guild-mergers
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The Guild Counsel: Is it time to merge?
One issue that every guild leader needs to face at some point is whether to consider merging with another guild. There are times when even the busiest recruiting guilds have a hard time fleshing out a roster that can achieve in-game goals. As a result, they turn to other guilds for outside help. But merging with another guild brings up a whole new set of issues and pitfalls, and if not handled well, it can lead to drama on a scale never before seen. In this week's Guild Counsel, we'll take a look at the issue of joining forces with other guilds and discuss some ways to make it work. No, really, it can work! Don't run away!
Officers' Quarters: The perils of guild mergers
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, available now from No Starch Press. With many guilds struggling to keep viable rosters, officers are left with few solutions. The first is of course recruiting players. However, finding those quality members can be a long, difficult road, fraught with setbacks and frustration. For some guilds, a better option can be forming an alliance or outright merging with another like-minded community. This week, one officer wants to know how to manage it -- and how to keep a few negative nancies from spoiling the endeavor. Another similar guild on the server is about to merge into our guild. [. . .]Short background: both guilds have two 10 man teams: A progression and casual/alt team. We're going to keep the same teams intact for the most part (with minor shuffling for integration) [. . .]. Moreover, the alt/casual C Team will have a bigger pool to draw from for the easy/entry level stuff. Officer structure will largely stay the same – we have a GM, raid leader & heal officer (me) / they have mostly the same but with an extra pair of officers. So, aside from those details we grouped the officers from both sides into Vent last night and had a chat about the above and general future. Personally, I'm excited. I think new blood will refresh the guild and the personalities are already so similar that I don't foresee any problems. That was until we hit our guild forums.
Breakfast Topic: It's not us, it's you
This Breakfast Topic has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW.com. My guild had a pretty big blowup recently. After trying for months and months to fill a 25-man core with the people on our backwater server, it became clear that all the talent was either unreliable, taken or unable to make our raid times. We were left with recruiting people from other servers and the opposite faction. Eventually, we picked up a couple of guys who were leaving their current guild, which had stalled in progression and was dying off. They were good, too. Very, very good. Pretty soon, they had recommended that a few of their friends transfer over to join us. Then a few more, then more. Before we knew it, almost a third of our 25-man raid was made up of this little circle of friends. Then the drama started. As the stress of focused 25-man progression started to build up, so did the insults in Vent, the backstabbing and the painfully obvious divide splitting our guild in two. Officers were flooded every day with whispers about who said what, who should be raiding and who shouldn't, who "stole the healer" from what 10-man team ... It was ugly. Long-standing members started "taking time off," the GM stepped down and transferred away, a couple of officers quit the game entirely and the whole thing culminated into a night of finger pointing, insult throwing and /gkicks. When the dust settled, we had 10 to 15 people left in our 25-man progression guild. The guild, for all practical purposes, was dead. The only thing left for us was to transfer off and rebuild on another server.
Return of the weasel: Guild selection, Part 1
It has been brought to my attention that the quality of my writing improves enormously after humiliating BG defeats, so on your behalf, dear readers, I went out and lost three Alterac Valleys in a row. My future on this website may very well depend on my battlegroup's Horde PuG's continuing to suck. Lifetime employment isn't only for the Japanese, it would seem./frownToday we will discuss a matter of more general concern -- namely, making sure you are invited to a decent guild. Here at WoW Insider we run a question and tip line that is deluged with queries from readers hopeful that we can restore their lost accounts or change their passwords. After explaining to them that we don't actually have anything to do with how the game is run, they leave in a snit over Blizzard's poor customer service and write annoyed threads on the forums, which we then link to in order to have something to write about on slow news days ("Breakfast Topic: Does Blizzard's customer service blow or what?"). This is an excellent system and we are happy with it, but on occasion, actual questions sneak through:Dear Weasel Girl,I read your article on PvP and decided to put your ideas to the test. Boy, was I surprised! Not only did my arena rating drop by less than ever, but I also got two more pieces of Season 1 by making myself a barnacle on the arse of a S3 hunter! Also my postnasal drip went away!But all is not well! I have been kicked out of nine guilds and am trying to find another one. I was wondering if you had any tips on finding a good guild. Especially one with lots of girls or a casual attitude to withdrawals from the guild bank.Yr. most obedient and humble servant,PwnsyooWell, sir, this is a serious question -- and not just for you, but for the rest of us as well.
To Merge, Or Not To Merge?
I have never been a part of a successful guild merger. I have been involved in three, and in each case the downfall of the guild has been imminent. Why is it that when two (or more) groups try to combine their resources and members, they fail most of the time? 1. A guild merger is often a symptom of deeper problems within one or both of the guilds. Guilds with no problems a far less likely to be interested in mergers than those with lots of discontent among their members. 2. Officers don't like to give up respect and privilege. Guild officers earn respect from members. That’s why they are officers. In a guild merger, some officers are bound to get demoted, and those who aren’t have to earn the respect of a whole new group of members. That inevitably leads to friction within the larger group. 3. Play styles and rules are bound to be different. Loot rules…the bane of a guild’s serenity. Even if members aren’t thrilled with the loot rules that a guild uses, they learn to deal with them. If a new group comes in and has a different way of determining looting, who gets to lead and go on raids, or the way that promotion within the guild structure is handled, it leads to accusations of favoritism. conclusions after the jump.
