~• DPS History •~
Written by our first GM, Zyrax.

Back in the early days of WoW, a group of friends gathered together on Shattered Hand. It took a few tries to coordinate the right server (seriously, PvE?) and get cranking, but by December '04 <Crimson Moon> was up and running. Founded by Benchod, the small group grew to a base of 15-20 players primarily working on the leveling grind.

The Guild Master role would soon pass to Hao (later Haao/Steelwall) who carried <Crimson Moon> through a small growth period in which the guild established its reputation as a very tight group of capable players. This was a time when there was a very limited number of large, successful guilds on any server and wearing a full set of blue tier items meant you were exceptionally well geared. The player base remained content for a time grinding Strat, Scholo, and UBRS, but things would soon change.

Due to insane login queues, lag issues, and an aspiration to experience new content it was decided to make some adjustments. Conveniently, a few of the larger guilds on Shattered Hand expressed interest in absorbing <Crimson Moon> offering incentive packages to join. Though that would have solved one of the concerns, performance issues with the realm became too much to bear. Instead of following that path, <Crimson Moon> transferred to Bloodscalp when the option became available with fingers crossed.

Enter <DPS>. The new guild was all the same people plus a few from another transfer guild named Idlers (aka Team Canada). Headcount reached 25 level 60s with a few more on the way through sister (*ahem* feeder) guild <Blue Steel>. Next up, finding a way to do more than poke around in Molten Core. Early attempts to get Molten Core raids going required partnering or pugs. Those explorations were partially successful but were they sustainable? A lot was learned, including that running raids with another guild proved to be too stressful. So the question was, forget end-game raids entirely or recruit players and risk losing the culture and atmosphere we'd become so accustomed?

Over the next few months, significant changes to <DPS> came about. Pushing onward and upward and growing from within became top priorities. If we weren't going to see end-game content in all likelihood the game would have ended shortly thereafter. So, giving it a crack while working hard to maintain the semi-casual vibe? Sure, why not? If it doesn't work, so be it. Easy to say but things proved difficult. Recruiting through the "Friends and Family" package generally worked but became increasingly difficult to manage. New rules had to be put in place, looting went from "you need this?" to evolving DKP systems. Officer status started to mean something... in particular that there was some level of work or responsibility. Who knew?

On Bloodscalp, things plodded along nicely but <DPS> was still just another guild in the mix. Then came Onyxia. After countless Warlord's Command runs to get keyed and a lot of practice the guild realized success in taking down Onyxia. The dragon was dead and the "Heal Cwazy" remix was born. In celebration <DPS> had a parade through Orgrimmar the likes of which will never be seen again. Ragnaros was nice, but there was no oomph in OG. Nefarian was nice, but people knew before we got to parade. The Onyxia kill was a faction first on the server, to become one of many, but a defining moment. Eventually <DPS> would start the foray into server firsts come the Ahn'Qiraj Gate event and beyond.

So here we are, an end game guild with modest beginnings. Along the way we've lost some players but we've gained so much more.

Memorable Mention

• Benchod

• Cwazy

• Hao (Haao/Steelwall)

• Innocentray

• Itachi (Ichigo)

• Kochese

• Mugatoo

• Ohwut

• Pheron (Pheroth)