Thanks for accepting me, looking forward to meeting up in game
Cyrodiil. A much maligned place in the minds of many ESO players. Long ridiculed for its horrible (dys)functionalities, loading screens, random crashes, disconnections and a vast fauna of programming bugs just waiting behind the next tree to suck you and your mount into a black hole the size of half a pixel.
And on top of that: gankers, teabaggers, toxic zone chat and endless distances.
Why would you even want to go there?
Well, I don't blame you if the mere thought of Cyrodiil dredges up all sorts of nightmarish creatures from your subconsciousness. Although most of the horrible bugs have been sorted out by now, it can still be a rather harrowing place to take your self-esteem out into the open.
But please, stay with me for a bit longer before you go into full "Nuh-uh, not going there again!" mode. Allow me to hold your attention through this post and you will still be free to hold your own opinion on Cyrodiil PvP at the end of it. I might change your mind about it, but I don't mind if I don't.
Here goes. (Disclaimer: this post contains traces of Karnag-baiting. But that's because we love him to bits for being the rogue he is.)
"I know nothing of Cyrodiil. / I've never been there."
Excellent! A whole new part of the game to explore! And if you do so in an Alith Legion PvP event, we will do our best to show you the ropes as you make your first tentative steps into the zone. (No, we won't hang you from your ankles from the top of the nearest keep wall to be used as target practice for our enemies. I promise! Well, Karnag might do it, but he's such a dear scoundrel, I'm sure you will forgive him.) It might seem a daunting place at first, but we do take care of our Alith Legion sistren and brethren, and no question you ask about the place will be beneath our dignity to answer (just don't ask where Karnag goes when the raids end, you might not want to know). I repeat: we will take care of you.
"I don't have proper gears for PvP!"
Spoiler alert: neither do most of us who do the Alith Legion PvP events regularly. As long as you want to tag along with our diverse, motley crew of Pact warriors, we don't mind if you show up with your underwear on your head for armour and a wilted leek for a sword (although, if either of them smell, we might hesitate to ressurrect you during battle - no offense intended). When you sit down to think about it, most Alith Legionnaires are constantly looking for the proper PvE gears as well - it's an ongoing process, and with time, you are likely to improve your setup. In the meanwhile: don't worry about it. You are fine as you are!
"Cyrodiil is full of gankers anyway."
Yes, they do exist. Yes, they are annoying. But fortunately, they cannot be everywhere at the same time, and if we take them on together as a group, you will frequently have the satisfaction of seeing them die. You might be entertaining Molag Bal in oblivion while the rest of us take care of the lowlifes that killed you, but take solace: we do look out for each other, and as long as it is within the capabilities of our group, we will avenge your heroic (if quick) death as you were rudely knocked off your mount while struggling to keep up with the rest of us (it happens to all of us at some stage). And if they happen to slit our collective throats, we shrug it off and ressurrect to go look for fun in some other quarter of the map.
"It's a waste of my time and resources."
Given what your priorities in the game are, you may have a point. But if you invest 2-3 hours into above lvl 50 PvP with us, you will receive a 50 transmutation crystals reward once a month. Do that on more than one character, and farming that stupid trial or dungeon for weeks in order to get that infused lightning staff that will never drop for you (while you get a training traited one every other run, though - at least if you have my farming luck) or all those other specific trait pieces quickly becomes a much less time consuming task. And what better way to earn your transmutation crystals than in the company of your fellow, merry guildies? Eh? Eh? Time spent in good company is rarely wasted, and we try our best to be good company in our PvP Discord channels.
"My Ingrish iz orrible. I will never dare speak on Discord."
Quite honestly, as long as we can understand you, we don't care if you have an accent as thick as Awstraylia or your English grammar would have Shakespear come back from the dead to choke you with a handful of commas. But fair enough, we do understand if you do not feel comfortable speaking on Discord. It helps if you do, but it is by no means mandatory. It took me several weeks before I dared butt into the ongoing banter, but once part of it, it is great being part of it. And if you are content with just listening, that is quite fine - we don't like you any less because of it. You are a fellow guildie - we will still take care of you as much as any of the chatterboxes (well, we often make exceptions for Karnag, but he knows that's our special way of telling him we love him).
I'm useless in there. I turn into a red slick on the ground if an enemy pokes me with anything stronger than a straw."
Au contraire. This is the genius bit about ESO PvP: everyone can fill a role where they can make a meaningful contribution to the group. Ok, you got wet cardboard for armour, a rubber duck for a weapon and Karnag healing you. That still does not mean you cannot kill enemies or help take keeps, outposts and resources. Grab a bunch of siege weapons from the siege merchants, and after a bit of trial and error (getting slaughtered while winding up your ballista is never fun, but it will happen) you will see that you can wield as much power as anyone else in taking down a wall or a keep door. Not to mention all the fun you can have with fire ballistas, meatbag catapults and flaming oil. Watching the enemy run around screaming in the courtyard below you as he tries to bat out the coldfire flames you just hit him with will brighten your mood no end. Promise. (Yes, you will spend a lot of time being dead regardless, but that goes for everyone in PvP - take your time in the meanwhile to admire the scenery or spy out the enemies within your sight while your mangled corpse is being pecked at by Tamriel's crow aristocracy.)
"I know nothing about tactics!"
Well, we're not THAT serious about tactical PvP being extremely tactical. But as long as you can take instructions and focus on working together as a unit, you don't need to know much about tactics in Cyrodiil, really. Just be a good soldier, and you'll be fine.
"Your PvP event times are incompatible with my schedule."
That's a boss we have yet to best. But do feel free to offer to do Alith PvP raids outside the guild event schedule. We don't mind at all. Just keep it in the social spirit of Alith Legion, and you're golden.
"I hear what you're saying, but I still feel inadequate in PvP"
We respect that. It is not mandatory to PvP, and if you choose to stay out of it, we will still embrace you as a fellow Alith Legionnaire (be careful with Karnag though, he might nick your suspenders in the process). I still want to say this, though: I have done PvP in a number of games, and I have never felt more useful regardless of my setup or playing abilities than I have in Cyrodiil PvP. Also, there are days when it feels like we're running up against brick walls of enemies, blowing us up no matter where we go. There are days like that. But here's the thing: you will have days like that in PvE as well. Days were you will be leaving veteran dungeons or trials on the verge of tears because you feel ill treated by game mechanics that seem set on sabotaging you no matter your best efforts. And whether you are doing PvE or PvP, there's the added bonus of doing it together with other Alith Legionnaires: you don't fail or succeed alone. We fail as a group or we win as a group. We share the burdens and the spoils. And while we do so, we forge bonds and relations. Which adds so much more flavour to this game we love.
"I cannot stand the rudeness of other players in PvP."
I know. I seethe inside whenever I get teabagged. Parts of my hopes for humankind die for every horrible comment I see in zone chat. But what stops me from leaving in disgust is my fellow guildies. We know we are better than that. We know we are a good example to others (Karnag will have to speak for himself). And there is no way we will stop being what and who we are, which is a great comfort and boost to my fighting spirit. Insert all the movie clichés about lifting together and all the inane, rousing half time speeches from cheesy American movies you know of, and they turn into truth when ... ah well, I am laying it on a little too thick now.
"Nah. I still won't come."
Fair enough. I tried, and I might come join you for something in PvE instead along the line.
"You have my sword/axe/staff/squishy onion! Where do I sign up?"
Excellent! Check out the guild event calendar and sign up for the events there if you can tag along, or just hang out in the guild before the event kicks off and wait for the heralding call to battle! We will be honoured to have you along! For the Pact!
We're proud to share our #tamrieltogether materials so all can enjoy.
We want to thank all the members who contributed to the creation of these pieces of art and hope you all enjoy them as much as we do!
Our video can be seen here, all footage is from Alith Legion game sessions.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=t4QiaSlY7jc
And our poster:
SubzeroMiniMav wrote: »Mind if I join, it’s @subzerominimav