Clan of the Angry Monkey has always been about having fun in the online games we play. Our focus has been strictly on enjoying ourselves and socializing with our online friends. This is not to imply that we do not get things done, in fact we tend have a lot of great accomplishments in the games we play, rather we perform our tasks in a social manner.

This has been especially true in our FFXI adventures on the Phoenix server. Whether running up a CoP mission or sponsoring a Garrison event, we've managed to accomplish a lot while at the same time remaining a very social clan.

The problem is, once you get near end game in FFXI, your interests tend to stray from what the base ClanAM population can accommodate. Things like end-game Garrisons, Limbus, Salvage, and end-game missions/quests need groups of people with high level jobs who are dedicated to the task at hand.

Because ClanAM proper cannot help end-game players with these things, they have traditionally had to look elsewhere. They then often get caught up in end-game HNMLSes that require so much of their time for membership that they leave ClanAM and lose the social interaction of friends and gaming colleagues that we provide. Gamers wanting to continue friendships in ClanAM, or those whose schedules disallow the rigors of an ordinary HNMLS are left wanting.

These, and other problems are ones which we hope to solve in the ClanAM End-Game LS. Read on for more..

HNMLS Politics and Problems

Without going into many specifics, it is important to point out the problems many traditional HNMLSes have. It is these problems that we wish to avoid with ClanAM End-Game LS.

• Many HNMLSes become cliquish and require strict allegiance for membership.

  This may work very well if your HNMLS is filled with high school students, but for those of us who are adults this can be very annoying.

• Many HNMLSes require strict attendance of events with little (if any) flexibility with regards to schedules.
  

  Everyone I personally enjoy playing online with is busy like I am. We have work, school, family/friend responsibilities, and other things which tend to take priority over this silly little game we all play.

• Many HNMLSes prohibit you from participating in other LSes.
  

  What sort of hubris is required to think your LS will be everything to everybody? Just because someone would like to participate in an Optical Hat run doesn't mean that they should become indentured to your LS. ClanAM End-Game LS does not require you to not be a part of other End-Game LSes, in fact, we encourage you to join others as well if we alone cannot satisfy your specific end-game needs.

• Many HNMLSes occupy so much of your time that you wind up spending all your time doing their activities.
  

  This is a game, not a job. We are here to have fun. ClanAM End-Game LS will have a strict upper limit on how many End-Game events we host each month.

ClanAM End-Game LS : A Different End-Game LS

Our primary goals in ClanAM End-Game LS are as follows:

• Continue the friendships gained in ClanAM

  ClanAM End-Game LS is an extension to normal ClanAM. It isn't meant to replace the original ClanAM for end-game players as that could cause an ugly division between players before and after 65. Instead, it is an augmentation.

• Avoid the Politics of other HNMLSes
  

  You are not required to have strict allegiance to ClanAM End-Game LS in order to be a member. In fact, we encourage you to look elsewhere for additional HNMLSes if we cannot meet all your needs.

• Have End-Game events that don't conflict with ClanAM proper
  

  This will perhaps be the hardest, but we will certainly try. ClanAm End-Game members are strongly encouraged to participate in the normal ClanAM events. Generally speaking, normal ClanAM events will take priority over End-Game events.

• Forge alliances with other end-game LSes who share our goals
  

  There are a lot of people fed up with the crap that goes on in most HNMLSes. Because of this, there are many alternatives. The only problem is alternatives don't typically have enough members to really do all the fun things available at end-game. By allying ourselves with these people, we can join together and hopefully have enough people combined to get things done :-)