Most of us have been in more than one guild. With guilds falling apart over drama or absent guildies or whatever, we haven't been able to stay with the same guild we were in when we first started playing. It can't all be blamed on the guild; sometimes our tastes change or we move on to greener pastures.

Once you've been in a really good guild, it's hard to let go even when things go sour. This is a topic that comes up in Drama Mamas so often, we've written a guide as to how and when to leave your guild. A bad guild can be detrimental to your enjoyment of WoW, just as a great guild enhances your gameplay experience.

But what defines the perfect guild? I think there are three factors:

• Posted guild rules Whether they are in the in-game guild info or posted on a separate website, clear and easily accessible guidelines for guildie behavior are a must. So much drama can be avoided when everyone is clear about how to behave both in and out of guild.

• Strong leadership When I use the word "strong," I don't mean dictatorial. There should be an accessible group of officers that are consistent and fair in their decisions -- and not afraid to make decisions and stand by them.
• Consistent focus Whether the guild is full of people who read WoW Insider or has a dedicated group of hardcore progression raiders, there should be a theme or goal that keeps the guild together.

Any kind of guild will function with all three criteria. Adult-only guilds with raunchy language, family-oriented guilds with PG rated guildchat, PvP heavy guilds with no language restrictions in or out of guild -- they all could be perfect for their respective guildies given the above three factors.

Am I missing something you think is required for the perfect guild? What is your definition? Is your guild perfect? Write up a response on your blog and link to it in the comments section below. We'll spotlight one or two of the posts next week.

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Tags: community-blog-topic, featured, game-discussion, gamer-discussion, guild, guilds, world-of-warcraft-discussion, world-of-warcraft-topics, wow-discussion, wow-hot-topics, wow-issues, wow-topics

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion