AoC Guild Spotlight! The Free Companions

Ok my fine readers, today I am putting an up and coming guild into the spotlight with an interview. Today we will talk to the Free Companions on the Tyranny Server. When Cimmeria and Tyranny merged I thought all was lost and the community that I cut my teeth on in AoC was dead. I was WRONG! I came across a fine group of PvPers who really enjoy helping new pvpers and players. Seknetari was kind enough to spend some time with me and tell us how the Free Companions work in Tyranny. For those new to the AoC PvP scene this is an excellent guild to learn from and a fine bunch of folks who really enjoy AoC! Without further adue, read on!

The Free Companions Ready for Mayhem!

Damios: First a little about yourself:
Give us a little background about how long you have been playing AoC, what is your favorite character class and what spurs you to continue playing Aoc?

Seknetari: I bought the game at launch, but never installed it since I was having a good time playing World of Warcraft and then EVE Online. I finally tried out Age of Conan in the Spring of 2010. I enjoyed it for a while until Cataclysm was released, then I was sucked back into WoW. After a few months though I returned to AoC and have been there ever since.
My favorite character class thus far is the Ranger. Although, I have enjoyed playing many of the classes, especially the melee and healing classes. I like the clash of steel. Overall, the classes seem to be balanced. Each class has its strengths and weaknesses. This is quite an achievement when you can choose between a dozen classes. That is one of the reasons I continue to play. That and it also keeps my attention with fun PvP, great graphics, funny quest story lines and one other thing: the game has a raw and gritty feel to it. Oh, and the music is great too!

Damios: What aspects of the game are your favorite?

Seknetari: My favorite aspects of the game are the PvP, stunning graphics and epic scenery, and the social aspect of the game. Funcom did a good job portraying Robert E. Howard's fantasy world. In a nutshell, this game is sexy.

Free Companions in Tarantia

Damios: Do you feel the game has progressed technically throughout its lifespan?

Seknetari: I wasn't around at launch, so I cannot confirm all of the problems that supposedly occurred during that time. Although, if true, the game has come a long way since then. The classes are balanced and the game is stable (well, most of the time!). Even the free-to-play model, which I dreaded at first, is a success story as more and more people are giving the game a chance and finding out how good it is.

Damios: Give us an overview of your guild, what server your guild is on, how long has it been established, Guild goals, accomplishments and recruitment policies?

Seknetari: Our guild is a new medium-sized guild. The Tyranny server Free Companions were created in July 2011. We currently have over 50 active members. The name was inspired by Robert E. Howard.  Our main goal is to have a fun time playing AoC. We have a good group of people in the guild and we like to help each other out. As per recruitment, we are open to people that are mature and easy going. We are tolerant and give most people a chance.

Damios: What makes your guild stand out among the rest on your server?

Seknetari: We're new and successful. Some players want to join an old established guild. There are many old guilds on the server and I can understand why some players go that route. Then you have the Free Companions where players, especially new players, can help build and shape something new. And we are still at a stage where our character is being shaped. This is an exciting time for us. We like to have a broad leadership in the guild too so advancement to officer status can come rapidly for those interested.

Damios: What things about your guild you are most proud of?

Seknetari: Some of our accomplishments include a guild city (we currently have three tier 3 buildings) and we have reached renown level 5. This might not sound like a big deal, but our guild started from scratch with mostly new players. We have come a long way since July.

Damios: How do you keep guild members motivated and keep new blood coming in?

Seknetari: We try to run events to keep people motivated. We run six-mans and PvP mini game events. Recently we had a level 6 PvP mini game event for fun. I finally got to use Slam on someone. It was a good time and every guild member had the opportunity to join. We also like to run level 19 minis once every week or two. During and after the mini games we will talk to unguilded players and ask them if they are interested in joining us. This way we keep new players entering the guild. I believe new blood is very important for the life of a guild.

Damios: What would you like to see in future patches and expansions?

Seknetari: I would certainly like to see cross-server mini games and a dungeon finder. One of my favorite guildmates, Elue, wanted me to give a shout-out for shorter HOX combo animation times. For those of us building a T3 city, I'd love to see the In-Game Store offer building materials (slab!) at a decent cost.  If it was cheap enough, I would buy building materials. This way I could spend more time playing the fun parts of the game.

Damios: Where do you see the future of AoC?

Seknetari: If Funcom continues to support the game with updates, new content, and more importantly advertising, this game can have a long and strong life. I enjoy it. I hope it does have a long life.  This is a great game.

Damios: Any final thoughts?

Seknetari: Thank you for inviting the Free Companions to do this interview. If people want to find out more about us, please check out our website:  http://freecompanions.guildlaunch.com/ .