Call for submissions: Keeping the guild together
by Lisa Poisso 
May 9th 2010 at 2:00PM
How is your guild holding itself together during this time of transition? WoW.com is looking for an article on how guilds can keep from disintegrating during this pre-expansion period of transition. We're looking for thoughtful strategies and suggestions, between 500 and 1,000 words, on ways that guilds can successfully survive the period linking the end of Wrath with the launch of Cataclysm. What is your guild doing? What alternatives are working for other guilds and raiding groups? Preferably, you're the GM or an officer of a guild or the leader of a regular raiding group (although we won't discount submissions from other types of players). As with all guest post call-outs, only the best submission will be accepted.
Here's what to do: read up about the Seed guest writer program, sign up and then submit your article (you can't see the article page unless you have a Seed account). Unfortunately, we are currently only able to take submissions from individuals living in the United States; we hope to be able to accept international submissions in the future. We'll accept submissions for this call-out until 11:59 p.m. EST on Thursday, May 13.
Filed under: WoW Insider Business, Guilds, Cataclysm, Guest Posts
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
sccorp.sc May 9th 2010 2:30PM
I wish I had some positive advice to submit. I and most of the officers from my, (now inactive), old raiding guild transfered to a more organized raiding guild. Our main problems were:
1) People still signing up for raids but now showing up due to the boredom of raiding content we've already cleared,
2) The current GM not doing anything at all (I was 1 of 4 officers and tbh I did 99% of all the legwork, i.e. recruiting, organizing raids, leading raids, updating the website). I'm a full time student/work full time so there's no way I could keep that up forever--and neither could the other officers stand the lack of attendance from raiders/the apathy of the supposed 'Guild Leader'.
The raiding guild that myself and the other officers transfered to is incredible--excellent management, great people, positive environment, and everyone who participates in the progression/raid content oriented groups know how to balance their commitment to showing up to raids when they say they will, and real life.
P.S. - I guess it helps that the Guild Leader of our current guild actually does some leading/actively participates.
P.P.S. - A positive attitude goes a LONG way too. Go figure, people positive outlooks' receiving positive results--it's unheard of I tell you! (Insert Sarcasm)
NeuroMan42 May 9th 2010 2:46PM
Our guild is jazzed for Cataclysm. We are also one of the largest guilds on Earthen Ring... AIE (alea iacta est) and we are made up of podcasters, artists, designers, sport, and internet celebs. Great group of people and brought together but the folks that created The Instance podcast.
coldmateplus May 9th 2010 2:55PM
umm ok... they wanted to know how to put guilds together... not how to sell their podcasts
RedGuard May 9th 2010 3:57PM
I'm not in AIE but I know that it's people like you (NeuroMan42) who give AIE a bad name. They don't need you to advertise for them. >_>
omedon666 May 9th 2010 3:18PM
See, I don't get all this "leaving guilds because of lack of content" fallout.
I'm so glad Blizzard is moving to a "bigger isn't necesarily better" guild model with Cataclysm. My guild is a small comfy guild of friends, and while we are also experiencing a relatively noticable chasm of inactivity, it never crosses our minds to /gquit. I mean, there will be another expansion... and when it hits, and we "come back", we'll still all be friends... that's not changing just because the "content has run out" right now.
People leaving guilds because of content, basically intangible things, will hopefully notice the "quantified loyalty" the guild leveling system represents, and start, you know, forming and sticking to guilds that get put together for reasons above and beyond a new series of pixels to collect.
Yes, these are gaming groups, within a game, a game that has goals to pursue, as a team. But these groups, these teams, are made of people. Currently, that people aspect is buried under "25 or GTFO" in a disturbingly large number of cases. Between the new raid paradigm and the guild leveling system ("quantified loyalty", as mentioned above, may be the only kind that some players understand) I hope this gets at least moderately dented, and more people log in to a guild they actually like for "more real", human reasons, instead of "punching in" to a second job that involves gearing up with 24 strangers, that they actually consider leaving because, of all things, the pixels have run dry. That just seems so shallow to me, why would anyone invest their precious liesure time in so impersonal a union?
Just my opinion, I know not everyone will like it.
Shade May 9th 2010 3:47PM
As far as I can tell, "Lack of content" fallout occurs in two stages. Leaving the guild is the second stage; the first is when raiders stop showing up. Those raiders who remain make the decision to leave the guild in order to find a group with whom they can depend on for organized activities.
Side note: Since PuGs are getting screwed in cat, I wonder if Blizz will come up with a way around "BWD 25 Guild run lf 3 dps 2 heals with _______ achiev to join guild for the run for guild progression"
In other words, PuGs turning into mercenaries. A lot of new guilds haven't even downed the Plagueworks yet, and there are PuGs out there with much higher levels of experience. Will a raid lead be able to say "lf 5 PuGs to help run 10m BWD and get first 3 achievs, loot is all yours" and get the guild points for it?
Ozzard May 10th 2010 1:56AM
WoW is a broad game, and as such attracts players with many different outlooks on life and many different goals. I have one friend whose stated goal is "to beat WoW": to defeat every raid challenge that it has to offer. He doesn't care how he does this, or who he groups with.
I'd love to run a survey that tied raiding achievement to someone's BrainHex result (www.brainhex.com - if you have any interest in the way people play games, you'll like this site).
darkstonexa May 10th 2010 5:08AM
Yup given up on this game after 3 years of going from one guild failure to another becuase a: it to much of an effort for people to turn up to things, b: they can't get there shinny new armor in 1 run of a raid and look elsewhere..
The ones that do stay in guilds find they have to pug in non guild raids.. which has now become impossible, well almost.. because those that tried to remain in a guild are now asked for an achieve or stupid gs that we can't possible have got yet.. and so the vicious cycle rinses and repeats..
This game is no longer enjoyable.. who wants to sit at a computer every evening trying to do something new when 90% of the server population goes achieve or gear score.. what got neither? then get stuffed...
Lissanna May 9th 2010 5:54PM
I just solved the problem by basically recruiting until my arm started to ache from sitting at the computer so long every day. Buying a new $200 chair with padded arms helped a lot with the pain, lol.
Roland May 9th 2010 6:22PM
Lots of PvP.
deepred May 9th 2010 6:26PM
Our guild was actively raiding up until a couple of months ago, when our guild leader started moving on to other games. Since then, most of our ICC-geared raiders have switched guilds, or even realms, and hence largely reverting to a levelling guild. I was still under-geared at the time, and now that I have the proper equipment for ICC, I've run into the 'must have achievements' wall that characterises many ICC PuGs. In the guild leader's absence, I'm attempting to rally the remaining ICC-geared guildies for an ICC run, before I consider jumping to a raid guild.
tenaigh May 9th 2010 7:42PM
Yah My guild has just about had it. there is no one on anymore and this makes me sad. the hardcore guild leader quit(something about the army...). This will be the third guild so far that has died on me...
vmonte200 May 9th 2010 9:39PM
I think all these posts about "the lul of the game", "cata is coming time for a break" is very premature and and unacceptable topic at this time. Have people forgotten we still have another raid and patch before Cata. The Ruby Santcum will have new bosses, and new gear, and more new content, not to mention the "cataclysm" patch itself which will probably launch at least 1 month before the expansion.
Not to mention we are not even close to the Beta yet, I would guess two months at least. So sorry guys but I really think we are getting ahead of ourselves. There is so much unkown about cata and still plenty to come in Wrath. If you don't want to play anymore or find the game boring that is fine, but there are far too many references and posts about things slowing down when I havn't seen (at least on my server) any effect of a pre expansion lul.
You can't have a lul when the expansion is at least 6 months away, probably more I think.
zappel May 9th 2010 9:39PM
let's face it. why did the guild come into existence in the first place? if it is for progression and progression is either fail or done, ppl will leave or just stop playing until the next challenge.
thats why the guilds that last the longest are never those that need to go from 1 challenge to the next. ie. friends. friends stay together. they even move together from game to game. i have read a few such guilds on this website. those are the best. they have fun.
ryland May 9th 2010 10:45PM
Our alliance guild started a horde guild on the same server and we are leveling our toons so we can start raiding on that side from scratch.
Dale May 10th 2010 2:07PM
Two things that I have learned leading the same guild over 4 years.
1. Recruit, recruit and more recruiting!
2. Less is more
If someone misses 2-3 raids then I start searching for a replacement, this is a game no one is forced to log in and take part, I would encourage them to take a break if they don't like playing at that time. If they don't have a good reason or stop showing up, then they get demoted and loose access to repairs and gbank.
We used to raid four days a week during Sunwell and the burnout was too much, now it's down to two, we are 9/12 ICC 25H which is reasonable but not hardcore. This is much more relaxed and enjoyable than the old days, I would rather two quality days than four average ones.