Officers' Quarters: Cataclysm's guild revamp -- guild currency
by Scott Andrews 
Oct 19th 2009 at 1:00PM
Every Monday Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership.
After Blizzard's big announcement about how they plan to improve guilds in Cataclysm, I've been examining the changes in detail. First, I wrote about the lack of guild improvements over the years and how the expansion will, for better or worse, change WoW guilds forever. Then I speculated on possible leveling system options, guild talents, and guild achievements. This week, I'm going to finish up the series by talking a bit about guild currency and suggesting some products that Blizzard should let us buy with this new system.
Here's what we know so far. Guild currency will be earned by players in your guild who earn experience. It remains to be seen if experience (and thus currency) will still be earned by players once they reach the level cap, but I assume that it will.
So far, they've only mentioned a few items that we can buy:
- Vanity items like mounts, tabards, and standards
- Reagents like frost lotuses for flasks
- Recipes
- Heirloom items that scale with level
If the only way you can obtain heirlooms is through your guild, there's going to be some drama over what items get purchased first and for which slots, who gets to use them when, and so on. Personally, I'd rather not deal with it. Sure, we could just skip buying them, but then people would complain that we don't have any. I just don't see a way to win here. It feels like no matter what we choose to do, someone is going to be unhappy with it. There are already too many decisions like that for officers!
According to the official unveiling at BlizzCon, all of these items, recipes, etc. are bound to the guild that purchased them. That means, if someone has such a recipe in their profession panel and they leave the guild, they will lose the recipe. Blizzard stated that the intention is to prevent the rampant guild-hopping that has plagued the game, and I am all for that goal. Besides the convenience of having the extra bank slots, there is zero game-supported incentive to stay with any particular guild right now. It's nice to see that Blizzard recognizes this situation as a problem. Officers could use a lot more help in this regard, and these guild-bound perks are a good start.
As far as earning the currency, I'm a bit wary that it will come only from experience. Apparently only the top earners will count toward the total, which is a nice way to lessen the advantage of a large guild over a small one. However, it seems odd to me that, considering all the group activities that guilds participate in, it's the one activity that's almost universally accomplished solo (questing) that seems like it will earn the vast majority of the guild currency.
Blizzard can tweak the system however they want to, even after they release it. I hope they eventually skew the currency to reward dungeon runs, raids, battlegrounds, and other group activities more than solo questing.
The rewards they've announced so far seem useful, but they are hardly exciting. Here are a few items I'd like to see as purchasable rewards from guild currency:
- Deployable guild meeting tent: If we can't have permanent guild housing, give us a temporary meeting space that we can set up ourselves from time to time. Allow the tent to be placed only in areas where the Darkmoon Faire currently sets up, and only when the Faire isn't in town. Give it a really long cooldown (27.5 days sounds about right) so there aren't tents all over the place. Inside the tent should be tables, a bar, musical entertainment that you can toggle on and off, a guild bank, a podium for speakers, and, of course, a guild currency vendor.
- Guild quests: Let us purchase quests that give tangible and desirable rewards that every member of the guild receives. Rewards could be a large amount of badges, a special mount, or even a legendary item. These quests would be both expensive and challenging to complete, similar to the epic Ahn'Qiraj gate opening questline that only a handful of guilds around the world got to experience. Making the quests accessible using this currency would allow motivated guilds to shoot for a long-term goal and have a lot of fun in the process.
- Heirloom resist gear: This suggestion isn't terribly compelling, but it would be really useful. Let us purchase resist gear that scales with level like heirloom gear does now. We're sick of crafting new sets for every expansion. If Blizzard insists on retaining resist gear as a necessary evil in their raids, at least let us obtain some gear that we don't have to replace every five levels.
- Guild airships: I vaguely remember someone floating this idea at some point after the WotLK airship models were discovered. And it's a great idea! Obviously there would be limitations on it, and it would fly somewhat slowly. But it would certainly make capital city attacks far more interesting! Further rewards could enhance the airship in some way, with shipboard cannons, faster engines, or grappling hooks for airship-to-airship combat. Why should Icecrown Citadel be the only time we can fight ship to ship -- and against NPCs no less? I want full-fledged guild vs. guild airship piracy. Let officers flag our ship for PvP and put part of our guild bank gold at risk. If we lose our ship to another guild, they get 500 gold of our money, and vice versa. This item should be the ultimate guild currency reward, costing far more than any other.
/salute
Send Scott your guild-related questions, conundrums, ideas, and suggestions at scott.andrews@weblogsinc.com. You may find your question the subject of next week's Officers' Quarters!Filed under: Officers' Quarters (Guild Leadership)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
mmalsed Oct 19th 2009 1:11PM
One of the nice things about CoH was the supergroups' bases, which could be customized, used as meeting areas (but never seemed to be) and had other things in them like transporters, healing areas, repositories. . . I've always wondered why WOW doesn't have something like this - maybe a Guild Office in major cities where you could access your guild "base" . . . guilds could use some of their currency to spiff up the place, etc . . .
(cutaia) Oct 19th 2009 1:23PM
I've never been a "guild housing" proponent, but this almost seems like step one in that direction.
Echohunter Oct 19th 2009 1:13PM
omg guild airships. let us take to the skies!
Vladeon Oct 19th 2009 1:19PM
So... will my guild airship come with the ability to bubble-hearth? If not, I'm not sold.
Frank Oct 19th 2009 3:47PM
if there are guild airships, then i submit there must also be guild surface-to-air anti-aircraft technology, so we can defend our cities from the attackers. >: )
Cleverly disguised as normal Oct 19th 2009 11:02PM
This would be awesome, however you'd only be able to use it in flyable areas, which isn't too bad considering Cataclysm should be adding quite a few. Another alternative would be naval PVP battles. I remember playing Warcraft II against my friends and having epic nautical battles. Something I miss them so much that when playing WOW, every time I ride a ship or blow them up or shoot cannons off them at scarlet crusaders or really big giants, I think if only I could fight another player and laugh when they get that sinking feeling. Ah nostalgia.
Crowing Oct 19th 2009 1:25PM
Guild vs Guild please!, like Ragnarok Online's War of Emperium
Dightkuz Oct 19th 2009 1:25PM
I'm gonna guess guild heirlooms are gonna work the same way as guild mounts and tabards in that case; everyone in the guild can buy one copy for their own use and account, instead of only one copy of the item for the entire guild.
Tahas Oct 19th 2009 1:31PM
That'd be my guess. I can see how people might get their knickers in a twist, though. "You got the cloth ones?? But I'm leveling my huntar!" I think it should be buy a slot, get an heirloom. That eliminates the need for type of armor and who it was designed for. You say "We're getting the heirloom hat." Then everyone can have one regardless of class and spec.
kabshiel Oct 19th 2009 4:54PM
They said that's how it's going to work. After the guild buys an heirloom, any number of guild members can use it at the same time.
gatorfan Oct 19th 2009 1:29PM
Whether it's Guild Airships or not, I like your core idea of a Guild being able to put up a "prize" and then say "Come and get it if you can!" The format of how it's done needs to follow the first guideline of "maximum fun" but the options are limitless. How about a guild sponsor a rated BG match and have it be guild vs guild, winner take all! PWN'age!
Bluwatr Oct 19th 2009 1:32PM
I think guild achievements based on what the guild members contribute is a good thing. One thing I would like to see is that level 80 players who have already made a number of achievements, will be able to have some of those turned into guild exp and have the option to ACTIVATE that exp into GA's for the guild they are in. Once that player has assigned the achievements to the guild those achievements are now non refundable.
Players have the choice to activate once a week a main and up to 2 alts with a Max of 3 charactors to generate GA's.
This one I think is extremely important that once a player activates thier points to a guild and decides to leave and join another guild or just solo, the guild and the player lose the converted exp GA's.
The reason for this penality is there has to be a protection for the player to withdraw thier services from a guild if they are treated badly and it gives the guild some incentive to try and keep the player, a balance system that penalizes BOTH parties if they divorce.
Deadly. Off. Topic. Oct 19th 2009 1:30PM
Guild airships? If they ever considered doing this, they should also equip them with battle guns so we could shoot down enemy ships. (Option for free for all battle in the sky would be fun too and paracutes for those who get knocked off an exploding air ship)
Aeonus Oct 19th 2009 1:32PM
The only compelling idea I see here is the 'guild quest' one, I think it would add SO much to the game. Good one.
Aiva Oct 19th 2009 1:41PM
I really like some of your ideas, especially the tents and guild quest option, and while I essentially agree that most rewards should be based on working together as a Guild, I would also like to see something for those of us in smaller, more solo and leveling guilds. I would like to be able to contribute to my Guild more than crafting items, collecting mats and running lower levels through instances.
I would think that reputation, for example should pave the way for others in your guild. "Ahh.. you are a kinsman of Aiva? We know Aiva! She is very popular around these parts for all her work polishing my helm!" This should make another Guild member's reputation gain immediately start at a higher level, or appropriate a percentage increase to rep gains (like being human).
Mr. Crow Oct 19th 2009 1:45PM
There's an important error that needs to be corrected. Guild Currency isn't generated from guild members who earn experience, but from Guild Experience Points.
From the Liveblog:
"Players earn guild experience in a variety of ways.
You can level your guild up through 20 levels of guild leveling.
Killing a boss, rated bgs, areans, profession, and reputation ranks will all help level the guild."
So, guild experience (GEP) will be translated from boss kills, rated battlegrounds, and arenas, which are all group-oriented methods of gaining Guild Experience. Also, gaining profession and reputation ranks (which are obviously solo) will contribute to Guild Experience.
GEP will allow the guild to level, which will allow the guild to earn talent points. Talent points can buy perks or afford new abilities, none of which will be game-breakingly crazy, but will be useful for guilds big and small.
ADDITIONALLY, GEP will turn into the Guild Currency, which will be spent for the items listed above.
j Oct 19th 2009 3:06PM
I'm glad you clarified that. I re-read the article thinking I had missunderstood the entire thing.
styopa Oct 19th 2009 1:53PM
I like the tents idea, and would suggest the use of guild currency to
- make it bigger and/or persist longer*
- custom colors, flags (with tabard design), all sorts of prettifying
- add a forge, alchemy lab, etc whatever still requires a PLACE to accomplish for crafting
- add more general vendors, with more varied items. First buy could be "generic' general goods vendors (trade, reagent, etc), with additional buys adding chances for limited sale reagents like 1-at-a-time sell items available from certain vendors around azeroth.
- fishing pond :) more $$ equals better fishin!
- an item that would let guildies 'hearth' to the tent
- cooking fires
- varied music/guests
- for a pvp server, guards
- I'd love it if they'd actually INTEGRATE it into the world, and let there be (for example) a chance of a major NPC (Thrall, Wrynn, etc) show up 'to visit'.
- i'd prefer that they allow it to be spawned at least one place in any zone. Since they're rewriting all the zones, it shouldn't be hard to find a clearing SOMEWHERE in each?
- seasonal decorations/npc's? if spawned during the appropriate week.
- guild trophy case, showing progression 'trophies' - a little onyxia head, etc.
- guild member board, showing name, location, etc. like a /who
- BINGO! Every tent has to have BINGO, er, MURLO!
* optionally, you could have the size based on the guild size, and the available 'decoration points' or whatever based on average level, total achievements, whatever. A huge guild of never-playeds would get a big dull tent; a small guild of cutting edge raiders would have a small but cool tent, etc.
...lots of stuff you could do.
Falcon6 Oct 19th 2009 1:54PM
Maybe make a deployable tent, like you said, but not in that sort of place. Make it so you can deploy it in a raid. Each officer would have one, and the cooldown would be about 3 hours. So if you have three officers, that's basically 1 per hour. It would come with a reagent vendor, a repair bot that counts as an exalted faction, access to the guild bank and whatever guild currency vendor is there. It would also provide other small things...maybe a portable forge, a cooking fire, and a small tent for instant log-outs.
Oh, and a mini summoning stone, too. Oh, yeah...
Bravofox Oct 19th 2009 2:16PM
I am truly excited to see what all is introduced for the new guild achievement system. Anything that makes sticking with a guild worth something is a beautiful thing!
I would like to see that tent idea taken a step further. Make the guild meeting place an instanced zone (Guild currency/achievement unlock of course) and give it some great amenities...
-first, a place to convene for meetings and etc. (achievement hall maybe)
-major city portals
-guild purchasable portals that take you near a given raid entrance
-reagent vendors (and others)
-guild bank access
Many possibilities! And all while making a guild a more enticing, long-term investment.