Featuring smaller pictures for a more readable entry.
The first in today's series of articles; next will be the weekly Colony Wars report from Cervantes server.
The date: 8 September 2007.
The time: 1pm-onwards.
The place: Gamefrog at Metrowalk in Ortigas, National Capital Region [NCR], the Philippines.
The event: one-half of the NCR leg of Liberty's Wrath, the Philippine National Granado Espada PvP Tournament.
I made it to Gamefrog a little past 1pm and found the placed all decorated for the occasion with lots of GE posters, and this really nice banner:
I had never intended to actually join the tournament, because I'm an absolute greenhorn when it comes to PvP combat - except for the duels with DeSanggria, I had never even *tried* PvP, much less done it in a competitive or tournament style.
But suddenly I found myself being drafted to join a team - the Council-Hampas Lupa group, composed of several members of Council faction from Carracci. A second team from Carracci called themselves Renaissance, while the third team was from Pachelbel server and fought under the name LXG.
Council-Hampas Lupa team.
Renaissance team.
LXG team.
The rules were laid out as follows.
Since there were only three teams at the venue, the organizers decided to expedite the tournament: one team would automatically get a bye and advance to the second round, while the other two would immediately engage in battle. The winner would advance to the second round and meet the team that drew the bye.
The team that won the second-round match would then be declared venue champion and go on to battle the champion of the other venue, Warzone2020 in Vito Cruz, Manila, to determine who would become the NCR representative to the Liberty's Wrath national finals during the Commercial Launch party on 15 September at One Esplanade.
For the gameplay itself: all contenders were provided with premade accounts on the GE Test Server. Each account contained six characters: the five stock classes, plus Emilia the Sage. All were at Veteran status. Teams were given a limited budget of 50,000 vis, refreshed after each match, to buy consumable items such as potions, buff items, bullets, and so on.
All accounts were provided with most of the gear needed to engage in battle, such as high-level armors and weapons.
I have to say "most" because when I logged in and looked at the arsenal, one type of weapon had been omitted: pistols. Which meant that Fighters could use neither Heaven or Hell or Advance Garde; and that Musketeers could use neither Freestyle Shot nor Double Gun Shot.
[That did strike me as odd.]
Teams were not allowed to sell or trade their equipment or consumables, and any team caught doing so would be disqualified from the tournament.
Play would commence at the City of Auch, and once logged in to the PvP rooms there was only one map for the fight: the Liberty Colosseum. This map not only had lots of space for ten teams of three members each to duke it out; it also boasted several colonies. Taking possession of a colony would grant its owners special bonuses during combat.
GMs were on hand to oversee the matches.
We drew lots to see who would get the bye; team LXG got it, and the two Carracci teams, Council Hampas-Lupa and Renaissance, got ready to rumble.
I couldn't help it, I had to take this picture of my temporary team:
Woot for a Veteran team composed of Scout, Fighter and Wizard!
I was asked to be Squad Leader for my side. Unfortunately, our team was demolished rather quickly, and the only reason the combat lasted about 3 minutes was because one member, a Musketeer, managed to elude her pursuers for a minute or so. Still, team Renaissance had the victory, and would then go on to face team LXG in the second round of tournament play.
Once the second match rolled around, LXG, too, fell prey to the combined strength of the Renaissance members - and so Renaissance were proclaimed Gamefrog champions!
The triumphant team Renaissance, all wearing their new GE caps.
Under the rules of the tournament, they had to wait for the Warzone2020 champion to be decided - and when it was decided, Renaissance found themselves pitted against the Pachelbel team PinoyAllStars. In the end, it was Renaissance who fell, and PinoyAllStars were declared the NCR champions, as well as the regional representative to the National Finals.
***
During the lulls of the event, the organizers gave away GE pens, buttons, posters, and Open Beta installers.
A film crew from the soon-to-be-live cable show Pinoy Gamers were also at the venue to get footage for their pilot episode. They interviewed the organizers, the venue champion Renaissance after their second victory...and me, as an afterthought, haha. ^^
Once again I was sort of the odd person out: the only female GE player at Gamefrog, and the only representative from Cervantes server.
[DeSanggria later told me that 2 teams from CARNAGE faction had showed up at Warzone2020, and had been defeated by the PinoyAllStars.]
***
The regional legs of the tournament are to continue throughout the rest of the week, and on 15 September the regional champions are to face each other in the National Finals.
I'm looking forward to EVERYTHING that's going to happen on that Saturday!
***
For more photos from Gamefrog, please visit this Photobucket album: Liberty's Wrath NCR.
For DeSanggria's report from Warzone2020, please visit this entry: The tournament of surprises.
The NineMoons family main team on Cervantes server makes Level 52~!
[Special thanks to Thoraine for helping me get the last percentage points in at Porto Bello!]
And here's the proof: pretty new armors, hats and weapons!
From left to right: Chimal, ESP wizard; Aurana, First Aid / Fortitudo scout [both now maxed out!] / and Tuon, High-Guard fighter [tanking days ahoy!].
Oh, they grow up so fast~
***
Over the past week I've had the privilege of speaking with many of the heroes and unique player personalities in Granado Espada, and one of them in particular now gets showcased in this post.
Everyone, meet Mardias, faction leader - and lone member - of the faction OneManArmy.
And without further ado: the interview I conducted with him!
1. your family name and server?
Mardias, Cervantes
2. where does your family name come from? / origin of the family name?
An old SNES RPG title "Romancing Saga". MY girlfriend is a fan of the series.
3. what is the name of your faction? and what is the origin of the faction name?
Refer to my blog for the origins raywing.livejournal.com
4. does your faction have a motto? what is it?
My own motto is "The Free Soul - Absolute Freedom!"
And also the Granado Espada spirit - "Freedom, Unity, Friendship"
5. what made you decide to create a faction with only one family in it?
Refer to my blog for the origins
6. please tell us about your experiences getting your faction to levels 51 and 52. how did you accomplish the missions that are needed to advance to those levels?
Basically, I decided that I would need help, but I didn't want to involve it as a faction issue. I made it a point to get helpers helping me at a "personal friend" level. I didn't broadcast to get help like some people do - I just picked from my own friendlist to see who are the strong players who are online at the time. Like I always said, it's not about how strong you are - it's about the relationship you built with others.
- what happened during the mission to get to faction level 51?
Nothing much to mention about GHG - it was pretty simple. I gathered people at Vegas Javier, summoned the GHG, and in a short while it was down. We have about 7 families in the event. We didn't even squad.
Chrysalis was tougher. We wanted to do it on Friday night, after helping Pacardo (Wildboys) and ULA (Calypso) achieve their lvl 52, but it ended up that some kind of a bug happened during the mission and it took longer than expected. The time almost ran out, until I discovered a path to break the bug. But the mission ended late into the wee hours, so I decided to put mine off till the next day.
The next day, as with GHG, I gathered some friends (some of which I just made the previous day, helping them with lvl 52 quest), and went on the mission. It wasn't too difficult, as we had experienced players tanking. Coordination went well, and the mission went on pretty smoothly, did it in one try.
- and what about the mission for faction level 52?
I returned home from my meeting with a client (I'm a financial consultant by the way), turned on my GE, and received a pm from Remington (Wildboys), asking me if I wanna do my faction lvl 52 mission. They already have a large group waiting, haha.
With the experience from the previous time doing the lvl 52 mission, and armed with the research I did from the Japanese wiki on GE, I led the team on the mission with relative ease. At one point, though, the party was nearly wiped out - but we struggled on, and eventually managed to turn the tide. And the rest is history.
7. does your faction have a political party affiliation?
- if yes, then why pick that party?
- if no, why remain neutral?
Nope. I'd always like to remain neutral. That's my nature. There is actually a third party affiliation - the Mercenary - but it seems that it was not implemented yet. I might just go for that.
8. are you planning to join faction-based events such as Colony Wars in the future? what will your faction be doing in Granado Espada?
I have some plans, but for now it shall... remain a secret. Hehe.
Once I achieve what I want to achieve, I might just retire the faction when my girlfriend can't stand the Swimming Float Aura anymore, hahaha.
***
p.s. How did you all like the fanfiction I put up? Let me know if I should continue with the other sisters! ^^
Night fell all too soon over the city of Auch and its restless inhabitants. Behind closed doors, many adventurers stayed up long after the sun had set, discussing strategy for the return of the Dark Lord.
In their quarters at the inn called the Golden Apple, the NineMoons sisters rested after a long day of training; one by one, each said good night to the others and retired to her room.
All but one; Tuon watched them go - her youngest sister Aurana, the fraternal twins Ravashi and Chimal - and wished them sweet dreams, yet she herself remained in the sitting room as the fire died down in the soot-stained fireplace.
When only the light from the stars and the street lamps remained, Tuon crossed the room to the windows that opened out onto the city, and sat upon one of the sills.
A slight breeze flirted with the curtains and blew fine blonde hair across the eldest NineMoons girl's face, and as she brushed away the stray strands, she closed her eyes, and remembered the last time someone else's hands had made the gesture for her, back in their adopted home country of Illier.
~flashback: 10 months ago~
"En garde!"
Boots clicking on the practice court, the clash of swords. Tuon danced back several steps and raked her hair out of her eyes, all the while she pointed her blade at her opponent and waited for him to move once again.
Oliver lunged, his sword pointed straight to her heart; she riposted and pushed him back with all her strength, but found herself on the defensive yet again as he recovered - seemingly without any effort - and attacked yet again.
"No!" she cried, and spun in place to lock her sword-hilt with his.
Their blades clashed together, and now they were standing so close that as they breathed harshly, they could each feel the other's breath upon their cheeks.
Their eyes met, Tuon's green-gray and Oliver's blue. "Never...be afraid...to trust your heart," they said together, and as one, they stepped apart, circling each other at ten paces as they planned their final moves.
Tuon closed her eyes and raised her sword to vertical - she took a deep breath - she threw herself at her opponent, and opened her eyes to dodge away from his blow and swing her blade at the unprotected skin of his throat.
Oliver smiled, and turned his blade point down. "And now, you have me."
The laugh escaped Tuon before she could stop it, and she stepped away from him. She had been so precise in her final thrust that her blade had been resting on his skin, but left it unmarked as it moved away.
"I don't think there's anything else I can teach you now," Oliver said as he sheathed his sword and moved toward a low table, on which stood a pitcher and two pewter goblets. He poured a deep red wine into the goblets and brought them over to Tuon. "You've developed your own style, and that's the best that I can hope for with any student I take on." He drained his goblet. "And you've certainly been the best student I have ever taken."
"If I am the best, it is because I have been taught by the best." Tuon accepted the proffered goblet and sipped at it, glad to stand near him but also grateful for the chance to hide her face.
Silence for a few moments, and then...
"You're leaving on the Jaclina."
Tuon sighed, and crossed to the table to put down her drink. "Yes. My sisters have spoken of nothing else but the trip to the New World."
Oliver walked over to her, putting one arm around her shoulders and drawing her in close. "Can you not stay another week? I would spend those days not in sparring with you. I would simply stay by your side. Please, just a week longer."
"I...I must follow Mother's wishes." Tuon turned her face in towards him, her hair now falling to hide her face completely.
The same callused hands that had taught her how to wield a blade now brushed the offending tresses away with astonishing gentleness. "And what of your heart, my Tuon? What do you wish for?"
Tuon embraced him. "That week with you. And after, to have you let me go."
She felt him freeze for a moment; then, a long, drawn-out sigh. "You know my heart has always known this was coming," Oliver said quietly. "Knowing your family, and the troubles you have all lived through. You're of Oporutan royal blood, and Wartime Nobility as well. When the Reconquista Policy took effect I knew that sooner or later you would leave."
He held her at arm's length with one arm, and with the other, brushed at her hair once more.
Tuon felt in her pocket for the only gift she had to give him: a silver ring engraved with her name. "Give me your hand, Oliver," she murmured, and in the proffered palm she gently placed the ring. "I cannot ask you to wear that on your hand - you need them unencumbered for the fight. But I ask you to carry that with you wherever you may go. Think of it as the piece of me that I shall leave behind in the Old World as I sail to the New."
Wordlessly, Oliver placed the ring in the pocket over his heart.
~flashback ends~
Tuon touched the pocket over her own heart now, and felt for the ring she had received, the ring that bore Oliver Jarjayes's name - the part of him that had sailed to the New World.
