Building an "Active" Guild? - Guild Wars Forums

Dove_Song · May 05, 2006, 02:49 PM // 14:49

Hello everyone,

I have a question.

How do you build an Active guild from scratch?

Three of my friends and I are active daily players. We recently endeavored to start a guild that would recruit players who are active daily as well.

We felt the concept was sound, as so many people who are looking for guild state "Looking for active guild".

Here is the problem.....every person I contact asks how many members we have....

I Say "Three. We've just begun recruiting, and will be recruiting only very active players."

They say. "Too small, not what i am looking for."

So.

How do you make an Active guild so people will have an active guild to join?

Seems like a catch 22.

Jwh6913 · May 05, 2006, 02:53 PM // 14:53

yeah it is

Dove_Song · May 05, 2006, 02:57 PM // 14:57

The really silly thing to me is:

You only need 8 daily active players to do most things in the game.

We already have 3 which is almost half of that.

Akhilleus · May 05, 2006, 03:55 PM // 15:55

its simple; recruit people during missions/activities who seem sound enough, recruit as many as you can at first, and then weed out the bad ones.
i will never advocate spamming recruitment, simply because you lose respect that way.
i never have and never will spam recruitment for my guild, and we have a good 50 members (right where i like it, though ive been considering expanding to 90), most are pretty active, many of us talk on vent daily, and while getting people for a gvg is often like raising the dead, we do have guild activities.
all it takes is time & patience.

Billiard · May 05, 2006, 03:59 PM // 15:59

A guild needs to achieve a certain critical mass before it becomes self-sustaining. Most people are really skeptical of guilds under 10 people because of this. One of the best things to do I think is try to merge several smaller guilds. The problem I always see though is that people never want to give up a name/tag/cape/hall. In the long run all of those are cheap, but if you refuse to budge on them you will probably never find a merger partner.

Once a guild gets say 40-50 people, it is often fairly self-sustaining and can grow pretty well by word of mouth type recruiting.

CrispyCritter · May 05, 2006, 04:59 PM // 16:59

Something you might consider would be playing a lot of HoH. Get to know people, add them to your friends list, and build a reputation for being a good player.

Really, guilds are built on the basis of relationships. Make friends with some people, and run with them on a regular basis, and there's a good chance that some of them will be willing to join your guild.

Forbes · May 05, 2006, 05:47 PM // 17:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dove_Song

Hello everyone,
Here is the problem.....every person I contact asks how many members we have....

I Say "Three. We've just begun recruiting, and will be recruiting only very active players."

They say. "Too small, not what i am looking for."

Seems like a catch 22.

I think most people who post here are looking for a certain type of guild and probably have alrady been through many guilds already. I agree with the advice to just group together as much as possible, people are always impressed when they seen 3 or more guildies playing together (at least in PvE). It shows that you really do play together and are not just talking about it. Another thing to think about is getting a website or at least forums for potential guild members to check out. In my experience this has worked very well. I'm sure most of this advice is already in the "how to make a guild" thread.

Dove_Song · May 05, 2006, 05:54 PM // 17:54

I know tons of people....most of them are very happy with their guilds as they should be. They are all members of fine organiazations. I wouldn't want to take any of their members away from them.

Akhillues I appraciate the tip, but it's not for lack of asking others to join. It is a lack of finding those who wish to join a guild that is just starting out.

It seems everyone wants to jump into a "ready made" guild of 40-50 members who is active.

I can't say I blame them. However, what is a budding guild to do? How can you become a guild with 40-50 active members if no one will join to become that 4th person, 5th person, 6th person, and so on?

Crispy,
Some good ideas I'll have to try that. Though I have many contacts, most live in a bubble of their guilds and rarly meet new faces.

The Idea of a Merger is fine...though I think for most, as it is with us; we wanted to create a culture that is ours. We want to take this idea and nurture it. We want to find others who like the idea. Merging into another guild isn't the idea.

My personal experiance with Mergers is that you must combine the two cultures of the guilds for it to be effective.

We already have a guild web site, forums, charter, code of conduct, voice chat etc etc.....

Mr Urthadar · May 05, 2006, 08:14 PM // 20:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by Akhilleus

its simple; recruit people during missions/activities who seem sound enough, recruit as many as you can at first, and then weed out the bad ones.
i will never advocate spamming recruitment, simply because you lose respect that way.
i never have and never will spam recruitment for my guild, and we have a good 50 members (right where i like it, though ive been considering expanding to 90), most are pretty active, many of us talk on vent daily, and while getting people for a gvg is often like raising the dead, we do have guild activities.
all it takes is time & patience.

A lot of people disparage spamming recruitment, however I do it. Now, I don't hop from area-to-area spamming. But if I'm bored and doing something in an outpost, I'll spam a few times.

After I've captured someone's interest, I grill them pretty hard to make sure they're a fit. After they've played 20 questions with me, and if they are still willing, they become a guildie.

We've picked up some quality members this way. All turned out to be adults and oddly enough 3 of them are in the same profession as me -- programmer.

So, I don't think anyone loses respect by spamming. I guess it depends on the quality of the spam

.

Our guild has about 25 members and everyone has a good relationship with one another. It's a pretty sweet setup.

Maybe I'm the exception to the guild-recruitment-spammer rule?

ju

Age · May 05, 2006, 08:54 PM // 20:54

Lets just say it is not really easy to build a guild especially if you are an older mature person.

Talinna · May 06, 2006, 08:21 PM // 20:21

Basic conscept is you have to have friends in the game to build a guild.

So travel with some people (target ones with out tags and capes) do a few quest and mission with them, keep doing this over a few days, then invite them.

or you can mass recrute, pray they stay, spend some time with them, mass recrute some more, pray they stay, mass recute some more.. and feel totally burnt out and spreed to thin because you don't know your guildies and you have no help maintaining the guild.

Gmr Leon · May 07, 2006, 04:14 AM // 04:14

Mainly how I get people into my guild is via doing a mission with them. I usually say "Looking for [number of players to fill the team] guildless people to join me in doing this mission". I got one of my best officers from doing that,not to mention she designed the guild site and forums.

That's just my way recruiting though and it's gotten me active players. It's just not as easy as you first think when you start a guild.

Winterclaw · May 08, 2006, 03:52 AM // 03:52

Leon I'll try that.

Akhilleus, is Leon's way how you do it or is there another way? I never know how to broatch the subject.

Akhilleus · May 08, 2006, 06:31 AM // 06:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winterclaw

Leon I'll try that.

Akhilleus, is Leon's way how you do it or is there another way? I never know how to broatch the subject.

similar.
i dont advertise for guidless players, i just look for them when i join a group.
firs thing ill do is select peoples names and see if they are guidless.
if they are, and they sem intelligent/interesting during the mission (ill strike up convos too) ill try and hit them for a seccond one, or if i think they are looking for a guild on top of being intelligent/interesting, ill just push a shameless plug their way.
i used to often recruit in presearing...since a persons more likely to stay for longer if all the friends and "bonds" they have in the game are in your guild.

May 05, 2006, 02:49 PM // 14:49	#1
Dove_Song Lion's Arch Merchant Join Date: Mar 2006	Building an "Active" Guild? Hello everyone, I have a question. How do you build an Active guild from scratch? Three of my friends and I are active daily players. We recently endeavored to start a guild that would recruit players who are active daily as well. We felt the concept was sound, as so many people who are looking for guild state "Looking for active guild". Here is the problem.....every person I contact asks how many members we have.... I Say "Three. We've just begun recruiting, and will be recruiting only very active players." They say. "Too small, not what i am looking for." So. How do you make an Active guild so people will have an active guild to join? Seems like a catch 22.

May 05, 2006, 02:53 PM // 14:53	#2
Jwh6913 Lion's Arch Merchant Join Date: Apr 2005 Guild: Death Infernal Evil Profession: Mo/R	yeah it is

May 05, 2006, 02:57 PM // 14:57	#3
Dove_Song Lion's Arch Merchant Join Date: Mar 2006	The really silly thing to me is: You only need 8 daily active players to do most things in the game. We already have 3 which is almost half of that.

May 05, 2006, 03:55 PM // 15:55	#4
Akhilleus Forge Runner Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: If it aint expensive, it aint worth buyin'. Guild: Leading/Co-leading Bretheren Of Chaos [Dark] Profession: W/Mo	its simple; recruit people during missions/activities who seem sound enough, recruit as many as you can at first, and then weed out the bad ones. i will never advocate spamming recruitment, simply because you lose respect that way. i never have and never will spam recruitment for my guild, and we have a good 50 members (right where i like it, though ive been considering expanding to 90), most are pretty active, many of us talk on vent daily, and while getting people for a gvg is often like raising the dead, we do have guild activities. all it takes is time & patience.

May 05, 2006, 03:59 PM // 15:59	#5
Billiard Doctor of Philosophy Join Date: May 2005 Location: Pacific Northwest Guild: Team Love [kiSu] www.teamlove.us	A guild needs to achieve a certain critical mass before it becomes self-sustaining. Most people are really skeptical of guilds under 10 people because of this. One of the best things to do I think is try to merge several smaller guilds. The problem I always see though is that people never want to give up a name/tag/cape/hall. In the long run all of those are cheap, but if you refuse to budge on them you will probably never find a merger partner. Once a guild gets say 40-50 people, it is often fairly self-sustaining and can grow pretty well by word of mouth type recruiting.

May 05, 2006, 04:59 PM // 16:59	#6
CrispyCritter Ascalonian Squire Join Date: Mar 2006 Guild: Save The Dolyaks	Something you might consider would be playing a lot of HoH. Get to know people, add them to your friends list, and build a reputation for being a good player. Really, guilds are built on the basis of relationships. Make friends with some people, and run with them on a regular basis, and there's a good chance that some of them will be willing to join your guild.

May 05, 2006, 05:54 PM // 17:54	#8
Dove_Song Lion's Arch Merchant Join Date: Mar 2006	I know tons of people....most of them are very happy with their guilds as they should be. They are all members of fine organiazations. I wouldn't want to take any of their members away from them. Akhillues I appraciate the tip, but it's not for lack of asking others to join. It is a lack of finding those who wish to join a guild that is just starting out. It seems everyone wants to jump into a "ready made" guild of 40-50 members who is active. I can't say I blame them. However, what is a budding guild to do? How can you become a guild with 40-50 active members if no one will join to become that 4th person, 5th person, 6th person, and so on? Crispy, Some good ideas I'll have to try that. Though I have many contacts, most live in a bubble of their guilds and rarly meet new faces. The Idea of a Merger is fine...though I think for most, as it is with us; we wanted to create a culture that is ours. We want to take this idea and nurture it. We want to find others who like the idea. Merging into another guild isn't the idea. My personal experiance with Mergers is that you must combine the two cultures of the guilds for it to be effective. We already have a guild web site, forums, charter, code of conduct, voice chat etc etc.....

May 05, 2006, 08:54 PM // 20:54	#10
Age Hall Hero Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: California Canada/BC Guild: STG Administrator Profession: Mo/	Lets just say it is not really easy to build a guild especially if you are an older mature person.

May 06, 2006, 08:21 PM // 20:21	#11
Talinna Academy Page Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Lions Arch Dis 4 (International) Guild: Servants of Fortuna [SoF Profession: Mo/N	Basic conscept is you have to have friends in the game to build a guild. So travel with some people (target ones with out tags and capes) do a few quest and mission with them, keep doing this over a few days, then invite them. or you can mass recrute, pray they stay, spend some time with them, mass recrute some more, pray they stay, mass recute some more.. and feel totally burnt out and spreed to thin because you don't know your guildies and you have no help maintaining the guild.

May 07, 2006, 04:14 AM // 04:14	#12
Gmr Leon Wilds Pathfinder Join Date: Apr 2006	Mainly how I get people into my guild is via doing a mission with them. I usually say "Looking for [number of players to fill the team] guildless people to join me in doing this mission". I got one of my best officers from doing that,not to mention she designed the guild site and forums. That's just my way recruiting though and it's gotten me active players. It's just not as easy as you first think when you start a guild.

May 08, 2006, 03:52 AM // 03:52	#13
Winterclaw Wark!!! Join Date: May 2005 Location: Florida Profession: W/	Leon I'll try that. Akhilleus, is Leon's way how you do it or is there another way? I never know how to broatch the subject.