We, the Wayfarer's Brotherhood have discovered that powerful magical energies of a scale never before experienced have been focused deep within Miragul's Menagerie. Rumors persist that this magic is far more potent than any seen before; so powerful that the magic has created a physical form for itself. Deep within the heart of the Menagerie dwells this creature of pure magical energy, a unique form of life we have dubbed the Synarcana.
If left unchecked, the Synarcana could destroy all of Antonica and warp the very foundation of our reality. The Wayfarer's Brotherhood is seeking a band of adventurers brave and true to root out the Synarcana before it becomes even more powerful. We are in desperate need of your help to control the rising menace of this presence.

Beyond simple fame and bragging rights, one of the living participants in the first raid to successfully complete this task shall be rewarded with a gift from the real world. Curt Schilling, World Series Co-MVP pitcher with the Arizona Diamondbacks (Officially now a member of the Boston Red Sox), is so impressed by the incredible challenge presented by the power of the Synarcana, that he has pledged to grant a single signed jersey to one of the living participants of the first raid to topple the Synarcana.

Do you have what it takes to destroy the mystical menace of the Synarcana? Be the first to do so and win Curt Schilling's jersey.

The challenge officially begins Sunday, December 28, 2003, 5:00PM, Pacific Time. Our logs will determine who completes this challenge. The raid must be completed inside the time limit, and not during the 30 minutes after the raid is "over."

Good luck!


I met Curt ingame once while doing the Quest Troupe thing, was surprised how into the game and very personable he was, being a "star" and all of that ... glad he's still giving this game support, every time one of my roomates gives me crap about playing Everquest too much I say "I wanna be like Curt Shilling!"

Come on EW, you can do it. Beat this first!

I hope it destroys Antonica.

logo-design-guy.com/tri-s...photo.html (http://logo-design-guy.com/tri-star-arizona-diamondbacks-curt-schilling-signed-shadowbox-w-jersey---photo.html)

not a bad prize

ACtually..

IF its a Red Sox jersey.. and The Sox win the Series this year as people are predicing.. Then triple that price.

maybe its too early, but WTF is this about?

Why in the hell would we give a French guy an autographed baseball jersey from one of the best pitchers in the game? :rolleyes


...its AMERICA's game, yo

Why in the hell would we give a French guy an autographed baseball jersey from one of the best pitchers in the game?

Because he might train you if you dont?

hes tried it before, hes not that good

Bubus likes the NFL... that's an American game, and he'd shit his pants if he got a jersey signed by Brett Favre or the Scotland Claymore cheerleaders.

BTW, this is a promotion in conjunction with Curt's (excellent) review of LDON in PC Gamer. Honestly Mr. Shilling writes far better than most game 'journalists' and his reviews of the EQ expansions, while not always technically accurate, are enjoyable and comprehensive from a non uberguilder point of view. It is encouraging that a lot of famous people play EQ and that many of them dont hide who they are and are reported to be pleasant and fun players.

Kad

i liked his article bitching about raster :P

any of his articles online anywhere?

I've only ever seen it in PCgamer, you could try www.pcgamer.com

Kad

The contest is only open to those in North America, so no jersey for kinu.

Well if I actually gave a shit about this :p

So I've played this game 4 years and have payed for 2 accounts half of that time. That's over $800.00 I've invested in this game.

This is bullshit why should someone who's in a guild have a better chance than me for possably winning a $500.00 jersey?
I have been in top guilds and I chose a while back not to be in them anymore. Why should I be punished for not playing the game with a guild.

If EQ was ment for guilds only then why did they make solo classes? Why did they make LDoN mostly for 1 group? Why didn't they have 30+ people groups right at the start of making this game? Isn't it enough that they have finally made 1 zone for almost every piece of "best" gear in the game? (PoTime)

Keep rewarding and focusing on that 1% EQ.

>Why should I be punished for not playing the game with a guild.

you know, i'm having a hard time finding out where your getting punished in all this...

Ok, let me spell this out.

(A) These are time equipped LDoN raids they are talking about.

(B) No other players in the game have a chance at this.

(C) If your guild "wins" you get a Curt Schilling's jersey worth about $120 today.

They made an event with a real prize that 99% of the game has no chance of. Hence the "Punishment" for not being in an uber guild.

I wanna Superbowl ring!!

Why am I being punished by not getting one???? Just because I dont play in the NFL doesnt mean I shouldnt get one! This IS BULLSHIT.. I bought a Chicago Bears jersey.. I support the league just as much as anyone else!
Why to go NFL.. keep rewarding the .001% who play the game..

again, how is THIS punishment, all you did was list 3 reasons of whinage, as l2 stated, just because you don't have access to it BOO-FUCKIN-HOO, keep playing the game and just pretend they do nothing, thats what alot of people do already

plus, this is priceless, i would never sell it, i'd hang it up and let everyone view it always, would never sell something of this nature, its history

So we've heard from 2 people in a Time guild defend this.

What a suprise.

That's the essence of competition. Sorry if that offends you. If you haven't noticed, most of the server competitions that take place are won by members of large guilds anyways, so I really fail to see your point.

You are not fit to compete in this contest because you have not put the same amount of work into this game as the evil-big-nasty-kicked-my-dog-and-groped-my-sister uber guild members, just as you are not fit to compete with football players in the superbowl (as per L2's scenario).

"have not put the same amount of work into this game"

Well after 4x65 , 2x56, and 1x54 level charicters (and over 300AA) I think I've put in my time. I just do it on my time schedule now not on a guilds.

Guilds are ok and all but to always reward just those people isn't really cool.

Also L2's example is ridiculous because I do not play in the NFL. I do play EQ though.

God, Wiz Mirr, you're more useless than a condom at a Star Wars Convention.

You may as well say time loot should drop from decaying skeletons, because its the same argument.

I personally find this contest offensive, because from my location of the fucking South Pole, I am disqualified! This is unfair. I demand Verant redo this contest (

You mean you had to travel to the South Pole to find a pole big enough for your ass Beow? :lol

Wiz Mirr ...

Curt Shilling doesn't represent SOE in any way. He just tried the encounter, got his ass handed to him, and decided he wanted to make it a little more worthwhile to the first guild to beat it.

Stop being dumb, please, for the sake of all of us.

I agree that the jersey thing isn't a big deal, but it's the point of it.

A lot of people I know that play EQ aren't very happy. The way EQ used to be the "best" loot was gotten from many different places. You may have 1 zone that dropped the best BP, one that dropped the best weapon, etc.

Now if you go to allakhazam's do a search every piece of gear that is the best in the game comes from 1 place. What they have done is make an elitist group of people that far exceed that of the normal player. This in turn makes it so when they have these special events only a very very few can compete.

What this has done is made the game unbalanced. I read about it all the time on the class boards about how a class is getting nerfed (Mage pet can nerf, monk midigation nerf, etc) because they are too powerful, but it's only a very small population that causes that nerf and many have to pay for it.

I'm not saying that if you put time into something you shouldn't get rewarded or they should give a SoD in every crackerjack box. All I am saying is they should have made the game a little more middle road.

I'm sure the Time guilds or thier friends will post saying I'm an idiot, but the facts are the facts and you can say what you want.

Shut up dipshit.

"facts are facts" but you're just voiceing your stupid ass opinion and declaring it as the word of god himself. Why don't you take that $800 you spent on EQ sell your accounts (Oh wait you're not time flagged so you won't get as much money!!! boo hoo...) and go buy a fucking autgraph jersey of whoever this douchebag is.

I love this, If you disagree with someone the 1st thing out of your mouth is

You Fuckhead
Your as useless as a condom at a Star Wars Convention
Shut up Dip shit
Your as dumb as ....

You guys are pethetic on this. Doing this makes you cool? More of a man? Your idiots by doing this all the time. Every once in a while is fine, but every time, grow up.

Mirr has a point
The EW guys have a point
Kelraz has a point

AND they are all correct in what they think

Why should someone that joins a guild get more given to them then someone that doesn't? I am not talking about gear? I am talking about this stupid jersey.

There are many, many people that play EQ as much and more then the people that will get this Jersey. These people don't join guilds for many reasons, like

1). They want their own time to do what they want.
2). They don't want to be told, you get here now, we are raiding.
3). Thier schedules are not good to be in a guild.
4). They don't want to play the political game of being in a guild. Yes there are politics when you join a guild.
5). They don't want to go through the stupid application faz where some idiot will treat you like a noob even though you have played this game for 4 years and have played not only your character more hours but your alts just as long as the idiots telling you how to play.

So this type of person is disadvantaged to not be in a guild.

Your Superbowl comment is wrong. Mirr doesn't play professional football, so he has no chance of getting a ring. Mirr does play EQ. Your statement is like telling Tampa Bay, you can join the NFL, but you will NEVER have a chance to win the superbowl.

So Mirr should get the same opportunity as the rest of everyone to get this jersey, but he doesn't. You will say join a guild!!! There is only 1 guild that has a chance at this jersey. The rest of the EQ community doesn't even have a chance at getting it. Which is wrong.

I agree with Mirr.

The rest of you who have made points are correct also, but I still agree with Mirr.

Gnore 65 Bard

Shewdog says

and go buy a fucking autgraph jersey of whoever this douchebag is

Your a big sports fan huh?

I can say this pisses me off in a way that's not threatening and yet some guy can post insults like there is no tomorrow.

The best thing about being over the internet is you have no accountability at all for your actions.

I promise you shew if you met up with me in real life I'm sure you'd be a little more civil. (I highly doubt you'd start calling me names) But in the internet world any 10 year old kid can throw out insults like they're candy.

When I post I do bitch, there are things in this game that piss me off and I will say them. Maybe it is because of my size and manner in real life that I do speak my mind even if it's not PC.

What I have said is only what others have also posted or talked to me about. If you disagree you should visit Monkly Buisness, Mages Compendium, The Safe House, and other class boards to do some reading.

Your Superbowl comment is wrong. Mirr doesn't play professional football, so he has no chance of getting a ring. Mirr does play EQ. Your statement is like telling Tampa Bay, you can join the NFL, but you will NEVER have a chance to win the superbowl.

it wasnt a exact comparision, it was the use of the absurd to demonstrate the point. But my point WAS valid.. I did play football. I just didnt devote myself to working out and lving for the game that would have required me to set foot in the NFL.. I know.. my ex-roomate plays for the Giants, so I know what it takes. But that was MY choice. It would be asinine for me to demand a superbowl ring. Whatever it takes to be in a guild that will do this Mirr isnt willing to do.. thats his choice for whatever reasons.

Mirr has as much a shot of anyone as winning the jersery. Either join or create a guild and go for it.
Nowhere did I see anyone excluded from winning the jersey. Except by people who made their own decisions.
You dont want to be in a uber guild? Thats cool.. I dont either. But thats a Choice YOU make. Nobody forced it on you.
The most absurd thing is the insane sense of Entitlement. Its like not showing up for raids for months then thinking you deserve, no not deserve.. ARE OWED a piece of loot from a guild kill.

Entitlement pisses me off.
SONY OWES YOU NOTHING BESIDES ACCESS TO THE GAME.
You dont like that? Stop playing.

We all go through life and we make choices.. sometimes we go left, sometimes we go right. Its called life. Going on the left path excludes seeing whats on the right, and vise-versa.
Deal with your choices like the man you claim to be.. stop looking for others to make you feel good about what you choose or didnt choose.

Oh, woe is me.
I never bought LDoN, so I don't even have a theoretical chance. How unfair of Verant! They should just lotto the award so I have a chance too.

Nah.

There are two ways to hand out stuff.
As reward or as lotto.

Lets face it, reward is more exciting.

Will you have a good chance to win the reward if you don't play enough or don't play in the powerwise most efficient way? Nope. But so what?

I think the superbowl analogy is correct.

Do casual players have as fun as NFL players? Hopefully. Maybe they have even more fun. But is that a reason to let them "win" eventhough they aren't as good at scoring goals? No.

If you want the best gear and the "coolest" raids, then do join a uberguild. And don't forget to spend 60+ hours per week at the game. If you don't want to spend that much time or don't want to spend it that way, then more power to you. Have fun your way. I do. :)

We don't have a chance to get the best gears for our characters, and thus we won't get all that much RL cash if we EBay. And we don't get the "coolest" raids, thus not winning rewards like this. But so what? Why be jealous?

In the end, virtual gear doesn't matter. Money doesn't matter. Having fun is what matters, and thus playing the way you find most fun is the best way to play.

Money doesn't matter

Money does matter:p

But if you don't have your health..you got nothing.

DERAIL.

Entitlement pisses me off.

Read Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, you'll get a hardon the size of Zehn's nuts.

Did you ever think Sony could put in a prize that would go to someone outside a 30+ person group?

They could have said they were giving this prize to the people with the highest win percentage with over X amount of attempts.

That's just one way of making prizes available to more people.

You need to remember I was in EW and other top guilds, I know a lot of people out there that put in as much or more time than guild people do. The average guild player doesn't put in 60+ hours a week. More like 20-30 hrs depending on what they're going for. (30+ if they're learning a new expansion or going for guild keys)

Why shouldn't the unguilded get anything for thier time? Would it be so hard for sony to come up with some rewards for them? As it stands to get items through LDoN adventure points takes even longer than joining a guild.

Is it so hard for people to think that maybe Sony isn't perfect.

Wiz Mirr, what you say is akin to expecting a piece of Kael class armor from turning in just the gems. Things just don't work that way, except maybe on Legends.

"I'm not saying that if you put time into something you shouldn't get rewarded or they should give a SoD in every crackerjack box. All I am saying is they should have made the game a little more middle road."

Balance is the key.

Maybe some people Not in a guild can say something because we all know what that guild players will say "there's nothing wrong with the system" every time.

If you're in a guild sure there's nothing wrong, Duh!

You know this is why FFXI is going to surpass EQ because they are balanced. I'm sure WoW will too. Every game company knows without balance they lose players. A lot have left EQ allready.

And yet EQ is still the #1 MMORPG in existance? Why ... because a lot more know that you don't know what you are talking about.

FFXI doesn't have the player shelf life as EQ does; I've played it, people don't have to do much of anything to progress their character ... there's no real level of "earning" anything. You get level 3, you have enough money to buy your new spell. You get level 12, you have enough money to get your new sword. You get level 30, you can get your new job. Sure, its neat ... but what sets you apart of every other level 30 Red Mage? Absolutely nothing.

I for one look at my character, and realize that I've put 4 years of effort into the game. I've camped Phinny, I've hunted HoT, I've camped Vex Thal shards, and I've worked my ass off on flags. Sure, I wasn't the first guy in PoTime. Thats because I'm not in EW. However I've been able to accomplish what I have because I've put in the effort to get the AAs and the LDoN points and ... yes, I've taken the time in game to make a commitment to a group of very talented players that make up my guild.

There is plenty of ways to advance outside of a guild: AoR (though they require time commitments as well), LDoN experience hunting, etc. And, yes, the best things do go to the best guild. If it didn't work that way, no one would be proud of any of their accomplishments at all. If I gave you 1000k, and gave everyone else on the game 1000k ... it would be just like I gave you nothing. Eternal Wrath, Invictus Maneo, Sphere of Transcendants, Landslide members have all worked their asses off to get elemental, to gear up their members, etc. and its also based on 3 years of history -- farming Vex Thal and NToV and HoT and Kael and so on. However you need to stop posting whiney messages on a messageboard and actually put some time in, in game, to progress "Wiz Mirr" anywhere. Just because you've made a character level 65 doesn't mean you are any better than anyone else, so stop being so whiney and selfish.

If everyone were balanced this game would suck. This has been reiterated many times, if you dont put the time into actively bettering your char, your char doesnt get better. That's pretty simple.

By teh way ~ LDoN armour is leet, look at my magelo, about 1/2 of that is LDoN, and its not half bad shit. I put in the time, i got the rewards. Whats the difference between me and a EW shaman? Higher manapool, more hp, cooler focus effects, and a different timezone >: (. Mana doesnt matter too much as a shaman. Hps, they can tank for longer than i can, hence dieing less. Focus effects are just leet. But there is not that much of a difference. What im trying to get at, is if you put the effort in. You will be a fuckload closer to getting what you want than not putting the effort in. If you strive for mediocrity in game thats what youll get. To be the best you have to sacrifice shit, everyone knows that. If sony made it so that just any joe could get the best shit by himself, every joe would be the best.

Let's face it. This game is about teamwork, this is shown by the fact that none of the mobs that drop close to the best loot are soloable. If EW are better at teamwork through individiual skill, and great leadership, they are better at the game than the people who arent as good at teamwork. If they constantly strive to stay ahead of the rest and be the best on this server, then they damn well will be. Rewards go to the people who do the best, and if EW is the best on this server, then they get the rewards, end of story. Don't get all bitter because you didnt stay with EW, if you wanted the rewards, you would have, instead you decided that you're not comfortable with all the sacrifices and left.

I'm gonna stop before i waffle for a page

FFXI doesn't have the player shelf life as EQ does; I've played it, people don't have to do much of anything to progress their character ... there's no real level of "earning" anything. You get level 3, you have enough money to buy your new spell. You get level 12, you have enough money to get your new sword. You get level 30, you can get your new job. Sure, its neat ... but what sets you apart of every other level 30 Red Mage? Absolutely nothing.

Not to be terribly argumentative, but let me point out a few things.

You typically will have enough money to buy BASIC gear when you reach new levels. You do not just buy "the best" everytime you level

No sense of accomplishment? Grats..you leveled to 3..12..and 30..well basically buying the equivalent of banded armor.

Want real loot? Fight bosses, find rare named mobs(and theres tons of them...trust me), or save up and buy "the best"

Thats a sense of accomplishment.
Seriously, Many people say that kinda thing, and it simply isn't anymore true in FFXI then it is in EQ.

And even aside that..there are things beyond even a good players reach.
Example..the Erase spell..when I hit level 31..I was excited, I had read the spell description, its a really useful spell.
Price? 400k, FOUR HUNDRED THOUSAND. (For anyone who cares, on a ratio basis. 2gil is the equivalent of 1plat in EQ terms of how much you can buy).

I couldn't afford that if I spent weeks trying to save and doing nothing but make money, so I asked around and found out it drops off a rare lvl 60 mob..so when I hit 53..me and a buncha friends went and hunted in the zone for days before it finally popped up, and we managed to beat a group of Japanese players by mere seconds to engage it.

I finally got erase. And it did Rock.

What differentiates me? the fact that theres alot of 70th lvl whms who still don't have the spell. But I do.

Theres dozens of other examples, but I'll just name that one to get my point across.

Sorry to go off on this tangent, but I've played Dozens of MMos and FFXI is a solid, enjoyable game.

Like any title its not for everyone, but I hate to see MIS-Information spread about ANYTHING.

' find rare named mobs(and theres tons of them...trust me)'

- Something seems very odd about that sentence.

Lol I guess so. By tons of them I mean comparible to EQ in numbers.

Not that they're just floating all over the place all the time, Bad english on my part!. Sorry.

Playing solo and not putting up with the demands/time requirements that a High end guild asks does not equate "I deserve the same l33t".

Sorry, but if you've never danced in the high end of the game you really have no clue how incredibly draining not what a great pressure cooker you have to deal with.

So yes, L2's correct...just because you play casual does not equate to great rewards.

Want more of the game? Give more...

Fandros
Soon to be unRetired!!!

Btw, why in hell would Curt Schilling admit who he is in-game? I wonder how many people who've admitted they are Curt Schilling actually ARE Curt Schilling?

He's not on this server is he?

Fandros

He plays on Bertoxxolus.