Guild Achievements may be incoming to WoW in the future
by Daniel Whitcomb 
Oct 25th 2008 at 12:00PM
For those of you who group, raid, and otherwise hang out with your guild, here's some pretty cool news for you. Tigole has said over on the Beta Suggestion Forms that the dev team is very interested in the idea of guild achievements, and does plan to visit them in the future.
It's a small tidbit, but it's enough to get the old wheels turning. The most obvious achievements will probably revolve around dungeons and raids. Get X% of your guild through a certain dungeon, perhaps, or finish the dungeon in an all-guild group. We might also see accomplishments for getting a certain amount of guild members their tier sets or legendary weapons.
Of course, at the same time, there's some questions and problems to deal with as well: How do you cater to more casual guilds that wouldn't be interested in raid-type achievements? Do you cater to them at all? How do you account for members who got their gear and recipes in another guild? Does that gear count for any gear-related achievements for their new home server? And what about guild alliances? If five or six guilds band together regularly to take down bosses, who gets their achievements? Do all guilds who had a member in the raid get it, or do only guilds had a certain proportion of members in the raid get it? Will they finally implement a way to officially track guild alliances to solve that problem?
And while we're at it, why not add more guild functionality, like, say, guild housing? Yeah, I know. I can dream. But regardless, it's nice to see Blizzard focusing a bit more on the guild. While they've built an incredibly good looking and accessible game, sometimes they seem to have a pretty large blind spot when it comes to facilitating the social side of their game. More features and functionalities for guilds are one step in fixing that, and I hope we see this trend expands in the coming patches and expansions after Wrath.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Virtual selves, News items, Expansions, Raiding, Achievements
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Bloodletter Oct 25th 2008 12:09PM
I can't believe WoW insider hasn't covered the insane incoming Paladin Nerf yet.
The team needs to hit the forums, it's insane.
About Guild Achievements : AWESOME! At least, I would be saying this if I wasn't going to quit due to Blizzard destroying my class.
Over and out.
Alkaios Oct 25th 2008 12:23PM
Lots of QQ from the first post lol
My main's a paladin, and my holy build is pretty OP atm...even for the horrible build the holy tree was given. If I can reach over 33% base holy crit in T5 gear though, a number I struggled to hit pre-patch 3.0.2, something isn't right. There's no doubt paladins needed a nerf, especially for ret PvP, but don't get your panties in a bunch on a topic that has nothing to do with them. Our class isn't gonna be as OP anymore, be quiet and deal with the pre-expansion process of class tweaks.
Guild achievements sound like A LOT of fun, but there's obviously many questions that need to be answered by the devs if they're seriously going to be put in place.
I can imagine something like "Elevator Boss: Your entire raid jumps off the first SSC elevator and dies within 30 seconds".
Gilgamesh Oct 25th 2008 12:21PM
Gief Custom Guild achivements
Gnomeland on Maz would have one called 'Kill Vigor while he is under the influence of Mind Control in ZA'
turtlehead Oct 25th 2008 12:46PM
[laughing] My guild have many equivalents enshrined in jokes and mocking nicknames. Sad to say, there's "Run Kara eight thousand times and still get lost" in my honor.
On guild achievements, well, I suppose it's a good thing. People would love it. It could only make for more whining about achievements though. Come on folks, first you want vanity achievements then you want them easy enough so you and *everyone else* can get all of them to make them even less special. But, but, I should be able to finish every achievement for every holiday event in one year! Always!
Guild housing...okay. Again, everyone but me seems to want it. Hang the head of a boss on the wall or something. Don't see the appeal--I'd play Second Life if I wanted a dollhouse--but obviously there's demand for it. They could make some of them non-content related but ridiculously expensive in time, resources, and, yes, luck to do but again, people would whine and whine.
To Bloodletter: good. Quit. The rest of us are the better for your leaving. [waves]
If you thought ret pallies would stay at their current state you need to pull what was left of your head after the zombies got at it out of your tukus. (I'm expecting nerfs to volley and hunter pets PvE and they'll be deserved. My hunter enjoyed his OP moment.)
VSUReaper Oct 25th 2008 12:30PM
What is the point of guild housing? I kinda miss the entire idea....
Damntheman Oct 25th 2008 12:57PM
I know you RP freaks desperately wish you could live inside the game, it would be so much nicer than having your pesky corporeal body constantly remind you of your pathetic existence. But what exactly do you propose the rest of us do with guild housing? Yes I know you would actually sit in chairs while you /gchat all day. But what the hell am I supposed to use it for?
onetrueping Oct 25th 2008 2:16PM
Guild Housing: providing an instanced area where a guild can show off its achievements. The idea is to essentially have a trophy hall with more tangible rewards for your guild's progression, such as the head of Magtheridon mounted over a mantle, or Onyxia ornamenting an ottoman.
Heh. Alliteration is fun.
Schadenfreude Oct 25th 2008 12:31PM
Our guild would need a "pull boss with Eye of Kilrogg and wipe the group" achievement.
Lab Monkey Oct 27th 2008 1:17PM
"You Stupid #%$&*@!!!" - Talk to Jaina Proudmoore while half the raid is still outside the instance...twice.
Jagoex Oct 25th 2008 12:44PM
As long as said achievements won't get you falsely accused for using unauthorized software and having your account closed, I'm game.
The current Achievement system, with achievements like 50 Vanity Pets, reinforces farming, but Blizzard apparently has a difficult time seeing the difference between a farmer and a botter, so many have already been banned or seen their accounts canceled.
It's a very sad thing to see.
Dez Oct 25th 2008 12:50PM
Nice idea, makes me wonder why it never occurred to me in the first place. Kinda more fun then solo achievements, your guild actually has to work together like a team to achieve it, just like guilds should. Just like working to progress through raid content, just one more reason to do so I guess.
Potential achievements could be like, down all bosses in X dungeon, just like you would do to progress through content. So if a guild has cleared say Black temple, they get a proof that they've done so, either in the form of a title or something else. Maybe even a nice treat like an item of some sort.
Other achievements; Clear X dungeon on a specific time limit, clear some oldschool dungeon (reason to revisit old content), if a legendary item drops that could be a achievement as a guild. Collecting Tier armor sets could be a personal thing, like if you got full Netherblade you receive the title "Netherblade". Dunno about collecting whole sets as a guild though, not everyone wants to have the full set of a tier, cause there are better options or the set bonus is worthless.
Shuth Oct 25th 2008 1:22PM
I think you would have to be careful with guild achievements. ie. x% of a guild through an instance wouldn't work for the mixed casual/raiding guilds unless it was a low percentage. Give your entire guild a title for clearing an instance? Even the non-raiders/alts that had nothing to do with it? That's what the individual achievements are for. If your guild collapses at an expansion, do you lose all that effort you've put in over the years? I guess some would say that a guild lasting through it deserves to keep the achievements. Would you gain your new guilds achievements when you become a member?
It's an interesting idea but there are a lot of holes. Curious to see how it pans out.
Gimmlette Oct 25th 2008 12:52PM
If the idea of guild housing includes a place to post notices and, let's say, a trunk for you to store armor sets, that would be cool. If it's just a place for a guild to hang out, there are any number of buildings in the major cities where no one "lives", yet are decorated. Just pick one building and call it your "guild house". No cost, either.
I'd like to see more ranks or more functionality to the ranks. For those people currently taking a hiatus, I'd like the ability to move them off the "active" guild roster. They aren't out of the guild, they are just taking a break and I'd like to not have to devote a rank for those names for what is, essentially to me, a bookkeeping duty.
The ability to group my toons by profession would be nice. I can't remember who does what and being able to sort by profession would be excellent when someone asks, "Who is a X?"
Would guild achievements be retroactive as our achievements were, within reason? What about the guilds who have merged?
Maybe we could write our own achievements. I'd like the "Wiped in Gnomer while on the Nekkid Gnomer run." Talk about an epic part of guild history.
PSouthern Oct 25th 2008 12:58PM
Cover the ret nerf - it's big news.
anonymoose Oct 25th 2008 1:39PM
"How do you cater to more casual guilds that wouldn't be interested in raid-type achievements? Do you cater to them at all?"
I would like to point out an interesting phenomenon here--we seem to believe that casuals should be catered to. I'm particularly glad that something as inane as the achievement system is finally here to high light it. If you stack up achievements, for the most part you don't really get anything amazing out of it. It's strictly for vanity at this point.
In my own guild we have a number of people who are so religiously chasing down achievements that many are running old world raids again, completing obscure quest lines in Azeroth, and spending countless hours riding all over the place. For my own part I'm reasonably disinterested in the achievements, with the exception of a few quirky ones.
With that in mind, I suppose you could say I am a 'casual' achiever surrounded by the 'hardcore'. Does this mean i am entitled to the same achievement points, rewards, etc as my more rabidly OCD guild mates?
Absolutely not. Talk about a welfare state mentality--if you dont' put in the same effort, you don't deserve the same rewards. No where else in life is the world set up this way, the game shouldn't be either.
Casuals do not need to be catered to.
SimpleSurvival Oct 25th 2008 1:54PM
agreed... a 'casual' achievement isn't an achievement
but... the beauty of achievements is the majority of them are attainable by a 'casual' player... all you need to do is waste enough time doing something and viola, achievement...
vanity badge ftw
I think that if guild achievements existed, they shouldn't impart any benefit to the guild as a whole... it would be horribly unfair that just because some people you share a guild with killed end-of-the-world uber-boss that you should get a title -savior of mankind-
Guild achievements should be achievements of the guild as a whole
"Guild Raid Clear"
"legendary loot"
"X guild heroics cleared"
"X guild BGs won" (i would guess that it would have to be calculated that your 5man guild group participated in a BG that you won)
if your guild cleared the instance with the help of another guild... that wasn't an accomplishment of your guild and I don't think you should get credit for it...
If you want the accomplishment, make a guild that can accomplish the task
Rohannor Oct 25th 2008 1:50PM
The one "achievement" that we "honor" in our guild is when someone moves during a flame wreath in kara, that person gets reminded not to do it again in the Guild Message for everyone to see for a few days. Funny how no one ever does it twice. lol.
han_shot_first Oct 25th 2008 2:48PM
I've been playing WAR since launch and in WAR guilds have levels, and as you level the guild you unlock new abilities, such as being able to carry a standard into battle or having access to a guild vault. It definitely makes guild life more interesting, helping guilds retain members as well as being a kind of "marketing point" for guild recruitment. It works extremely well.
I'm all for this sort of thing in WoW, but I'd like to see more tangible rewards. Example: Killed all bosses in Karazhan in an hour or less with an all-guild group. Reward: Violet Eye rep and an extra guild bank slot.
Now that I'm thinking about it, guild faction reputation could be interesting. "Buy X and Y gear when you are personally Revered or guild Honored with Z faction." Obviously make the guild rep grinds a little harder to accomplish.
Maybe that isn't such a good idea since no one enjoys rep grinds.
The point I'm trying to make is there is an incredible amount of good stuff that can come from making a more cohesive experience out of being in a guild.
Eisengel Oct 25th 2008 4:00PM
It sounds like some fun group (not necessarily guild) achievements would be calamity "achievements":
Friendly Fire: kill a group member while they are under the effects of a monster's Mind Control
Equal Opportunity Fragger: kill a one of each allied race while they are under the effects of a monster's Mind Control
Puppet: kill a group member while you are under the effects of a monster's Mind Control
Mastered Puppet: kill the last member in your group while you are under the effects of a monster's Mind Control
Waaaait!: Enter combat in an instance while in a group with less than 10% health or mana.
Is this thing on?: Have 3 of your spells in a row resisted on an instance boss.
Best things come to those who wait?: Have your castbar within .1 second of landing a heal with cast time greater than 2 seconds when your target dies.
Stand still!: Have your attacks dodged by an instance boss 3 times in a row.
I'm fine if I squint!: Miss an instance boss with your attacks 3 times in a row.
Anyone got a pot?: Have your mana bar hit 0 during a boss fight.
MuHAHA...Uh-oh!: Pull aggro on a boss after at least 2 consecutive critical strikes and die.
Now you see me, now you.. don't?: Have an aggro-reducing ability (Vanish, Cower, Fade, etc) resisted or immediately broken on cast, resulting in your death.
Nom nom... nom?: Be eating and drinking when your group enters combat 15 times.
Hey guys, check this out.. guys?: Be more than 45 yards from your group when they enter combat 15 times.
What's over here.. AAGH!: Pull aggro and die at least 35 yards away from your group 15 times while the rest of your group is not in combat.
.. etcetera
All melee miss/dodge 'achievements' title: 'The Butterfingered'
All spell resist/miss/mana 'achievements' title: 'The Inept'
All distance from group 'acheivements' title: 'The Distracted'
All mind control 'achievements' title: 'The Treacherous'
Any 4 'acheivements', title: "The Unready"
Any 6 'achievements', title: "The Black Cat"
Any 8 'achievements', title: "The Jinx"
... or something like that.
Merah Oct 26th 2008 9:23AM
ho surprising this is already in warhammer. Blizzard you're non creative loosers.