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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.
Officers' Quarters: Divided loyalties
Every Monday, Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership. He is the author of The Guild Leader's Handbook. When guilds shatter, everyone involved has tough decisions to make. This week, a raider is forced to choose between the raid team he loves and the friend who invited him to the guild. Just a few months ago, I decided to transfer my secondary character to alliance on my server, because the only friend I have left who plays had an active guild. I was hesitant to play alliance, but it has been working out fairly well so far. I originally wanted to join her raid team, but they couldn't fit me in. But I was approached by the leader of team two to join their team. I gladly accepted, and we dove headfirst into ToT. Well, last Friday, after we cleared four bosses in SoO, I had to run to bed. After I left, they made the choice to leave the guild. Every single one of them. Now, I don't know the details, save for there had been plenty of behind the scenes drama.
How to live happily ever after with a nongaming partner
So your beloved spouse doesn't play WoW. It happens. Sometimes you can tempt them into trying; an enjoyable duo is great for a relationship, after all. And if your spouse does decide to give the game a whirl, we can show you how to get off on the right foot. But sometimes, getting your partner to join you in WoW just isn't in the cards. And that's okay. You don't have to quit your hobby simply because your other half doesn't share your enthusiasm. You can play, and your partner can not play, and you can both be as happy together as two bugs in a rug. We'll show you how to keep grouping in Azeroth from ungrouping you in life.
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.
Officers' Quarters: No leader = no raid?
Every Monday, Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership. He is the author of The Guild Leader's Handbook. When your raid leader is absent, does your guild cancel the entire raid? This week, an officer is in a guild that does just that. Hi Scott, I've read a lot of your columns and I'm curious if you could offer some advise on how to suggest changes to a GM. Ok, I'm an officer in a guild that is focused on "casual progression" (if such a thing exists). We have regular raid times and dates that the whole guild is aware of, and use the calendar to build our raid groups. For some background, our GM is also our primary raid leader. When he is unavailable to raid, due to work or life, we typically don't raid. We have two tiers of guild officers, one to focus on class knowledge and guild activities, and the other who are raid leaders. The raid leader tier is short in number because some guild members don't want to lead raids and others because our GM doesn't feel they would be a good raid leader.
Drama Mamas: Progression vs. friends
Drama Mamas Lisa Poisso and Robin Torres are experienced gamers and real-life mamas -- and just as we don't want our precious babies to be the ones kicking and wailing on the floor of the checkout lane next to the candy, neither do we want you to become known as That Guy on your realm. I was going to embed this earworm because of this week's signature, but I just couldn't stomach it. I'm not a fan. So I've replaced it with a different earworm. Everybody clap and point now. Dear Drama Mamas: I am an officer and tank in a raiding guild with people I've known since mid Cataclysm. I took a break at the start of Mists due to getting a new job, and came back a couple of months ago to find the guild struggling on Horridon in 10N Throne of Thunder. I wasn't planning on returning to the game full-time and spent most of my time leveling and gearing an alt that I was using to fill a spare DPS slot when the guild needed me. I was eventually asked to come back as a full-time tank to help with progression, and since then we've slowly managed to clear normal T15, culminating in downing Lei Shen the first time a couple of weeks ago.
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.
Officers' Quarters: A sudden tyrant
Every Monday, Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership. He is the author of The Guild Leader's Handbook. People change. Their opinions and tastes evolve. Sometimes a guild that was right for you in the past is no longer what you want. That's all well and good, unless this person is the guild leader, and they are bringing the whole guild along for the ride. Hi Scott, I am writing because I really need your advice. I am at a point in my guild where I may have to leave and I do not want to. I have been in a guild for over a year and am now the co-gl. We recently server transferred from a low pop server to a high pop server. We have always been a casual 10 man/ social guild. We did pretty well during DS, but due to some ppl leaving the guild/ raid team we had to stop at the beginning of MOP. We could not recruit on the old server and transferred... And this is when the trouble started.
How to help a friend or family member join you in WoW
You love this game with a passion. We get that -- so do we. All too often, however, our best friends and significant others don't share that passion. They might not have a scrap of interest in playing any video game at all. But you want them to experience the World of Warcraft with you. We get that, too. Close relationships benefit from shared experiences and fun. You want your other half to at least bite off a taste of Azeroth and savor this feast that's captured you body and soul. How can you convince your partner, buddy, or significant other to give WoW a try? Warning: This question represents merely the tip of the iceberg. Brace for impact with the true issue: How can you help a non-playing friend or family member get into WoW in way that's enjoyable for both of you?
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.
Officers' Quarters: When to give up
Every Monday, Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership. He is the author of The Guild Leader's Handbook. Guilds are like a living body. A little blood loss now and then is alright, as long as you can replace it. But if you bleed members for too long, the wounds don't heal, the bleeding never stops, and eventually the body goes on life support. So it is with the unfortunate guild in this week's email: Hi Scott Firstly I'd like to thank you for your advise in Officers Quarters and your book. The Guild Leaders Handbook was invaluable when I was made GM. A bit of background of me and our guild. I joined this guild a few years ago as it suited my play style. We were only Raiding once or twice a week and getting through content nicely for a guild who's aim was just to see content. Over the years I made friendships with people in the guild and it's a great atmosphere to be in. I was made an officer and at this stage we had just enough active members to do 10mans once or twice a week. Some weeks we would have to pug 1 or 2 people. This is when we started to lose people. With a guild that has been around for 5 years this month is was to be expected that people would leave the game for various reasons. So I recruited more members to fill the gaps and a few more left the game. At this stage raids again were pug'd to fill the gaps. Newer members were leaving to other guild's due to not having a full raid team every week and more long term members left the game including the guild leader who passed the leadership to me.
Drama Mamas: The case of the auto-recruiting guild
Drama Mamas Lisa Poisso and Robin Torres are experienced gamers and real-life mamas -- and just as we don't want our precious babies to be the ones kicking and wailing on the floor of the checkout lane next to the candy, neither do we want you to become known as That Guy on your realm. Note: The above video has a little NSFW language. When the only criteria for becoming part of your guild is to press the Accept button, your guild is bound to have some issues. Dear Drama Mamas, I'm trying to grow our guild but nothing seems to work; I'm wondering if its me or its time to close up shop. Our guild (The Laundromat @ Shu'Halo) started 18 months ago and I tried to follow best practices for a new guild. I set up a website (laundromat.enjin.com), clearly written expectations, rank structure, a well stocked bank, set up 5-6 events a week in some cases, scavenger hunts, made trivia contests, created a welcome machinima, wrote 15 episodes of lore and more. In spite of all this, I can't seem to find people available or interested in participating. My question is -- what else can/should I do? Sit at the feet of a successful guild to observe, ask for criticism, rebrand and refocus, change servers or close down the guild and take up turnip farming? Respectfully, One Glum Goblin
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.
Bottom-line expectations for raiders in World of Warcraft
While the shape of raiding has changed drastically since World of Warcraft debuted in 2004, you'll still find that raiders in any raid group -- even other players in a Looking For Raid group -- expect a certain level of preparation, game knowledge, and social savoir faire from everyone participating. Players who trip blithely and cluelessly into the LFR or, worse, a raiding guild have no one but themselves to blame if the experience explodes in a messy, contentious drama bomb. But isn't there a place for new raiders? Isn't the LFR supposed to be a casual, drop-in experience? Absolutely -– but that doesn't mean you can expect to stroll in with zero preparation or forethought. A game that's been running for this many years develops a higher bar for entry-level expectations. It's OK to head into a raid with no raiding experience, but you may find yourself dropped or mocked if you blunder in completely unprepared. Comport yourself with aplomb with these bottom-line expectations for anyone who wants to raid in World of Warcraft.
Officers' Quarters: A runaway success
Every Monday, Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership. He is the author of The Guild Leader's Handbook. Many guilds struggle to find recruits. The guild in the email below is not one of them. In fact, if you're looking for someone to blame about your recruiting difficulties, you might want to look at these guys. With seven raid teams and chapters across multiple games, this guild leader's problem isn't too few players, but too many. Dear Scott! I am longtime WoW-player (since patch 2.4) and reader of WoW Insider. This site is my favorite place to read news and articles about a game. Most important is that audience of readers is quite nice and constructive. It is always nice to read. This is one of the reason, why I ask for advice here. Currently I am leader of WoW-wing in middle size MMO-community, there are 250+ members. Half of our members play Guild Wars 2, another half plays WoW. Now we experience some growth problem... Initially it was planned to create PvE-oriented guild with at two raid teams at the best. We were recruiting mostly via our blogs. First raid team managed to clear MSV in three weeks in February and started to progress further. More progress, more people came to us. We were not hardcore or even semi hardcore raiders. We raid two nights a week, six hours in total. It is quite casual from my point of view, but seemed like we attracted an attention. Number of members started to increase pretty fast. Before the end of the April we had four raid teams and plenty of socials, who did want to raid, but anyway had a good time in game.
The Guild Counsel: What's the worth of a website?
On the "to-do" checklist of practically every guild leader is setting up and maintaining a guild website. It's a central hub that serves as a source of news, a resource base, and a virtual locker room where members can bond with one another. But websites come with their fair share of drama and potential problems, and game changes through the years have put into question whether guild sites are still relevant. Have guilds outgrown guild sites? Let's look at whether they're worth it in this week's Guild Counsel.
Drama Mamas: The pre-patch blues
Drama Mamas Lisa Poisso and Robin Torres are experienced gamers and real-life mamas -- and just as we don't want our precious babies to be the ones kicking and wailing on the floor of the checkout lane next to the candy, neither do we want you to become known as That Guy on your realm. Sing it, Black Dog. Hey hey mamas got questions for you, gonna ask your advice 'bout my guild's mood. I'm co-leader with my stable GF of a small casual guild. We've got a small community of members, with most able to log in a couple times a week and a few who play daily. We have firm guild rules about verbal abuse and slurs, and quite honestly have never had drama of any sort. All of this sounds peachy-keen, except we seem to have, for lack of a better word, stagnated. Over the last fall, winter, and spring, our biggest challenges were getting members at all. We recruited a real-life friend who went through some real growth as a person and was made an officer a few months later. He helped us spur the guild's growth and now we've promoted another officer to handle our surging population, and we were making noises about a second raid group...at least, that was the situation a couple months ago.
The Guild Counsel: It's time to meet your fellow guildmates
While game conventions are usually focused on video games, panels, and really cool fan-made costumes, one of the best parts of going to a con is meeting up with fellow players. And for guilds, an opportunity to finally put face to names is a major moment. While players might shy away from guild meet-and-greets, it's actually a terrific opportunity to strengthen ties and cut down on the potential for drama in the long run. More importantly, it's an important step toward making gaming seem less "weird" and more like any other "normal" group activity or shared interest. In today's Guild Counsel, let's take a look at why guild members should come out from behind the computer screen and attend a guild meet-and-greet.
Officers' Quarters: Revisiting my Mists wish list
Every Monday, Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership. He is the author of The Guild Leader's Handbook. In January 2012, I wrote up a wish list of improvements to the guild experience that I wanted in Mists of Pandaria. We're at the point now in the expansion's life cycle where all major features have been revealed. The next big additions to WoW will come in patch 6.0. So let's look back at what we got in Mists and what we're still waiting for. Wish 1: Treat legendary items as guild rewards, not player rewards. Status: Granted, in a way In my original list, I wrote about the drama that legendaries created in guilds and wished for a way to reduce that drama. I suggested that a legendary item should be bound to the guild that helped a player to earn it, rather than the player. Instead, Blizzard took legendaries in a direction that no one expected: they created a quest line that anyone could complete. In doing so, they took away the drama factor. They released officers from the burden of deciding who would receive a legendary and who wouldn't. For most guilds, this has been a welcome change.
Drama Mamas: Protect the personal space in your marriage and your game
Ever get the feeling your in-game relationships are just a little too close for comfort? Hey ladies, This is one column I never thought I'd be writing in to, but I sense trouble brewing on the horizon and I'm not sure how to deal with it. I recently got married and love that my new husband also plays -- it was one of the draws when we first started dating. I rolled a toon on his server, and joined the guild that belongs to him, his brothers, and one of his male coworkers. I even moved over two of my max level toons, much to the devastation of my siblings, who play on my original server. The trouble has started with their little used Alliance guild. My hubby wants his Double Agent achievement, and I agreed to make a little alt to play with him even though I have mine already. The boys had their guild, though they all played Horde, and we joined it for the leveling boost. Where the Horde guild is GMed by one of my new brothers-in-law, the Alliance on is GMed by his coworker that I am not overly fond of, and right away there was trouble. The first problem came when we logged on and I discovered that my rank was Porn Star. This isn't appropriate, period, but my new husband is also a recovering porn addict (something this coworker knows) and it added a whole new level of uncomfortable to the situation. The coworker thought it was hilarious, and wouldn't change it for me until I got my hubby to step in.
