Fond memories.......

1st Official Post

    I was looking through some very old screenshots today and found myself smiling more and more as I reminisced about the friends & fond memories that GW had brought me. Guildwars always was more than “just a game” to me, & some of the people I met in game along the way have become great friends of mine IRL.

    I wanted to share some of the memories with you guys so here are some of the pics I stumbled across, and the stories to go with them. They are all from 2012.

    Brave Kubana ~ My hero & the giver of gifts.

    I have told the story before of how he donated five of his Q8 Magma shields to me & forever changed my GW life by doing so(+60w/hex/-5/20, +45we/-5/20, +30/+1Inspiration, +28/-5/20, and +53/-3w/hex), but he also helped another old friend of mine out with this deal…

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    Kabong ~ My first meeting with the King of Hammers

    I remember standing in Kamadan one day seeing some rando spamming, WTS SWAMP CLUB, so I asked if I could see it. He showed it to me, and then kept adding more……. here is how it played out. I have blacked out the screenshot locations on my HDD to make the conversation easier to read.

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    Hatamoto Chi ~ Nice guy of PhD

    Another moment was when I got serious about assembling the full dual reduction Magmas set & Hatamoto allowed me to purchase his dual reductions. I was so thankful that he let me make the purchase & he was a real nice bloke for who I have a lot of respect.

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    The one that got away….

    I don’t have many regrets in Guildwars but one of them was letting this beauty slip away as I did not realise at the time how elusive it would become. I never saw one again, although im sure Plekki will probably tell me they are/were common as dog shit. xD

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    Well, thanks for your time & feel free to share your favourite Guildwars stories. :heart:  

    "Memories, even your most precious ones, fade surprisingly quickly. But I don't go along with that. The memories I value most, I don't ever see them fading." Kazuo Ishiguro.

    EK ~ Proud Officer of アoo アugs アlan [ァアァ]

    "Light travels faster than sound, which is why some people appear bright until they speak."

    Edited once, last by Enchanted Krystal (January 1, 2019 at 1:39 AM).

    Really cool stuff EK~ The skele shield i posted, u see who i trade it to ;)

    Heres a few screenshots of items ive

    owned/Traded/Sold u know the deal ;)

    Ofc there was more things just didnt take the sceens.

    Sadly i never completed any collections, although i had opportunities to.

    Edited 5 times, last by Sicilianking (December 30, 2018 at 9:43 AM).

    I don't remember the first time I met Kabong, King of Hammers. Neither of us had a nervous system at the time.

    I have so many great memories from this game. I remember the feeling of being on an epic journey. I remember the awe of seeing new places and the wonder with which I imagined what those players in the fancy armor and magnificent weapons must've seen and survived.

    I wanted to go. I wanted to try. I wanted to become.

    I remember crossing the Maguuma Jungle with the Captain for the first time. He was a full wammo sword tank. Glad's defense, Bonetti's, healing breeze, mending, the whole thing. Tactics jacked up, no actual sword skills...and, of course, no rez sig. I remember soloing the jungle with my party dead on the ground, chipping away at everything 1 point at a time as my auto-attacks worked their glacial, inevitable magic. The chat window scrolled with my party members gawking at Kromp in his ineffective invincibility.

    Then I met my doppleganger. I couldn't kill him. I put my first points into strength and never looked back. I was on my way.

    There are many memories from my time in GW. I've been lucky to be surrounded by the finest collectors in the game (EK's screenshots of a sampling of [PhD] officers is testament to this). But what will always come first when I look back on my time is just that - that feeling. That is the most valuable thing this game has given me and I'm grateful for that.

    • Official Post

    Don’t like it?, scroll on by. But cut out the negativity. There’s no need for it, and it achieves nothing. (**mod edit--we have done the deleting...stay on topic or a BAN is coming your way!--mod edit**)

    There’s nothing wrong with fondly reminiscing about memories.

    Or is it just jealousy that there are people around here who have the brain capacity to string some words together to paint a mental image?

    Scroll on by, don’t comment.

    Negative comments that aren’t to do with fond memories will be deleted. Keep it on topic.

    Don’t make us start handing out bans please. (and the mouse has a BIG HAMMER just waiting!)

    "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars" - Oscar Wilde

    Edited once, last by cosyfiep: removed directed comment (December 31, 2018 at 5:14 AM).

    Great story!

    I was smiling the whole time I was reading & actually LOLed at the doppleganger part! This made me remember my first assessment of my warrior's skills & deciding that surely every warrior would be using Meteor Shower, and I would be a noob if I did not take it too. xD

    @ mods, please clean up this thread as it is for remembering our Guild Wars past & not bullying/belittling other peoples fond memories. A fond memory should not be tarnished by someone else's opinion, it should be respected & cherished.

    "Light travels faster than sound, which is why some people appear bright until they speak."

    Edited once, last by Enchanted Krystal (December 31, 2018 at 4:11 AM).

    I remember when The Herbalizer was the king of hammers. I remember when he left. I remember what he gave me. I remember what he kept. [PhD].

    I choose not to get involved in stuff about the guild of which I have been an integral part for so many years. I appreciate the defense put up by Kromp and Max but generally find the attackers are best ignored and left to plink away on the walls of PhD with their spoons or toothpicks or whatever. Good God.

    Edited once, last by Kabong (December 31, 2018 at 4:01 AM).

    • Official Post

    I remember when I first heard of collecting items being a thing.

    I remember how I felt when I first saw the elite traders and collectors in action - being jealous of the items they had in their possession, and awe-struck at their knowledge.

    Like a young Mike Wazowski when he comes back out of the door when he followed the professional scarer in, and when confronted by the teacher he says "How do I become a scarer?" I knew there and then that was what I wanted to do, so I set about becoming a collector.

    I remember reading and re-reading the collections thread on the old Guru site to learn. I remember studying the price checks section and the buy/sell sections to get a feel for the markets and what is worth trading. I remember my first trades.

    I remember trying to get noticed by the top collectors, by tracking them down in game and muscling my way onto their conversations on Guru.

    I remember being taken aside by one of my mentors, and now a good friend - a guy called Enchanted Krystal whose collections were part of my inspiration to start. We discussed at length what to collect, and he had spotted a gap in the current collectorsphere for a collection of Dual reduction shields. He showed me a few, and there and then donated a r8 dual reduction skeleton shield to start me off. Looking back, it was like a father throwing his kid in a pool for the first time and telling him to swim.

    But I did swim, because I'm belligerent and ambitious. And I was hungry to learn more, and to join the elite collectors' guild.

    I remember the day I was asked to join that guild, and the day I was asked to be an officer. I remember my conversations with the leadership about the direction the guild could take. I remember the feeling of having achieved what I set out to achieve. I remember living my own dream. You can keep GWAMM, or the HOM, This was the pinnacle for me. I remember the pride. Such pride.

    I remember being taught all about Pre-Nerf, and how some items are rarer and more exclusive even than the commonly accepted Pre-nerf. I especially remember the Pre-Nerf masterclasses bestowed upon me by Gregor, Kromp, Kabong and Tooburns.

    I remember the history lessons from Kromp of past history from before I was even aware this game existed. The tales of how it all began, and the stories of the legendary collectors from the same era.

    I remember thinking that I had enough shields to sink a warship, but no weapons of note, and deciding to start collecting those too.

    I remember talent-spotting many new people who showed the potential of being collectors, discussing what to collect like my mentor did with me, and encouraging them to take the plunge. Several of them did and are now collectors in their own right.

    I remember the day I learned that guru was to close, and I remember deciding right there and then that I wasn't going to allow the community to be homeless, so I searched out people from the Facebook group who might be able to build a new site. It turned out that already in that group was everything the community needed to start a new replacement site. This is probably my fondest memory of all. My proudest moment. That small group of like-minded folk who made this site a reality, led by Richey, programmed by Kevin make Legacy my fondest memory.

    Man this is making me nostalgic. Especially seeing the posts about Kubanan's generosity. I owe him a lot. He was a good friend of Z Split (who sold me my all time favorite item, my 20 / 20 Q9 Fire Celestial Staff) and helped me get in touch with him to make the first purchases that built my collection.

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    (Obligatory pic of my Celestial staff--what a beaut, right?)

    In many ways, I owe the start of my collection to Kuba. He also gave me three beautiful prenerf fire staves--a Q8 10/10 Zodiac and Forbidden, a Q9 10/10 Canthan Fire Staff--totally for free. I don't have a pic of these here, off hand, but you can imagine what they are. What an absolute legend.

    I could probably talk ad nauseum about the folks I've met through GW (I'm great at talking ad nauseum). I'm not going to do that today. But I do want to mention my friends and mentors from PhD--especially Kromp and Kabong.

    I remember meeting Kromp probably ten years ago (on his Necro with a T.S. Eliot inspired name) when I had started seriously attempting to get all the Canthan fire staves. We talked for a long time about Dragon Staves and I remember being absolutely flummoxed by his collection (especially the Q8 10/10 Fire Dragon, which has and always will be a dream item.) I also remember thinking how cool PhD was as a collector's guild, and his kindness and willingness to take time to talk to a pleb like myself. When I finally got my Q9 20/20 Fire Dragon it felt like a journey completed, and it was awesome knowing my friends in [PhD] were cheering for me. I know its not a big deal now compared to a lot of stuff we see semi-regularly here, but for me, it was more than just an item.

    And on Kabong--well, heck, this one picture from my warrior's (still growing) Q9 Hammer Collection ought to speak volumes by itself:

    Here's another:

    I will let you speculate as to the origin--but perhaps you will notice the lack of customization (normally not my style, but kept unmarked as an homage to its former owner). ;)

    Kromp and Kabong--I feel like y'all don't get nearly enough credit for your contribution to collecting in this community, and that merited a shout-out. Thanks so much to you both for being invaluable leaders, mentors, fellow demon slayers (in D3) and--most importantly--FRIENDS! I always, inevitably come back to Guild Wars not just for the great game, items, and visuals--but especially for the friends I have made along the way. You two are chief among them!

    <3

    [PhD] Yuko

    Yuko, you'll be happy to hear that our little guild turned 11 just a couple of days ago. There's nothing in GW that I'm prouder of than [PhD] -- and that's for no other reason than the people who have made it what it is (sorry, OS T...feel free to dislike). Thank you for being such an exemplary part of it for so long. I remember that conversation about dragon staves, I remember how you sniffed out my necro's name, I remember very clearly being excited about the idea of you joining the guild, and I remember being so happy for you when you started building your epic fire collection. It was absolutely insane running into you in D3. There, you were the master and I was the pleb. We've explored some bizarre worlds together. I hope someday we get to return to Tyria for real!

    <3[PhD]<3

    Quote from Captain Krompdown

    Yuko, you'll be happy to hear that our little guild turned 11 just a couple of days ago. . . . Thank you for being such an exemplary part of it for so long.

    Hard to believe! Passion is so important, and I’m glad to have found a place where passion is so readily available (and appreciated.) I can’t say I’d have stuck with GW so long in its absence. And thank you—your kind words mean very much to me today (just as they did almost a decade ago!).