Guild of the Week
DVD Forums [DVDF]

History

The DVD Forums [DVDF] originated from an internet forum and gaming organization. The various gaming clans in this organization play a range of games in the major genres (RTS, MMORPG, sports, FPS) across virtually every platform. The Guild Wars division dates back to May 2005. It includes members from all over the world and has several sister guilds (Angel Sharks, Blu Ray, and Greener Pastures) with the DVDF tag in the same alliance.

Philsophy

DVDF has a simple philosophy: recruit the best people and players from around the world and provide them with a place to learn, grow, and make friends in any way they wish.

"Nerf team"

A daily schedule of events augments DVDF?s normal gamut of activity. Members often congregate for "fun runs" (for example, Fissure of Woe with no weapons), special training sessions, or mission-help days. Additionally, they also run the occasional nerf team. This is another way to play the game, where part of the team tries to complete a mission while the other part tries to stop them.

Guild Wars 2

In the long run, DVDF anticipates taking the values and teamwork from Guild Wars into Guild Wars 2. Ideally, they want the launch of Guild Wars 2 to feel like a family reunion.

Gameplay

Sun Tzu says it best: "If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle."

In DVDF, players study mobs to learn skills used, effects of those skills, and patrol patterns. To reduce pressure on the team, DVDF enjoys shutdown and interrupts, particularly with Mesmers. Preventing a huge damage spike often does more than using Energy to heal it.

These tactics are especially relevant in Hard Mode missions such as Gates of Madness where over-aggro can doom a team. DVDF tends to use a single Warrior, often in combination with a Minion Master, to catch and hold aggro. They also designate someone to run away and come back later to rez everyone up if the whole team is dying.

Achievements:

• During the Canthan New Year?s events, the guild donated over 380 sets of ingredients for players who had not gotten a pig. The guild held giveaway events for over twelve hours and helped an estimated 3,000 people.
   
• They have been on the guild ladder for an entire season (highest rank was in the top 150).
   
• DVDF has won and held Halls multiple times.
   
• They have pioneered several PvE builds, including clearing FoW, Urgoz, Ruins of Tombs, and Underworld with all-Mesmer teams, and also B/P in FoW.
   
• The guild has had members be among the first in-game with titles such as Skill Hunter 3, Ale Hound, Vanquisher of Elona, and Protector of Elona.
   
• They have run all Ele, Ritualist, Assassin, Monk, no weapons, and Warrior FoW teams to demonstrate that the holy trinity of Warrior, Ele, and Monk can be broken.
   
• DVDF has held and owned Kurzick towns in Factions for several weeks.
   
• They have contributed to all aspects of the community in-game and on websites such as GWO and Guru.
   
• The guild has staged several free hand-out events to benefit players of all levels (for example, on Christmas Eve some members spontaneously spent three hours giving out gifts to new players in Kamadan).
   
• DVDF players have been mentioned in the Scribe for Acts of Kindness (Dec 14).
   
• Shan was voted female "Mesmer of the Year" in a large Mesmer gathering back in June 2006.
   

Member Information
The Many Faces of the DVDF

Handle: Shanaeri Rynale (Shan)
Handle: UK
Position: Guild Leader
Why Guild Wars is the greatest: I love the detail crammed into the nooks and crannies of even the most remote areas. To me, it seems the bones of a mighty beast behind the Dunes of Despair were placed with obvious pride and love for the game.
Biggest Guild Wars triumph: Building my guild from 15 people to its current 90+ members and filling it with friends and great players surpasses all the Hall wins, titles, elite missions, innovative builds, and in-game firsts I?ve personally achieved. If I had to single out my proudest moment I would say how the guild and alliance reacted when I suggested we give everyone, everywhere, a pig during Canthan New Year.
Embarrassing Guild Wars moment: While playing my first-ever character, a Warrior, I was at level 6 and some level 20s were helping me in the Ruins of Sumeria. I spotted a horde of Charr Ember Bearers. Dutifully protecting my teammates, I waded in and killed the mob. I turned around in glorious triumph, and was surprised to find out I?d just wrecked the bonus.
Preferred Character: Shan is by far my most-played and well-known character. Playing Mesmer requires you to know pretty much every skill in the game, and that of every mob. It?s not a profession where the same skills work well in every area. To excel, it requires careful thought, tactical analysis, and situational awareness. Reacting to the flow of battle and relieving pressure with the right skill at the right time is part of the Mesmer?s role.
Skill Bar: I use a versatile build in the Fissure of Woe with shutdown and damage to speed up team progress. Weapon swaps and knowledge of recharge times manage Energy: Wastrel?s Demise, Energy Burn, Clumsiness, Power Block, Web of Disruption, Empathy, Shatter Hex, and Backfire. Being able to shutdown a shadow Monk via Power Block, interrupt a shadow Warrior?s Healing Signet and ruin a shadow Ranger?s day via Empathy¡ªall within a few seconds¡ªis a great feeling.

Handle: Brother Bryder
Location: East Midlands, UK
Position: Officer
One interesting fact: I met Bryan Molko of the band Placebo in Oxford a few years ago. A crazed fan saw me talking to him, thought I was Chris Moyles from BBC Radio 1, and wouldn?t leave until I signed an autograph. Hope he?s not reading this¡ªhe?ll probably be terribly disappointed.
Favorite Guild Wars aspect: The people, all the way. I can?t imagine any game keeping me hooked for two years unless I spent time in-game with some great friends.
Guild Wars deity: Balthazar. You can settle any argument with a big enough sword!
Real life experience from gaming: I met my girlfriend, Monskie the Monk, in-game at Ice Tooth Caves in 2005. A few months later we moved in together.
Why your guild is the greatest: DVDF has some of the nicest and most able players I?ve met. There?s a strong sense of community and a genuinely helpful and friendly environment I?ve not experienced elsewhere.

Handle: Crazy Harry
Location: UK
Position: Officer
Favorite Guild Wars aspect: The online family feeling.
Real life experience from gaming: Lost four girlfriends so far. I?m just joking; I don?t have time for a girlfriend.
PvP or PvE: I prefer PvE because I can play at my own pace.
Build to watch for: Being a Monk, Mesmers (probably one of the hardest classes to play and defeat if done competently).
Funniest PUG experience: Had a Monk playing as a Warrior in a PuG team trying to defeat Glint. He reasoned he could do damage as well as heal. We did not defeat Glint but completed the mission, which he ascribed to his superior tactics. I was playing the second Monk. Luckily I had a very good Energy management setup.

Handle: Healing Bird
Location: Manchester, UK
Position: Officer
Why Guild Wars is the greatest: The community. Great graphics on release and it still looks fantastic. The variety of areas, quests, and missions. Oh yes, let?s not forget being able to fire a pig from a catapult!
Most spectacular Guild Wars death: Being hit by an Ataxe in Hard Mode for 2,740 damage. Yes, I was using Frenzy and Heal Sig with no armor. I just wanted to see how hard they would hit. Best 1k ever spent.
Biggest Guild Wars triumph: First HoH win. Having been so close, so many times, when we finally won it was fantastic. No wins are as sweet as the first. I still have the screenies and the sigil that dropped for me.
Preferred Character: My little Monk, Healing Bird, the oldest of my characters. We have been through a lot over the past couple of years¡ªnumerous HoH wins, suicidal PuGs, all three campaigns. My play style is constructive cowardice.
Why you joined: I wanted to be in a guild with all my in-game friends, some of whom I?ve known over two years.

Handle: Humdrum Weaseltoe
Location: UK
Position: Officer
One interesting fact: I have been demoted more times than all officers put together. All demotions were after practical jokes like blowing Shan up with barrels, catapults, and so on. We have a long tradition in the guild of trying to blow each other up.
Guild Wars monster you?d be: In the spirit of James Carville I want to be the Ghostly Hero, because then you can interrupt everybody.
Guild Wars deity: Balthazar, because he?s also a slightly scruffy barbarian who can?t dance.
Humorous gaming incident: Just after the Isle of the Nameless first opened, my guild leader, Shan, and the leader of another friendly guild were using the barrel targets to quantify the ranges of various types of AoE spells. While they were engrossed in their experiments, I wammoed off and found a catapult and a repair kit...
Gaming background: Almost exclusively RTS. The only top level PvP I did was in the original Red Alert where my brother and I teamed up to win the world monthly #1 on three occasions several years ago.

Handle: Kagome Starviper
Location: Washington State, USA
Position: Officer
Humorous gaming incident: Hard Mode Shiro in Cantha. I expected him to be much tougher but he died faster than in Normal Mode.
Unique online gaming story: Since I live in America and most of my guild is in Europe, I get to learn a lot about people and life overseas.
Why your guild is the greatest: The quality and level of sportsmanship and professionalism our players have. There is always a group forming for some mission, quest, or event. People are greeted whenever they come online and the guild attitude is always positive.
Preferred Character: Elementalist. I love the versatility of slow Hexes, defense, and raw damage. Savannah Heat, Blinding Surge, and Assassin?s Promise are my favorite elites for their unique, situational uses.
Gaming background: I started seriously playing RPGs with Final Fantasy 7; I loved the storyline. I am a fan of FPS games like Doom, Half-Life, and Counter Strike, which I played frequently before Guild Wars.

Handle: Lethor, or Leth
Location: Poland
Position: Officer
Biggest Guild Wars triumph: Finding so many great friends that are always helpful and fun to hang around with, even virtually. What bigger triumph could there be?
PvP or PvE: Definitely PvE. I love teamplay, but in PvP there is a winning and losing side¡ªeven if I somehow win, someone had to lose.
Preferred Character: My Mesmer. Not entirely sure why though, it came very naturally... I guess it?s the versatility and the feeling of control you get. Or it?s the looks. Or both?
Gaming background: A little of pretty much everything¡ªRPG, RTS, FPS, you name it. Guild Wars is my first MMO though.
Why you joined: To be a part of something bigger and have fun while I?m at it. Seems like a good call so far.

Handle: Monskie The Monk
Location: UK
Position: Member
Favorite Guild Wars aspect: I love the challenges in PvE. Visually, Guild Wars is absolutely beautiful. But the most endearing quality is the strong community, unusual in such a game.
Real life experience from gaming: When I first started playing I met a really helpful Blood Necro in a PuG in the Northern Shiverpeaks. He had already completed the game on a few characters so he knew what to do. He helped me get my Monk through much of the game. A few weeks later we met in person, and have been boyfriend/girlfriend ever since!
Funniest PUG experience: This Warrior we took into FoW. He wouldn?t run in and hold aggro. Our Mesmer (Shan) started tanking because the Warrior was too busy casting healing spells! We still made it through.
Why your guild is the greatest: We have an active roster and frequently arrange fun ways of doing old missions. I?m proud of our guild actions, from giving out Christmas presents in Kamadan to helping people get collectable piggies in the Canthan New Years feast.
Preferred Character: My Monk. I have over 1,300 hours played in 16 months! I play primarily PvE Healing Monk (Word of Healing / Orison / Dwayna?s Kiss), but have been working more with Protection builds for Hard Mode.

Handle: Quick Rinoa
Location: Hong Kong
Position: Officer
Preferred Character: I love the Mesmers! Punishing another player?s actions or mistakes is priceless fun! Also being a Mesmer means your effect on the battle is not as obvious as the damage dealing classes. This fact has helped develop a surprisingly large Mesmer community.
Why you joined: Guild Wars is my first online game and meeting people from all over the world fascinated me. I?ve joined guilds from the Far East, Europe, and America, but eventually settled in DVDF with like-minded, confident players.
Favorite Guild Wars aspect: A guildie of mine described Guild Wars as "like having friends in your home." I could not agree more.
Biggest Guild Wars triumph: I highly value the all-Mesmer groups I?ve taken part in, such as completing Urgoz?s Warren and UW. But if I had to choose only one triumph, it would be my friends list full of lovely people.
Embarrassing Guild Wars moment: During an all-Mesmer outing in the final part of the Tomb of Primeval Kings, I was playing Illusionary Weaponry tank. My friend drew on the compass, trying to tell me where to avoid. But I interpreted the drawing as "get over there!" I aggroed just about everything for a full team wipe!

Handle: Twangy Rubber
Location: Yorkshire, England
Position: Officer
One interesting fact: I?m named as co-inventor on a patent arising from my job doing R&D on Optical Brighteners.
Favorite Guild Wars aspect: The atmosphere generated. The scenery, lore, and storyline form a powerful combination that gets better and better the longer you spend in-game.
Guild Wars monster you?d be: Shard Wolf. Most of the time you get left in peace...nobody wants to farm Shard Wolves!
Most spectacular Guild Wars death: After slapping down the Charr army in Fort Ranik, my level 10 buddy dropped a catapult on my head just as I /roared in victory...
Skill Bar: Pindown, Savage Shot, Apply Poison, Broadhead Arrow, Lightning Reflexes, Imagined Burden, Storm Chaser, Res. AKA Moddock Crevice, "I?ll handle the runners," build.

Guild Nominations Accepted

Do you have a guild you would like to nominate for a Guild of the Week article? Perhaps a guild you?ve met on the field of battle that has impressed you with their sportsmanship and skill. Maybe you would like to learn more about a specific guild on the ladder. Or perhaps you would like us to feature your own guild because you feel you and your teammates can offer valuable insight into Guild Wars or interesting information about guilds or strategies in general. Please see this page for information on the Guild of the Week nomination process. And thanks for your help in providing excellent coverage of Guild Wars guilds!

Source: http://www.guildwars.com/community/guildweek/gotw-2007-06-19-dvdf.php