Community Focus - TheVertigoVixen

Hi! I can’t believe I’m actually here and this is really happening, thank you so much! I’m a relatively unknown person to most, which is really why I appreciate this opportunity to introduce myself to the rest of the community. I go by TheVertigoVixen, but most people just call me Sarah.  

I’ve been a gamer for such a long time, I’ve loved video games since the moment a family member put a broken controller in my hand, and I threw it down to reach for the one that actually worked. (Yeah, that’s right, I knew you were being sneaky.) My mom told me that when I was little, they’d put a chair in front of the Galaga game at our local bowling alley and just let me go ham. That’s all I wanted to do, really, I just wanted to play. 

I grew up in a low-income household, so I never had my own gaming system until much later, but when I would visit a friend’s house that had a console, that was it—gaming became the only plan for what to do when hanging out. Eventually, I did get a Sega and tried to play everything I could get my hands on. From Sonic to Tekken—Mario to Madden, whatever I could play, I played and loved with my entire being.  

I went through a small time in my life where I had to step away from gaming a bit. A big part of that was when I became pregnant with my daughter at 15, but I always found my way back. Video games are home.  

Part of why this opportunity to be featured in a Community Focus is so special to me is because I don’t really stream. I don’t make videos or make that sort of content really at all, so this feels amazing. I’m just a regular Destiny player with an incredible clan that is focused on helping people that may need a little hand. A big part of why that means so much to me is that raiding is a really big deal, and it’s something I love doing a lot. There is just something about teamwork that inspires me; all the moving parts of a raid, everyone doing their own part to accomplish the bigger goal—I love it.  

When I first started raiding in Destiny 1, it was rough. I only knew a few people that played, so we relied on Looking for Group (LFG) a lot. I love the idea of LFG, but as you probably already know, it can be a little rough sometimes. I’ve shed a few tears back in my day and almost walked away from that resource completely under the eye of Oryx due to some players just not being patient or being unnecessarily cruel to strangers. I was just frustrated, raiding shouldn’t break you, it should be fun! So, yeah, that’s what inspired me to do what I do, no matter how small or big of an impact I might have.  

In our clan, we focus on creating a calm and relaxing environment for players to learn raids in. There is absolutely no pressure and zero yelling for anyone that may still be learning. We excel at taking first-timers that are nervous, or maybe have never been in a larger fireteam before—especially players that may have been mistreated in past raid attempts from different groups—and showing them how cool this game really is. We really just want to show others genuine kindness and a good time. We want to help Guardians not just with the tools and the knowledge to raid, but also with confidence that comes with conquering the more challenging content. We want to give everyone an opportunity to enjoy everything Destiny 2 has to offer.  

I first got into Destiny around the Taken King expansion era in the first game (shoutout to my 5610 crew!). I still really love the Rise of Iron DLC and the storyline that centered around Siva. Recently, though, I’ve been thoroughly enjoying Savathûn’s story in The Witch Queen expansion, I still get chills when I think back to that shot on Fundament with the siblings!  

Currently, I’m digging the return of Calus, even though I’m super mad at him right now...  

OK, first off, I am freaking awful when it comes to picking favorites. I mean, how could I possibly choose, I love them all so much! That being said, I do really love my Titan when running things like the Deep Stone Crypt raid, but for Vow of the Disciple? It’s Hunter all the way with Blade Barrage.  

I also just want to say that I’ve been enjoying the 3.0 Void and Solar rollouts too. Before this, when we’d be in orbit about to load into a raid, the most asked questions would be: How many Warlocks, Titans, Hunters do we have? That’s not really the case anymore because of those changes, and that’s not a bad thing. I used to run the heck out of my Warlock being stuck on just Wells for raids, now it feels like I have more freedom and there is flexibility for some great options!  

Dragons. I don’t know how that would possibly work or if that even makes sense, but battling dragons is always epic, so give me dragons. That’s honeslty why I love the Last Wish raid so much, I’ll take any extra time with Riven that I can get. Also, lowkey shoutout to Riven’s blisters, [laughs]!  

As for a subclass? I’m a simple woman, I want whatever Ikora is having. I don’t know how exactly her skill tree is set, but I want it. That woman is a total badass.  

Easy! Zavala and Caiatl (Zaviatl!) just works, OK.  

While I’m not a content creator, I do like to work with a lot of other players to help them achieve their goals, so if anyone is looking to go that route, I would say organic growth is the way to go. It’s not the fastest, sure, but it’s a solid foundation that means something and that’s a great place to start. I have done over 700 guided raids for first-time runners. From the moment a raid is released, we are learning it inside and out over at my clan. I am looking at the positions, what sort of roles does a raid need, what roles work best for the more nervous players? We typically put 24 hours into the first day and then we practice different strategies with our core clan members as prep for being able to guide others through each encounter.  

Ask yourself what you want from your community and what you want to give back. For guided raids, that’s asking questions like, “Are we explaining too much?” or, “Can this be simplified?” Those questions help center what we want to do and make actually participating more productive for new players. Being able to tailor your goals and your abilities to do what you want within the space you have is important. If they have a great time, they’ll send other people to you and before you know it, you’ve created a safe learning environment for those that want to learn more and push their own boundaries.  

Another tidbit of advice that I would give to the gaming community at large is that everyone’s idea of happiness is going to look different. Whatever makes you happy is valid and you need to do what you need to do to chase your happiness, not someone else’s version. Do not worry about what other people think. You want to sweat? Do it. You want to chill and just kind of autopilot certain aspects? Do it! It’s your life and hobby, so have fun with it!  

You can find me on Twitter @SarahJenea! That's where we find a lot of folks that are looking for some raids, you can always reach out to me there for some help.    

My shoutout goes to our clan, V4V. Thank you to Hobo and Brandon for being there for the wobbly H that started it all. It has morphed and grown into what it is today and that wouldn't be possible without these amazing people: Mike, Agrsv, Zel, Silent, Chains, Cornbread, Dion, Vulpine, Shiney, Werewolf, Widow, and Nabo. Whether it’s the day-one clears that we band together for time after time, going Flawless, or taking on challenges, I am constantly asking you to show up and you do. You each bring something to the team that we would be lacking without. The passion you all have for not just raiding but for helping people achieve their goals. The joy I know you feel because those players feel accomplished with clearing their first raid, you are all the best part of this clan. There is nothing more precious than time and you give so much. I am so proud and lucky to share all of this with you. I love you guys, thank you for doing this with me. You’re the best.