Curse

Hambones · Dec 24, 2008, 04:38 AM // 04:38

300 ecto.

i have a friend whose name will remain anonymous, that let me into his pvp guild when i only had 30 fame. we started off doing bspike every night for a couple weeks and i finally had gotten my rank 3! i felt so cool. we kept playing guild wars every day and night, holding halls and grinding fame. before long, i was rank 7 and he was close to rank 9. we started to do gvg. we eventually made it into champ range and farmed our champion titles, with me and him leading the team. we felt like we were at the top of the world; leading a good guild, basically like we were about to win the internet.

me and this person became pretty close friends over the time. even after games, we spent hours talking to each other about the most pointless topics, and no matter what it was we were always going on and on and on. we even shared our account info so we could level each other's characters and do bonus pack missions and such. needless to say we were going to be friends for a while.

after i returned from a break for about a year, he told me that we were going to buy a champ range guild... i said ok, cool. he also told me that he was going on a break for a month or two and i could take over the guild. sounds fine to me! well after a while, i decided to sell the guild for 100k+230 ecto. i felt really good at the time. i logged on the next morning to find everything wiped out. all my zkeys, all my ecto, all my money, gone. i still had all my armor and weapons, but nothing else. i found out that he took everything from me because of another buddy who said he was gvgin with him, not even a week after he had told me he was leaving.

i eventually made about 50 ecto of it back, it's been about 4 months since it has happened. not only did i lose my money, i lost one of my best online friends.

Ramod · Dec 24, 2008, 07:00 AM // 07:00

Some Ectos would be wonderful.

IGN: Yin Dynasty

The person that I adore the most on guild wars was my buddy Green, IGN One Ugly Green Man. He was one of the first people I met in PVP when I just started in Hero's Ascent. He helped me get started, and also invited me to his groups all the time. It's hard to get started in pvp back then, even now but I'm glad I met someone like him to help me get over the bump. We also became good friends after, and did many pve missions together. Too bad he plays wow now, I miss the good old days

.

victorian · Dec 24, 2008, 11:56 AM // 11:56

Hello!

This Christmas, I have been reminded about the things my friends have done for me - even in game. Yes, it's weird, isn't it, to have real friends in game? Having played at an awkward Australian time zone whilst never actually being Australian, I have mostly encountered awkwardness at best whilst trying to find a guild to play GvG. Added to that was my lousy connection and sub par computer (a laptop). This was when I first met my friends on GW - a bunch of koreans.

I was invited to my guild - Red Basilica [isis] purely out of luck and because I had no guild to be in, so one of my american friends who was also a friend of the koreans asked for an invite and so I was in. However, I was only a member and could only watch while they played GvG and interacted with one another. One day, however, the guild leader - miya - she invited me to join in a GvG with them purely because they did not have enough officers online. At that time, [isis] was about top 200. Long story short, I started to play with them and through a mix of having enough skill and their kind guidance I was inducted into the GvG team, it was like having friends on the internet!

The peak came when we participated in the first mAT after I joined the GvG team playing midline. Although I could not speak korean, because we were friends miya allowed me to play with them (7 other koreans) during the June mothly tournament and we placed top 16, winning us a Silver cape for the month ahead (although we lost predictably to Dark Alley in the single eliminations).

So this is a story of how a friendship allowed entrance into the pretty much top level GvG at the time, even whilst I had practically no tournament experience beforehand. And even now when most of the koreans have quit, I remember miya for one thing that she told me when I was ticked off at one of our members later in the month (many people wanted to join after we got our silver capes) - that as officers and GvG team members of [isis], we must have guild pride.

Anyway that's my story of the person who pretty much changed the way I played GW, and gave me a chance for GvG tournament experience. Aaaaaand of course the mandatory wishlist thingy: a Bone Dragon Staff (heal), but if that's outside 300 ectos, then a Bone Dragon Staff (air/water/fire)!

Was fun telling my story regardless. Have a blessed Christmas!

SNIEVES · Dec 24, 2008, 12:25 PM // 12:25

Hello

I like to wish all my guildwars friends and co-players, a wonderful merry christmas and a happy new year, in my little over to years, of playing guild wars, i have had the opportunity to enjoy the game,and to meet and play with some awesome players, like payne storm, stoney malloney, and a few others, i have learned alot form many of theses players, im 46 years, and always been facinated by roleplaying games, from back in my days in the army when i used to play dungeoins and dragons,when i used to have so much fun, role playing, the meta of gw has changed so much, and sometimes we forget its just a game, and the main reason we play this game is to have fun, its not about ,how rich or poweful you can become, but sometimes we get caught up with the turmoil, and arguments, so my wish for this christmas,is that truly someone truly deserving recieve this price that has been givin from a truly wonderful, and kind hearted individual (illfated fat), who has shown that he truly understands the meaning and purpose not only of this game but of this season, sir i tip my hat off to you, Merry Christmas!

X Shadow Reaper · Dec 24, 2008, 02:21 PM // 14:21

Wishlist:nothing much

IGN: Xs Shadow Reaper

I would like to thank my friend, IGN Fornetti Zabalo, who helped me alot when i first started Gw. At first I had kept doing quest thinking there really important (only cause I played crappy Runescape for a month ) and she was a officer in my guild then so I kept asking guildies about nobbie quests help and so on. Anyway, she came along and told the me difference between a quest and a mission and helped me get to LA ( though at first when she said about helping me to get to LA i thought she meant helping me getting to Los Angeles

). She then kindly (I know it may not be much but it was one of the nicest thing someone has done for me online) gave me a mini Temple Guardian as a present.

Sadly after I got to LA she quit for about a month or two and the whole guild collapsed so I had to find another guild.

If i do win this competion i would give large amount if not all ectos to her as a way of saying thank you.

Thank you for reading this through AND

Merry Christmas(Wintersday)!

Headchopperz · Dec 24, 2008, 02:45 PM // 14:45

dedicated panda
i think thats 1.5mil
(or if u nice the unded version =))

wtfisgoingon · Dec 24, 2008, 07:02 PM // 19:02

(sorry if my english and grammar are not perfect, as english is not my first language)

Wish List...Undedicated Kuunavang
IGN...Forestry Art

I'm not a hardcore farmer or anything, I am a person who likes to start PvE characters to get good looking gear afterwards head to PvP areas to PvP. I don't make much money in game, but 300 ectos would greatly help in improving my character's wealth and ability to obtain items I have dreamt of getting.

As for the special person in GW, it would have to be my guildie. We met around last year in Random Arenas. We realized we both had the same interests and same love for Assassins. At that time I was into Team Arenas, he was more into 1vs1 betting (as in guild scrimmages). I thought 1vs1 was kind of dumb and stupid because it was basically build wars. He changed my perspective on it, and I now realized that 1vs1 CAN work as many people disagree. It is just a different form of PvP compared to the implemented PvP styles in GW. This form of 1v1 is self reliance, and based on manipulation. They key is to have solid defense and solid offense (only this time it is by yourself) you have to fit 8 skills that satisfies both category.

Merry Christmas!

Darcryed · Dec 24, 2008, 07:06 PM // 19:06

Wishlist : 300e or the same amount in money

IGN : Edot Of Vitality
Guru name : KjataHades

About three years ago, a friend of mine recommended me to buy Guild Wars. At the moment, I had no money and thus I waited for a while. I ended up buying myself the game for Christmas 2006 and made a dervish, Cedrik Stormchaser.

I played with my dervish for a month or two, and believe or not I only managed to get to level 15 after 10-20 hours of play. I got bored with Istan and the low-level monsters, and since I was stuck there, I took a break from Guild Wars.

It took me about 6 months to get back to Guild Wars. My friend, who had taken a break too, was also coming back, and created a guild. The name was The Dwayna Followers [TDF] and I was the only member, along with my friend. He stayed for a week or two, then took another break, which made me promoted to Guild Leader. I remained a [TDF] member for a couple of months, then started looking for a PvE-based guild that would let me in.

A day or two after posting here, I got a whisper from some guy called Edot Of Vitality, a [Sage] officer. We chatted for a while, and then he said the age requirement for Sage was 18+. Unfortunately, I was only sixteen and it made me quite sad to think it'd miss the opportunity of being in a nice guild because of my age. Nevertheless, Edot said I sounded like a mature kid, and told me he'd talk with the guild leader about me.

A week later, perhaps less, he sent me another whisper, saying I would be invited, even though I was too young. So I got into Sage on that day, not sure if I'd fit into this very mature guild.

On the same day I was invited, I asked for some help with Gate of Madness, because I was aiming to the Protector title. I was really surprised when seven members of the alliance accepted to help me get Master's reward. Overall, the mission was a breeze and we kicked Shiro's butt. I must say I was quite impressed with those players' talent and knowledge of the game, as I had never played with someone else, except maybe for Chabek Village.

After beating Nightfall, I decided I needed new challenges, so I bought Proph, Factions and EotN a month or so after joining Sage. With the help of fellow alliance members, I beat those within a few weeks and thus got Hard Mode unlocked on every Guild Wars chapter. I got into vanquishing, mapping and such, and of course I always got help from the alliance when I needed it.

Since Edot invited me to the guild, I maxed both SS/LB, got all my Protector titles, capped all elite skills and got Elonian Vanquisher and Cartographer. I keep working on my titles and I know I can count on my allies. So huh, thanks Edot !

Happy Wintersday to everyone, and thanks for the nice contest.

elypta · Dec 24, 2008, 07:39 PM // 19:39

Well my wishlist would be: Some money to get my Norn Armor on my Ranger, I set a goal to make all my Caracters good looking so i am trying to do that (its hard^^)
OR I would like to have a set of some nice looking, doesnt have to be expensive ones, Bows, one of every type so i can PVP more with my Ranger.

Well the person i would like to thank is a guy that was an officer in my former guild. He wasnt the guy that invited me but he helped me a lot when i was in the guild. We often went 600 smiting, i was the smiter so it was a lame job but it was always fun talking to him. He wasnt a very good 600 but we didnt care and had lots of fun. We tried to get after the skill hunter title but after about 50 caps..we were crazy men and were doing cross campain capping we ran out of money so we stopped. We tried farming for some but that didnt work out so we stopped :P

Some funny thing to remember is organising GvG's with him. We were talking about builds for like an hour and then it took an hour to get people of the guild to join....we lost our GvG's in like 5 minutes and all the guildies quited with it so there we were.

To bad, after going on vacation for a couple of weeks i came online and he had been offline for some weeks too. The guild disbanded short after that but i had him on my friendlist. i never seen him online since which is a shame.

that was my story and hope you pick me lol

vivec66 · Dec 24, 2008, 08:07 PM // 20:07

Wishlist:300e

heyy jenn <3

-Well my story is, my friend that sits behind me in chemisty (we are both jr's at fairport highschool) ((his name is Alex .G(Dont wanna give name over internet)) well he started playing a couple months ago and i showed him my war and he was very impressed with the FoW +chaos gloves. and he said he wanted them as well, and i said "yeah np i will get them for you for christmas".
But boy was i wrong, i had no money i just wanted to help out a real life friend. ive been farming my nuts off and trying to get money for him but i've got like 50k. and i told him i will get him full fow set for his monk (ign=Woot Daddy) and chaos gloves. i've been trying to barrow money anything but its just not working out. i cant let my Real Life friend think im a looser, i promised him somthing and really hope to go through with this promise.

thank you and happy wintersday everyone ~Love Vivec

lutz · Dec 24, 2008, 08:32 PM // 20:32

Wishlist: Frog Scepter, req X Domination

I began playing back in Prophecies, and a close friend of mine from another game showed me around Guild Wars, and basically ran me through a couple missions to help me get the feel of the game. I joined his guild, and I began PvEing a lot - we finished Prophecies in about two weeks. Although he attempted to convince me there was much more left in Guild Wars PvE, I was skeptical. I didn't want to PvE further - I wanted to PvP; I was always interested in competitive play.

This is where my companion truly came through - though he was truly against PvP, he helped me by trying PvP out as well. He asked his guild friends to do the same. While I was offline, my friend participated in PvP pick up groups, learning as much as he could so that when the rest of the guild was online, they would not have to spend time doing so as well. Within two weeks, we were actively playing the Tomb of Primeval Kings (as it was called back then) and participating in Guild vs. Guild combat. I consider him one of the greatest friends to this day, largely because he played and learned something not for himself, but for other people. He rarely logs online now, since he joined the military, but when he does log on, I still go play Tombs and Team Arenas with him, and keep him updated on the current PvP meta and how much Izzy has screwed up. Though, I don't think I can ever fully repay him. He was truly a selfless spirit.

Nowadays I keep an eye out for newer PvPers in Random Arenas and such; while I don't give build advice and obvious things like that, I let players know what they're doing right and what they're doing wrong - kind of what my friend used to do. It's always been a privilege receiving some sort of direction from my companions, and I've always felt like passing it on.

A Kitten On Fire · Dec 24, 2008, 11:22 PM // 23:22

On my GW Christmas wish-list I just want 300 ecto. Plain and simple.

I would share it with my friend who has been here with me since the beginning of GW. =) I'd use the rest of it to buy the minipet I've always wanted since I was hacked and my Greased Lightning, along with everything else, was taken in August. Undedicated so I can see him in GW2.

My most respected and admired person in GW is my friend Angie, I've known her for a long time. I met her in Sardelac Sanitarium way back in the day, she still plays GW too. She had a lot of problems happening around her home at the time and we would stay up until 4 AM every day during the summer just a little North of where I live. We have helped each other a lot throughout our years of playing.

Anyways, it's pretty amazing to think that if I hadn't just pressed two buttons I never would have met a lot of my good friends, and I bet a lot of other people feel the same way.

Thank you so much for giving me and everyone else the opportunity to win such a big prize, it's nice to know that people who have enough money to do this still will. =)

~IGN: God Of Toast

Widowmaker · Dec 24, 2008, 11:56 PM // 23:56

Wishlist: Undedicated white rabbit and 300 ecto minus the cost of the rabbit.

I won't mention her name here, she is rather shy and I think she'd kill me if she knew I was here singing her praises and including her name, but I'd be happy to PM you the name if you require it for anything.

I started with Factions just over a year ago with a necro, and I have to say Factions is not the place to start learning GW, especially with a necro.

After a couple of months playing on my own I met my friend at Shing Jea Monastery, we talked for most of the night and got on well from the start. I'd been stuck at "the squid" for a little under a week, and being new with only Factions I had no heroes and no idea of quite how easy a few interrupts would make it, and over the course of the conversation the subject of me being stuck came up.

Next night I called into SJM and she asked me to join the team. As soon as I joined she grabbed a friend and dragged us to the mission outpost and did the mission in about 12 minutes. Since then we’ve helped each other over the last year getting protector and guardian, and with the other titles we've collected together we’re now both heading towards 20 titles since we decided to attempt to get GWAMM together. She showed me the game and helped me out and I’ve been showing her how to farm now that I actually know what I’m doing.

She’s the biggest reason I’ve stuck with GW as the game doesn’t really play all that well on your own, in my opinion. We’ve stuck together and moved guilds together over the time and become firm friends as we’ve chatted our way through every part of this game which has made even the hardest parts seem to fly past. She earned my respect by always being willing to stand up for her friends and always willing to lend or give out things like black/white dyes and weapons if they'd do more good elsewhere even when she doesn't have that much money.

The rabbit is for her, she’s wanted one since they were first released and I’d been hoping to get her one for Christmas, PC trouble has put an end to that plan though as I haven’t been able to play for the last month while I get a new one sorted out. The ecto would hopefully stretch enough to get us both a set of FoW, when combined with the few ecto and shards I’ve farmed, as that is about the only armour she hasn’t bought her ele and it is the only set I could get for her that would really mean anything.

----------------
A wonderful thread, I wish I were in the position to do something like this for Christmas. Thank you, Jenn.

Happy Holidays to all and I hope you all have a great Wintersday.

[email protected] · Dec 25, 2008, 01:45 AM // 01:45

I think this is really nice what you're doing, and it's the perfect time of the year to do it.

Wishlist: Fissure Armor - The armor will be for my nephew who has recently made a ranger. He is 9 years old and I think that it would be a cool Christmas gift for him. I am currently on my break from school so I am farming and attempting to raise money for it, but my break will soon be over and I am no where near my goal.

Someone very special that I met on Guild Wars was Dustin (IGN: Stza Erza, The Bat Commander). I don't remember exactly remember where we met, but I met him through another friend. He was always online trading, farming, or even vanquishing. Whenever I needed help, he came to help me out. He always showed me new farming builds and how to do them. If there was a farm that required more than one person, we would often do them together. He always kept me in the scoop of new builds and farms. He made my GW experience more fun and kept me playing longer than I would've. However, I did end up quitting mid-summer. We did keep in touch through AIM though. We chatted or talked on Ventrilo almost daily during the summer. He always messaged me about crazy ideas about learning how to hack or spamming for money and such. I thought it was funny but he seemed pretty serious about it. A while after summer, he did not log on as much and we did not get to chat. I, along with other friends that I kept in touch with, were wondering why he didn't ever log on anymore...

Sadly, about a week ago, we found out that he passed away about a month before. We were shocked. We could not believe it. We found the news article; it was undeniable. It was really true. I logged back onto GW and asked others if they had heard about it. They found out much earlier; Dustin's real life friend logged onto his account and told them. We all were shocked and couldn't believe that he is gone. I never would've thought this would happen to him, or anyone I knew. I wish I could do something to change it. He always seemed happy and joyful when I talked to him. He would bring my spirits up just by chatting with me. He has changed me forever and I will never forget who he was and how I met him.

R.I.P. Dustin Yslas
(1990-2008)

IGN: MiStah tRaN

Thank you for your time and hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!

_Nihilist_ · Dec 25, 2008, 04:33 AM // 04:33

Hello, Illfated. As always, thank you for what you do for the community, even after time away from GW.

I want to put in a bid on behalf of my friends from the Guilds and Alliances I have been a part of for the past 3 years. If I should be chosen in whole, or in part, these people have a special place in my heart, both in and out of GW. I have no 'Wish List' to give to these people, per se, I only wish to return to them in tangible form a bit of cash to help them out with their current endeavors, whatever they may be (I'll post them if I can remember - they are all working on a lot!).

I'm going to make this really brief, as I could write page after page about any one of these wonderful people:

Blayze Nightshade: main - Elementalist (my wife)
Asylum Sivermoon: main - Ranger (my former boss)
Skan Fireharted: main - Monk (my brother)
Cpt Grom: main - Warrior (posts here as masterjer1) (my brother from another mother)
Dimon Jackal: main - Dervish (Vent co-owner, Puddy's husband)
Playfull Puddycat: main - Dervish (Vent co-owner, Jackal's wife)
Chronic Lifermation: main - Monk (crazy Irishman from Cork)
Askani Shadowtalon: main - Assassin (coworker)
Bushido King: main - Monk (crazy Scot from near Edinburgh)
Rana Loane: main - Assassin (our computer tech; he fixes what I break, lol)

These people have been Guildmates and/or Alliancemates over the past 3 years I've played GW. They are the reason I keep playing. They've helped me in GW and IRL to deal with some of the worst possible bull, and kept me rolling while doing so. They all bust hump to provide everyone they know with whatever assistance is needed, be it doing quests or missions, learning how to play a profession, learning a new farm, or just being honest-to-god PEOPLE to interact with and enjoy company.

These people have all given me so much, especially in the last 2 years, when I started facing some major challenges IRL. They've been there to help me blow off steam in GW, and sometimes I've been able to return the favor, but not anywhere NEAR how much I feel I owe them for all that they've done to help me.

Again, I could write pages for each of these people... stories of missions and mishaps, laughs and tears, more than I could ever possibly think anyone could or would ever want to do for me and others.

Thank you for your time, Illfated. Please consider my wishlist to give these people something back for what they have given me, how they've enriched my experience in GW as well as letting me kick back and be myself when I was busting hump to take care of business with the cards stacked for the House.

Anything would be appreciated so that I can return the thanks that they so richly deserve.

Regards,

Nihilist Tiger

ag3ntblak · Dec 25, 2008, 05:18 AM // 05:18

Wishlist: Whatever you can give.

Someone special, someone sweet,
This person is the one, who makes me complete.
Through searing, through rain,
Of vile and jade,
She was there for me.
My love, played Guild Wars with me.

<3 Trangie La Chu

IGN: Chemical Red

Jenn · Dec 25, 2008, 07:28 AM // 07:28

Thanks folk. ENTRIES ARE CLOSED NOW.

I will review them over the next few days and contact the winner(s). I've been very ill since the beginning of December, and it isn't going away yet. If I am late in my decision, forgive me, but it's because I've been sleeping in the time I probably should have been reading!

I will do my best to have them to you by the New Year, but I can no longer make any guarantees.

Happy Christmas to everyone, and I hope that this day brings you happiness and fulfillment, and mend any ties that have been damaged.

---------------------edit below--------------------

I have decided how I'm going to do the judging. I'm going to go through each entry individually. If I think it has merit, I'm going to add it to my shortlist of possible contenders. I will do this in 3 stages, continuing to shorten the list until I feel confident that I can't shorten it anymore. I'm not sure how many people will win yet, whether it's 1 or 5, but we shall see!

Initially the deadline was Dec. 24th at 11:59:59 GMT but the entries kept coming until I shut it down at about 5:30 GMT (I think? I don't actually live in GMT!). I made the decision to review all the entries I received equally, and to no penalty of the late-comers. That being said, please do not continue to submit entries!

Stage #1 Shortlist (this does NOT guarantee any prizes)
-the numbers in the brackets are the post numbers in this thread; for easier reference)

- Operative 14 (11)
- awiedman (12)
- Scarn (16)
- Tramp (21)
- Dr Imperial (28)
- chaosincarnate87 (37)
- FengShuiDove (47)
- SquishyFTW (48) - lol <3
- Haxor (58)
- Yang Whirlwind (73)
- RiceCream (85)
- Alexander Burn Victim (111)
- I Rainy I (130)
- Aeyl (140)
- Widowmaker (153)
- Tyrael Eveningsong (155)

To those who have not made it into the shortlist, I'm sorry. There were a number of good entries that didn't make it, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing it! I'm really happy that so many people decided to partake in celebration and positive thinking. I'm deeply honoured to hear your thoughts and feelings on your friends.

To those who have made it on the shortlist, congratulations! Some qualities that distinguished your posts: well-articulated message, often the desire seemed to be more about celebrating your friend than winning, some of the stories were personal to me either in content or because we have an amazing mutual friend!

Good luck to those on the shortlist! In the next couple days I will continue to narrow it down. Check here for updates!

Jenn · Dec 29, 2008, 02:37 AM // 02:37

Stage #2 Shortlist (this does NOT guarantee any prizes)
-the numbers in the brackets are the post numbers in this thread; for easier reference)

- Operative 14 (11)
- Scarn (16)
- Tramp (21)
- Dr Imperial (28)
- Haxor (58)
- Alexander Burn Victim (111)
- I Rainy I (130)
- Tyrael Eveningsong (155)

Note: Some of the names who did not make it to stage 2 will still receive cash prizes. I just haven't decided who yet. That will be decided on after everything else has been thought through.

Congratulations to those who are one step closer! I cut about half the people out, and looks like I will be doing about the same for the final stage. Good luck to all <3

Codin The Great · Dec 29, 2008, 07:40 PM // 19:40

Good luck to you all =)

Massive Impulsa · Dec 29, 2008, 11:20 PM // 23:20

- Tyrael Eveningsong (155)

Sorry for interrupting but my coin on this fellow

very touching post