Welcome to the Amazon Basin!
We invite you to become part of a very active and fun-loving community of Diablo II players. The Amazon Basin Diablo II Guild is a thriving community made up of people of all ages and from all walks of life. Members of the Amazon Basin Diablo II Guild can be found on each of the Battle.net Realms, in open Battle.net and in single player games. We currently boast over 600 Guild Members ("Amazon Basin Members" or "ABMs") and more than 10,000 Community Members ("CMs").
The Amazon Basin serves as a safe haven against antisocial behavior, cheating and unfair gameplay. Our members frown on bigotry, sexism, racism and hatred. We strive to conduct ourselves in a manner that promotes the enjoyment of the game and the prosperity of our community. At our forums, we share information freely and respectfully. On Battle.net, we share games in the spirit of cooperation, consideration and good fun.
Whether you're brand new to the game or an experienced player, you're welcome to join us at our forums, in our Battle.net channels and in our games. Come make friends, learn new things and, above all, have fun!
The Amazon Basin Community was originally formed in the summer of 2000 to promote the advancement of the Diablo II Amazon character class. In the six years since, the Basin has developed not only into a Diablo II guild which encompasses all aspects of the game, but into an entire family of independent game guilds. The Amazon Basin Community now comprises five independent guilds, each focusing on one game: Diablo II, Star Wars: Galaxies,
World of Warcraft, Guild Wars and Hellgate: London.
The Amazon Basin is entirely non-commercial. No advertisements appear anywhere on the website and no fees are charged to participate in the community. All of the people who keep our community going do so as unpaid volunteers.
If you're interested in learning more about the history of the Amazon Basin and the Diablo II Guild, you can check out TPJ's Chronology of the Amazon Basin.
Participation in discussions at our forums is strongly recommended, especially for those new to Diablo II and the Basin. The forums are where we share information, discuss the technicalities of the game and ask questions. Perhaps more importantly, they are a place for us to get to know each other outside of the game (this is even more important for those who play single-player or on open Battle.net). The forums provide a common area of interaction for people on different Battle.net Realms or in different time zones. They are an engaging, enjoyable and sometimes silly places to gab with your friends.
If you plan to register on our forums, please keep in mind that you will be known in Battle.net games and in channel by your forum name - choose wisely! Guidelines for posting on our forums can be found here, and anyone posting on our boards should familiarize himself or herself with them. We expect forum disagreements to arise from time to time; however, we expect forum users to treat each other with the utmost respect.
The basic rule to remember in your forum interactions is to be respectful of others!
Anyone found flaming others or inciting flames will have his or her posts pulled by a forum moderator.
Once you have registered on the forums, you are encouraged to post a thread in the Hospitality Suite forum to introduce yourself. Let us know on what Realm or Realms you play (if any), what times you're usually on, and what account name or names you play under. Let people know a little bit about yourself!
Many people like to also add their Battle.net account names or primary character names in their forum signatures so that they can be more easily recognized on Battle.net. If at any point you want to change the name of your Basin forum account, please don't try to re-register or create a second account. Instead,
just send a Private Message (PM)
to one
of the admins and they will gladly make the switch for you.
If someone is banned from the forums and wants to request reinstatement, they must follow the Unban Procedure for forum-bannings.
A central part of the Amazon Basin Diablo II Guild is our regularly scheduled Battle.net games. A list of these can be found at the Our Games page. There are also pickup games going on almost all hours of the day and night. A complete list of "official" Amazon Basin games can be found at WeaselTech.
WeaselTech is a tool which the Amazon Basin uses to protect our Battle.net games. It lists the passwords to Amazon Basin games - all Basin games are passworded, and the passwords are rotated typically once a week (although passwords to Hardcore games tend to change more frequently). This system was implemented to provide a safe and troll-free playing environment for Amazon Basin players. In order to play in any of our Battle.net games you will need to register on the forums and logon to WeaselTech to gain access to our password list. If someone is banned from our games and wants to request reinstatement, they must follow the Unban Procedure for WT-denials.
Please read the WeaselTech Essentials. Important points to note:
- All official Amazon Basin games are password protected.
- All passwords to all official games are on WeaselTech.
- You must be registered as a forum user at the Amazon Basin forums to use WeaselTech.
- For security reasons, for password access you must complete an initial application on WeaselTech. It is normally processed within 48 hours. We recommend that during the 48-hour wait you browse the forums and guides, introduce yourself, and start getting acquainted with others in the Basin Community.
- Logon to WeaselTech with the same username and password you use for the forums.
- Do NOT ask anyone for game passwords. Go to WeaselTech.
- If someone asks you for a password, do not tell them. Direct them to WeaselTech.
- If you see a problem with password security, tell an Amazon Basin Member. They can immediately change any and all passwords on WeaselTech.
- If you need help with WeaselTech, ask an ABM, send a Private Message via the forums to AllWeasel, or contact an Amazon Basin Administrator.
- In case of an in-game emergency, please refer to Help! Problems in-game for assistance.
WeaselTech is designed, written, and maintained by software guru AllWeasel of the Amazon Basin. You can find him on the Fora regularly, and he makes frequent appearances in op theamazon-basin channel on USWest. His work is voluntary and selfless, but if you appreciate it, remember that his work needn't go thankless.
The heart of the Amazon Basin Diablo II Guild lies in our cooperative games on Battle.net. To promote fun, fair, and safe games, Amazon Basin Members have constructed a Guide to Amazon Basin Games. For younger players we have A Starter Guide to Basin Games
The Guide to Amazon Basin Games is required reading for anyone new to the Basin!
In this document, you will find most of the guidelines for Amazon Basin games, including general etiquette, the sharing of drops, and recommendations on team play. The amount of information in the Guide can be a bit much to absorb in one sitting; it is recommended that you bookmark the Guide and return to it from time to time to fully digest the wealth of information there.
Please remember that the Guide is just that - a guide, not a strict set of rules. You may find from time to time that play style will vary within and between different groups and games. That's okay!
More than any guidelines or "rules", communication is the key to successful Amazon Basin games!
If you ever have a question in-game or feel that a gameplay issue has arisen, the best course of action is to talk with your fellow Basiners - discuss any questions or issues with your fellow players and teammates. If a gameplay question arises that cannot be resolved within a given game or group and isn't covered in the Game Guide, feel free to bring it up at our forums.
In addition to the Guide to Amazon Basin Games, there are several other guides to assist with character builds, hardcore play, Player versus Player techniques, etc, available here.
For the player new to Diablo II, it can seem like half the time people are talking in Sanskrit, since abbreviations, acronyms and buzzwords are part of the Diablo II vocabulary. For a list of commonly used acronyms and abbreviations, check out D2 Abbreviations and Acronyms.
There is a host of commands associated with communicating in Battle.net games and channels. Assistance with using these commands can be found in our Communication Techniques and Tips.
The Amazon Basin Diablo II community believes that a friendly and cooperative environment is one in which members can expect fair play both in game and in trading. Fair play is predicated on trusting that each player has the same opportunities to develop his or her character within the game's structure. As a result, the Basin believes that fair play involves rejecting game modifications that could give one player an advantage over another, either in game play or in trading.
Therefore, the Amazon Basin Diablo II community is opposed to hacks and cheats, which could detract from other players’ enjoyment of the game or contribute to the degradation of the battle.net environment. This includes, but is not limited to, Maphacks, Pindlebots, Shopbots, hacked items (e.g., Occy rings), duped items and any other mechanisms that contribute to unfair gameplay.
Because it compensates for older, slower computers without contradicting the fundamental principle of cooperative fair play, the only game modification tolerated in Amazon Basin games is the Lag Reduction Module (LRM). However, members should understand that they assume all risks for potential violations of Blizzard’s Terms of Service.
Use of any hack or cheat within an Amazon Basin game may result in immediate expulsion from the Amazon Basin Community and banning from our games, channels, and forums.
The Amazon Basin Diablo II community is strongly opposed to all non-consensual PK (Player Killing) activities, as these activities fundamentally conflict with the gameplay experience for which we strive. These activities also include hunting down and killing PK characters or chasing PKs from game to game (PKK). We do not seek to police individual members’ responses within the games in which they are hostiled, however, and recognize many players may desire to defend themselves, their party, or their games against PK activities. We strongly recommend, however, that members should keep the overall safety and good of the Basin in mind, as they should at all times, when dealing with PK situations.
Mutually agreed-upon duels and Friendly Fire games are exempted, as the players in question have each consented to hostilities.
An attempt to PK a person in an Amazon Basin game will result in immediate expulsion from the Amazon Basin Community and banning from our games, channels, and forums.
Our stance on PK'ing applies regardless of provocation; talk of vigilantism or PK-K'ing is also frowned upon. The ban on PK'ing applies only to official Amazon Basin games; however, Community Members should note that PK'ing in public games is not consistent with participation in the Amazon Basin community.
- Register at our forums. Be sure to check out our guide to communicating on the forums.
- If you wish, introduce yourself at the Hospitality Suite.
- Read the Guide to Amazon Basin Games.
- Apply on WeaselTech for password access. Your application will normally be processed within 48 hours, and you will then be able to access WeaselTech game passwords. Take note of the WeaselTech Essentials. Check out our official game names and passwords.
- Drop into our Battle.net channel on any Realm and say "hi!"
For the Battle.net players, the Amazon Basin channel on all Realms can be accessed by typing "op theamazon-basin" in the Battle.net "join channel" dialogue box. Note the space between "op" and "theamazonbasin".
Channel activity can range from non-existent to chaotic depending on time of day and the players in the channel.
Don't be too surprised if no one immediately responds to your greeting.
Something like, "Hi, my name is (Forum name), I'm new to the Basin and just wanted to introduce myself" will get a positive response if anyone is active in the channel. However, a lot of people like to park a character in the channel while they are away from their computers. If everyone seems to be asleep or away, try again later.
Again, there is a host of commands associated with communicating in Battle.net games and channels. Assistance with using these commands can be found in our Communication Techniques and Tips.
All of the Amazon Basin channels on Battle.net are moderated (the moderator shows up as the big shiny guy with a hammer on the left side of the channel). We have Amazon Basin Members who keep an eye on the channel most of the time. If you have any problems with another player, with the game list, or have any other concerns or questions, you can always whisper the moderator on duty. Just use the whisper command '/w *theamazonbasin ' to talk with the moderator on duty.
It is best to handle most things through whispers unless you want the whole channel participating in the discussion. For whispers, just type: /w *[account name] [message you wish to whisper]. If you have trouble with using the whisper command, you can also request the moderator to accompany you to a private channel.
The moderators are there to maintain the channels as polite and welcoming places to talk and hang out. A few things you should know about being in the Basin channels:
- Racist, bigoted, or sexist language is not tolerated. Please show respect for others at all times.
- Profanity and swearing are not tolerated. While the Diablo II game is rated for a Mature audience, the Basin channels should be considered a PG-13 environment (for those not familiar with the PG-13 terminology, consider whether you would say a word loudly in a crowded restaurant. If the answer is no, then you probably shouldn't say it in the channel either). If there is an issue with your language, it is up to the moderator to decide whether or not your language is acceptable. There is always a gray area in deciding what language is considered offensive, and this may vary from moderator to moderator. In all cases of conflict, however, the decision of the channel moderator is to be respected and obeyed.
- Offensive characters and account names are not allowed in the channel. While what is offensive can vary from person to person, we expect people to show some class in choosing their character and account names.
- Offensive Battle.net profiles are not tolerated.
- If someone tells you that they consider your choice of character, account name, or profile to be offensive, please abide by their wishes and remove the offensive character, account, or profile from the channel. If you have discussed the issue with the offended person and feel that they are being overly sensitive in their request, you should take this up with either the channel moderator or contact one of the Amazon Basin Diablo II
Administrators via a PM (the Private Message function available in your forum Control Panel).
- Trading or asking for items is not allowed in the channel.
- Spamming (repeating the same line of text over and over) is not allowed in the channel.
- Asking for power acts, cheese, or rushes of any sort is not allowed in the channel.
Most people add their forum username to their Battle.net account profiles in order for people to recognize them more easily. This isn't required, but it might help in getting to know people if you're new to the Basin.
Feel free to start Amazon Basin games any time! For instance, if there isn't an Amazon Basin Nightmare level game up, feel free to make one. If you are on US West just announce, "Abhcl going up" in the channel and make the game. If there is anyone interested they'll hop right in. Other realms may use other game names, so please check WeaselTech for the correct game names and passwords for the realm you're playing on.
Keep in mind that the Amazon Basin game names are numbered successively: eg, "abhclnm", "abhclnm1", "abhclnm2", etc. While "abhclnm" might not be up, there may still be people in "abhclnm1". Check there first. If you're unsure if a game is already up that you might like to join, just ask in the channel if there are any games up. Make sure not to announce the game password in the channel. For all the regular Basin games listed on WeaselTech, anyone wishing to join you should be able to check the password list before joining your game. For inviting people to your own private, non-Basin games, there is no restriction on announcing non-WeaselTech passwords in the channel (although you may not wish to for your own security reasons).
Feel free to hang around in the channel and chat with everyone. It won't be too long before you start recognizing people and getting to know those who have similar play times to you. Don't be afraid to join games started by other people and introduce yourself!
By signing up at our forums and participating in our channels and games, you are automatically a Community Member of the Amazon Basin Diablo II Guild. Community Members are the heart and soul of the Diablo II Guild since they comprise the majority of the Amazon Basin community.
There is little distinction between being a Community Member and being an Amazon Basin Member of the Guild. Being an "Amazon Basin Member" is neither required nor expected for people who want to be an active part of the Amazon Basin Community.
If you have been active in the Basin for a while and are interested in applying to become an Amazon Basin Member,
you can read about the process here. Since this process is carried out by the Basin Membership as a whole, the length of time in the Community before becoming a Member can be as little as a few months to multiple years.
We are always looking for new friends to play with; time spent playing with current members, posting at our forums and interacting in our channels on Battle.net is never ill-spent. It's the time we spend doing these things that helps us get to know each other better.
Remember also you're in the games and on the forums to check us out as well. Don't feel the need to be someone you're not. Relax, enjoy yourself and have fun while playing - we do!
Some additional guidelines:
- If you are applying for Membership please do not e-mail, whisper, or message Amazon Basin Members to ask them to support
your application.
- Be yourself in our games! Have fun, chat with others and help those in your party. We're not necessarily looking for great technical players or people with lots of experience -- we're looking for friends to play with!
- Don't forget to introduce yourself to other people who join games while you are playing. The more familiar we are with you the easier the process of membership will be for everyone.
- Be patient: this is not meant to be a process that happens quickly; we really wish to get to know you and you to get to know us as well as possible.
- Remember the importance of Community. Being a positive, contributory, respectful and friendly presence in our forums, channels, and games is the best way to become an Amazon Basin member.
If there's something else you have a question about that hasn't been addressed here, check out our FAQ for more information, or feel free to contact one of the Basin administrators, channel coordinators, or forum moderators. You can also post general guild-related questions in the Amazon Basin General Discussion forum. If your question is of a technical nature, you can post in the Technical Discussion forum for game-related questions, or the Need Help? forum for questions relating to log-ins, forum issues, or WeaselTech issues.
The Realms are crowded with players who are "no fun". Members of this Community find a spirit of consideration, cooperation and fun in Amazon Basin games that simply cannot be found in open games. If you are new to Amazon Basin - welcome! We hope that you find our Community as rewarding an experience as we have!
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