Monthly Update

Members of the Dark Brotherhood-

It’s Year in Review time! I did these during my first term as Fist and have decided to bring them back to give the membership a detailed view of the health of the DB Gaming community. In addition, I have a few other major updates that will go into effect during the first quarter of 2022. I hope you will all take the time to read through this one, because I have a LOT to cover. I think there is some great stuff coming next year, and I’m excited to share these updates and changes with you all.

This month’s topics:

Gaming Year in Review: 2021 GMRG Society Update - Coming Q1 2022 Return of Gaming with the Fist - Coming Jan 2022 Rites of Combat Update

Gaming Year in Review

PVE and PVO Metrics look pretty good across the board. Heroes of the Storm retains the top spot with nearly 250 submissions and about 34 members who actively play it. The Cinderella story this year is SWTOR, which has jumped to the 2nd most played game in the club, with over 183 submissions and 36 active players. The games and modes rounding out the top ten are Battlefront 2, Overwatch, Diablo 3, and the newly minted Casual Gaming Queue, where Halo Infinite currently reigns supreme.

Bentre was the top submitter for PvE/PvO this year. Over the past 12 months he has submitted 144 distinct activities and played with 25 different people. Jafits is hot on his heels, with 111 activities. Jafits takes the win on the number of people he plays games with; over the past year he has played and submitted activities for 33 distinct people. That’s awesome, and it is exactly what gaming in this club is all about.

So, it goes without saying that PvP isn’t exactly the hottest thing right now in the DB. That’s not surprising considering that the past three years have shown the same trend in club gaming: the members prefer cooperative play. Outside of a Vendetta, I haven’t seen anything that proves to me that PvP is the gaming method of choice for the majority of this club. So while PvP will continue to be a staple of club level events, it will not be something I plan to push for casual gaming events. With that said, it is no surprise that Hearthstone remains the #1 PvP platform in the club. Pazaak’s replacement has filled its role as best as it can by providing a free to play game with a (somewhat) low bar to entry. Unsurprisingly, Jedi Academy filled out most of the rest of the pie. The game that simply will not die will continue to see utilization as a relatively easy and cheap entry point for competitive gaming.

PvP Submissions are down from last year. Xantros, the king of Hearthstone has the most matches played at 74. He also played with the most people by matching up with 13 different members of the club. Great job Xantros!

Overall, I think gaming is in a good place. Naturally, there is always room for improvement. It’s been a while since a game was added for full site support and there are at least two that I currently have my eye on. The thing I’m most happy with is the addition of Casual Gaming to our community. The ability for all of you to play essentially any game you want with other DB members is having a very positive effect on activity, and it is refreshing to see people gaming in groups outside their normal circles.

GMRG Society Update - Coming Q1 2022

We have finalized the changes to the GMRG Society. This was a whole of staff effort in determining what activities and methods will award points for ranking up in the GMRG. Before I get into the details, I want to clarify a couple of things.

First, this update ONLY changes how you gain ranks in the GMRG. This update will make GMRG XII accessible to even the most casual of gamers. Even if you don’t play games, you will be able to earn credit for organizing competitions, serving on the Fist staff, placing and or participating in gaming competitions. The fastest method to ranking up is and will always be playing games with other members and submitting for Clusters of Earth and Fire. The GMRG is, at its heart, a gaming society. So naturally I think it is only right that those who game have the edge.

Second, this does NOT change the way the GMRG Quarterly Leaderboard is managed. The only way to earn points for the Leaderboard is through clusters and placements in FIST run competitions. I have no intention of changing that, ever. That leaderboard is for gamers. The only change here is when the leaderboard will be accessible. I have reduced the gateway from Rank X to Rank VI.

Now, onto the updates!

The points per activity is shown in the below chart. Once this goes live, it will be retroactive. That means once it runs, everything you ever did that fits into the below structure will be calculated. Wherever you end up, that’s your new rank. Again, for those of you who have already earned a rank, if your points are lower, that’s ok. You’re not going to get knocked back down a rank in the GMRG.

Below is a view of what the new rank thresholds look like. Points-wise, it’s basically the same as it was when the only way to rank up was clusters and pendants. There are now more ways to earn points, but gaming will be and should always be the primary method to ranking up.

This change has been a long time coming. My hope is that it will create a new spark in the competitiveness of the GMRG Leaderboard. I’m genuinely interested in your thoughts, so please comment below and let me know what you like and don’t like about these changes.

The Return of Gaming With the Fist

During my first term, I started running monthly “Gaming with the Fist” sessions. Back then, I rotated between Xbox, PS4, and PC gaming. As I now do most of my DB gaming on PC (because my connection speed in the basement makes it a pain to play on my PS4) and with the large number of cross-platform games that are available now, I want to start that up again.

Gaming with the Fist will be a monthly event that I will schedule using the Discord “Events” feature. The main point of this is to have fun, play games with you all, and answer any questions you might have about gaming in the DB.

Watch for the first scheduled event sometime around the middle or end of January!

ROC Updates - Discord

Some quick housekeeping for the Rites of Combat. Nothing major, just adjusted the language so that it matches our shift to Discord. The rules are the same.

There is something I want to cover when it comes to ROC infractions. The vast majority of infractions are very minor, and usually stem from a lack of understanding for how the ROC is written. The most common infraction is setting up PvP matches outside of the DB Gaming Matchmaking room. That has been a no-go for as long as I have been a member. The reasons for it are very simple: PvP is by its nature the most competitive gaming category we have. Because of this, there have been incidents in the past where people avoid playing matches with other members because they think or know they will lose. That is match dodging in its purest form. The bot helps to prevent match dodging by masking who is in queue for traditional 1v1 PvP. All you can see is that someone is queued to play a game, and that is by design. As you can clearly see in the metrics I covered earlier, outside of a Vendetta, PvP is essentially dead. Traditional PvP outside of major events is rare, and I acknowledge that finding people to match with can be frustrating. All I will say is be patient, queue if you want to play, and hope that someone will match with you. But don’t set things up in private or in your clan chats. I can see almost all clan chats, and if you are setting up and submitting matches that way I’ll decline them.

That brings me to my second item regarding the ROC. There is a belief that ALL ROC infractions are an automatic trip to the COJ. Let me be 100% clear: they are not. As stated in Section 5.1a and 5.1b, I have the first right of action for every single item in the ROC. Only the most egregious violations ever warrant COJ action (5.1f: specifically Cheating and Exploitation, Crude Behavior, and Disreputable Behavior). I hold it as a point of pride that at no time over the 3+ cumulative years I have served as Fist has there ever been a gaming infraction that warranted COJ attention. I handle all infractions with warnings,and issue temporary gaming bans if warranted.

So if you get a message from me telling you you might be running foul of the ROC, don’t take it as anything more than that. I’m trying to keep you from having issues, and I am trying to keep everything fair across the board.

Ask the Fist

Korvis asks: Any games you are looking forward to being released next year?

Answer: I’m really looking forward to Starfield, the new Bethesda game. I have more hours devoted to Oblivion and Skyrim than I can even remember, and the idea of “Skyrim in Space” really sounds awesome.

Zoron asks two questions: 1) Any insight on if there are games from the Casual Queue that might be seeing enough interest for full inclusion into the system? 2) And one more - any gaming moments stand out for you in any games you played this year? Personal favourite game?

Answer: Halo: Infinite certainly has my attention. I want to see if more people will start playing it, though. I can count about six unique players based on current submissions. But it definitely fits the bill. There are others, but that’s the one I have a close eye on. As for personal favorite? The Mass Effect Legendary Edition. Jumping back in as Commander Shepherd always makes my nostalgia-meter max out!

Turel Asks: What is something you'd like to see about gaming in the club by the time you do your end of year report next year?

Answer: I’d like to see more use of the party feature in the Gaming Matchmaking room. Bentre and Jafits are setting the example for playing with other members, so I’d like to see more people doing that. Gaming in the DB is and should be a social activity. So i’d like to see a lot more depth in members playing with other members.

Appius Asks: What has been your funniest gaming moment of the year?

Answer: The first time I ran into a Horde in Days Gone. I had no idea they were part of the game, and wound up getting steamrolled. After I yelled (loudly enough to concern my wife), I laughed about how hilarious it was watching the Freakers climb over each other to eat me.

Locke asks: How did the uncapped squadrons event go and what does it tell you for the future of that type of event?

Answer: It didn’t go well. That might be on me for dropping the event as a surprise and only running it for a weekend? But I was still surprised at the low turnout. The last uncapped double cluster event caused a pretty interesting run for the end of the quarter placements in the GMRG. Is it the last time I’ll run something like that? Probably not. Do I plan on doing it again anytime soon? Also, probably not. It’s inconvenient for me to uncap activities and I have to be available the second the competition is over to approve all activities and then turn the caps back on to prevent any extra cluster earnings.

Admin and Policy Reminders

If you haven’t joined the ranks of the GMRG, head on over to the GMRG-History course and pass the exam within the Shadow Academy. Get an opportunity to gain exclusive items, compete on the leaderboard to choose a Dark Council member to protect! (Get their accessory!)

All current Gaming and Fist Policies can be found on the Gaming Information page. I suggest that all members read this page as it has some great info. I will make sure this page stays updated to reflect all current office policies.

Helpful Links

• Gaming Information page

• Rites of Combat

• Send us an email at [Log in to view e-mail addresses]

Ok. That was a lot. I hope you all are as excited for all these changes and updates as I am.

On the Drac front, the next few months will be very busy for me. I’m moving again in April, and have a series of professional courses I have to attend to prepare for my next assignment. My next job will likely be the most important of my entire career, and I am definitely looking forward to it. I’m not exactly thrilled about moving again, but that comes with the territory. The good thing is I’ll be closer to home than I have been in nearly a decade, which means I’ll have access to REAL BBQ again.

Until next time,

Keep on gaming!

-Dracpool, out.