Guild Wars 2

I know some of us actually go to college and university. I am trying to finish 3rd year right now, actually, and I am studying for my last exam (on the 20th).

Thing is, a lot of other people seem to have far more free time than some of us, and, especially when you are in a guild, they might start complaining about being inactive. However, it’s not really my fault, as I have other, more important things going on in my life, such as projects, exams, essays, etc.

On top of that, after I finish this year, I will be taking a course this summer, and also be going to NYC and Japan, and also working on my painting and drawing skills.

TL;DR GO HERE
My question is, how do you deal with inactivity, dealing with other guild members/leaders, etc.? How do you try to balance the two and keep in good touch with people without being kicked out of a guild or being criticized for being inactive?

EDIT: Just to clarify, this is more of a discussion thread, NOT a complaint thread.

Before you join a guild, you should perfectly state that you are a casual gamer and not as active.

Drop a note on the guild forums and/or an in-game letter to the guildleader informing them that you are absent because.

Any normal, worthwhile guild will tell you good luck with the thing and we’ll see you when we’ll see you.

Sometimes you just have to acknowledge you can’t contribute and depart, hoping to come back later. Set expectations and explain.

tl;dr communicate well

LightningBlaze.4913:

Before you join a guild, you should perfectly state that you are a casual gamer and not as active.

I don’t think casual gamer and “not as active” are really mutual. I am more than a casual gamer, but I did let my guild know that I am in University currently and might not be as active now as I was at the start of the school year.

LowestTruth.2635:

Drop a note on the guild forums and/or an in-game letter to the guildleader informing them that you are absent because.

Any normal, worthwhile guild will tell you good luck with the thing and we’ll see you when we’ll see you.

Sometimes you just have to acknowledge you can’t contribute and depart, hoping to come back later. Set expectations and explain.

tl;dr communicate well

I agree. I have done that very recently, actually. Also, I want people to know that I did not make this thread to complain or anything; this is more of a discussion thread to see how other people deal with that problem.

It has been my experience that if you are in a really good guild simply explaining to the guild leader(s) or posting on their forum (if they have one) the reason for your inactivity is enough. If they find your inactivity unacceptable then it is probably time to evaluate if that guild is worthy of your membership.

LowestTruth.2635:

Drop a note on the guild forums and/or an in-game letter to the guildleader informing them that you are absent because.

Any normal, worthwhile guild will tell you good luck with the thing and we’ll see you when we’ll see you.

Sometimes you just have to acknowledge you can’t contribute and depart, hoping to come back later. Set expectations and explain.

tl;dr communicate well

This exactly. If it is a hardcore guild then simply it isn’t the right one for you anyway and you probably wouldn’t have fun with them anyway. If it is a guild with some activity rules then most of the time simply talking to the Guild Leader makes all the difference and they can’t make exceptions for you. Those guilds simply don’t want people who have stopped playing to clutter their ranks most of the time, but the simple courtesy is enough for them to let you remain.

Don’t join a hardcore or semi-hardcore guild if you are casual.

Most casual guilds are small enough that the member limit will not be a problem and you would probably not be kicked. Any casual guild I have been in is usually really lenient with their participation policies if they have any at all.

U know what’s funny about this is, I’m constantly thinking that with a full time job and a 1 year old those college kids must have so much more time to play than I do!!

Tagus Eleuthera.7305:

U know what’s funny about this is, I’m constantly thinking that with a full time job and a 1 year old those college kids must have so much more time to play than I do!!

Some of those “college kids” actually have more to do than you’d expect, such as six projects, two of which are 5-page essays, due literally on the same day, as well as being in a hands-on program, meaning having to do a lot of projects constantly.

If you’re going to be absent so much that it actually matters, just let your guild leader know.

I would figure 99% of guilds in this game they’d just say “ok no problem”. If you’re in one where that’s a problem, it isn’t a guild you want to be in anyway.

Like other people have said the best approach is to let your guild know you won’t have much free time for a while, and why, so they don’t expect high participation.

If that’s going to be a problem for them you might need to think about finding another guild. There is a lot of variety in requirements between them so you should be able to find one which suits you.

AdelaisAer.4109:

Tagus Eleuthera.7305:

U know what’s funny about this is, I’m constantly thinking that with a full time job and a 1 year old those college kids must have so much more time to play than I do!!

Some of those “college kids” actually have more to do than you’d expect, such as six projects, two of which are 5-page essays, due literally on the same day, as well as being in a hands-on program, meaning having to do a lot of projects constantly.

It depends hugely on what course you’re doing. I did a biology degree and as long as I had some idea what I was doing when I started – where to look for research papers when writing an essay and so on – I could get quite a bit of free time. Once of my friends did theatre studies and it wasn’t uncommon for her to be working 12+ hours a day between lectures, rehearsals, building props, writing essays etc.

But then the same can be said of jobs. Some full time jobs take up a lot more time than others. Or some people might be able to play while working if the job involves a lot of waiting or other ‘down time’.

Danikat.8537:

Like other people have said the best approach is to let your guild know you won’t have much free time for a while, and why, so they don’t expect high participation.

If that’s going to be a problem for them you might need to think about finding another guild. There is a lot of variety in requirements between them so you should be able to find one which suits you.

AdelaisAer.4109:

Tagus Eleuthera.7305:

U know what’s funny about this is, I’m constantly thinking that with a full time job and a 1 year old those college kids must have so much more time to play than I do!!

Some of those “college kids” actually have more to do than you’d expect, such as six projects, two of which are 5-page essays, due literally on the same day, as well as being in a hands-on program, meaning having to do a lot of projects constantly.

It depends hugely on what course you’re doing. I did a biology degree and as long as I had some idea what I was doing when I started – where to look for research papers when writing an essay and so on – I could get quite a bit of free time. Once of my friends did theatre studies and it wasn’t uncommon for her to be working 12+ hours a day between lectures, rehearsals, building props, writing essays etc.

But then the same can be said of jobs. Some full time jobs take up a lot more time than others. Or some people might be able to play while working if the job involves a lot of waiting or other ‘down time’.

Of course. Well, I am in Multimedia. Think of it as the digital counterpart of Art or Studio Art. We do a lot of digital audio, film & video, animation, analyzing digital games, a bit of digital art history (or new media art history), etc.

Needless to say, it’s mostly project-based, with some theory. Plus, if you consider the time it takes to actually go out and capture things, and then edit them and process them and then post-process them, and then render them, and then make sure they are alright, and then go and fix stuff, etc. and then upload them and hand them in………

Yeah, we have very little free time, contrary to popular belief. >.>;

AdelaisAer.4109:

Tagus Eleuthera.7305:

U know what’s funny about this is, I’m constantly thinking that with a full time job and a 1 year old those college kids must have so much more time to play than I do!!

Some of those “college kids” actually have more to do than you’d expect, such as six projects, two of which are 5-page essays, due literally on the same day, as well as being in a hands-on program, meaning having to do a lot of projects constantly.

I miss the days of only needing to write 5 page essays. Wait until you need to do quarterly reports, or worse yet, reports to the government. You’ll also wish you only had to do 5 pages.

danbuter.2314:

AdelaisAer.4109:

Tagus Eleuthera.7305:

U know what’s funny about this is, I’m constantly thinking that with a full time job and a 1 year old those college kids must have so much more time to play than I do!!

Some of those “college kids” actually have more to do than you’d expect, such as six projects, two of which are 5-page essays, due literally on the same day, as well as being in a hands-on program, meaning having to do a lot of projects constantly.

I miss the days of only needing to write 5 page essays. Wait until you need to do quarterly reports, or worse yet, reports to the government. You’ll also wish you only had to do 5 pages.

Well, the essays may seem like nothing, but the projects more than make up for that.