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The Guild Counsel: Filling gaps when guild members leave
Imagine a scenario where a baseball team is heading into a do-or-die game, and as the coach is making up his lineup, he hears that his best hitter decided to take a break and take up knitting. Or a business manager who is scheduling a crucial demo of his new product with investors, only to find out that his star performer just took a job with a rival company. The result would be nothing short of catastrophic. Just about every guild leader who's been around for any length of time has had to deal with sudden and unexpected gaps in the roster, and it usually comes at the worst time for the guild. While it can cause no end of stress for the leadership and become a potential guild breaker, it's actually a natural part of the game and of guild management. Let's take a look at the issue of filling gaps in this week's Guild Counsel.
Drama Mamas: Friends like these
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. When a couple makes a friend pick a side in an argument, it's not conducive to a good friendship. First of all, pardon my english and grammar, because it was never my first language. I need a help regarding my mistake. I always interested on WOW but i always quit playing when i reach the level cap but crawling back for the new expansion. But it was all changed when i met this couple that changed my gaming life entirely. They become my best friends, way better than my real life best friends. They care about me, every time i log in they always greed me, and we even share our secrets. But during the last patch of cataclysm, these couple got engage. Im so happy for them, but they started to argue with each other and asking me to take a side, which is very uncomfortable for me because i love them both.
Officers' Quarters: Last man standing
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. Guild leadership is a tenuous social construct. It's all volunteer. It's based purely on someone's commitment to a community of people, most of whom they have never actually "met." It's based on their continued enjoyment of a single game, over months and years. When you look at it that way, it's amazing how stable and long-lasting some guilds can be, thanks to dedicated and enthusiastic leaders. This week's email, unfortunately, is about a guild in a different situation. It's from an officer who, after a series of mishaps and disappearances, is the last leader left. Hi Scott, First off, let me say that I'm a huge fan of your column, it's helped me out a lot in the past. I'm currently one of 3 officers in a midsize guild. My guild has recently been hit by a perfect storm of bad events over the summer. The guild's raid team has seen moderate success since the end of Cataclysm, enough to keep 8 people interested in raiding. However, we haven't been able to fill a raid team since Mists of Pandaria launched. I'm the PvP officer for the guild, but our Guild Master put a horrible new rule in place (disallowing any kind of guild events on Raid Nights) in January that send our entire PvP team off to another guild. Ever since then I haven't been able to recruit and gear enough people to make a full team. All of the issues started at the beginning of June, when our Guild Master started logging on less and less. He'd only log on for raids, but after a few weeks, he stopped logging on at all. In addition to that, one of our 3 officers stopped logging into WoW completely in mid-June. My colleague and I just kept trying to drive up guild activity with events, gearing nights, and raids, just trying to keep the raid team afloat.
The Guild Counsel: EQ Next, guilds, and you
Once again, SOE Live has come to a close, but with all the news about EverQuest Next, there are several questions left unanswered, particularly when it comes to the social side of gameplay. Each week here, we look at questions related to guild leadership, but over the years, the design process of MMOs has had as much a role as anything in how guild leaders make management decisions. It's been less than a week since we first saw the EQ Next reveal, and there are already many guilds mobilizing and preparing for their first adventures together in game. So let's look at a few of the questions related to guilds and the social side of EverQuest Next in this week's Guild Counsel.
The Drama Mamas guide to finding gaming buddies
A gaming buddy isn't quite the same thing as a guildmate. A gaming buddy is quite often also a guildie, but your guildmates aren't necessarily your gaming buddies. Your gaming buddies are people who play with you more often than not. They're your partners in crime, the homies you hang out with in Azeroth whether they're covering your back through your first LFR or filling your chat box during a night of pre-alchemy herbalizing. But just as when you were trying to break into the social scene during your school days, you might feel a bit of an outsider when it comes to connecting with simpatico players in WoW. For many players, there's only so long you can happily play on your own; Azeroth is a large, lonely land when you wish you had someone to share it with. While joining a friendly guild can often be a great way to meet people, simply coexisting in an online space with a common chat channel somewhere on your screen won't build the kind of friendships you're hungry for. Let the Drama Mamas show you a few tricks of the trade for finding players you might click with on a more personal basis.
The Guild Counsel: How EverQuest influenced guild management and why it's time for change
Today marks the start of SOE Live, and many MMO fans are eagerly awaiting the big reveal of EQ Next. But as we look forward to the newest title in the EQ franchise, it's worth taking time to look back at the beginning of EverQuest, particularly when it comes to guilds and guild management. In the early days of the game, there was practically nothing for budding guild leaders to consult for advice, so guild management practices were largely driven by trial and error as well as the challenges of the game (and there certainly were some challenges!). Over the years, MMOs have introduced some major design changes, but guilds still tend to look the same as they did over a decade ago. As we approach the reveal of EQ Next, let's look back at guild life in EQ and why it might be time to rethink commonly accepted practices in guild management.
Drama Mamas: Too young to be taken seriously
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. If Maru were in a class, he'd be the class clown -- just like this week's letter writer. Hello, Drama Mommas. I'm currently sixteen and I've been raiding hardcore since patch 3.3, so about four years now, and I didn't typo there. I've been raiding since I was twelve. Normally I wouldn't include this information, but its important to the subject. Well, about a year and a half ago I joined a brand new top ten on realm raiding guild, and loved it. I've had so much fun and I've been included into the guild 'family' Unfortunately, my spot in that family is of the Little Brother, and its not awesome.
The Guild Counsel: How to share power (and live to talk about it)
Many guilds rely on a set structure of leadership, with a chain of command composed of officers and a guild leader at the top. But it's no easy task for one person to handle all of the responsibilities of management, and sometimes, a guild will instead use a system of co-leadership to make things work. It's a delicate balance, but having more than one person as a leader can be an effective way of running a successful guild. Let's look at what enables this unorthodox leadership structure to work well in this week's Guild Counsel.
The Drama Mamas guide to getting your groove back
Losing your confidence stinks. Still, in a game like WoW where your character must work cooperatively with so many others, there are times the issue is to be expected. Most players feel a bit apprehensive when getting back into content they haven't played with in a while. You feel rusty, and you're anxious about making an obvious gaffe and letting down the group, embarrassing yourself, or provoking some jerk into whining about your performance in chat. The advent of proving grounds makes simple business of knocking the rust off. Just head into your own private scenario and experiment, fiddle, and wipe to your heart's content. Nobody has to see how many times you've flopped but you. But what if the problem's not you? What if you've simply been shaken by too many encounters with trollish players who tear others down in order to build themselves up? What if you find yourself trapped in the ugly atmosphere that makes grouping a hellish prospect for anyone who's been dragged through the dirt one too many times?
The Guild Counsel: Making sense of the guild bank
Guilds face big challenges each week from tough bosses, heavy competition from other guilds, and even internal strife. But there's one thing that can pose an even greater challenge: managing the guild bank. More and more MMOs are including central guild storage that members can access, but it can quickly get out of hand if not managed well. A guild bank might seem fairly innocuous, but there are some potential problems to watch out for and some things that make it easier to get all those resources and items into the hands of those who need them. Let's look at some ways to keep the guild bank running smoothly in this week's Guild Counsel.
Drama Mamas: Games vs. relationship
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. When leisure activities take priority over responsibilities and relationships, bad things happen. In this week's case, the leisure activities in question are MMOs. Hello, I've read your article about Love, marriage and WoW. Unfortunately, I am in a situation that looks alike. My fiancé and I have been together for 5 years and we've gone through a lot, but we still have issues because of his gaming habits. We both are gamers and it is our main activity, but we don't really play together, which is alright at some point. I mostly play console games and he's into pc games such as Mmos or online games on Steam. I tried to play with him at some point, but it never lasts.
The Guild Counsel: The guild leader's gone - now what?
Every guild needs a good leadership structure in order to succeed, and much of it revolves around the guild leader. The leader helps establish the vision, tone, and atmosphere for the guild, screens potential members, and establishes goals for the guild to work toward. But there is a growing number of in-game powers that a leader has as well, making it even more important for him to be online and active. So when a guild leader suddenly becomes inactive, the guild comes to a virtual halt, and it can lead to a guild's downfall. And unlike most other guild problems, this one can't always be solved internally. Let's look at the issue of MIA guild leaders and why studios should sit up and take notice.
Officers' Quarters: Expansion team
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. Here at the OQ we've heard from a lot of guilds who are being massacred by normal mode Throne of Thunder. This week it's refreshing to hear from a guild that has found unexpected success in Tier 15. They're now weighing a second raid team, but the raid leader has doubts about this expansion. Hello Scott, I'm the raid leader of a casual, family centered guild. We have always been on the lower end of the raiding curve, clearing raids only after they have become old content. However most recently we have been progressing remarkably well during Mists. For the first time our guild has attempted the raid while still current. While only going 3/12 in Throne of Thunder is nothing to the guilds who are now farming heroic Ra-Den, it has greatly lifted the spirits of our guild and it's members; so much so that there is now talk of forming a second raid team.
The Drama Mamas guide to basic WoW etiquette
Joke as we might about rude, trollish behavior in game, that sort of thing doesn't really represent WoW's gaming culture. Our community of MMO players is kinder and gentler than the seething horror of console FPS titles. The truth is that when WoW players are rude, it's most often completely inadvertent and based on their newness to WoW and the MMO subculture. Especially if this is their first MMO, they might only be dimly aware of the concerns of the other players around them and of how and when it's appropriate (or inappropriate) to open the channels of interpersonal communication. Ever have that uncomfortable feeling your groupmates consider your matter-of-fact approach too abrupt? Or perhaps you've wondered if other players view your friendly chatter as nammering instead. What are all these people expecting from you, anyway? Your mother was right -– manners are grease in the wheels of the social machine. Let's get this thing off to a smooth start, shall we?
The Guild Counsel: Finding common ground in guild management
Trying to describe a guild is like trying to describe a chimera. Sure, a chimera is an animal, but it's got the heads of a goat and lion and a snake for a tail. Add in the ability to breathe fire, and you have the ultimate mish-mosh of fauna. Guilds are no different. On the surface, all guilds are a network of players, but there are as many different sizes and types of guilds as you can imagine. Given that fact, I sometimes feel it's an impossible task to write a column about guilds and have it resonate with everyone. And last week, Massively reader Justin brought up that very subject. Is there common ground when it comes to lessons of guild management?
Officers' Quarters: State secrets
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. Privacy and information security has never been a more relevant topic than right now. With the revelation that the U.S. and British governments have been engaged in unprecedented worldwide surveillance of our Internet communications and phone calls, the threat to our privacy is very real. As an officer, you are on both sides of such situations. It's up to you what information to collect about your members and about other guilds. It's also up to you what to keep to yourself, what to share with your guildmates, and what to share with the world. Let's look at some of the privacy issues that officers must face.
Drama Mamas: Guild to guild harassment
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. We've seen a lot of drama pass through these pages, but funsuckers can always surprise me with new methods of drama-mongering. Dear Drama Mamas, I come to you with a problem that at first seemed simple enough to fix but has proved to be a royal pain that not even Blizzard will address for me. Recently I was told by several people in my guild that they were being whispered in game by a people all from one set guild asking them if they were happy with their guild. Now normally this isn't a problem, I know people often do this to find new people but it quickly became a problem when after the said people continued to whisper the people in my guild over and over, even changing to a different toon to repeat the process.
The Guild Counsel: Three problem players and how to handle them
Guild drama is something that can bring headaches to a guild leader. When you have dozens of players with a variety of personalities under the same virtual roof, there are bound to be some conflicts. On top of that, players don't have the benefit of being face to face, so there's room for misinterpretations and mixed signals. While it's practically impossible to avoid all guild drama, there are a few player types that are pose a bigger threat to a guild's happy atmosphere. In today's Guild Counsel, let's look at three player types to watch out for and consider a few ways to keep them, and the guild, happy together.
The Drama Mamas guide to communicating with others
The heart of a rich, long-lasting MMO isn't actually the gameplay itself. No, the heart of an MMO is its community. World of Warcraft wouldn't be World of Warcraft without the crazy quilt of personalities –- guildmates, real-life friends, family members, acquaintances met in game, passing strangers in public chat channels -– that keep Azeroth breathing and bright. Successful participation in this community depends upon one single thing: communication. What's the expected behavior in a public chat channel? Is that different in guild chat? Are you so curt with other players you seem unwilling to cooperate during group events? Can you efficiently and effectively coordinate a group or raid encounter? Much of MMO socializing comes down to simple good manners, but new players can find themselves stumped by gaming lingo or stymied by unspoken social expectations and commonly understood conventions of group behavior. Need a refresher course? Let's talk.
Officers' Quarters: One realm's solution to low population
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. Low population realms have been a problem in WoW as far back as 2007 and they continue to be. Blizzard has opted not to merge realms like other aging MMO's have done. For a long time, players asked for these mergers. They've watched their already low-pop realms bleed more players because of the population problem, making the issue worse and worse. Recently, Blizzard unveiled their solution this ongoing issue: virtual realms. Potentially slated to arrive in patch 5.4, virtual realms could be the answer that we've been waiting for. In the meantime, however, one low-pop realm has taken matters into their own hands by organizing their guilds and creating a better experience. They call it the Kargath Guild Council on Kargath-US. I had the pleasure of interviewing two of the minds behind the KGC -- Battlevixen, officer of Bloodsworn, and Merciful, guild leader of The Iron Fist -- about why they founded the council and the challenges they've faced along the way. What was your realm like prior to the formation of the KGC? Battlevixen: Prior to KGC, Kargath suffered from attendance issues that did not allow a lot of guilds and groups to raid. We had a lot of smaller guilds/groups that could not fill a 10man roster. Very few players were able to even pug because of this. There was also almost no communication between all the various guilds. Each guild kept to themselves for the most part. Merciful: In addition to people who just stopped playing WoW, we were losing good players to other realms. The notion is that Kargath is a dying realm, and once that takes root in people's minds, they self-select themselves off the realm.
