guild-ranks
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Officers' Quarters: Defeating the needies
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. We've all been there. You invite new people to your guild. They seem like they'll be a great addition to the roster. They ask for help and you gladly offer it. They ask for more and you give more. Then they promptly ride off into the sunset. This week, an officer wants to know how to avoid being the victim of these players. Hi Scott We're a friendly, mainly social guild with helpful officers and roster. We occassionaly meet some seemingly cool, nice people that I or the officers warm up to immediately, chatting in vent, etc. They might jump right in to be active in guild chat, and otherwise give every indication that they are mature, responsible and ethical. Every now and then I guess I'm too trusting, and extend help to some of these people in the form of time, guild bank items, and even gold, and then I log in and see they've left the guild without so much as a thank you. Mind you, some of these people have accepted some rather expensive help from us. So I've decided that no matter how nice you seem, or how much any of us may like you or know you, you will have to have been in the guild a certain amount of time before getting any bank items or money, etc. say, over a certain value maybe. I'm just not sure what the specifics on this rule should be, or what else we should do to protect ourselves from these kinds of people. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks, pj
Officers' Quarters: 7 tips for becoming an officer
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. So you've been reading Officers' Quarters for years and you're curious about this whole leadership thing, but you don't know how to go about getting the attention of the existing officers. This week, a player follows up on a previous OQ column to ask how she can get promoted. I've got seven pieces of advice for her, but first, the email: Hey there Scott! Awhile ago, I wrote you about starting my own guild with a few family members, and you advised me to stay in my current guild and work my way up to officer. After reading your advice, I have a few follow-up questions. My main concern is how to go about becoming an officer. I don't want to necessarily just blurt out "hey, I wanna be an officer", because if I were the GL, I'd think that the person who said that was demanding the position. However, if I don't say anything, how will the GL know I'm interested? Like I said, I know I'm not owed anything. I really love the guild I'm in and have lots of ways I'd like to see the guild improve. Any advice you can give would be great. Thanks, Guilded Warrior
Officers' Quarters: When the old guard returns
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. Officers come and go. Real life intervenes, burnout sets in, interest wanes -- these things happen, and officers disappear for months or even years. But sometimes they come back. This week, one officer asks, what then? Hi Scott, I'm officer and raid leader of an intense 2/week 10-man raiding guild that's been running in one shape or another since TBC. Due to some old timers coming back we're now in a situation where our raid consists of 50% officers – and only 3 of them by function. We've always steered closer to adhocracy than bureaucracy, so the title is secondary to most of us – my main concern is that so much communication is now happening within the officer-circle that we're alienating our crucial core raiders for no apparent reason.
Officers' Quarters: Classic blunders
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. Last week, we heard about an incident where a player received a rather hostile in-game mail from an officer after missing a raid following the death of a relative. The issue stemmed from a lack of communication among the guild's officers. Along that theme, this week's email describes a case where lack of communication -- and some other classic blunders -- escalated into a full-blown drama bomb. Hey Scott, So I'm an Officer in a medium sized guild. Our main focus is to simply have fun, help each other out, PVP, raid, and everything else in between. I've only recently become an Officer for our guild as decided by other Officers and the Guild Leader. About a month ago we got a new recruit. Let's call him Jack. Jack is a personal friend of our guild leader which we thought was awesome. Having at least one person you know in the guild personally has always helped us stay grounded in and out of the game. My girlfriend is a recruit in the guild and one of my best friends is one of the Officers. So about a week ago, I logged in to see that Jack had mysteriously been ranked up to Officer rank as well. This confused me. I had been in the guild for almost a year before I was even considered for a role of responsibility. I pulled out my phone and texted my Officer buddy, let's call him Bob, to come over. I explained to him that I didn't think it was very fair that Jack got to be an Officer when everyone else had to work their way up in the guild. To my surprise, Bob had no idea about Jack's promotion. There are only 3 people in our guild that can even rank someone up to Officer and that's our GL, Bob, and another high ranking Officer. Bob proceeded to contact our GL and found out that she had promoted Jack without consulting any of her officers first. Now Bob was pissed.
The Daily Grind: Which MMO supports guilds the best?
In my opinion, guilds are the backbone of the social component of MMOs. Without them, games might as well be flopping on the ground, unable to move and in severe pain. Ever since MMOs first came on the scene -- and even before -- players have naturally gravitated to guilds as part of their gaming experience. At Massively, we love guilds so much we dedicate a weekly column to exploring their intricacies. Unfortunately, not all MMOs treat guilds the same; some receive a huge amount of support from the dev team, while others are given a skeleton framework and told to buzz off. Not every game has guild housing, guild ranks, in-game calendars, shared storage, perks, and other means of structure and support. If one were to consider all of the features that help guilds form, grow, and function, what MMO would top the list? Which game treats its guilds as members of royalty instead as sewer-digging peasants? 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!
Officers' Quarters: Suffocating in a leadership vacuum
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. A few months ago, I wrote a column about replacing a guild leader who disappeared without naming a successor. This week, the problem is slightly different: The guild leader named a successor who turned out to be a poor replacement, and the remaining officers have all but disappeared. In light of this leadership vacuum, a member of the guild wonders whether he should step up and bluntly ask for the top rank. Hello Scott, For close to a year now I've been part of a large social/raiding guild with a very healthy and active player base. In WotLK everything was fine, raiding went great and the guild chat was always full with friendly players so basically the guild was at its best and a great home for everyone. Probably this was very much thanks to the capabilities of our guild leader ... She was liked by many and formed the heart of our guild easily. One day I logged in to hear from some officers that the guild leader was going on a long break to sort out real life issues. Only a few people knew how long this would take and they refused to share this information with the rest of us to respect her privacy. Before she left, one officer was appointed to lead the guild in the meanwhile. Problem was that this was a very unreliable player (he used to disappear for months without notice because he suddenly grew bored of the game) and before he hadn't been an officer and was only given the role because he was the only one to volunteer.
The Guild Counsel: Power Couples
Last week, in honor of Valentine's Day, The Guild Counsel took a look at the challenges and uniqueness of online relationships in MMOs and the role guilds have (and don't have) in the equation. It might seem a little strange to some, but there are many who can vouch for the fact that these relationships are indeed strong and can turn into successful marriages. Thanks to those who shared their stories! This week, we're shifting gears a bit to look at spouses in guilds. Whether they met online or not, married couples can affect a guild differently from individual members. And when one spouse is in a position of power, things can get even more complicated. Read on for a look at how to avoid having the MMO version of Heidi and Spencer in your guild.
The Guild Counsel: Let's take a power trip!
Ah, ranks! There's nothing like the highly structured, caste-like system of guild ranks. Even when ranks aren't a feature in the game, guilds will still sort their members into tidy ranks, like member, alt, officer, and the all-important Guild Leader (with a capital G!). A metagame ensues, and it often resembles an episode of My Super Sweet 16, with everyone elbowing in to curry favor and receive his gilded stamp of approval. But what exactly do those guild ranks mean, and why are they so important to people? Let's take a look at ranks and see why they actually can be important (but not the way most view them).
Status update on current patch 4.0.1 issues
Vrakthris (Blizzard customer service representative) posted a list of major issues people are coming across in patch 4.0.1, along with updates and expected timetables on when some of them will be resolved. If you're having issues with any of the following topics, read on to find out what is currently being done about the situation. Master riding Missing enchantments Insect Swarm Guild issues with authenticator Warlock pets renamed Missing characters Item durability standardization Removed from battleground
Patch 4.0.1 adds new guild UI features
Blizzard has graciously provided a primer on how the guild UI has changed with the advent of patch 4.0.1. We've got the TL;DR for you below, and the full blue post is after the break. You can now view the profession recipes possessed by all guild members, and they're both searchable and sortable. Guild news such as achievements earned, epics found or items crafted is now published in the guild news feed. Guild events can be scheduled through the UI now, much like normal events. The UI for guild ranks and permissions has been streamlined and improved. You can now make certain guild ranks require a Battle.net authenticator!
Officers' Quarters: March of the freeloaders, part 2
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 from No Starch Press. Last week, I discussed how players interested in Cataclysm's guild perks can get into guilds without becoming "freeloaders." Today, I'll look at the issue from an officer's perspective. I'll examine the drawbacks of having freeloaders in your guild, steps you can take to filter them and methods for dealing with them if they make it past those filters. What do I mean by a freeloader? A freeloader is a player who is in your guild purely out of self-interest, who has no desire to contribute to the guild in any way. In short, a freeloader is there only for your precious, precious perks. Are freeloaders a problem? A few freeloaders on your roster won't be a major issue, in most cases. You can simply hope that they'll keep to themselves and won't actively cause problems. They may even chip in some guild experience when they have an active day. Small guilds may actually decide to seek out such players to help them level up faster. I don't recommend it, but you will level faster with more players, up to a point. Larger guilds won't benefit much from inviting freeloaders. You'll get all the experience you need from the players you trust, so there's no real advantage (aside from a little extra cash) to inviting more players. In fact, doing so carries a bevy of risks.
Officers' Quarters: March of the freeloaders
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 from No Starch Press. Guild perks are coming, and with them a big change in the way guilds are perceived. In the past, some players shunned guilds for one reason or another. Maybe they didn't want to bother with the social aspect of the game. Maybe they had a bad experience with a guild and never had the urge to find a new one. Maybe, like the writer of this week's email, they felt like they wouldn't be able to contribute enough. Hi, I wanted to suggest a topic or at least get your opinion on something. It seems like the guild rewards in Cataclysm are pretty much irresistible. Even though I'm a long-time guildless player (because of my completely unpredictable playtime, my last attempt at being a guildie was in Asheron's Call 2, if that means anything to you ...). I'm going to be looking for a guild to join because I want to have a shot at some of that good stuff.
Officers' Quarters: Friends in high places
Every Monday Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership.Here's another /facepalm situation to complement the one I wrote about last week. What's the first thing you would do if you were suddenly appointed the leader of your guild? Would you talk to members about the direction they'd like you to take the guild? Maybe smooth things over with the other officers who might be a little stung that they weren't chosen to take over? This week's e-mail comes from a raid leader in a guild whose new GL took an entirely different path. Hello there. I wanted to share some issues I'm having with my current guild. You see, I happen to be the paladin Class Master, and one of the raid leaders of an originally casual guild that got some interest into raiding. However, problems started about 2 weeks ago, when our Guild Leader decided to quit the game, due to RL reasons. Since then, one of the other officers took over, being designated by the old GL before he left. The thing is . . . the recruitment policy changed from, you know, applying, getting our "probation" status for a week or so to see how the initiate liked the guild and vice versa, to "Hey, let´s get some of my friends in! They have already cleared Naxx!" (As if it was something like "WOO they beat Sunwell before 3.0!") And not only did they get invited, but also promoted to raider/officer status right away . . . That ticked me off . . .
Officers' Quarters: /facepalm
Every Monday Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership.Sometimes I get an e-mail describing to me a guild leader who fails for so many reasons that I am simply at a loss for words. However, words are all I have to work with here, along with my trusty Picard ASCII (courtesy of Blizzard poster Datth), so I will do my best. I warn you that this e-mail is a very long read. But those of you who want some insight into exactly what not to do as a guild leader, read on! Dear Scott, Around May the more progression-ready members of my casual guild started filling in spots for an established raiding guild doing 10man content with promises of moving to 25man content fairly quickly in order to see the BC raid instances pre-WotLK. One thing led to the other and I ended up gutting my guild of those more dedicated members and all of us joining up with the raiding guild which seems to be usually how these things go. What I ended up discovering is the guild I joined into had been much bigger and more organized at one time but was in its last throes and the person who brought the two guilds together was given the GM role in order to facilitate his, and others, dreams of 25man content. Long story short the raid guild had long since mastered Kara, but always struggled on ZA, and had only barely glimpsed the insides of the 25man instances.
Officers' Quarters: Rank and file
Every Monday Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership. Greetings, fellow officers! This week's question concerns guild ranks -- a topic that will see increasing relevance as Blizzard rolls out the new guild bank system in patch 2.3. Hi Scott,I'm the GL of a largish casual adult guild that is growing fairly rapidly. I inherited the GL role 10 months or so ago, and we've enjoyed a great deal of stability ever since thanks to a close, friendly atmosphere, lots of support from higher members, strong but fair decision making on everyone's part, etc. However, I also inherited a bunch of officers. The previous GL made pretty much anyone an officer who wanted to be, without clear roles or responsibilities. This hasn't been too bad up to now, but the lack of organization is starting to strain a bit as we grow in size and start to raid. It seems like a good time to revisit our officer roles and guild ranks. I was curious which officer roles and ranks you use in your guild, or systems that you've found successful?Cheers,Jim
Guild version 2.1.0
Last night, in honor of today's patch, my guild leader restructured our guild. We've been having some tough times with motivation as of late, it the general consensus amongst the officers was that the guild members felt no progression as the guild was organized. We therefore sat down as a group in the Wildhammer Stronghold inn and took stock of what we had available. A lot of great ideas came up, and one of them was what we implemented last night. The guild ranks are now focused around the Burning Crusade attunements, and each member receives a rank for which of the raid levels he is ready for. Although only a few of us (read one) are ready for Karazhan, the ranking system includes readiness for Black Temple. Yes, we are setting our sights high, but it's time to think big. If you don't have high expectations, how can anyone meet them? As we were finishing up the planning of the new guild structure, I began to wonder about what other guilds do as far as ranks are concerned. In all my time playing World of Warcraft I have only been in one guild, so I can't use my experience to satiate my curiosity. Instead, I'll use yours. How are your guilds organized? What challenges do you face in keeping guilds motivated, and how do you tackle those challenges?
