Darth Hater

Welcome back to yet another installment of the Darth Hater PvP column, where we’ll collect and update the news that matters to the PvP community. This thread will be updated periodically as necessary throughout the week, so you can refer back to it for new information. If you have any tips on current content that should be featured, or if you think your video or guild should be featured in a future column, send them to me via PM.

In this week's PvP column we'll be taking a look at how one player feels about the current state of PvP.  We'll also check in on a suggestion for making Ilum more interesting.  For these, your Community Spotlight, and more, hit the jump.

News

Over on the official forums, player Biowareftw make a pretty well thought out post on the current state of PvP, bringing up such issues as class imbalance, as well as some suggestions on what to do.  To chime in with your two cents on the subject, head over to the thread.

Many players are considering and even suggesting ways to breathe life into one of their favorite pass-times: World PvP.  Dee-Jay on the official forums had one such suggestion, and it may be popular with some of you.  I'll admit that the idea sounds really interesting, so head over and take a look.

For those of you that enjoy watching streams of live or recorded gameplay, user SC-Giygas on the official forums has your fix.  Featuring both streaming from his main, as well as his alts, there's sure to be something here for everyone.  Head on over to the thread to find out where.

Community Spotlight

For this week's Community Spotlight, we'll just be highlighting a YouTuber by the name of just124fun.  From the perspective of a Sage, the videos are entertaining and possibly informative.  Enjoy!

Do you want to be featured in this section?  Does your guild do phenomenal things on a regular basis, and you believe they deserve recognition?  Send a PM to me and give me all the details, including your name, your guild's name, server, and any other pertinent information you can think of.  Bonus points for having videos to show off.

Op-Ed: The Zen of Preparation

Week in and week out, many of us gather together with our guild to accomplish various tasks, from weekly Operations runs, to weekly PvP.  As is almost always the case, there is a fair amount of preparation that goes into each event, both on the personal level, as well on the part of your leadership.  Whether it's purchasing consumables, making sure your gear is in order, or trying to get that one last item in the scant minutes before it's time to get started, we all have our own personal rituals that we attend to each week.  This week, I'd like to approach it from the perspective of a PvPer, and open this up for discussion.

For me, I usually don't have to worry about consumables or gear at the last minute, as I'm pretty compulsive about checking that stuff off the list pretty early on.  Most of my preparation rituals come in the form of real-world tasks, and having things on hand so that I can focus on the game.  For many people this will include a certain kind of music; a preference for being comfortable, perhaps via a favorite sweater or blanket; or even their favorite snacks and drinks on hand.  Having asked a few folks about their personal preference, many say that they feel out of sync if they don't have these things done before going into a match, as though they can't focus on the task at hand.

At any rate, I'd like to hear from you folks on what kind of particular chores and tasks you tend to focus on before you sit down for a  long session of gaming.  Let me know what you think in the comments section below, and thanks for reading.