Destiny guild had a major surge in activity around Christmas time during the events, with the pets event, the drop-increase event, and the ancient element event. During the drop-increase event, our guild spent a LOT of time in the Temple of the Ancients dungeon and in the fields.

On top of the hours logged, we also were eager to learn how to play well in the R6 dungeon which has a mean reputation for wiping entire DPs on one wrong move. It was really seen as a challenge for us. Our guild was constantly playing in 5 different dungeon zones, while most public parties only went to 1 or 2 zones of the dungeon.

The third thing that really helped our guild in particular is the way that we got drops into our guild and kept them in our guild. Not many players in the guild were selling R6 gear outside of the guild and a lot of players were bringing R6 gear into the guild by buying it from other players. In our parties, we had an agreement to give particular items (should they drop) to the player who used the item. This way, almost any drop in a DP goes to a player who can use it. Normally if a player gets a drop and can't use it, if his guild mate can't afford it, he sells it out of the guild. By giving drops to the players who needed them, we kept a lot of great gear pieces in the guild.

Half of it is having money right now, but every guild our size with players our level has a good share of wealthy guys in the group. What really started turning heads was need-over-greed type drop sharing, because everyone has some idea of what it means in the back of their mind but no one ever actually does it or could see how it would be good for the group as a whole.

Do you have any tips for Rank 6 players who want to get their gear faster?

The critical time for Destiny was during the events when a player could really do a lot to set himself apart from the rest of the competition just by playing more. Obviously going to the dungeon helps. And putting in the time is required, no matter where you decide to go.

I think wolves are about the worst place you can go for drops. Go to wolves till you are high enough to TOA and then suck it up and get into the dungeon. It's slow until you figure out how not to wipe but you have to learn at some point. And the up-and-coming R6 players are a LOT better off than my group of players was. Half of the players in any TOA party are R6 equipped and have experience to boot. That helps. Wolves are a faster place to level, but you get a lot of players who end up at a high level with no drops, so it's a give and take.

The thing about group drop-sharing is that you are casting a wider net. If you go to the field, you have one shot at a very random system and you can get lucky (as some have) or unlucky (as some have.) So if you get a group of players who are friends to agree on a drop-share system, you are helping everyone have a better shot at gear they can use.

Some players are lucky and some aren't, and you can't really bang the game till it spits out a drop. There aren't too many factors you can control besides using a favorable drop agreement and putting in more time and staying away from wolves. Some players are still going to have bad luck, and the majority of players who have many pieces of R6 gear did not get all of those pieces purely from their drops. Money and trades are a huge factor in the game, especially if you want your R6 gear to come from someone else's drops.

What is your favorite thing about Rappelz?

My guild (and friends) is my favorite part of rappelz rupees. It's a big family and fortunately more functional than dysfunctional. I love the sense of community and that friendship is not a 10-level-range thing. Destiny makes me glad to log on and say hi when nothing's going down and we have a hell of a lot of fun when stuff does go down.

I really enjoy and have a great deal of respect for all of the Salamander guilds that stick it out together. Big props to the Afterlife folks, Hippies, Reign (and ex), Celestial, RedSkies, Light, Saints, Exalted (or whatever they will be called next month), Addicted (and all those who are Addicted at heart), LibertyFighters and the rest.

Customer Service Tip: “Lending Items”
Here in Customer Service, we get a lot of people writing to us for help replacing pets and items that have been stolen by guild members they thought they could trust. Unfortunately, we can’t replace items that are given away, but here are some tips to prevent this from happening to you:

Never lend an item to someone you don’t trust!
If someone wants to borrow your pet to “see it” or “try it out,” they could be trying to scam you. Try to avoid letting people borrow your pets.
 

Guild members are not automatically trustworthy! Even guildies can scam you, so be careful!
If you lend an item to someone, we probably will not be able to give it back. You can still try to prove someone is a scammer, though, by doing the following:

Take screenshots of all major trades and all agreements about lending items.
If someone steals your item, send an email to rappelz rupees@gala-net.com with a full, detailed explanation of what happened, along with all screenshots of the incident.
Remember: If it’s something you can’t live without, don’t lend it out!

Inside The Life of a GM

GM Name: Shubei

Favorite Pet: Evo 1 sally. They’re too cute.

Name of your Decorative Pet:
I name my sun rabbit Bugs and my pirate ship CarribeanCruiser

First Class You Played:
Like most noob players, I selected the race and class that was at the top of the list. So I was pretty much fated to be an Asura Assassin.

Favorite rappelz rupees Moment:
To be honest, I enjoy rappelz rupees and my work most when I see that the players are enjoying themselves. It could range from just talking/assisting one single player to running one of our bigger in game gm events.