Little Medeor Seeks His Fortune

...or How to find a Raiding Guild

by Medeor

I have always been part of small
to medium family-sized guilds. I've read all the horror stories about
end-game raiding guilds and listened to the infamous “50 DKP MINUS!”
tirade that was popular with the World of Warcraft crowd [editor's
note: If you've lived in a cave for a while, Google "50 dkp minus" and
you're sure to find a video or sound bite. Watch for falling F-bombs!].
Needless to say, I was a bit nervous when I decided to try a raiding
guild. It's hard leaving the safety of a family style guild, but every
family has its issues too. Regardless of guild size, I'm finding that
guilds and families are a lot alike.



Like guilds, every family is screwed up; some are just more screwed up
than others. Families always have that crazy aunt or uncle that shows
up at the barbeque and says embarrassing things like, “Come level me
and give me gold, kk?” (Oh wait, that could have been guild chat, but I
think my uncle may have said it once when hyped up on Robitussen and
Red Bull.) There are times you want to type in /quitfamily, but it
doesn't work that way. Guilds are funny things, too--unlike your whacky
family, you can pick your guild, yet we often want our guilds to be
like families.



To put more “real world” flavor on this dish of an article, this cub
reporter went into the field for an in-depth look at the art and
science of getting into a high-end raiding guild. I took a couple of my
higher level (but not max) characters in some popular MMOs (one sounds
like NoW, and the other is a sequel to a very popular game that
allegedly started it all) and submitted my applications.



Standing on a Corner in Winslow,
Arizona



href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/modules.php?set_albumName=album04&id=Mordebi_diversity&op=modload&name=gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php"> alt="Mordebi diversity"
src="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/files/gallery/albums/album04/Mordebi_diversity.thumb.jpg"
style="border: 0px solid ; width: 150px; height: 113px;" align="left"
hspace="4" vspace="2">Looking for a new guild can leave you
feeling like you are in the middle of a small desert city, but for me,
joining a 200 person raiding guild was even more unnerving than usual. I
have played in family style guilds or start-up guilds for most of my
gaming experience. I have always been intimidated by the big kids on
the block, also known as (insert ominous music here) Raiding Guilds. So
using my reporter cap as a +5 ego shield, I jumped into the fray. I
decided that it was time to take the plunge into end-game raiding
content. The first thing I needed to do was find a guild.



There are many tools at our disposal when looking for a guild. Most
games typically have a way to look at some of the rankings for a server
whether it be their PvP scores, or just through the forums. Armed with
this information, you can quickly arrive at a list of the top-ranked
guilds on the server. Of course it also helps to keep your eyes and
ears open in the game. One tool that put a lot of that information in
one place for me is target="_blank" href="http://www.guildportal.com">GuildPortal.com.
After finding some of the larger guilds on my server and looking into
them more, I went to their websites and put in my application. I never
heard back from some, but others gave me immediate responses.



Eureka, I've Found It! Now What?



The first lines on any application require your character’s name, class
and level. With that in mind, here is a tip: If you know that you want
to head for end-game raid content in any game, be proactive by picking
the essential character type which is always in short supply, also
known as the healer, for your main character. It is harsh, but if you
play the most popular character type, you may find yourself in a long
line waiting to get into the raiding guilds. Think of it this way:
there can be only one quarterback, but the coaches always need linemen,
so pick a lineman position. I play Clerics, Priests,
Templars...whatever the uber-healer is for the game. I can get into
groups almost any time I need to and, as my experiment shows, I can get
into raiding guilds. I wasn't even max level and they said, “You're
in.”



I love how people always say, “Play the character you like to play.”
Wrong. If you’re more into progression and less into roleplaying, play
the character that will get you where you want to go. I wasn't always
enamored with playing the healing class, but if you read my href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=290&meid=-1">article
about my favorite class you may note that I really enjoy it now. There
are still some times I don't want to href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/modules.php?set_albumName=album04&id=Orc_diversity&op=modload&name=gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php"> alt="Orc diversity"
src="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/files/gallery/albums/album04/Orc_diversity.thumb.jpg"
style="border: 0px solid ; width: 150px; height: 113px;" align="right"
hspace="4" vspace="2"> play the healer, but that’s what alts are
for.



From Strong Leaders Come Strong Guilds



The last (but certainly not least) factor to consider when joining the
guild is the make up of the leadership. The better guilds I have been
associated with have strong leaders with a core group of supporters
(usually the officers). These guilds include a diverse group all
heading in the same direction. The motto is generally: “Like it or not,
this is the way we are going.” Interestingly, direction (even when it
isn't in a direct line with where you want to go) is contagious. You
feel as if you have a cause. I've watched quite a few guilds explode
when the direction of the guild was unclear or changed often. Herein
lies another tip: Get on board with a guild that has direction. I asked
the guild leader before joining, “What are the goals of the guild?” He
didn’t respond, “Dude, we're raiding and getting phat lewt, you want in
or what?” Actually, he had a well thought out response which gave me a
good comfort level by illustrating that the guild’s goals are discussed
and decided. Of course the flip side is, if you don't want to end up
where the guild is going, get off the bus now.



If You Can't Join 'em, Beat 'em



What do you do when you get to the end of your search and don't find a
guild that is right for you? You can start your own. This is one area
in which I don't have the stomach or desire. While I have been in guild
management, it is not a role I enjoy and most of the time I would
rather sit in the bleachers cheering...or healing as the case may be.
The drama of scheduling, loot allocation and general
tattle-tale/whining makes it difficult for me to enjoy the game. I deal
with more than my share of scheduling, loot allocation and whining at
work. But maybe this sort of thing is for you. In that case, keep in
mind the discussion above as you set out to create the perfect guild.



The only thing tougher than finding the right guild is leaving a guild
you've invested time and gold into, so it’s important to select the
right one from the start. (Still, dumping your guild is easier than
trying to ditch your family, though the real life equivalent of /ignore
might work.) There is no magic formula for getting into the right
guild; there’s just a lot of trial and error. Read through the guides
on all of the Ten Ton Hammer communities and research what types of
guilds might be right for you. Don't forget to stop by our href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewforum&f=5&sid=2a12a9bb48f9697b55a19c302f5d63c6">Guild
Hall so you can get involved and be ready with your mates when
Vanguard: Saga of Heroes launches this winter.

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