Breakfast Topic: How does a guild win you over?
by Andrew Ross 
Aug 5th 2011 at 8:00AM
When it comes to real (i.e., non-trade-chat-spamming) guilds, some people complain about the process. "It's like finding a job," or "There's so much drama involved that I just stopped trying." Often times, I find it easier to compare finding guilds to dating.
For example, one guild got me to join by slowly wooing me. They invited me to dungeon runs, PMed me just to chat, waved at me in at the auction house, and generally just made me feel like a guildmate before popping the question. It was so romantic ... until I found out that the leaders weren't treating their allies the same way.
I was stolen from another guild when the former guild started to treat people badly, both guild members and members of the server. In vanilla WoW, we ran raids with two other guilds. One of those guilds' officers was my first PVP victim in another game (but it was an epic hunt). Another officer and I were co-class leaders who bonded over ninja-AFKing bio breaks when we were supposed to be instructing our underlings on things we'd already gotten them to do -- oh, and having a very open guild system, as opposed to "the guild leader is God; obey his commands." When the ship was ready to sink, I knew who to ask for a lifeboat.
More often than not, though, I've hit my server forums or even popular fan sites to see who's active in the community and whose guild structure seems to fit my needs the best.
How have guilds won you over? Did you date? Were you mutual friends first? Or was it something you found in The Classifieds?
Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Guest Posts
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Gendou Aug 5th 2011 8:13AM
By doing things like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWI5RGRepPw
( I told one of our members to smack another member in the head for showing up late to a raid. He not only did so, he videoed the whole thing)
MattKrotzer Aug 5th 2011 8:15AM
After 2 1/2 years of running an RP guild, and watching the activity slowly dwindle, I'd decided to close the doors on my guild. I contacted a player I knew loosely through some old RP ties, who happened to be in a raiding guild. I knew nobody in his guild, but still had some lingering reputation on our server as a tank from Burning Crusade (back when the RDF didn't exist, and such reputations were built) so they invited me in for a trial.
I was quiet for the first few weeks, getting my footing and scouting out the environment, and they gave me opportunities in Ulduar as the third tank in the 25-mans. I noticed they kept picking on my co-tank, and spoke up in his defense. I got a whisper from him, "No, it's cool man... I'm the guild scapegoat. Feel free to pile on."
It was then that I realized that he was being blamed for things that couldn't even possibly be his fault, and that it was all in good fun. But to a newcomer, it took some adjustment.
A few weeks in, I started to let fly some zingers of my own, including some pretty raunchy ones that made the GM just stop in awe, and they soon welcomed me in.
After those first few weeks, the main tank pulled me aside after a raid and informed me he'd be shipping out for Afghanistan in a few weeks, and that he was recommending me for his spot. I went on to be the guild's main tank for 2 1/2 years.
Dril Aug 5th 2011 9:51AM
"reputation on our server as a tank from Burning Crusade (back when the RDF didn't exist, and such reputations were built)"
Who needs a reputation when you can get quick valour points?
/sarcasm off
Hal Aug 5th 2011 8:20AM
"Real" guild?
Dril Aug 5th 2011 9:48AM
It's funny, because the top (and I mean actual progression guilds) on my server regularly advertise in Trade when they have a slot open.
It says more about the author and his laughably distorted view than it does about guilds in Trade.
Shinae Aug 5th 2011 10:41AM
I take the author's "non-trade-chat-spamming" definition of a "real" guild to mean a guild that does not invite anyone and everyone. I have to agree with that.
Occaisionally advertising your guild in trade chat is fine, especially if you're asking players to complete a questionaire or application on a guild forum. Spamming trade chat in order to send out guild invites willy-nilly sets one up to have problems.
I don't know why anyone would want to be in a guild that invites players without any regard to what they're like or what they're interested in.
MattKrotzer Aug 5th 2011 10:43AM
Hi, I come to the internet and pick apart the tiniest details of articles I read for something to complain about.
I think we all know he meant the guilds that are generally flooding non-trade-chat channels (i.e. /yell) looking for signatures to start up their guild that will last a week or two before collapsing under the indifference, or the guilds that simply try to grow their numbers for no reason except numbers, offer nothing to their membership, and vanish as quickly as they came into being.
The article even specifies non-Trade channels, so I think it says more about your reading comprehension than it does about Andrew's writing or his "distorted" point of view.
Adryn Aug 5th 2011 8:24AM
I found searching for the right guild strangely akin to trying to find just the right girlfriend.
Do we get on well to together, do we share the same interests, do we enjoy each others company and, yes, do they look good? There are many factor in finding 'the one'.
Browsing the guild finder was often a depressing excersise, it was the equivelent of a dating site full of plump woman in their forties with too many cats and a fixation with clown figurines. Every ad chock a block with spelling errors and/or 'leet' speak and some of the worst, most non sensical names a geek could throw together.
I am pleased to say that, amoungst the frothing massing I seem to have found that special one and as a previously solo only player i'm being introduced to many new aspects of the game with kindness and civility which has increased my enjoyment of the world of warcraft one hundred fold.
If your guildless, take the plunge, it'll be worth it.
Sinthar Aug 5th 2011 8:33AM
Hmmm well I have been ninja invited more than a few times, had members (who were officers themselves) offer guild positions, a impressed tank/healer once offered me a permaspot in their new 10 man raiding team, and a friend asking me to help out.
I have only accepted 3 total
My first was my main, at lvl 14. I was invited to a guild - and tbh as a complete newby, I didnt even know there were guilds. after all I hadnt visited SW as a human mage more than once, and currently was lost in darkshire running from nasty spiders and wolves. I accepted more from curiosity. Even with my newness I figured out something was wrong when I became an officer after 1 week, and the GM after 3 weeks. I left at that point while there was still someone to pass the GMship too.
The second was about lvl 60ish. By then two RL mates were playing again (they took a break when I joined), and were members of the guild I still am a member of. One in particular asked the GM if I could join, I applied and was accepted as a trialee - with the probability I wouldnt ever raid and remain as a social player. Boy did that turn out a little inaccurate! After I had leveled up to 70, and geared up, the GM and RL decided to finish my trial with seeing how skilled I was then. Along with the mage raider, the raid tank (RL), and raid healer (GM) and my RL mate (he was trying out for raiding) we did quite a few OL instances. The GM picked SL as the first, and continued to select the harder instances when me and my mate refused to stand in bad stuff and pulled off respectable dps, while still using cc. I was accepted as a full (not just social) member, and my mate made it onto the raid scene. Personally I wanted to join them, but knew I was still seriously undergeared, until they actually invited me with about 5 mins notice, to tank in gruuls lair (mage tank on the 1st boss encounter)
The 3rd and last time I accepted was when a friend who had left my current guild, basically 'wooed' me as per the article. We did heroics, alt raids until eventually he popped the question - would I like my alt to be the OT in his guild? After talking it over with my current GM, I left guild with my alt, and accepted his invite.
I have never looked in trade, classifieds etc, but would always go on personal recomendations from friends, I was never HC, as I didnt want that pressure -even tho Im a bit of an achievement junkie.
Revnah Aug 5th 2011 8:37AM
I'll be honest and say that I'm not that awesome of a player for guilds to chase me. It's usually me who finds them. What I do is hit the internet and search "Horde guild xyzserver" and then click my way through guild websites and the public portion of their forums.
Criteria are: Are they good enough for me to learn and improve my game, without being so uber awesome that I won't be able to keep up? Do they raid no more than 3/4 nights a week so I can continue having a life? And most of all: Are they mature, friendly, grown-up and have a sense of humour?
I'm happy to say I found just that guild and they were so lovely to me after I'd contacted them, that maybe they did "woo" me a little after all :-)
cormaminclamito Aug 5th 2011 8:39AM
As the leader of a casual guild we have tried everything at one time or another. We have monthly events that are open to the public, we go out and help random people with quests or bosses they can't do to make contact. We invite them to groups, help them with everything from pvp to relationship advice, and since Cata we even hit the trade channel ( though only once an hour, we don't spam it). We even have a sponsorship or apprentice program to pair low level members with experienced players. Due to all of this we remain a solid guild, but you have to work to find the right people as a casual guild.
chaosdefined Aug 5th 2011 8:41AM
Back during Wrath early days and before the LFD tool had been introduced, I was running Old Kingdom on one of my toons, think I was the Tank, and although we wiped a couple of times we were actually having a bit of a laugh about it and having fun. I noticed that three of the other players were in the same guild and the most sociable. I was currently guildless and so after the run I asked about joining. Turned out the Guild Leader was in the run with us and so I got an instant invite. After a while of helping out and even leading a couple of raids I was made one of the Officers. It was a great time and I really felt at home there. Sadly a lot of the guild fell apart before Cataclysm launched due to inactivity, and the rest of the officers who hadn't became interested in other games soon left due to a dislike of the new expansion.
And now I find myself trawling the Guild Ad's like someone unemployed and lost.
Rufin Aug 5th 2011 8:49AM
I used to bounce around guilds a lot when i was new, if they didn't interest me (or i made a fool of myself) i would normally just leave.
Eventually i found my home at Wolfpack. The guy was just advertising on trade and i said "what the heck." So i joined up and i LOVED it. Everyone in it was nice and i got along real well with the other members.
Then when Wolfpack died (inactive members, MULTIPLE hacks on both the players and the guild [our GM was hacked 3 times actually and eventually quit, but he's back now :D] led to its death) i left with 2 of the other "survivors" of its death and moved to their families guild, Anemia. And thats been my home ever since, everyone knows each other and everyone is real mature. Were also raiding now and i love it.
But what really won me over with Anemia was the fact that there were people in it who did the things i liked. Want to Arena? Always someone on. Wanna start a raid? You can count on the guild to help out. It's really nice.
alzeer Aug 5th 2011 8:58AM
minimum drama is what kept me
snarkygoldfish Aug 5th 2011 9:16AM
Once upon a time I was questing through Zangarmarsh - fen striders and other nasties were ganging up on me - and a dashing dwarf burst through the fungal foliage, urged me to group up with him...and the rest is history. That act of kindness on a mostly hapless and clueless player forged the path for in-game friendships that have lasted me nearly three years.
I no longer play with them, having decided about this time last year that I wanted to really focus on raiding. I moved over to another, similar guild; long established on the server and who would end up forming a shoot-off guild when they finally decided to transfer off-server.
Then, weirdness started. with Cata's incentives for bigger guilds over smaller ones, we had caught the eye of one of the server's better raiding guilds...and ended up merging with them. For the first time in the game, I went from a bunch of (mostly, there is always that ONE person) mature and fun people to a bunch of raiders with e-peen syndrome. I suffered through it until this past March when school and a bad break-up kinda jolted me into realizing I needed a stress-fee change; the tension of raiding and a few things within the team kinda...made me realize it was time to move on.
By that time, the first guild had really dwindled, despite me keeping in touch with them off-game. So, it was time to hop servers and focus on fun and RPing as primary gameplay.
The first guild on the server ended up being even worse than the one my previous team had merged with. It was an RP guild that slid into hardcore PVP territory and the players really reflected it. I was miserable, and ended up researching through forums / players / the server's RP community my next move.
Now? A month into membership with my newest guild, I really think I made a good choice. Solid RPers, super friendly and mature members; I feel like I came home, and as though I have found a balance between my first guild and my first raiding team.
LynMars Aug 5th 2011 9:33AM
I originally tried a guild that was advertising in channels way back in classic; it only lasted a couple weeks as it was a paladin trying to make a guild, who then vanished a couple weeks in. So I ended up joining some real life friends' guild, which hit drama, disbanded, reformed under another name, then suddenly merged with a larger casual play guild near the end of classic. Stayed with them through part of BC until the GM started making unilateral changes and decisions, and the other officers started acting like jerks.
I joined a filler guild from other pals who'd left that guild, transferred off server briefly to play with my real life friends again, came back "home" to my original server when I felt the real life friends weren't playing with me nor treating me as well as the RP community on the old server had. Then I scoured our active RP guild postings and selected one.
Not as active as I thought, or as large thanks to some people who'd left the game or the guild, but we worked together to rebuild and recruit just as Wrath was coming out. Through them, I met their sister guild who I raid with while still having my main in the RP guild (my alts are split between the two guilds, same with several other players). It's usually no to low drama, casual raiding, and fun RP.
I met my current roommate through this guild, and currently have another guildie visiting for the week; we've made road trips to visit each other. It's been a blast and if it weren't for these people I've met, I probably wouldn't still be playing WoW at all.
Mortenebra Aug 5th 2011 9:36AM
I remember being "wooed" by members of various guilds I'd run pugs with. This was back in the very beginning of BC, where pugs were only server-wide; you knew whom you'd want to run things with, and whom you'd rather stay away from. I didn't know it then, but a good hunter was apparently hard to find-- not that I'm saying I'm good, mind you, but the term "huntard" doesn't just originate out of nowhere and, allegedly, I was not a "huntard." The conversations would usually start off with, "You know, we always run stuff together anyway..." like we were two friends who suddenly realized the dating potential in each other. It was quite comical. The thing that kept me from saying, "Sure, why not?" was the fact that I was incredibly shy... I'm (still) not the sort to walk into a room full of strangers and go, "Hi! I'm Toriah and this is my cat Orion! Don't worry, he's real friendly unless you attack us."
The funny thing is, I'd come to my guild and meet my guildmates through a rl friend who ran a pug with them and he suggested I join up. After that, I was the one going back to my pug friends and asking them if they wanted to join my guild in turn!
mavis.pye Aug 5th 2011 9:48AM
When I first started playing, not knowing all of my wonderful options, I joined a RL friend's guild. The guy allowed anyone to join which of course, the drama ensued. At that point, I decided to try it on my own. Being a big Wizard of Oz fan, I created The Oz. We never had a lot of players back in BC but we always had fun. At one point I (Doorthy) teamed up with the Wickedwitch and enjoyed it so much we joined his guild. After a while I missed running my own thing and went back to The Oz. I have tried joining other guilds several times over the xpacs, but I always end up rebuilding The Oz. What can I say, I enjoy the power (even though my husband holds leadership, lol).
I do agree that finding a guild is almost like looking for a job/mate. They both require chemistry and the right dynamics no matter what your play style is.
shomechely Aug 5th 2011 9:53AM
It's all about the people really. Whether your play style is hard core raid progression, casual leveling, player versus player or role play, a guild wins me over with positive personalities, helpful hands, grateful spirits and teamwork. All of these things work together along with the game environment and the challenges it presents to make my gaming experience enjoyable. I don't care if I am 12/12 heroic Firelands (or whatever the top raiding tier is) if the people I have to spend my game time with aren't friendly, it's just not worth it.
Noyou Aug 5th 2011 4:09PM
I'm totally with you there. My first guild was a social guild. I met the GM at the mailbox outside of the inn in Darnassus. I now run my own social guild and can say the best way to find good people that exemplify the attitude you want your guild to portray is by talking to them or playing with them. Guild finder is a good tool and a way for "shy players" to slowly warm up to you. I have met many good people by simply emoting them or /saying something funny. Of course if you are a raiding guild the priorities would be a bit different. Back when I used to run random dungeons I would always make sure to let nice people from other realms know they had a spot in our guild if they ever decided to change servers. To me WoW is a great game but it's so much better with social interaction.