Guild:Dark Siege Academy
The Dark Siege Academy (DSA) is a training school and assistance center which helps lower level players prepare for Dark Siege membership and accelerates their progress so they can join the guild sooner.
This academy is reserved for the most determined, the most fun and the most active. Don't apply unless you are serious serious serious about the game and fun fun fun playing with your team mates.
Requests to join the Dark Siege Academy should exhibit some modicum of reasonable grammar, self-reliance and a rudimentary ability to socialize. Reasonably complete sentences are welcome.
If the academy is full, we can put you on a waiting list. Keep playing, ask us for buffs and advice. Patience is rewarded.
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Goals of the Academy
The DSA is an initiative of the Dark Siege guild leaders / members and is designed to ultimately serve the needs of the guild as a whole:
- To make recruiting active lower levels easier and bring them into the Dark Siege family faster by having something to offer them appropriate to their needs.
- Give the player and the guild a chance to form an impression of each other before an application to join is submitted.
- Stimulate a sense of helpfulness and team play in new guild members.
- To create a bond of friendship and loyalty between students and the guild, so the students are likely to stay with the guild longer once joining (ideally for good).
Size and Scope
It will be important to not sacrifice the quality of the candidates to achieve quantity. The DSA will function under the following restrictions:
- A hard limit of five students in the academy.
- The number of students can be reduced by guild management at any time should the guild not require more 'up and comers' to maintain membership level balance.
- There is no need for the training program to be full at any given time. We only admit good candidates and if there is no such candidate, then there is nobody in the program.
- Ideally students should be spread out - not all at same stage / level
- No cheaters, no really young, no major language issues, no attitude problems apparent at time of application.
Academy Trainees
Candidates for the DSA should have a reasonable expectation of achieving high levels reasonably quickly and make a positive contribution to the guild's social life and operations.
The following description of the 'ideal' DSA student is designed to help in identifying the ideal candidate:
- They level up fast, clearing the program in 2-3 weeks and achieving level 60 or better in 2-3 weeks after that.
- They are active and pro-active. They take the initiative, play hard and take responsibility for their own success.
- They contribute to the guild and their guild mates.
- They are courteous and fun to have around.
Benefits and Responsibilities
Benefits to Students
The following are the concrete benefits DSA students can expect:
- Mentors (DSA staff) and Guild Expertise
- Tutorials and Leveling Guides (DSA Forum Section)
- Equipment loans (modest starter gear)
- Buffs (from DSA staff)
- Modest starter gold
- Peer support and friendship
- Guild infrastructure (once promoted to Squire).
Responsibilities of Students
Students at the academy are expected to fulfill the following expectations:
- Be active, push hard on leveling.
- Report on their progress.
- Help each other, especially players in levels below them.
- Contribute to DSA guides and tutorials
- Learn game and Dark Siege guild essentials
- Pass tests / quizzes (simple and straightforward)
- Hand down or give back equipment as they outgrow it.
Academy Staff
Academy staff are responsible for the smooth operation of the school. They handle admissions, track equipment, provide mentoring and buffs, write tutorials, administers quizes, track progress and approve advancement. Academy staff are responsible for ensuring number of students is manageable, and need to keep in touch with the guild recruiter and leadership to ensure the guild's needs are being met.
The staff positions are roles within the college and not guild ranks.
Academy Headmaster
The Headmaster is ultimately responsible for the overall success of the college. In this role he coordinates staffing, ensures rules are followed and enforced and watches for overall adjustments to how the college runs. The Headmaster reports to and is responsible to the guild leadership on how the academy is doing.
Academy Dean
The Dean is responsible for the specifics of the academy program and tracking student progress. They watch for required adjustments to training techniques and library materials. They are further responsible for assigning specific instructors as mentors to the students.
Academy Dark Mentor
The Dark Mentor scans the guild membership looking for opportunities for improvement, and coaches the member on how to improve. In addition, the Dark Mentor maintains knowledge of the expertise of the Instructors, Mentors and guild membership, and can connect the member to an appropriate resource for coaching.
Academy Instructors
Academy Instructors are guild volunteers (and of course the Headmaster, Dean and Quartermaster are instructors) who take on the role of mentor for students. They are available for advice and help, provide buffs, can supplement the equipment and/or gold of the student as required. Instructors are not nursemaids. It is important for students to learn how to fend for themselves and be inter-dependent with, but not dependent on, others. In this regard instructors are encouraged to teach HOW to find an answer more than provide the answer, HOW to achieve something rather than do it for them.
The Dean manages which instructors are assigned as designated mentors to which students, but obviously personal bonds factor in strongly when they exist.
Academy Resources
Forums
The DSA will have an area of the Guild's forums dedicated to the school. Forum Sections might be:
- Library. This area contains tutorials and reference material specifically designed for use by low levels.
- Drill Hall. In this area, each student creates a thread for themselves, reports progress, asks questions, does quizzes, etc. We make each student currently in school a sticky and let them drop down or move to an archive when they leave.
IRC
The main means of interactive chat inside the school will be an IRC channel dedicated to the school. Mentors and students can set up whatever other mechanisms they like as well (MSN, Yahoo, etc.) Squires have access to guild chat as well.
Equipment Inventory and Backpack Space
School equipment and inventory will use as little guild resources as possible. Gear under level 10 will not be guild tagged or use guild storage. Guild over level 20 will be guild tagged but use as little guild storage as can be managed. The preferred storage mechanism will be on the backs of students or in the back packs of academy staff.
The DSA Program
All DSA students will exhibit a distintive DSA identifying graphic icon in their avatars and indicate their DSA membership and stage in their bios.
Admission
Students are admitted based on guild staff's assessment of their likely hood to succeed in the school and as guild members. This will be determined through an IRC interview between staff and students. At least two of the Headmaster, Dean or Quartermaster must approve the admission.
Cadet (Levels 5-9)
The Cadet is not a member of the guild, but are admitted to the forums as a visiting member, and can access the Library and Drill Hall. They do their leveling under the guidance and assistance of the academy staff and have a mentor assigned. They are able to request buffs, use academy equipment (often handed down from advancing students) and can be provided with shopping gold to fill equipment gaps.
Squire (Levels 10-30)
The goal of an Squire is to graduate to full guild membership as quickly as possible, become acquainted with guild members and learn the basics of guild operations.
They are admitted to the guild with the rank of Squire, allowing use of guild inventory, chat and structure bonuses. This should enable them to level at even more rapid pace.
Once they have attained the rank of Squire they can submit their application for full guild membership. They MUST apply upon attaining level 30.
Academy Rules
All guild rules apply, except that Cadets are not expected to contribute to guild upkeep.
All students are expected to pass down or give back guild provided training equipment. Loaned gear is not to be tagged, sold, destroyed or distributed outside the guild or academy.
Cadets are not protected by guild alliances but are expected to abide by them (no attacking allies).
