In the early days of FNTD, players had nowhere to turn for gameplay help except the community Discord, where they relied solely on word of mouth. The first major figure of this era was Cat Facts, who created the community's first significant resource: the DPS Rankings. Sadly, nothing lasts forever. When Cat Facts fell ill, this, combined with the unsustainable nature of maintaining the rankings, brought the era to an end.
While all things come to an end, there is always something—or someone—to take their place. In this case, that person went by the name of "Garf." Garf was a passionate but blunt man who spoke his mind freely. While his personality may not have been for everyone, his impact was undeniable, and he took community resources to the next level. With a hobby for graphic design, he was considered the best at the time. He began with his now legendary power and DPS charts, which were initially two completely separate images.
Almost overnight, these charts took the Discord by storm. For the first time, the community had a reference that was quick and easy to use. Unlike other tier lists of the time, which were often inconsistent, Garf's charts provided a clear reference that allowed players to make their own informed decisions. Garf became the go to source for information, knowing the game inside and out.
During this period, a new role called "Question Helper" was created. Those with this role were trusted community members who were immune to slow mode, allowing them to answer questions more efficiently. More importantly, they could pin messages in the question channel, making community resources more available and quick to find than ever before. This marked the beginning of a new era: the era of knowledge. From this era came many new contributors, such as Cooki, who developed a revolutionary chart of their own that included DPS, power, and attack types in a first of its kind horizontal format—the first endgame chart that truly succeeded.
However, Garf's blunt and sometimes cruel nature made him powerful enemies, which eventually led to his banning from the server. This is when a man named Taser entered the picture. Taser was the strictest and most overbearing member of the community, ruling the question channel with an iron fist. He took the privilege of deleting messages to an extreme, once removing every message from the main developer, Goon, who was simply trying to lighten the mood. This action led to his temporary demotion, but he was later reinstated to the role, as he had not technically broken any rules.
Seizing the opportunity, Taser took Garf's charts and the credit, and re-pinned them. He then claimed the work as his own. With Garf banned and Taser in control as a Question Helper, there was no one to contest the truth. The era of knowledge became an era of misery for anyone who dared to question him. If anyone wanted to ask a question, they learned not to do it when Taser was online.
However, hope was not lost. Behind the scenes, two of Garf's friends, John and Human, started playing the game. They saw the same potential Garf did and wanted to help contribute. Late one night, while on a voice call with Human, John had an idea. What if they created a resource in a place Taser could not touch—a website? That very night, John and Human founded the first user guide, the Unofficial FNTD User Guide, with the Helpy we all know and love as its mascot.
They managed to get the site pinned as a place for charts, but Taser immediately accused it of copying his work—the very work he had stolen from Garf. Taser, presumably unaware that John, Human, and Garf knew each other, also claimed the site contained misinformation. This was a contradictory argument, considering he had just claimed ownership of over half its content. When John realized Taser would never allow their website to be promoted, he made a difficult choice. Taser offered a partnership with himself and Cooki. John knew he could not decline; all Taser wanted was to be a part of it. Believing it was for the good of the community, John accepted the deal.
When Human found out, he was upset that he would have to work with someone who defied everything they stood for, but he understood it had to be done. At this moment, the main crew was formed: Human, John, Cooki, Taser, and secretly, Garf. Taser did not know Garf was still creating the charts, believing it to be Human’s work. Eventually, Garf’s involvement came to light, but the team found a way to collaborate despite the rivalry between him and Taser.
From this point, the guide grew exponentially with more details, better designs, and guides for story and endless modes. People loved it. The community no longer had to rely on Discord; the resources were now open to everyone. During this time, the Question Helper role was deleted, likely due to power concerns surrounding Taser. Pins, the main way of referring people to the website, were gone. However, they were no longer needed. The guide was the hot new thing, and everyone already knew about it.
Unbeknownst to many, Garf was also silently creating charts for Value Central, and only a small group knew of his continued involvement with the guide. The guide's team expanded with the creation of its own Discord server, which Taser owned. This brought in new members like Brainclot, WestonTheWalrus, Buddha, and Scruffy. Garf's best friend, Plawg, was also present during this period. Although he had been around since the early days, he typically avoided direct involvement, stepping forward only when he felt it was necessary to defend Garf.
Not everyone loved the guide. Some saw it as a negative influence that spoiled creativity or ruined the fun of the game—the very things the guide's creators aimed to support. Nevertheless, for the first time in its history, the guide entered a time of peace, growth, and grace. This period lasted about four months.
Then, it all came to an end. A server was discovered containing offensive messages, and a member of the guide's community named "Thrund" was found there. Though not a staff member, Thrund was a number one fan who helped wherever needed. He was promptly banned from the guide's server. Plawg came to his defense, arguing that Thrund had not technically broken any of the server's rules. Having seen his friend Garf banned under similar circumstances, Plawg felt a strong sense of injustice. However, the rest of the crew rejected his stance, and Plawg left to create his own Discord server for the guide.
Meanwhile, a power shift was occurring within the team. Human was doing almost all of the work on the website but was treated as if he were useless. He eventually decided to leave and join Plawg. Soon after, not wanting to be left alone, John joined them as well. With John and Human gone, chaos erupted in Taser's Discord server. As the site's owner, John revoked Taser's administrative permissions—a decision justified by the fact that he, Human, and Plawg were the only ones performing major work on the guide. This marked the beginning of a new era for the guide: an era of freedom. Finally out from under Taser’s control, they could implement their revolutionary ideas, and the website’s traffic exploded.
Taser was not happy about losing control. He used his position as the owner of their 450 member Discord server to promote a new guide they had created, featuring Overseer Lolbit as its mascot. Upon launch, this new guide stole all the charts made by John, Human, and Plawg, simply replacing the logo with their own. This led Human to file a DMCA claim, which resulted in the site being taken down. Forced to create their own content, they eventually relaunched.
It was guide versus guide, giving rise to the infamous titles: the Helpy Guide and the Lolbit Guide. The Helpy Guide was consistently more trusted and comprehensive, featuring information on modes, drop chances, charts, and metas. The Lolbit Guide, meanwhile, only had charts, metas, and limited story information, as they struggled to replicate the extensive work John and Human had done. Realizing they could not win on content, the Lolbit Guide team began using the main FNTD Discord server to defame the Helpy Guide, accusing its owners of racism and other serious offenses, which the server staff at the time allowed.
The Lolbit Guide gained an advantage when PvP was released. This was because Brainclot was secretly receiving maxed out versions of every new unit from the developers as a form of payment for his behind the scenes balancing work. The Helpy Guide could not keep up, but they stood strong with experienced users like Thrund and new members like Kcharis. However, FNTD itself was nearing its end due to poor balancing, rushed updates, and endless bugs.
All hope seemed lost until FNTD 2 was announced. The new game came with stricter guidelines in terms of pay. Without this advantage, the Lolbit Guide's relevance collapsed. The opposite happened for the Helpy Guide. Its popularity exploded, as it contained all the information players could possibly want and became the new trusted source.
This brings us to today. The original Helpy Guide is doing better than ever, especially with its partnership with Mango Metrics for values. The Lolbit Guide still exists but is a shadow of its former self and is unlikely to ever return to its peak. Taser is now inactive, leaving the site in the hands of others like a demoted Brainclot and Lock, an up and coming member from that era. The Helpy Guide is now widely accepted, even by its former critics. A true and lasting peace has settled over the team as they continue to silently work to help the community.
