Guild Wars 2

Hi all -

After reading multiple threads about the recently added guild missions, I can see plenty of people complaining about the influence cost and the fact they do not want to be penalised for not being part of a large guild.

Fine. I won’t argue with that, nobody likes being penalised. I know I don’t.

While the cost in terms of influence points could be discussed, as well as the ways to work around it, this is not the point of this topic as it’s already been debated at great length.

Nevertheless, I feel there is a general resentment that large guilds are some kind of evil entities that do everything they can to ruin the player’s experience and are the kind of environment that would only suitable for “hardcore” players truly dedicating their life to the game… (or something like that)

That’s where I beg to differ -

First, a guild doesn’t have to be big to have restrictive rules and stupidly demanding directives. Similarly, a large guild can remain friendly and flexible.

It’s only a matter of finding one that suits your needs. I’ve seen enough people complaining on these threads to know that there is a potential for a large gathering of players who want to take things the cool/relaxed way and play in a friendly group. Oh wait, a large gathering of people with a common view on the game ? Wouldn’t that be a guild…

If you feel you can only dislike a large guild, look around these forums : there are hundreds of other players who seem to think exactly the same, and want to stay in their micro-group of IRL contacts, i.e. family and friends. What’s preventing all these people, with a similar approach to the game, from uniting ? Or at least working a bit together.

I’ve seen absurd things when it comes to guilds, including voice call interviews, in-situ exams (running dungeons as “hiring test”), codes of conduct 20 pages long, mandatory financial contributions (1gp/day, anyone ?), mandatory dungeon/resource runs, minimum daily play time, etc. and all that kind of non-sense.

You don’t want any of that ? Great, because neither do I ! Still, I’m in a guild with 50+ regular active players (which I’d call medium size), and we have no issue affording the guild rewards we want, including all the recently added new missions.

- We don’t “interview” people or ask them to “apply”, we just invite them and kick the ones that are annoying
- We don’t force anyone to be part of any activity
- We don’t ask people to contribute with gold
- We don’t kick people if they decide to represent another guild (when they do WvW for example)
- We don’t kick people for only playing a few hours a week, or sometimes less
- We don’t kick people because they don’t have the “BiS” items
- We don’t know all the people in the guild ; does that matter ?
- We don’t all play together, there are subgroups with affinities, either personal or gameplay oriented
- I like certain people, I dislike some others. Who cares, everybody plays with the ones they like
- We don’t have scheduled dungeons runs or similar things. You just log in, see who’s interested in what, and get people to join you in whatever you want to do. Or maybe you join them. Or you just play on your own on that day because you feel like it.

One of the biggest advantages of a large guild is that there’s always someone you can do things with ! IF you want.

So I guess my question is, after all this… I don’t understand why large guilds are perceived so negatively :-? And maybe the large guilds some of you know are that annoying, with mandatory scheduled events and whatnot, but why not create your own or expand the one you have already ? There are apparently PLENTY of people who think like the players I have seen complaining on the forums.

- thank you for reading

The problem is that people in small guilds feel like people in large guilds have received a reward to their playstyle, because guild missions give far better rewards than any other game content right now.

Ascended accessories for large guild members cost 12 guild commendations (earned over 6 missions) + 5 gold (3 of which is earned during those same missions).

Ascended accessories for everyone else consts 40 laurels + 50 ectoplasm for everyone else. This is also intentionally more expensive, to encourage players to try the new guild content.
(https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/Holy-kitten-Cleric-Ascended-Accessory/page/3#post1516124)

The people who do not play in large guilds (mostly by choice) feel penalized and resentful towards people in large guilds, even though all people in large guilds is some fun new game content to enjoy.

- We don’t know all the people in the guild ; does that matter ?

This is what mainly is off putting about large guilds and, I am generalizing here, is what most people don’t like about the large guilds other then their silly restrictions. Consider two things about social interactions and people’s daily lives.

Firstly, most video gamers have a awkward social encounters and have trouble making friends in real life because they have to work with the people around them that can be very limited in shared interests ( unlike the internet where people can find more shared interests to bond over). There are also people who are more shy in RL but feel liberated by the internet’s anonymity or those who have trouble expressing verbal thoughts well but can express in writing well. I am not saying that all gamers are unable to make friends but that the circumstances are much more narrow than on the internet. On the flip side of this the interent is much to broad so making friends that way is also just as hard because of it, then couple it with the idea that trusting someone who you can’t see is against human nature (most of the time) and you have yet again even more awkward social encounters in RL and Online. So if someone manages to get through all that an collect a group of friends that is considered immensely valuable.

Second thing to consider about this statement is that people are also emotionally/socially drained from feeling like a faceless number in every day situations. College, work places, etc can foster situations where there’s a large collect of people sharing similar interests without creating relationships beyond courtesy.

Large guilds aren’t inherently bad but they can be restrictive but mainly off putting because you are losing valuable relationships and interactions that all humans seek for normally. So when large guilds offer nice things but become a faceless number… well it goes against human nature and thus is still seen as an evil entity.

Evil? No… But not everyone wants to live in a big city.

I’m more confused by why people in big guilds seem so angered by small guilds wanting access to these missions, too. It’s not taking anything away from large guilds (unless they expect to be recruiting those who leave small guilds because of this – and to be clear, this is the kind of thing that makes people leave the game, not their guild)

I’ve been in big guilds, & found them – awful. “Not something I enjoy.” I do not wish to socialize with large groups – I prefer close knit groups, generally with people I actually know. So it’s not that large guilds are deemed evil – just rather cold, necessarily shallow, & impersonal.

Playing in large guilds is a playstyle.
Playing in small guilds is different playstyle.

The guild mission system rewards the first playstyle, but not the second.
Sure, if you are in a small guild, you can still pay 50 Globs of Ectoplasm for your Ascended accessory, but guild missions also give an increased chance of finding Legendary Precursors that is unavailable to people who have no access to guild missions.

Everyone in game has access to a large guild somewhere with the ability to multi-guild. And where everyone shares loot, I really don’t see it as being an all encompassing issue.

Actually, I can see this issue driving the multi-guild system even further as we progress.

Nope. But they’re not for everyone, either. Why should we all be forced into the same playstyle?

First off many people don’t like all the BS that is spouted in the larger guilds chat…have been in many of them and seems like it is always an issue.

I don’t think large guilds are “evil.” I just don’t want to be in one. I like the small guild feel and I like knowing everyone and everyone knowing me. I just don’t see why guild activities can’t be geared toward both large and small guilds. If a guild only has 5 people, they should be able to play some guild content and get benefits, too. But that’s just my opinion. ArenaNet has theirs.

As a role player, my characters’ guilds reflect that and are mostly comprised of natural IC associations. The largest of these clocks in at 13 members, and is 60k Influence and several weeks off being able to start a Guild Mission of any kind. This is an immense pity because when it comes to group content, these are the people I would like to play alongside. These people are friendly, interesting people and completing Guild Missions with them would be a pleasure.

This is not to say that large guilds are an abomination, or that they don’t foster friendliness. Many are very welcoming. But I don’t want to be forced into one simply because I want to experience certain content. It’s unfair to me and it’s unfair to any guild I might join, as its likely they’d have their own agenda and reasons for existing beyond Guild Missions.

Raf.1078:

Everyone in game has access to a large guild somewhere with the ability to multi-guild. And where everyone shares loot, I really don’t see it as being an all encompassing issue.

Actually, I can see this issue driving the multi-guild system even further as we progress.

The problem is that you can only represent one guild at a time.
You only have access to the guild chat channel of the guild you are representing.
Many large guilds often require members to always represent their guild (and earn influence for it) in order to remain in good standing.

What this adds up to is that people in smaller guilds have to choose to EITHER represent the large guild and have access to guild missions, OR play with their friends in a small guild.

Also, while they choose to represent a large guild, they will not be earning any influence for their small guild, further delaying the small guild’s gaining access to guild missions.

As an addendum:
Even if large guild, like the threadstarter’s, do not require members to always represent, large guilds now hold a position of power of people from smaller guilds who want to play guild missions, and thus have an incentive to ask for payment or certain behaviour (like representing) in exchange. And people from smaller guilds have an incentive to pay or adjust their behaviour in exchange for guild mission access.

I’m not saying it’s a general fact. I’m saying that there are now more incentives in place to stimulate such behaviour.

FilthyRat.4652:

First off many people don’t like all the BS that is spouted in the larger guilds chat…have been in many of them and seems like it is always an issue.

This! I was in one – long ago in WoW – where the chat got unbelievably bad & so dark. I had half of the guild on ignore, had to minimize guild chat, & finally thought… “No game is worth this!” In another guild, generally more adult & moderate, there was a woman constantly discussing her affairs. There was always something – from the weird stuff to in game drama, to the utter boredom of seeing sports chat roll by. Generally, some core of the guild knew each other in real life, & a lot of personal information flew by. It was like being trapped with strangers all talking on cell phones. It’s like being stuck in a self help meeting – there’s always a few who hold forth & view you as a captive audience, & prattle on.

No… I’m having horror guild flashbacks! Did I say they weren’t evil? Beginning to rethink that… They’re evil because they give a podium to people I cannot avoid & do not want to hear. There’s that.

Many people have already had the ‘big guild’ experience and simply do not like it.

Those that do, fine. Nothing is being taken away. Having small guilds being able to see the same content does not ‘hurt’ a large guild.

However, this patch does ‘hurt’ small guilds. It means smaller groups of people are excluded from content. Even if small guilds can unlock the missions…it seems it takes at least 20 people to progress to the next tier, which does in fact, gate off small guilds from the content.

This is exactly the thing Anet said they wanted to avoid.

stobie.2134:

No… I’m having horror guild flashbacks! Did I say they weren’t evil? Beginning to rethink that… They’re evil because they give a podium to people I cannot avoid & do not want to hear. There’s that.

Any guild has that, if there’s no ground rules on what’s allowable in guild chat. In a large guild I was in back on EverQuest there was one rule specifically for the guild chat:

“You are not allowed to use guild chat to discuss: anything illegal in more than one state, anything medical-related, anything you did last night while drunk/high (see also point 1), and what funny cat picture you found this last ten minutes. If you persist after one warning from an officer, you will be kicked for one week and invited back. If you keep it up, we will not invite you back again.”

Sadly, that guild did have rules. But when it’s an officer doing the violation… you’re pretty much stuck.

There’s a whole list of things not to talk about in polite company – adding in all religion & politics. The thing is, when you’re in your own guild, you can talk about whatever you want. My sister & I talk about all sorts of woman things – I’m pretty sure we’d have to refrain from THAT if we started recruiting for the sake of guild missions. And I can’t imagine why a small comfortable group would want to move to ‘politically correct, non-offensive.’ I wouldn’t ask them to – but neither do I want to hear it. It sounds like being in an office – and that may be great for some, & a nightmare for others.

Hence, I’d rather see Anet leave us with choice, & rethink their already odd influence system.

stobie.2134:

Sadly, that guild did have rules. But when it’s an officer doing the violation… you’re pretty much stuck.

Yeah. There’s always that . . .

It runs in small guilds too.

Ive been playing MMO’s since EQ2 / 7 yrs of WoW and almost all MMO’s inbettewen. I run my own gaming clan but sometimes ive been known to join Guilds if its a game my clan isnt interested in joining

Almost all of the Large Guilds ive been in have been a negative experience. But its hard to avoid that more people equate to more personalities and age groups.

Im 33 years old and gaming with people who are talking about how awesome the latest Justin Bieber CD is or what Poke’mon card they just got isnt my idea of a fun Friday night.

In smaller guilds you can tailor your personality likes to the players in your community. Theres nobody in -=DDM=- that I dislikes or have any drama issues with.

Plus when im in -=DDM=- I feel needed I feel like a person.

In a Mega Guild im just #375 of 980 its feels more like a Borg Collective with so many diffrent voices and where individuality is lost amongst the white noise of the Hive…

Im not a Drone im Hellspawn and me and my friends would like to do the Guild Missions and have fun without Grinding for almost a year to unlock them.

Over 300,000 Influence is obsurd and only detracts from community which you only find a in smaller more intimate atmosphere.

I’m pretty sure ANet said that other people would be able to help out any guild’s mission. I’m assuming that means you’ll be able to fill your large group needs from the general public.

Not unlike LFG right now…except with better payoff. And a chance to meet new folks?

How about you give it chance before spouting off about what it “might” mean? No one really knows at this point.

They can help but they don’t get commendations or items…which means no chance at precursor if you aren’t repping the guild that started it. You only get rewards as if you are completing any other dynamic event in the game.

http://dulfy.net/2013/02/26/gw2-guild-missions-guide

Raf.1078:

I’m pretty sure ANet said that other people would be able to help out any guild’s mission. I’m assuming that means you’ll be able to fill your large group needs from the general public.

Not unlike LFG right now…except with better payoff. And a chance to meet new folks?

How about you give it chance before spouting off about what it “might” mean? No one really knows at this point.

It is already confirmed that some people can help to complete the missions, however, the reward only goes to the people representing the guild. (There are plenty of topics on that point already) That sort of negates the incentive for people helping out doesn’t it?

If I wanted to “meet new folks” I would. When I meet people in game I like, I friend them and keep in touch. I do not need to be in a big guild for that.

Raf.1078:

I’m pretty sure ANet said that other people would be able to help out any guild’s mission. I’m assuming that means you’ll be able to fill your large group needs from the general public.

Not unlike LFG right now…except with better payoff. And a chance to meet new folks?

How about you give it chance before spouting off about what it “might” mean? No one really knows at this point.

Yes, other people can help in guild missions. But no, these other people will not receive any special rewards, just experience, silver and karma. Other people will also know that guild members will receive guild commendations, rares/exotics and a lot more coin for a mission. Some people have already stated on this forum that they will refuse to help if the game doesn’t give them equal rewards.

Of course, that is assuming that a (smallish) guild can even muster the 80,000+ influence necessary to level up Art of War and Unlock Guild Bounty.

Jornophelanthas.1475:

Raf.1078:

I’m pretty sure ANet said that other people would be able to help out any guild’s mission. I’m assuming that means you’ll be able to fill your large group needs from the general public.

Not unlike LFG right now…except with better payoff. And a chance to meet new folks?

How about you give it chance before spouting off about what it “might” mean? No one really knows at this point.

Yes, other people can help in guild missions. But no, these other people will not receive any special rewards, just experience, silver and karma. Other people will also know that guild members will receive guild commendations, rares/exotics and a lot more coin for a mission. Some people have already stated on this forum that they will refuse to help if the game doesn’t give them equal rewards.

Of course, that is assuming that a (smallish) guild can even muster the 80,000+ influence necessary to level up Art of War and Unlock Guild Bounty.

There are some people who in game have said “even if you guaranteed me a Precursor I wouldn’t lift one finger to help out a Guild Bounty”.

Raf.1078:

I’m pretty sure ANet said that other people would be able to help out any guild’s mission. I’m assuming that means you’ll be able to fill your large group needs from the general public.

Not unlike LFG right now…except with better payoff. And a chance to meet new folks?

Except not with better payout. Helping a guild doesn’t give you the commendations or the rares with a chance at exotics. You have to represent the guild starting the mission to get those, otherwise you just get a fat dynamic event reward of like 400 karma, some experience, and ~1.8 silver.

Rising Dusk.2408:

Raf.1078:

I’m pretty sure ANet said that other people would be able to help out any guild’s mission. I’m assuming that means you’ll be able to fill your large group needs from the general public.

Not unlike LFG right now…except with better payoff. And a chance to meet new folks?

Except not with better payout. Helping a guild doesn’t give you the commendations or the rares with a chance at exotics. You have to represent the guild starting the mission to get those, otherwise you just get a fat dynamic event reward of like 400 karma, some experience, and ~1.8 silver.

Don’t forget the chance at a precursors that can sell for several hundred gold

From my personal experience (and run ins) with large guilds (and their members) over the past…8 or so years, yeah…large guilds suck. No offence to those presently in a large guild where they are happy.

I am not a barcode…I am not a number. I am a person. I have likes, dislikes, a life, and a family. Large guilds (again, this is from my experience) don’t seem to understand any of these things. You don’t know, or can’t get to know, the majority of the people. Unless you’re in the ‘right class’ of people in the guild you end up left out. They have ungodly requirements that ‘casuals’ (and I use the term loosely) don’t really have the time to devote to unless they don’t plan on doing anything else. (“We require a 10k, 25k, 50k,+ ‘insert faction type here’ contribution a day” flashbacks anyone?) At times you feel completely powerless, like you don’t exist.

Put succinctly, it feels like being in high school all over again, and you aren’t one of the ‘popular’ kids. You’re the weirdo in the corner that the jocks like stuffing in a locker. And the package comes complete with unnecessary drama! Its not pretty.

On the other hand, in my small guild, I know everyone. I know their hobbies. I know their names. I have their emails, their phone numbers, their skype. Not a requirement, but they trust me enough to give them to me. I know by how they are acting if they had a bad day, and if they want to talk about it, they know I (and others) are there to listen. We also razz the kitten out of each other, and enjoy every minute of it. We know if we need a hand, someone’s gonna come help, even if it means dropping everything else just so they can.

We are a family, and I have never found that feeling in a large guild.

For some people, that sense of connection is more important than belonging to the mob; however it really seems like the small guilds are getting a kick in the teeth right now.

Jornophelanthas.1475:

The problem is that people in small guilds feel like people in large guilds have received a reward to their playstyle, because guild missions give far better rewards than any other game content right now.

Ascended accessories for large guild members cost 12 guild commendations (earned over 6 missions) + 5 gold (3 of which is earned during those same missions).

Ascended accessories for everyone else consts 40 laurels + 50 ectoplasm for everyone else. This is also intentionally more expensive, to encourage players to try the new guild content.
(https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/Holy-kitten-Cleric-Ascended-Accessory/page/3#post1516124)

The people who do not play in large guilds (mostly by choice) feel penalized and resentful towards people in large guilds, even though all people in large guilds is some fun new game content to enjoy.

Six missions would take six weeks. You can only get the commendations once a week. The trade off if you are not in a guild or you are in a small guild is 40 laurels and 50 ectos.
If all you ever did was dailys once a day you would have enough in 40 days, or 5 and half weeks to pick up the new ascended stuff. The ectos you should be able to get the 50 in 5 and half weeks. Thats if you play everyday for an hour or 2. You might think that is unfair because players have rl commitments. While this is true it takes a guild cooperation and planning to do these missions. They require the guild members who wish to participate to set aside a specific time to run the mission. Even if that means setting aside RL for an hour or two play session.

If you get the monthly done you would get your laurels faster. You could shave off about a week and half.

I view large guilds as Evil.
Sorry, but in any other game I have seen justification for them. Not in Guild Wars 2. Below is my reasoning>:

Ive seen 400 – 500 man guilds as well as 500 – 1000 man guilds (through 2 guilds under 1 tag) attempt to dominate other guilds, forumboards and locations. They tell people how to play, what to do and how to act. They are not even Anet employees and even as a collective try to harass players in-game. This is a trend occurring in the server I am in with the server trying to make it an “unofficial rule” that everyone has to be part of their teamspeak server in WvW at all times, regardless if the group has their own VoIP. I’ve gotten harassed and threatened in whispers by larger guilds from telling them that new players and pugs (pick up group) players have rights.

I’ve been called out in WvW for defending the rights of the weaker, who right now its the large guilds trying to tell everyone through their forumboards what players should and should not do.

I run my own guild called Twilight Daze from Fort Aspenwood that has three rules:
1) Real Life Comes first
2) Run only what you love to run
3) Don’t be Afraid (To have heart and Personality)

We are a small guild of 46 and guess what! We work together and yesterday we had 40K influence to research the first guild mission and to get Econ Level 4. We have a 50 – 66% login ratio daily and on weekends a 75 – 90% login ratio. (Ratio = in a 24 hour period how many of your members log on), We have 12 – 20 members online in our most active times.

I can talk to you about different members and their personality because I took the time to get to know people, run with them, find out about their life and interests…

This is important because below I mention the problem with larger guilds:

I was member to Eight Large Guilds. Eventually I left them all and followed a dream to raise my guild for the following common reason shared by them all:

~400+ players in a guild and half of them never log on, the other half are not representing and I have to deal with the annoying lies that come from guild recruiters in Lions Arch all day long…Sorry but if you have 400 active members you wouldn’t need to recruit, you would need to make do with what you have.

~The expectation to WvW during their times and follow people around like a soldier where I see the training the players have in large guilds is atrocious compared to those of smaller, more organized guilds. Ive seen 30 – 40+ players get wiped out by half that number on smaller guilds…Why? Because the smaller guilds spend more time playing with the same people while the larger guilds scrounge up who they can to run. Bigger isn’t always better.

~What is the point of joining a 500 (sometimes 1000 man guild from 2 different guilds of the same tag made) man guild? Did I log into a server to become member to a community that can fit its own server?

~Lack of personality is a problem too. The guild has no character…Its so big its been lost. Some here, some there…the magic is just lost.

~Results are poor. These large guilds have poor login ratios. People are not happy as they gain and lose members rapidly. 5 of the eight guilds I was in would kick members weekly for being inactive.

I joined one guild and in that guild I spent an entire month alone with no members of that guild helping out when I requested it. When I received help later it was because I had a commander tag and had more friends and people that I knew, most of that came from my friendlist of people. Thats right! My friends from Friendlist kept me in this game and talking to newbs.

The worse of the worse is the attitude I have seen. Granted some people have been nice to me, talking me and showing me a different behavior does not convince me.

To me if a guild is happy and filled with characters, the people want to talk to you. They want to be a friend. They would log in and be happy to log in and thus we would see a higher login ratio. People would care and know they do need a forumboard, or some other crazy resource outside of a VoIP to feel connected. They will feel connected already in the guild if done right. You can tell how happy a group is by their level of activity. A guild that has 60 – 90% of its members login and be happy about it and talk shows a lot of happiness in comparison to guilds with 400 members that have less than 15% of people login during weekdays and around that same number on weekends…

I feel the maximum amount for a guild should be 100 people and that the focus should be on efficiency, getting to know players and training up. Developing Character. I just feel larger guilds destroy the character of the game.

pencapchew.5432:

Jornophelanthas.1475:

The problem is that people in small guilds feel like people in large guilds have received a reward to their playstyle, because guild missions give far better rewards than any other game content right now.

Ascended accessories for large guild members cost 12 guild commendations (earned over 6 missions) + 5 gold (3 of which is earned during those same missions).

Ascended accessories for everyone else consts 40 laurels + 50 ectoplasm for everyone else. This is also intentionally more expensive, to encourage players to try the new guild content.
(https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/Holy-kitten-Cleric-Ascended-Accessory/page/3#post1516124)

The people who do not play in large guilds (mostly by choice) feel penalized and resentful towards people in large guilds, even though all people in large guilds is some fun new game content to enjoy.

Six missions would take six weeks. You can only get the commendations once a week. The trade off if you are not in a guild or you are in a small guild is 40 laurels and 50 ectos.
If all you ever did was dailys once a day you would have enough in 40 days, or 5 and half weeks to pick up the new ascended stuff. The ectos you should be able to get the 50 in 5 and half weeks. Thats if you play everyday for an hour or 2. You might think that is unfair because players have rl commitments. While this is true it takes a guild cooperation and planning to do these missions. They require the guild members who wish to participate to set aside a specific time to run the mission. Even if that means setting aside RL for an hour or two play session.

If you get the monthly done you would get your laurels faster. You could shave off about a week and half.

By ArenaNet’s own admission, 40 Laurels + 50 Ectoplasm is considered more expensive than 12 Guild Commendations + 5 gold. And even more poignantly, this is intentional:

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/Holy-kitten-Cleric-Ascended-Accessory/page/3#post1516124

pencapchew.5432:

Six missions would take six weeks. You can only get the commendations once a week.

Once a week per mission category. That’s 10 commendations per week, once a guild has all its unlocks taken care of.

Guilds themselves are not evil. It’s only annoying that rather than playing in a real GvG environment we’ll play a monopoly game when a few guilds hog it all to themselves killing any competition in the process. Do I care about the earrings ? No. It’s just awesome to see guild members leaving.

Don’t defend this patch as if the game is a job and we should do as we are told like little children. Most of the people I play with are 25+ and have jobs and families to look after, so “you can farm ectos” is not a viable option.

Setsunayaki.4907:

I feel the maximum amount for a guild should be 100 people and that the focus should be on efficiency, getting to know players and training up. Developing Character. I just feel larger guilds destroy the character of the game.

In GW1, the maximum was 100, and the max alliance was 10 guilds; but even that didn’t stop the huge guilds from trying to take over.

I won’t give the tag, but veterans will know which one I mean when I say that there was one alliance that spanned 20 guilds. 10 guilds on the Luxon side, 10 guilds on the Kurzick side, all ran by a single person. Their members were absolute snobs, at least those that I interacted with. It was because of people and guilds like that, that I would play with only heroes and hench if my guildies weren’t around.

Obviously not; there must be lots of good, reasonable large Guilds. However, them not being evil doesn’t mean that I must enjoy the experience, much like clubbing isn’t inherently “Evil”, but I hate clubbing and won’t do it.

The problem is that the game is rewarding the large Guild crowd, who have all the right to enjoy being part of a larger community, and neglecting the needs of those who enjoy a different gaming experience with a smaller/very small Guild, which is ALSO a legitimate way to enjoy GW2.

I feel Ms. Leah Rivera’s comments on Guild Missions were very misleading regarding the smaller Guilds. I feel it’s also a bit disrectful (no offense) to promise that smaller Guilds won’t be excluded (that they mentioned it at all means that they did think that it would be a concern, but mistakenly went ahead with their pet project anyway), but in practice they mostly are. We were expecting new content, and it was destined to be enjoyed by only a certain part of the population (thanks for the bugfixes, though.)

Again, the following are very important principles to me:

-No one should feel forced to be in a large Guild to reap its benefits

-No one should feel forced to think that a smaller Guild is not a viable way to enjoy the game

-No one should be forced to use the multi-guild option, even if it’s there. It’s OK to be a member of only one Guild, regardless size. Being member of many Guilds is a good feature for those who have the need to play with friends on other Guilds, but clearly not something we must do just because the option is there.

-No one should be reprimended for wanting a close-knit small Guild-they have the right to exist and thrive as much as the largest GW2 Guild, whichever that may be. Of course, no one should critique you for wanting a larger Guild gaming experience, but you also have no right to disrespect those who enjoy a tiny Guild experience.

-Therefore, no player should be punished in-game for electing not to be part of a larger Guild, for whatever reasons. Not everyone is meant to enjoy large Guilds, period. That not because they are “evil”, but because they may prefer a different type of Guild experience.

I noticed a few minutes ago that, unbeknownst to me, I was invited by a large Guild to be part of their 487 member crowd, in which 30+ members were actually playing at the time. Who invited me and when? I have no known friends there, and I didn’t recognize any player username among my friend list. They had a 100% representing rule (which is their right) that immediately put me off, and knowing nobody in there, I’ll certainly won’t join them-which is my free choice, even though I could have benefitted, given that they had 487,000 influence (my Guild has just above a thousand.) Am I stupid? No, I just prefer not to join anything that doesn’t feel right, and I would certainly feel bad joining a large Guild just to join Guild Missions, and not because I knew friends in there and wanted to join in exciting ventures with them.

I am not anti-social. I prefer a different gaming experience. I love my friends and always help strangers on the PvE map, making new friends all the time in that fashion. Being part of a huge Guild is not “the right thing to do” just because it may be so for even the majority, if that would be the case-we are individuals, not clones with similar needs.

Large Guilds are not wrong nor evil, but so aren’t small Guilds. Both have the right to coexist and enjoy GW2.