Blog Azeroth Shared Topic: Will the last one to leave...

... please turn out the lights.

What happens when your guild goes kaput? Are you the lone figure trying desperately to rebuild a fallen house or a member of a mass exodus escaping an oppressive Pharaoh? There are many different reasons guilds fall apart and none of them are particularly pleasant. I'm going to cover how to move on to another guild when the one you are in collapses.

[Post is being revived for the shared topic week.]




So where do we go from here? Which is the way that's clear? Still lookin' for that blue jean... umm sorry. The 80s possessed my brain for a moment and I apologize profusely.

Sometimes leaving is inevitable. Once a guild has ceased operation there's little point in staying within the dead husk. There may be a few shell-shocked survivors hiding in the dark recesses of our non-existent guild housing but for the most part you log on to an empty roster and have to pug your dungeons/raids. You, dear refugee, need to find a new runnin' crew. Here are some hints for finding a good guild to call your home:

Talk to others that left:

     Hopefully you didn't burn all of your bridges when the house came tumbling down. Former guildies that you are on good terms with are your best bet for finding a new home. The key is to talk to them and get their impression of their new guild. If you've decided you want to be a hardcore raider but your buddy has decided to join an casual RP guild then there wouldn't be much of a reason to join his new guild. Maybe you're good pally buddy is healing in the type of big raiding guild you want to be a part of but he tells you they treat new members like crap. I guess what I'm driving it as... look before you leap.

Pug:

     Pugging, if you're good at what you do, is still a hit or miss way to find a new guild. Before the days of the random dungeon finder it was a great way for guilds to find new talent or for unguilded players to market themselves. A competent polite player in a run is always welcome and you'd be surprised how many people will react positively if you ask if their guild is recruiting. But with the cross server nature of dungeons it's increasingly difficult to find qualified guild-mates via pugs... unless of course you're willing to plop down the cash for a server change.

Interwebnets:

     Google search for the type of guild you're looking for on your server. Many guilds have websites these days and rely pretty heavily on them as recruiting tools. The wow guild recruitment forum is a good resource but doesn't always have the best information. Read the entire post and replies to it. Sometimes you can find reasons to join/avoid guilds in the comments left by others in the threads, just don't take everything said there at face value.

Reputation:

     Many guilds have a server wide reputation for being the best at PvE, PvP etc... Sometimes the best way to find a guild is to get in touch with one of the more famous guilds on your server. The reputation street goes both ways. Always make sure to build a positive reputation for yourself and it will pay off in diamonds. I've had friends who had such a reputation on the server that as soon as they were unguilded the whole server knew about it and he had every guild vying for his membership. Being known is a powerful thing in Azeroth.

Recruitment/Trade chat:

     We've all seen the "Gnome Chocolate Party is now recruiting for blah blah blah. We're accepting blah blah blah for blah blah. PST for more info!!!" or other similar messages. I would warn you against these. If people are recruiting in trade chat then chances are there's something wrong there. I don't want to blanket generalize but the best guilds to be in are usually the ones that don't have to advertise much, but sometimes you can find a good group of people this way. I just urge caution.

Red Flags:

     There are a few things that should set of the submarine klaxon in your head and warn you to absolutely not join a guild.

• No application - Means no standards, don't join a guild that you don't have to jump through at least a few hoops for. There are a few exceptions, such as event guilds or guilds made for a specific out of wow purpose.
• Rude Recruitment - If the recruiter is rude then how do you think they will act when you're a new member?
• Long time to get back to you - If you put in an app with a guild and they don't get back to you in a timely manner then chances are they aren't worth your time. This shows not only a lack of organization but a lack of respect. It also may be an indication that they don't really need any more people at the moment.

Remember, wow is a social game and in order to succeed in it you must interact with other people. If you're not a "people person" don't worry. I come from a long line of curmudgeons and I get along just fine with wow-folk. You don't have to be as suave and cool as the Dos Equis guy but you need to learn when to hold 'em, learn when to fold 'em, learn when to shut your mouth and learn when to run... it... your mouth that is. If this is something you struggle with just find someone who seems to get along with people and watch how they interact. It's amazing what can be gleaned from a few lines of chat.

Thanks to all the folks at BlogAzeroth for hosting this shared topic.