Semper Dius

As our first foray into “Guild vs. Guild” (where two guilds collide at a designated time and location in World vs. World) Semper Dius triumphed over UNITY in six rounds of 20 vs. 20. If this victory wasn’t enough, Semper Dius went about it in style, successfully defeating UNITY in each round, with no players defeated. Using bold portal tactics practiced only moments earlier and rapid use of combo-fields, there was never any question than it being little more than a bloodbath.

UNITY were gracious in defeat, admitting that Semper Dius “have some really special tactics that we haven’t seen before, after what was seen on the video we have to give you credit for being so innovative!” .

We’d like to thank UNITY for the opportunity and extend an offer to any other guilds interested in taking part, by asking that you visit our Public Area to lay down your challenge.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVuMdy4dzKE&feature=player_embedded

You can view more videos of our first Guild vs. Guild by using the following links below.

Spectator's view
All fights

Guardian POV:
First fight
Second fight
Third fight
Fourth fight
Fifth fight

Necro POV
2 fights

A look back on 2012:
2012 has been a good year for Semper Dius. We celebrated our 5th anniversary and while we didn't have a big picture to play we ventured into games such as Team Fortress 2, Tribes Ascend, League of Legends, Minecraft and ARMA II: DayZ to have fun in together. We did this till August when we finally saw the release of the highly anticipated MMO Guild Wars 2. After a rough journey, we played Beta on Desolation and started playing on Ruins of Surmia at release. We moved to the Gandara server where we made a name for ourselves as an organized WvW Guild to be reckoned with.

We had many joyous moments, and a highlight for the Community was the guild meeting at Gamescom. We had a lot of fun there and hopefully meetings like that one will be repeated in the future.

What will 2013 bring?
First of all we are all looking forward to the promised major update for WvW that will be coming in February this year. We hope that it can bring some new life to the gametype and add some spice to it to make it even more fun. Along with everyone else we also hope that Arenanet can find a good fix to the culling problem and for the sPvP fans it would be nice to see rentable match rooms, matchmaking and a ladder.

Semper Dius will be looking to further put a mark on Gandara and evolve as we have been doing for a while: becoming one of the stronger Guilds. To achieve this we will look further into recruiting additional members to strengthen our squad.

As a Community we are looking into stepping into a second project next to Guild Wars 2 in an attempt to become a slightly bigger Community where gamers of all sorts and preferences can find a home. We are still debating amongst the current members which game might be good for that so stay tuned as we will announce our decision sometime in January!

Guild Wars 2 has been out for two months now and many things have happened since. Semper Dius had a lot of things going on as well. Early on, we decided to move to a different server. We picked Gandara and while the server was not in the top WvW brackets, we managed to find our home here and fought weekly for every inch of land that we could get.

But unfortunately for our allies in WvW, many of our members decided to focus more and more on PvE content, which made our presence in WvW and tournament PvP less than optimal. With renewed focus, we’ve started to work hard on fixing this.

Right now, we have 70+ dedicated and active members in our guild that are fighting several times per week for Gandara. We are passionately defending it every week while having lots of fun. And it has been rewarding! We have been winning the last few pairings by determination and teamwork with the other strong guilds on our fantastic server.

But we are not only dominating in WvW. Many members are also doing tournament PvP and Semper Dius is currently housing a few dedicated tournament teams as well. The raw skill of our members and the tactical eye of our great commanders have made us a force to be reckoned with. This week we battle it out with Fort Ranik and Far Shiverpeaks. It’s a totally new match up for us and we are very excited about it. Let the bloodshed begin!

Of course, nothing is perfect yet and we can still improve as guild but we are on the right track. We are hoping to find more PvP focused players who are willing to join our ranks. Together we can make Gandara a feared server!

Semper Dius isn't all about serious WvW or sPvP events but organizes some laid back and relaxed events as well. What these grouping events shine at is using your imagination and random banter to achieve something together.

A good example of this is our WvW jumping puzzle parties. Mostly during off hours we grab a few members and group up to do the jumping puzzles in all WvW borderlands including the eternal battlegrounds. We make it a goal to all get to the chest, be it in the funniest way or the fastest way it doesn't matter. But what does matter is all leaving it together to go on to the next location.

In the following picture you can see what this can lead to. From left to right, Astaroth Hellflame, Haldir Quindiniar, Astris and Branwulf are showing off in pink colors.



Fellow members quickly got hooked by the amazing beauty of this group of 4. Quite unexpectedly that first night messing with color schemes gave birth to the "Pink Puzzle/Guild Night". When we see the opportunity to do something fun like this we will not hesitate to do so. And so that resulted in the following group picture:



It was difficult convincing Scarik to give in to the pink madness but in the end we succeeded. As you can see in the picture he was still trying to break free from it but soon he'll see the beauty of it! Like Zenith who didn't even have to change colors, he could just be his normal self.

There are definitely more nights like this one and nights with other themes coming soon. Stay tuned!

Another important decision in our long history has been made. After carefully thinking this over, Semper Dius has decided to step back from our [SD] tag. It's with pain in our heart that we say goodbye to something we identified ourselves with for 5 and a half years. But it is for good reason that we change:

First of all [SD] isn't an uncommon 2 letter combination. There will be several Guilds using this tag, in the past this has never been a problem but in GW2, Guilds are cross server so there is a higher chance of encountering a Guild with the same tag.

It is for this reason that we started talking about changing our tag. We decided to go for [DIUS]. Why this tag? Well, it will be a tag that can only be linked to Semper Dius. If we are seen running around with that tag everyone should instantly know what Guild we are, given that we make a name for ourselves

Another positive from this change is that not only will it make us stand out more in game but also on the internet. If you google SD you'll find a lot of results, if you google Dius we'll be an early hit.

Semper Dius isn't sitting still while waiting for Guild Wars 2. Driven by our active and motivated Community we've had game servers for Team Fortress 2 and Minecraft so far. Next to that we play together in Civilization 5, Borderlands, League of Legends, Smite, Blacklight Retribution, Tribes: Ascend and many more.

As next chapter in our successful story we are adding a ARMA II - DayZ mod server to our Community. Thanks to Cas, who owns the server, SD can now hunt zombies (and so much more) on more familiar ground.

So join us on our server for more thrilling experiences that will certainly make your blood pump dangerously hard!

The server details are:
Server name: DayZ - LU232 (1.7.2.3/95054) (Veteran|3D:ON|CH:ON) dayzmod.com - By Semper Dius | Vilayer.com
IP: 94.242.227.154
Port: 2302

After much deliberation and a surprising number of applications from members, the Field Marshals for both PvE and PvP have finally been decided.

First and foremost we would like to thank all those that applied, some obviously provided more information than others and it was a very difficult choice. For anyone not selected, please don’t be disheartened as your leadership qualities and opinions, are still very much required in all guild matters. We will, when neccesary, review those selected and may eventually increase the number.

The roster will be updated shortly to reflect the new roles of those chosen and it goes without saying that those who were successful are expected to lead and be present for WvW, structured and player versus enemy events (in Samels case) as much as they are able.

Congratulations!

Despite a lengthy discussion and voting process between members, as to what server we should play on in the up and coming Guild Wars 2 beta weekend, it has been decided that for this phase we will choose Desolation.

Despite it receiving fewer votes than both Riverside and Augury Rock, there were several factors for not, at this time, choosing either of those popular choices. The dismissal of Augury Rock from the list of candidates was predominantly because of a potentially large proportion of non English speaking players gravitating towards it. Whilst we have no issue with anyone speaking their native tongue (we are a multicultural guild after all) I'm sure many of our members in their MMOG lifetime have, at some stage, encountered a server or shard where they have been unable to communicate to others, due to language barriers.

As a first foray into Guild Wars 2 for many of our members, we want to ensure that the play experience for all is as enjoyable as possible, so selecting what will hopefully be a predominantly English speaking server fits that purpose.

Secondly, though Riverside was very popular and likely to become the outright winner, we want to ensure we forge strong ties with Guilds who share similar views to our own. The announcement from Darkademic that DarkReavers, a like minded guild, are to choose Desolation for this beta event, provides us with a perfect opportunity to road-test what could become a strong alliance.

Should we feel that after this phase they do not fit our ideals, then we will look to selecting an alternative server (Riverside) over the phases to come.

The Guild Wars 2 Beta weekend event has finally been confirmed as beginning on the 27th April! For three days, all those who pre-purchased Guild Wars 2 will have access to the servers and should, several days before the event, receive their client information.

This is a great opportunity to really nail down your profession choice before launch and get a feel for the game, as well as exploring its structured PvP and World versus World content.

A blog post detailing what is available should arrive in the next few days and hopefully lets us loose on the elusive Asura and Sylvari.

Though we’ve yet to decide on a server, we have put in a place a rough order of events. For any members who don’t want to take part in this blood-bath-athon, that’s fine; all members are free to do just as they please across all three days though we hope to see as many as possible participating in Saturdays events.

Friday Free For All

We’re in no doubt that everyone will want to do everything they possibly can the moment they get on the server, so we decided that Friday was the most sensible choice to allow all members to do just what they want, when they want. Make the most of this opportunity to experiment; The Mists are complete with underwater, moving and stationary test dummies for you to try your skills against!

• Establishing your professions
• Experimenting with builds
• Test dummying in The Mists
• Exploration
• PvE and Dungeon content

Saturday Structured and WvW

What better way to spend a Saturday than Semper Dius jumping onto several servers, filling them to the brim and then slugging it out. It is likely that everyone will meet in The Mists, we’ll divide numbers and party members and then jump in for hour after hour of fisticuffs. As the server numbers begin to swell and for a change of scenery, we’ll eventually move to WvW as and when members are ready. Oh and put your Saturday best on, there will be a guild photo!

Sunday Structured and WvW

Could there be anything finer than a repeat performance of Saturday? We don’t think so, that’s why a healthy dollop of another round of Structured and WvW is in order, late into the night.

Stock up on soft drinks, snacks and pack off the family. The Guild Wars 2 Beta weekend is almost here!

Now where is that catheter I left lying around…

The long anticipated fast-paced shooter that is Tribes:Ascend is now available to play and Semper Dius have decided on yet another Fight Night whilst we wait for Guild Wars 2 (as if Team Fortress 2 wasn't enough!). The Tribes:Ascend release build, which you can download by visiting the site, includes 9 playable classes, 5 game-modes, and 16 unique maps.

Recent additions include the CTF map Raindance, as well as a new game-mode called Capture and Hold. The Release build also includes a preview of the Custom Server functionality that will soon be available to players.

Although we don't yet have a dedicated server (these arrive in a few weeks time) feel free to pop by on our forums if you want to join some of us in game.

We'll see you Wednesdays. Prepare for the pain!

Semper Dius

The second part of Guild Wars 2 Hub's interview with Jon Peters has gone live today. The first part, if you missed it, can be found here.

Jon: I think we’re even seeing that more so now. To me, that’s my favorite thing about the game. I won’t take credit for it – I think Colin said it at some point – but the most important thing in GW2 is how well you play a build, not the build itself.

As ever, Jon Peters gives a fantastic insight into the thought processes behind Traits and builds whilst there is some particularly juicy information about the Necromancer in the first part and a excellent delving by Hub into build make-ups in the second.

It's a great read.

Semper Dius.

Ever wondered what the Golem Butler/Banker from the Digital Deluxe edition looks like? The wait is over!

Head to GameBreaker.TV for an exclusive sneak peek.

Pretty snazzy, no?

Semper Dius

If you haven't already seen, Guild Wars 2 can now be pre-purchased from the official GW2 website or from select retailers. At a whopping $149.99 (or almost double that in pounds sterling) the Collectors Edition is a serious investment, but with incredibly limited stock, it's likely to have already sold out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=IUd_bZm7j5c
Still, there is always the Digital Edition and Digital Deluxe Edition that provides some added extra's though it's for you to decide whether you think those extras are worth an added £15.00. Still, for a subscription-less MMOG we think it's good value for money. You should be aware however that if pennies are tight, you can always upgrade to the Digital Deluxe Edition at a later date whilst in game.

If you havn't already done so, why don't you let us know what you purchased by completing our poll!

We look forward to seeing you on the 20th for the next Beta weekend!

Semper Dius

After a well earned break of about 2 weeks Semper Dius is opening recruitment again for all classes, we do need Engineers and Mesmers more then the other classes though.

Our recruitment process has changed a little bit. The first step remains the same, you head over to our forums (click) and read the sticky thread after which you can post an application.

The second step is slightly different. While we used to process all applications together we are changing this to only a couple at a time. You will notice the stance of your application (processed or on hold) in your thread title as well as in the first post in your thread.

The rest of the process is the same, we ask questions, you answer them and after that we accept or decline you.

So we might require you to have a bit more patience and we can't promise to handle all applications in 48 hours anymore.


Good luck with your applications!
Semper Dius

Greetings visitors,

There is the possibility that some of you visiting, are planning to apply to our guild. We want to thank you for such a consideration, however, as a result of a significant spike in applications over recent weeks and the lengthy process behind the consideration of them, we are closing our recruitment for a two week period until 31st March.

With such an overflow of applications it has taken a considerable amount our time for them to be processed, whilst we are also making preperations to expand our membership cap and the removal of all class restrictions. Closing recruitment for this period will provide us with an opportunity to do this, but most importantly, it will allow our new members to settle in and help us get to know them a little better.

We will still be playing Team Fortress 2 in the mean time, so you can always visit our server as well as leaving a message in our public board.

To round up, from the 1st April we will allow applications again. All applications that are posted before 16/03/12 (using GMT time) will still be handled, all others will be placed on hold.

Thank you for your understanding. We hope to see you in two weeks!

Best regards,
Semper Dius

Team Fortress 2

Semper Dius now owns a Team Fortress 2 server whilst we wait for Guild Wars 2! If you want to play with us, you can find our server on the following IP: 85.236.105.27:37915

Special thanks go to Kink for providing us with this shiny new hardware. The reasoning behind this is that we thought it would be good to get to know each other a little better before GW2 releases. What better way to do that than whilst shooting each other in the face?

We are playing daily with a good group of at least 6 to 15 people and are having a blast, so we want to encourage everyone to join us in game and meet the SD crew!


Ventrilo

At present we are using the in game voice communication option but we are in the process of obtaining a brand new Ventrilo server. We are starting with 25 slots and will upgrade this to 50 or more slots by the time GW2 is released.

This will allow for plenty of random banter in Ventrilo, rather than permanently in the shoutbox (we do love our shoutbox). It should also help with putting a name to a face; great practice in advance of the highly anticipated GW2 release.

Hoping to see you all on Ventrilo!

Server info can be found on our (private forums) as soon as possible.

I don't think there could be a better email in the world on a rather grey Tuesday, than an invitation to take part in the Guild Wars 2 Beta. Though I can tell you very little (other than it begins this weekend and I've already packed off my entire family) rest assured I will be providing some in-depth coverage come Monday the 20th, so be sure to check Tap-Repeatedly.com and Mesmer.me

If you have any suggestions on what you would like me to cover during my Beta experience, please do let me know by placing your suggestions in the comments below or in a forum post. I feel incredibly lucky to be able to take part with big thanks going out to ArenaNet, but if I can also contribute something back to the Guild Wars community it will make the experience all more rewarding, so what would you all like to see?

Now, where is my video recording equipment...

The last changes

We are finally ready to start officially recruiting for Guild Wars 2. To keep you up to date with the recent changes I'll post an overview here:

As you've noticed we changed from our .net domain to a .com domain. The reason for this was that our .net domains subscription was running out in a couple of months. Our registrars prices were too steep compared to other registrars so we decided to move now so we didn't have to change domains or risk downtime during our recruitment for Guild Wars 2. Another reason is that a .com domain looks more professional, it suits our 5th birthday which we celebrate this year.

We have laid the last hand on several necessary pre-recruitment things as well. We finished our public recruitment thread template as well as the application template and rules on our website and forums.

We also decided on a Guild Structure for in Guild Wars 2. These are subject to change but will most likely remain like this at least till a couple of weeks after release. Our hierarchical structure is as follows:

Guild Leader
Officer(s) - To help organizing and to monitor activeness
Squad Leader(s) - To be in charge of tactics in World PvP and PvE
Members


Promotion and welcome messages

Mizaki has been promoted to the Officer rank. I want to thank him for willing to help out in leading the Guild and wish him good luck with his new role in the Guild. Since he has greatly helped in the past and with setting up everything for GW2 I'm sure he'll do a good job.

I also want to make time to announce our 2 newest members. Corsair and Semedo are the first to join since we opened recruitment, this increases our current GW2 numbers to 10. Welcome to the Guild guys!

Forum activity has been quiet over recent weeks as players have flocked to a galaxy far, far, away. Existing Semper Dius players who sought to play Star Wars: The Old Republic were encouraged to join Conclave, so feel free to get in touch with them if you see yourself wielding a lightsaber or two.

GW2 "newsletter"

To ensure everyone who wants to play GW2 with Semper Dius knows the latest information, a newsletter (or reminder) is under development that will be distributed to everyone that wants to play GW2. If you want to receive the newsletter, you should post your e-mail address so I can send the mail to you. This doesn't just count for current SD members but everyone (Conclave and unknowns!)*

It will also allow me to get an easy look on how many people of the current SD squad will play GW2 with the Guild (so also reply even if you don't want the letter).
I will keep a list updated in this thread with the people who will play.

It's needless to say that I hope a lot of people will sign up for this. You can do that in this thread: http://www.semperdius.net/forum_threads/992779

*These people will have to make an application for the GW2 branch when the time is near, but will have a more straight forward application on the basis that they committed to Semper Dius early. Applications can be submitted now (if requested) or later.

Donations

Not long after the Leadership change I announced that the donation information has been changed to my pay-pal details and that donations are once again welcome.

So far we are good for 2 months and I have paid for the 3rd. I want to thank all those who have contributed. (I'm not sharing names of the donating members; if they want it to be public they can tell they did their selves)

I will still renew the subscription even whilst our activity is low, alternatively I will save the monies already received and will save it for when it really counts. I'm hoping to see more donations in the future, as they are greatly appreciated to ensure we start GW2 with money in the Guild wallet (for Vent/Ts/the website and a possible new domain).

Hoping on your understanding and reply,

Haldir