Guild

A **guild** is an in-game organized group of player characters. Guilds are formed to make grouping and raiding easier, and to form a social atmosphere in which to enjoy the game. Guilds can enhance a player's gameplay experience by allowing them to meet friends and share adventures. Players in good guilds can typically overcome more difficult content others without a guild cannot.

## Finding a Guild

Finding a guild can be easy. People often advertise in town or through chat channels. However, finding a quality guild with members and leadership whose views align might be more difficult. Feel free to try out guilds, and keep searching if it doesn't work out. Keep in mind guilds may be reluctant to invite you if you have a reputation of constantly switching guilds.

## Advantages of a Guild

* A group of people willing to help one other.
* A group of people to socialize with.
* Guild members will often help out with information and quests.

## Choosing a Guild

### Size

Guild size can be a factor when choosing a guild. Bigger doesn't always mean better. A large guild may be continuously inviting new members, but overall be less organized. However, it might be easier to find people to group within a larger guild. Smaller guilds are more personal. One complaint players have about large guilds is that you often run into guild members you don't know. With a smaller guild there is more opportunity to get to know each member. For that reason, some players prefer a small guild. Ultimately, the "Large vs. Small" debate depends on the guild and the members that join. There are large guilds that still remain very good. Leadership and recruitment policies are the main factors in determining how a guild turns out.

### Activity

Guild size is less important than the amount of regularly online active members. Some small guilds have more active members than large guilds. A big problem with guilds as they grow is the abundance of alts that bloat the guild size, but not the active membership. You want a guild with active members, since that increases opportunities within the guild. Ideally, a guild you join will have active members in your level range.

### Grouping

Grouping can be a good way to find a guild. Team up with people and play with them for a while. Make friends with them and play together for several days. If they get to like you, they will usually want you in their guild so that you'll continue to play with them. After helping them out, inquire about their guild. Perhaps they may help you join.

### Reputation

Do your own research into a specific guild. As guilds become powerful, well known, and popular, rumors about them begin to appear. Often when a guild member does something to offend a player, that offended player starts spreading stories about the entire guild. Jealous players make untrue generalizations about the guild and its members. Make sure you find out the real story on your own with whatever evidence you can find such as screenshots or web reports. Sometimes a guild may be good and is just the victim of a bad reputation. Guilds can be very jealous or hostile toward each other and thus make up rumors to hurt the reputation of the other guild. Or, perhaps, the reputation about that guild is true. Maybe the guild is full of troublemakers. Find out yourself.

Large guilds who don't keep good tabs on and train their members to behave often suffer from poor reputations because you don't know what to expect from their members. Generally it isn't a good idea to join a guild that doesn't maintain some standard of behavior because your reputation can get stained by some immature jerk who isn't brought in line by guild leadership.

Another point to take away is that what you do while in a guild may reflect on the reputation of your guild and may get you kicked out. You should try to find a guild that fits your play style. It's hard to believe, but some guilds form on the basis of being a bunch of jerks; however, most don't. So be aware of the image a guild wants to project.

### Diversity

Although some guilds form based on specific race or class affiliations, like "Elf Druids of Elune", most guild have a variety of races and classes. The best guilds have not only a variety of classes (race isn't so important to gameplay due to the nature of powergaming), but also many different professions and play styles. If you like PvP, you should look for a guild that focuses on that play style. If you're into making things, then a guild with a variety of trade skills should be sought. You may need specific classes to fill needs for doing quests in a dungeon or instance, so a guild with a diversity helps with all sorts of situations.

### Interviewing

If you find a guild you like, talk to some of their members. Ask them about their activities and if they enjoy them. If you're interested in joining, ask them who you should message. Be careful when messaging guild members because their impression of you is important. If you offend a member, they might inform others about your inquiry which could harm your future chances of joining their ranks.

### Positive guild behavior

Things to consider when looking for a guild:

#### Good Grouping

Being able to find groups is important for leveling and completing quests, and other high end content.

#### Good Leadership

A guild needs clear leadership and rules. Transparency and honesty are a must when it comes to trusting leadership to lead the guild and distribute winnings from grouping. Members need someone who can resolve conflicts and give direction to members.

##### Generosity

Look for guilds whose members are willing to share items and help out. Players shouldn't expect free handouts for no effort. A quality guild will offer items and discounts to their members. A guild which values generosity will have fewer issues over loot. Higher level players may help lower level ones for fun and easy experience. However, this shouldn't become an expectation. Be grateful when it happens, as each player as their own time and doesn't want to deal with someone constantly begging for favors. Reputation goes a long way, and being friendly and sharing will leave a mark.

##### Fairness

Some guilds may exercise favoritism towards their core members, officers, or friends. Other guilds may only pay attention to their high level members and ignore the lower level ones until they reach a certain level. This can be common in raiding guilds where the focus is only on end game content. Look for a guild that treats its members fairly.

##### Drama

Conflicts over loot and guild members fighting with one another sometimes occur in guilds. If the guild has quality leaders and members, these issues can be reduced or addressed as needed. Games are supposed to be fun, and if people spend time fighting over items, that's not much fun. Don't be afraid to leave a guild if this is a problem which arises frequently.

##### Mature Leaders

When players are granted power, such as the ability to remove guild members or demote them, they sometimes abuse that power. Find a guild whose leaders are responsible with the power they have, and be cautious of players who constantly seek to be in those positions.

### Conclusion

Do some research, shop around, and keep trying until you find a good guild. Don't give up. There are good guilds out there. You just have to find them. Remember, you can always create your own guild if you want and make one that follows your own requirements.

## Types of Guilds

Guilds are often classified into types, such as a Raid Guild, Social Guild, PvP Guild, Roleplaying Guild, etc. Keep in mind that these categories are not mutually exclusive, and many overlap.

### Raid Guild

A raid guild is formed to completely end-game activities which consists of large parties and bosses which normally cannot be killed by a single party. The guilds typically have raiding schedules and may require attendance in order to receive items. Loot distribution varies by guild. Dragon Kill Points (DKP) is one commonly used system, but some may simply allow players to roll if the item is an upgrade.

### Social Guild

A social guild usually consists of friendly members who focus more on making friends and enjoying the game, rather than raid progression. They are normally not large guilds, and members tend to be friendly, caring, and often help out newer members.

### Roleplaying Guild

A roleplay guild concentrates on roleplaying, and guild chat may be in-character. Members are encouraged to behave as their character.

### Leveling Guild

A leveling guild may be large and primarily composed of newer players or alts. This type of guild is a great place to find other players to complete content with, but they may not be interested in completing end-game content.

## Starting a guild

Players can create a guild by speaking with the Guild Registrar in the Shaded Bloom Inn and paying them 5 silver.

## Managing a Guild

Creating a new guild isn't easy, and can require a lot of time and investment. It can also be very rewarding. One of the most important aspects of any guild is quality of leadership. Consider what type of guild it would be, and who would be interested in joining. As members join, ensure they understand the rules and goals of the guild. This will decrease the possibility of drama and fighting within the guild.

### Trust and Ranking

Most internal organization is managed in-game via the guild specific commands.

In order to maintain a guild, it's important to realize that the structure of the guild can define stability. A certain level of trust is required when assigning ranks and promoting others. These people will be responsible for helping managing guild members and to not steal from people. Don't allow newer members to gain ranking at a certain rate because of their skill or complaints. If someone complains about being a low rank, it is their right to leave. However, don't take this as a sign to promote them to persuade them to stay. Members must understand they will only be promoted if they demonstrate they're ready for it. If this can't be established, the guild will likely fail.

Don't promote people too fast. If there's a new officer every other day, there's going to be more officers than members. Consider how long a player has been in the guild and their responsibilities before promoting them. It's acceptable for players to remain initiates for months if they apply little effort to helping others in the guild. Members need to earn their promotions, not be rewarded for not contributing.

### Encouragement

When someone is promoted, when a new members joins, or when a member does something generous and so on, provide them with incentive to continue on that path. A guild message offering congratulations on a promotion or welcoming a new player can go a long way.

Be enthusiastic. If you're not enjoying the guild, why should your members?

Give members goals and direction, or something the guild is working toward.

### Events

Having guild events will keep members feeling like they are part of an active community. Events are a good way to guild members to meet and see one another, and to figure out who needs help.

### Conflict

Show appreciation to members and communicate with those having problems. If someone wants to leave the guild, let them. Everyone has feelings and they may have feedback to provide as to why they are leaving.

It's inevitable that conflict will arise. Fairness and neutrality are vital to resolving issues. Listen to both sides and make a decision only after full consideration of the problem. Ensure to lead by example and follow the rules set, and don't be afraid to dismiss constant rule breakers despite their contributions.