Becoming A “Good” Guild? 15 tips!

At some point in MMORPGs, you may want to either join or create a guild. Thought there are many types of games and styles of guilds. Guilds can be a great venue for making friends, having fun and accomplishing goals.

They can also realistically be a nightmare for the unprepared. Common sense, teamwork, goals and respect are needed. The question arises. “How do I make a good guild?”.

Here’s fifteen (15) tips!

1 ) Have a direction.
State upfront what your guild is about and have a “mission” of sorts. Also state clearly what requirements are needed.

2 ) Have some sort of mature, respectful leadership.
Have officers that you trust to help keep the “peace” and help you support the guild.

3 ) Have yourself and officers be accessible.
Have times to be on and help with guild issues, if any. Schedule and moderate your time with officers so they do not get “shellshock”.

4 ) Open communication
No cloak and dagger. Having a guild forum can help and gets folks together and help the guild overall. Having a good relationship with your members is key also.

5 ) Have rules/guidelines that are realistic for your guild.
While you do not want a “police” state, you do not want a FFA (Free For ALL) guild also. Some basic rules of conduct help establish order and strengthen a guild. Use common sense on your guildelines.

Note: Remember that guild members reflect your guild’s reputation. What they do (and don’t do) are calling cards for your guild. This is important and should not be ignored or taken lightly.

6 ) Help each other out - but don’t be a babysitter.
Perhaps a patron/vassal system where newbies are given a mentor - but not a babysitter. Establish a No-Begging rule but encourage guildies to help each other.

7 ) Identify guild/member needs/goals.
Try to “rally the troops” to help each others towards possibly common goals. Try to help individuals with their in-game pursuits as well.

8 ) Be understanding.
Remember that folks are not pixels and have real lives outside the game. We are all human.

9 ) Respect others.
Treat guild members fairly and with respect. No “favored” groups. Also respect others outside your guild. Have more class and don’t poach or lure other players from other guilds.

10 ) Find good people.
Don’t resort to cheap tactics, “poaching” or “luring”. Try a “Trial” system to see if newbies are a good fit. It’s a two-way street. It’s better to have good folks rather than just “numbers” or classes. While you can have 250+ guild members, but if most are jerks - you are shooting yourself and other guildies in the foot.

11 ) Give everyone a shot.
Give members accessibility to guild “rewards”/events. Rotate folks to access raid content, for example. Be fair.

12 ) Encourage guildies to get to know each other.
Friendship and guild are a good mix. Forums, in-game meetings and activities give life and breadth to a guild.

13A ) Guild Members are not cattle. Nor are they Lemmings. :)
Do not treat them as such. Have patience.

13B ) Guild Leaders are human.
Respect them and work with them. Have patience.

14 ) Handle conflicts gracefully.
Have conflicts go through “proper” channels. Be mature on both sides of the conflict. Handle it with style, as opposed to “crazed rabid weasel”. *grin*

15 ) Don’t forget to have fun!
Have fun events, kick back in-game and do other things. Fun gathering runs for mats or just an in-game social/party.

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Bottom Line:
Become a guild players love to be in and they will have a better chance of staying. Disconnected or unhappy members seldom stay long - no matter what the “prizes” are.

Don’t give up on a guild too easily. Expect slow times and times where things go “not as planned”. Do your best and have patience in things.

How to get the word out:
1) “Advertise” via the Guild Recruitment channel and forums.
Do not spam.
2) Avoid planting “seeds”, false rumors and causing rifts between guilds/players. It’s just not cool.
3) Set a good example in your actions and interactions with others outside your guild.
4) Plan and have an event in-game. For RP servers, use general and/or have an In-character (IC) announcement in /say and/or /yell.

As always - respect the server/game rules vs /say and /yell and public channels.

Notes on Poaching:
Poaching is deliberately and aggressively trying to lure/recruit away someone or a group from a guild. it is labeled as bad form and rude in any game. Same goes with “luring” with epics/gear, rp, content progression, etc. “Stalking” them after they decline isn’t cool either. It’s about a thoughtful as blind guild invites when you were starting out not to mention irritating. ;(

Not only is the “merc” mindset that some guilds have can be “unethical” game-wise it really says alot about how they treat others and other guilds. Not to mention a hint of how they treat others in everyday life. It depends on the situation, intent and players involved - which there can be alot of gray area.

My advice would be to become a guild that some would consider.

If someone from another guild likes yours, they will come to you.

Good luck and Godspeed.

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