WG vs Dead on Arrival

Wilderness Guardians vs Dead on Arrival
300px A screen capture from Jesusislord6's video of the battle.
Date	9 July 2005
Type	P2P Knock-Out
Location	Annakarl
Clans Involved
Wilderness Guardians ~120 members Attacking	Dead on Arrival ~100 members Defending
Followers of Malkav (Crashing)
Terms of War
P2P Knock-Out Annakarl
Result
Crashed by Followers of Malkav WG projected victor

The Wilderness Guardians vs Dead on Arrival (WG vs DoA) was WG's first P2P war and took place on 9 July 2005. This was also the first war in RuneScape to make use of the then newly-released Ancient Magicks spellbook. Though the fight was interrupted by another clan, WG was the projected victor and a video of the fight gained widespread fame and recognition within the clan world.

Background

WG and DoA had been involved in several hostile PK run-ins throughout 2005 prior to the battle, and WG declared war in an attempt to resolve the tension which had grown as a result. The date was set for 9 July 2005, and it would be the first planned P2P fight in the clan's history. The RuneScape quest Desert Treasure had been added to the game in April of that year, but no major fights had been held as yet which made use of the quest's alternate spellbook reward. Prior to this, maging in P2P was limited to the use of god spells and considerably ineffective, though the RuneScape community was not yet fully aware of the potential of Ancient Magicks.

The Battle

File:Wg vs doa 2.jpg

The melee group spread west of Annakarl.

WG massed for the fight upstairs in Juliet's House in Varrock for the first time - this location has since become commonly associated with the clan, and several subsequent masses for large-scale fights have taken place here. With approximately 120 members, WG eventually marched west to the monastery for the prayer boost, before heading into the wilderness.

Prior to the battle, WG divided into two separate groups, each with around 60 members - one group of rangers and mages equipped with the new spells, and one group all with melee. The melee group spread and waited to the west of Annakarl, and the longrange group was sent in to the Demonic Ruins first. DoA were the defending clan and had set themselves up in a death dot within the ruins, unaware of how deadly this formation was. The WG mages equipped with ice burst and barrage caught almost all of their members in a barrage pile, and over 3,500 damage was struck within the first 30 seconds of the battle. After approximately 30 seconds, the melee group charged in from the west and joined the fight.

Around 10 minutes into the battle, the fight was interrupted by the clan Followers of Malkav with many WG and DoA still fighting. It is believed FoM were ambushed by Dark Slayers at some point, though the details regarding this are unclear. Both clans had fairly even numbers at this point and the war was determined crashed, though WG was the projected victor given their greater pull and impressive opening blow.

Aftermath

His Lordship would state that WG vs DoA was the best war he had attended for over three years following the battle. The two clans would later reconcile, considering the fight to have been mostly positive for both clans. Tensions between WG and the crashers FoM rose as a result, and though it never culminated in anything of note, His Lordship recorded in the clan's written history that "[WG] never quite built back up the respect for them."

The march from Juliet's house to the monastery and the first ~5 minutes of battle were recorded by Jesusislord6. An ~8-minute video was produced using the footage, which quickly gained traction within the RuneScape community. The former fansite Zybez (RuneScape Community/RSC) would continuously vote for it in community polls as the most enjoyable clan video to watch, and it has been described as having obtained "classic" status. The first music track added for the video - "We're Not Gonna Take It" by Twisted Sister - became commonly associated with WG, often considered the clan's unofficial theme song.

WG vs DoA marked a significant change, in which WG would begin to focus largely on P2P fights, and reach the upper ranks of P2P clans throughout 2005 and 2006.

Gallery

• Wg vs doa 3.gif

  Activity on the WG Forums around the time of the war.

• Wg vs doa 4.png

  WG making their way through the wilderness.

• Wg vs doa 2.jpg

  The melee group spread west of Annakarl.

• Wg vs doa 5.png

  The melee group before the charge.

• Wg vs doa 6.jpg

  A WG member impressed by the damage output of Ancient Magicks.

Trivia

• A minor controversy arose when WG member Philapeeno spammed "Doa likes the p33n0r [!!!]" during the melee group's charge. His Lordship considered this to be flaming and dishonourable by the standards of the day, and condemmed the act. Nonetheless, many found it amusing and it became somewhat of a catchphrase.
• Another oddity of the fight was that His Lordship is believed to have attended wearing a Gnome Amulet, which offers significantly less stat bonuses than the recommended Amulet of Glory or Amulet of Power.