Guild of the Week: Time is Running [OUT]

Time Is Running [OUT] was formed in October of 2005 by a group of friends whose previous guild had fallen into inactivity. Wanting to start anew, they decided that forming a new guild would be best, but an adequate name eluded them. After many hours spent discussing potential names, a few members said that their time was running out and that they'd need to leave soon…and the name stuck.

OUT consists of 22 members, including two sets of brothers, a husband and a wife. The guild is primarily focused on competitive PvP and dabbles in both 4 vs. 4 and 8 vs. 8. The members thrive on trying to figure out counters to popular builds and strategies and love the intricate planning and execution required by PvP play in Guild Wars.

Build Strategy

The idea for this build came when OUT was considering why most pure spike builds lose—and the most obvious answer was because of team splitting. The following build was developed so that it would work well as a whole, but also be sufficient as a split build.

• Mesmer/Monk
  12+4 Domination Magic, 10+1 Fast Casting, 8+1 Inspiration Magic, 2+1 Illusion Magic
  Phantom Pain, Shatter Delusions, Energy Burn, Energy Surge, Shatter Enchantment, Cry of Frustration, Power Drain, Resurrect
• Elementalist/Monk
  12+4 Earth Magic, 9 Healing Prayers, 9+1 Energy Storage
  Obsidian Flame, Stoning, Ward Against Foes, Ward Against Melee, Heal Party, Heal Other, Glyph of Energy, Resurrection Signet
• Mesmer/Elementalist
  12+1 Fast Casting, 12 Air Magic
  Lightning Orb, Lightning Strike, Enervating Charge, Blinding Flash, Gale, Elemental Attunement, Air Attunement, Windborne Speed
• Monk/Necromancer
  11+4 Divine Favor, 10+1 Protection Prayers, 10 Blood Magic
  Reversal of Fortune, Mend Ailment, Protective Spirit, Holy Veil, Contemplation of Purity, Divine Boon, Offering of Blood, Vampiric Gaze
• Mesmer/Monk
  12+4 Domination Magic, 10+1 Fast Casting, 8+1 Inspiration Magic, 2+1 Illusion Magic
  Phantom Pain, Shatter Delusions, Energy Burn, Energy Surge, Shatter Enchantment, Cry of Frustration, Drain Enchantment, Resurrect
• Necromancer/Monk
  12+4 Blood Magic, 10 Healing Prayers, 8+1 Soul Reaping
  Shadow Strike, Vampiric Gaze, Blood Pact, Offering of Blood, Blood Ritual, Heal Other, Heal Party, Resurrection Signet
• Mesmer/Elementalist
  12+1 Fast Casting, 12 Air Magic
  Lightning Orb, Lightning Strike, Enervating Charge, Blinding Flash, Gale, Elemental Attunement, Air Attunement, Resurrection Signet
• Monk/Necromancer
  11+4 Divine Favor, 10+1 Protection Prayers, 10 Blood Magic
  Reversal of Fortune, Mend Ailment, Protective Spirit, Holy Veil, Contemplation of Purity, Divine Boon, Offering of Blood, Vampiric Gaze

This build was originally intended to spike two targets simultaneously while all eight players were present, and also to spike as a split squad. After playing the build in guild battles, OUT decided that rapid spikes were more effective than trying to spike two targets at once.

Running this build requires two people who are good at calling spikes. When a spike is called, one of the Mesmer/Monks casts Phantom Pain followed by Shatter Delusions while the other Mesmer/Monk casts Shatter Enchantment (if needed) and Energy Surge. The Mesmer/Elementalists cast Lightning Orb followed up with Lightning Strike and Enervating Charge. The Elementalist/Monk casts Obsidian Flame followed by Stoning, and the Necromancer/Monk casts Shadow Strike followed by Vampiric Gaze. If the Monks can spare the Energy and the time, they also spike with Vampiric Gaze.

While not spiking, each character should use their defensive skills to thwart the opponent while trying to save enough Energy for the next spike. Gale should be used if the enemy team has a quick Infuser or if the targeted character is dodging the Lightning Orbs. When the team is forced to split, the characters can use the same skills in the same order to spike a target, usually an opponent's Monk.

Memorable Matches

OUT has played in a number of memorable matches, especially in the final push to make the playoffs, where they faced seven consecutive top-50 guilds (including EviL—twice). However, for sheer drama, nothing compared to the third and final 1st-round Championship match vs. Bring Back the Rifts [Rift].

In the first battle, Rift ran their heavy pressure build, and once they were able to get their minions going, they defeated OUT. In the second match, OUT changed one skill, adding corpse control and spiked out Rift's damage characters early, allowing OUT to secure a quick victory.

In the third match, OUT again ran their spike build, and Rift ran their Mesmer/Elementalist air spike setup. While OUT was well prepared for it, it is a tough build to face in a split with lots of players using Gale, and Rift split right off the bat. This forced OUT to run back after capping the flag, where they then split to counter Rift. Although Rift's tactics were more effective at first, OUT secured a morale boost around 4 minutes into the match.

Both sides continued to trade occasional kills while running around each other. Rift maintained the offensive due to an early repair of OUT's catapult. However, OUT had managed to work their morale boost until it was close to being even with Rift's. This led to a confrontation around 9 minutes into the match, where Rift's united team managed to trap a part of OUT's split team at the front of their gate. The remainder of OUT's team fell back to assist their split group, and despite being outnumbered, were able to get their fallen comrades resurrected. With their team reunited, OUT succeeded in pushing Rift back, although Rift would succeed in claiming another morale boost before OUT regained the flag stand.

The following 6 minutes saw a lull in the killing, but around the 16-minute mark, the entire OUT team arrived to capture the flag stand, and succeeded in spiking out almost all of Rift's team, netting a morale boost for OUT. Knowing that they had an offensive advantage by forcing the game into a match between full teams, OUT held the flag stand for one more morale boost before advancing on Rift's Guild Hall.

To OUT's surprise, Rift ran, leaving behind two of their players (who were quickly spiked down by OUT). OUT then went to work on their Guild Lord's defenses and had Rift's bodyguards down with the Rift Guild Lord at 50% Health when one of Rift's Monks resurrected at the 20 minute mark. OUT was focused on the Guild Lord and had to organize a spike on the Monk, who was then resurrected by a teammate and had to be spiked again. The extra time that cost OUT along with the healing that Rift's Monk had provided the Guild Lord made enough of a difference that Rift went on to beat OUT.

While OUT was disappointed by the outcome, they were thrilled to have had the chance to compete at that level, and hope to have the chance to do so again. Additionally, OUT feels that they provided observers with the most interesting first round match-up of the championships.

Member Profiles

Get to know some of the members of OUT:

• Handle: I Choose You / Icy
  Location: Calgary, Canada
  Gaming Background: MMO, RTS, FPS, Anything mainly PvP based
  Preferred Character: Support/damage. I really love the power and versatility of the Necromancer; it can do some good damage, control the opponent's actions, and help out the party using high Energy skillssince Necromancers generally have no Energy problems.
• Handle: Pyrus Kril
  Location: Ontario, Canada
  Gaming Background: RPG, FPS
  Preferred Character: I like all of them, but tend to shine most as a Monk. I love any character that is constantly spamming skills, that way I feel useful. Fast Casting Air Mesmers are always fun.
• Handle: Iotan
  Location: Minnesota, USA
  Gaming Background: PvP, RTS
  Preferred Character: My favorite character to play is Mesmer. I love being able to disrupt the other team's carefully thought-out plans. There's nothing more satisfying than hitting six casters with Cry of Frustration.
• Handle: Right Behind You
  Location: California, USA
  Gaming Background: FPS, RPG
  Preferred Character: I love to play offensive characters or characters that get people frustrated. Warriors and Mesmers are my two favorite professions.
• Handle: Minsc / Viconia
  Location: Michigan, USA
  Gaming Background: CRPGs
  Preferred Character: I have evolved into a specialist Monk, although I have played some of everything, mostly a prot/boon Mo/N, but a DS Mo/E can be fun. I feel that skilled Monk-ing makes a huge difference in the outcome of games
• Handle: Pappy Bear
  Location: Pennsylvania, USA
  Gaming Background: RPGs, FPS
  Preferred Character: I'm one of the more versatile players in the guild. I can play and have quite a lot of experience in just about every profession. The profession I probably play best overall would be Monk, and I prefer playing SB infuse and Prot Boon. I also have a lot of experience in calling for spike builds, specifically in Heroes' Ascent.
• Handle: Doji
  Location: Alabama, USA
  Gaming Background: Strategy, FPS, and RPG
  Preferred Character: I'm usually a Monk. I'm far superior to Pappy in every way possible, and consistently pick up his slack to ensure victory for the rest of the team.
• Handle: Con Dar Rage
  Location: Minnesota, USA
  Gaming Background: PvP, RPGs
  Preferred Character: Earth Elementalist, as I prefer Elementalists in general. Strategy? Never stack Wards.
• Handle: Bill Lumburg
  Location: New York, USA
  Gaming Background: Strategy, FPS
  Preferred Characters: I amuse myself by creating builds that may seem good in my eyes but weird and insignificant in others. I like to play Mesmer because of what they can do and Monks because of what they can stop.
• Handle: Care Bear Killer
  Location: Oregon, USA
  Gaming Background: Diverse
  Preferred Characters: I enjoy playing Warriors of any type, I just love bashing some heads and taking names.
• Handle: I all your base I
  Location: Oregon, USA
  Gaming Background: RPGs
  Preferred Characters: I like to play a Monk for the guild, and my favorite type is prot boon.I joined the guild back in December because my brother was playing with them and they seemed like a good group of guys, I've been with OUT ever since.
• Handle: Willis Mcgahee
  Location: Ontario, Canada
  Gaming Background: Sports, RPG
  Preferred Characters: I have no preference. I have played every "standard" build in the game (that I can think of) with relative competence. I do enjoy, however, fiddling around with Warriors and Mesmers (the two PvE characters that I also use in PvP).