KGB

Ive been a member of KGB since Jan 1999 – Back in Ultima Online. Even tho UO had many aspects to it, certainly the most interesting aspect in that MMORPG was the player vs player (PVP) aspect. Wether it be guild vs guild or head to head combat, the pvp system in UO proved to be a lot of fun and hard to master.

KGBs role in UO was that of the good guy. KGB was the anti RPK guild. I didn’t know that much about KGB history when I joined, but I do know that KGB was in a low period with lots of inactivity. This changed when they started recruiting ex-RPKers and pvpers. Derid and I joined around the same time. I think he joined about 1 month before me.

I remember the reason for me joining KGB. You see, even tho I was known as one of the evil players who would go around attacking people for their loot, I never really tried to attack new or bad players. Fighting competition was much more fun and I found myself more and more drawn to a guild like KGB. I was against being in a guild at the time because I wanted to enjoy the liberty being guildless brought. In UO you didn’t have to be in a guild, unlike games like Shadowbane, WoW etc.

However being as one my good friends Derid was in KGB at the time I decided to join as well. Even tho there were some people in the High Council who were against recruiting ex-RPKers, after a few hurdles and 2 applications and some help from General Wildcard, I was able to get myself in as a sub-member. Basically a member on probation type of thing. They gave me the title mercenary. You can see the division I was in at the time at this page: http://www.the-kgb.com/uoaf/skpage.htm.

KGB quickly started to become a force to be reckoned with as the pvpers started to play a greater and more active role on the Pacific server. Since then, KGB has never really looked back.

Other people saw the light as well - Nightmare Clan defector Michael switched sides and after a short period, began leading KGB forces against the evil guilds of the server.

It seemed that whenever a level headed PvPer lead KGB, things would go well, while other times KGB could not always match the sheer skill of video game kiddies who massed together in small pvp guilds,

KGB Siege Perilous was a good example. Since most of the KGB PvPers were on Pacific, when SP opened KGB would get hammered every day by the pvp guilds of the server. As soon as the pvpers moved over to Siege, everyone had a look at what KGB really had to offer. And KGB took the number one spot as anti RPK guild of Siege Perilous. All the time Jetstar would be renewing different clauses and make changes to the KGB Constitution to make sure that KGB would thrive and live on.

You see KGBs strength had always been its willingness to change and adapt to certain conditions. After KGB UO factions kinda died down, I myself took a hiatus from KGB and played Asherons Call. Another great pvp game which seemed very hardcore compared to other PvP games.

I never really got into DAOC or SWG. So I never got to know the Coors Company Crew – Nor did I wish to spend the time trying to understand the conflict that had caused them to split from KGB. From DAOC, KGB would move on to Shadowbane. Probably the most interesting and dynamic personal experience for me with the guild.

Im not sure how many people are still around from back then, but you should remember that KGB had already a reputation because of Ultima Online/DAOC, so we became one of top targets for the best organized SB guild at release - Covenant of Swords. KGB would get their asses handed to them time and time again. KGB was one of the big guilds at the time, but the constant pressure from CoS did cause damage to the membership and most of all, to the leadership. Even the faction leader ended up quitting in disgust, and KGB was left with not so much hope in the harsh gaming environment of SB. But the thing that drove KGB were the people who wouldn’t give up.

KGB was the first nation during release to defend its city successfully against the CoS war machine. This caused a boost in KGB moral and probably the single most important event to ensure the survivability of KGB in Shadowbane.

Even tho KGB soon after lost their first city of Sanctuary to CoS because of a 2nd bane, KGB began thriving again. KGB would grow and grow and a few months later known as one of the powerhouse guilds on the server. Even tho KGB was thriving, Shadowbane was not. Unisoft started closing servers and giving people the option to migrate to new or old servers.

Again KGB started anew on a server called Corruption. Here leveling was harder and even tho KGB had a good start, activity dwindled down a lot. Seeing as the server restrictions were causing inactivity I decided that we move to a different server where the xp flow was at a normal rate. This was luckily a good move and we ended up on a server called Vengeance. And what a server that turned out to be.

KGB was thriving and growing again. Despite being schooled several times by small RPK guild near our city, we grew as a guild and our leaders were forced to learn more and more about pvp to be able to compete with the other top guilds.

Fast forward to summer 2004, KGB had turned from a medium sized guild to a superpower of the server with over 100 members online during peak hours. KGB cities covered 1/6 of the map. KGB also went thru a tremendously difficult war with multiple nations. Fighting powerhouse guilds such as Guardians of Destiny, LoD, HoE, EB, LKK and more. And KGB did lose at times. KGB capitals were lost and rebuilt several times.

That was the beauty of KGB, nothing would stiffen our resolve. Never have I been more proud to be part of KGB. Even thru the toughest of times, people would seem so motivated and committed to the cause. It wasn’t easy tho. Its never easy sitting there with 50+ people in Teamspeak and knowing that its your voice they need to hear, to motivate them after losing the most important city of the nation. But we pulled through.

After the massive war against our enemies, which also caused us to lose the dead weight. KGB peaked even more in pvp. The great thing about Shadowbane pvp is that its not individualistic. You don’t need 40 allstars in your force to make it work. You can have 40 average people and make sure that the leaders of the groups are good enough to make sure that the groups move according to tbe battle plan. This is also why KGB shined so much.

We were able keep our forced healthy even with a higher turnover than most other power house guilds, but because of great leaders in pvp, we were able to hold our own. I know lots of ppl say that KGB has no skill and were just zergers. The simple truth is that KGB welcomed any player with open arms, as long as they knew how to respect their fellow guildmates. And that is also what has kept KGB alive for so many years.

After I stepped down as August 2004, Camb took over lead of the KGB Faction, whereafter Holrom would end up carrying the torch for a while. Shadowbane was definitely the game where KGB really put its name out there as being a top player in the MMORPG universe.

What we have to remember here, is that the success of the guild really is dependant on the leadership. And in a game environment, not only are great leadership skills important. Understanding the game mechanics is very important too.

You cant just pick any old veteran because they know the game in and out. At the same time, you cant have a leader who is good at leading, but doesn’t know anything about the game. At least not without that person having someone else to assist them when it comes to game mechanics/PvP.

Its just as important to have a leader that is respected by the membership, but its also important that the membership support the leader 100 % when difficult decisions are made. I probably wont be playing Darkfall or any other game that requires hours and hours of investment. But I do know that making sure the leadership of the guild in any given faction is solid will result in a successful faction.

The burden of leadership is a heavy one, and not fit for everyones shoulders.

For Glory and Beer.


Binbs

Last edited by Binbs; 07/02/06 03:16 AM.