guild-leaders
Latest
BioWare goes bounty hunting for great guild leaders
Aboard the Empire's great warship BioWare Austin, the Star Wars: The Old Republic community team has put a bounty on passionate leaders for the first SWTOR Guild Summit on March 4th through 6th. The summit is designed to facilitate direct communication between guild leaders and the developers as well as provide a lucky few with an advance sneak peek at some upcoming features. The best thing about the summit is that any qualifying guild leader interested in helping to shape the game's future can apply to be a part of the summit. The official website has an application form up, although those who want to be considered for the summit need to fill it out by February 10th. BioWare stated that it has already invited some guilds and that the remainder of the summit will be invite-only due to the limited size of the event. It's important to note that while the event itself is free, attending leaders have to assume the responsibility for transportation, room, and board.
The Guild Counsel: Are guild leaders a health hazard?
Earlier this week, Massively reported on a poll conducted by Bigpoint concerning gamer stereotypes. The good news is that the results of the voluntary survey showed that gamers are not overweight shut-ins who live in their grandmother's basements. The bad news is that there's some skepticism on the validity of the results, since the poll was a voluntary survey and there's no way to prove that the participants were telling the truth. However, there have been a number of in-depth studies over the years that have shown some surprising trends in who exactly plays MMOs and more importantly what their behavior is like in game. For this week's Guild Counsel, we're going to take a closer look at MMO players and touch on the role that guild leaders might play in steering player behavior in-game.
The Daily Grind: Have you ever led a guild?
Guilds are a mainstay of the modern MMORPG. Even with the winds of change swinging the genre towards solo-friendly players, there still exists content that can only be tackled by well-organized groups. Apart from that, the social aspects of a band of regulars can't be overstated when it comes to enjoying everything that the massive genre has to offer. While all of us have no doubt been in a guild at some point during our MMO travels, rarer is the individual who takes it upon himself to sacrifice his own game time to provide enjoyable experiences for others. It can be a lonely, dirty job, but someone's got to do it, and today's Daily Grind is all about celebrating those someones. With a nod to the recently formed Massively Mob as well as our newest column focusing on guilds and guild-centric duties, we're curious to know how many guild leaders are in this morning's audience. Have you ever led a guild? If so, in what game? Is it still around? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
We Have a Tabard: Don't go away mad, just go away
Looking for a guild? Well, you can join ours! We have a tabard and everything! Check back every Friday for Amanda Dean talking about guilds and guild leadership in We Have a Tabard.The above video by Propostris and Gigi, while awesome, is not safe for work.As I've mentioned before, building a guild can be very challenging. Recruiting and retention efforts are critical. Sometimes you find members, however, that may seem to fit in, but in the end they do not. You must strike a balance between having enough guilides to get things done and a team that works well together. Your guild rules and personal interactions help determine which members are valuable members of the team and who needs a /gkick.I have found that having a lot of guild members is generally not better than having quality guild members. There are many ways in which guild members can not fit. Sometimes folks activity times do not mesh with the guild. It doesn't really do any good to have folks tagged up but stuck PUGging raids because they can't be there for raid times. This person may not need to be removed, but don't be surprised if he or she leaves to find a guild with raid times more suited to their play times.
You break it, you bought it
Larisa over at The Pink Pigtail Inn mused on an interesting question the other day: Should you pay for the wipes you cause? Her feeling is not only that you shouldn't, but that the mere fact of offering to pay is offensive to her, like offering hush-money or a bribe. Instead, she says, apologize quickly and confess what you did so that others can learn from your mistakes.I agree with the idea of the mistake-maker apologizing and confessing immediately. This technique also works in real life situations. (I wish it was heeded more often in politics, too.) Further, I vigorously disapprove of ham-fisted reactions from over-zealous raid leaders or guild leaders. Overreacting by /gkicking people (as one of the commenters related) in normal guilds is completely ridiculous. (If you joined a guild who wants to make world's firsts or server-firsts, then you know what you're getting into.) If you are the raid leader then you need to take responsibility for the team you put on the floor. In life, work, politics, and gaming, the buck stops with leadership. Leaders need to pick the right team and remind people who they know are not as experienced or strong in the particular raid situation about tactics, strategy, and common mistakes. Or else they need to chill the heck out. In fact, from a certain point of view, it's not the person who caused the wipe who should pay repair bills: it's the raid leader.Other commenters on Larisa's post offered different payment plan ideas. One suggested a tax on all the loot acquired in the raid. Another suggested that before the raid even begins, raiders should pay an ante to participate, thereby socializing the costs of what might happen. Of course, there is the ever-popular solution of letting the guild pay for repairs afterwards, too. But as another commenter pointed out, repair bills and buff flasks for a 25-man raid can run a guild nearly 400G per run. My feeling is that as long as everyone goes into the raid knowing those taxes are being imposed, it sounds like a fine idea. Or, realizing that mistakes are going to be made, even by the most experienced and savvy players, we could all act like we realize that raising gold is as much a part of the game as raiding, questing, or grinding, and suck up our own repair bills, regardless of who caused the wipe.[Via The Pink Pigtail Inn]
Harvard looks to MMOs for online leadership styles
While much has been said in recent weeks about raid leaders and whether the job necessitates being a jerk, nobody seems to dispute that the position engenders players with valuable leadership skills. In fact, according to a recent report by the Harvard Business Review, big companies may have a lot to learn from MMOs in terms of fostering leadership roles in a business world that is every bit as geographically decentralized as the roster from your typical raiding guild.But before you go and put your guild leadership experience on your resume, you might want to read the report in full. While they say that there are parallels between leadership in-game and leadership in a board room, the report focuses more on how the games themselves engender these leadership qualities, by creating an environment that fosters honesty, duplicity of leadership, non-monetary incentives, and transparency. It's interesting to think that games might actually change the way business works in the future, but we guess only time will tell if that proves prescient or not.[Via GamePolitics]
Guildwatch: Drama at the fishing tourney
Here on GW, we mostly focus on guild drama, obviously -- every week, we hear about GMs /gquitting with as little style as possible, ninjas cleaning out the guild bank, and friction between guild members. But guilds are really only a part of the ingame drama -- people can find silly things to fight about all over Azeroth. Think the fishing tournament is tame enough to avoid an argument? Think again.That story, and more, are in this week's GW, which you can read by clicking the link below. And don't forget to submit your own tips to us, whether they be drama, downed, or recrutiing news. Wowguildwatch@gmail.com is the address, and any tips you send to it will be much appreciated.
Guildwatch: Running a Karathon
Herewith, a quick guide to Guildwatch jargon you may not have heard yet:Loot Reaver: Void Reaver, so called because he's basically a loot pinata; hit him a few times until you get epics to drop.Karathon: Coined this week, it's when you finish Karazhan all in one night.Flawless Victory: Finishing a fight without any deaths (using Reincarnation or the Druid rez doesn't count)."On Notice": Meesa boss is gonna die? Yes. Yes he is.Got more insider guild jargon for us? If so, send them (and all your other guild news tips, anonymous as always) to wowguildwatch@gmail.com, and click the link below to see this week's Guildwatch, chock full of drama, downed, and recruiting news.
Officers' Quarters: An officer's guide to the /gquit
Every Monday Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership.Quitting a guild that you've been with for a long time is usually a difficult experience, but it's much worse if you happen to be an officer. An officer giving up and leaving can be one of the most demoralizing events that a guild must endure. In many cases, it sends a message to the members that the leadership is fractured or impotent, and it's only going to get worse. Hence, the opportunities for drama are legion. This week, one reader shares her experience and asks how you can quit as an officer without stirring up too much trouble.I read WoW Insider all the time, and never thought I'd actually send in anything, because I was so happy with my guild. We were a wonderful nice little social guild. We helped each other with instances, some of our higher up members (myself included) would run lower toons through instances when we weren't doing anything else. We were even starting to attempt to break into raiding. I was excited to say the least. I was an officer, and I loved my guild quite a bit. I still love the members. I think they're all very smart, wonderful players. We had a raid set up. Simple, practice raid. Nothing to fancy schmancy. Zul'Gurub. On a Monday we'd all gotten together, and decided that it would be Saturday at 1pm. We're all looking forward to it. We are all excited about it. Then Saturday comes.
Officers' Quarters: Two heads > one
Every Monday Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership.I sometimes envy those two-headed ogres. Imagine if you could fill out your tax forms and play Warcraft at the same time. Hmm, has anyone actually done that? This week's e-mail comes from a pair of players who want to start a guild as co-leaders. Can a guild survive with two GL's running the show?I have a question or two I'd like to ask you, oh great guild master guru. My friends (RL) are all going to reroll on another server because most of them are new, while I have two 70's already. My friends count a total of around 6, maybe a 7th if he decides to join us on retail instead of private servers. We will start a guild of course and one of my friends (who has a 70 already) and I will be the guild masters. I will be the raid leader and such and he will be the PvP leader. We came to this agreement mutually and have decided that we will be each other's counsel. A small system of checks and balances, if you will. Our main reason for choosing ourselves is because of our extensive experience and we get along together, not to mention work like a well-oiled machine in almost all situations. While this will be our first time actually leading the guild, we have both been officers in several different types of guilds and we have sort of an inkling as to what we need to do.My question is: Is this bipartisan (excuse the loose word usage) leadership a good idea? And could you give us some tips on starting/leading a guild? Just the vital things! :D
Taking a guild across games
Now, I've played a little Xbox with my WoW guildies, but when it comes to cross-game guilds, that's as far as my experience goes. I used to play in a guild in Dark Age of Camelot, but I can't remember their name, much less know if they ever brought their game over into World of Warcraft.But Guildcafe has an interview up with Lords of the Dead, and these guys define cross-game guilding. They've been around for 12 years, playing all the way back from Ultima Online up to WoW (and now they're making plans, apparently, for WAR.So how do you keep a guild together for 12 years? In the interview, they extol the virtues of "rules, policies and requirements," which makes sense-- you either follow the rules, or you're out of the guild before you can cause drama. In addition, LotD is able to build a strong guild leadership for every game they play-- a good leader will help any guild survive, and great leadership across games is how LotD did it. An interesting read for guild leaders and members alike-- have you been able to follow or lead a guild into or out of WoW?[ via Curse ]
