Bealtaine (May) 2013 Edition


Cead Mile Failte!

Spring is here and summer is rapidly approaching. As we near the end of the school year we will likely see a drop in activity within our community as families hit the road and go on their traveling adventures. Over the past few years we usually have seen a decline in activity from June - August, but rest assured, it always picks back up at the end of summer. For those preparing your travels and getting ready to take summer by storm, keep us posted on your adventures, post a few pictures and share a story or two. It's important that all of us keep our own families in mind and be sure that we spend time with them. As always, family comes first.

For those of us that remain, don't panic, we'll have plenty of adventuring ahead of us. In Guild Wars 2 we're unlocking Guild Challenges as we speak, we have 3 Saighdear's running and more on the horizon, and lots of new features in the games we play. So without too much long winded "fogspeak"TM lets kick this newsletter off with some current events within our family.

Double-Up Charity Event
Stuffed Animal Zerg Pushed Back To June Due To Limited Supply

Well this was a bit unexpected. While I was setting up our wishlists for our charities all of the available stuffed animals were placed on "Sold Out" status and unable to be added. I contacted Kohl's to find out when they would be resupplied and it sounds like their next wave of stuffed animals hits in June. So we will have to postpone our event a few more months while the supply camp regains supply ;). Yeah, see what I did there. :P.

PAX Prime
2013 PAX Prime Sells Out In 6 Hours

Within 15 minutes of the conference went live the 4 day passes sold out. Within an hour the Friday passes sold out, and by a hour and a half Saturday was sold out as well. For the first time in 3 years, I won't be able to be on the conference floor. However, that doesn't mean there won't be things to do. Zenimax Online has confirmed that they will be holding a party that I can get our members into if you are local or plan on being local. We're still waiting to hear which day their party will be on. If it is Saturday, our family get together will be Sunday, if it's Sunday night, our party will be on Saturday. If you're making travel plans, be sure to be available both Saturday and Sunday night. Our party will be from 8-11PM Pacific at Fado Irish Pub & Restaurant Seattle. I will keep you posted on developments.

Member Spotlight
Gaiscioch Football Quarterback Helps Disabled Veterans Find Passion in Sports.

In a new column I hope to continue over the coming months, I would like to select members who are going above and beyond and shining bright in their local communities. If you have something to share be sure to post it in our Special Announcements forum, and I'll be picking people out of the crowd for this spotlight.

This month I'd like to highlight one of our members I'm sure many of you have heard about. I met him 3 years ago on an independent (PUG) football team and instantly became friends with him. Anthony M Davis is not your average athlete. He served in the U.S. Navy as a AW Rescue Swimmer from 2000 to 2006 on the USS Abraham Lincoln. Upon returning home in 2005 he was in a car accident which ejected him from the vehicle shattering 2 vertebrae in his spine.

He awoke in a Seattle hospital a month later from a coma to be sent home with a wheelchair and a pamphlet on dealing with paralysis. His doctors said he would never walk again, and would be bound to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. But his story did not stop here. 18 months after his accident Anthony began to feel sharp pain in his feet when he applied pressure to them. He grabbed the rail in his house and pulled himself to his feet. Using the pain in his feet as a guide he threw his legs forward one after another step by step.

Today he continues to use this pain in his feet to be able to walk and even run. In 2009, Anthony was invited to the Military Paralympic Camp where he gained interest for Rowing. They recruited him and assigned him a coach and his first race 2 months after learning how to row timed in at 12 seconds faster than the top time in the Beijing Olympics. After that he rowed in 3 races in Portland in 2010 and in April of 2011 he went to Oklahoma City to train for the U.S. National Rowing Team. He raced in Princeton and took first place solidifying his place on the U.S. National Rowing Team. From there he went to the World Championships in Adaptive Rowing where he placed 9th in the world.

Most recently Anthony has taken his story to other disabled veterans to encourage them to rise up against adversity and find a new enjoyment in life after tragedy. Over the past few weeks Anthony has been featured on the nightly news by several stations in Portland, Oregon and is having a feature written about him in a magazine. Anthony hopes to become a public speaker bringing his story to audiences worldwide. We salute your achievements Anthony and are very proud you call yourself Gaiscioch.

Learn more about Anthony's story at:
http://www.gaiscioch.com/tavern/family_news/post_57076.html

To post exciting news in your own life please post your stories and achievements at:
http://www.gaiscioch.com/tavern/special_announcements/

Monthly Meeting Lineup
This Months 101 Topic: The Marketplace

Join us on May 11th for one of our monthly meetings on RaidCall 1101. You can download RaidCall at www.RaidCall.com.

  • 12:00pm PDT: Join us for the Marketplace 101 Livestream
  • 1:00pm PDT: Warlord Rank 5+ Round Table
  • 2:00pm PDT: Elder Meetings
  • 5:00pm PDT: Gaiscioch Family Summit (Bring your questions and get answers absolutely free!)

If you missed last month's Gaiscioch Family Summit you can listen to it at:
http://www.gaiscioch.com/about/ceannard_notes.html

Also be sure to check out the Participation System 101 Overview and Video at:
http://www.gaiscioch.com/about/fellowship_ranks.html

Gaiscioch Merchandise
New Items Hit The Merchandise Section

This month we launched our new and improved merchandise section along with some new member designs and embroidered items. Check out these new items.

Each month I will try to feature some of our newest items in the merchandise section. If you would like to be a featured artist please feel free to send your designs to bfoley@gaiscioch.com.

Check out the new and improved Merchandise Section at:
http://www.gaiscioch.com/merchandise/

What's New With Gaiscioch?
New and Improved Saighdear Section!

For those of you looking to play with Gaiscioch members outside the main branch games, we've created the Saighdear section which is ready for use. You can access it from the homepage under the Saighdear subnavigation item. So far we have Saighdear's forming in Neverwinter and Defiance on PS3 with several more launching soon.

To create a Saighdear you must be a rank 5 Warlord (na Fhiaigh), a Saighdear (Family Rank 5) or higher and have 10 members willing to help you keep it running. Simply go to the Create a Saighdear page and create your own if you meet the above requirements. If your proposal is sound we'll add it to our official Saighdear directory.

If you would like to join a Saighdear, simply go to the Saighdear section, click on the game you wish to join and click "Join Saighdear" when logged in.

Please note, Saighdears are not controlled by the leadership or Eldership of the Gaiscioch family, and player experience may vary depending on how the Saighdear is run. Saighdears are for fun only and will not be ways to gain family honor points or ranks within the family. All Saighdear leaders are able to run their division as they see fit.

Visit the Saighdear Section at:
http://www.gaiscioch.com/saighdear/

Chapter 5 Forecast:
Developments in Elder Scrolls Online

I know many of you are sitting on the edge of your seat chomping at the bit for any information about Elder Scrolls Online. So far, things are looking very positive for ESO and with some of the news that hit the wire this month it's looking even better.

PvE in ESO:

  • Instanced group dungeons are in development
  • A large scale PvE encounter system is currently being developed
  • You will be able to group more than 4 people.
  • At max level you can venture into enemy realms and explore additional PvE content tailored for end game. (You will not see or be able to communicate with enemy players)
  • Crafters will make awesome gear even awesomer.

AvA (RvR) in ESO Key Points:

  • Siege weapons can be moved
  • You will be able to group more than 4 people
  • The three resources around a keep (lumber mills, farms, and mines) fuel its upgrade process.
    • Lumber mills help make keep doors stronger and allow them to repair themselves automatically.
    • Farms make keep guards tougher and stronger.
    • Mines help reinforce the walls, making them harder to destroy and allowing them to repair themselves over time as well.
  • Taking control of resources around keeps also shuts off various patrols in the vicinity, so it's always advantageous to take resources before laying siege to the keep itself.

Roleplay in ESO Key Points:

  • There will be many taverns and large places open for roleplayers to hold large gatherings

See These Articles for Details:
http://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en/news/post/2013/04/19/ask-us-anything-alliances-at-war
http://www.zam.com/story.html?story=32287

Chapter 4: Guild Wars 2

Welcome to GSCH!

For those of you just joining us this month let me start off by saying Cead Mile Failte! Welcome to the family. By now you're probably thinking what in the world did I get myself into or you're trying to drink from the eternal Gaiscioch firehose that is our website. Don't be alarmed what your feeling is normal. Gaiscioch has almost 12 years of gathering information, refining processes, and optimizing management to be efficient in large scale situations. The shear amount of information available is baffling at first glance. Our community has years of hardened experience, and believe me when I say we have good reason in doing the things we do. Most smaller clans or guilds don't have to worry about things we do. But for us to bring our way of life to an entire server community we have to think big and function outside the limitations set forth by the games we play.

If you would like to learn more about how our family is structured in Guild Wars 2 hop over to our forums and read the Chapter 4: Guild Wars 2 Overview. Feel free to bring questions to our monthly family summit.

Guild Mission Progress:
Guild Challenges Launching Soon

I know that many of you are enjoying these events every week and getting some pretty nice gear from it. Prissy and I have been drafting up a plan where we can continue to roll out all of these missions on a weekly basis. Sure some guilds are already doing puzzles and we've just now begun to unlock challenges. But most guilds don't have 5 guilds to compete. Everything we do is 5x the size and work as the other guys. But in the end we will have far greater availability to run these and use the buffs that come with completing them.

Here's where we are currently at in the unlock process:

  • Gaiscíoch na Morrigan: Challenges Available Next Week
  • Gaiscioch: Challenges Available In 2 Weeks (Needs 40 Guild Merits)
  • Gaiscíoch: Challenges Available Next Week
  • Gaiscioch na Anu: Challenges Available Next Week
  • Gaiscioch na Rall: Challenges Available In 2 Weeks (Needs 50 Guild Merits)

Once Challenges are unlocked we will have the long haul of earning 250 Guild Merits per guild to unlock guild Puzzles. Once we have challenges unlocked, we'll be able to earn a total of 80 Guild Merits a week but based on our current success rate and progress we're more reasonably looking at 67-70 Guild Merits per week. That puts Guild Puzzles 4 Weeks out so by Mid June we should be able to run all mission types and will start opening these up for more family commanders to run.

Confused About Missions?

Be sure to check out our large collection of Bounty, Trek, and Rush information, maps and videos in our official Guild Wars 2 guides section available at: http://www.gaiscioch.com/guides/guild_missions/

May's Weekly Guild Mission Event Schedule:

  • Monday's @ 4:00PM: Gaiscioch Guild Missions + Main Room Treks
  • Tuesday's @ 4:00PM: Gaiscíoch Guild Missions - Bounty & Rush
  • Wednesday's @ 4:00PM: Morrigan Guild Missions - Bounty & Rush
  • Thursday's @ 4:00PM: Anu Guild Missions - Trek, Bounty & Rush
  • Friday's @ 4:00PM: Rall Guild Missions - Trek, Bounty & Rush
  • Saturday's @ 12:00PM: Guild Mission Credit Makup Event in Anu

* All Times Pacific / Server
** Once Challenges Are Unlocked They Will Be Run On Saturdays

Guild Wars 2 Patch Highlights:
Flame & Frost Retribution Launches

In secret foundries deep beneath the Shiverpeaks, the Molten Alliance forges deadly new weapons that combine the fiery power of the Flame Legion with the iron might of the dredge. There, Alliance weapon smiths test their creations on innocent captives, perfecting their cruel technology until it is ready to unleash on all of Tyria.

In the last chapter of the Flame and Frost series, you'll strike at the heart of the Molten Alliance with your comrades Rox the charr and the norn Braham. Take the battle into the enemy's weapons facilities and defeat a final hybrid menace unlike any Tyria has ever seen!

Features:

  • New Story Dungeon - Molten Weapon Facilities!
  • Custom PvP Arenas & Spectator Mode
  • New World vs. World Abilities
  • New Guild Missions
  • Guild Siege Weapons and Back Banners
  • New Retribution Items in the Gem Store!

View the patch notes at:
https://www.guildwars2.com/en/launcher/april-30-2013-flame-and-frost-retribution/

In Closing

Wherever your adventures take you this summer, I hope you all make positive memories in your lives, both in game and out. I am very grateful to have shared so many great experiences with all of you, and look forward to getting to know some of our newer members. Until next month, I hope you all find enjoyment in whatever you're doing. See you at the Summit!

Slan Go Foill!
(Goodbye For Now)

Benjamin "Foghladha" Foley
Ceannard De Gaiscioch Treubh