This morning I was posting over on the Nomadic Gamer about my latest EVE Online experiences (by the way, Nomadic is looking for volunteer writers if you happen to be interested!) and it got me thinking about guilds, and how we all use them for different things. Or we don’t use them at all, either way. For me, having a guild varies from game to game. In World of Warcraft I don’t have a guild, and I get by just fine. Even more so now that there is the LFD tool to make use of. In LotRO I belong to Casualties of War, but it’s fairly quiet. It was like-minded people who had come together in various games (and then spread over time) much like the Nostalgia guild that started in EverQuest. In Fallen Earth I’m without a guild (do they even have guilds there? I’ve honestly got no idea), in Wizard 101 there’s no guilds (always a hope of mine to see some time). It varies, from game to game.
In EQ2 I have a number of guilds that I belong to, on multiple servers. On Lucan D’Lere I’m in a small guild with close friends, and I’m in that guild specifically because of them. I like to talk while I game, and it’s enjoyable. On Antiona Bayle I run my own small guild with some friends, we group together but there’s no real organized events. We have a T2 hall and guild harvesters as well as transportation that comes from owning amenity, and having a localized place to keep items (guild bank) is fantastic.
Then there’s the guild I belong to on Oasis, which is a raid guild with a ‘friends and family’ rank. That guild is far more utility then any of the others I belong to – and on that server I also have a 2nd guild that I keep just for random alts when I need to get away from it all. That doesn’t make the raid guild any less important or fantastic then any other guild I’ve belong to, it’s just different.
So when you join a guild, is it for social interaction? Is it for utility and what you can offer to them (as well as what they can offer to you)? Is there some other hidden reason as to why you may join a particular guild? Or maybe you’re one of those people who just don’t join a guild. If you are – why is this? I find that in games like EQ2 a guild just offers too much to want to go without one. Especially when you start taking into consideration the city merchants who sell goods specifically to guild members (based on guild levels), raids that can be done via guild recruiters, and numerous other ‘specialties’ that guilds seem to get (banks, etc).
Even housing in EQ2 is tied to your guild and level. If you want to own a 5 (6 now since it’s been expanded) room house in EQ2, you need to belong to a guild of a particular level. Sure, there’s nothing stopping you from joining and purchasing your home and then leaving the guild (you still get to keep your home) but there are very definite rewards for belonging to a guild.
Thoughts?
What’s in a Guild?
People. No, seriously. I (and the other Guild Leader in our EQ2 Guild) run it like it is a container for players to put their characters in. So in affect is very much like a social club, and not a virtual organization. Every character a player has have the same rank, every player always have the same function in the Guild. This do not apply when and if a player do not want it. Say for instance that I sometimes do not want to be a Guild leader, I do not want the burden of it. Then I can have another character that is not Guild leader, Guild Banker and Coordinator. Just a regular member. Not that it ever happens, it’s just an example. :)
I can’t really see myself having characters not in Pack Rats. I’m mainly in the game to play with my friends, and they’re all there. Why go elsewhere? Some of the others do, but even when they do they’re mostly in our Guild-chat anyway. Grass is greener, to some extent, I suppose.
Speaking of EQ2 guilds, I have been playing a couple of characters on Antonia Bayle lately and if your guild on that server wouldn’t mind another filthy ranger in the guild chat, I sure could use some friendly company.
I have also been playing EVE lately as well. Well, I use the term “playing” lightly since I usually just log in, set up my skill queue and log out. However, one day I will have some free time and jump right in. :)
You may know this, but I didn’t: If you are doing the tutorial missions and you bring up the chat window, that quest is offered. You have a limited time to accept and complete the quest or it is gone forever. I was recently working through the combat tutorial and made it to mission 8 of 10. I got sidetracked ( damn you EQ2! ) and forgot about it. 7 days later I get a nasty gram from the mission giver basically telling me to go away. Now I can’t finish the tutorial. It is not a game breaker by any means, but it totally derailed my expected path of progression. Plus I was getting neat items and money from those tutorial missions.
Anyway, good to keep in mind. :)