Limited Edition (LE) has pretty much been around since September of 2007, when my real-life friend Kevin decided to start a guild of his own called "Chaos Inc". A couple of months later, after beginning with a small core group of 10 or 15 people, we merged with a guild named "ZooT" to created Limited Edition proper, giving us enough players to be able to do 25-man raids. Limited Edition's creation date was 11-28-2007.
I didn't think back then that LE would have amounted to everything it ended up being. It's hard to start a successful guild, but it is a tribute to Kevin's good planning and leadership that we became what we did. At our highest point, out of the dozens and dozens of guilds that play on our server, we were the 5th best one around. People knew the name of LE and its members. Even after Kevin stepped down from his position as guild leader, we had Orgodemir to lead us, and Orgo brought us through another 1.5 years of in-game success.
When Orgodemir stepped down a few weeks ago, I knew it might signal the end of the guild. None of the other officers wanted to step into the position, or take on the necessary workload to make the guild remain good. It was unfortunate, but leading a guild is hard, and many of the officers had been doing it for years, and we were burnt out, jaded and not hopeful enough to keep it going on our own. It was a group decision to end LE's progress and allow our members to seek guild memberships elsewhere at their choosing. It was an extremely hard decision and not one which was made lightly or easily. I've pretty much been crying for a straight week as people leave and I send them notes and well-wishes and gold with which to continue their journey in the game. Although I know its my fault that LE couldn't continue, I also knew that I couldn't have, in good faith, kept people in a failing guild with a guild leader who did not really want to be leading them, when so many of our members are incredible players who deserve more than that.
I cannot adequately explain the magnitude of the effect that Limited Edition has had on me over the past 2.5 years. Some of LE's members have been in the guild since its creation, and 2.5 years of playing together, sharing experiences in-game and in real life, makes people into quite a bit more than just "online" friends. LE was a community, one to be proud of and one to love. I wasn't close to every single person in the guild, but those who I were close to I will always remember and count as friends regardless of not necessarily having met them in real life. The officers (ie. the governing members of the guild) I will especially remember fondly and lovingly, even long after I finish with the game. LE helped me though many tough times in my life, and its spirit of friendship and camaraderie is one I will be hard-pressed to find again in another group.
I've written about World of Warcraft and Limited Edition before, because I loved it. I loved the members, I loved the principles and I loved our progress and success. I'm proud of myself, for helping to create LE, and I'm proud of its members - my friends. I've been sending out notes and bonuses of gold to everyone who leaves - and the overwhelming gratitude and respect I see in the responses tells me that the creation of LE was a good thing, if it can evoke these feelings from others.
Take care, everyone, you will be in my heart. All my love.
Limited Edition after our 25-man kill of Professor Putricide.
The LE 10-man group, who got as far as the final boss in the game, but didn't get the chance to kill him.
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