Starting your own guild: part I

Many of you have probably thought about starting your own World of Warcraft guild at some point. Perhaps you’re fed up with your current guild because your guild channel resembles Barrens chat. Or maybe your star hunter, Legolazz, just wiped your raid for the 17th consecutive time on the Lich King because he seems to enjoy standing in defile

Whatever the reason, I’m here to tell you that running a successful World of Warcraft guild is a lot of work, requires a good deal of dedication, and will very likely be frustrating at times.  If you’re thinking about making the leap, read on for a few things to consider that may help you decide. 

First, it’s important for you to have a good idea of exactly what you’re looking for in a guild.  Only you know what is important to you, but there are a lot of things to consider here: maturity level (or lack thereof!), membership size, play schedule, goals, etc.  Jot down the key characteristics of your ideal guild — things that you absolutely wouldn’t want to compromise on. 

No Squirrel Zone

The next big guild idea?

Once you have a good idea of what your dream guild would look like, the next step should be to do a bit of research into the existing guilds on your realm (or even outside it, if you’re willing to transfer) to see if your ideal guild already exists.  This may seem obvious, but if your goal is to create “another successful, progression-oriented, raiding guild that plays together 3 nights a week”, then there are probably already several well-established guilds available for you to potentially join.  You can save yourself a great deal of effort by simply joining one of these guilds and relaxing while somebody else does the work of running things.  However, if you’re looking to create a guild that is dedicated to the eradication of all squirrels in Azeroth, you’ve probably found a niche that nobody else has filled yet.  It’s important that something about your guild stand out in some way that matters, otherwise you’re going to have a hard time attracting (and holding onto) people. 

So you’ve done your research and come to the conclusion that your dream guild doesn’t yet exist.  Now you need to ask yourself if you’re willing to inject a not-insignificant amount of work into a game that you probably intended to play for enjoyment.  No, I’m not talking about getting those signatures on your guild charter. You’ll need to effectively advertise your new guild, interview applicants, set & enforce rules, manage your schedule of events, deal with difficult decisions, and many other things that you likely won’t foresee.  In a lot of ways, running a guild is similar to running a business — while it can be rewarding, you need to put a lot into it. 

If you’ve made it this far and you’re still convinced that rolling your own guild is the way to go, head over to read part II for some tips on how to do it successfully.

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