[Guest Post] Newbie Guide: To Start A Guild Or Not To Start A Guild

Ack! Sorry! Hit publish before I was done! This is a guest post by Jonathan Yeong the creator of the blog Gaming on Set. Head over there to see great articles and game reviews to boot.

You’ve been staring at the guild registrar for days, contemplating whether you should start a guild. You have the money, you have the guild charter, but what next? How would you even begin starting your own guild? For all the up and coming guild leaders out there, here are a few tips on having a successful guild.

Why should you start a guild?

Being a guild leader means you have an emotional attachment to your guild. As a guild leader I choked up with pride every time my guild hit a milestone. It’s almost like when you first stare into the eyes of your newly born child…*cough*. Everyone might not have such an emotional attachment to a guild, instead they start a guild for many (normal) reasons:

• They are sick of playing pugs and instead would like to quest with people that they can trust and that they know.

• You have a group of friends and you think it would be really cool to start a guild.

• You are inspired to start a guild that one day everyone will know about.

There are many reasons for starting a guild, lets assume you already have, what do you do next?

Choosing a guild direction: What do you want your guild to be?

There are a few different types of guilds out there, and as a guild leader you decide which direction you want the guild to travel in. Do you want a small, casual guild that just gets together every night and does a few quests with each other? Or do you want a large scale raiding guild so you can do those high level raids. Picking an objective for your guild and then sticking to your objective is important. Members join your guild because your objective matches theirs. By now you’re probably ready to sink your teeth in the nitty gritty aspect of being a guild leader…

Building your guild.

Recruiting people

There are many ways to recruit people. Here are some of the major ways guilds get members:

• Spamming chat in cities. It’s a sure fire way to get members. For the amount of time you spend you will get a lot of members, but maybe only a few good ones.

• Posting in forums. If I’m looking for an organised guild a forum is the first place I look. It not only means that you can tell players more about your guild, but it shows that you can take the effort to go that extra step and write more than the few lines that you spam in chat.

• Friends. If your guild is doing well then roping in friends of members or your own friends is another good way to boost your member count.

Should I get a tabard/cape?

The answer is a yes! Although it isn’t needed, if you have the money to buy a cape then do it. A cape tells people “this is my guild and I’m proud to be in it”. Having a cape gives your guild a logo and plus it’s always fun designing a cape that everyone can see.

Do I need Ventrilo/Teamspeak? (voice communications)

In a lot of instances voice communication is a must have. Having a Vent or TS server helps you coordinate plans when you’re playing. It also means you can change your plans on the fly if something happens. Having a Vent/TS server means you have a place to hang out and chat with people. To me speaking to someone is more friendly than typing to them. However you have to take into account the real life monetary costs of having a Vent/TS server. Fortunately there are many free servers out there for you to use.

I’ve got everything else do I really need a forum?

In most instances forums aren’t really that necessary, especially for smaller guilds. However for larger guilds forums make organising events so much easier. Forums allow you to put up a sign up sheet, see who’s coming and also informs members on upcoming events. Forums can also be a way to get members to know each other better or a way to post builds or other information that can be useful for other members.

I’m a guild leader! What now…

To have a guild that is somewhat successful there are certain traits that guild leaders have. Now this isn’t a do or die list. I’ve seen many guild leaders that don’t have any of these traits and they still have successful guilds, but as a member seeing a guild leader with the following traits tells me he/she actually knows what they are doing. So here are some traits that I believe make a great guild leader:

You have to be definitive.

As a GL you shouldn’t be swayed easily by different opinions. If you believe that it is the right thing for your guild than go for it. You should always take into account of what others think, but in the end, what you want to do with your guild is up to you.

You need a thick skin.

There is always going to be some arrogant retard or idiot out there who think they should run the guild. You shouldn’t stand for that. Lets face it as a guild leader you will get crap thrown at you, but you need to harden up and move on. Remember if someone really does get on your nerves and also the other members nerves, then kick them. Just don’t think that you are a bad guild leader just because an arrogant arsehole said so.

You need to listen.

Guild leaders need to listen to other people. So I’ve said to be definitive and a thick skin, but it doesn’t mean you should be arrogant. The good guild leaders I know always talk to other members, always try to get involved, and always see how their members are faring in the guild. Of course if you have a huge guild this can be a lot harder and this is where your officers come in.

Don’t underestimate the power of officers.

Officers are important. Remember, officers are members that you would trust to run your guild. Major decisions that you make shouldn’t be made until you listen to the views of your officers. Officers also have the power to run the guild when you are away, this means that if you have issues that occur in real life you can be sure that you’re leaving your guild in safe hands. However this can be a double edged sword. Promoting random members that have just joined the guild to officers is a horrible thing to do. There’s been many occasions where I’ve seen my friends guild wiped by crazy officers who kick every member. So unless you trust the member, or at least know what they are like, you shouldn’t promote them to officers.

You need to have time.

Being a guild leader means you need time to join in with guild events. You should be attending most events that are organised and that you should be encouraging people to join in with events. To get people involved you have to involved in the guild yourself.

In conclusion, after reading this should you still start a guild? The answer is a definitive yes! Leading a guild is a challenging aspect of an online game but probably the most rewarding. Although it might not be for everyone for some it’s something you can nurture and grow over time and in the end it might as well be your baby.

Jonathan Yeong

Gaming on Set

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