Welcome to the Special edition of our weekly blog about DoF members. We hope that these blogs will entertain you as well as help you in getting to know our members and DoF better.
For this Special edition of MMM blog we are taking you back into past. This article was made by Aeronwen for M&B Comp. William got chance to talk about DoF in this interview. Enjoy reading it:
Spotlight On... Defenders of Faith [DoF]
Defenders of Faith [DoF], Founded on February 28th, 2010 by William, Darin, and Dante, is now the oldest continuously active clan in Warband (they are a week younger than the now dormant IG), we talked to leader and founder, William...
1. What were your reasons for founding the clan?
Back in the Beta of Warband, and even further back than that, clans for Warband were more role-play oriented, rather than competitively oriented. Matches still occurred, but the settings in which we played them reflected that fact (for example, we only played one faction, no swaps). There was also "political" drama that happened internally in clans and externally with other clans. Darin, Dante, and I were a part of a pre-Beta clan called The Kingdom of Holy Calradia (this was ~7 years ago). That's where we all met and our friendships started to grow. The leader of TKHC was a bit inactive because he was older than us and had a career to focus on. The three of us felt like we were doing the majority of the work; leading matches, interacting with newer members, and general administrative responsibilities. However, we also felt that we had our hands tied in some aspects, because we were not leaders, resulting in the clan being bogged down. So, we decided, to create our own clan with a similar crusader theme called "The Sons of God". That name didn't stick, of course, and was changed very soon after to what we know today: Defenders of Faith. Although we tried to make the move with consideration and respect for TKHC, it started a "war" between us and some of TKHC's allies (namely, the Kingdom of Velucia). Ah, the good times.
2. What were your aims, what did you hope to achieve with this clan?
It's hard to remember what I and the other founders were thinking 6 years ago when we created the Defenders of Faith. However, I think predominately we wanted to create a friendly and respectful role-play clan. We wanted to fix what we saw wrong in other clans and improve on what other clans did right. Of course, as with everything, our aims change. We wanted to become a competitive clan instead of a role-play one. The transition was anything but easy, however, I think we did a decent enough job. Even though some of our aims, or hopes, with DoF have changed since the beginning, the primary goal was to have a friendly and respectful clan just like when we started. And I can say, without a doubt in my mind, that we achieved that.
3. Who were the main players who helped shape the clan?
To be honest, any list I can give you would be incomplete. The truth is, everyone who has been in the clan, and even some that haven't been, have shaped it in some way. However, I will list a couple that I found provided monumental change to the clan.
Darin: He has help lead the clan since it's beginning (for over 6 years!!!), and that is not an easy thing to do. Whereas I have taken breaks in leadership roles, I cannot recall a time Darin has stepped down from a leadership position completely. Erminas: The amount of work that Erminas has put into DoF is just amazing. He has worked harder, in my opinion, than anyone else in the clan to help make it succeed. He has saved DoF from inactivity numerous times and revitalized our competitive side countless more. Kohath: It goes without saying that without Kohath, we would not be in the competitive scene like we are today. He has aided not only the NA side of DoF but the EU side as well, putting us in a better competitive state. Kherven: It might be a bit controversial to some for me to say this, but the clan would not be a competitive one if it wasn't for Kherven, at the very least not as early. Even though he left DoF and created The Midnight Watchmen, the amount of change he sparked in DoF cannot go unnoticed. Paladins of the Round Table: Not one person, but a group of people. PRT was a great clan friend for many years. They helped us through uncertain times, and our inter-clan practices helped us grow as a clan. Loyal Members of DoF: Too many to list off the top of my head, but there are members that have stayed in DoF for years, through what seems like a roller coaster of a ride. They are the backbone of DoF, because after all, you can't have a clan without members.
4. What do you feel DoF contributed to the competitive scene?
One day, we asked the great Mad Dawg of the Balions for aide in a practice. What he said that day, I feel we contributed to the competitive scene. Roughly, he said that DoF has more heart and dedication for the game than any other clan. I think that is what we contributed the most to the competitive scene. We may not be the greatest, but we have heart and dedication. We remember that Warband is game, and that you should have fun playing the game. And if you win along the way, that's good too. We've also hosted tournaments, like Erminas' Warband Weekend Cup which is quite popular. A lot of North American players, for better or for worse, has been a part of DoF at some point.
5. Best memories of playing with the clan?
There is a ton of them. Before I go on a tangent, I'll list my favorite one. We were in a scrim, and we were getting destroyed by the enemy team. Our morale was so low that people weren't having fun. They were upset, you could just hear it in their voice. It was probably the worst I've seen DoF being upset over the game. So, I took over leadership. I commanded everyone to get a weapon and get no armor. We formed a line that we called the "Ninja squad" and ran around the map, stealthy of course, until we found the enemy. We would then ambush/engage them. I was giving out silly commands, doing ridiculous stuff, and wildly swinging my bamboo spear. The rest of the members picked up and started laughing, getting into the game, and most importantly, having fun. I think we even won a set doing that. It was the most fun I've ever had playing Warband ever.
Original article posted on 14th August 2016 can be found here [click me].
Thanks for (re)reading this special edition of our blog. Next week, we will have one of our oldest members Duncan aka AmazingTuna
joining us for interview! Thank you for reading this week's blog and we hope you enjoyed it!
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