I'm gonna post here and I'll probably get flamed or called names for doing it, but what the heck... I am speaking purely for myself. In no way am I speaking for Infinity, just from the viewpoint of a member of it.
I've been in this game since beta 2. I've been a member of Out Of Cavern for all but the last few weeks. Because I was of the mindset that pvp/gvg was icky and I wanted to be all peaceful and not attacked.
Then I realized that this game is a heck of a lot more fun if you actually embrace the pvp/gvg, but if it's in fun... not in a mean spirit.
I've been in Zorai since retail. I've always been the lone Zorai in Out Of Cavern. So when I decided to try something different I went to Infinity. I knew it had a bad rep. But I knew some of my friends had gone there too and that the guys in Infinity that I had met already were really fun to hang around with. And you know what? They are one of the coolest group of people I have ever hung around with online.
To my point. I was not a member of Infinity when the original agro dragging between a few players, and the retribution by Infinity, occurred. I was not a member yet when the whole thing in Yrkanis happened, but I did fight on their side in the arena. With my extremely helpful lvl 50 heal.
I joined immediately afterwards.
It was my understanding that the whole activity was set up as Karavan thingie in Yrk. It was announced ahead of time. Naturally, for Kami players who take the game/lore/storyline seriously and want to advance the game, they came to observe and or interact. I understand players were there trying to listen and watch peacefully. It's my understanding that Infinity was there to play the part of the Kami guild and raise a little ruckus. To help advance the roleplaying part of the game... to add something a little different than just the everyday grind.
Then we went to the arena. There were 7-8 on our side. There were at least 30, but I think more like 40, players on the opposite side. Many were known to be pretty strong avatars.
Okay. The arena has a dead area. Yes, we used it. There was no rule against doing so. There were employee avatars there. If what we were doing was wrong, don't you think that we would have been shut down? I'm sure enough petitions were sent in complaining about it that it would have been. You try 8 against 40 and see if you don't look for any advantage you can. It's called strategy, not exploit. If a GM had stepped in and said what we were doing was wrong, we would have stepped forward and died with honor, defending the Kami name.
As far as the dragging of agro since then... I was in voice chat with a group of Infinity that was out hunting, and not for other players. They happened upon a group of players that was fighting agro. I listened as my guys were telling us who was there and suddenly... the agro was respawning all around the other group. The other group respawned before there was time to get close enough to rez, or before it was even safe enough to get in to try to rez. And immediately there were players in towns/regions already starting new rumors about how Infinity dragged agro on them and how Infinity is all evil. You may ask how I believe the Infinity guys when they could have been just telling a story as they ran up upon the unsuspecting players with a gaggle of agro dragging behind them... I heard the way they were a little shocked and surprised when the agro started popping. There's no mistaking the way they said it. They were not just making it up. They did not drag the agro. They did end up with more stupid rumors spreading about because of the incident. But beware... I am aware of players dragging about fake agro. As a joke. As fun. To make light of the dragging rumors/stories that are going around. To enjoy the bugs that are Ryzom.
When I hear people complaining about Infinity claiming the area for their own and not sharing, I get grumpy. If you are playing this game with the mindset of roleplay, or even just trying to follow along with the race you joined... the land belongs to your race. The other races have their own lands. There are critters to kill there and materials to dig there. Why does everyone from the other races have to come to Zorai to kill and dig up our stuff? We should have the right to protect and defend our right to our own land's stuff. At least until someone comes in with the strength to claim it from us. Then we either get stronger, or find someplace else. Way of the world. We would expect the same if we were going to the other lands to kill and dig there.
Everyone I talk to, old friends, new people I meet... when they find out I've joined Infinity the first words off their fingers are almost always "Eww. Why them? They drag agro and generally are out to hurt the other players." Most of them have heard storied from other players. Most of them have heard stories from people who seem to have a personal agenda against Infinity.
I am not one sided here. I have been playing Ryzom since March-ish 2004. I've only been with Infinity for a few weeks now at most. Before then I spent all of my game hours alongside of them and never saw anything out of line. I didn't just join them for grins and giggles. I spent time with them, got to know them. I value my reputation in game and out of game. I would not have allied with a group of people that was going to be doing things that would ruin my reputation. I joined a group of people that is serious about playing the game as it stands, and to have fun while doing so. And it's awfully hard to find a guild in Zorai that is this friendly and helpful and tight-knit.
I just hope to find more groups that are willing to play the game a little when we get to the European server. Trust me, it does make it more fun.
