The End

[Xi-]

The End. Sounds strange doesn't it? The ship went down faster than the Titanic, but the rats were bailing out before the iceberg was ever even in sight. I'd love to be able to sit here and tell you this was a result of the casualization of the game, of feeding us easy encounters for mediocre rewards, while at the same time undercutting these meager accomplishments and upgrades with welfare epics obtainable by anyone who has a large quantity of time, regardless of their skill or lack thereof. Let's be honest the theme of TBC is sacrificing everything that was good about raiding on the altar of accessibility. Sunwell is an unmitigated success, but let's be honest here, it's taken us 18months to get back to a Naxx level of difficulty and encounter design and we got a meager 6 bosses, that's pretty pathetic. In any case that's not why you're reading this, is it. So if it wasn't lousy encounter design, shitty loot, cockblocks, etc, than what was it? The most fundamental currency there is in WoW. People. Somewhere along the line people got the idea that they were bigger than the guild. That what they wanted was more important than what was good for the guild. That somehow they deserved respect just for being around. And other people just stopped caring. Not only did they stop caring, but they didn't have the common decency to quit, they hung around for whatever reasons promising us they were going to be there, and we foolishly believed them out of loyalty for what we'd been through together. We had officers who couldn't take a stand any more and made decisions based on what was 'easy'. We had OFFICERS who disappeared with no notice, and would come and go as they pleased, yet still felt entitled to make decisions about where we were going. There is no 1 person's shoulder to place this on, it was a group effort. Let's talk about a few important words here. According to dictionary.com Progress - gradual improvement or growth or development That's right GRADUAL. Progress doesn't happen all in 1 night, but apparently some people that we had here didn't understand that. They thought bosses just fell over the first night because of the tag over their head, and the most important thing was how much damage they could do at all times. Newsflash - it doesn't work like that. It's pretty ironic that the first people to jump ship when progress wasn't going fast enough, were the same ones jerking off in the 5man, and holding up the raid on the first day. Progress takes time, and world firsts don't fall from the sky, they're the result of a lot of hard work, and effort. The reputation of this guild was built on the backs of a lot of hard work and dedication from EVERYONE. The guild was bigger than any of us, and we knew it. Which leads into the second word. Pride. Once upon a time we had pride. Pride in our guild, pride in ourselves, pride in what we'd done. Pride is showing up and giving your best effort, ESPECIALLY when you don't want to be there, because your guildmates deserve that. We didn't always get world firsts, it's impossible to always be first, that's just not how the game works, but we showed up every day, EARLY and busted our asses, and we were proud of what we accomplished, be it world first or world 1000th. We didn't whine or complain about our fucking groups, or worry about loot. We killed bosses. Period. We gave our best effort because those around us deserved it, because the guild deserved it. We had pride about what we had done, not what those before us had done. But we also didn't have false pride. Once upon a time when people couldn't or didn't want to keep up the raiding schedule, they had the guts and decency to let the rest of us know. Now they slink off into the night without even a word. Some people will say, they have no ill will towards those who neglected us during progress. Who stopped showing up once things got hard. Who left at the first opportunity. I'm not one of them. To anyone who jumped ship, I'm going to be honest. I have no respect for you. You all claimed you wanted to be members of this guild, you came here, we geared you, and that set an expectation down for you. That you were one of us, just like those who paved the way for you. You turned your back on that, and the last person is just as guilty as the first. A lot of you might think Death and Taxes died this week, but for those of us who have been here for a long time we know that isn't true. Death and Taxes died a long time ago. We still killed bosses every week, but the spirit was long gone. The swagger you all came to know and love from us had evaporated. Some of us still carried it, and the guild, but the new people never quite got it. In the end Death and Taxes turned into any other guild, a job for the mercenaries who came here. They logged in at 7, picked up their epics, and logged off until the next raid, and that was never what we were about. We were about having fun, and being irreverent, and being honest with ourselves and each other. What happens now? Well, that's not up to us, it's up to you. Those of us that have been here will always be members of DnT, our characters will disappear, but our memories will not. We didn't create our legend, we were just a group of friends who loved killing raid bosses. All the people who came to our website, and followed our progress, and cheered for our accomplishments, you created the legend, and ultimately you will have the last chapter in this story.

[Xi-]

Thanks to those who stuck it out to the end, those who agreed to transfer over to try and save a dying guild, those who came back to try and save what they had created. Thanks to all the people who followed us through our history. Thanks to our competitors the race was what kept WoW new and fresh through all the cockblocks and content droughts. Good luck in Sunwell, it's finally an instance that begins to rival Naxx. To Kungen/Nihilum I read your posts about Twins and our demise, and nothing is better than the respect of a fellow competitor. Keep coming to our website, we'll still have all your drama, cam whores, and random pictures. We never did get blogs implemented, but I suppose now we can just use our front page, so stay tuned for that. And finally to the Dev team, and their fucking RNG, here's what I think of warglaives you mother fuckers.

[Xi-]

Unlocked. edit: I have some people who wish to continue raiding competitively as alliance, so if you're in a competitive Sunwell guild and you're looking for some recruits feel free to PM me and we'll see if we can place some good players in new homes.

[Draacon]

first (after XI)

[Chris]

Just to make it clear. The raiding machine isn't starting up on Blackrock for the moment. When we have 25 that will carry the name with the same respect it deserves into a raid dungeon then we'll start(if we start). Death and Taxes was a group of friends that played the game well because we were having such a good time. Boss kills happened because nobody wanted to be the weak link. Everyone wanted to show up play with the 39 other hilarious people and test their ability on a large scale. That faded over time, eroding our success, and many people's enjoyment of the game. Nothing is more certain in this life than Death and Taxes, and this is no different. The collection of friends who enjoyed playing together so much that we pulled off quite a few great moments in WoW has moved on. Some of us are still around, but that Death and Taxes bears little resemblance to the new one. Call it retirement for those of us who have moved to Blackrock. Maybe the raiding spark will ignite there as well, but for now I simply am not willing to spend any time in the game not under the tag that made it so much fun for me.

[Jahre]

The community will never die out, and my characters shall always carry the tag

[antisnow]

<3

[Eraladin]

Hello I am from the EU (england), but had heard about your guild, and always was impressed. So was quite upset to see you guys disband I am sorry for you guys. x Era

[Calistia]

Wow =( My husband told me and I came to read. It seems to happen alot in game lately sadly. Recruits dont have the passion that people used to pre-bc. There isnt that huge sense of accomplishment with each kill. Used to feel like the guild was actual friends but somehow along the way with Blizzard's spoiling them and giving a sense of uberness as it can be put, they forgot you are a face behind a screen too. I hope you guys keep in touch with each other. Friends you make in this game can last a lifetime. Good luck all =(

[Metalmilitia]

Besides the obvious and saddening loss of a great guild competing in WoW what i'll miss the most will be lines like "And finally to the Dev team, and their fucking RNG, here's what I think of warglaives you mother fuckers. " . So much brilliant, ironic and irriverent wit while telling the brutal truth. Hell i think the "an eastern tribute..." thread kind of changed the way that Devs HAVE to approach a game nowadays. I sincerely think that was a turning point, from then on devs started paying more and more attention to the community (even if probably they won't ever admit it). Will you guys be playing Age of Conan by any chance?

[Flesseck]

Awesome post. Good luck to all. Hope everyone finds his or her path of enjoyment in this game.

[actiQ]

It was very fun for a very long time, that's what this game is all about. Not loots. Not being #1 on recount. Fun. Hopefully we'll have fun on Blackrock playing for each other and not for a loot dispenser.

[ninjaka]

oh man im sad DnT is gone as a guild spent alot of time reading posts and having fun on these boards. I think you guys were the best guild ever and wish you all the best for the future. /salute /bow Ninjaka Bronzebeard EU

[cerberos]

Sad news, you have our deeply respect (Samurai on Twilight's Hammer EU) and i can fully understand what you are saying in your "goodbye" thread, especially when u mention: "People. Somewhere along the line people got the idea that they were bigger than the guild. That what they wanted was more important than what was good for the guild. That somehow they deserved respect just for being around. And other people just stopped caring. Not only did they stop caring, but they didn't have the common decency to quit" Hope you find some good 25 ppl, and have you on stage soon. Till then be well and Greetings from Greece.

[♥(Ujay)♥]

Sad to hear, my guild also died this week, props to all who kept DnT alive for this long