A Different Slant - Why Not to Make a Guild
Edited and Published by: Magi
Most players who have a little bit of ambition dream of being the leader of a successful guild. I'm talking about something grand: a perfect cape, an epic hall, a full roster complete with great players, and - for the competitive types - a choice spot on the guild ladder. The incredible amount of recruitment spam I see in Ascalon City and Pre-searing towns testifies to just how many people everyday are trying to fulfill this dream, and that's not including nearly every new player who does not yet have the means to even think about creating a guild yet.
Now, this is all fine and good, and this article really isn't even going to talk much about people who have already made a guild and would like to make it better, maybe that will come later. However, if you are thinking about making a guild, if you are one of those people who doesn't have the means yet (or perhaps you just haven't gotten around to it), this article is for you.
It's time to be blunt, and this is something everyone that wants to make a guild should know: it will probably fail. This is no fault of yours; it's just a fact that most new guilds fail to live up to the expectations of the person who created them. Note that when I say "fail" I don't necessarily mean that you'll be alone in your guild (for purposes of this article, I'll ignore those who create a one-person guild for the cape). What I mean is that new guilds struggle, and your ideal dream might get lost or buried as you try to cope with the struggles.
I can't tell you when you'll be ready to make a guild, but I can tell you when you aren't ready. If you would ever think about asking for donations for a Guild Hall, or for including something about expecting donations for a hall in a recruitment spam, don't bother. For the sake of my sanity, and for everyone else in the major towns, don't bother. A Guild Hall by its very nature is a symbol that the guild is decently wealthy, or at least not poor. What this means is, if you don't have the money for a hall, you really shouldn't have one. That's why there's a price tag on the thing: it's something to work for.
I would even go so far as to say that if you can't pay for at least the majority of a Guild Hall by yourself, and maybe even buy nice collector items for your guildmates, it would be a bad idea to even make a guild in the first place. I know most people chafe at the idea of wealth inferring experience, but - ignoring EBayers - it does. At the very least, you have to be experienced enough to know how and where to farm, and like it or not farming does take a modicum of skill to be successful.
What I'm trying to say is, if you're thinking about making a guild, stop and think for a second. Do you really have the money to support it correctly? Do you have the experience to lead it correctly? Do you have the time to spend recruiting players, helping any new players you attract, assisting guildies with mission, etc? As a guild leader, these things are expected of you, and if you answer no to any of these, do yourself a favor and remain a member in an established guild. You'll be ready to lead a guild eventually; in the meantime, enjoy your the relatively worry-free stint as a follower.
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