Features of Legacy General FAQ

All of the most frequently asked questions of the guild. If a question you have is not answered here, be sure to message us on Discord.

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How active is Legacy?

We started during the month of May in 2010 and have been growing our core steadily. In just the past 2 years we have received over 3000 applicants. While we cannot accept everyone, we are proud to say we are over 200 strong. We stay very busy constantly playing the latest large-scale PvP titles, from survivals to MMOs.

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What are the basic rules of the guild?

While we provide a charter and SOP, the basics are as follows: No racism, no bigotry in general, no politics or religion. If you are banned in-game, you are banned from the guild. Otherwise we allow most other discussions. Rules specific to raiding, PvP and more are posted privately to the members, but cover most common-sense matters as you’d expect.

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Does your guild support all types of players (Casual, Hardcore) etc?

Yes. You will find that in our events we schedule multiple “tiers” of raids and events in general. As a casual member for example, you can easily look at our integrated calendar and pick which events are accepting lower tiered players (assuming you’re not well-geared yet) and apply to be a part of those events. Hardcore players in a similar fashion look at the calendar and sign-up for more involved progression raids or PvP sieges.

How do you handle cliques?

While we do run dedicated smaller squads for events, we prioritize swapping out members as needed for completing the “chemistry” of the group. For example, in your squad you may know everyone, but don’t get along with certain individuals. We offer a system that allows you to submit suggestions to changing the group, which ultimately goes through your squad leader. For leadership, our officers and “council” as we call it are swapped and adjusted monthly to allow for fresh faces. It is not uncommon for a brand new recruit to be on council for a month shortly after joining. More opinions equal better guild development.

Will there be a member cap for Legacy?

No. We have created a system to grow with the guild should we hit mechanical limits in-game. While the goal is to intentionally fill a primary single guild, we will not close off our borders to friends and family members of our current roster. We intend on having extra “alt” guilds for this purpose. In an extreme scenario in which we absorb another guild or similar, we will make accommodations for a secondary guild.

What are the goals of Legacy?

Our primary goal is always to claim castles if present or similar. We will not do this without proper preparations to hold it however. If delaying a castle ensures that when we do take it – we keep it – then that is the plan. We are no strangers to the geopolitical scene of holding and managing castles with friends and enemies alike. Beyond making our image and name known via a castle, we intend on capitalizing on trade and individual member wealth, via whichever process prioritizes that – let it be raids or PvP.

How does Legacy handle drama?

All of our members are setup into logistical squads first and foremost. That means when there is an issue of any degree with a player or guild mechanic, that squad member is asked to first go to his or her lead first. If the issue warrants it, it is escalated to the officer who oversees multiple leads. More serious cases of course can bypass steps here, but we try to use common sense and delegate out properly. If the issue is smaller, we hope it is handled on a smaller scale – usually far more quickly than waiting for the guild leader to manage it days later.

What timezones do Legacy play in? Are you an NA or EU guild?

Legacy is classified as an NA-EST guild. This means we primarily start our events past 6PM EST. We accept members across many continents, but recommend they ensure they can participate in our events. Within the EST primetime frame, we run multiple “blocks” for raids and PvP. What this means is if you are someone that cannot stay up past midnight, there are earlier events available to you. If you are a night owl, there are dedicated event leads running them well past midnight for you as well.

What is the typical age-range of members in Legacy?

Legacy tends to consist of older members, usually college-age or professional. We do not have a hard-line “we only recruit 18+” like newer guilds out there, mainly because there is not a realistic way to vet someone’s age – and frankly we don’t feel its our business to ask. What we do compare however is general feel for maturity, and how individuals handle conflict-resolution.

How do the ranks within Legacy work? How can I progress in the guild?

We have been around a long time and feel having 25+ ranks for trivial items is not only a waste of our time, but yours. The ranks we do offer are based off emprically-measurable bulletpoints that we provide our members. For example, a recruit connecting their Discord ID to our spreadsheet/DKP system is what we call a “Core” member. We put together groups of core members into what we call “squads” – which are used for logistics and PvP purposes. Those squads are led by a “squad lead” or just “lead” for short. Groups of leads are organized and supported by an “Officer” which manages the day to day tasks of the squads. They manage their needs, attendance, performance and similar. All of the officers themselves are overseen by the GMs, or Guild Leaders. The structure is simple and is as accessible as your effort put into it.

Beyond the basic “rank” we offer titles. Titles are earned through a variety of tasks but are meant to be a progression path for members. For example, PvP titles are earned and accredited through tournaments and duels with other members. In this example, you progress through titles by challenging higher titles to 1v1 combat. This leads to fun events for the guild when popular PvPers put their skills to the test.

We offer title-tracks for PvE progression, wealth, and more as well. We encourage our members to “collect” them and have fun with it.

How are you organizing crafting? How do I get involved in the logistics of the guild?

As a member from day 1, we ask you via the form what part of the logistics process you might be interested in. That question is important as it places you in a “chain” within our system and allows you to participate in an elaborate system of providing for members within the guild.

As a basic example, imagine you signed up and claimed that you wanted to be a “gatherer”. On a daily basis one of your tasks within the guild would be to check the “work board” (name tbd) and look for other members needing gathered materials. In Ashes of Creation, you can only really effectively focus on one of the 3 trees, gathering, processing, or crafting. There will almost always be a processor that can gather wood for example, but is not as specialized as you and needs large amounts of it, or similar. That’s where you step in! If you look on the work board you will see requests for wood from all levels of the guild, and even possibly from the leadership itself (called “Imperial requests”).

Once you’ve seen the board, you can spend time fulfilling those requests, earning money straight from other members and expediting the process. Alternatively, other people in other guilds are gathering random resources hoping to sell them in a short amount of time. You on the other hand can layout your entire night knowing exactly what guild members need and obtaining an immediate profit.

For those focusing on processing and crafting, it gets even more involved, but the same basic principle applies – instead of paying a premium across the lands and seas, you can buy direct by placing “requests” for processors and gatherers to fulfill, and know exactly where to get it in a timely manner for your crafts.

Do I need certain credentials to join the guild?

When someone applies we mainly (exceptions apply) look at their posting history, and general overall gaming history. We are not one of those guilds that believe being a “top WoW” player necessarily means you are going to be a top player in Ashes of Creation. Likewise, we believe some of the best AoC players we see now will have made this their very first MMO. A general metaphor we use to explain recruitment is to “cast a wide net, catch a lot of fish, then make them all swim upstream”. What this generally means is you never know which new recruit will shine to be above the rest, so we give most individuals a first chance. We add layered requirements over time, especially in the first months, and cast away the players that are not driven to succeed.

Many of our best players that have traveled with us MMO to MMO were exactly the “unknown” guy we recruited years ago, who went into launches blowing away everyone else in the guild.

Do officers get preferential treatment for loot and similar? How do I get loot in Legacy?

That is a quick and easy no. Some of our officers may be among the best players in a given category, but it is not assumed that officer = performance in PvP or similar.

We run a modified-DKP system that attributes not only your raw attendance but the “value” of an event you have attended. For example, if you participated in a raid that was worth 100DKP for attending, you not only earned 100DKP but in our guild also earned a “value” above that we call GKP or GP for short. Anything that drops during that raid, or any value added to the guild for that raid’s performance is put into a pot, and then divided by the members involved. On a simple example (without pulling out spreadsheets) if a single item dropped during the event worth 500 gold, and there were 5 members present, each member not only earned the DKP flat value, but also 100GP for the event.

Why do we have this second number? It shows a more clear picture on members and their performance towards progressing the guild. For example, we may have a trade run we need done, which earns the guild 2000 gold in this example, but it is the most boring thing for a PvPer. If only 4 people show up to support the trade run, they would each have 500gp to their name, for advancing the guild immensely in that regard. A PvP arena event alternatively might not be worth any value to the guild beyond fun, so while immensely popular, there will be little or no GP gain at all.

What is DKP and GP used for? DKP is used for active-event loot distribution, while GP is used for members to be able to take loans and similar out of the guild coffers off-event. Someone that has worked hard in events that directly contribute to the guild should expect an ability for the guild to help them individually as well. GP provides a raw hard-coded number showing “this person works their ass off”. When he asks for the guild to spot him 1k gold for a weapon about to be listed on a market, there should be zero excuses for the guild to help him. DKP is as expected – more linear and used for active events when loot drops. It simply equates participation and provides a virtual currency to acquire loot that drops at events.

DKP is used to bid in a blind auction in Legacy. If an item drops and you are present, you are able to bid on the item and unknown amount to others. If your bid is the highest, the item goes to you, and the DKP sum is subtracted from your total DKP count. DKP in Legacy is earned not only in PvE raids, but PvP events and more.

How can I improve myself in Legacy? What if I am not as good as others and need help?

As stated above, we offer events for a variety of members. We separate these varieties in “tiers” based on their gear progression, measurable skill ratings, and similar. If you are geared among the best, a well-practiced PvPer, and active, you could consider yourself to be a tier A member. You would look at calendar events and aim for that tier of events. Events will ask for all tiers, tiers of specific level, and some even specifically request lower tiers, or none at all, dubbed “fun events”. As a member in Legacy we offer an “Academy” that allows you to first be rated by a class lead in PvP or PvE. Once you are rated, you are given access to an action plan custom-tailored for you to improve in various areas. These include where to improve in gear, what drills to practice, and which courses are recommended to complete.

You may be well-geared, but have an issue with a particular skill rotation for example. Your recommendation given to you is to participate in “Class xx Mechanics II” for example, which you see on the calendar scheduled for multiple days this upcoming week or month. At this point it is up to your drive to signup to one or multiple of these courses, perfect the mechanics, and graduate those courses. These courses are provided by our very best of the best, and are not meant to be intimidating, but will not waste your time either. We promise if you perform the drills within and listen with an open-mind, you will finish with a noticeable improvement on your gameplay.

The Academy offers courses for PvP mechanics, PvE, Economic progression, and more.

When are members kicked from the guild? Can you give common examples?

Our most common scenario in which a member is removed is when they close their mind to change – simply. We often run particular builds or “meta” as they are called, and ask at our highest tiers that they respect the process and layout of the grand strategy. Not everyone wants to play with the “team” and we sometimes run into a scenario where we have to remove an individual from the event, or even worse – the guild. For most other removals, it usually involves common-sense principles, such as they went on a racist rant, attacked another member personally, sexual harassment, etc.

How is Legacy different from any other mass-recruiting “zerg” guild I see too often in MMOs?

The first thing most members notice when joining is the organization and logistics we have in place – something most zerg guilds skip past in favor of bigger numbers to throw at enemies. While we have the capability to simply throw numbers at a problem (which epicly fails for most zerg guilds) we prefer to take demographics within the guild and apply special squads to the task, whether it be a ganking squad to take care of a small skirmish, or a siege squad to handle particular parts of a large-scale siege. We are unqiue in that while we have the numbers of some of the largest guilds out there, we also field the server’s very best arena and battleground teams as well. In open world, we are able to put together 5v5 or 10v10 groups that can quickly and efficiently match any “small” or “tightknit” guild’s similar groups – simply because they do not have the logistics or intelligence provided to them of a larger guild. While we have always had over a couple hundred members, we are historically known for sending groups of 10 or 20 tops to handle a problem. We did this not only because we don’t want to waste member’s time, but also to challenge the squads involved to see their success vs other squads. In fact is was not uncommon for us to send smaller kill squads separately at targets and compare their performance dealing with numbers far greater than themselves.

The short is this: zergs don’t typically coordinate beyond “go here and kill shit”. Our engagements are multi-tiered and work like a war campaign more-so than a simple engagement. If we don’t need 30, we don’t send 30. As an event or skirmish scales up, we send in more squads to scale as needed to match numbers, and detract squads to take a break while others go in later.

How often are events run and how do I know when they are coming up/active? Is there a way to see the progress afterwards?

Events are all tracked in our guild via a Google Calendar which can output to your smartphone or even Apple device. This allows you to create custom alerts to an event coming up, like your next raid or siege. On top of this as another layer, we also run custom Discord bots that announce events ahead of time, and even remind you as the event draws near that its almost time. Not everyone has a smartphone, so as long as you can access the internet/Discord, you will always be in the know.

After events complete, our guild is unique in that you can use custom Discord commands to see the progress of the events that passed, see what loot dropped, and similar. This is especially useful if you are curious if your favorite dagger dropped for example, or want to see who participated in last night’s raid. On top of a custom profile command, you are able to see nearly everything our spreadsheets track via Discord. Want to see your DKP? What is in the guild banks? etc. You don’t need to be a spreadsheet pro to use a simple command and see everything you need.

We are also using a custom “pagerduty” application for our highest tier PvPers. This is a quick-response program that alerts our most-available members at any time of the day notifying them when there is PvP breaking out. It is not uncommon to witness us have quick and relentless reactions to all types of PvP transgressions in the open world within minutes of their initial occurrence. Our members involved in these systems are of course rewarded appropriately for always being “on call” to kill targets.

When can I kill other players? Do you have rules for open-world PvP?

We allow open-world PvP at any place and any time that the member wishes, without needing approval from any member of leadership. This is pending two very simple rules – the victim of the PvP is not someone we have listed as “friendly” or “ally”, and they are of the same level as you. We do not support or condone ganking of lowbies, nor do we allow “camping”. You are allowed to kill someone once, then you make your way to leave. If they trash talk or similar – all chains removed and you can go to town. We expect that all of our members are adults and can make most of these decisions themselves. Its simple: “Dont be a dick”.

The second and sometimes most debated rule we carry for open-world PvP is trash-talking ourselves. We do NOT allow any messages to be sent in open-world during a PvP occurrence. You are however welcome to send simply emojis such as a smiley face or “good fight” to respond to the incessant walls of text you are likely receiving. These rules only apply in the heat of the moment and in-game. We do not control what our members say elsewhere so long as they state they speak for themselves (forums and similar).

During these moments, we encourage our members to screenshot and record as much as possible, especially when they are getting slammed with hate speech and salt (drama). We maintain a “salt mine” channel in Discord to share these events and take some stress off.

So in short for the PvPers who hate reading: “good fight” and/or a smiley face is the only thing you say in open world – we typically dont give second chances to this rule. Our image and respect towards other guilds is always high-priority.

What do you do if you reach the guild cap for a game?

We track attendance of all of our meetings and events. We currently hold weekly meetings and monthly meetings, both of which we compare to activity on Discord (chatting, etc). Thankfully our bots track all of this. If someone has been in the guild for let’s say 2 months and we have not heard a word from them in any chat whatsoever, and have no seen them at a meeting, we will replace them with a more active new recruit/applicant. While we understand individuals needing to take care of IRL priorities, we also request they let us know or give us a heads up – unfortunately many do not.

Do I have to PvP in this guild? Or do raids?

We have 3 layers of PvP as defined. First there is siege/instanced PvP such as node wars or sieges where a specific number of people are present as required to take on a similar number of people in a node we are attacking or defending, such as 40v40 for example. In this PvP scenario we will have dedicated teams, and you will not be required.

The second scenario are structured PvP settings such as battlegrounds and arenas, which again you are not required.

The third example is the open-world types of PvP, such as wars against other guilds or simply defending a trade run. In the third example, depending on availability of our more streamlined PvPers, you may be asked to participate in an “all-call” to support important assets, like helping defend a trade run. In an all-call we fully expect you may not be the best PvPer, and will make sure you are in a supportive role that best suits the situation.

At what stages do I need to be active in Legacy? Can I wait until launch before getting involved?

No. We are heavily invested in having a strong alpha/beta presence and require our members to study and follow the game as close as they can until then. We would rather educated and informed members going into alpha/beta than naive gamers come launch. In short, if you are a member of Legacy, you are a scholar of the game mechanics first, and will be expected to recall information as needed without special teaching.

What node is Legacy going for? (Ashes of Creation)

We are going for whichever node best fits our overall geopolitical objectives. Many think owning a top-tier economic node could be best, others a military node. Reality is nobody knows which node is best, and we might find there is no best. If someone is looking to join Legacy specifically based on the idea we would be going for a military node for example, we’d ask they look elsewhere as we cannot promise that this early.

Does Legacy plan to be pro-actively aggressive or more passive in world PvP?

We maintain a “speak softly and carry a big stick” approach to world pvp, and guild wars in general. There has never been an instance in which we “sought out” an enemy or declared war on a guild on a whim out of boredom for example. That said, we usually maintain a fast and critical response against guilds and leaderships that look to subliminally undermine us through backroom “shit talk” and similar. We find we get along great and have no quarrels with most casual and semi-hc guilds because they tend to hold more respect towards other guilds, including our own. Typically the fights we do get involve are with guilds who do not care about rules, politics, or general respect and “run off” in their speech against any and all guilds who are trying to do their own things.

Some may see the guild name “Legacy” and assume there is an imperialistic nature in which everything would belong to our guild, but it is far from that. We tend to gravitate towards friendships and alliances with more laid-back guilds who take the politics less seriously and encourage their membership to simply have fun – while keeping things respectful. It is not uncommon for us to share our experience and resources with those guilds, small or large.

Are there any rules for streaming, or PvP in general?

We do not try to control what our streamers or youtubers produce. We feel its not our place and ask those individuals to remain unique and push their content in their way. When it comes to official sieges and intel-sensitive events, we simply ask they mute the communications channel that they may be in during the event – nothing more. There are easy ways of doing this that allow for the streamer to still hear the communications without the live stream hearing it – we are welcome to assist in this.

For everyone else in the guild as well, we maintain a rule that clearly states there is not to be any “shit talk” or anything that could be perceived as such. Something that has always been unique to us is that we only allow two responses to any verbal communication in open-world pvp: “Good fight” and/or a smiley face. We are pretty strict on this. It does not matter if they are typing walls of text, insulting your parents, or whatever they can come up with when you kill them or they kill you – you say “good fight” or say nothing at all. You can also give them a winkey face, its all in your style. Typing out anything else in an effort to get the last word, call them a noob, or similar will result in possible removal from Legacy.

Closing

While the above questions cover most of the commonly asked items, you are always welcome to contact our members in the Discord. We hope this FAQ helps with any curiosities you might have.