Who We Are

Musketeers is a linkshell on the Ragnarok server of Final Fantasy XI, dedicated to creating friendships with other players and exploring everything that the game has to offer. We strive to be a close-knit shell, and we like to think of ourselves as a big family and a supportive community. We try to plan events regularly to do new and adventurous things as large or small groups. When we can, we like to level and quest with each other. We try to help each other attain our goals in a positive environment of support and camaraderie.

While we don’t require attendance to events in Musketeers, it’s important to stress that we are not “just a social linkshell.” We prefer to think of ourselves as “Casual, with ambition” and we strive to achieve things that many believe are reserved only for dedicated HNM-camping linkshells or event linkshells. We want to be proof that one does not have to give up the people they fight with along the way in order to accomplish things in the game.

Linkshell Leadership

Although Musketeers is not governed by any one individual, leadership is comprised of the linkshell holder (Tyrian), and the three pearlsack holders (Kiine, Saren, and Sanah). All linkshell decisions (such as adding or removing members, the direction of the linkshell, or any other decision) are made by committee/majority. If you have any input on the directions and goals of the linkshell, concerns about another member, or any other question, please feel free to /tell the shellholder or any of the above-mentioned sackholders.

As a precautionary measure, the leadership does have a system in place to remove members. If the leadership sees that a problem has arisen, whether through observation or by talking with others, the member in question will be approached by a leader in order to discuss and resolve the issue. If a member refuses to address the issue, or if incidents continue to occur, steps will be taken by the leadership as a whole to intervene. If no resolution can be reached, the person's linkpearl will be broken, their rights on the website will be revoked, and an explanation of the actions taken will be presented on the forums for all linkshell members to review. Despite the necessity for this provision, we believe that any member who follows the spirit of the charter will never be confronted with this.

Because sometimes situations need to be resolved quickly, the following provision has been added. If someone starts being genuinely disrespectful towards others, or keeps an unrestrained argument going, or uses hate speech (racial, ethnic, religious, or anything meant in a mean-spirited fashion), or in any way starts negatively impacting the shell, that person will have their linkpearl broken immediately, with discussions in /tell to follow afterwards. A pearl may be reissued only once the matter has been resolved.

Member Conduct

Our linkshell was founded on one central principle: from the moment a character logs in, they will be met with fun and teamwork and a sense that, even though the rest of the game-world can sometimes be rough, this linkshell will always be a place where members can go to enjoy their time among their peers. This linkshell is our home. Therefore, it's important that we get along with the people in our linkshell. Everyone has bad days, and we don't expect everyone to be cheerful and carefree 100% of the time. However, we do require that every member does their best to contribute to the sense of community, and that they will strive to be respectful in their dealings both within the linkshell and with other people. Remember that there are members that are made uncomfortable when other people make it a point to complain about everything or use profanity at every turn, and this disrupts an environment where everyone can feel comfortable and at home. While the occasional rant or misjudgment can be overlooked, a consistently sour disposition cannot.

We believe that every member is a representative of the linkshell: to other players, to new recruits, to people reading the forums, and to linkshell members themselves. All it takes is one "bad apple" with a Musketeers pearl equipped to quickly turn our linkshell into something it shouldn’t be. As a result, it is imperative to the enjoyment of all involved that our actions in-game be tempered with respect, consideration, and maturity for all those we play with. Musketeers are expected to remain open-minded in our conversations, respect each other's point of view, avoid offensive speech and subject matter, and refrain from any unethical acts such as botting or harassment. Members who continually detract from the overall atmosphere of respect, consideration, and maturity — in dealing both with linkshell members and other players in the game — will be removed from the shell.

New Members

While it’s not our intent to be “exclusive,” it is important to note that we’re not actively seeking a large linkshell. We feel no particular need to pad our numbers with new recruits in order to have spare bodies filling the shell. As a result, new members are typically recruited through friends inviting friends. We place no particular emphasis on jobs, character level, or equipment. Instead, we believe that it’s crucial to our core that any new members mesh well with the rest of the shell.

To that end, we have a trial period where we get to know an applicant and where he or she gets to know us. During this period, the applicant is given a linkpearl on a temporary basis, granted “Recruit” access to the forum, and is encouraged to participate in all linkshell events. The length of the trial period is not set in stone — time spent participating with the linkshell plays a factor in this, as do hints of “drama” or potential conflict. The linkshell leadership will make a decision regarding any new recruit once we are confident that they have a place in our linkshell family. If it becomes evident that the recruit does not wish to abide by the standards of conduct and fellowship, or it becomes obvious that they have lost interest in the linkshell, the probation period will end, and the recruit will lose their status on the roster both in-game and on the message boards. Once the probationary period has ended, and the linkshell leaders have approved a new recruit, the new member is given a place on the Musketeers roster.

Once a member has been accepted, they will gain full access to our forums. Not only do our forums help support our community, but we have a lot of fun there and it's crucial to sign up for things and learn about what’s going on in the linkshell. If you have any general questions, it’s a great place to ask. Most importantly, our interaction on the forums is such that new members must be able to access them, and should be willing to actively participate there in order to take full advantage of all that the linkshell has to offer.

Events and Participation

It is our belief that, as with any group endeavor, you get out of Musketeers what you put into it. The more involved a member becomes in the goings-on of the linkshell, the more likely they’ll find others willing to join events that they plan. While attendance is never required, continued absence from group events combined with constant pleas for help on missions/events for singular gain will be noticed — both by the linkshell leaders and other members. We enjoy helping our Musketeers family, but we expect the same enthusiasm to be returned back when a member has the ability to contribute.

Musketeers doesn’t prohibit membership in other linkshells, but we do believe that a person who dedicates their time to a single linkshell has the greatest impact on that shell, and receives the greatest amount of benefit in return. To reflect this, members that make themselves exclusive to Musketeers are granted a special access level on the message boards, with the ability to plan events and post onto the events calendar. As Musketeers continues to expand the type of events we participate in, this holds more weight: members who consistently contribute to the linkshell as a whole tend to receive higher consideration for special items in specific events that we do as a group.

Event Planning

When planning events, all members should be able to make the distinction between a “community event” and a request for help. Planning an event that says, “I need to camp Bob the Destroyer for the Multishot Sword of Infinite Range” does not make a particularly strong community event (this falls under a “request for help”), while gathering a group of people who all need to complete a quest or mission does. This doesn’t mean that members are expected to be completely altruistic, nor does it imply that requests for help will be ignored. However, like all things, karma has a way of coming back around. The more you help others and participate in events, the more likely others will find ways to help you.

That being said, also keep in mind that everyone in the linkshell has an outside life. Our members attend high school, college, and daily jobs that come before the game. Our members have spouses, parents, children, friends, roommates, and pets that come before the game. Like the text at the beginning of the game states, we don't expect anyone to neglect these things in the real world. When life happens, the game (and the linkshell) yields.

HNM Events

Please be aware that we are not, nor do we strive to be, an HNM linkshell. Several of our members currently participate in or have participated in HNM linkshells in the past; but as a linkshell, we don’t wish to become embroiled in the politics and drama associated with that particular aspect of the game. While we're not opposed to defeating any of the HNMs that the game has to offer, we believe that our time is better spent actually playing the game, rather than standing around in the rain or in the depths of some damp dungeon for hour after hour with scores of other people in the nearby vicinity, all competing for the pull.

That being said, we respect those Musketeers that have chosen to forgo the HNM route and have instead chosen to remain exclusive to the linkshell, and we don’t want that decision to be a “punishment” by forcing them to sacrificing some of the best fights and items that the game has to offer. In trying to do what’s best for members, we do take little hops over the line to get the things people want, both as a means of getting the “stuff” and just to shine the badge of pride to know that we, as Musketeers, can.

However, it’s important to note that we’re not competing with HNM shells. There are bound to be instances where we’re in the same zones pressing for the same goals. But they are not “the enemy.” We are in their territory, and while there, we will do our best to respect their way of doing things. It’s our goal for Musketeers to remain as neutral as humanly possible. We have members with dual-memberships in HNM shells and the rest of us have friends associated with them, and we don’t want our activities to place a strain on those ties. Furthermore, we’re not going to be treading this ground forever. We don’t want it to become a chore, and we don’t want it to be something that brings out the worst in us. And, yes, we also don’t want other HNM shells to look at us as “the enemy.” We want to move in, get what we want (within reason), and move out. We’ll come back again later when we need to, but this isn’t our focus. There are a lot of ways to get gear that is just as good (and in some cases, better) without having to compete against other groups, so our intent is to get the few things we need, and then move on.

That being said, it’s important to remember that we’re all Musketeers. We will continue to press towards our goals, and just because someone might achieve their goal another member, doesn’t mean we’ll never go back. We are in this together. We won't leave people without the items they need. And we absolutely will not neglect our lower-level members while doing pursuing these goals. We believe we can do this, and we can come through the other side better because of it.

Regular Events

As more Musketeers have reached level 75 in at least one job, we’ve begun to take on certain “regular events” that would not have been possible when we first started as a linkshell. Among these are regular Limbus runs, ZNM hunting parties, smaller groups in regular Assault or Nyzul Isle sets, and semi-regular KS99 BCNM fights. While more information regarding specifics can be found on the message boards, we do our best to accommodate the needs of members when planning for such events. However, as has been stated before, you will get out of this linkshell (and this game) what you put into it. The linkshell is not a surrogate for personal initiative — we’re here to fight, assist, and achieve together; we’re not here to do things for you.

The Rest...

Musketeers was founded on July 12th, 2004. It has seen a lot of mileage and a lot of changes in the years it has been around. But we are a fiercely loyal group, and will continue to strive for one another and achieve things we can all be proud of.

The musketeers of legend had a motto: “All for one, and one for all.” In Musketeers, it’s more than just a saying, it’s a creed. By taking up a Musketeers linkpearl, each member renews that vow daily. And in the end, we’re all here to have fun and enjoy both the game and each other’s company.

So say we all.