As we countdown the days until Deathwing finally meets his demise in World of Warcraft's next patch, it’s a great time to do some recruiting. So in this article, we’re going to look at the best ways to find new guildmates.

In recent years, Blizzard has done a heck of a lot to make guild recruitment a lot easier, most notably the Guild Finder added in 4.1, Rise of the Zandalari. But how do you sort through the wheat from the chaff and find good people in a sea of noobs?

The number one way to find guildmates is the same as finding a good dentist or electrician; through your friends or personal recommendation. The vouching system has been used for millennia and with very good reason: it works. So, as a first port of call, talk to your friends, both in-game or real-life. Even better, they might come to you first with a name of a potential new guildie or a real-life friend who is looking to learn the ropes or jump factions/servers.

The next place to look is all around you. If you’re a raider, then check out the people you do random dungeons or raids with. Seeing someone play is the next best way of finding out what kind of gamer they are and how good their in-game skills are. That loud-mouth ninja who took the trinket you were specifically running Grim Batol for is not likely to make a decent addition to your inner circle.

The thing about guilds now is that, with the addition of reputation and achievements, it’s easy to invest time and effort in them, even if the guild is run by the world’s worst officers/GM. As a result, this can make people even more hesitant to switch guilds and spamming trade is not going to help you make your case. Talking to people directly is always the best, ideally after you’ve looked them up in Playerscore, checked out their rotation, observed their strengths in dungeons or just inspected them in Stormwind. Whatever you do, try not to poach people and let them choose to come to you. The last thing any officer or GM needs is an irate GM on their case because a few of their members upped and left.

The Guild Finder has made it so much easier to find yourself some like-minded individuals with whom to spend your in-game time.

The other option is of course the classic guild merger or alliance. Sometimes strength in raiding numbers is what counts and it can be serious beneficial for two great guilds to blur. Just look how many of the endgame elite raiding guilds have merged in the last few years.

Similarly, project a good atmosphere. This could involve having a guild website and there are many providers out there who cater specifically for WoW players and include services like Vent or Mumble which help add to the social side outside of just meeting in Azeroth. They also offer raid calendars, progression bars, forums and guild recruitment application forms that potentials can fill in so you have all the important details like raiding experience, specs and interests to hand.

Many guilds now also rely on Facebook and Twitter pages to go that extra dimension. Whatever you do play up your guild’s strengths: the social atmosphere, localness - if applicable - and friendly banter or any outside social events like guild meet-ups.

A lot of guilds, particularly those on RP servers, also host in-game events. This could be a pub crawl, a celebratory party for a real-life birthday or something more festive such as meeting up to celebrate Brewfest, kill seasonal bosses or retro raids. Sometimes there are even off the wall suggestions, like races across Azeroth, recruitment mixers or treasure hunts, the more imaginative the better.

Remember that whatever route you choose, it’s important to project the right atmosphere. Guild credibility can be shattered quite easily and, just like grinding rep, can take ages to restore. It’s also worth, especially if you’re a raiding guild, making recruitment drives a team effort. Don’t just leave it to the GM and the officers to find people but instead organise events to attract potential members or, at least, involve everyone from the trialees to the veterans. You can also let us know what tips and tricks you have for guild recruitment in the comment box below.