The Sword's Edge

Issue 19: 9th August, 2017 - In Ferro Veritas

Welcome to the newest issue of The Sword's Edge. I would by lying if I said this month had been plain sailing for Nine Swords - but it has sure been an incredibly busy one. We have had a lot going on, and many things that have reinforced the belief of all our leadership team that we are doing something right. The experience we have been sharing in SW:L has been such a different one to that which we had towards "the end" of TSW. We are a much more active cabal, with people doing things around the clock - more people however, means more opinions - which can be great in helping us work on defining new areas we need to work on, or changes we can make together. Discussion has not only been from our members that have been attending the fantastic new Academy Workshops and our Sharpening the Blades sessions, but also in our forums by our members, and the whole leadership team. What has been enforced though, is how important it is for our leaders that all our guidelines and ways of doing things are written down. No-one can possibly join Nine Swords without having an idea of what they are letting themselves in to!!

We know that no cabal can ever be perfect for everyone, that is why we are also already concentrating our efforts on planning for the next Cabal Pride. The community has always, and will remain to always be a big focus for our cabal. We will continue to do all we can together to ensure that lots of positivity comes from Nine Swords.

We hope you enjoy this new issue of our newsletter! ~ Katelin

Interview with...

By Helixia

This month, I caught up with BrokenPieces - our new PvE leader!

Helixia: Hello BP. You are now with Nine Swords for almost 4 years. Any thoughts when looking back at all this time?

BrokenPieces: Hello to you. Four years seems a lot but I haven’t really noticed it. The Secret World was being constantly developed, Issues were being released every time and then, the special events were happening from time to time. Nine Swords was a very active Cabal in TSW and so it remains. There is no other place like here, though we all change and people come and go. The start of SW:L allows us to relive the adventure of The Secret World where we all met at some point, and it is a great opportunity to do this again. It is a very seldom occasion to get another chance like that.

Helixia: What is your favorite thing to do when away from the computer?

BrokenPieces: Sleeping is the thing. Seriously, I do enjoy hunting old books and old movies. There is no collection of books that can be described as too big, so I should probably rent another place to store everything. I am pretty sure that one day I will be able to read and watch everything I got. Recently, I rediscover comics in a form of graphical novels.

Helixia: What is your opinion on the new version of the game?

BrokenPieces: The targeting mode surprised me, and I do miss the ability wheel. On the other hand, the game set another challenge, and after many hours in SW:L I must admit that I enjoy it a lot. The new version resets all we mastered in terms of abilities, skills, rotations, crafting in TSW. Everyone can start anew and enjoy the story again. And it felt good to enter Kingsmouth again and see the general chat full of people.

Helixia: What is your favorite TSW/SWL memory?

BrokenPieces: Not sure about “favouritness”, but I enjoy the memories of the TSW Polaris runs, when trying to kill Ur Draug and survive one, two or even three blue phases. The beginnings in Nightmares were the most memorable moments when people had to learn all small details, mechanics and master the boss fights. Seeing the first purple drop over the pool of electrified water was a very significant step in my end game progress.

Helixia: What is your favorite in-game activity?

BrokenPieces: I like challenges, so anything that has a chance of failure. I really do enjoy lairs, as you can die there instantly. I hope to run lair runs one day in SW:L.

Helixia: You were just appointed leader of the PVE division. What are your plans for Zweihander in the immediate future? How about long term plans?

BrokenPieces: I was just appointed and that is why I would like to dodge the long term plans question. In the nearest future, I would like the Zweihänder Division to give every Cabal member a chance to join dungeons and lair runs, where they can learn new roles and enjoy the game in a new way. We’ll be trying to adjust current goals with every new content that is released in SW:L.

Helixia: Any advice for people new to 50 who are still undecided when choosing a role and maybe shy to try endgame content?

BrokenPieces: The game is fairly young and we all are in the same situation where we are trying different things for the first time. Everyone should have their own solo build, but once you can see that you can survive while questing in Transylvania, it might be a good start to craft another build. In solo build you already have AR and HR talismans, and maybe even Health ones. The next step is to choose which role you want to develop and grab more AR/HR/Health talismans to match your decision. Also, we already have very nice guides in the forum on different tanking, healing builds, as well as DPS builds. And don’t be shy! Simple “me” or “+” message in a chat or forum is enough to join a party.

Helixia: Is there anything you would like to see happening more often in the Cabal?

BrokenPieces: We are at the beginning of the new road, and we should treat SW:L as a new game and not as a continuation of TSW. We are learning everything right now and it might be too early to ask this question.

Helixia: If someone would ask you why should they join Nine Swords what would you tell them?

BrokenPieces: We are an active Cabal since 2012 with a history of many in-game events, starting from regular PVE runs and social events to “secretworldwide” events like Cabal Pride and Jackapalooza. There is no other such a community full of friendly and helping people like Nine Swords

Sharpening the Blades

By Katelin

On the last weekend of July we held our first ever Sharpening the Blades since re-forming Nine Swords in SW:L. It was an incredibly well attended event and we are thankful that so many members took time away from missioning and dungeoning to come along. The format was carried over from what we have been doing for the last years in TSW, and it was really amazing that so many of our new members felt comfortable to share their experiences and how they feel about their first days in Nine Swords. As Khaesia wrote in the write up of the event, Some of the important things that were covered this month included: 1. Keep being good hearted people, 2. Divisions need help, 3. Make sure to read ALL the directives!

A log of the event has been saved in our forums (so that we can all quote you in the future of course!) - so if anyone missed it, or want to know what suggestions were made, head over to this post here in our forums.

Nine Swords Academy - Successful new workshops!

By Khaesia

The academy team is getting busy! Since the start of July, we have been working to develop some workshops to help new members along the way. So far, we have finished and organized one workshop a few times; the Introduction to Nine Swords class! I was asked to share with all of you how things are going, and I have to say that I am really glad at the turnout, the response, and the participation of those who have attended. This class, specifically, is geared to teaching new members what is what within the Nine Swords structure. We have had a LOT of really good, on point questions. So far we have had nearly twenty new recruits attend this class, and I think every single one of them took something from it. If you are interested in taking this class, whether you are new or not so new, please contact a member of the Academy team and we will be glad to set up a course with you.

First impressions of Nine Swords

By Jadyn

MMO’s are just average games. Let’s face it, there are much better games out in the wilds. MMO’s are almost too vast in scope to be completely finished, they are infested with bugs, riddled with mediocre writing and generally of lower quality than your average triple-A release. At least Secret World Legends has a fascinating story and interesting voice acting - most of the time. That’s something. While some single player games are better quality, what you can’t get from them is community. I wanted community. So, like everyone else when hunting for something specific in the modern day jungle, I loaded up my Google and went searching for active Secret World cabals.

A bunch of the results were of “active” cabals that shut down years ago. Finally, I ran across the Nine Swords website and figured I'd give it a shot. Note, that is the Nine Swords website, not THE Nine Swords. See, I was corrected early on that the cabal isn’t called The Nine Swords, just Nine Swords. You have been warned.

Anyway, I filled out the online application, after I finally found it, and hopped back in the game. I had limited time to play and intended to read the rest of the website and figure out how to schedule my interview later. There wasn’t any need. One of the officers found me. I was a little surprised by this. You’d think these folks would be swamped with all the cabal setup in the new game. Still, they found time to interview me when it was my responsibility to set it up. Bonus points for that.

First impressions. After my interview, everyone was very welcoming. Gobs of people greeted me when I finally figured out how to create my cabal channel in the chat window. I was impressed by everyone’s welcoming nature. More bonus points. I was beginning to think I had made a pretty good decision in applying to Nine Swords.

So I puttered along to level 50, and being particularly terrible at the game, I asked if anyone would mind letting me tag along so I could learn how to do stuff the right way. Surprisingly, people volunteered to take me. They took time out of their game enjoyment to hold my hand. They showed this noob where to step, what to touch and how to stay out from under foot and generally out of trouble in dungeons. Lots of bonus points, because I am really bad at the game and everyone was very patient with me. Extra kudos and brownie points with the bonus points. I was almost sold.

Second Impressions. I finally got around to reading through the website and found out about a couple in game events designed to indoctrinate new members into the cabal. Note, that is the good kind of indoctrinate, not the bad. I found the sessions pretty informative. I took notes and everything. There was a lot of information I’d missed on my read through the website. It was helpful meet some of the leadership and hear from them the basics of the cabal.

I wanted to get more involved with the divisions after the events, so I volunteered. After a couple of chats, I was promoted to a division and was assigned to write this article for The Sword's Edge. Sweet gig, no muss, no fuss, no bureaucracy and fiery circus bear hoops to jump through. I thought there would be a layer of paperwork to get involved, but it was really just a matter of talking to the leadership and letting them know I was interested. Quick as a wink, poof, I’m magically involved. And at that point I was completely sold on Nine Swords.

What didn’t work. It wasn’t all moon beams and tea biscuits though. As a new player, I have to admit to being overwhelmed by the website. There is multiple crap tons of information on the site and if you don’t already know where to look, sometimes it is difficult to find something specific. Once in awhile I stumbled across the information I needed by accident, or was able to ask in cabal chat and have someone provide the links. Sometimes not.

For instance, there is a spot on Nine Swords forums that is a repository for build ideas. Did you know? I didn’t either. And even knowing it exists, I still can’t find it. Unfortunately I don’t have a better idea how to organize the website to make things easier to find for the uninitiated. All I have is my impression that the site is a bit overwhelming.

Thanks again to those Nine Swords members who have been so welcoming and helpful since I joined. Those who put up with me and have tried to make me a better player. I’m still a cabal and SWL noob, but one thing I will say for sure about Nine Swords, is there are plenty of extremely nice people willing to give of their time to help the new player. I expect as more people come pouring in after the game hits Steam, their skills and patience will be tested more. Before that point I hope I have been sufficiently well trained to help the the new folks as well. I can show them Nine Swords hospitality I was shown in my first week or so.

Our divisions need you!

If you are feeling settled in Nine Swords and are looking for how you can be more involved - as well as heading along to our workshops or Sharpening the Blades to get advice and talk about what you could do, here is a summary of what is currently going on. So much is in planning and starting phases - so why not help shape how things happen!

Recruitment

Recruitment has been immense since we founded here in SW:L - the only way we can ensure to maintain what we are doing, is by more of our members having their recruiter training and helping the current Recruiter team! If you are interested, get in touch with Aberlour or Helixia.

Academy

At the start of this year in TSW, we looked for SUPER SWORDS in our cabal who were interested in breathing life into our Academy. We knew as soon as SW:L was launched, this was going to be a pivotal concept for Nine Swords. Ensuring that as many of our new members were given support, and not just lumped with the feeling that they were recruited and not cared about. Every single member in our cabal is important to us - which is why we have put in so much time and effort - and why we will continue to do so! If you want to know more about the Academy, ShockG is leading our A&D division, and Khaesia is spearheading our Workshops.

PvE

What a busy division! So many things going on all the time! BrokenPieces is determined to have an active division offering adhoc events as well as scheduled activities via our forums. Get in touch with him if you want to contribute to organising PvE based activities

The Pen

What started as a discussion with our members about how to improve our forums, has metamorphosed into an amazing project encompassing our 9S Bestiary and a new idea, The Great Library. We are very excited about the work that these cabal members are undertaking, and the collaboration with our leadership team working on a fantastic new resource. If you are interested in getting involved in Pen, please get in touch with Durendal.

RP

Our Rapier division wasted no time at all in kicking off RPing sessions again in SW:L. The sessions are friendly, welcoming and always open for anyone to attend (whether a seasoned RPer or someone totally new to it). We have also seen people picking up their drabbles in the forums - and developing in-character stories and RP Bios. If Roleplaying is your thing and you want to contribute to our RP division in Nine Swords, get in touch with Hit-Parade or Floryn.

PR

Our PR division has been continuing to deliver The Sword's Edge, as well as keeping our communication resources up to date. Relana is also developing ideas and starting discussions on video opportunities. If you want to get involved, contact Katelin or Ishco

Events

Together with support from Estoc, planning for Cabal Pride 2017 is underway. Events focus is on the bigger, not day to day events, but on the large scale ones. Those that require lots of planning, lots of resources and a huge stack of patience! If you think you could contribute to this division, get in-touch with Yuriksha.

PvP

Help us help Volen be busier! As leader of our PvP division, he wants to prepare all 9S members for PVP combat. The goal of our PvP division, is that while not all 9S members will enjoy PVP they will have the tools and mentality to get involved. If you want to join Misericorde and carry an attitude of confidence and respect for our allies, and enemies, and if you want to sharpen the skills of the cabal through PVP events such as tournaments, and fight nights. - get in touch with Volen.

For a full overview of our divisions, check out our directives.