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This weeks editorial is about a topic that I just had to find my way through this past few weeks.  It is one that many players either struggle with at some emotional level or take far too casually.  While not getting teary over the changing of guilds, it is something that I take very seriously and do not enter into lightly.

Your guild is your family in game and deserves some respect because of it.  In general guilds help each other, nurture players and help progress through the game.  If your like me you spend more time questing, adventuring and gearing up with these players than anyone else.  So if they are so important, why would you want to change?

To me there are a few very solid reasons to change, although I still don’t recommend doing so without considering it fully.  The main reasons are:

1. Behavioral / Political Differences – This is a big one for me, I have joined a few guilds with characters only to find out that guild chat is full of swearing, trash talking, degrading people because of where they live, religion, politics or some other crazy thing.  To me, I play the game to get away from real life concerns and childish behavior, not to put up with it in yet another location.  If the guild won’t address these players, its time to leave.
2. Difference in Playtimes / Playstyles – Sometimes it happens that you join a guild and it or you evolve to a different playstyle.  You could join a guild to level and quest and then the guild decides to do mainly PvP.  Or you could be online  from 5-9 pacific time and everyone else in the guild is on at 5-9 eastern, so you never see each other.
3. Guild Rules – Some guilds run very loose, some very tight and militaristic.  If the style of the guild your in does not suit your style, switch.  I have been in high level raiding guilds that dictate builds, gear, and playtimes to a strict degree.  If it’s all about progression for you that may be ok.  If you want to have some fun and choices, then it’s probably not your cup of tea.
4. Level differences – If you join a guild of like level players and then they all zoom to 70 while your still at 30 and can never find a group, it may be time to switch.  This happens at times, and some guilds are very cool about helping out their low level players, while in others you may as well not exist. 
5. Size / Progression – This is the weakest of the reasons to leave, but still valid.  Sometimes guilds just get stuck at a point where they will not get any further in the game.  It could be due to not enough players, not the right classes, or any other number of things.  If you have done everything in the game to progress, and have nothing left to do without switching to a larger guild, it can be valid. 

There are also some lame reasons to change guilds that I see way to often:

1. I don’t like player X – Personality conflicts happen all the time.  You’re an adult either fix it or ignore them.  If it’s one person out of 100 in a guild, don’t let them spoil your fun and leave the guild.
2. Loot arguments –Sometimes arguments happen over loot.  I see many players run from a guild over one argument.  Sure, we all want that shiny new item, but look at it objectively.  Why did someone else get it? Was it fair (even though you didn’t like it)? Was there a reason that makes sense for the guild (if it was nor purely fair)?  If the leaders are all friends and everything goes to them it may be a real issue, but my experience is that that is rarely the case, and its generally greed getting in peoples eyes.
3. X Guild is further in Y Raid – So? Work at it.  If the guild is further it’s because they have more experience and time into the event.  You will get there if everyone sticks with it and doesn’t bail.  The other guild was at the same point you where at one point in time.

I switched my current main due to the Size / Progression issue.  My main is a Paladin Tank that is fully geared with the best gear, enchants and gems that I can get outside of heroics and Karazhan.  While I loved playing with the few people in the guild that were level 70, we never had enough on to do normal instance runs, never mind Heroics or Kara.

I voiced my concerns to the guild leader who I had become friends with over time and ran many instances with.  He was well aware that I wanted to main tank Karazhan and he wanted to run it as well.  The issue was just getting players and the right class mix.  Over time, I did not see anything changing, and got an invite to a larger guild due to demonstrated tanking ability in heroic PUG groups and they where looking for a MT to start running Karazhan with.  I made the jump after almost 2 weeks of considering, looking for new guild members and discussion.  I still hope the original guild gets to a point where they can run Karazhan and have already passed on that I would gladly change back if they do.

Later in the week that I switched the new guild had 2 players leave due to the fact that on our first week in Karazhan we only downed 3 bosses (Attumen, Moroes and the Maiden) and had issues with the opera event but almost downed it a few times.  I thought this was great for a first attempt through Kara.  They had heard about other guilds though, that downed all of Kara in one night with no wipes and were could get invites into them.  I’m in one of those types of guilds on my undead priest, and we had to work through it from the start to get to that point.  The work and learning is half the fun (to me at least) and I am not sure we ever just took new players for free runs, they have to earn their way in.

It did get me thinking even more about the guild switch though.  While people where asking about why the others left, my comment was “They wanted free epics. They didn’t want to work for them.”  Was this fair?  Was their change really any different than mine?  I would like to believe they were vastly different, but maybe they aren’t.  All of us left for gear upgrades and progression.  Some of us though don’t mind working for the gear, while others want it handed to them on a silver platter.

The Messiah has had his say, what’s yours?  Are there other valid reasons to switch guilds? How often do you change? Are guilds important to you at all?  Am I over analyzing this? I want to hear your comments.

Email me at: Byron Mudry - (Messiah@TenTonHammer.com) or post in our forums thread!