It has been a few months since our guild has communicated through this server forum. This is not because we're inactive! Most of our social activity now takes place on our Discord server. Elders of the Republic and Elders of the Sith have continued to serve as meeting places for older, sensible players who have loved Star Wars since we saw Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia in the theaters in the 70's. However, we would like to avoid drama (we get quite enough of that at work, thank you). Our guild will celebrate our fifth anniversary this December. Some of us have been playing together since its inception. We have been running weekly, 16-character training operations every Friday for several years, and have other guild activities scheduled throughout the week or generated ad hoc as players are available. Our membership includes engineers and scientists, artisans and night-workers, parents and grandparents, middle-aged laborers and the happily retired, and consists of a balanced group of women and men. If you are a 40+ year-old player interested in a mature, sensible guild, feel free to check us out. May the force be with/serve you!

I started playing SWTOR about the time 3.0 dropped. One of the features that attracted me to the game was the Preferred model as it was structured at the time. I had never subscribed to a game before - I had always just purchased a game and then game expansions, etc. The Preferred model allowed me to purchase cartel coins with cash and unlock features of the game that I would use - an a la carte model rather than a buffet model. I personally had no interest in PVP and didn't raid, so this seemed like a fine option. I subsequently purchased cartel coins and unlocked pretty much everything that I could. Crafting was more difficult due to the low drop-rate of purple mats, but it was still enjoyable. Later I joined a guild that raided (we still do - we've been at it for more than three years), and I could buy weekly ops passes for my main character at about half the monetary cost of a full subscription. I was really surprised when Bioware removed the ops passes from the cartel market. There were no announcements and no discussion, they just weren't there anymore. I found this out the night I was supposed to tank an operation for my guild and I couldn't buy one. One of my fellow guild members spent two million on one of the remaining ops passes on the Galactic Market so I could join the guild in the operation, but it was pretty humiliating. I came to the realization that Bioware had chosen to dissolve the Preferred structure that had originally attracted me to the game. I now had a choice. To subscribe or not? I chose to subscribe, so I suppose Bioware made the right call removing Ops passes on my account, but it wasn't an easy choice. The monthly sub is worth it for me and is not a burden on my budget, but that hasn't been the case for all of my friends. I'm a sub now and am likely to remain so until they (eventually) turn out the lights. Incidentally, I buy the 6-month sub, which is $13/month, a savings that somehow makes me feel better.

<Elders of the Republic> has started reserving the last Friday of each month to run a training operation with our sister guild <Elders of the Sith>. It's been nice to pull out our Imperial characters for change and have fun with lightning, dark wards, etc. What operations do we run? Unless one or more of our players have a strong preference otherwise, we'll often choose an operation that coincides with a conquest operation for the week. We have no conquest requirements in our guild. Players who participate in conquest do so because that is the way they like to play the game. However, completing a select 16-toon operation can pull in a staggering amount of conquest points for a guild, which has a subsidiary benefit within the current guild ranking system.

<Elders of the Republic> is turning three-years old. Some of us have been part of the guild for all or almost all of that time. We've had four guildmasters (three of whom are still active in the guild), roughly 140 scheduled, all-guild training operations, and many thousands of hours of fun together. Under our current guildmaster's, Celsfalia's, leadership I envision another three years of an excellent <Elders of the Republic> SWTOR experience. Please keep us in mind if you're interested in joining a mature guild both in chronological years and our individual member's emotional stability. May the force be with you this holiday season!

Hi Woobies, thank you for your interest in <Elders of the Republic>. We do have a sister guild, <Elders of the Sith>. All, or almost all of us, have characters in that guild as well. Some of our players are more active on the Imperial side than the Republic side. We scheduled a couple of Imperial-side operations in October. To this point, however, most of our guild activities (raids and world-boss runs) have been on the Republic Side. That said, if you have any Republic side characters and would like a fun but sensible, active guild of mature players, please look us up in-game. Quite a few of Satele Shan's older players have joined us in the past two months. Our website might look a little slow. Almost all of our guild communication currently runs through our Discord channels.

<Elders of the Republic> has been "hopping" lately. We have had the pleasure of accepting several new 40+ year-old members these past two weeks, a couple of whom joined us for our most recent Friday evening training operation. We ran an all-guild 16-character Storymode Dread Palace operation. Some of our players hadn't attempted the operation before. As always, it was a real pleasure. If you would like to join an established guild of older players that is still lively and growing, please consider <Elders of the Republic> and look us up in-game. All of our members have invite privileges.

For the month of October, <Elders of the Republic> players joined with <Elders of the Sith> to participate in 16-character operations, completing both Terror from Beyond and Dread Fortress in storymode. Last Friday evening, our Guildmaster Celsfalia hosted a "costume party" for our joint guild with a number of us participating before launching our evening operation. It was a lot of fun, and De-rezz, one of our officers, had prizes for all participants. Most of us wish there were more hours in the day so we could use them to play SWTOR. But, as a guild, we're "in it" for the long haul. If we can't get away from our real-life commitments in the short term, we'll spread the enjoyment over the next months and years.

ZeroAnjel: Greetings! <Elders of the Republic> might be what you are looking for. First off, welcome back! I took a break from SWTOR about a year ago also but found myself rejoining the game and enjoying it more than ever. One of the things that brought me back to SWTOR is the guild. I've been a part of it for nearly three years, and it's always been a place for sensible, mature men and women. During the week, we usually have fewer players online, but we come together for events. For instance, we had back-to-back guild 16-toon operations last Friday night, which were incredibly fun. Feel free to send in-game mail to Celsfalia (our guildmaster), or Kallinos (my main) or type "Elders" in the in-game search field. I'm only on about an hour each day right now because of work, and it's usually after 10 PM Pacific time, but all of our members have invite privileges. I hope to see you in-game!

Hi Demosthenez! Sorry for the tardiness of the response. Most of us are busy with our jobs, professions, businesses, children, grandchildren, etc. The guild was indeed formed on The Harbinger several years ago and we would very happily welcome you back. In essence, we haven't changed very much over the past several years; we're still a group of older players who enjoy getting together in a mature atmosphere. We have grown larger - we had an all-guild 16-character operation last Friday - and we have more amenities now such as guild flagships for both our Republic and sister Imperial guild. Our guildmaster and others have decorated them nicely. We have some pictures on our website (a link can be found in my signature below). If you have a chance to search for "Elders" in the who tab of the game search, you should be able to find some of us, especially in the PM hours (Pacific Time). We have guild raids every Friday night starting around 9 PM PST, so that would be a great time to whisper us. Thanks for rejoining the game. It's a lot of fun!

A special "thank you" to the several members that recently joined us in <Elders of the Republic>. During our weekly training operation last Friday night, we successfully completed the 16-toon challenge mode for the operation Temple of Sacrifice. This was a 16-toon operation that our guild had attempted before but had not yet successfully completed. Four or five of the raid members had only joined us in the last couple of months. Although some may scoff that it was "only a storymode" operation, it was about the right level of challenge for a bunch of mostly casual older players. As always, there were no strong reprimands, rage quits, or other pettiness. A couple of our members had to drop group to take care of ill spouses or catch some sleep for work the next day. They were sent off with the guild's blessings and their spots filled with other mature volunteers. Fun (and achievements) were had by all. If the description above sounds about right, perhaps <Elders of the Republic> is for you! Please check out our website or look us up in game in the "who" tab with Elders in the search field.

Thanks Mac, sorry for the slow reply. This forum is only semi-monitored. We do most of our regular guild communication on our website and our Discord server. In-game, please do a search for "Elders" in the "Who" tab. All of our members have invite privileges and would be happy to chat with you regarding our guild. If you're looking for specific players to contact Celsfalia, Pnugg, and Kallinos (me) are possible choices, but most of us in the guild run multiple alts. Our members tend to log on after work (or after the kids are in bed) usually 8 - 11 Pacific Standard Time. Thanks for your interest.

For those interested in conquest, please note that <Elders of the Republic> has been consistently reaching mid-sized planetary conquest goals from about the time of the last server update. We do not have any conquest-specific expectations of our members, but it's nice to know that you can get mid-sized planetary loot boxes for your toons if you want to participate in conquest. A benefit that we've found with guild conquest is that it has provided a nice focus to many of our group activities: both those that are scheduled and those that form ad-hoc throughout the week.

Absolutely fantastic! The new ability described above makes me want to pull out my VG tank again. Rated a 5 on this thread. Thanks!

Dear ThreeLeos: Welcome Back! <Elders of the Republic> is primarily a social guild with weekly training raids, and more irregular conquest, flashpoint, and PVP sessions. We're older players who really like StarWars. Most of us joined the game because we like the story and many of us regularly level-up toons just to relive the favorite parts of each class - like re-reading a favorite old book. The only restriction we have on membership is a chronological age of 40+. As a member of the guild you would have access to our strongholds, guild ship, a nice +10% experience boost, and of course guild chat which is a great resource for questions and recruiting for group content. On the weekend evenings, we typically have 12- 16 players logged in on the pub-side, with fewer players at other times of the week. We all have jobs, children, (and grandchildren), pets, or other important commitments and know that these take priority over the pleasures of the game. You would be most welcome. To get an invitation, please type "Elders" into the search line of the "Who" field. All of our members have invite privileges. You could also send an in-game message to Celsfalia or me (Kallinos), but I won't be on tonight due to a major presentation at work tomorrow.

Loadsamonie: Thanks for reading the post and responding to the thread. We do enjoy our training ops which we have done weekly for a couple years now. These are usually conducted in 16-toon mode due to interest. While the guild does have a select group that works on hard-mode raiding, we are not really a progression guild and most of us stick to storymode operations. If you're interested in NiM operations you would have to look elsewhere regardless of your age. We're just a group of older players who enjoy Star Wars, SWTOR, each other's company, and a more moderate challenge.

Who says, "You can't teach an old player new tricks?". Members of <Elders of the Republic> spent several marvelous sessions this past week in a campaign against Izax the Destroyer making it to Phase 4. The demise of the great droid is inevitable. It is his destiny. If you are an older player looking for a guild that is not afraid to patiently and methodically try new mechanics in the name of good fun and friendship, consider <Elders of the Republic>. Feel free to check out our guild website.

<Elders of the Republic> and our sister guild <Elders of the Sith> is a mostly social guild of players who are 40 years of age and older. We have been around since Dec 2015 and are ladies, gentlemen, artisans, laborers, professionals, managers, singles, parents, and grandparents all united by a long-abiding love of Star Wars and the desire for a sensible, patient, and mature community. There are many demands in life and on our time. <Elders of the Republic> and <Elders of the Sith> is here to help make the most of the time we spend playing SWTOR. While we are primarily a "Social" guild, we run weekly training operations every Friday for our members who want to learn raiding or try new roles and come together to have fun. We regularly participate in conquest and run flashpoints, heroics, and other group content periodically throughout the week. Many of our members also participate in hardmode operations and other, more challenging content. If you are interested in joining us, please: Visit our SWTOR Fan community site See our Recruitment Flier contact any member in-game by doing a "who" search for "Elders"

Elders of the Republic is still going strong. We ran an all-guild 16-toon Terror from Beyond Operation last Friday. It was a lot of fun. It was only storymode, but that's about the right speed for most of us. We have seen considerable interest in the past few weeks and have been fortunate enough to recruit several new players. We are not a raiding guild, but we raid. We are not a PVP guild, but we PVP, we are not a conquest guild, but our individual players are so active in the guild that we often come within a stones' throw of the top ten guilds by accident. If you are a 40+ year-old player looking for a guild of casual players who really quite like SWTOR, please check out our website or look for us online in the "Who" field of the social/friends tab. We have members on most of the day, particularly in the evening/late evening hours Pacific Standard Time.

Hi Joxed! Welcome back to the game! There have been some changes, but the core Star Wars theme is as alive as ever, and the Harbinger is a good server to be on. Are you 40+ years old? I'm an officer in Elders of the Republic and I think we might have what you're looking for. We have an active thread on this forum. Please check out our website and ask around for us in game. If you're not a 40+ year-old gamer, we still wish you the best. Welcome back to SWTOR!

Elders of the Republic has been branching out into PvP as well. Some of our members participated in an unprecedented 6 hour PvP marathon last Sunday. We regularly run 8-toon or 16-toon operations during our scheduled raid times, and it is not unusual to have spontaneous guild operations conducted throughout the week, usually during P.M. hours PST. As De-rezz stated, we have had considerable growth lately. If you're looking for a guild home, check out our website, or look us up in game.

Sindarin: Thanks for venturing into the world of guilds! It does change the experience of gameplay considerably. I'm currently in a guild that would meet most of your preferences. Our only requirement is a minimum age. We're ancient. Our members range from their early forties to mid-seventies. If you qualify, please look for <Elders of the Republic>. We have a thread on this recruitment forum, an active guild website, etc. Whatever guild you end up joining, I would encourage you to think about endgame play. In SWTOR these days, the process of leveling a character to 70 doesn't usually take too long. If you really get to enjoy a character through the leveling process, you might find yourself looking for something that he/she can do once you reach level 70. Most of us in the guild have many alts, and I myself am often leveling characters because it's a fun and relaxing thing to do. Still, you'll find that most scheduled guild activities in typical guilds revolve around higher level characters. If you don't have any high level characters yet, you will soon. Anyway, come check us out!

<Elders of the Republic> and PVP: Just an update. Our guild has begun including signups for Sunday afternoon (PST) PVP activities on our guild website. We've picked up additional members in the past few weeks. We often have enough players to run all-guild 16-toon operations during our Friday raids. If you're a 40+ year-old player looking for a friendly, active guild, please check out our guild website or look us up in-game by typing "Elders" in the "Who" field of the social tab. Virtually all of our members have invite privileges.

Thanks Golconda for the encouragement. A guild for older players really does seem to have a different emphasis. One of our newer members joined us on a 16-toon mode operation last night and had to logout after explaining that he had to take care of sick children. There was enthusiastic support that this was precisely what ought to be done. Many of us have been in that very situation. SWTOR is a game. A fantastic collage of Star Wars excellence for sure, but at the end of the day it's a game and should be about friends, fun, and Star Wars.

Elders of the Republic: one year as a guild for older players. One year ago today Inlandsurfer began this thread with an announcement that he was looking to start a guild for older players familiar with the challenges of balancing work, family, and their long-term love of Star Wars. The guild is as strong as ever with weekly scheduled group content, an active sister guild on the imperial side, and the usual amenities of guildship, stronghold, voice server, and 10% XP bonus. If you're looking for a guild that enjoys sensible fun and conversation and will understand if you have to logout because of children, grandchildren, spouses, or small animals, please consider our guild. This forum is not (*cough*) consistently monitored, but our guild website sees more traffic. Please check us out online or look us up in-game!

Rogan and Airborne: Thank you for your interest in the guild! I apologize for not monitoring this thread more closely - the challenge of being a Chemist by day and a Jedi by night! We have players of many skill levels and age levels (i.e. old to very old) and as far as I've seen, someone is always willing to lend a hand if something changed in the game or is confusing. Please look us up by searching "Who: Elders" on the game's social tab. We have a guild operation scheduled for the night, so there will be many of us on.