Amistr.Net

Started by Annihilate, Aug 29, 2009, 12:52 PM

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Annihilate

Amistr.Net
RMS Listing: CLICK HERE

Amistr.Net Website: Amistr.net

After a very long time of searching for a decent server, I think I've finally landed on one.

NOTE: I edited this review to reflect the new changes in the server within the past 2-3 weeks. I wrote the first version on Aug 29, and I am rewriting the review today, Sept 18 2009.



GAMEPLAY - 9/10

Leveling is average, as you can always leech your own characters in Anubis, or do iRO-official repeatable exp quests [10x on this server] so mindless grinding isnt necessary all throughout the leveling process. There are no customs except for statless hats, which is good because from experience, no matter how well-meaning a server developer is as far as "balancing" custom items, the results often go awry.

Partying is kinda average. This server is a offshoot of Crescendo-RO, a low-rate no-customs server [5/5/3] which went defunct for quite some time. Most of the guilds from that server chose to go back to Amistr and start anew. Because of this, most big parties are limited into intra-guild parties. But then, it is not very difficult to get a non-guildie party over main chat.

Partying has greatly improved. I usually level with people not just from my guild but also rival/neutral guilds as well. We go to abbeiy03 [necros], Lighthalzen Biolabs, Endless or even Thanatos Tower. Its all about the willingness to be nice when talking to people in main chat.

The guilds here are quite organized. More organized that anything ive ever seen in any non-LR server. Mostly because most of them are seasoned RO players. Battlegrounds is a lot of fun, and there will also be mini-WoE, where players defend a castle for Prizes, much like regular WoE FE, but played as a warm-up event prior to the actual WoE. WoE times are still being discussed at the moment, but competition in WoE will not be boring as there are at least 3 well-organised guilds existing.

MiniWoe has been cancelled in view of a suggestion to put up a different woe for asian/EU timezones. WoE on the other hand has been implemented for the past two weeks. The community response was very good, and WoE is very heated, with over 60+ players participating actively, spread over 4-5 major guilds. WoE SE has been implemented to, and participation in both versions is really good.  And the forum e-drama ensuing after every woe is also something to look forward to. Haha.

The server is just 2 weeks old and yet there is almost always 60-100 people online plus autotrade merches.

The server is now about 1 month old and there is about 60-130 people online at any time. There has been talks of various guilds from other servers like dRO who will transfer here within the next week, although it has not been confirmed. The server admin does not pirate people from other servers, its all about word of mouth(yes, like what im doing right now).


Class Balance is what you would expect in an official RO server because there are no actual modifications of game mechanics. The only changes in the server which are not present in iRO is a resetter, warper, and all those basic eAthena npcs.  

The Economy is doing well for a server of this age. I am very lazy with item hunting, and yet I was able to complete my WoE stuff just by trading. The prices are controlled by simple supply-and-demand, so that the overpricers are forced to lower their prices because no one will buy from them.




SERVER - 8/10

Currently, the server is experiencing occasional position lag, and there have been changes which are implemented server-side to mitigate it. The owner says he is very willing to change hosts if the problem persists. He has already changed hosts once, and says he will not hesitate to do it again if needed. Otherwise, there are no other major issues in lagging. It is hosted on a dedicated server so we need not worry about the hardware side.

The server has moved to a new and better host in Dallas TX after a poll on the forums via pings. This has been found to be the best place for most IP addresses. So far, position lag is very minimal if not non-existent.




COMMUNITY - 9/10

The community is quite friendly with a little sprinkling of jerks here and there.
I think its normal. I was able to be in a guild on my 1st day and they helped me out a lot. @Main chat can also be very animated at times. I normally pass my time just by talking in main chat, and it normally is enough to shoo my boredom away. There are a lot of smart guys in this server, those that know things other than just Ragnarok online.

Some guilds are nicer than others, and some are total pricks. Pretty normal for any server. The nice thing though is, you got options on which kind of people you wanna hang out with, because theres a lot of guilds now.

Oh, the community speaks decent english, and those who tend to be abusive get dealt with quickly.




GAME MASTERS - 9/10

Theres always at least 2 GM's online at any time, and you can just talk to them via PM or @request. You can also use @whogm to check who is online. They answer questions and resolve issues very quickly, and are quite considerate. I remember a time when a player was actually verbally abusing them but they still kept their cool. I myself do not agree to that much patience, but seeing that they practice it is cool, knowing that these Admin people are not egotistical maniacs.

Events currently are underway, and there has been some events which were already staged. Most of the people atm are preoccupied with dressing up their characters for WoE so events are a little seldom atm.


Events are being held regularly. Novice PvP / Treasure Hunts are so much fun. Haha.

======================================


Finale:

Amistr.Net is something that I have been looking for for a very long time. Knowledgeable GMs,a reasonably-behaved and mostly-friendly community, and customs which do not make me raise my eyebrows to any height greater than normal.


And it still holds true up to now. :D

uannaka

your review makes me wanna try the server.. I'm downloading it now ^.^

Annihilate

Quote from: uannaka on Aug 29, 2009, 07:55 PM
your review makes me wanna try the server.. I'm downloading it now ^.^

I saw your post. Yeah please try it. :D
Posted on: Aug 29, 2009, 03:41 pm
*bump*

I edited this review after 2-3 weeks of play. A lot has changed, and Im quite happy.

fluidin

what i'm interested in is "asian woe". do update me if that ever gets implemented. I'll try it out for sure.
Quote from: Jeon on Jun 04, 2009, 12:02 PM
XileRo is the only HR I know that has a reasonable PvP system. I did watch the RWC like you said, all I see is people spamming the room like every other gang fight there is in RO.

Brian

#4
Edit: WoE population is decreasing rapidly which makes this server a lot less attractive.

Edit2: Read my new comments/review on this failing server down below.
currently playing at raijero

Broken Moon

They seem awesome. I might give this server another try... last time I did, I had some weird problem with the files and my weird habits.

I hope it grows a lot.

Annihilate

Quote from: Broken Moon on Sep 20, 2009, 02:38 PM
They seem awesome. I might give this server another try... last time I did, I had some weird problem with the files and my weird habits.

I hope it grows a lot.

are u the guy who didnt wanna DL Ragray0624?

Detached

Nice, simple and clean.
After reading your review, can't wait to try it.
Especially hope they adjust WoE to cater to Asians.

Annihilate

Quote from: Detached on Sep 22, 2009, 04:02 AM
Nice, simple and clean.
After reading your review, can't wait to try it.
Especially hope they adjust WoE to cater to Asians.

Well the server is just waiting for Asians to come in and they'll adjust/add more woe times. I am asian and I've been hoping that more asians will play too.

Brian

WoE has become basically dead with all the mayor guilds leaving/quitting. So if you are into WoE, this server might not be what you are looking for.
currently playing at raijero

Annihilate

#10
Quote from: Brian on Sep 27, 2009, 06:38 AM
WoE has become basically dead with all the mayor guilds leaving/quitting. So if you are into WoE, this server might not be what you are looking for.

Well this is basically what happened last week. Avalon[a major guild] had major problems from the inside, mostly due to bad administration on the GuildMaster's part. Their guild died. GTFOKTHX's [another major guild] GuildMaster quit for 2 months and the guild merged with DevilTools. STFUTHX's guild is growing and very much alive. GoCryPlease,Behemoth, and StarCandies are still gearing up because they  started in the server just 2 weeks ago.

In short, the server's population are basically on the starting stage again. I'd like to see this as an opportunity for those who discovered amistr.net a little late. Though woe may be arguably not as jam-packed as 1/2 weeks ago, participation has gone down only by about 30% [avalon's numbers] and it will be pretty much compensated in a week or 2 when GoCryPlease[the guild from DestinaRO] finishes gearing themselves up, and the other new guild that came from DestinaRO too [ i forgot their name cos I was too busy with work this week so I havent been online as often as before]

Tbh im happy that avalon left. XD~ They were the pricks i was talking about. Good riddance.


This was how last sunday's woe went, quoting Koma, the server admin:



Quote14:00: The War Of Emperium: First Edition has begun!
14:02: The [ADB1 - Neuschwanstein] castle has been conquered by the [Devil Tools] guild.
14:06: The [ADB1 - Neuschwanstein] castle has been conquered by the [STFUKTHX] guild.
14:12: The [ADB1 - Neuschwanstein] castle has been conquered by the [Devil Tools] guild.
14:15: The [ADB1 - Neuschwanstein] castle has been conquered by the [STFUKTHX] guild.
14:18: The [ADB1 - Neuschwanstein] castle has been conquered by the [Devil Tools] guild.
14:21: The [ADB1 - Neuschwanstein] castle has been conquered by the [STFUKTHX] guild.
14:31: The [ADB1 - Neuschwanstein] castle has been conquered by the [Devil Tools] guild.
14:34: The [ADB1 - Neuschwanstein] castle has been conquered by the [STFUKTHX] guild.
14:40: The [ADB1 - Neuschwanstein] castle has been conquered by the [Devil Tools] guild.
14:43: The [ADB1 - Neuschwanstein] castle has been conquered by the [STFUKTHX] guild.
15:00: The War Of Emperium: First Edition is over!

As far as the "another guild" quit topic goes, so far, Avalon has quit for their own reasons and GTFOKTHX has quit due to lack of members from server transitions/moves/school/life (and the @go/@storage thread blocking a majority). Parts of the previous two are now scattered into other guilds or forming new guilds too.

Two to three (possibly more) completely new guilds replace the one that "quit" this time. Similar to when STFUKTHX replaced another. In talks with the GL of Devil Tools, they won't be leaving ever.

Source: http://forums.amistr.net/viewtopic.php?f=50&p=3230#p3230

Brian

#11
STFUKTHX guild quit the server (most of them already quit that is why Devil Tools was taking the castle today), so did GTFOKTHX and Avalon. Which pretty much leaves 1 noob zerg guild on the server, you can tell from the quote above. Starcandles has been in the server for a pretty long time, maybe 1 month. I'm pretty sure they are not planning on WoEing, that guild is more like a social guild than a woe guild.

There is nothing special about this server. Maybe the custom hats but I also seen most of them on other private servers. And tbh, the GM team is not professional. Jekyll is the event gm and all his events are poorly organized. He also does not know how to speak proper english. Most of his sentences have either spelling or grammar errors (sometimes I can't even understand what he is trying to say). Kiana (co-owner) does not have a lot of knowledge on ragnarok. I asked her simple ragnarok questions and her responses were "I'm not sure". Sometimes I believe that she only got the GM position because she is the server's owner fiance. Talking about the server's owner, he is bit ignorant. He would sometimes ignored you and keep on talking about why your suggestion is garbage. The whole GM Staff is inexperience.

Sadly to say, but I'm just waiting for RaijeRO to open up before I quit this server too.
currently playing at raijero

Relics

And that's pretty much the line on how far it's going to go in this thread for the insults.

To everyone who feels the need to respond, try to express yourself in a normal, constructed manner.

Brian

#13
I'm guessing all these off topic posts are pretty much going to get deleted so why bother feeding all you arrogant fools.

I can share my thoughts on a server; that's why we have this forum section. If you don't agree with me, then don't take it personal and start getting mad.
currently playing at raijero

Eviscerate

Yo, I enjoy AmistrRO a lot, but sadly from what i see there is no growth in the population. In fact today i was randomly whispered by the owner of another guild on the server. (don't remember the persons name, nor did they tell there guild name.) Claiming there guild will quit unless another guild joins WoE soon.
Then he/she proceeded to say that my guild needs to hurry up and compete in WoE. Which we cannot do because we have 4 mains out of 22 members, The other members are alts of people who already are in guilds.

Finding new people is impossible imo, i even pm'ed new people and told them how i need there help to join our guild and the servers woe situation. They are usually alt's or not interested in WoE. Also i was apart of starcandies guild and the guild leader himself said "we are a social guild, not a woe guild"

Brian

#15
Quote from: Eviscerate on Sep 27, 2009, 07:24 PM
Yo, I enjoy AmistrRO a lot, but sadly from what i see there is no growth in the population. In fact today i was randomly whispered by the owner of another guild on the server. (don't remember the persons name, nor did they tell there guild name.) Claiming there guild will quit unless another guild joins WoE soon.
Then he/she proceeded to say that my guild needs to hurry up and compete in WoE. Which we cannot do because we have 4 mains out of 22 members, The other members are alts of people who already are in guilds.

Finding new people is impossible imo, i even pm'ed new people and told them how i need there help to join our guild and the servers woe situation. They are usually alt's or not interested in WoE. Also i was apart of starcandies guild and the guild leader himself said "we are a social guild, not a woe guild"
I agree. I'm surprise how they got a population of around 75 when there is almost nothing special about this server. Maybe because they advertise on a dying server's forum (basicRO) which had about 100+ people desperately looking for a new server. Then the server's population jumped from 25 to 75.
currently playing at raijero

Annihilate

#16
Quote from: Brian on Sep 27, 2009, 04:30 PM
STFUKTHX guild quit the server (most of them already quit that is why Devil Tools was taking the castle today), so did GTFOKTHX and Avalon. Which pretty much leaves 1 noob zerg guild on the server, you can tell from the quote above. Starcandles has been in the server for a pretty long time, maybe 1 month. I'm pretty sure they are not planning on WoEing, that guild is more like a social guild than a woe guild.

Err. There more more STFUKTHX people than DT people in WoE SE 5 hours ago. 13 online on DT, 15+ on STFU, 20+ from other guilds.


Quote
There is nothing special about this server. Maybe the custom hats but I also seen most of them on other private servers. And tbh, the GM team is not professional. Jekyll is the event gm and all his events are poorly organized. He also does not know how to speak proper english. Most of his sentences have either spelling or grammar errors (sometimes I can't even understand what he is trying to say). Kiana (co-owner) does not have a lot of knowledge on ragnarok. I asked her simple ragnarok questions and her responses were "I'm not sure". Sometimes I believe that she only got the GM position because she is the server's owner fiance. Talking about the server's owner, he is bit ignorant. He would sometimes ignored you and keep on talking about why your suggestion is garbage. The whole GM Staff is inexperience.

I beg to differ based on the following grounds.

1. Jekyll speaks[or in this case, writes] bad English [and yes it kinda bothered me initially] but what made me like him is the fact that he doesnt pretend that he knows stuff that he knows nothing about, so he consults with other members of the admin. I would rather have this kind of GM that someone who is on constant power-mongering trip.

2. Kiana never says "I am not sure" without telling you that he will consult Koma about it and ask what hes gonna do. I like to think of it this way - Koma is the tech support, Kiana is customer care, Jekyll+Velvet+Aoi are the support guys. I think they mix well.

3. Koma's CrescendoRO went well. that counts for something i guess because if he ran that server horribly, then there wouldnt be old cRO players who came back when amistr opened.

4. Lastly, the main reason why I am kind of defending them is because they went so far just to help me when I was experiencing very serious technical difficulties in-game. My internet's packet routing was so f****d up for some reason and Koma+Kiana helped me for like 5 hours straight just to sort it out. It even went as far as Koma editing my client just so proxies can be enabled. That says something. This is the least I can do to help the server out. It is interesting to point out that the tech support issue section of the amistr forums seldom go unnoticed for more than 12 hours. I think thats good enough to call it speedy resolutions.

5. I understand that you have bad opinion of amistr.net, but please do it as logically as you possibly can. You were ranting about Jekyll and Kiana then concluded that Koma is ignorant.

QuoteSad to say, but I'm just waiting for RaijeRO to open up before I quit this server too.


Oh honey, do yourself a favor, quit now.

Eviscerate

Quote4. Lastly, the main reason why I am kind of defending them is because they went so far just to help me when I was experiencing very serious technical difficulties in-game. My internet's packet routing was so f****d up for some reason and Koma+Kiana helped me for like 5 hours straight just to sort it out. It even went as far as Koma editing my client just so proxies can be enabled. That says something. This is the least I can do to help the server out. It is interesting to point out that the tech support issue section of the amistr forums seldom go unnoticed for more than 12 hours. I think thats good enough to call it speedy resolutions.

That is extremely rare of a server GM to do, To go so far to help with just 1 specific person. It's a very honorable thing. Even though the population is suffering I am not siding with Brian on his opinion of the server. I think AmistrRO is great It's the first server since 4 years ago that I have really enjoyed. It's not over crowded with lame events or people. I have personally spoken with the GM on a issue, The GM was very responsive and carried on a conversation with me on my issue. I also reported a few bots and had a response ASAP. The biggest plus, Is this servers GM's have been caring since day 1 I joined and still are doing there best.

As for Brian I don't see why hes saying the server is not great. He personally spoke to me on MSN a week ago saying how great the server was, and proceeded to brag that he seen it being a great server in the future. He also claimed it was the best mid-rate server Just like in his first post on this thread (i think) He claimed how great it was. I don't know why he changed his mind, He opinions of the GM's are distorted imo.

Maisumi

A server review is a player's critic of his *personal* experience on the server *while he was there*.

Brian may had had a terrible experience on the server 1 or 2 days ago, who knows, which twisted his review 360 (or was it 180?) degrees.


Koma

#19
It appears that Brian was unsatisified with the server. If this is the same Brian that was the only donator for the server, feel free to e-mail me about the donation refund and I will also remove the donation item.

We are a server that doesn't "run" on donations, nor "need" them afterall. We have no intention of closing anytime soon as many other servers that are our peers have as well. In regards to our population, growth is dependant on player support. This includes players not abusing exploits or using third-party programs (which is the reason why a lot of the older guilds "quit"). It includes not harassing other players so they don't feel welcome (which we try to moderate too -- such as harassing a player by impersonating them and their guild, right, Brian?), and it also includes reporting any problems you may have.

We took care of a majority of the server lag that our population originally had issues within the first month of uptime -- by performing 2 full server moves. This means we've gone through 3 different servers in order to accomodate our players better. Each time, staff has made all payments on their own and even cut some of those server contracts short (causing us to overlap subscription fees). We try our best to provide a quality service and have begun implementation of newer features as the general server configuration "suggestions" have been completed and settling down -- these were our primary focus for the past month and a half of uptime.

Our growth has been stable, however the main problem is that the top-tier guilds keep supporting their members that use various external programs and getting banned. Without some of their members, they feel the urge to move especially. I'm not going to point out any names, but the players know who and what guilds I am talking about. As we gain users, we have lost users due to this problem, but stayed at the same size roughly. I can count 6+ guilds of 20 players per that have fallen for this so far -- and these are the WoE'ing "pro" guilds.

Annihilate

Oh, Koma talked.

Well, the thing is almost 40 percent of the server got banned for using 3rd party programs or getting butthurt for having their guildmates banned for that reason. I would have had reason to believe that this isnt true but those same people who got banned for such were ranting in the forums about the purported "obsolescence" of classic RO and the "undeniable need" for these "gameplay enhancers" and openly admitted that they were using it.

Too bad they got caught.

Brian

Quote from: Annihilate on Oct 02, 2009, 06:00 PM
Oh, Koma talked.

Well, the thing is almost 40 percent of the server got banned for using 3rd party programs or getting butthurt for having their guildmates banned for that reason. I would have had reason to believe that this isnt true but those same people who got banned for such were ranting in the forums about the purported "obsolescence" of classic RO and the "undeniable need" for these "gameplay enhancers" and openly admitted that they were using it.

Too bad they got caught.
I beg to differ.
It's more like 3% of the population that left because of this.
Avalon, and STFUKTHX left because there was no competition. One week after GTFoKTHX arrived to the server, one person got banned for botting. This person getting ban did not have a impact on whether the guild should either stay or leave. Note that they stayed for about three-four more weeks after this person got banned. The guild leader became inactive and lost his passion to play on AmistrRO, so most guild members left and some went to DT. After the guild stop WoEing on the server, a member that was still in the guild got banned.
Next, a member of Otterpops got ban because they were using a 3rd party program. So Otterpops left the server but either way they only had a few people in their guild.
But in the end, I don't really care anymore since I'm playing on a different server.
currently playing at raijero

Annihilate

Quote from: Brian on Oct 02, 2009, 08:55 PM

I beg to differ.
It's more like 3% of the population that left because of this.

Avalon was breaking from inside out because of people rage quitting due to tyrannical guild administration, I was the one of the first people who left that guild. Their banned champion Zirka then used some third party program to bot or something while wearing the guild's GTB shield, which consequently caused a ban which served as the force majeure.

STFUKTHX quit, claiming that there was no competition, only after some of them were caught using WPE's to spam skills.

Quote
One week after GTFoKTHX arrived to the server, one person got banned for botting. This person getting ban did not have a impact on whether the guild should either stay or leave. Note that they stayed for about three-four more weeks after this person got banned. The guild leader became inactive and lost his passion to play on AmistrRO, so most guild members left and some went to DT. After the guild stop WoEing on the server, a member that was still in the guild got banned.

ok, i dont see any problem with that one. As you say, it was only 1 person who lost the passion. Its normal. And about that one who got banned, why was he banned anyway?

Quote
Next, a member of Otterpops got ban because they were using a 3rd party program. So Otterpops left the server but either way they only had a few people in their guild.

okay.

Quote
But in the end, I don't really care anymore since I'm playing on a different server.

oh thank you.



It just goes to show that so many people nowadays use cheat programs to gain an undeserved edge in gameplay. Too bad this only consequently showed that the admin is skilled at what theyre doing, i.e. catching cheaters red-handed. STFUKTHX's leader Plike apparently had a controversy too back in destinaRO for using 3rd Party programs, as shown in a thread in their forums. Too bad he cant get away with it this time.

Are you from STFU too?

OMG were you THAT guy who was banned for using the autohotkey? I am not sure.

Koma

#23
Quote from: Brian on Oct 02, 2009, 08:55 PM
I beg to differ.
It's more like 3% of the population that left because of this.
Avalon, and STFUKTHX left because there was no competition. One week after GTFoKTHX arrived to the server, one person got banned for botting. This person getting ban did not have a impact on whether the guild should either stay or leave. Note that they stayed for about three-four more weeks after this person got banned. The guild leader became inactive and lost his passion to play on AmistrRO, so most guild members left and some went to DT. After the guild stop WoEing on the server, a member that was still in the guild got banned.
Next, a member of Otterpops got ban because they were using a 3rd party program. So Otterpops left the server but either way they only had a few people in their guild.
But in the end, I don't really care anymore since I'm playing on a different server.

Avalon (or at least part of Avalon) left because of the GTB banning. This is the exact instance which caused them to drop everything and leave and why they were never heard from again (except for those that stayed):
Quote(To: GL) : True, but regardless of the ban, its an ownership at the time thing -- and so it got banned with the person
(From: GL) : alright i understand then
(To: GL) : Anyways, if you want to talk with the other GMs about it, [email protected]. I wasn't the one that banned him afterall
(To: GL) : Removal of any bans are dealt with by the GM that placed the ban in question usually
(From: GL) : Wish you luck with the server, was fun the while it lasted :D, btw Destina is slowly deing and their members aim for this server, watch out for flame on woe thread with these guys
(From: GL) : they are crazy

Versa left immediately after being caught for botting. They even accidentally PM'ed a GM with "i just got caught for botting, time to move". This was around the time I made that broadcast saying "Don't bot and try to blackmail us with reduced population". They even had a chatroom opening in Prontera after that with "Versa leave now".

As far as GTFOKTHX goes, the issue with the Hugel Bingo exploit (which was originally mentioned by their leader as the reason for their member's banning -- but incorrect since he was banned for botting) as well as the lack of @go/@storage were the primary reasons they never joined in full force, along with the Basic population you previously mention. I talked with their guild leader a long time about their history, and most of his guild didn't come for those reasons. It was even harder of a stab when we deleted their exploited Ice Pick, Combat Knives, and Fire Armor RIGHT BEFORE WoE. Understand yet what happened?

As far as STFUKTHX goes, I know a lot of the members of this guild a little more personally considering a few of them were from Crescendo (the leaders). Their members disliked the Anti-WPE/RPE. We banned their Creator for Autocl*cker usage as he was farming WoE materials. He pretended as if he was using a Homunculi bug and when pressed for more information, just went and created a new account and did the same thing. Then he pretended to be an entirely different person, until we revealed how he was linked. Finally, he revealed his third-party program and still said "he'd be back". The final ban of him occurred right before WoE as he was nearing 99 and as he was still farming materials for his guild. It's no wonder they quit AFTER that WoE. This player has now moved to the same server you're now playing on now, Brian, so you may want to check into him. The other reason being that a few of them quit RO and went off to Aion which recently launched.

You've already explained why Otterpops left so there's no point in me detailing that.

And there you have the details of what ultimately led to these guilds "leaving" or "quitting". It's true that they were bored due to a lack of competition, but the lack of competition comes from the chain reaction. If none of these guilds had to use special methods to try and get ahead, they would all be competing with each other. Instead, you have them each dropping before they had a chance to compete with each other.

Consider that the first WoE was primarily Avalon vs DT (GTFO played a minor role as they weren't ready yet).
The second WoE saw Avalon vs DT vs STFU (who wasn't ready yet either so another minor role) -- GTFO was already on its way out due to the issues previously mentioned.
The third WoE lost Avalon since they quit after the above instance -- and became STFU vs DT.
And the last (fourth) WoE was STFU vs DT again -- with STFU quitting after due to lack of competition (or so they say).

One person matters for these guilds. You have to understand that a majority of these guilds are friends in real life and rarely invite outsiders. If one friend can't be part of the experience, guilds won't stay. Additional guilds (2-3 known offhand) were coming during that 3rd and 4th week but weren't ready to WoE at the time -- but when STFU left -- they thought otherwise. Now there are 3 other new guilds coming regardless.

Annihilate


Gunsmith

I just want to say (Haelstrom on Amistr) that having hopped from one server to the next for years, having helped moderate a few and even tinkering away at little odd&end eAthena mods now and again, this server is something special. It tries to put in the conveniences we expect from an eAthena server, without bloating it or in general giving people (too) easy a time to become gear-gods.

Just so happened a number of people I know in real life go on the server, and when I joined, I got even more people in. In terms of population, I would say it's roughly in the 100-130+ range, but that it's growing. I can even see that, and I again only joined a short whiles ago.

While I disagree with a few of their policies (namely their stance on multi-clienting, which is allowed but isn't at all encouraged) - it is more on a personal level than on a matter of rating the server. Never have a bad time with position lag (Indiana), which is a welcome change from past servers- and with the repeatables as they are plus the rates, it's at that sweet spot where you can level efficiently no problem, but at the same time, not so much so that you're transcendent 99 in 15 minutes.

Most of the community I've met are good sorts. Interesting discussions in the Vent server, and the guilds feel more like how they should (competing groups with less drama than I've seen on other servers), versus how they shouldn't (unruly mobs of preteen children hoping their caps lock proves bigger). In fact, besides one individual who apparently rates player skill based on character level (hilarious), I've really not had a problem with a single user server-wide thus far.

GMs are nice - and more importantly, whenever I've been in Vent mouthing off, they always are quick to point out helpful tips and such with the player-base. Harking back to the members themselves, I remember when a few people I knew joined not even a week ago, someone right off the bat offered to tank for them, leech them, get them acquainted with things - whole nine yards.

Maybe it's because I usually sarcastically claim I'm American 958x just to provoke the anti-American sentiments I often see in RO servers. Maybe it's because I almost always main Stalker. Maybe it's because I like taunting people now and again, but damn it, I've not seen such (general) generosity on an RO server .. ever.

Almost every single one I've played from the big on down to the small, always felt like I was weeding through brainless zombies who had indecipherable nonsense droning across a record, with the needle crashing down at complete random and whatever poorly constructed insults and trash talk they could come up with flooding above their heads, because they believed words and reputation speak louder than actions. Which is great, actually - makes beating them more enjoyable, nothing tastes as good in RO as killing someone and then getting whispered about 93 lines of QQ. But still: irritating.

Not so much though, here at Amistr. Really felt pretty .. calm here.

Finally, I do nod my head at the fact they keep event items and the like statless, but do allow them to be merged with a stat-filled hat, thus merging the two. Keeps event items and the like from giving players an unforgiving edge, but amply rewards them all the same- I was in a three round event today for a little bout of Hocus Pocus elimination. Besides a friend of mine getting offed before I was every time, I didn't win anything [came close the third round, but I got Asura'd which gave the remaining hunter the win] - and yet, I liked the atmosphere of the event as much as the potential items, although a black Gangster Scarf would've looked killer on my Stalker.

I'll need to update my stance as I keep playing further, and as I begin to WoE - but it's definitely my server of choice currently, and I see no real reason to change that. Good stuff.

Rapist

Reading Koma's explanation was much more interesting rather than reading Annihilate's review ;D

Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint you can on it

Annihilate

Quote from: Rapist on Oct 27, 2009, 12:34 PM
Reading Koma's explanation was much more interesting rather than reading Annihilate's review ;D

i would have to agree. lol.