So, what you’re going to see a lot of this episode, and this season, is forces that have been set in motion or directed by the PC’s actions crashing into forces that have had nothing to do with the PC up until now. That’s the in-world answer. The meta answer is, as you can see from the trailer, we’re always trying new things.

it’s an exclamation mark of what is happening in scene and what a player might want to take note of. With that said, I’ve had a lot of collaboration with the tools team, gameplay programmers, and other art disciplines to determine what’s feasible and what the best placement would be for the FX visuals. I’ve been championing for enhanced tech, and this time around, we were able to have new material creations (which coincides with textures, shapeforms, and solid color theory). This has evolved our aesthetics and our workflow, and allowed us to expand the visual fidelity for more Cool and Shiny.

Gaiscioch: It’s not just characters and models that get a new lick of paint, the environmental effects seem to have come on leaps and bounds this season. How much work goes into improving on the tech behind As we continually progress our those shiny new particle tech and tools, it’s understanding effects? Franco Galletta, FX artist: As the story evolves, so do the visuals as they help communicate and advance the player. My philosophy is that FX serves many needs, which includes mood setting for ambiance and in certain cases,

what limitations we have so that we can bend, break, or expand beyond conventional thinking. And so, Cool and Shiny aside, we’ve also done, and continue to do, a lot of talk-throughs on what actually makes sense for the

World and for the story steps. I’m constantly aware of how important it is to have a holistic mindset and remain cognizant of how FX fits into the GW2 World and how it compliments the other amazing art, such as environment, props and characters.

Gaiscioch: The introduction of the Olmakhan was a really unexpected way to turn one of the most clearly defined stereotypes of Tyria on its head. Why choose to do this and what repercussions is it likely to have? Jessica Price, Story Editor: Cultures aren’t monoliths, and it felt important to play with the idea that there’s always alternatives to the society and ideologies and traditions you’re raised in. Sometimes that involves living within the dominant society, sometimes it means trying to change it, and sometimes—as with the Olmakhan—it means leaving where you came from and trying something completely new.

The interesting thing for me is what that means for Rox, who’s largely just been a good soldier and has often felt like she’s always someone’s sidekick. We wanted to give her some space to breathe and grow as a character and start to come into her own.

interested in different characters having conflicting points of view on what heroism is that all make *sense* even if you don’t personally agree with them.

Gaiscioch: One of my favorite parts of the whole episode was walking into Rata Primus Gaiscioch: A single line about running away and finding it full of puzzles. How do you come rather than fighting raised some pertinent up with these encounters, and is it technically points about isolationism and how everyone challenging to get right? in Tyria is not necessarily a hero. Is this Charlie Engelhard, Content Programmer: We something you would like to explore more? Jessica Price, Story Editor: I’m not sure that I agree with the framing that running away is automatically the opposite of heroism. To me, keeping your loved ones alive *is* heroic. Fighting for a better world is important, but you can’t do that if you’re dead. I’m not sure I’d even class the Olmakhan as isolationist— what they are is a fairly small population that’s not sure they can survive a direct confrontation with the Inquest. And for them, “home” is where their tribe is, not necessarily any specific geographic location, so fighting to stay where they are rather than just finding somewhere without zombies and sadistic scientists doesn’t necessarily make sense to all of them. There’s certainly a pride element—the sense that they’re not going to be driven out of their land, but it’s important to remember that what the Commander needs from people she encounters may not be in their best interests. I mean, arguably, the thing that convinces the Olmakhan to join her cause—the attack on their village by the automated Inquest forces—is actually the Commander’s fault. It would likely not have happened if she hadn’t broken Boticca out of the facility. So what constitutes “heroism” here gets less clear the more you dig into it. And as storytellers, we’re

thought it would feel good to defeat the inquest by outsmarting them, so it was a perfect episode to experiment with doing more puzzles. The GW2 engine wasn’t developed with the idea of “phasing” in mind. Originally, the only player-specific objects in the open-world were resource nodes. But in the last few years we’ve been adding in more phasing-like features piecemeal as we need them. For the open world story steps in Bug in the System, I tried using all these new features at the same time to create entire player-specific puzzles in the open world. We’re really interested to see how these are received by the players.

Some of the puzzles grew organically from the narrative. For instance, I tried to come up with an experiment for researching Kralkatorrik’s new ability to brand the dead, and the first thing I thought of was a conveyor belt of death and resurrection, and that’s practically begging to be a level design. (Although we did change the corpses from humans to destroyers because that was a bit too dark and horrifying.)

Gaiscioch: Who is the portal fan and why don’t the Inquest have their own Genius Level Alchemy Driven Operating System? Charlie Engelhard, Content Programmer: Who isn’t a Portal fan? Shout-out to our neighbors at Valve. The Inquest’s PA system was inspired by a combination of GlaDOS and the little commercial interludes from “Better Off Ted”, as well as the absurdity of real life propaganda. There’s something funny and a little frightening at the same time about an authoritative voice confidently stating obvious lies and nonsense.

Acquiring your Legendary Weapon in Guild Wars 2 By Briseadh I’ve always loved to try the crafting systems in any game I play. Guild Wars 2 has a system that I enjoy immensely, even if I don’t have all of them at maximum level. They are getting closer as I use each for various parts and pieces for ascended and legendary crafting. Some people will look at the requirements for legendary crafting in this game and cry. If you do it from scratch it will take a lot of work, time and gold. However, in the end you can say, “I made that!” Legendaries also have their own cool skins so people know you’re the proud owner of one.

One huge plus I had was a great guild of helpful people. We have a mentality of wanting to help each other complete and acquire things available in the game, no matter how small or large. ArenaNet did an awesome job making this game social and easy for people to help others. This article is a combination of a guide and my experiences completing Rodgort and working my way through phases of Meteorlogicus.

Where to Start To start crafting any legendary weapon you must first buy the access to it at 5 gold and 10,003 karma for each one. They are for sale by Grandmaster Craftsman Hobbs, found in the center of the Lions Arch crafting area. He is the Norn in the picture. You will also have to have Revered Antiquarian mastery completed, which is the first one under Central Tyria - Legendary Crafting. With the help of a guildie that inspired me to this crazy adventure - as if I didn’t have enough to do in this game already after a hiatus - I unlocked the requirements for all of the legendaries. Why? So just playing the game could lead to fulfilling the first phase of them all from the get go. This made sense to me, and I have quite a few items on all legendaries, since I do about everything in the game except PvP and raiding. I will note you should have a bank tab dedicated to this so you can throw them in there and

then sort when you need to because you don’t need to save them all. For instance, any items that say they are for a collection only, once verified as acquired in the collection, can be sold to save inventory space. My primary focus stayed on Rodgort since I didn’t win it in our Great Tyrian Adventure raffle, and it looked cool when my friend showed it off. I definitely was not going to pay someone else for having the fun of making it either. The second on the list was Meteorlogicus. A good tool to use is the wiki at https://wiki. guildwars2.com/wiki/Main_Page because most of the legendaries have been around quite some time and the information in there is pretty good for each phase, from the precursor to the final production steps. Just put the legendary name and phase you are on in the search box and check out what you need to do.

Phase 1 - Creating the Experimental Version Phase 1 for any legendary will have a list of things to do and collect. To help you track this in the game you can go into your achievement panel and under collections there is a section for Legendary Weapons. Any that you have bought access to will show up here. For Rodgort you will burn several acquired items in Fireheart Rise at Division Shrine, in the cauldron. Appropriate for a weapon that will eventually look like a minotaur’s head that breathes fire and lights up a portion of your arm in fire when wielded. The following list shows the eleven things you must do for Rodgort’s Phase 1: 1. Burn a heart of a Flame Effigy 2. Burn a heart of an Ember 3. Burn a heart of a Fire Imp 4. Burn a heart of a Fire Elemental 5. Burn a heart of a Destroyer 6. Burn an Essence of Fire Magic 7. Burn Tequatl’s Eye 8. Burn a claw of Jormag’s Scale 9. Burn the Shatterer’s Crystal 36

10. Burn the Vinewrath’s Petals 11. Burn a heart of the Megadestroyer The first five hearts simply drop from creatures of that name you can find around the world. It may not drop on the first one, but I never had to take more than ten or fifteen minutes in an area where they spawned in good numbers. Just watch for the heart to appear in your inventory. The Essence of Fire Magic is like the first five, but you have to kill the Flame Legion to acquire this item. Its name is the only one on this list that doesn’t tell you directly what mob to kill for it, but the tool tip tells you. Tequatl, Jormag, and Shatterer are all world bosses on a timer. Once you have completed the events that destroy them, you will acquire the item to burn in the cauldron. Good luck on getting to these events. I use the event timer at http://gw2timer.com/?page=Chains to determine when these fall into my play time. The Vinewrath is killed at the end of the huge meta chain event in the Silverwastes and the Megadestroyer is at the end of the meta chain The Battle for Mount Maelstrom, that starts on the south side of the volcano in Mount Maelstrom.

Once all eleven items are acquired and burned, you will gain the achievement for completing this collection and can return to Hobbs in Lion’s Arch to acquire your Chest of the Bonfire. This contains Essence of Bonfire and Box of Recipes for Rodgort’s Flame (First Tier). You will make Rodgort’s Flame Experiment with these. Any character can open the box and add the recipes to the account. However, you must have a Huntsman who is at least level 450 in order to complete it. The recipes for any legendary, including its early phases, will show up under a section called Legendary Component. All the crafting steps in Phase 1 through 3 of Rodgort will be completed by the Huntsman at the Huntsman crafting station.

Legendary Inscription • 10 Globs of Ectoplasm • 5 Piles of Crystalline Dust • 1 Orichalcum Plated Dowel • 10 Elonian Leather Squares I list these because the ascended pieces will take some time to make if you are not properly prepped or not into a lot of ascended crafting yet. I find the leather is the hardest to acquire of all the ascended materials with cloth (not required here) at a close second. Wood and ore are just a matter of running around harvesting every node you see and using up some time to do so. The pieces that might seem worse to some are the Memories of Battle and Shards of Glory. If you don’t WvW or PvP, you won’t gain any of these. You can buy them from the Trading Post. The Shards of Glory sell pretty cheap at 45 copper or so, but the Memories of Battle are usually in the 6 silver and change range as of this writing. I love WvW and you can even find streams of Gaiscioch out on the battlefield, so I had those covered. I had to buy the PvP related ones because I don’t take time to do that often.

The following is the summary of ingredients you will need to make Rodgort’s Flame Experiment. You already have the Essence of Bonfire acquired with the recipes, but the following will have to be made by the Huntsman: Experimental Torch Head • 2 Deldrimor Steel Ingots • 50 Memories of Battle • 50 Shards of Glory Experimental Torch Handle • 2 Spiritwood Planks • 50 Memories of Battle • 50 Shards of Glory

Once you have crafted Rodgort’s Flame Experiment and have completed Magister of Legends, second mastery track under Central Tyria - Legendary Crafting, you can visit Hobbs to buy Rodgort Vol.2 for 5 Spirit Shards and 10,003 Karma. Once you have this you will be onto Phase 2 of Rodgort. I got lucky with timing for the boss fights and meta events making it possible to complete in just a few days. Don’t give up yet if this is not the case for you. The journey is a long one, but worth the effort for anyone that loves crafting unique things like this. I also have Meteorlogicus Phase 1 completed. Like Rodgort, there were plenty of things to acquire in many places around the world. However, Meteorlogicus requires far more ascended materials than Rodgort did. In Phase 1 I used 25 Spiritwood Planks, while Rodgort only required 5. 37

Phase 2 - The Perfected Weapon You will already have two pieces of this twelve set collection - Rodgort’s Experimental Flame and Rodgort Vol. 2. Four of the remaining items are crafting related, six of them require a collection of various things found in the world. You will need to talk to the master craftsman of the appropriate trade that makes the weapon, which is the NPC standing next to the crafting station that you buy items and recipes from. In the case of Rodgort, it is the Master Huntsman. The other thing you will realize at this point is that you will need to be maxed at 500 in the respective crafting to complete what the master wants you to make for two of the four crafting steps. These are as follows: Torch Heads • 5 Bronze

• 5 Iron • 5 Steel • 5 Darksteel • 5 Mithril • 5 Orichalcum • 1 Deldrimor Steel (requires 500 in crafting) Torch Handles • 5 Green • 5 Soft

Rodgort need the same materials from Green through Elder, but Meteorlogicus requires 3 scepter cores and 3 scepter handles for the 500 crafter (ascended) component instead of only one. Once you have completed these items, talk to the Master to hand them in. You do not have to hand both in at the same time, but will not advance to the next part of the crafting for this phase until both are handed in. Once you do, you will be able to make the following:

• 5 Seasoned

Weighted Torch Head

• 5 Hard

• 250 Mithril Ingots

• 5 Elder

• 5 Deldrimor Steel Ingots

• 1 Spiritwood (requires 500 in crafting)

• 10 Lumps of Primordium (buy from master craftsman)

Most Legendaries will follow the same pattern, though they may have different requirements. For instance, Meteorlogicus and

• 10 Thermocatalytic Reagents (buy from master craftsman)

Balanced Torch Handle • 250 Elder Wood Planks • 100 Mithril Ingots • 5 Spiritwood Planks

Expertise In Torch Crafting after completing all of this. I found Meteorlogicus the same as Rodgort for Mossi, except she did not want the Passion Flowers.

• 1 Glacial Lodestone • 1 Molten Lodestone • 1 Onyx Lodestone • 1 Charged Lodestone

There are six things that Mossi will want for Rodgort, and she will ask for them in the order of the following list. Once you fill a requirement she will tell you what to acquire next. • Desert Magics: Torche Edition 1000 Bandit Crests • Jungle Magics: Torch Edition 400 Geodes (Dry Top Currency) • Old World Magics: Torch Edition 100 Obsidian Shards • Ancient Water Magics: Torch Edition 100 Karka Shells • Herbal Magics: Torch Edition 25 Passion Flowers (from blooming Passiflora plants) • Stabilizing Magics: Torch Edition 25 Stabilizing Matrices (Fractal drop) should

have

• Each takes 20 Jugs of Water and 3 Piles of Crystalline Dust Prismatic Lodestone

Talk to the Master Craftsman to prove you made these two items. The two items for Meteorlogicus in this phase require a bit less materials, giving you a bit of a breather on that one.

You

• 10 Master Maintenance Oils

gained

You have now successfully made your Perfected Torch and can go talk to Hobbs to buy Rodgort Vol. 3.

To acquire the Spirit of Rodgort’s Flame Experiment you need to salvage Rodgort’s Flame Experiment you made in Phase 1. Sounds scary, but you can salvage it now so you can move on with this adventure. The other two items required for the crafting of the Perfected Torch are listed in the Huntsman’s Legendary Component section. The recipe for the Perfected Torch is as follows with the break down of the crafted item ingredients:

This phase is very similar for all legendaries, though there will be some differences in what Fossi wants you to collect and some differences in the number of things the Master Craftsman may require. For the final crafting phase most will use a salvaged item from the experiment you crafted, the appropriate expertise training acquired working through this collection phase, the Jar of Luminesce Polish and the Prismatic Lodestone.

Experience of Torch Crafting Spirit of Rodgort’s Flame Experiment Jar of Luminesce Polish • 250 Piles of Bloodstone Dust • 1 Amalgamated Gemstone • 10 Thermocatalytic Reagents 39

Phase 3 - Creating the Precursor To complete the third collection you will be doing a lot of running around accomplishing tasks. This takes time rather than materials to complete. The only materials required are for the final crafting of the precursor after you have accomplished all of the items for the phase 3 collection.

Frostgorge Sound starting at the grawl village near Safewatch Vale

Rodgort has 31 items, two of which you have already, due to crafting the Perfected Torch and buying Rodgort Vol. 3 from Hobbs. I enjoyed the first twenty on this list because I had to go kill things with a torch. The great thing is that you keep the torch when you waypoint in the zone or hop on a mount to get somewhere faster. If you leave the zone, enter the water, or do a transformation, you lose the torch and have to return to get another one. The following picture is an example of the torches you can interact with at the grawl village in Frostgorge Sound.

• Burn an Eagle Griffon - northwest of grawl village

The following is the list of things to burn with a torch you pick up and wield, organized by zone. All of them must be veterans to count and killed while wielding the torch. Like any collection you can do these in any order you like.

• Burn a Pinesoul - west of grawl village • Burn a Longhorn Sheep - due north of Ridgerock Camp Waypoint

• Burn an Arctodus - north of grawl village • Burn an Alpine Stalker - northwest of Ridgerock Camp Waypoint Fireheart Rise starting at the grawl village called Tarstar in the southwest • Burn a Moose - southwest of Icespear’s Waypoint • Burn an Oakheart - in the woods north of Apostate Waypoint • Burn a Black Bear - in the woods north of Apostate Waypoint • Burn a Marmax - on top of the hill northeast of Atrox Castrum

• Burn a Tar Elemental - southwest of Breaktooth’s Waypoint

• Burn a Mossheart - in forest southwest of Spaecia Illogica Waypoint

Harathi Hinterlands take a torch from campfire in Blackhold Mine Camp NOTE: Burn some centaur supplies at the camp to save returning later

• Burn a Hermit Crab - on a tiny rock in the water south of Zone Blue

• Burn an Eagle Griffon - southwest of Grey Gritta’s Waypoint • Burn a Freshwater Crab - on the shore west of Grey Gritta’s Waypoint • Burn an Eagle Raptor - east of Blackhold Mine Camp • Burn a Bear - on a hill northwest of Barricade Camp Waypoint • Burn a Longhorn Sheep - south of Demetra Waypoint Mount Maelstrom take a torch from campfire at Firebreak Fort Waypoint • Burn a Firefly - around Murkvale Waypoint • Burn a Pink Moa - at the pond west of Mosstide Walfts

• Burn a Jungle Spider - found in Gauntlet Gulch The rest are based upon lighting fires in various locations around the world. Some are part of chain events while others are pretty quick. There are nine of these and they can be done in any order. Even if you don’t do fractals, the first on the list is easy to do. Enter the portal for the fractals in southern Lion’s Arch. At the console to the left of where you zone in, pick Snowblind and set it at level 1. Hop into the big blue magical looking pool below where the console is. You are now in the Snowblind fractal. All you need to do is run to the first bonfire, use the special action key and light it. As soon as you have credit you may exit the fractal. Drawing the Enemy is at the end of a chain event. The good thing is that it restarts regularly if it fails. This event begins at the Wreckage of Doomspy in Fields of Ruin. This chain messed me up more than once. If no event is going on, check to see if Vanguard

Lockwood is standing on the north side of the camp. If she is not there either the defense failed, the escort failed, or the final event is in progress or just ended to the north (this is the least likely). This chain event progresses as follows: • Camp Defense • Wait a minute or so and then after a conversation an NPC runs south - follow him • Escort event from the secure fort to the south back to the camp - it takes a bit • A trebuchet is built and you will need to defend as this happens • Finally Vanguard Lockheed moves to the north side of the camp and waits • Several minutes later Sentinel Glasscutter and Sentinel Glassedge arrive from the north • Follow them north to the site of the final event in this chain. You light one fire, do some fighting, then light another to go through four bonfires total.

I received the credit after this long event chain but due to missing the NPC running south, had to wait to try again to see what I had missed. The Wiki is not overly fleshed out for this one, hence, my long explanation for it here. The third, Draw the Pack, is at the hero challenge for the Marmox Packleader along the eastern border of Blazeridge Steppes. As soon as you interact with the fire to start the hero challenge you will get the credit. For the Cleansing Fire you will go to Bloodsaw Mill in Diessa Plateau and use the fire pit in the heart area. You will be burning 10 Elder Wood Logs there. Once you have tossed them in the fire you have credit. You need to use a torch to burn one pile of the centaur supplies for credit. Do this with the killing of mobs with a torch in Harathi Hinterlands, since it is the same camp you get the torch from. I noted this with that list above as well, to be sure you save some time if following my guide in order. For Hylek Protection, you can interact with any of the signal fires at Southwatch Post south of Zintl Holy Grounds Waypoint in Sparkfly Fen.

the final precursor. You will need a Heart of Fire. These are not at a bad price on the trading post at the time of writing, but you can get one yourself if you so desire. Go to southern Mount Maelstrom and off the main volcano channel there is a chamber with a Veteran Fire Imp that will drop this item. You will also need a Tar Elemental Core and this you have to go kill tar elementals for. You cannot buy it. Both of these will go into the Everburning Flame you have to make. The Everburning Flame will require the following to be completed by the Huntsman: To Burn Away Bad Neighbors, travel to Joy’s End south of Watchful Source Waypoint in Brisban Wildlands. Interact with the brambles to set them on fire to complete this. Light the Signal Fires is done in the Silverwastes, once any of the forts are at a stage to have them active during what everyone calls the RIBA phase of the maps META event. Once you light one you will be credited for this in the collection. The final one on the list is really easy. Travel to Slieve’s Inlet southeast of Slieve’s Waypoint in Caledon Forest and interact with one of the Risen Corpses. Once it lights on fire you will gain credit for this. Now you have travelled the world and completed the phase 3 collection of Rodgort. You can now acquire the Chest of Burning which contains the recipes to make Rodgort’s Flame, the precursor. You will also acquire Essence of Burning used in the recipe. The four main elements of Rodgort’s Flame are: • Essence of Burning • Spirit of the Perfected Torch • Everburning Flame • Dragon Statue You will need to salvage the Perfected Torch to acquire the Spirit of the Perfected Torch. This is a trend for most legendaries to work through the phases to

• Fuel for the Fire • 1 Tar Elemental Core • 30 Elder Wood Planks • 5 Mystic Crystals • 1 Spirit Wood Plank • 5 Molten Lodestones • 1 Mystic Crystal • 1 Heart of Fire The Dragon Statue requires the following to be completed by the Huntsman: • 1 Deldrimor Steel Ingot • 250 Mithril Ingots • 50 Orichalcum Ingots • 10 Thermocatalytic Reagents Now you have completed Rodgort’s Flame, a precursor. It may seem like a lot, but I really enjoyed the journey to get here. This part actually took less time than the crafting of the legendary due to the sheer amount of materials needed to create the legendary out of the precursor. You always have the option of buying the precursor if you don’t feel like running through this part of the journey.

Creating Your Legendary This part will take less writing to list everything, but definitely took me longer to acquire all the materials in order to complete it. Most everything is combined in the Mystic Forge and will be noted otherwise if it is not. The final four ingredients are: • Rodgort’s Flame • Gift of Rodgort • Gift of Fortune • Gift of Mastery The Gifts are what really hurt in the quantity of ingredients required and I found the Gift of Fortune the hardest. Each Gift’s recipe will be listed and include sublists for its ingredients. Gift of Rodgort • 1 Gift of Wood (Hunstman crafts) • 250 Seasoned Planks • 250 Hard Wood Planks • 250 Elder Wood Planks • 250 Ancient Wood Planks • 1 Vial of Liquid Flame (Chef crafts) • 250 Ghost Peppers • 1 Gift of Baelfire (buy with 500 Citadel of Flame dungeon currency) • 100 Molten Lodestone • 100 Destroyer Lodestone • 100 Icy Runestone (Buy for 1g each after Claw of Jormag event in Frostgorge Sound) • 1 Superior Sigil of Fire (this is cheap so I bought it on the Trading Post)

Other than the Lodestones, Ghost Peppers and forking out the cost for the Icy Runestones, this one was not that bad. Thankfully a friend gave me most of the Ghost Peppers. I still owe her a spicy meal. Gift of Fortune • 77 Mystic Clovers (see note after the list) • 250 Globs of Ectoplasm • 1 Gift of Might • 250 Vicious Fangs • 250 Armored Scales • 250 Vicious Claws • 250 Ancient Bone • 1 Gift of Magic • 250 Vials of Powerful Blood • 250 Powerful Venom Sacs • 250 Elaborate Totems • 250 Piles of Crystalline Dust Mystic clovers can be acquired a few ways. One of them is through reward tracks you do in WvW or PvP. There are ways to buy them, with one option being with Fractal Currencies. Another way is to make them in the Mystic Forge with the option of two recipes: Makes 1 Mystic Clover • 1 Obsidian Shard • 1 Mystic Coin • 1 Ectoplasm • 6 Philosopher Stones Makes 10 Mystic Clovers • 10 Obsidian Shards • 10 Mystic coins

• 10 Ectoplasm • 10 Mystic Crystals NOTE: You can acquire other items out of the Mystic Forge with these recipes. Gift of Mastery • 1 Bloodstone Shard (buy from Miyani) • 250 Obsidian Shards • 1 Gift of Exploration (obtained by any character that acquires World Completion) • 1 Gift of Battle (obtained by the Gift of Battle reward track in WvW) I found this part the least exciting to accomplish since I did not have little missions around the world to direct me to them like the phases in the precursor. This took time just playing the game, buying some of the items to speed up the process, having some help of my friends, and figuring out the best places to farm. Thankfully, Gaiscioch has plenty of events going on that helped me reach the end of the journey.

Of course, I have to repeat the Gift of Fortune, Gift of Mastery and need another 100 Icy Runestones all over again for Meteorlogicus when I get to the final creation process. Thankfully it is taking a bit longer in the precursor process so I can work on building my materials back up. It might take some work for those 100 Charged Lodestones, but at least I didn’t have to use those on Rodgort and it is only one Lodestone type, not two. The other fun part of Meteorlogicus is the requirement of quite a bit of dust for the Gift of Energy.

Conclusion Making a legendary weapon appears daunting, but it is not a race. Take your time and enjoy the journey. Not everyone has the same amount of playtime, resources, or friend network to help with the task. However, no matter what, the accomplishment will outweigh all the blood, sweat, and tears put into it. I suggest you try making one from scratch if you really enjoy crafting, collecting and challenges.

Path of Fire: Guide to Easy Mastery Insights in Desert Highlands By GmaFog As I started looking at the other guides to do the Mastery Insights, in Path of Fire, I found that many of them need the jackal or high level abilities for each mount. A “light bulb” went off in my head and I thought, “Why don’t I go do the masteries that have just the base level raptor, springer and skimmer.” As I progress with those, I will earn more ability points for my mounts. On this guide I will not include the insights I did in my first article called “Guild Wars 2: Crystal Oasis”. These mastery insights will only need your gliding skill from HoT and three basic mounts without their high level abilities. Note: If you completed the masteries in Crystal Oasis, you should have the first 3 of your raptor skills including Canyon Jumping, but will not use that skill for any of the masteries below. All Canyon jumping masteries will be included in the Guide to Advanced Mastery Insights. I do suggest before you start to make sure you are 46

working on your springer abilities until you receive High Vault ability. Then move to your Skimmer skills. Once you get all abilities down to the third level, then start the 4th level abilities. Make sure you are using all the ability/xp boosts you can muster to help with your mount training. There are 8 mastery insights in Desert Highlands you can acquire with just your basic mounts. They are called: Makali Outpost: Diviner’s Reach, Sunderlands Crater, Lifeblood Falls Grub Ledge, Highjump Rise, Giant’s Bough, Delict Perch, Overreach Spider Nest, and Brightwater Hollow. A path will be given in the zone so you won’t have to backtrack too much and will move through the map in a timely manner. Understand that all the events you can do will move you faster into mastering your mount abilities. So don’t worry about how fast you go, enjoy the areas with the events and hearts to progress at a steady pace.

Desert Highlands Makali Outpost Go to the Divinerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Reach waypoint. Directly to the right is the mastery point. Look up on the column. Go on the ledge to the east of the column and use your springer to jump up.

Sunderlands Crater Run northeast to the back pathway and go to the fence corner. Jump over the fence and head east on the southern edge of the cavern. Fight the branded critters before you mount on the raptor to jump over the canyon to the Mastery Insight.

Base of the Watchtower The mastery is near the watchtower POI - Go west from the Sunderlands and follow the left side of the mountain. Springer is necessary to jump the ledge. Once you jump, run up the edge around to the Mastery Insight.

Lifeblood Falls Grub Ledge You will need your raptor and springer for this one. From Lorummuld Kraal Waypoint, run up the ramp to the north. Jump the ledge over to the cavalier post sentry. Move in the grub cave, you will find a cliff face to jump up with the springer. Once up, you will find the Mastery Insight. From that spot, looking east you will see a vista and hero challenge. Good time to get them is now.

Highjump Rise Go to Highjump Ranch Waypoint. If you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have the waypoint, come from Lommuld Kraal Waypoint and stay north. When you get to the river, get on your springer and jump up the mountain to the camp. Head west past the Highjump Ranch waypoint to the outcrop. Jump up the ledges with your springer.

Giant’s Bough From Highjump ranch waypoint, run south west, following the river, to the round ledges near Windshear Scarps. With your springer, jump the ledges and turn right toward Giant’s Bough stairway. Use your springer to jump up the rocks and the tree southwest of the mastery insight. It is right in the tree. I had to fight a few Giants there before I could consume the mastery.

Delict Perch From windshear Scarps, run and spring up west on the hillside. Run into the town through the back and you can see the mastery insight. Try gliding to it and if you don’t make it, go behind to the Waypoint in the city, turn to look north. There are small ledges to jump up with a springer to the Mastery Insight.

Overreach Spider Nest From Derelict Delve Waypoint using Springer or Glider, go back out east of the city. Just before you get to the bridge, turn north and hop the rocks over to the NE ledge. Turn to the SE and you will see the mastery insight. Glide over to it, but if you miss, it will be an easy springer jump up.

Brightwater Hollow Go to Brightwater Waypoint and run south. If you need to run it from the last mastery above, go back to Highjump Ranch Waypoint and run south along the river on your skimmer. It is a fun run. When you find Brightwater Waypoint, jump over the ledges with your raptor to your west or jump up the ledges with your springer. Fight the elonian skales and commune with the mastery insight. You will want to go up the stairs to acquire the vista. There are many things to do in the Desert Highlands. Look around, do your map clear and enjoy some good fights with your friends. By doing this myself, I have managed to get my high jump on my springer and earned enough credits to get my jackal. Many of my friends have rushed and gotten all their mounts up to the Griffon. I am excited for them, but for the casual gamer, it isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t necessary to work at a fast pace. I just enjoy the game and my surroundings. See you next time in Elon Riverlands!

Path of Fire: Guide to Easy Mastery Insights in Elon Riverlands By GmaFog New masteries, oh my!!! So far the easiest ones I have come across are in Elon Riverlands. If you have been following my path, you should have canyon jumping by now. So I’m adding a few more mastery insights that use the canyon jump in Elon Riverlands. Once you get a few of the waypoints in this area, it will be easy to travel to the mastery insights. Doing the hearts will always help your mount abilities, and make sure you look at your hero panel under mounts and change accordingly.

Hero’s Overlook Mount your Base Springer for this one. From Augury’s Shadow Waypoint, head west below Augury Rock to the rock ledge. Jump up the rocks to the Mastery insight. There are breeze riders up there to fight. 52

Ossa’s Defeat From Hero’s Overlook go far west on the road. Raptor Canyon jump is in the northwest corner. There is a lot to fight on the way in, so I suggest killing everything, then jumping over the ridge to the mastery.

Leviathan’s Gullet Go back to Augury’s Shadow Waypoint and head west on your Base Skimmer. There are 3 POIs, a vista and a hero point to get on the way. The mastery insight is on the Quickmire, so stay on your Skimmer. There will be scarabs to fight when you get to the bones where the mastery insight is placed.

Sovereign Ridge Hop on your base springer and canyon jump on raptor. From the last mastery go toward Olisharâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Oasis Camp Waypoint and head south through the Arid Gladefields. Jump up the rocks onto the flat. Turn right and fight the harpies, then get on your raptor and jump across to the mastery insight.

Shadows of Despair From Skimmer Ranch Waypoint, skim south to Shallows of Despair. Move straight south to the ledge and hover up onto the outcrop. There is a path up to the mastery point. A hero point is directly west of the mastery. Glide off and get on your skimmer to get up on the ledge, and be ready for another fight for the hero point. There is the option of going a bit west first, up the ledge to get the hero point first and then go over east to the same outcrop for the mastery insight. 54

Pillars of Sovereignty If you want to do a big battle, and get your diving goggles on, there is a mastery close by. From Skimmer Ranch Waypoint go southwest to the big rock. Run counter-clockwise up the rock. You will come to a beam that you need to run up. At the top there is a big boss. I havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t figured out how to go on the outside of that area without getting hit by that boss. Find the closest edge to the mastery and glide over to the rock island. The mastery and the diving goggles are on that rock. At this point, you should be well on your way to being able to get to the advanced mastery insights. As always, take your time, hear the stories. For the jackal you should be able to skim over to the area - in The Desolation, at Sand Jackal Run Waypoint. Fly on your skimmer east of the waypoint and move up the stairway next area over. There you borrow a jackal and work on the heart. You should receive the access to get said jackal when you talk to the heart person. For the griffon, finish the storyline. It will help to earn with more masteries, abilities and gold. There are still many areas to explore and mastery insights to earn. Take a friend along to enjoy each otherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s company.

Guild Wars 2 Brings the Heat with Path of Fire By Briseadh

It has been a great ride through all the PoF content though I still have plenty of things to do there. But I have found interest to work on things that had already existed in the game for some time. Due to not playing for at least a couple of years and the last year before PoF being hit or miss, I have found plenty of holes to fill in. This only adds to my desire to keep playing, not to mention the awesome krewe of Gaiscioch. I might not have bothered coming back if they weren’t still here and going strong. Since my first impressions article and my fan fiction starting the tale of Tinte Rois’s adventures through the story content, I’ve obtained my griffon, completed most of the older story content, got into dungeons and fractals, and added legendary weapon crafting on top of the still leveling and working on ascended crafting. Let’s not mention all those achievements I’ve managed to get with the help of my friends because I keep finding plenty more to do! 56

Griffon Mount I found all the other mounts quite easy to obtain and level up their masteries, thanks to doing each map in order as I did the story. I would not move on until I acquired everything I could in clearing a map and had all the story segments there completed. This took some time, especially since I was note taking and screenshotting the best I could for the story write up.

With the story completed and all four mounts acquired and mostly trained through at least the third mastery, I started the great griffon hunt. This felt appropriately daunting. I had to trek over all the maps reaching all the griffon nests, completing two hearts in each map so I could buy something at each for 25 gold a piece for 250 gold overall, and then there were instance fights and acquisitions to do. I found the library with it’s chests to open with keys you had to acquire from some seriously tough mobs a worthwhile obstacle to overcome. In the end, I’m glad I made the effort. Thanks to several of the Gaiscioch family who helped me get to those places I just could not land on them. Thanks to flying so much I might even nail that pillar for a griffon nest I failed on several times if I tried it now. My advice is to take your time, seek help where you can get it, and enjoy the journey. There is no rush except the expectation of flying in the game beyond what gliding gave us.

World Exploration With Mounts Of course, I don’t know any of us that haven’t run around the older maps with our mounts to see where we could get that we never did before. I’m glad Arenanet left some things open to mounts, but I’m glad some places they aren’t allowed to keep the proper challenge, like jumping puzzles. Though a few have easier ways in with mounts, but all the ones I can think of could have a mesmer portal you in that way, too. We all have probably taken advantage of a mesmer to complete a jumping puzzle before. What I truly enjoyed was the views, falling long distances without dying though my mount takes the beating, and getting stuck in strange places. I don’t find that mounts made the older maps easier per se, but you can get around them far faster. Some of the vistas are easier while sometimes a mount just makes them clunkier to nail the landing on a small perch if you are not proficient enough. I have started a map clearing event, due to a number of new people to the game and I found this is where mounts are a hindrance. It is unfair to lead them across the map at a speed they have no chance of obtaining yet. Some of these people are not popping their level 80 auto boost just because they want to learn the game first. You can’t work on gliding or mount masteries until you reach 80 and have the expansions. I’m glad these new players are learning the game, enjoying it, and most are buying into it including the expansions as money allows. This is one of the few games where I find that expansions and new additions, like mounts 57

with PoF, is keeping fresh blood coming to the game, making people like me return, and there are plenty of players who have been here the full duration, thanks to how the game expands over time. I found that the mounts were properly introduced to the game and that they work well everywhere with the right exclusions.

Wintersday This is always a popular event and it was a nice filler for the end of the year for something different to do. We had our annual Secret Santa, Smitty streamed his event including the telling of how the ‘Grinch Stole Christmas’, and we definitely demolished Toypocolypse many times over. Racing on mounts instead of only on foot added a new thing this year and I love that rentable mounts could be acquired for those without Path of Fire (PoF). But one of the craziest things we did was run across an alpine WvW map as holiday Dolyaks making our enemies wonder all the more about us.

Daybreak - The First Chapter of Living Story Season 4 (LS4) Just like Living Story Season 3 (LS3) not only is there a vibrant story that continues nicely from where the main Path of Fire story ends, but another fun area, the Domain of Istan, opened up for exploration. A new type of currency called Volatile Magic was added. Collecting and earning it works much like the Unbound Magic found in LS3 and you can spend it at the various heart vendors. Like the prior season and PoF maps, you can earn the heart each day and then shop the wares available. Two large events have attracted the players to this zone for a great deal of loot and fun. One occurs in the Mordent Crescent Great Hall and the extensive one starts as the sun sets in Palawadan, Jewel of Istan. Let’s not forget all the extra achievements that one can acquire with this new zone so that it is definitely on par with all the prior living story zones. So far the first chapter of LS4 has not disappointed, even if I managed a lot of the core elements in the first week it came out. I took plenty of notes and screenshots to go with a fan fiction piece I’ll write up.

Great Tyrian Adventure

A Continuation of the Old

Gaiscioch led yet another one of these great adventures doing a nice combo of Central Tyrian events and a WvW excursion for the first half and exploring the five maps of PoF for the second half for ten events total. Many prizes were given (thanks to all who contributed to the cause), tons of great fun achieved and, of course, a few awesome deaths to make it a true Gaiscioch event. In the end we set up in a scholarly place to hand out the biggest prizes of all.

Upon returning to the game I had to regroup and then plunged primarily into PoF until I had the story, maps and griffon mount accomplished. However, due to over two years away and more random play up until a month before PoF, I have all sorts of holes to fill in my achievements and back stories. I have worked on these solo and with friends, whether to complete it the first time or to do it again for missing achievements.

Gaiscioch rolls like this wherever we go, but GW2 has been one of the best places to do such events.

Another place I found I liked much better this time around were the dungeons and fractals. For some reason when first doing these, I was not impressed. I

can’t say for sure why, but there are plenty of the guild who do these regularly and sucked me in. Now I’m working on setting up one of my characters specifically for fractals and have a good start on working my way to higher tiers. For achievements, I am close to having done all the dungeon paths, several more than once at this point. I’m still working on leveling all my crafters to 500 and putting ascended gear on my two primary characters, but I’ve delved into the insanity of legendary weapon crafting. It’s proven to be a bit addicting as I run around completing collections, acquiring materials, and crafting parts. I bought all of the legendaries even if my primary ones were Rodgort and Meteorlogicus for starting. This allows me to randomly pick up collections for the others by playing the game. It proved to be a smart thing to do within hours of making sure I had them all. I may

have an article in the next issue about my fun with this endeavor. I also want to thank some friends for helping me get started and get into Rodgort III within a week. But let me leave you here with a funny shot of my asura, Tinte Rois, stuck in swimming goggles until I logged and came back to the game. Yeah, I found a bug that I reported (at least I think I did) while trying to complete my Dive Master achievement.

Conclusion The additions to Guild Wars 2 have not disappointed. WIth the holidays, I saw a lot of new people come into the game. I talked to quite a few of them, guildies and non, having fun helping them answer questions and figure things out. I’m looking forward to what comes next with LS4 and the next holiday event.

Tinte’s Adventures in the Crystal Desert A Path of Fire Story - Part 2 By Briseadh I had no idea what to expect at the Tomb of the Primevil Kings where I went to gain access to the overly quiet human gods. Rytlock’s theory had the gods abandoning Tyria, but Kasmeer would never accept such an idea. Regardless, I and my krewe had this one path to follow in order to deal with Balthazar. We had to prove our worth to a variety of kings and queens that had ruled over the Primeval Dynasty. In the process we learned a great deal more about this ancient dynasty. We had to fight Queen Nadjeh first. Being a mesmer, she would split into a group of images with only one being her at certain points in the trial. In the end, we won and she gave us information.

The Primeval Dynasty watched over Elona for 600 years. Though the house has fallen, they were the first to rule these lands. Some say the gods crowned the first king though the truth of this has been erased by the sands of time. Nadjeh founded the order of Sunspears, rallying many great warriors to her cause. Together they brought the warrior tribes of Elona under her banner and established peace. It was our desire to find peace in the current situation with Balthazar that helped us gain passage deeper into the tomb. Once we beat King Wasi, he proved uncooperative due to our invasion of the tomb. His words dripped with sarcasm as he spoke to us. Queen

Nahlah

and

Queen

Dahlah fought together in such a way we had to concentrate on one and then change to the other at times. After some back and forth we won the trial. They had much to tell. These twins were crowned together, but spent most of their time seeking and enjoying whatever pleasures they liked. Elona had found the height of its glory by this time with many great scholars, master artisans and exotic merchants throughout the land. The twins believed they could do anything and nothing could get in their way. Then came the Scarab Plague. They were deaf to the people’s cries for help. Finally, the plague even took them ending the centuries of rule by the Primeval Dynasty. 61

We had to show proper respect to the fallen within the tomb before proceeding into a realm to meet the gods. Of course, this did not happen as expected. I found myself with my companions in a strange place, with the area we needed to get to, hidden behind a great sandstorm that was physically impenetrable. I had to interact with an item hanging from a three legged branch stand. Then came the puzzle. In order to light all of the torches and open a

way to the gods, we first had to find some wedge shaped symbols and put them in the correct locations. I am glad I had a springer or we would have never gotten all of them from the various rock designs and floating rock area. Good thing Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not scared of heights. Rytlock wanted to just beat up the spirits that appeared next rather than wasting time answering their questions to get the discs that would complete the symbols. I managed to keep that

from happening. However, an argument about the gods probably being as crazy as Balthazar had to end. I told them we had to tread lightly. Kasmeer wanted us to show respect, regardless of what we thought. The portal opened up with all the pieces in place and we found ourselves in a huge library with the Goddess Kormir. Balthazar was stripped of his godhood by the other gods and chained in the mists until Rytlock came along.

anything unusual in the Riverlands. Plenty of treasure hunters went to the area besides the seekers of history.

Balthazar called all the other gods cowards for their decision to withdraw from Tyria and not fight the dragons. Kormir wanted Rytlock to undo the wrong of letting Balthazar free. The Crystal Sea became the Crystal Desert due to Abaddon and fights with the other gods. Kormir took on power to save Tyria despite the destruction. She was once mortal. It felt good to know we were on

the right track to fix the broken. We would find the answers in the desert without further help from the gods. I expected this since the gods had stepped back. Kasmeer left to return to the Temple of Kormir. Canach and Rytlock headed to the desert near Amnoon. I went further to the Riverlands after a detour to see Zalambur. At Zalamburâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s office I learned about Glokk of the Durmond Priory who might help with finding

Once in the Riverlands, I talked to a scout that gave advice of people to talk to that could help me find Glokk. Xunn was wondering if Glokk was missing again. Again? Then again we were talking of a scholar here and sometimes they could be sidetracked halfway across Tyria. I found out a lot more about Vlast than I did of Glokkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s whereabouts as I talked to the various followers. Adisa knew the most, but Juma was the one to tell me Vlast was born in a city now buried by the sands. I was finally sent to Nyala who could give me some direction to Glokk. Glokk talked of this lost city, too, and called it Kesho. I run around the Riverlands further after acquiring a skimmer mount. Good thing I had it with all

the quick sand and water in the region. I took some time trying to figure this mount out and then ran into Defector Harun, who told me of a fissure where an adventurer disappeared. It took some time finding this despite his directions and inside was nothing but quicksand up to some rocks and an area with statues and braziers. On the other side, I had to fend off some bats and found a giant hole in the ground. The only reason the quicksand had not flowed down it was due to the wall of rock around the hole. I looked into it dubiously, but knew I had to go down in it. I screamed as I fell in, but thanks to riding my skimmer into the hole I did not die. I get shocked hearing Taimi’s excited voice. How

did the connection work so well underground when everywhere else in the desert I had to get to a decent high point for even a weak signal? Taimi stated I had to be near a ley-line nexus. As my exploring started, I talked with Taimi. She suggested I should poke the exalted I found that appeared to be alive. They were not sleeping like the exalted do on the pedestals in Tarir. I decided to power up a pedestal and a door opened to reveal a small chamber with a normal looking exalted inside. He wanted to kill the creations of Balthazar, including the corrupted exalted I found. Balthazar had come to Kesho with Joko seeking the Forgotten magics and used them to make the Forsaken. Sadizi, the

exalted I found incorrupt, had sealed himself away for safety. The pedestals held secrets that Sadizi helped me acquire. Josso Esher, a Forgotten, tried to convert Kralkatorrik and failed. Kralkatorrik’s crystal creations have some of his essence in them. They are both his weakness and his strength due to this. Then I viewed a recording of Vlast frustrated with having to stay in Kesho. They never had a chance to teach him how to socialize with the races of Tyria and then it was too late. In the end, he stuck to his legacy for Glint. Vlast would wait to contain Kralkatorrik and cull the Branded horde. When two elder dragons were destroyed at the same time, it caused a void and things broke down. Glint’s legacy was to restore the balance and fill the void. This put an entirely new light on the dragons and maybe the destroying of them had not helped Tyria any more than having let them thrive. I just knew a god of war and fire posed far more threat to the world than even Mordremoth did, and that had felt dire at the time. Analyzing the truth of all this would take some time, but Balthazar definitely needed to be taken out of the picture. The door was jammed that would let me out of the area. Sadizi believed it may have been damaged by Joko and Balthazar’s attack. Once through I easily made

it back up to the desert and headed for a rendezvous with the airship, up on a spire in Skimshallow Cove.

I pass out, but wake up in time to see Aurene fly in. Balthazar trapped her and I passed out again.

I found Balthazar instead of an airship. It felt like the fight went on forever. At times, in trying to cast my own spells I could not avoid some of his attacks.

Actually I woke up dead, if ya believe that one. I had no memory of anything and no idea where I was. I was not alone in this place due to other spirits and Joko was caged. I can laugh at this image

now, but wish I could have laughed at him when I found him. A judge, set by Grenth, controlled this realm. Another spirit led me to him after I got fed up with listening to Joko’s blasphemes. This helpful spirit did not have any liking for Joko either. So I find out I’m in the Domain of the Lost. Made total sense, since I definitely had no clue. First, he wanted me to find my name. Apparently, several other lost spirits had decided to grab parts of who I was as their own identity. And I also had to find my purpose. Not much use having a chance to live again if I didn’t know what for. Thankfully, the helpful spirit had found her name and could help me through this. First, I needed a weapon. After some running around I actually find one and right after I do so, a spirit runs 65

by with my name on it. I chase it down and manage to make it give me my name after a bit of forceful enticement. I wound up fighting at least three spirits to claim my entire name. A bird spirit shows up and I have to follow it. At each place it stopped I learned a piece of my history. It took quite a few stops proving I had done a lot already in my life. However, even before gathering all of this to remember my purpose, I knew I had something else to do before I died and I needed to get back. My story started with Zojja looking for Snaff Prize participants. It’s a whirlwind from there leading up to battles against Zhaitan in Orr, the dreadful Scarlet Briar, and then on to the jungle dragon, Mordremoth. So many friends lost in the process and more would be lost if I did not get back. I had to stop Balthazar from destroying the dragons to take on their power to be even more powerful. I had to convince the Judge of all this, but I had one more thing to do here before it could happen. A beast had an appetite for souls in this domain and was aptly named the Eater of Souls. I looked at my weapon and my ghostly state wondering how I’d manage to pull this off because the beast stood taller than a norn and twice the width. Let alone he had a face that could stop the Mad King’s clock in his tower. Now the thing that hindered my fight at first included his ability 66

to regain health by sucking at my life energy. I had to figure out how to break this as soon as it started. Out in the open it did not work. Running away from him a bit, I realized he would chase me around Joko’s cage. That would help me mess with him without him having a chance of sucking my life force away. He could consume me. I had more important things to do, so had no intentions of losing. I won! A portal was available to let me return. Of course, before I can even run for it, Joko is blathering away about stuff. Thankfully I learn I can use the Mordent Crescent to control his Awakened. I needed to find a way to make that work and use them to fight against Balthazar’s Forsaken.

Joko could rot in his cage for all I cared, since he did help Balthazar make the Forsaken, let alone played with undead. That always creeped me out and I let my friend Marfach handle any necromancy needs I had. I found myself on the spire where Balthazar had killed me, but this time he thankfully was absent and my friends had arrived. I run my idea about using Joko’s Awakened to fight Balthazar’s army. Kasmeer has the bright idea of using illusions for how we look when we have a full plan. Whatever that might wind up being and did I mention undead creep me out? Canach had no initial ideas. He had to go double his bet on me since I came back from the dead. If he

little warm up of fun, I intercepted Archon Iberu on the outskirts of the Bone Palace. Nice of the Vizier to send the Archon to deal with my little Sunspear insurrection. He used minions like any necromancer should, but found he had to up his tactics. It all proved futile for him. We took care of him so we could start our imposter trick as Rytlock called it. Kasmeer had to correct him to knowing it was an illusion, not a trick. Rytlock commented about mesmers being worse than elementalists, and then made sure I took no offense to that. Poor Rytlock stuck with a mesmer and an elementalist at the same time and looking like some Awakened minion in the illusion. Served him right for letting Balthazar go. bet too much, someone might try to take me out beforehand. I wouldn’t put it past Zalambur despite the consequences, if it would bankrupt the casino. Then again, he might make more despite paying Canach in the long run. Then I had Shadow Agent Kito willing to come along only because he wanted to know how I came back to life. He knew his order could not pull off getting Joko’s army on our side. But I stated Archon Iberu could. Kito suggested I find a way to talk to Grand Vizier Utumishi, but he spent most his time at the Bone Palace. The faster way was to lure him out though he didn’t pay much heed to things south of the wall. I decided to lure him out with the

good ole camp attack and planting of Sunspear banners. Sure, the Sunspears might not like it, but if it worked we would be on our way to having added forces to our army against Balthazar. Of course, Kito thought it too risky. No wonder I never heard of his organization before let alone it worked covertly. Did he manage to do anything besides stating all the cons? Well he did suggest the Vizier idea, but I’m thinking he did not expect me to jump on it.

I had to endure bad jokes from both Rytlock and Canach upon seeing the Bone Palace up close. Then came the real fun. Posing in full illusory fashion as the Archon, I announced that I was there to tell the Grand Vizier Utumishi of Joko’s next great victory. One enthusiastic guard wound up attacking and then apologizing profusely in hopes no one learned about it. It felt too easy convincing not only the

It took some work, but the village proved easy to change over to Sunspear banners. The camp to the south took a bit of work due to having some fighting before I could take control of it. It turned out after having that 67

Vizier, but Warmarshal Osa Ekolo, of the great plan. I even acquired the names of the other marshals stating I could talk to them myself for this great endeavour. I stated I would make sure Joko knew of the Vizier soon enough. Once out of there, we drop the illusion as Rytlock compliments my talents of bureaucratic butt kissing. I had almost slipped up and we had better do a little research on the other marshals to make this plan work. We agreed on splitting up and rendezvousing with the intel we manage to glean. Rytlock, before leaving, quipped about not liking the illusion and he could still smell it. Kasmeer assured him the smell existed before the illusion. Agent Humma warned me not to see the residents of Vabbi as enemies just because Joko was seen as their revered king. They even saw it as an honor to become an Awakened. I managed not to grimace, barely. Joko wouldn’t return any time soon regardless of what they believed. I could find something else to replace him so their world wouldn’t collapse in on them. I had the scary impression of Marfach taking his place. She could keep all of Joko’s minions in line and working for the greater good. Though the crazy twig might let it go to her head. I had to laugh at that thought and thankfully managed to do so, away from anyone who would wonder. We would deal with Troopmarshal Ogun next at his camp southeast of Vehjin where 68

he trained the recruits. History showed the Forged loved to attack this training facility so I sold him on how Joko’s next grand victory would gain him revenge. He would go along if I cleaned out the Foundry. Great, another crazy fight and with undead no less. But with the Foundry taken care of he could leave his post and not worry about the Forged claiming the facility. I claimed the use of quite a few captured zombies found throughout the foundry. This made the task far easier, and despite the undead stench in the heat, rather amusing. With some work and traversing the entire place to find the Forged source, the Foundry was shut down. With the Troopmarshal on our side, we had only one more

marshal, Beastmarshal Eranko, to convince. Again we split up, but not before I got a good laugh at Canach calling Rytlock Cuddles. Rytlock did not want to do the illusion again despite how well it worked so far. I did not find a great deal of information to help us, but I did manage to update Taimi before regrouping with my friends near the Necropolis. I found Kasmeer alone, but learned she had put the illusion on Cuddles and Canach. In an effort to get this done faster, they had headed in to see the Beastmarshal themselves. I wanted to facepalm as I ran to catch up. Once I arrived they boasted about my riding skills. Great! I would have words with them after this.

I wound up on a merry chase of a beast that I had to suck power from, at least three times before the time ran out. I managed to do it, but not at the level I would have liked. It worked well enough to get the Beastmarshal with us. I did get even with my friends. I dismissed them, like Awakened being sent back to the grave, for their antics. It might have been over the top, but seemed to add that final touch to really cinch the Beastmarshal into doing what I wanted. None of my friends decided to bow at this point. We would see this to the end as best we could. Rytlock handed me Sohothin, the very sword he found in the mists and broke Balthazar’s chains with. He could never take that moment back, but he sure proved he wanted to end this as much as I did. I had to make sure I did not fail, not only for Rytlock, but all of Tyria.

The place we needed to go for this final confrontation had four ways in. All of Joko’s marshals massed on the main gate. My friends took the other three with the Awakened given to help those positions. I remember fighting a great horde and then winding up on my own as I went for the heart of the place. I had three of Balthazar’s toughest minions to face and each had a shield generator I had to destroy. None of them stood alone with plenty of regular Forged

minions in the area. I managed to take them out, but I doubt I could have done it without Sohothin. That made me wonder if I could take out a god if this proved daunting enough. I had to get there and see. Finally, I found Balthazar hovering in the air and a giant war machine sitting below and behind him. It looked worse than I had imagined based upon the parts and items found on the way to Glint’s lair. I held Sohothin up, looked at it and then at the god. I charged onto the platform to meet my destiny. More minions came about and shields went up over the monstrosity of a machine. It took a lot of work and several iterations of fighting to break the shield and kill this great machine. I wondered how I could face Balthazar by the time the machine died. I had to fight waves of lesser minions, take down shield generators, and hit the thing when I could. No wonder everyone thought I had lost my mind when I said I would be doing this. But 69

really mean for Tyria? I still had to think the Eternal Alchemy made more sense, since human gods could be destroyed, chained in the mists and chosen humans could become one. I knew this would throw human religion on its ear if it hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t started to already.

here I fought, so close to facing the god himself. I had to clean this up and get on with the fight with him before I ran out of stamina to keep on going. Finally, I got to face him. The battle became a blur of fire everywhere, lots of pain, definitely broken armor and somehow I managed to damage him. Then I reached a point that it seemed like I could not do it when Aurene showed up. What was she doing

here? Such a young dragon trying to fight a god who had so easily taken care of her older sibling. I did not want her to get in the fight and lose her, but in the end she supplied a power that allowed me to break through one of Balthazarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s defenses. What felt like eons later, the god fell. I, a crazy Asuran elementalist with a sword called Sohothin, had felled a god. So if human gods could be defeated like this, what did that

I stood there with all my armor broken again. I did not like that trend even if I came out the other side with a victory. I saw mighty Balthazar exploding and then Kralkatorrik checking me out before I let myself fall over with exhaustion. Of course, this led to a huge celebration in Amnoon, which I had to attend and give a speech. It seemed they forgot my height and had a human sized podium and nothing for me to stand on. The remedy came a bit late. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not sure what happened to the servant who did not get it there in time.

Before my speech, I did get to mingle and find out information. I also got a lot of tips on what to say or not say in my speech. I got suggestions to stay vague to putting out the full truth, which Rytlock suggested the latter. One of the Sunspears knew the gods had abandoned them, but was not ready for how the masses would respond to knowing that. I decided on being somewhat vague with truth. The humans could figure out their god stuff without my help. I just got rid of the one that would have ruined the world for sure. Two things did amuse me. Grand Vizier Utumishi had to run off upon realizing he had helped

me and not the Archon. Then Captain Ellen Kiel and Zalambur had hit it off upon meeting and had business designs in the works. The former felt like some icing on my cake and the latter I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want the details of. I needed a break, but who knew what Kralkatorrik would do. I wanted to make sure Aurene recovered okay and could keep training to grow up to be a dragon that would continue to help Tyria. Not to be forgotten by anyone, Kralkatorrik did fly over after the fireworks display. I had a feeling any vacation I got would not last long. THE END 71

Gaiscioch Targets Tamriel for its Next Major Community Event By: Benjamin “Foghladha” Foley

Chapter 1: Hroldin’s Legacy From the bowels of the Black Marsh, heroes are forged. A band of strangers rallies to the call of battle to make a stand against Molag Bal, preventing the destruction of Tamriel. Legend has it that Hroldin the first of the Direfrosts, possessed three relics that were imbued with great power. Hroldin’s sword never missed its mark and could shatter any metal. His cloak gave protection to his people, such that they would never be attacked by an outside force. His crown brought wealth and prosperity to his people. In his final days, he tasked his bravest warriors to scatter these relics across the land. One to Skyrim, one to the Black Marsh, and one to Morrowind. His hope was that the witches he had hunted for the length of

his life, would never find these relics and possess their power. Alas, years later we stand on the brink of destruction as Molag Bal tears Tamriel apart. The relics must be reunited and brought to the resting place of Hroldin in Windhelm, where the prophecy states a great king will rise from blood and battle and will become the savior of the people of Skyrim. Our adventure begins with an unsuspecting slaver, by the name of Rendrasa, who’s about to find his business turned upside down when a band of warriors frees an Argonian that stumbled on information about the location of Hroldin’s Sword.

A Public Community Adventure Series Through the course of the event series we hope to explore some of the unknown chapters in the Elder Scrolls universe, while providing an entertaining 2-hour event to the Elder Scrolls Online Community. The event will focus on defeating world bosses and dark anchors with the occasional trip to a nearby skyshard. For participating in each event, players will earn a raffle ticket for the grand prize raffle, as well

as an entry into the weekly and chapter raffles. Prizes will range from a hundred thousand gold to several million. If the event is successful and players wish to continue, Chapter 2 will head to the Aldmeri Dominion to connect another piece of the puzzle. We hope that players enjoy this highly social event, and we welcome feedback on how we can improve the experience.

Join the Adventure at: https://www.chroniclesoftamriel.com/

NIGHTMARCHERS: A Trip to Hawaii? Yes Please! By: Radiologikal Almost everyone that I know has added “take a trip to Hawaii” to their bucket list. I mean, who wouldn’t want the opportunity to immerse themselves into beautiful landscapes, gorgeous beaches, unique history, and legends abound, right? Wyrmbyte Studios has given us that chance in their newest title NIGHTMARCHERS, but with a small twist. Pack your bags and take a trip with me while we explore Hawaii as it was never meant to be.

NIGHTMARCHERS is a single player open world, third person over the shoulder rpg shooter, set in a post apocalyptic Oahu with mysticism and authentic Hawaiian lore. The game has a very familiar feel to it as it draws its map style and combat from most others in the same genre. Wyrmbyte Studios does offer a bit of a change with an actual map of Oahu, with over 500 square miles to explore, the addition of the Uhane Vision mechanic, which allows you to scout without

being seen, and mana as a source of power to use your mystical abilities and skills. In NIGHTMARCHERS, you control the character Kai, a Hawaiian native who loses his son and is resurrected by Pueo the spirit shaman, after a fierce battle with a cult that follows the corrupted pig god Kamapuaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;a. Kai must traverse the post apocalyptic Oahu with his newly found mystical Uhane Vision and the powerful weapons bestowed to him by the Akua, Hawaiian gods. With the help of his guardian spirit Pueo, Kai must rebuild the desecrated Heiuas throughout the landscape to gain the blessings of the gods of those shrines. With over 40 skills to unlock, it benefits Kai greatly to visit and rebuild these Heiuas. The goal is to rebuild Oahu as you see fit by capturing, befriending, or developing the vast amount of settlements you come across in the authentic Oahu environment promised by Wyrmbyte. You will encounter different factions throughout the landscape that you may choose to help or attack, which ultimately drives the story in the direction you choose. Wyrmbyte has also provided you with ever changing encounters, based on the decisions you make including which skills you unlock.

If you enjoyed playing games like Farcry or Fallout, NIGHTMARCHERS could be described as a fusion of the two, set in an authentic real world environment which gives it a more immersive feel. Play as a benevolent savior of all, a ruthless warlord seeking revenge for his lost son, or choose a faction to help thrive after the cataclysm that rocked Oahu and separated it from the rest of the world. With a multitude of weapons, both real and mystical, dive into a unique twist on a popular genre in Wyrmbyte Studiosâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; new title NIGHTMARCHERS.

A Return to Mordor in Shadows of War By Don “Donaliam” Rush

In Issue 3 of Gaiscioch Magazine, I reviewed Shadow of Mordor. The first game was very well done, and I enjoyed many hours of slaying orcs and uruks. When I read that Monolith Productions was putting out a sequel to Shadows of Mordor, I wasn’t sure if they could improve the previous game. Monolith Productions sure surprised me because Shadow of War was an incredible improvement.

Shadows of War begins with Talion still infused with the ghost Celebrimbor, forging a new Ring of Power in the Fires of Mt. Doom. As the ring is finished, Celebrimbor is taken and held by Shelob. To free Celebrimbor, Talion hands over the Ring of Power to Shelob. From here is where your story begins, taking you to Minas Ithil to find a Palantír.

The gameplay was an improved version of the same gameplay in Shadow of Mordor. The combat in the first game was pretty smooth and fairly easy to get used to. The sequel improved the combat. I didn’t think it was possible but Monolith found a way. The actual fighting was a lot smoother and new combinations of skills were added. With the addition of new skills, new challenges arose from the enemies you faced. The lower rank troops were pretty easy to fight against, even when facing 4-1 odds. I could handle up to 6 enemies at a time. However if one of the grunt level troops manages to kill you, you’ve just created a veteran. This is the nemesis system that Monolith introduced in Shadow of Mordor.

in your army, you can send them off to fight other veterans, weakening the fortress. Now that you’ve built this army, it’s time to siege. But wait... one of your troop leaders decides to betray you and you have to fight him off. Sometimes you get a chance to forgive them and let them back in your army, but I never took advantage of that. Betray me and you die. Now that you have successfully sieged the fortress and killed its leader, it’s time to move on to the next fortress and repeat this process. One thing to watch out for is the enemy can retake zones you have conquered.

Each zone acts like a small sandbox. You can complete story related missions, side missions, and collection items, or you can just run around The nemesis system creates an NPC that and kill veterans. From the veterans you can get essentially levels up each time they kill you. This better gear and weapons, as well as augments system in the first game added a great and fun for your weapons and armor. There is also the challenge. In the sequel, the system improved, loot crate option from the cash shop but it is not as well. So you’ve been killed by this grunt, he’s needed. The dropped gear I have found as been now a veteran. From here you have a choice after pretty good. No need for the loot crates. There respawn, to take revenge or continue on your are two types of loot crates, the ones bought with quest. real money and crates you can buy with in-game currency. A new mechanic that was added for Shadow of War was sieging an entire zone. Before you can As I continue to play and explore the story, take over the main keep in the zone, you need an landscapes and battles, I find that I am really army. To build an army, you need troop leaders. enjoying the game. As a fan of the Tolkien stories, In Shadow of Mordor, you could temporarily take I really did not mind this little side story and over enemy veterans, and get them to fight with adventure. I mean, who doesn’t love the idea of you for a short time. This time you can control leaping off a tower and stabbing an Orc? and recruit the Veterans to join your army. Once

In Loving Memory of Pops:

The Man Who Conquered Time 1949-2018 It’s rare that you stumble upon a man so genuinely kind that it radiates off of him and makes others kind. Wally “Pops” Anderson was that kind of man. In the time I’ve known him he has always put others first.

reminder that he needed to make every second count. He poured his soul into helping others and being a positive influence in people’s lives. He wrote several inspirational articles for Gaiscioch Magazine to help carry his message to others.

In 2012 a RIFT character named Redhot approached me after one of our Telara Saga events and began to ask about the Gaiscioch Community. After a few moments of talking he asked if he could join us, but he wanted to be honest up front. He told me that his doctors told him he had months to live… two years ago. He wanted me to be aware that he was “past his expiration date” and he could go at any time.

News of his passing came to us through his daughter. A week before, he had been moved to a full time care facility, so we knew things weren’t going great. Even still, the news of his passing cast a wave of grief upon us. We knew we were on borrowed time, and knew this day would come sooner than we wanted. That didn’t stop us from feeling like there was a gaping hole in our heart.

I knew this and I kept it close to heart, knowing that each and every day I shared with Pops could be his last. He spent the final years of his life taking care of others. From the day I met him, I knew he was what I looked for in the Elder role of Gaiscioch. He put others before himself. He went out of his way to be a friend to people both in game and out. At one point, he even bought a member a new laptop so they could continue playing with us as they fell on hard times. He played an instrumental role in our community alpha testing of 78

Guild Wars 2, Elder Scrolls Online, Echo of Souls, Archeage and Black Desert Online. He was a major investor in Camelot Unchained and Ashes of Creation, purchasing top tier packages for each of these games, knowing he may never be able to play them. He believed in the Gaiscioch way of life, the morales we teach to our members, and lived as a shining example of who a Gaiscioch member should be. Pop’s heart was huge and his commitment toward family and his friends could not be questioned. He was also tough as nails. For a man that was “past his expiration date” he went on to live eight years longer than doctors thought he could. He did this not wearing it like a badge on his sleeve, but as a

I look back at all he taught me about understanding people and life in general. His stories were humorous yet had deep meaning. I am so grateful that I was able to share a part of my life with him. He will certainly live on through all of us. A man isn’t remembered for what he had, he is remembered for what he gave. Pops gave it all and wanted nothing in return. We thank him for deciding to join our family and will hold his memory close to heart for generations to come.

Courage and Kindness Hallmark the Life of Findan 1976-2018 It is with heavy heart that we announce the passing of Paolo “Findan” Aceto, a well known and loved event leader in Guild Wars 2. He lead more than 240 events over the course of his 4 year Gaiscioch membership conquering more than 4,500 objectives. His dedication and leadership were major factors in becoming one of the first to obtaIn the Laoch rank in the Gaiscioch Community. After running with Findan for the first time on June 24th 2014, Aislinne commented: “Fin led our squad in the best tradition of GSCH with calm clear direction and an eye on team & map strategy. He welcomed allies & questions while keeping the team on focus taking our objectives all done in a light-hearted, FUN atmosphere. This was a great run and a great team to learn from and be a part of - the essential essence of GSCH. “

came on December 19th, 2017, and by January we began fearing the worst. On February 12th, 2018 we learned he had just passed away. His heart stopped and he passed into the peace of slumber.

to help players complete jumping puzzles, clear the odd dungeon or even lend a sound ear and heartfelt advice.

Quotes like this were not uncommon. His Gaiscioch.com profile is filled with positive words, inspiring words, and a good measure of who Findan was.

In November of 2014, Findan was involved in a tragic car accident caused by a stroke with pulmonary embolism in Johannesburg South Africa, which left him in a coma for several months. The embolism scarred his lungs, which caused heart failure. Last November they attempted to remove the scar tissue from the lungs but it did not go as planned and he was hospitalized again. Within a few months all seemed to be going well and he was able to return to his new home in Cape Town to live with his father.

His affinity was dwarfed and friendly times he took

He was able to make a brief reappearance in Guild Wars 2 and even lead a couple small events. His last visit to our community

towards leadership by his charismatic personality. Many time out of his day

Findan’s loss is heartbreaking. However, nobody can say he didn’t go out without a fight. For more than two years he fought for his life and even managed to make time to come say hi to the community and lead a few events. Findan was strong willed, friendly, and never bowed to a challenge. Let us remember him for his courage and helpful nature. We encourage all players of Guild Wars 2 to leave their thoughts and memories on the official forums, we will be archiving the page and placing it in a book for his family. You can also leave comments on our YouTube video of his memorial in Guild Wars 2. Members of Gaiscioch can visit Findan’s profile and leave your words on his leadership page. Findan will not be forgotten. He has become a part of so many of our lives and has shaped our futures with his kindness. He will live on through us and be our guide as we continue his legacy. Rest well my friend, we shall meet again.

Save Yer Own Skin By Ricardo Ramos

The forest was calm. The soft rustle of leaves, stirred by the light breeze, was disturbed only by the occasional chirp of a bird. But the woods were far from still. A small shadow moved imperceptibly through the brush, paused to sniff the air, then stalked on. Elf is close. The sharp sound of a twig breaking made the shadowy figure tense. Uirzubrughul curse dem 80

orcs, he muttered under his breath. The small, wiry goblin turned his head back in the direction of four larger, darker shapes that were following him from a distance. Da chief sent four brutes with Ting, yes they is, the goblin thought. So much the better, elf dies quick. He glared at the warriors with his best menacing look, turned his back on them, and disappeared behind a tree trunk. Ting tried to recall the form of

the elf he had spotted a few days before near the Sunhigh clearing. Eh, elf cloak was not green, but Ting donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t remember what color cloak was. He scratched his head, then shrugged. Elf had thick green and blue lines on his face, yes he had, like warrior paint. Ting spot first, tell chief. Chief think very important finding, order kill elf before elf can bring more warriors. Ting be a great hero when Ting bring dead elfâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s head back.

The smell was faint, but it was there. The goblin was anxious, and had to refrain from picking up the pace. Orcs not able to catch up with Ting without thrashing through forest like wounded bulls. Elf’s ears will surely hear. He grinned a crooked, sharp-toothed grin, picturing the big warriors in a hypothetical battle, drawing all the elven arrows to them, while he slipped right past the eagle-sighted enemies. The goblin stopped short. He had almost stumbled into the rocky clearing. Heh, elf dumber than orcs, Ting pondered, peering through the leaves of a firebush. Barely ten paces from him, perched atop a round boulder, the figure of an elf sat lost in thought, his back turned towards the goblin. Ting grinned evilly. He pulled a nasty-looking, curved dagger from his crude belt, then motioned for the orc band to get closer. Curse dem heavy feet, Ting thought as the four reached his side too noisily for his taste. The elf, however, didn’t even tense. Ting relaxed a little. Now we kill pointy-ears before he can open his mouth to say Uirzubrughul. He looked at the leading orc and nodded with an impish smile. The bigger warrior looked at the others and raised his hand. It was then that Ting caught a glimpse of movement from the corner of his eye. Goroth! What was that? He opened his mouth to stop the attack, but the orcs were already charging at full speed, guttural war cries preceding them.

The elf on the boulder never moved. A wide-eyed Ting watched as the four orcs swung wildly with their curved, jagged swords and found… nothing. The sitting elf was gone like smoke blown by the wind. Immediately, they all heard the wheezing sound of an arrow slicing through the air, followed by a wet thump coming from one of the orcs. The wounded orc tried futilely to grasp at the silveredfeathered shaft protruding from his back, then slowly sank to the ground, gurgling noises coming from his throat. Stupid tricky elf, Ting thought, not yet ready to reveal his position. Better let dem big orcs tire elf first. The remaining orc warriors threw themselves to the ground, desperately looking for cover behind the scarce boulders strewn about the clearing. Warriors know how to fight. They gonna kill puny elf. As if on cue, the three orcs jumped up with knocked bows in hand and fired in unison at the trees, aiming at the general direction the elven arrow had come from. Two of the missiles flew right through the foliage, failing to hit anything. The third, however, seemed to have found its target, for one short breath later something heavy crashed through the branches and fell with a muffled sound among the trees. Good good good, the goblin celebrated silently, still hidden among the brush. Although quite a few leaves blocked his vision,

he thought he could see an arrow sticking out of the body. Ting gonna be a hero now. He watched with satisfaction as the three orcs dropped their bows, grabbed their blades from the ground, and lumbered forward to hack at the corpse of the fallen elf. The head, the head, pleaded the goblin wordlessly, cut his head off! The first orc to get to the corpse did not even have time to gasp in surprise before a wooden staff swung from the tree above, producing a loud crack. The unfortunate warrior staggered back a few paces, his head at an odd angle with his body, then slumped to the ground in a crumpled heap. The other two backpedaled quickly, looking at their companion in confusion. Ting stuck his head out of his leafy cover to take a better look at the fallen elf. Uirzubrughul and Goroth take this demon to their lair. The “corpse” was nothing more than a backpack, punctured not by a black orc arrow, but a silver-feathered one. At that instant they saw their adversary for the first time. An elf in a dirty brown jerkin and a plain gray cloak dropped from a low branch, a dark wooden quarterstaff in his hands. His face was painted with green and blue lines on his cheeks, and his eyes showed a wild glint. The elf rested the tip of his weapon on the floor, letting it fall in the crook of his left arm while the orcs tried to decide whether to attack or flee for their lives. Get him, get him, wimps, Ting thought exasperated. 81

He watched, horrified, the elf mutter a few words in the spidery language of magic, accompanied by strange hand gestures. The orcs raised their weapons as if to ward off an attack, but the elf simply crouched slightly and touched his soft leather boots with both hands. As he straightened back up, he slowly raised a finger to one of the orcs, who immediately turned and bolted, afraid of the deadly elven magic. Ting cursed one more time. The other orc stayed his ground and lunged for the elf, but again found nothing but air. Their pointy-eared foe had jumped forward and up, impossibly high for an elf - or anyone else over the lunging orc’s head. Ting watched incredulously as the elf crossed the clearing in an arch, and landed, quarterstaff first, against the back of the fleeing orc. The orc slammed against a boulder, gasping for air that had no room to get into his lungs. He dropped to the ground with a smashed chest cavity. Elven demon don’t fight fair! But elf just get dem orcs by surprise. Now elf has to fight, and then big orc warrior kill it. Elf has stupid woody stick, orc has blackpoisoned blade, heheh. The goblin rubbed his hands in anticipation. The elf rolled on the rocky ground and clambered onto his feet, wincing at the pain from a wide gash on his side, caused by a razor-sharp rock. Ting clenched his fists in triumph. Elf is bleeding, orc warrior will kill him fast now. 82

As the last orc made his way across the clearing, the elf grasped a crystal amulet that dangled over his chest and murmured what it sounded to Ting like the tribe’s Shaman praying. Ting’s smile faded as he saw the bleeding stop and the gash close. Elven demon regenerate like trolls! The elf had barely enough time to finish his prayer when the remaining orc closed the distance, charging with an overhead swing that had enough force to cleave the elf in two. Ting’s smile returned. At the last moment, the elf put one leg back firmly on the ground and raised the quarterstaff above his head with both hands, to block the blade. The ringing sound of metal against metal echoed through the forest. Ting raised an eyebrow. What cursed stick is dat? The elf rotated the staff and hit the orc hard between his legs with an upward blow. The orc grunted and his legs wavered. Goroth, Goroth, what will Ting do? Ting can’t go back and say five warriors of the tribe were defeated by one elf. Ting gonna be skinned alive! Ting has to come up with something. Use brain, Ting! The elf pulled back the quarterstaff and aimed the tip of his weapon at the throat of the remaining orc. His foe desperately tried to lift his blade to ward off the blow. The orc was too slow. Breathing hard, the elf surveyed the clearing, making sure all the orcs were out of action. Abruptly he

turned around, then made his way back to his belongings. Looking over his shoulder, Ting watched as the pointy-eared figure heaved a long sigh and shook his head in frustration, then bent down to pick up the contents of his backpack. *** Ting was a happy goblin. The tribe had had a feast that night, with the carcasses of two deer they had found. Ting had been the centre of all attention. He told them in full detail how he and the four orc warriors had managed to defeat a regenerating elven demon that dwelled in the Sunhigh clearing. It had been a terrible fight and he alone had survived. When he was asked by suspicious elders if he had indeed fought and not fled, Ting had smiled his best devilish grin and produced a piece of skin. The skin was scaly and silver, from an animal like no other the tribe had ever encountered. It had to be the demon’s because its name was written on it in scrawled symbols. As the skin passed from hand to hand, Ting relished in retelling for the tenth time how he had backstabbed the demon as the last of the orcs fell. Later, as he sat on the floor of his new tent holding the proof of his victory, Ting tried to make out the symbols etched into the skin. Holding a twig, he slowly and carefully reproduced them on the dirt in front of him: D… u… i… t… h… a… l. The goblin silently vouched never again to venture anywhere near the rocky clearing.

What the Gaiscioch Values Have Taught Me By Lord Melchom

The five years that I have been a part of the Gaiscioch have taught me so much about becoming a better person and giving me a new outlook on life. The values that one learns while part of the community are ones that transcend games as they teach you to become a better person. One of those values is the ‘think We, not Me’. This value teaches us that one should think about the greater picture and the wider community instead of doing something only for yourself. This has followed me both in games and in real life. I remember a time when finals were coming up for a history test. There was a classmate of mine who was worried about the final exam. I told her that I would study with her and that we would help each other study for the final exam. We met in the library to study for the final exam that night, and another classmate was there and spotted us. I remembered one of the family values at this time about thinking we not me and I invited the other classmate over to our table. We all studied for our final exam that night, each of us going over our notes and having a good time. The second person was a classmate I never really spoke to up until this point, but yet we bonded. It was because of the values Gaiscioch taught me, that on that day I was not thinking of me, but I was thinking of both of my classmates. I could have been selfish about making plans with my classmate, but instead I included both of them. Another example was in a game called Warframe. A clanmate was asking for a piece for a weapon he was building so he could complete it. I happened to have that piece and I invited him to the Dojo or guild hall as they are called in other games. Once there we traded and he asked me, “How much do I owe you?” I told him he owed me nothing. He said, “Are you serious?” and I said, “Yes, I am”. He gave me a common mod which is a mod that drops in every mission in the game and thanked me over and over again for showing kindness, saying that he owed me one. Even then I said no. Around Christmas time, during a

Warframe sponsored event, I asked a clanmate what her favorite frame was. She told me it was ember, so without her knowing I looked at the skins you could buy and bought her one and sent it to her as a gift. When she received it she was shocked as she was not expecting anyone to give her the skin she had wanted for a long time. She thanked me and thanked me for it, but I asked nothing in return for it. It was my gift to her. She was speechless for a time as I had made her night. At that moment right there I realized just how much this community had taught me about not being selfish and to give without expecting anything in return. It is about being a better person, a better gamer.

“Gaiscioch is more than a guild to me, it is a family that has taught me values and those values have made me into a better man. Those values have helped me become a better person outside and inside of games.” Before I joined this family I would not have thought to do anything like this. I was a typical gamer that grew up with the Me Attitude. I used to only think about myself when it came to playing games, but then I joined this family in 2012... and it was a slow process but over time that Me became We. In games this has turned into me helping the community out and thinking not about myself, but about everyone around me. How can I help a new player who just started? It also applied to real life as well, helping classmates with their exams and projects. The lessons learned to go beyond just games. Gaiscioch is more than a guild to me, it is a family that has taught me values and those values have made me into a better man. Those values have helped me become a better person outside and inside of games. So I want to thank you Gaiscioch. Thank you for making me a better person, thank you for teaching me values that go beyond gaming, and teaching me about honor, respect, and fellowship. 83

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