10 Ways to Build a Better Guild

 Summary 

Creating a successful guild takes some planning and forethought. I have been leading successful guilds for a long time and I have comprised a list of some of the best things I have learned from my guilds and from other guild leaders I have met.

10 Ways to Build a Better Guild

 * 1) Have a theme! Your guild should have a theme that your guild members can rally behind. Defining that you are a Rolling Playing Guild, PVP Guild, Raiding Guild, or a Leveling guild will help you get like-minded members.
 * 2) Recruit Like Minded Players If you are a older, serious guild the you should recruit older, serious members. If you want a loose casual player, stay away from the serious folks. Getting a good mix of like-minded folk will help everyone get more out of their gaming experience. Age is another factor to take into consideration when recruiting. There is definitely a difference between play styles between older folks and younger ones.
 * 3) Tell your members what you expect Creating a code of conduct or guild rules is a great way for members to know what’s ok and what’s not. Let people know what is expected of them and let them know where to find that information. Not only will it avoid drama it will reduce the confusion over issues that may arise.
 * 4) Choose Good Officers Pick officers that keep their word and have a lot of patience. You don’t want a moron recruiting your guild members and you don’t want a hot head leading your raids. Choosing people that other guild members respect is a good place to start. Also try to encourage your
 * 5) Create a Website. You can either create one from scratch or use a service like http://www.guildlaunch.com . Out of the box guild hosting is probably the best way to build your guild in the shortest amount of time. They have common features you are looking for and have been designed with gamers in mind.
 * 6) Loot Rules Make it clear how your guild members should divide treasure. Nothing will breed drama like unhappy members that feel they have had loot ninja’d from them by a guild member.
 * 7) Stay on a Schedule. Have scheduled events that everyone can count on. Everybody’s schedule is different and some need to plan their play time closer than others. Posting your guild’s raid times can also help you recruit other gamers that are on the same schedule as the rest of the Guild
 * 8) Have a Good Application Process Have strong recruiting policies in place. This will help you recruit the right type of members for your guild theme. A guild application can help with this process. Figure out a few questions you can ask your prospective members. Their answer will help you screen out undesirable people and focus your membership into your guild goals. This also helps your guild members point people in the right direction instead of taking up some else time screening a member through chat. You can weed out smacktards before they start wasting your time.
 * 9) Create a Guild Bank Encourage your guild to save and share useful items or material that someone else in the guild may need. You can create an additional character typically called a “Mule” that’s sole purpose is to store items for the guild. I would strongly recommend that you as the guild leader keep the bank under control yourself. This will prevent the disastrous outcome of members running away with your guild loot.
 * 10) Ventrilo or Teamspeak Get members talking to each other. This will help in a number of ways. First and foremost it will help you to coordinate your attack and make your teams much more efficient. It will also help your members get to know each other.

Contributors

 * Written by Grimstaff of Knights Errant - Bleeding Hollow Server

Original Post: Guild Relations Forum