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The Guild Counsel: Seeking a guild? Watch for these red flags
Each week in this column, we explore common issues in guild management, with a focus on tips to be a successful guild leader. But this week, let's turn the tables a bit and look at things from the perspective of an unguilded player. With the rise of free-to-play in many MMOs, there's a larger pool of players from which guilds recruit. But before you take that guild invite, there are a few red flags to be wary of when joining a guild. For every good guild, there's a guild out there that makes you regret clicking that "join" button and leaves you wishing you had those misspent hours back after you leave. In this week's Guild Counsel, let's look at what to avoid when you're considering joining a guild.
WildStar offers straight talk on its guild mechanics
So it's come to this. Your adventures in WildStar have left your character backed into a cave with a broken weapon and a desperate urge to escape from the monsters prowling outside but no means to do so. What do you do? Well, hopefully you already made some friends and can put a call in to your guild because the monsters outside probably won't decide to let you go. So it's a good thing that guilds in WildStar offer a variety of benefits, as detailed in the latest development blog. Aside from a customizable holo-display for guild insignias that can go wherever you'd like and access to guild vaults, guilds also provide a variety of perks and abilities. These perks are purchased with Influence, which is earned just by grouping up with your guildmates and doing pretty much whatever. The idea is that a small guild that plays together will always be more effective than a big guild formed from people shouting in general chat. Take a look at the full article for more details about guilding up in the game, hopefully when you aren't tucked away in Monster Cave.
Star Citizen passes $37 million, Org system tops 4,900 in 12 hours
Cloud Imperium has now collected over $37 million in crowdfunding for its Star Citizen space sim sandbox. CIG chairman Chris Roberts penned a thank-you letter for the latest milestone, during which he also calls attention to the game's new Organization system that launched earlier this week. Over 4,900 orgs were created in the first 12 hours of the system being online, and Roberts says it's another example of how "the Star Citizen community continues to astonish." The $37 million stretch goal unlocked the Tanga System, and there's a new poll on the SC website that will allow backers to choose the $39 million goal.
Discussing guild functionality with Star Citizen's Benoit Beausejour
Today Cloud Imperium publicly unveiled Star Citizen's organization functionality, and Massively managed to snag a quick interview with developer Benoit Beausejour from Turbulent, a Montreal-based studio that is developing SC's web tech. Head past the break for the full organization press release as well as Beausejour's answers to our questions.
The Guild Counsel: There are no bad players, only bad guild matches
If you had to pinpoint the source of what causes most guild drama, it almost always comes down to the guild's screening process. We've certainly looked at recruiting before and how important it is to create a system that effectively matches up your guild with like-minded players, but all too often, when there is a problem with a new member, the frustration boils over and the finger pointing begins. Is it the player's fault for being a bad seed, or the guild's fault for poor management and vision? Guild leaders and players often hold long-standing resentment, and you can see it in the comments section here at Massively as well, but it's time for a change. In this week's Guild Counsel, we'll look at why even the "worst" player has a good guild match out there and why popular thinking needs to change when it comes to judging who is "bad" and who is "good."
The Daily Grind: Do you still hang with your original MMO guild?
Next month marks the 10th anniversary of the formation of my favorite MMO gaming guild. It wasn't my first guild, mind you, but it was the one I enjoyed the most. It was one of those groups that transcended the original game and spilled over into other MMOs and ongoing meatspace relationships. Occasionally we still game together, too, but not as often as we did before adulthood and responsibility reared their annoying heads. What about you, Massively readers? Do you still hang with your old-school MMO buddies or your original guild, either in-game or out? 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: Recruitment tips in the age of free-to-play
Free-to-play is here to stay, and in just a few short years, the MMO landscape has changed dramatically. It seems like just yesterday that games like SWTOR and RIFT were adamantly insisting that the subscription model was the best plan for them. And four years ago, if you had suggested that most MMOs would adopt a free-to-play business model, people would question your sanity. Today, if you claim that the subscription model is the best bet, you'll get funny looks. The change has had an impact on guilds, and it's caused many guild leaders to have to rethink the way they recruit and manage their guilds. Let's take a look at how the free-to-play movement can actually help guilds build and maintain a healthy roster.
Looking for Guild: Mixed bag
As we recover from the holiday insanity, we can now concentrate on getting back into some serious gaming again. This week's LFG column is a mixed bag of players looking for guilds and guilds looking for players. Hey, maybe they could help each other out! While most of the submissions are from Final Fantasy XIV players, we also have one from an Elder Scrolls Online guild leader looking to get set up properly before launch. Follow along after the jump for the list and complete rules on how to submit your own LFG entry!
The Guild Counsel: Seven New Year's resolutions every guild leader should make
As 2013 comes to a close, it's a good opportunity to look back at your guild's year and remember the success and memorable high points you reached together. For every guild that made it through the year, there are hundreds if not thousands that didn't. There are many challenges to running a guild, and sadly, there are too many potential pitfalls that can cause even the most cohesive guilds to fracture and fall apart. The start of a new year is a good time for guild leaders to make a few resolutions to strengthen their guild and make the coming year more enjoyable for all. Let's look back at some helpful advice from the past year's Guild Counsel as we look forward to 2014.
The Guild Counsel: Making the most of holiday events with your guild
The holidays might seem like a good time to lay low and take a break, but they can actually be a great opportunity to get ahead, particularly for more casual guilds. The arrival of holiday events means that players can relax and enjoy the short-term change of pace, but with the right approach, those limited events can help your guild boost its finances and its morale at the same time. Let's look at how even the most casual guild can benefit from holiday events in this week's Guild Counsel.
Looking for Guild: FFXIV
Final Fantasy XIV's successful relaunch was certainly one of the big stories of 2013, taking many of us on the team by surprise. It gave us hope that game companies can recover from failed launches if they play their cards exactly right. We see that love for the reborn fantasy MMO here in the LFG column, especially, as more and more Massively readers are reaching out to find like-minded guilds to join. This week is no exception as we have an archer looking for a free company to call home in today's listing.
The Guild Counsel: All's fair in love, war, and MMOs
When we're playing MMOs, we're in a virtual world, but we're also playing a game, and as in all games, there are rules to follow. It's one thing for an individual player to break the rules, but when that player is part of a guild, it can have a ripple effect that affects every other member. Guild leaders are in a tough position when it comes to rule-breaking because knowingly allowing someone to exploit could make the guild complicit in the process. And when the banhammer strikes, it could come down hard on the entire guild. How much responsibility should a guild leader have over players who bend or break the game rules? Let's consider a few points in this week's Guild Counsel.
The Guild Counsel: Survive the holidays with these fun guild events
The holiday season can often mean that things slow down in the guild. Members have their hands full with gift buying, holiday events, and travel to visit family. That slowdown is OK. Guilds should encourage players to take a little time off, while recognizing that it'll be harder to organize and run larger guild events like raiding or PvP. But just because things get quiet doesn't mean the guild can't have a little fun and merriment. In this week's Guild Counsel, let's look at some memorable events that are easy to run, bring the guild together, and leave everyone with a smile.
Vendetta adds persistent player mines, better mobile support
Guild Software has been crunching on various Vendetta Online improvements, chief among them some increased background and planetary detail on Android devices. The multi-platform space sim sandbox also boasts support for the latest high-speed mobile GPUs, as well as new persistent player mines that allow "for more complex defense of territory over long periods of time." Guild lead developer John Bergman says that the team has "big gameplay and graphical plans for 2014, as well as plans to expand the immersion of our existing support for the Oculus Rift HD."
The Guild Counsel: How to lead and still have fun
Leading is hard. Whether it's a sports team, an office of workers, or a guild, there are many challenges that all leaders share and make even the toughest person want to walk away. And because running a gaming guild is less of a job and more of a hobby (or at least, it should be!), it's hard to get good people to step forward and run things. We're all here to have fun in game, after all, and if leading a guild detracts from that, it's not surprising that some shy away from it. But running a guild isn't always about taking power and making hard decisions. In fact, there are plenty of successful guilds that have rejected the top-down mentality. Can leading a guild really be that easy?
The Guild Counsel: Revisiting the Guild Turkey
A couple of years ago, we looked at a few ways that guild members can turn a guild into a nightmare, creating all sorts of drama and becoming the official guild turkey. Being in a guild can be a challenging experience as it is because you have dozens if not hundreds of people under the same roof, with many different objectives and ways of seeing things. But there are some members who amp up the drama and excel at creating tension. Everyone has a bad day here and there, but some players have more than their fair share. Let's look at a few guild turkeys for guild leaders to be careful of inviting in this week's Guild Counsel.
Looking For Guild: These guilds need you!
Ordinarily, we like to help Massively readers find their next guild in this column, but this week we're doing things a bit differently by reversing the roles. That's right, this week we're allowing guilds to get their info out there for all to see. The response to our call-out was excellent and I'm happy to say that many of you might just be finding the guild of your dreams today. For the next edition, we'll be going back to normal, but I'd also like you to submit a personal story if you've been helped through this column. I'll include a few testimonials in future columns down the line. But now, on to this week's list of guilds just after the cut!
The Guild Counsel: How to keep your guild from disintegrating when you need a break
Let's face it, everyone needs a little MMO break from time to time. The open-endedness of MMOs gives a lot more freedom than a fixed-content single-player game, but after a while, that freedom begins to feel grindy. For a guild leader, taking a small break is a dicey prospect, and many leaders have returned only to find that the guild they carefully pieced together and managed is now empty and defunct. The thought of losing the guild has even led many guild leaders to press on and continue playing even though their hearts aren't in it. Can a guild leader take a vacation and have a happy guild upon returning? This week's Guild Counsel suggests a few ways to do just that.
The Guild Counsel: Is shared interest in an MMO enough to justify a guild?
It all starts out so innocently. A few friends are casually chatting and realize they all are excited about an upcoming new MMO. Maybe a group of gaming bloggers connect over their shared appreciation of a certain game. Or even here at Massively, readers notice that there are many others who share their positive impressions of a game's launch. Next thing you know, someone suggests that it would be a great idea to start a guild, and the roller coaster begins. Forming a guild based on a shared interest in a game doesn't guarantee success, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't do it. It does come with its own unique set of issues to address early on, however. Let's take a look at these connoisseur guilds and how to make them work in this week's Guild Counsel.
Looking for Guild: WoW and FFXIV
Things have been going well for the connections made through this column behind the scenes. It seems that we're connecting someone just about every week, although mostly in Final Fantasy XIV! But this week we have someone looking for friendlies in World of Warcraft (OK, and also FFXIV). For next week, I want to do something a little different and switch things around to be all about guilds looking for members. You can certainly still send in your requests for guilds as normal, but in two weeks, it will be all about guild advertising, then we'll go back to normal. So read on past the cut to see how you can get your guild on the next installment of this column, and check out those looking for a guild of their own in this week's list.
