Monday, December 31, 2007

The last post for 2007 + wish list

Okay, so I don't have anything monumental to write about, only an advanced greeting to one and all of the impending arrival of 2008. My connection's been sucky the entire day, and thus it was my first time to miss Colony Wars, even if my reporting days are over. Still, I'd like to congratulate the factions who've made it into the map this week.

I may be lazy to put into detail all that has happened to me this year, however I do have a rather extensive wish for GE this coming year.
  • I wish for more variety in Colony Wars. Though I have nothing against the recent holders of the colonies, it would be nice to see more factions participating and to actually see them owning a few territories themselves. I hope 2008 will bring about the rise of the so-called "small factions" who've always been there biding their time.
  • I wish for less lag in GE. Or better yet, bring back channel 3 please. The lag is an absolute nightmare.
  • I hope and pray for a more equitable distribution of wealth. Although this may seem a bit far-fetched, I hope that 2008 will bring in more opportunities for other players to advance in-game.
  • I wish for a more sportsman-like approach of all players within the game; throw away the bickering and ill-feelings and start with a clean slate.
  • I wish for solidarity and unity among PH players. I hope 2008 will unite all Pinoy GE gamers to strive together to become a force to be reckoned with.
  • I wish for more honest gaming practices. Down with bots!
  • I wish for a more pro-active GE community that would be more productive, critical and sensible in the way they interact with their fellow gamers and with IAH as well.
  • I wish to meet the famous Lee Jun Ming of Caravaggio. Harharhar. I should've asked this from Santa. XD
  • I wish for more GE bloggers who would gamely share their opinion, insights and ideas about the game.
  • I wish for more GE players!!!! ^0^
And I wish you all a great New Year's celebration!!! Keep safe everyone. See you all next year! ^0^

Friday, December 28, 2007

An open letter

A recent post from my friend and fellow CW correspondent, NineMoons, brings up the issue on CW reporting.

I was shocked to know that our buddy and fellow reporters, the Reclusion brothers, have given up on reporting as well. And based from NineMoons' post, it looks like they too suffered the same as I did in Caravaggio.

Many in my server have asked about the absence of the reports for Caravaggio. I believe it's about time I said my piece.

I was previously accused of playing favoritism on AdeptasFraternas, my first faction in Caravaggio. During the first few weeks of my reporting, I talked about AF and their war strategies and exploits, taking note of the other factions who likewise waged war. It was one report that was brought up to me, saying that all I ever talked about was AF and nothing else.

After that report, I was repeatedly flamed and jeered in the forums and in the public broadcast as well. Welling was not spared from this; he was probably flamed even more than I was because of the fact that I happened to be this faction leader's SO.

And so, I left AF so that I won't have to bring the faction down with me. Although I admit to my mistake of frequently highlighting the faction, there was never a thought in my head to play favorites. You see, no one can be everywhere all at the same time. Back then, I was still getting to know the server and the people in it.

But of course, not everyone was quick to forgive. For weeks on end, I still encountered people in the server who jeered at me and continued to say nasty stuff behind my back. Until one particular CW where one player actually PKed me while reporting, I thought, what the heck, I'm calling it quits. Regardless of the fact that people say this is a PK server, my point is that whether you are in a PK or non-PK server, respect is still of great importance. I thought that since some of the players are so into CW, they can probably do the reporting themselves.

I never asked for anything in this job. I only wanted to participate in the war in a different way since I could not be much of help to the faction I'm in. The dynamics of the war piqued my interest so much, and I wanted to get to know the people in this server after transferring from my former home in Cervantes.

But as they say, you can't please everyone.

I lost so much when I took on this job of reporting. I really lost so much. But life goes on. I'm actually enjoying being a normal gamer once again. Although my current faction, †Legion†, is rather small and we have few members, I look forward to the day we can go to war as well.

I wrote this piece not to gather sympathy from anyone; I just want to clear up the issue. And I just want to remind everyone that this is just a game that should not run over relationships nor break long standing friendships. You don't have to trudge on everyone's toes just to prove your greatness.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank the people who've expressed appreciation in my reports...you know who you are. Many thanks as well to the AF peeps for being my first friends in Caravaggio, and to †Legion† for their continued support. Thank you also to all the people I've befriended while staying in this server...and to that one person who made it all worth my while.

I just do hope that people can be a bit more kind.


Thursday, December 27, 2007

Naughty or Nice list + boss hunts!

Ok, here's the final list of winners for the Naughty or Nice event. I missed out on the last two names because I was at a LAN shop and the connections sucked. Please do inform me of the other two winners and I will gladly update the list. ^^
Day 3

Simberah
DarknessLord
Meidion
BonCelestial
Kikyou
Glacie
Bardy
DeSanggria
RoyalImperial
Senzenin
denten
Lightspyro
xKnIghTz
Riveray
Niox
FuzzyWuzzy
Whites
IRebornDeathI
WhiteWarrior
*thanks to Kn!ghts from the forums for the update ^^

And yes, I won! Wahoo!!! And here's what Santa graciously gave me...


I did the enhancement myself. ^^ I still have yet to enchant it to get good stats. Hehe.

I was summoned to Cite de Reboldoeux and I saw Santa in the flesh (no, he wasn't fat and old XD), as well as another honored visitor...RCM Hrin!!!

I had a small chat with Hrin along with some of the other winners who were summoned to the city. It was actually the first time for me to see her in-game, and I believe almost everyone in Caravaggio were likewise surprised of her unexpected visit.

Anyway, I'd like to thank Santa and Hrin for the great gift. It totally made my day. My Christmas wish list is a rather long entry, so I'll just redirect you over here in case anyone's curious ^^;. I'm the last post in the thread on that page. Hehe.

Congratulations to my mate, Senzenin, for winning as well! :3

In other news, grinding is slowly testing my patience. Good thing our faction leader took some of us into a mini boss hunting safari in some maps.


Spardo encountered the Bellboy of Mein in Desolate Cliff and quickly invited us to whack this ugly fiend. Too bad we were KSed at the last moment of the monster's life, although I was able to see that it dropped sword (forgot the name though) the silver hammer to summon Vergo (thanks for that, Spardy hehehe).

And here is one of my first successful mini boss conquest...the Sabel Tiger! Thanks to Spardy for tanking the turd. XD


I was able to get the loot, which was a Knight of Templar armor, albeit with sucky stats. Nevertheless, the exhilaration of the experience fueled my wishes to reach Veteran soon. And I'm getting there...it's only a matter of time. ^_^

I've likewise taken on the mission to get a Viki RNPC card. The quest is long and the drops are rare...perhaps I'll finish it when I'm done with the level grinding of my main team. Here's to hoping I get his card!

Too bad it's maintenance day today. Hehe. >.<

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

[Caravaggio] Naughty or Nice: The List

It's been Day 2 since Santa started to make his presence known all over GE. On the first day of the wish granting event, a lot of the winners were either offline or came in late. It seems that once your name is called and you don't reply after some time, your wish will be forfeited.

On a funny note, the public broad chat was flooded with messages for Santa. Reading the remarks of the people had me rolling all over the floor. Hehe.

Today, a lot of the winners were actually online. What's more, Santa was announcing the stuff some of them actually won! The mysterious Santa gave out a few Le Blanc costumes, elite rifles and a Grandice NPC card! Wow!

Check out the lucky winners in this event!

Day 1

Crysal
GratestBahista
SeasonX
Denk
Fenirir
SynFalle
Peruvoille
stale
Triviani
FuriousAngels
IceFox
Nephthys
Aemiumief
FantasticFam
GrImRiPpEr

Day 2

Stantheman
RickardV
Ienzberg
DeLuici
Tribbiani
darkwrath
Amarant
Illuminite
Screwed
GraveBorn
mOOniS
Contractor
nekobushi
Misthra
Auralius
Arphiandante

You still got your chance to submit your wishes! Deadline for submission of wishes is tomorrow December 26 at 16oo hrs (GMT +8).

Oh, and it wouldn't hurt to be a bit creative in posting your wishes. Santa has an eye for artistic flair, y'know. ^_~

I'll post the list of the Day 3 winners tomorrow. Hope I get my wish too. *crosses fingers*


Christmas in Granado Espada

Wow...it's been a while, people. How are things with you?

I've been quite busy in the world of GE now that Bahia Island patch is here. On the minute the servers went up after the 3-day drought of no GE, my mates in †Legion† and I took the first trip on the Pinta for a visit to the island. Here are a few shots of our exploits:

The sun, the sand, the surf...the crabs! LOL

Flying without wings...thanks to the Diablo trainer. XD


I've also been on the hunt for the Christmas Trees in the cities as well as those of Snowmen for Red Socks. Armeo, my Elementalist was the first recipient of a Santa suit I received upon completing the Red Socks event. Now I'm gunning for the trees to get cute Christmas accessories. Too bad there's none for RNPCs.

I'm pretty much sure you've all been busy with so many things to do in GE. The patch is choc-full of stuff that needs to be explored. I won't be detailing out everything, but do permit me to note a few observations:
  • A lot of skills have been changed, some have been nerfed (as far as I heard from the grapevine). Those with Wizards and Emilia the Sage characters have seen this now that the Photon Splash skill and Hole of Darkness require magical orbs. The damage wrought by Photon Splash has been somewhat decreased as well, although I'm not sure if I'm correct in this as I've only observed it when my ETS casts the skills. As for the Elementalist skills, they say Blizzard damage has decreased considerably as well. Hrin has specific details on some of the changes in the skills, right here.
  • Noticed the icons on your characters in the UI? Bernelli's as well as the male Musketeer's icons have changed.
  • Mob spawns have decreased as well. I've heard of reported decrease in mobs in Porto Bello and Topolo Durga among others.
  • The chat interface is much more functional as you can add people to your buddy list simply by hovering your mouse on their names in the chat box.
  • Channel 3 is gone! O.O Lo and behold, utter lagness! >.<
  • Some stuff in the item mall cannot be traded anymore. Some of these include Veteran scrolls, Enhancement boosters and Enchantment powder.
  • New costumes for female Fighter, Wizard and a couple of RNPCs too! And of course, teh swimsuits!
  • Hrin's best friend now has a name...Leticia!
  • Colonies are much more resistant to attacks. Can anybody verify this? As I observed in last Sunday's war, it took quite a while for some factions to whack the beacons on a full force rampage.
One of the more exciting things in this new patch is the Super Fight, which involves several battle arenas for specific family levels. I tried my luck in the Battle Coliseum, but alas, the mobs were too quick and had insane AR and DRs. The boss was a major pain too, not to mention the instant PvP mode once you enter the map. Augh! T_T

Run for your lives! >.<

The CW map reset was likewise implemented in this patch, and so last Sunday's war became a mad rush for factions to get their colonies.

And the best part of it all is that I'm down to my last 9 levels before hitting the much anticipated Veteran status. Ho ho ho!!! Must level grind like crazy. XD

With that said, I'd like to greet everyone a Merry Christmas! I hope I get to blog a bit more often though. XD See you all in Granado Espada! ^0^

Monday, December 17, 2007

Colony Wars (12/16/07): The last one

You all probably know that there will be a colony map rest come the v.2.4 patch, so this is technically the "last" Colony War pending the Bahia Island expansion. For starters, take a look at this week's map in Caravaggio:


Also take note of the following factions that declared war that night:

Revolution v. Azyr
SupperClub™ v. Revolution
Justice v. Revolution
SupperClub™ v. Reconquista
Reconquista v. Azyr
Justice v. Reconquista
RedstarAvengers v. Reconquista
†Legion† v. SupperClub™
EdeN v. Reconquista
Fusion v. Reconquista
Fusion v. SupperClub™
AdeptasFraternas v. Reconquista
BaRuRotBoYz v. Revolution
EdeN v. AdeptasFraternas
RedstarAvengers v. Revolution
Justice v. RedstarAvengers
BaRuRotBoYz v. RedstarAvengers
Azyr v. Reconquista
*‹‹€ª§tErñDrªgõñ›› v. Reconquista

*warred after the official CW time, but truced a few minutes after.

This war proves to be one of the most lackluster fights, with only so few waging war. For a while, everyone thought there wasn't going to be any war at all, as many were coincidentally offline. Nevertheless, the show went on with SupperClub™ taking down Revolution's colonies at the first half of the war. And since few Revolution members were able to defend, it was but inevitable that said faction was able to claim it.

SupperClub™ does its best in whacking Revolution colonies

Meanwhile in Rion, a mixture of factions such as the defenders Azyr, Justice and Reconquista were gathering around the said colony. For a while, I thought of an ongoing alliance with some of them, only to find the notice announcing Reconquista's war declaration on the current colony owners. Azyr put up a good fight against the aggressors, but such was the number and agility of Reconquista that soon, Rion fell into their hands.

In Rion: Awaiting before the battle starts

Speaking of alliances, a new one was borne out of RedstarAvengers and BaRuRotBoYz as they teamed up to take Reconquista's Jezebel colony, but was later on neutralized.

RedstarAvengers and BaRuRotBoYz in Jezebel Glen

At this time, EdeN faction made an appearance by conquering additional colonies in Ferruccio Junction and the contested Jezebel Glen. Revolution, who was previously wiped out from the map at the start of the war, was able to secure Tetra Hill after battling with Justice, RedstarAvengers and BaRuRotBoYz.

The previous no-war agreement between EdeN, SupperClub™, Revolution and Reconquista was not seen in this war as well. Pradera de Ceniza, which was long held by SupperClub™ fell to Reconquista after a heated battle.

Bodies litter the earth in Pradera

Towards the end of the war, AF faction leader, Welling, made an appearance and warred Reconquista, but was unable to grab any colonies with the time constraints.

Surprisingly though, Eclipse was a no-show in this war.

For a recap, here are the results this week:

Reconquista - 11
Revolution - 1

EdeN - 4

SupperClub™ - 5


And now let's hear it for the faction leaders on what they had to say for this week:

"We (EdeN & Reconquista) were allies from the start. They had too many colonies so we just took some for HP boost. Anyway, it's going to be short since reset is on Thursday. To put it short, we call it political strategy planning."
- Tsumura of EdeN (vice leader)

"We are sister factions together with AF and PasawayProphecy. It's a kind of fellowship of the 300; if we merge, the ultimate number is 100. We all stay autonomous, greatly relying on trust.

This week we started by attacking Reconquista, but we realized that they had the whole faction. LOL. Towards the last 15 minutes, we kind of decided to change battle plans by attacking Revolution, but too bad the lag killed us all."
- RedstarAvengers of RedstarAvengers

"It was fun! We teamed up with RedstarAvengers to challenge good defense of Reconquista, but unfortunately, EdeN got the last hit (in Jezebel Glen). It was cool. We had great time with RedstarAvengers. Next time prepare for trouble, and make it double."
- CityJailerz of BaRuRotBoYz

Right after the end of the war, Revolution's leader, Tine, broaded that he will be passing on the leadership torch to another member. Here are Tine's words in my short interview with him:

"It was fun. Although we have lesser colonies, it was nevertheless fun. I'm leaving GE for the better."


We wish you all the best, Tine! ^_^


This is also the last Colony Wars report I write for Caravaggio. It's been a pleasure meeting all leaders and interacting with everyone; it's been fun and a great honor as well. Congratulations to everyone and see you all in v.2.4!

This is DeSanggria, signing off. ^_~v

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

The rise of Machinimasia + Faction exploits

I'd like to take this opportunity to invite GE players from PH to participate in the Intel Machinimasia workshop contest/workshop happening this weekend (December 15 and 16). This is different from the Fantazzztic Film Awards hosted by IAH, as this e-Games is partnering with Intel to bring about this particular contest.

The prizes in stake are just as exciting, so do sign up for this rare opportunity to score some great GE and Intel prizes!

For details on how to reserve a slot, head over to the GE PH site!

===

For the past few days, my mates from †Legion† and I have been helping each other out by doing fun raid missions. Thanks to this effort, I've completed the Escudo Pecher hunt of Alejandro's and now I've got his character card to add to my barracks pretty soon!

I'd like to thank our leader, Francis (Spardo), as well as Iris (Pleaides), Toshi (Alberof) and Boon (Jobon) for the funny discussions we've had every day. It makes the level grinding much more bearable and fun. Hehe.

And here are a few photos of our exploits:


I've likewise uploaded a short video of the little dance we did just outside Auch. Pardon the nooby editing...I will polish on those real soon so I can make more GE videos. ^_~

Monday, December 10, 2007

Colony Wars (12/09/07): The return of the comeback

First up, here's an overview of the conquered colonies this week:


I was actually hoping for a similar intense fight like last week's, but I guess a few known factions were able to bask in the anxiety and excitement brought about by the war. For a recap on war declarations, here's the list (which may be incomplete as I had problems with my connection that night):

Reconquista v. Eclipse
EdeN v. AdeptasFraternas
AdeptasFraternas v. Reconquista
Revolution v. Fusion
Azyr v. Reconquista
Eclipse v. EdeN
RedstarAvengers v. EdeN
Azyr v. EdeN
Revolution v. AdeptasFraternas
BaRuRotBoYz v.SupperClub™
Commander v. Reconquista
BaRuRotBoYz v. Revolution
RedstarAvengers v. Revolution
Reconquista v. †RêßïrTh†
Fusion v. Reconquista
SupperClub™ v. Reconquista
BaRuRotBoYz v. Azyr

The first half of the war saw through a lot of conquests from various factions such as Reconquista (Diabolica), EdeN (Rion Praire & Bonavista), and AdeptasFraternas (King's Garden). Once again Reconquista defended against 5 factions simultaneously attacking their colonies, and even before other groups assembled for an attack, Reconquista's forces were already deployed to defend their territories.

Fusion defends Tetra colony from Revolution

As usual, I checked on Tetra colony to see if Fusion was holding up to their defenses against Revolution. At one time most of the defenders were slowly being decimated but nevertheless, Fusion put up a good fight and gave their opponents quite the time. Revolution, however, overwhelmed them and were able to claim the colony soon after.

Over at Porto Bello's Deserted Quay, a handful of SupperClub™ members were already assembling at Revolution's territory. Surprisingly, these people did not even touch the colony, until only after sometime I learned that they were standing by in defense for Revolution. I concluded thereon that alliances among faction were in the works that night.

Azyr attacks EdeN's Rion territory

The Rion Praire was also one of the contested colonies that day. As EdeN was the first to wrest it away from AF's hands Azyr likewise took a chance in getting the territory. AF was watching on that time, and so Azyr was able to grab the colony without much contest. But of course, EdeN did not go down easily and prompted several attacks on Azyr to reclaim the Rion.

Meanwhile in Pradera de Ceniza, newly-formed faction BaRuRotBoYz and a few SupperClub™ members were deeply engaged in a small skirmish.

SupperClub™ and BaRuRotBoYz skirmish in Pradera

All the while when these fights were breaking out, some colonies were already exchanging hands such as those in Bonavista, Katovic Snowfield, Rio Albi and Lago Celeste. Also at one point during the war, Eclipse was once again exchanging colony ownership with Reconquista. Eclipse was able to grab Hermanas colony, but Reconquista was quick to snatch it from them. With AF's case, Azyr was likewise whacking the colony simultaneously back in Rion once again, and so it was with the former that the colony fell ownership at the very last minute.

Other noteworthy fights that night were those of Commander and Reconquista in Jezebel Glen. Small attacks were launched at the Reconquista territory, but with such small number against the formidable defense of the colony owners, their troops were decimated easily.

In Diabolica, Eclipse members have gathered forces to launch a sneak attack on the defenseless Reconquista colony. A few seconds after they've started hitting the beacon, Reconquista members appeared by the score rendering the otherwise surprise attack futile.

Eclipse gather forces to launch attack on Diabolica

Revolution and Fusion likewise showed their mettle at the standoff in Topolo Durga. The fights were actually a few meters away from the colony as Fusion cannot get near the beacon to actually hit it. However at the latter part of the fight, Fusion was slowly gaining ground and were soon able to push forward to whack the tower. Not to be outdone, Revolution continued to defend and was successful in keeping their colony.

Commander puts up a fight against Revolution

In the middle of the rush to defend and grab more colonies, AdeptasFraternas and Eclipse bore the brunt of the combined attacks of Reconquista, Revolution, EdeN and SupperClub™. In the end, their previous colonies were seized by these factions. I've likewise noticed the absence of some faction leaders such as those of ZONE and Justice to name a few.

Anyhoo, here are this week's colony owners:

Azyr - 1
EdeN - 1

Revolution - 3

SupperClub™ 5

Reconquista - 11


And here's what some faction leaders have to say about this week's war:

"We teamed up with AF, RedstarAvengers, and Revolution to fight Reconquista and EdeN, so we attack them together and just kept going. There were lots of fighting in Rion; I think there was AF and some Eclipse people, Reconquista and EdeN too. We got overpowered when fighting Reconquista...there was just too many of them. But this week was really intense and we are happy to hold Rion."
- AzureRain of Azyr

"We had an agreement not to war Revolution, SupperClub™ and EdeN, so we concentrated on Eclipse and AF. I must say, they are strong, but we did very well this week. Allying with EdeN is the right choice for us because they keep their promises. I just want to say thanks to all my members for attending CW and EdeN for the ally."
- Century of Reconquista

"It was not as exciting as last week as Reconquista wanted peace with us. But well, the war with Fusion and AF was good too."
- Tine of Revolution

"It was challenging for us this time around because factions put up good defense. We gave King's Garden a try to fight Reconquista just a quick one to test the waters, but they defended well. Fusion had a great time in war today. Strong resistance from factions made war a nice battleground."
- Velante of Fusion

"Our plan was to wipe off AF and Eclipse from map, but in the end Reconquista benefited from this. However, this is the best CW we had in months. Eclipse and AF were clearing us this time, but unknown to them, Reconquista was already attacking them."
- Tsumura of EdeN (vice leader)


Hmm...a lot of my questions were answered by the leaders in this query, so I'd like to thank them for their time in answering my questions. Nonetheless, congratulations to one and all for putting up a good fight!


Sunday, December 9, 2007

Getting there...

...has been one heck of a ride!

So much has already happened to my Caravaggio family and I'm actually enjoying the ride. Thanks to the F2P Package we all got, I didn't have to buy combat manuals when I ran out of stock yesterday.

On my travails, I found that I could already board the Pinta to sail off to Ustiur! No less than Grandice herself was one of the welcoming committees, so my family took the liberty to take a souvenir photo of the famed warrior.

Oiled body Grandice anyone? LOL.

Although I cannot proceed further into Ustiur as I need to reach 84 before taking on Romina's quest inside the jungles.

I've likewise finished the tedious quest of Andre's and I was just thrilled to add him and Catherine to my barracks.

Andre & Catherine like their men hot. ^_~

Incidentally, I wanted to name Andre as Gaylord, but it was quite inappropriate (hehe), so I named him after Carson Cressley of the Queer Eye for the Straight Guy fame. I actually thought it was a nice fit since Carson was the fashion guru in the show and Andre is after all, the fashion icon in Granado Espada. LOL.

Meanwhile, I named my Catherine as CeNedra. For those of you who're into the Belgariad and Malloreon books of David Eddings, you'd find the name quite familiar. XD

And just this morning, some of the peeps from †Legion† took the time off from their leveling activities to indulge in a faction in-game meet-up-slash-photo-taking-spree. Hehehe. The guys were even gracious enough to dance for a short video.

†Legion† people show some love

Shout outs to my mates in †Legion†! I'll put the video up real soon. It's quite nooby, so pardon the rusty editing to it. Hehehe.

Anyway, see you guys later for another Colony War session! ^0^

Monday, December 3, 2007

Colony Wars (12/02/07): Tipping the scale of balance

This week's war goes to show that Caravaggio is indeed one of the highly political servers in Granado Espada. Today we'll see how factions work to tip the scale of power from the current rulers to other groups. This week also saw to a lot of war declarations, perhaps the most number of declarations so far in any CW session as well.

EdeN v. SupperClub™
RedstarAvengers v. Ethereal
Reconquista v. Ethereal
Justice v. Ethereal
Revolution v. Ethereal
AdeptasFraternas v. EdeN
Azyr v. Ethereal
†RêβïrTh† v. Ethereal
Commander v. SupperClub™
Reconquista v. Revolution
Untitled (sp?) v. Ethereal
Reconquista v. Azyr
Reconquista v. Justice
RedstarAvengers v. Justice
Reconquista v. †RêβïrTh†
Fusion v. Azyr
RedstarAvengers v. Reconquista
ZONE v. Reconquista
Reconquista v. Eclipse
Commander v. Reconquista
AdeptasFraternas v. Reconquista
EdeN v. Reconquista
†Legion† v. Commander
Revolution v. Fusion
Commander v. Fusion
†RêβïrTh† v. SupperClub™
EdeN v. Azyr
EdeN v. Reconquista
Commander v. Eclipse
Fusion v. Revolution
RedstarAvengers v. Revolution

I've already heard through the grapevine that Ethereal's faction leader is permanently indisposed, and naturally, all the other factions will eye Ethereal's 5 colonies. But before I headed off to war, I asked a few faction leaders regarding their plans. Here's what they said:

"We war Ethereal, that's all. Unless some other unexpected things happen, then we might have a change of plan."
- Tine of Revolution

"Maybe at the last minute we participate in the war, then go KS."
- HikariX of ZONE

"We're still finalizing plans, but our first target will be Tetra Hill."
- Alexania of Justice

"Basically we have now decided to face the end of Ethereal by wiping them off the map. As usual, we will always be on the offensive."
- IceFox of †RêβïrTh†


As speculated, almost all factions wanted to get a piece of Ethereal's lands. And with a character so unlike Ethereal, no one defended their colonies, thus, conquests from other factions proved to be easy.

Or maybe not.

With no defenders to ward off unfriendlies, Ethereal's colonies had 2-3 factions laying siege on the towers. And so, these factions started declaring war on each other in order to clear the way to get them close to actually whacking the towers. One such occurence I was able to notice was that in Tetra Hill where Justice made good on its initial plan to target the area. But RedstarAvengers was already there first, so it was only a question of time on which faction this colony will fall into.

RedstarAvengers arrive at Tetra Hill

Reconquista at Rion Prairie

While doing my usual rounds in checking the colonies, I noticed a new faction by the name of Reconquista, who seemed to be quite the sought-after group as the other factions were constantly declaring war on them. I learned that the said group were formed by the ex-Ethereal members who've decided to band together upon the absence of their leader.

Reconquista and Revolution battle for Quay colony

One of the earlier fights of Reconquista that I was able to witness was with Revolution in Porto Bello's Deserted Quay. I arrived just in time to see the war declaration with the two groups right at the colony itself. Both factions put up a good fight as neither refused to relent despite massive casualties. Finally, the said colony was won over by Revolution.

Meanwhile, other factions began claiming other territories as well. Eclipse, Azyr and SupperClub™ were able to land new colonies, and so they were likewise subject to defend their land during the first half of the war.

Azyr defends Ferruccio colony

In Tetra Hill once again, Justice had to contend with two enemies in the person of Reconquista and RedstarAvengers, as both factions made simulatenous attacks. Meanwhile in Quay once again, Reconquista gets back at Revolution as they try to make a bid for the colony, and this time around, they were successful.

Reconquista gets back at Revolution

Pradera de Ceniza was well defended by its current owners, SupperClub™. A few families from Commander made an attempt to grab the colony, but was thwarted by the guards manning the tower.

I noticed that the Tetra colony was one of the most contested territory by other factions as there were many attempts to wrest it from its current owners. This time when Reconquista managed to get it from Justice, they were faced with 3 factions warring them (Justice, ZONE & RedstarAvengers). Soon, the colony changed hands from Reconquista to Fusion, then to Revolution, until Fusion made the final claim in the end.

A few of EdeN members take a whack out of Eclipse colony in Diabolica

AdeptasFraternas in Reconquista's Hermanas colony

It's EdeN v. Azyr in Ferruccio colony

Quay colony owned by Revolution

While other factions were busy getting and defending colonies, I noticed the persistent exchange of territories between Reconquista and Eclipse, specifically those of the Ustiur colonies. It came to a point when Eclipse colonies were constantly under threat from Reconquista, but the former incessantly got back their colonies and vice versa. Time became the juror of these battles as Reconquista was successful in claiming both Ustiur colonies at the very last minutes of the war.

The end of the two-hour war saw through the following results:

EdeN - 4
Reconquista - 2

AdeptasFraternas - 5
Eclipse - 3
Revolution - 2
Fusion - 1
†RêβïrTh† - 1
SupperClub™ - 3


Some of the faction leaders were gracious enough to provide their thoughts on this week's Colony Wars turnout. Let's find out their insights below:

"Well, it's fun. GG. Although we are new, almost all war us, I love them all. I think we did a good job with 50 people online. Peace! ^_^
- Century of Reconquista

"I had a lot of fun this week. Lots of action with Ethereal, etc. and I really enjoyed the entire two hours of this Colony Wars."
- Tine of Revolution

"Well, you see, small factions can't really stand up against huge factions so we need help. We sure lost to Reconquista, but if a lot of factions come together, we have chance. We need more people to play GE, otherwise, not enough people."
- HikariX of ZONE

"Lots of colony changing hands today. Suprised that Fusion got Tetra twice. I suppose Reconquista's the new Ethereal and it's gonna be something as expected. They hit us and took our colony (Ferruccio) away on last few minutes."
- AzureRain of Azyr

"We attacked Tetra because it's our aim but unfortunately, we failed due to lagginess and too many players attacking. This is only fun mode because we're not going to take colony, just ally with ZONE and other factions."
- alanyuchenglun of Commander

"Of course, it's very exciting; was fighting Reconquista the whole night. Just too bad we weren't lucky enough to score last hit. We were attacking almost all Reconquista colonies except those in Ustiur. Reconquista is still a strong team and can't be taken lightly, but we'll try again next week."
- RedstarAvengers of RedstarAvengers

"Based on absence of IsDope (Ethereal leader), the fall of Ethereal is imminent, thus the creation of Reconquista is something that happened too fast. We dunno about their existence, thus we forgot about whacking it but at least it's a slightly balanced situation now."
- Tsumura of EdeN (vice leader)

"It's a tiring war for Eclipse. We fought EdeN then changed target to Reconquista because they hit us. I would like to thank all factions that helped us; they kept Reconquista busy while we fought them. Nevertheless, they were able to get our colonies at the last minute. With that said, I made 3 points: one is quantity over quality, second is the help of our friend to boost quantity, and lastly, you have to exchange colony with the time in mind."
- Wooot of Eclipse


Congratulations to all factions who participated in this week's war! Let's make history happen once again next week. ^_~