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Eager to take on PvE and PvP content in an active French-speaking guild with a good vibe? Check out today's spotlight.
Today's featured guild is a good-natured group looking to grow. In-between the laughs, you'll find a guild that's well-organized and prepared to coordinate lots of activities for the whole guild. Read our interview below to meet Vindicte; they might be just the kind of guild you're looking for.
Think your guild should be next in the spotlight? We're on the lookout for more great guilds to showcase. Simply answer our questions—or even your own— in this discussion, add some nice screenshots, and maybe you'll see your own guild featured two weeks from now!
Vindicte
What is your guild's name? Does that name have a special history or significance?
Shaademrys: Vindicte. Hell, if you knew! There are several of them.
Anjali: Ah, my unfortunate friend, it looks like you've met Shaad. I might as well finish his thoughts—he's not been quite the same since he came back from Eyevea and Coldharbour (he must have taken an arrow, and not only to the knee). Our guild is called Vindicte, a reminder of the uprising against Molag Bal's schemes. Everyone in our ranks, low or mighty, has found the strength to rise up against this direct threat towards mortals (if you want more details, we are the ESO Daggerfall branch of the Multigaming Hydrium community).
When was your guild formed? Tell us the story of how the guild came to be.
Shaademrys: It all started on a rainy evening. Father Vindicte and Mother Vindicte were bored to death and had slightly overindulged in some skooma from a Khajiit friend…. Ah, but you mean the guild? ANJA! This guy over there is being too nosy! What do I do? Dungeon?!
Anjali: No, Shaad, he doesn't look too menacing—just stay here, we'll watch him. By the end of 2012, when the news of the upcoming release of ESO arrived, a great many of us started to get organized in preparation. Hydrium/Vindicte was in, and we, plus a small bunch of players, were good and ready to start as soon as the beta was released (what an unforgettable memory, the beta!) and to carry on through the official launch. So we've existed since this famous April 4th, 2014 date. Jeez, it's almost our first anniversary!
What alliance has your guild sworn fealty to?
Shaademrys: To my daggers, of course! Well, actually, that's the theory, but you know, we're not picky. If you pay, we're on whichever side you want.
Anjali: Yes, to our arms first, but otherwise we belong to the Daggerfall Covenant.
Why did you choose that alliance?
Shaademrys: Good! That's a really good question, actually. First of all, you have to understand the structural Tamrielic relationships at the time of the Ayleids, the geopolitical relationships caused by the existence of an elite Mudcrab sector in a semi-arid environment, and let's not forget the reproduction cycle of the wild mammoth in Skyrim. So, as to answer properly this really good question, so there you are.... Anja! Here he goes again!
Anjali: It's quite alright. But above all other reasons, our founder is the heir to a long line of Redguard mages settled in Alik'r since Yokuda's fall (discovering The Elder Scrolls through Daggerfall is quite a striking experience), and we're a group primarily made of Orc and Breton recruits, so our allegiance was a no-brainer. But we accept all races—yes, even pointy-eared Elves and Argonian handbags, that's how welcoming we are! Some of them aren't that bad.
How many members does your guild currently have?
Shaademrys: Actually, it depends. I personally own two arms and two legs, but some people may have three arms or have lost one in a fight. I guess it's all relative. And as for Argonians and Khajiit, I've never been quite sure.
Anjali: No Shaad, I think our friend here is talking about the number of comrades we have in our cause. According to our registers, we currently count more than 120 members (if two months go by without news, you're removed from the guild), and around 50-60 log in daily.
Does your guild have a website?
Shaademrys: We have a message board? Aww, jeez, Anja! Why don't you tell me anything?
Anjali: Yes, we do have a forum, all renovated and new, and I've already given you the address, Shaad: http://forum2.hydrium.fr. And now, learn it by heart, please!
What times and days is the guild most active?
Shaademrys: I would say we are generally most active from Monday to Sunday, between 7 am and 10 pm, but nothing prevents you from sleeping all day and fishing all night on a beach next to M'aiq, if you feel like it. I won't judge you.
Anjali: Yes, exactly, come whenever you can! There are always people online. I have early-birds, insomniacs, people active during office hours, weird-hours ones, very connected ones, weekend-only ones.... In short, active in the morning and during the day, very active in the evenings (obviously), and there are always some people during the night. They quite like the Arena and the City of Ash at 4am; I've heard they're charming that late.
What countries do your members span?
Shaademrys: I'm the representative member of West Switzerland (private joke), and we also have Belgians. We should be able to find you some Helvetians, an Austria-exiled French, and another one in the Netherlands, but the majority are in France. But don't you worry, with some aspirin tabs, rhum, a handy hammer, and a click on "mute," they're not that hard to live with.
Anjali: There you go. To be short, French-speakers from all over. And only nice ones.
What activities in ESO do your members enjoy doing together the most?
Shaademrys: Readings from our Guildmagister; she likes telling us stories about maids and scaled bards.
Anjali: Beyond those aforementioned tales, my personal favourite is the translation of Daedric inscriptions on walls. Everything that can be shared with a group in a friendly way fills us with enthusiasm: Pledges, group challenges, achievement hunts, armour colour contests, Dragonstar Arena, Trials, chasing stray Aldmeris in the lush countryside and taking Pact strongholds in Cyrodiil, night meetings and roleplay schemes in our Bangkorai HQ, etc., etc.
What is your favorite activity when you gather in game? Pillaging dungeons, breaking into forts in Cyrodiil, trading and roleplaying in taverns, or working on your guild craftsmanship and business?
Shaademrys: What do we prefer? Well, you see, we have this one member called Alkalieth. He's got a very special ability. Which is? Em, yes ma'am—I'm sorry. I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you, sorry.
Anjali: As we said in the last answer, we like all the aspects of the game, but we each have our own preferences, so it really covers everything: planned and organized sorties every week, both PvP and PvE, and roleplay. We let our imaginations run wild to create PvP or PvE groups, depending on the will and levels of the present members, on the number of people online, on their game preferences, and on the opportunities available on the server (activity in a PvP campaign for example). We also have skilled craftsmen, of course, and when the law of bids allows us, we hire a merchant.
What makes your guild unique?
Shaademrys: We have one of the very rare specimens of red-mopped noob still alive: very clean, well-trained, doesn't shed, and gets all the simple commands like “go," “fetch," “accept the invitation," “attack the boss," “knock out this Ebonheart," etc.
Anjali: Yes, we do have unique specimens. But what is unique is this mix of seriousness (you don't joke when you compare builds, chosen specialities, spell morphs and how to improve your time during Trials, the last update on PTS, or when you're defending a keep in PvP) under a thick layer of non-seriousness and laughs of all kinds. After all, a game is meant to be relaxing.
Is your guild part of a larger alliance of guilds? Why did you join them?
Shaademrys: Anja! Here he goes again again! He asks too many questions. I don't like him!
Anjali: Calm down, Shaad, it's his job. Currently, we don't belong to any alliance of guilds as such. We prefer direct contacts made during meetings on the field to organize regular relationships with other French-speaking players and guilds; we help them if they need, they help us when we look for reinforcements … actually, let's thank them warmly here! As for PvP, we're actually thinking of joining an alliance of other guilds (Alliances), depending on the wishes of our players, and on their coming back from the battlefield.
Does your guild ever host special events? If so, tell us about them!
Shaademrys: Good. Yes, one of our member, called Xaphus, doesn't know it yet, but we're gonna make a feast, and he'll be the main dish.
Anjali: Err, no—if we eat a tank, it might be a problem for us later, Shaad. We make sure to organize activities for all levels every week, and to gather the troops (PvE as well as PvP) in pillaging dungeons, hunting Skyshards, slaughtering Daedra at Dark Anchors, taking forts in Cyrodiil, and more. But we also have our Trials nights for our high levels. And everything else is made up as we go (like Arenas, PvP sorties, various group achievements, and Undaunted Pledges). For a couple of weeks, we've had some lively roleplay thanks to one of my officers, who knows the lore and the universe of The Elder Scrolls; thus, he takes the volunteers on some great adventures. Not to forget fantastic treasure hunts with rewards on top to spice them up, and different contests held on our forums.
What is your favorite or most memorable moment as a guild so far in ESO?
Shaademrys: The readings from our Guildmagister, as her stories are as fanciful, entertaining, and wild as they can be.
Anjali: What a flatterer, this Shaad. We're creating quite a lot of good memories; it'll be hard to choose just one! I could name:
-Our fist steps in the Dragonstar Arena, trying to understand how to survive the teasing of the Observer that made us burst out laughing ("Lose again? Must be your healer's fault," having earned the award of the most laughs).
-The terrific blunder of a recruit telling Shaademrys he had an accent (he's Canadian), and telling him "you're a Swiss, aren't you?" to which he replied "Yes I am, a West Swiss actually." We kept him.
Does your guild secretly (or not so secretly) follow a specific Daedric Prince? If so, which one?
Shaademrys: Nooo, we'd never ever follow the precepts of Sheogorath, or Hircine, or Boethia, or even Sithis, or Hermaeus Mora, nooo! Anja! Go fetch the shovel in the yard behind the shed!
Anjali: Even the members of the guild don't know everything about this. Some things must stay hidden.
After a long day of adventuring, where does your guild enjoy gathering to wind down?
Shaademrys: As I said before, we have this one member called Alka ... okay, okay, I won't say anything.
Anjali: It can go from discussing TV series to competing for the most beautiful graphical bug in the game on the forum (10k gold as a reward), to racing to steal the Nirncrux from a comrade in a "who-will-be-the-first-to-find-the-other-on-the-whole-map-of-Upper-Craglorn" pursuit, to a chat about salad dressings, or even the best recipe for risotto, a comparison between vintage champagnes, sharing one's greatest achievement and the guild channel (aaah, fishing achievements, we know all about "blue" fish from everywhere), and so on and so forth...
Tell us five fun facts about your guild!
Shaademrys: Five is this much, right? So, let's see... Oh! Behind you! A blue-dotted pink hippopotamus!
Anjali: He knows how to create a diversion, right? Hmm, I'm tempted to answer "meoww" but you might not get it right now.... Okay, let's see:
- We are very civilized: in Cyrodiil, I've always had volunteers bury dead enemies while we deliver a funeral sermon. We also enjoy emote-based prayers before we fight bosses—it doesn't work that well, to be honest. Maybe I should switch to kitten sacrifices on full twin moon nights, unless throwing the kittens directly on the Mantikora would be more efficient?
- Vocally, we have a mascot, an IRL "pet" companion, of a still-unknown origin but without doubt originating from one of us, that has an ultimate war cry to make the Daedra run away. Players too, sometimes, but that's incidental. I speak of the dreadful Tyrannocat!
- The beautiful "I've slipped, boss"-style gliding in a dungeon of one of our members, with an amazing character animation. Along the same lines, one of my healers was so much in complete awe of the beautiful landscape of the Aetherian Archive ("How beautiful is this starry sky and this light vortex," Of course there is a vortex, just look up!), he ended up dead at the foot of the cliff ("But ... there's no invisible wall here?" and followed by an eternal curse on the ZOS dev who was in charge of the world boundaries).
- The unlikely meeting with an Ebonheart enemy, standing still and on duty at the door (probably an AFK player), who must have made such a priceless face when he came back to see he was surrounded by 15 Daggerfall players playing the flute.
- In Cyrodiil again, what happens when someone doesn't pay attention (or switches dimwit mode on): There's a dozen of us fighting to capture a keep in Cyrodiil with the rest of our alliance. The external wall is breached, and we send a hell of a lot of projectiles towards the postern so as to be done with the keep-thieving Aldmeris. "Carry on, comrades, we're almost there! Don't give up anything! Place another trebuchet, my friend, and an oil catapult to burn the enemies!" and then "Hey! Have you noticed the keep is blue, and that we just smashed our own walls?"..."Ah yes. That's why they were grumbling in chat ... oops!"
If people are interested in joining your guild, who should they contact?
Shaademrys: Please contact our Human Resources department. You'll be given a number and an A4 form in triplicate. You'll have to fill in all information regarding your admission, credit card number, debit card number, address, phone number, and some more insignificant details like that.
Anjali: Or there might be a simpler way (though I'm not sure…). You can contact me in game (@Anjali) or contact any of our members and officers (like @Matdys, who's in charge of recruiting, but also @Shaademrys, @Alkalieth, @Xaphus), and you can also send your application via the standard form on our forum, address http://forum2.hydrium.fr , in ESO recruitment—after you've read the guild presentation and agreed to our community rules, of course.
