Rivalry
A rivalry occurs when a dispute arises between two or more clans. Historically, a rivalry would involve disputes outside of the game (such as on fansites and clan forums) and occasional engagements during events such as PK trips, but could be resolved by an official war. However this trend has since fallen out of favour and most modern rivalries generally involve numerous PKRIs with no clear means of resolution.
A crashwar is the most intense form of rivalry, in which a clan will attempt to constantly disrupt all of the enemy's PvP events. Dishonourable actions such as spying and leaking of sensitive clan information are commonplace in almost all modern rivalries.
Contents
- 1 Current Rivalries
- 2 Historical Rivalries
- 2.1 Anarchy
- 2.2 The Blade Keepers*
- 2.3 Chivalry of Legends
- 2.4 Collision
- 2.5 Critical Damage
- 2.6 Dead on Arrival
- 2.7 Distortion
- 2.8 Divine Forces and Violent Resolution
- 2.9 Fear
- 2.10 Followers of Malkav
- 2.11 Jaja
- 2.12 Knights of Death
- 2.13 Noobs Incorporated
- 2.14 Oblivion
- 2.15 Red Blade Hunters
- 2.16 Reign of Terror
- 2.17 The Revolution*
- 2.18 Rune Outlaws
- 2.19 Shadow Elves
- 2.20 The Synergy*
- 2.21 The Unbreakables
Current Rivalries
WG has attempted to remain neutral in recent years and avoid any serious rivalries or political drama, with only one major exception within the past five years.
Nothing Left
Main article: Nothing Left (clan)
NL is an exodus founded by a group of former WG members, all of which were removed from the clan after conspiring to start a mass-leave in mid 2019. A rivalry between the clans was considered inevitable, and several skirmishes within the Revenant Caves and arguments on social media occured over the following months. Both clans sent spies to each other to relay intelligence, and leaks of private Discord text and voice chat were common from both sides. NL would win the majority of engagements in-game, though WG is known to have occasional successful victories over them.
In late 2019, WG took the approach of "ignoring" NL - ceasing publication of propaganda and interaction with NL on social media, and making immediate retreats during in-game engagements so as not to provide the enemy with action. As a result, the rivalry's intensity and hostilities have decreased substantially, though the two clans remain enemies.
Historical Rivalries
In the past, WG has had rivalries with the following clans. Clans who are/were also relatives of WG such as exodi are marked with an asterisk (*).
Anarchy
As WG's strength grew during late 2004 and early 2005, they gained the attention of severla larger clans including Anarchy. Anarchy ambushed several WG raids, and allegedly crashed WG's first war. WG declared war on Anarchy at least once, though the offer was declined. The hostilities between the two clans died out over time.
The Blade Keepers*
Main article: The Blade Keepers
TBK was a clan founded by Vio in February 2011. Initially on peaceful terms, a few disgruntled WG decided to hunt TBK on a PK trip which resulted in a rivalry. Hostilities continued for several months, with WG generally having the upper hand. In April 2011, a range of issues caused a split in TBK with two exodi breaking out from it. Despite a peace treaty being negotiated with WG, TBK had not managed to recover after a full month and the decision to close was made on 4 May 2011. Vio later rejoined WG.
Chivalry of Legends
A precursor to the better-known Chivalry Legions. At some point in late 2005, CL began publicly flaming WG, earning them a negative reputation on fansites such as Zybez (RuneScape Community). CL claimed this was due to WG backing out of a planned fight, for which a victory for CL would have put them in the top 20. WG history says hostilities began before the fight, from which WG withdrew due to the increasing levels of tension. No war was fought, and the rivalry eventually died down.
Collision
Hostilities between WG and Coll arose in late 2006, when Coll were declined a fight while WG was preparing to war Rune Raiders. Coll were not informed about the RR fight and were angered at having their request seemingly declined for no reason, though nothing serious followed.
Critical Damage
In February 2012, CD - a former open-CC-turned-clan publicly called out WG's allies BlacKnights, flaming WG in the process. WG responded by simply wishing CD "good luck" on the Zybez fansite, commencing the rivalry. Several fights were exchanged over the following year, and occasional spying proved to be an issue.
In early 2013 CD entered a crashwar with Poison, and attempted to crash a planned fight between WG and Poison in May 2013. The two fighting clans along with AC managed to clear CD twice with success. The following month, WG staff showed interest in supporting Poison in their crashwar - however this was largely disapproved of by the rest of the clan, and the rivalry eventually died off.
Dead on Arrival
During mid-2005, tension was growing between WG and DoA after several unplanned fights in P2P Wilderness. WG declared war as a means to resolve this tension, resulting in the legendary WG vs DoA.
Distortion
A short conflict between WG and DS occurred after a war in July 2009. WG posted a victory topic on the Zybez/RuneScape Community fansite claiming they had won 2 out of 3 rounds as was agreed, while DS officials tried to claim it had been one constant PKRI from which DS had been the ultimate victor. Drama further ensued regarding WG bringing allies (Zero Tolerance) and Distortion's welfare gear. The dispute was fairly short-lived.
Divine Forces and Violent Resolution
In early 2009, in an attempt to become more involved in clan PvP once again (outside the Clan Wars arena), WG attempted to support The Titans in opposition to DF and VR who were known for constant crashing and flaming. His Lordship pledged WG to the cause of counter-crashing, which would have meant interrupting VR's fight against DF. In response, both DF and VR - two of the strongest clans of the day - directed their anger towards WG. Dalejamesw - a former Warlord and valued Council member of WG who had resigned and joined DF - directed hostilities towards WG including sending DF on hunts and spies into the clan. He was exiled from WG as a result.
Eventually, WG made the decision to abandon the cause and subsequently avoid political drama with the upper tier clans - a stance which WG maintains to this day. WG Warlord Mugger84 is recognised as being instrumental in ceasing the hostilities.
Fear
Fear's relationship with WG was initially hostile due to several run-ins in the Wilderness in late 2004. After the events surrounding Write2brandy and the resulting feud with the Rune Outlaws, peace and an alliance was made between WG and Fear on Christmas Eve.
Followers of Malkav
Tension arose after FoM crashed the WG vs DoA. WG history says the respect for FoM was never quite restored.
Jaja
Jaja is the name applied to various syndicates such as Jaja Pride and Jaja Legacy which began as open CCs around 2009, and later became an official team. While many early skirmishes were held, the first serious offense was on 8 June 2013, when WG fought Jaja under the moniker Interception. The terms of war agreed upon were a matched-options, single spells fight - however Interception simply rushed WG with their full numbers and ice barrage, quickly killing all of WG without the opportunity for a fair fight.
In August of 2013, several WG members flamed Jaja on a Twitch livestream, resulting in hostile retaliation. Jaja performed several DDoS attacks on the clan's forums and senior staff members - the first instance of cyber warfare in the clan's history. These continued over the following few weeks - however WG chose not to entertain Jaja and refused to give them any in-game action, famously saying "WG is WG, and we do things our way regardless of politics". Realising they wouldn't get a reaction, Jaja eventually ceased the hostility.
Knights of Death
Despite an initial alliance offer to the fellow Federation clan, WG's relationship with KoD was relatively unstable. This began with the WG vs Rune Outlaws war in November 2004, where KoD interferred due to a miscommunication. Shortly after in December 2004, the clan crashed a bronze war held prior to WG's 2004 Anniversary celebrations, and were exposed publicly for it.
The rivalry ended in early 2005 when KoD declared war on WG but was declined, and subsequently proposed a fight with their junior clan. WG won, but KoD juniors fought with honour - gaining WG's respect and ending all hostilities.
Noobs Incorporated
A short-lived feud arose between WG and The Sabres and NI in November 2009, when NI crashed a TS war which WG was assigned to protect. A few days later, WG and TS hunted NI on an allied raid, clearing them twice with no casualties - bringing about swift justice and revenge.
Oblivion
A rivalry with Oblivion has been recorded in WG's history, though details are unknown.
Red Blade Hunters
Hostilities arose between WG and RBH after a planned war in April 2010. RBH brought welfare gear (including steel) and immediately broke the boundaries of the war zone, leading to WG walking out and claiming a default win. RBH responded negatively and refused a clean fight, leading to WG deciding to hunt them during subsequent raids, clearing them at least twice. Despite this incident, RBH would later become allies of WG through the Justice Alliance over six years later.
Reign of Terror
The event which started this rivalry was a fight between WG and Rune Raiders in mid-2006, for which RoT sent spies into both clans in an attempt to crash. WG called on RuneScape Dinasty to AC the fight, which RSD did successfully.
WG and RoT would end up fighting almost daily over the summer of 2006 in competition for the #3 P2P rank. After this, aside from a few skirmishes in the early days of Old-School RuneScape, WG has generally remained out of RoT's league despite their differences.
The Revolution*
Main article: The Revolution
TR was an exodus of WG formed by Rick Hamm in early 2005, with the sole intention of killing WG. However, TR disbanded in March 2005 without much warning. Rick Hamm returned to WG.
Rune Outlaws
Main article: Rune Outlaws
Possibly WG's most notorious enemy. The rivalry dates back to late 2004, when flaming resulted in WG's first war. Subsequent declarations were made, and WG exposed RO as dishonourable and disrespectful to the wider clan community, leading to RO's eventual collapse. Leader Renesito continued to publicly slander WG long after his clan's closure.
Shadow Elves
SE made attempts to crash WG's 2008 Anniversary for reasons unknown.
The Synergy*
Main article: The Synergy
TS (or Syn) was an exodus of WG formed by Eragon CD in April 2004. TS drew several members from WG who were unhappy with the leadership, and eventually matched WG in strength. The clans became enemies at first, but within time a peace treaty was negotiated, and even an alliance.
The Unbreakables
In mid-2005, WG fought TU in a fight which gained them recognition by the upper clan world, with both clans bringing around 100 men. WG defeated TU, but were accused of cheating. This took a significant amount of time to resolve, but WG was eventually proven innocent.
