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The Guild Counsel: How guild meetings can help your guild
I know what you're thinking after reading the title of this week's column. Why in the world would anyone want to have a meeting in-game when many of us spend our days in meeting for our work? But holding a short guild meeting every so often can actually help curb guild drama, boost morale, and bring your guildmates closer together. The relatively short time spent bringing the guild together can pay off later on by reducing time spent on drama created by miscommunication, low morale, and frustration. In today's Guild Counsel, let's take a look at why you should consider holding a meeting and how that guild meeting can improve your guild overall.
The Daily Grind: Should achievements be broadcast to your guild?
Some games do it and some games don't. I'm talking here about broadcasting your achievements automatically to your entire guild. You slay that 500th dragon, ding level 30, or fall to your death for the 10th time, and your guild knows courtesy of the game client being a big gossip. "Hey, did you hear about Syp? Guys, he totally looted the Sacred Gem of Zazzanzorforr!" But is this a good thing or not? Personally, I like playing MMOs that auto-broadcast achievements because I like knowing what my guildies are up to. I see a lot of mutual encouragement going around due to these messages. However, I also know some folks see these notices as spammy, pointless, or annoying. Where do you lie on this issue? Should achievements be broadcast to your guild? 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!
The Guild Counsel: How to handle the horrors of conflict
With the arrival of Halloween, I'd like to revisit an all-too-common nightmare scenario: handling guild conflict. We've looked at how to treat complaints before, but what should you do when those complaints balloon into full-fledged clashes? Guild leaders dread dealing with conflicts, to the point that it deters many players from giving guild leadership a try. But even if strife is inevitable, it can be made less painful. Let's take a look at how to steer through the choppy waters in this week's Guild Counsel.
EverQuest Next may allow you to join multiple guilds
EverQuest Next's unique character structure is pushing SOE in the direction of allowing player characters to join more than one guild at a time. The community was nearly evenly split on the topic during the recent roundtable, with half loving the idea of one-guild-per-character, and the other half desiring a more... flexible arrangement. However, the studio saw a lot of discussion concerning creative ideas for connecting players with social groups. SOE is leaning toward allowing for multiple guild memberships because it anticipates that EverQuest Next's one-class-can-do-it-all flexibility will encourage players to reach out to several social circles. The following video posits situations like how a character may want to be in a social guild during the week but join a mass project guild for weekend work. Give it a watch and let us know what you think!
Looking for Guild: FFXIV and Fallen Earth
Did you miss us last week? Now that the submissions have slowed down quite a bit, we're switching to a biweekly schedule for the Looking for Guild column. So if you're on the fence about jumping in and joining up with a Massively player guild (or creating your own), now's the time! This week we have three Final Fantasy XIV players looking to join up with other like-minded adventurers and one from Fallen Earth who's tired of soloing the wasteland. You can catch the entire list after the jump.
The Guild Counsel: Low in levels? Join a guild!
Every single MMO player should be part of a guild. Yes, you too! Massively Shawn's recently launched Looking for Guild column has been well received and is bridging players with potential guilds. But one comment that pops up quite often is that players like the column but plan to wait and level up more before throwing their hats in the ring. Don't wait, and don't hesitate! It's never too soon to join a guild, and there are plenty of good reasons to jump in even if you aren't of the same level as everyone else. Let's look at a few in this week's Guild Counsel.
Path of Exile patches in guilds, classes, and balance changes for launch
It's not fair to call Path of Exile's pre-launch patch a kitchen sink patch; this is big enough to include the sink, dishwasher, fridge, and probably a good chunk of the dining room besides. It's a big patch, and when it goes fully live tomorrow, you'll have a chance to play around with the enormous list of features, starting with the addition of an entire system for guilds that didn't exist before. Yes, the patch includes a guild system. And that's not even the biggest part of the patch. It includes a new character class for players who have cleared the game on Normal difficulty, six new world areas, achievements, new skills, new items, and an assortment of balance tweaks and improvements. That's not even touching upon new challenge leagues and the like. The point is that even if you know the game inside and out, you might want to hop in tomorrow and try out the huge array of new options available to you because... really. There's lots of stuff here.
It came from the Blog: Join us for Candy Run 2013
Azeroth is celebrating Hallow's End, which means it's time for another It came from the Blog Candy Run. We won't get Deathwing to join us like he did two years ago, but there still should be plenty of fun without being roasted like a marshmallow. When: Friday, October 25 at 10:30 p.m. EDT (7:30 p.m. PDT, 11:30 p.m. server time) Where: Meet at Brill on Zangarmarsh (US-PvE-H) Who: Any level Horde character, though the more flightpaths you have, the better How: Ask Tizzi or any member of It came from the Blog for an invite, if you're not already in our family of guilds We'll be running around collecting candy from willing innkeepers for the first half of the event. Then we'll abandon the lowbies and continue via flightpaths in order to complete the continent. So bring your character with the most old world flightpaths if you want to participate in the entire event. Come and join us this Friday for some Candy Run fun! Please join us on Zangarmarsh (US-PvE-H) in It came from the Blog. All guild ranks can invite, so /whisper Tizzi or any online member. You are all welcome as long as you play by our simple rules -- basically, don't be a funsucker! Visit the guild FAQ for more details.
Tamriel Infinium: Selling your wares in The Elder Scrolls Online
When it comes to the economy of MMOs, I usually run the other way. I admit that I'm not an economist, nor would I consider myself a crafter by any stretch. But I'm not completely ignorant of how important in-game trading is for the overall health of an MMO. If the auction house or player stores are consistently stocked, then there is an organic element to the larger game. I find that exciting, and despite my aversion to crafting, I do enough material-gathering and playing the trading game to appreciate the finer details of a healthy, growing game economy. Until recently, we have heard only bits and pieces of how the Elder Scrolls Online economy will work. Developers claim to have a robust crafting system, and given the history of the single-player Elder Scrolls games, I can accept that. But how do I get my wares into the hands of other players? Gameplay Designer Nick Konkle spoke to Shoddy Cast about that very thing. Surprisingly, he revealed quite a bit, and although it's a very interesting listen, I don't think any MMO has tried anything like it. I'm scared and very intrigued.
The Guild Counsel: Is it time to shift your vision or just shut down?
A big part of running a successful guild is having a clear idea of what type of guild you want to have and knowing how to make that work. Everything revolves around your vision for the guild, from recruitment to scheduling events to guild rules and even the overall tone and atmosphere. But what happens if your guild philosophy ends up clashing with that of the bulk of your members? Massively reader Mbbrazen, who commented on a recent Guild Counsel article, illustrated the issue: The other issue I've seen, which is not specifically mentioned in the article, is what should the guild leader do when the people who originally joined the guild because they all had similar interests are gone (burned out, gone to other games, etc.) and the majority of the new people have more varied interests? Should the guild leader shut the guild down or adapt to the new membership? I actually think a guild I was in recently is dying a slow death because the leaders needed to decide to either shut it down or adapt to needs of the active membership. Thoughts? This is a tough situation but all too common. Let's take a look at some options in this week's Guild Counsel.
Looking for Guild: Even more FFXIV
If I was a betting man, I'd say that Final Fantasy XIV's relaunch is a success. Of course, I base this solely on the fact that so much positive feedback is coming out of players, which is certainly welcome after the game's initial launch. Here on LFG, we're also getting quite a few players looking to play with more people in the fantasy-based MMO. It's almost like some enterprising young guild leader could come by and swoop these folks up for a Massively reader guild of their own. Read on past the cut for this week's list (consisting entirely of FFXIV submissions) and don't forget to submit your own for next week!
The Guild Counsel: Speed up those slogging raids
If you ask guild members for their number one reason why they avoid making the leap from casual to a more focused, hardcore progression path, the answer would be time. Progress means raiding multiple nights for several hours, and that's time that many either don't have or aren't willing to give up. Ironically, one of the things that separates good raiding guilds from everyone else is their use of time. Cutting-edge gear and high DPS parses are fine, but even average guilds can progress quickly by making the best use of their time during the raid. And in addition, slow, monotonous raids suddenly feel vibrant and fun. Let's take a look at how to speed things up in this week's Guild Counsel.
Looking for Guild: More FFXIV, DCUO
It was another successful week in the land of LFG as we saw connections between guildies and guild leaders for Final Fantasy XIV, Guild Wars 2, and The Secret World. It was also great to see so many positive comments in last week's article! I do plan to revisit any uncontacted submissions in future round-ups, most likely based on particular games as themes. So, for example, I may have a Lord of the Rings Online week where I repost all LFG entries that didn't find a guild yet in that game. Does this week's list have who you're looking for? Read on past the jump to see who's looking for a guild.
The Guild Counsel: Why won't they listen to me?
One of the most common reasons for guild leaders walking][ away in frustration is because members won't listen to what they're saying. It can be extremely irritating, because you're overseeing dozens if not hundreds of players, and it can feel like herding cats to get everyone to behave and work together. So why won't members listen to the guild leader? And what can the leader do to get members to "respect his authoritah?" Let's take a look in this week's Guild Counsel.
Looking for Guild: Defiance, FFXIV, GW2, and more
Wow. When I first pitched the idea for this column, I figured we'd get a bit of interest, but I never imagined we'd get as swamped as we did. It seems that a lot of you out there are really in need of a good guild! For this first "real" week of the column, I'm going to go ahead and list every submission we received so far because I think everyone should get their info out there, and the sooner the better. If you're a guild leader and you find someone in this list who interests you, just send me an email showing that person's submission at shawn@massively.com with the subject line "LFM - (game name)" and I will pass along the contact info. And most importantly, if you find a guild or guildie through the column, let us know! And now, the list!
The Guild Counsel: You screwed up, now what?
When you're a guild leader, it can often feel like you're under the spotlight, and everything you do gets scrutinized by the guild. The leader is looked upon as the one to carve out a path, set goals, and figure out a way to get the guild to reach them. Every day, a guild leader has to make dozens of decisions, whether it's deciding who to invite, determining loot allocation, scheduling guild events, or making command decisions during a battle. No one is perfect, and it can be very hard to admit mistakes. If you're trying to build the trust of the guild, it might feel as if admitting a mistake will undermine your efforts or that the guild will lose faith in your leadership. So what should you do if you make the wrong call? Let's take a look in this week's Guild Counsel.
Looking for Guild: We want to help you find your next guild!
Do you ever find yourself standing alone in your favorite MMO, staring longingly at the group content that lies ahead? Has your guild abandoned you for the newest shiny MMO? Are you a guild leader looking to expand your ranks? Fret no more, fellow MMO fans, for we are starting up a brand-new column this week for those of you looking for a new guild or guildie. We'd like to think that Massively readers are a unique bunch and should all be playing these games together, so we're going to do what we can to help that along. While we've done similar community pushes in the past, we want to present this current column as a more personalized approach to finding a guild or guildie. Think of it as a personals ad for the guildless or under-guilded.
The Guild Counsel: Running an MMO guild on an empty server
Guilds and MMOs have a surprising number of things in common. They both want the game to succeed, they both want lots of players to be in game playing, they want people to be happy and having fun, and they both constantly struggle with attrition. That last one has been a particular problem for practically every MMO that's launched because after the first few months, populations begin to drop, sometimes dramatically. For MMOs that have multiple servers, this means some servers will begin to feel empty, and that can take a toll on the guilds that play there. When you're running a guild in a graveyard, it's harder to recruit, more difficult to find others to group and raid with, and harder to keep morale up. But is moving the guild really the best answer? Let's explore your options in this week's Guild Counsel.
The Guild Counsel: How to make PUG raids work
There's one thing every guild leader dreads: It's raid night and your guild is short on numbers. You could call it a night and postpone it, but that will mean a dip in morale and an increase in frustration within the guild. Too many postponed raids will eventually lead to an empty roster as people move on to other guilds. An alternative is to PUG it and advertise for more guests in general chat. The upside is that you'll be able to do the raid, but inviting in the unknown can bring plenty of new problems. Like the misfit toys above, there are plenty of players who have their own set of flaws and can make even the best-planned raids a true test of patience. Can a PUG raid work, or is it a recipe for disaster? Let's consider that question in this week's Guild Counsel.
The Guild Counsel: Building a roster from the ground up
When you're running a guild, it's essential to choose wisely when you're filling out your roster. Longtime guilds are successful at weathering the ups and downs of guild life because they've put together a team of like-minded people and have established a guild culture that suits everyone well. But it's hard to build a guild from the ground up, and it's no surprise that most new guilds don't last very long at all. Guild leaders need to grow their roster quickly because if there isn't enough manpower to take on guild goals, the few who have agreed to join will have second thoughts and end up leaving. How do you recruit quickly but avoid building a guild that's primed for drama? Let's take a look in this week's Guild Counsel.
