New Guild Anyone????

No folks, The Ghostwolves are not disbanding!

Actually what I came to talk about is some of the things new players might want to think on when creating a guild for AoC and making it a success. Initially, getting a guild together is super simple. It just takes you, the player to decide to create and name it. There are many people in AoC that this is all they want, extra bag space via the Bank tab. But for those wanting to start a new guild, it can be daunting.

There is a lot to consider, but down to brass tacks, you have to have a vision of your end state as a guild if you plan on having it a large scale guild. This requires vision, and that vision may even change over time. So, lets take a look at different end states first before we go on.

You are all set, you got your cool guild tag and some bank space and are the KING!

Deciding what your guild focus is and keeping that focus through thick and thin is critical. It is hard to break into an established MMO and attempt to build a guild out of nothing when there are many wealthy guilds in existence on any given server (all 4 of em...yup). Obviously as the guild founder, the guild needs to work with your play style, otherwise you probably are suited to be a member, not a founder. But lets look at guild play styles.

There are social leveling guilds (that's originally what The Ghostwolves was designed to be but then sort of...grew into something more focused). This is the easiest to get started. Relaxed atmospheres, just level away and chat away. The focus is actually a lack there of. Play your way and have fun. For new players there is a distinct advantage to joining a guild such as this. No pressure gives them breathing room to figure out the game as a whole. However, it will be difficult to do raiding or serious 6man instances unless tagging along with a more established guild down the line. Often there is also a lack of experienced leadership that can assist in developing other players. The biggest issue you might find is maintaining your recruitment base after turnover. Zerg recruitment can alleviate initial turnover, but maintaining a core set of players will over time get difficult to keep. The casual atmosphere may be inviting, but as a Guild Leader the satisfaction is fleeting, especially if you plan of building a Guild City or Battle Keep. More often than not you will see several log on, yet no interaction whatsoever. This is ok, but it isn't building your guild. It would be about this time when you as the guild leader need to decide on a future focus if any for your guild, or it will crumble and you will grumble. Think on this, social leveling guilds are great to chill out with, but over time they kinda sputter out. You may have a few close knit friends that stay on for awhile, but they aren't seeing all the endgame content, they may very well be tempted to move on if you don't provide that purpose as a new guild leader.


Then there are the hardcore raiding guilds.

 These take a lot of work ahead of time as well as being extremely resource intensive and you better know your shit from the get go. Furthermore, you prolly have decided to hive out from a different guild that you no longer have a desire to be in. For the hardcore raid guild you are looking at a pretty elite group to form. You need experienced members, not level racers. You need to be able to put up that guild city to Tier 3 pretty damned quick for the extra perks and build renown fast. But you also need your guild large enough to handle the AoC Raids. They ain't easy! Even the 6 mans at the end game are wicked. This can be very rewarding, but if you aren't careful, you will let elitist attitudes rule which allows for almost zero defect execution. Yes it is an accomplishment and a worthy one, but it will mean as a guild leader you gotta be a bastard. I don't recommend this mindset for beginning players, even if they are experienced in raiding from other MMOs. Take some time and figure the game out, raise a core group of players so they know their classes and are willing to work together.

Next we see the PvP Guilds. In AoC this is the blood and mud out there.
You need to decide if you out there as a group that is going to have fun and just kill everything you see, you if you are going to be focused on Seiging, BG mini's (bad move since both are still pretty borked). Thing is, ok PvP guild, got a few bragging rights, but you will need to decide still on a focus. Furthermore, it takes a ton of training to get your Horde of axe wielding barbarian brothers to work efficiently and deadly. Yep this one takes a lot of grind in the end as well. PvP gear I hate to say it, will super enhance you survival and there is a huge difference between pvp 9 and pvp 10. Like as not its a long haul. Unfortunately, the pvp servers are pretty desolate. You have a tough job ahead of you if you wish to make a new guild that ill compete with the mega guilds. You'll have to figure out a niche or sell point that stands out above the rest.


There are RP guilds with various focuses to look at. The cool thing about RP guilds is you can also have a secondary focus of raiding or pvp. Or keep it social. But to keep it Social you are gonna have to create a RP focus that stands out and makes others want to join you. This can run into issues. Cultural guilds are awesome, I've been in a few. If their leadership is solid, they get storylines going that involve everyone in the guild. Problem is, they are very niche orientated. It can be detrimental to your guild size by limiting the races involved. Most often I see either Cimmerian or Stygian cultures. I guess because really, Aquilonian isn't quite as exotic, though it could work if done right. Lore is a huge thing for RP guilds. But Leaders should do a little research to decide where they want to take it. They should also plan on doing some secondary guild focuses too for end game. The RP Leader needs to also think about holding events that invite other RPers to join in. It gets people out there to know each other more. Leaders will also need to decide if its hardcore RP or casual. Its up to you, just remember your size will diminish with the more constricting rules you apply. Understand your guild focus as an RP guild is a double edged sword, it can make you an empire or crush you. Then again, some RP guilds only want a very small amount of members. This is alright, just be sure you are looking at the focus.

Some Tips.
 Research the Official forums and wiki's to have a baseline knowledge of the game so you don't look totally incompetent. Be ready to google shit often.

Help your new members. Don't leave them out in the cold to level in the void and darkness of minionhood. This goes a long ways in keeping a low member turnover rate. You deserve thier loyalty, they deserve your respect and leadership.

Choose your officers wisely. Look who contributes to the success of the guild. Give them specific roles over time. Remember they are the face of your guild when you aint around. They need to be able to execute your intent without you micro managing them. They also need to be willing to help out new members.

Get ventrillo - this goes a long ways especially if you are working in large groups for raiding. Trying to type out a strat during raids is epic fail, same with seiging when seiging sort of works.

Shadowscript, GET IT! This allows you to make all kinds of hyperlinked text based information sets. Its useful in recruiting, setting up initial raid strats, putting out over all information within your guild as well as guild guidelines. Numerous applications, very worth the time. DO IT!

Remember to build friend based relationships with your crew. They will stay longer that way.

KEEP THE DRAMA OUT!  Cant stress this one enough. Drama destroys guilds. Keep it out and be quick to slam it when the ugly head arises. You end up being a mediator in this. Guess what, you volunteered to lead, so Lead. But if you make sure everyone knows it up front, the hassles will be minimized. Make sure you are swift to kill drama though, let it run rampant whether on your guild website or in chat, you will wreck your guild.

Website ~ Good to have. They are much cheaper now than they used to be. just make sure it's functional and that there is an honest need for it. I got burned a couple of times in investing serious money for premade websites. No one ever used it. Most people were too busy to use it. Just make sure you are ok with having it and paying for it, none of your members will. Weigh in having one or not. Creating a Facebook page for your guild is a very viable option, and that is free...FREE IS GOOD!. Not as functional but still very useful. Just keep that in mind.

Ok, that's enough for now. If you have additional tips and tricks you might want to share with our readers concerning running a guild, feel free to post!