Guild Mission Concerns
“But you can get more people to help you” seems to be aimed at the specific missions where people can drop in and help you out.
I have the same concerns. I have a small guild of 25+ people with maybe 5 members online at a time. With the article saying “These challenges leverage our existing event system but are specifically geared to require multi-group, coordinated play to succeed. So gather your guild and see if you’re up to the challenge!” makes me think our guild will never see this event unless we dissolve our current guild and join a bigger guild. The Guild Bounty showed way more than 5 players taking down the bounty as well. As happy as I was when they first spoke of this feature I now feel it will be the cause of death for a lot of smaller guilds who just want to participate in new content. More information would be great like the minimum amount of people needed to do each type of mission. With only the information provided it really feels gloomy to be in a small guild.
A guild with an average of 5 people online is what I call a party group, Im sorry to say this but thats not a guild, why dont you fuse with another smaller guild….
And another thing, guild missions arent even out yet so we dont even know what to expect…relax en most important thing enjoy the game
I’m also curious if we’re going to have a system for grouping multiple guild groups for the new guild missions? All we have currently is the commander and squad system. Often running guild events with the commander pin up you get flooded with random people joining, asking what’s going on, etc. Removing the commander pin dissolves and disbands the squad. If you want to do a private guild event you have to do it as separate 5 person groups using VoIP. It’s sometimes very frustrating to coordinate 2-4 groups using only a 3rd party VoIP.
As has been suggested numerous times, if there was a way to “hide” the commander pin and still retain all the functions of the squad system… that would be perfect for guild only events. Basically a private squad. Is this something we might see in the future?
I agree with the OP, I was looking forward to this but seems like this will lead to smaller guilds disbanding and joining larger ones.
We have about 10 people online during pacific evening hours but im not sure if that will be enough to do such missions.
A guild with an average of 5 people online is what I call a party group, Im sorry to say this but thats not a guild, why dont you fuse with another smaller guild….
And another thing, guild missions arent even out yet so we dont even know what to expect…relax en most important thing enjoy the game
What would you call a group of 4 people that have been together for over 20 years, and gaming online for over a dozen?
That is our guild. It is a guild. It has been through multiple MMO’s at that size. We have been in games with in-game mechanics that support alliances, and games where we managed to form alliances through outside abilities.
We have led server wide raids on an on-going basis for years. We have participated with large outdoor raids, in RvR, WvW, doing explorables (all except one path in one dungeon which demands 5).We have added folks to our group to take through dungeon runs when nobody wanted that particular class.
I know from postings out here and on other forums, there are many similar guilds.
Pardon me for responding, but the cliche “just merge” demonstrates the same level of insight as “learn to play” or “you’re playing wrong”.
I agree, raising concerns regarding content not yet released seems premature.
However, it appears that small guilds do have some concerns that need to be identified and discussed. And it would be better marketing to address those early, and if there are actual problems that cannot be easily remedied by players themselves, to take note and make a decision about dealing with them or not.
Completely agree with Goldenwing re: small guild situation as we have a smililar situation. However, Anet wont be able to adjust/respond to this until it goes live and we can see what’s what.
ALl in all, it’s sounding fab as a concept – looking forward to it
A guild with an average of 5 people online is what I call a party group, Im sorry to say this but thats not a guild, why dont you fuse with another smaller guild….
And another thing, guild missions arent even out yet so we dont even know what to expect…relax en most important thing enjoy the game
Because people like having a guild for their group of players? Guilds NEVER had to be big. A guild is just a group of people, there are no size stipulations. Heck most of the time guilds are quite small, unless of course a game mechanic requires they be big(raids).
We know what to expect because they just posted a blog telling us what to expect…
although i think the “players can drop by and help out because it happens in the open world and not instances” is a good idea, it might not help grow a small guild. players will probably tag these events like other popular dynamic events, and small guilds will continue to be small. if it works well, smaller guild i feel could use this as another recruitment tool, and make new friends.
i sense it will happen much like the current dragon events:
1) small guild, or any guild starts a guild mission, hoping to recruit new players
2) advertised or not, players show up seemingly out of nowhere to help
3) event finishes, mass of players leave, and not join guild
4) merits are collected by guild for seeing mission through to the end, and random helpers get compensated w/o connection to the hosting guild.
Yes, it is better to have more players in your guild!.. as it should be.
Youre just going to have to wait for it to go live and check it out, because until then you dont have any tangible feedback since you havnt done it yet. Try not to discourage yourself before you even get to it, but definitely start up another discussion if you find it needs tweaking. I dont think its going to be that bad for small groups, but if it is ANet will probably make some changes.
although i think the “players can drop by and help out because it happens in the open world and not instances” is a good idea, it might not help grow a small guild. players will probably tag these events like other popular dynamic events, and small guilds will continue to be small. if it works well, smaller guild i feel could use this as another recruitment tool, and make new friends.
I don’t see a problem with small guilds staying small. If that’s what they want, a nice cozy circle of friends, then I don’t want to tell them they need more people so they can do the content.
If a guild is small because it can’t recruit people, however, maybe this can indeed help them grow if they run a couple events and get noticed.
I like the concept of an MMORPG. I love PvE’ing in the Shiverpeak Mountains. The music and naturescapes are quite impressive.
Then I seem to hit this ideology wall with the Dev’s. I’d much rather see an inclusive system, than an exclusive one. Rewarding only the large guilds that are already ahead, is to further punish the family guilds or stifle those that are just trying to start.
Youre just going to have to wait for it to go live and check it out, because until then you dont have any tangible feedback since you havnt done it yet.
This. Why do people get so riled up before even trying it. And it’s not like ANet said anything no small guilds. They said the opposite, anyone can do it.
Is actually pretty simple, they said before that there are different levels of difficulty. So if you have a small guild, just do the ones that only requires a few. That is it.
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I don’t see a problem with small guilds staying small. If that’s what they want, a nice cozy circle of friends, then I don’t want to tell them they need more people so they can do the content.
If a guild is small because it can’t recruit people, however, maybe this can indeed help them grow if they run a couple events and get noticed. [/quote]
which is fine, but they need to pro-rate the influence earned for smaller guilds. why should a larger guild have access to guild mission buffs faster because they earn influence at a faster rate by sheer numbers? does anyone have a problem with smaller guilds being able to earn influence or pay for buffs for less influence cost?
it seems a penalty is occurring for smaller guilds. Not only do they have to get more guilds to jump in, but they can’t buy things with influence at the same rate or even close to the same rate as larger ones. there is a disconnect to me there.
I don’t see a problem with small guilds staying small. If that’s what they want, a nice cozy circle of friends, then I don’t want to tell them they need more people so they can do the content.
If a guild is small because it can’t recruit people, however, maybe this can indeed help them grow if they run a couple events and get noticed. [/quote]
which is fine, but they need to pro-rate the influence earned for smaller guilds. why should a larger guild have access to guild mission buffs faster because they earn influence at a faster rate by sheer numbers? does anyone have a problem with smaller guilds being able to earn influence or pay for buffs for less influence cost?
it seems a penalty is occurring for smaller guilds. Not only do they have to get more guilds to jump in, but they can’t buy things with influence at the same rate or even close to the same rate as larger ones. there is a disconnect to me there.
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Why should larger guilds be able to earn rewards faster?
Well gee, maybe it is because they have more people playing, therefore earning it faster? How is it fair to larger guilds if smaller guild of 5 can access the same tier of content at the same rate as a large guild of 500? You are still able to do the content regardless because you can participate in other guild’s missions. So it is not as if you have been locked out.
Really, what you are basically saying is how is it fair a guy playing 8 hours a day can get faster access to content than a guy playing only 2 hours a day.
Do you see the problem here?
I don’t see a problem with small guilds staying small. If that’s what they want, a nice cozy circle of friends, then I don’t want to tell them they need more people so they can do the content.
If a guild is small because it can’t recruit people, however, maybe this can indeed help them grow if they run a couple events and get noticed.
which is fine, but they need to pro-rate the influence earned for smaller guilds. why should a larger guild have access to guild mission buffs faster because they earn influence at a faster rate by sheer numbers? does anyone have a problem with smaller guilds being able to earn influence or pay for buffs for less influence cost?
it seems a penalty is occurring for smaller guilds. Not only do they have to get more guilds to jump in, but they can’t buy things with influence at the same rate or even close to the same rate as larger ones. there is a disconnect to me there.
[/quote]
Why should larger guilds be able to earn rewards faster?
Well gee, maybe it is because they have more people playing, therefore earning it faster? How is it fair to larger guilds if smaller guild of 5 can access the same tier of content at the same rate as a large guild of 500? You are still able to do the content regardless because you can participate in other guild’s missions. So it is not as if you have been locked out.
Really, what you are basically saying is how is it fair a guy playing 8 hours a day can get faster access to content than a guy playing only 2 hours a day.
Do you see the problem here?[/quote]
I am saying exactly that. A guild of 8-10 should be able to acquire a guild karma buff at the same rate as a guild of 100+(which is the size of the guild I happen to lead). A smaller guild shouldn’t be able to do it faster, but if a guild of close friends wants to play with only themselves, they shouldn’t be penalized for wanting to remain smaller and therefore earning buffs slower. Why do any of us care if a small guild is earning 15% more karma or getting the same magic find as a large guild. To argue against them getting the exact same rewards as a large guild is asinine.
I don’t see a problem with small guilds staying small. If that’s what they want, a nice cozy circle of friends, then I don’t want to tell them they need more people so they can do the content.
If a guild is small because it can’t recruit people, however, maybe this can indeed help them grow if they run a couple events and get noticed.
which is fine, but they need to pro-rate the influence earned for smaller guilds. why should a larger guild have access to guild mission buffs faster because they earn influence at a faster rate by sheer numbers? does anyone have a problem with smaller guilds being able to earn influence or pay for buffs for less influence cost?
it seems a penalty is occurring for smaller guilds. Not only do they have to get more guilds to jump in, but they can’t buy things with influence at the same rate or even close to the same rate as larger ones. there is a disconnect to me there.
There’s no penalty for smaller guilds unless they want to see it as a penalty being small. I’ll explain why small guilds can work:
- Smaller guilds probably do things together, maybe since they’re all friends who really like each other’s company. This is . . . from quietly polling some folks . . . the biggest reason a small guild exists and stays small.
- Influence is gained at a greater rate if more people in the same place when events are done. So, the more members of the guild who are there (representing) the faster they gain Influence. If the small guild is pretty much all there, they’re raking in Influence.
- Therefore, they’re gaining Influence at a substantial rate.
Larger guilds may not be doing the same thing, they may be trying to capture “more people on their own = more Influence” feel. This might be true, but if they’re all over the map and not concentrated then you’re not getting it efficiently. The smaller guild may actually be out-earning you.
The wrench in these ideas, obviously, is not all small guilds are like this. And there’s the other “fix” too – one can buy Influence through Gold or Gems. So really, the size of the guild isn’t solely indicative of how fast they gain Influence.
And it doesn’t necessarily limit what they can do. Five folks who know each other, know what the others can do with their classes/skills, can cover themselves pretty well and take on content which is reasonably difficult should they choose to.
Maybe an idea could be for a re-structuring of the Influence earnings / costs of things, related to the license size of the guild.
For instance: starting guild banner cost is 200,
when upgrading to the 2nd license this same banner now costs 400.
That way the rates of obtaining Influence remain balanced to each other.
(This is just a rough idea that i just thought of)
What would you call a group of 4 people that have been together for over 20 years, and gaming online for over a dozen?
That is our guild. It is a guild. It has been through multiple MMO’s at that size. We have been in games with in-game mechanics that support alliances, and games where we managed to form alliances through outside abilities.
We have led server wide raids on an on-going basis for years. We have participated with large outdoor raids, in RvR, WvW, doing explorables (all except one path in one dungeon which demands 5).We have added folks to our group to take through dungeon runs when nobody wanted that particular class.
I know from postings out here and on other forums, there are many similar guilds.
Pardon me for responding, but the cliche “just merge” demonstrates the same level of insight as “learn to play” or “you’re playing wrong”.
You say your group has joined alliances before whether in-game functions allowed it or not – so what’s stopping you now? (the answer is nothing, by the way; my guild had such an alliance)
You don’t have to merge. In GW2 you can keep your guild, but also join another. And another. And another.
You claim that you’re so benevolent, graciously letting people into your dungeon group; but you’re not so benevolent as to accept people not part of your in-club into your guild? You can let people into your guild to have more players without compromising your friendship.
This is absolutely your decision, but every choice has an opportunity cost, and you must decide whether it’s worth it or not.
If it ends up not being worth it to be part of a smaller guild, then you have to adapt, not stomp your foot and stubbornly dig in your heels, or live with keeping your tiny group and not being able to manage the content.
Zerg guild leaders whine that nobody wants to be in their zerg guilds now that people aren’t locked into 1 guild → anet adds zerg guild content to force people into zerg guilds.
Why are small guilds surprised? It’s working as intended, if you read between the lines forcing guilds to merge together (or at least forcing you to represent for a zerg guild at least some of the time) was the whole point.
Zerg guild leaders whine that nobody wants to be in their zerg guilds now that people aren’t locked into 1 guild -> anet adds zerg guild content to force people into zerg guilds.
Why are small guilds surprised? It’s working as intended, if you read between the lines forcing guilds to merge together (or at least forcing you to represent for a zerg guild at least some of the time) was the whole point.
Maybe those “zerg guilds” should do something other than whine it’s not working and expect other people to fix their problem?
Also, looking at this . . . and the distinct lack of detailed information, how exactly does this force small guilds to merge?
Don’t misunderstand me, I’m on the small guild side (I’m the only person in my guild who regularly logs in and I’m fine with that).
Somehow zerg guilds = stronger community in some people’s mind, so thats what we are going to get.
Oh I’m in a small guild too, and we have people in that guild who have their own small guilds and pop in and out of the “main guild” which used to be an alliance in GW1. They do their own thing, slip over to chatter now and then, and it’s fine. As I’ve said elsewhere . . . we manage to get things done even though we’re small. We’re rather proud of that
As for “zerg guilds”, I have no idea what this is supposed to mean., I took it to mean large guilds trying to farm Influence off having just as many members representing all the time.
I am saying exactly that. A guild of 8-10 should be able to acquire a guild karma buff at the same rate as a guild of 100+(which is the size of the guild I happen to lead). A smaller guild shouldn’t be able to do it faster, but if a guild of close friends wants to play with only themselves, they shouldn’t be penalized for wanting to remain smaller and therefore earning buffs slower. Why do any of us care if a small guild is earning 15% more karma or getting the same magic find as a large guild. To argue against them getting the exact same rewards as a large guild is asinine.
Take a “red team” approach (that is, look at every new feature and ask yourself how it could be used to exploit and how it could be used to grief). You’ll rapidly see that if you let small guilds level rapidly, the ideal way to form a guild is have a handful of players — the ones who are constantly on — form and level the guild rapidly to earn the rewards, then afterward invite everyone else.
So this is a technically unsolvable problem. As soon as there are guild rewards which come from individual player actions in the world, the devs have to make ugly choices between small guilds never “arriving”, big guilds “arriving” a week after the feature launches, or enabling exploiters.
It’s also politically unsolvable, because no matter what you do it will alienate a significant fraction of your player base. For example, my small guild of many years left EQ 2 the day the devs announced a decision which effectively screwed the small guilds. (It was also the day a very open, accessible, and transparent lead developer left SOE.)
I think the key to a developer working through this (other than not offering guild rewards at all) is to set the pace so the big guild of highly motivated players maxes out the rewards in a month, and the small guild takes a year. With enough granularity that the small guild sees something, however small, every few weeks. And clear and unambiguous discussion of the tradeoff (transparency) so that everyone understands the reasoning and why the big guilds have nothing left to strive for.
Seriously? It hasn’t even started yet and people are already complaining about it. Do you just look for things to complain about?
I think the key to a developer working through this (other than not offering guild rewards at all) is to set the pace so the big guild of highly motivated players maxes out the rewards in a month, and the small guild takes a year. With enough granularity that the small guild sees something, however small, every few weeks. And clear and unambiguous discussion of the tradeoff (transparency) so that everyone understands the reasoning and why the big guilds have nothing left to strive for.
Given the content that’s come out so far? Yeah, I kind of see that’s a big possibility. Heavy time-consuming guilds will get everything soon, more casual guilds about three times as long, but still being able to earn it.
And yes, I split them that way because a small guild can do hardcore farming of Influence for their circle of friends and a larger guild can be just “hey, represent the guild if you drop in WvW so we can be on the same channel together and coordinate, otherwise don’t worry bout it”.
What would you call a group of 4 people that have been together for over 20 years, and gaming online for over a dozen?
That is our guild. It is a guild. It has been through multiple MMO’s at that size. We have been in games with in-game mechanics that support alliances, and games where we managed to form alliances through outside abilities.
We have led server wide raids on an on-going basis for years. We have participated with large outdoor raids, in RvR, WvW, doing explorables (all except one path in one dungeon which demands 5).We have added folks to our group to take through dungeon runs when nobody wanted that particular class.
I know from postings out here and on other forums, there are many similar guilds.
Pardon me for responding, but the cliche “just merge” demonstrates the same level of insight as “learn to play” or “you’re playing wrong”.
You say your group has joined alliances before whether in-game functions allowed it or not – so what’s stopping you now? (the answer is nothing, by the way; my guild had such an alliance)
You don’t have to merge. In GW2 you can keep your guild, but also join another. And another. And another.
You claim that you’re so benevolent, graciously letting people into your dungeon group; but you’re not so benevolent as to accept people not part of your in-club into your guild? You can let people into your guild to have more players without compromising your friendship.
This is absolutely your decision, but every choice has an opportunity cost, and you must decide whether it’s worth it or not.
If it ends up not being worth it to be part of a smaller guild, then you have to adapt, not stomp your foot and stubbornly dig in your heels, or live with keeping your tiny group and not being able to manage the content.
First, let me make this perfectly clear:
No one is stomping their foot.
No one is digging in their heels.
We have paid the cost over the years. Being forced out of some games where the devs have made a sudden design decision to punish small guilds under 10 people. It was a deliberate, published decision. And we voted with our feet. We had fun. The game was deliberately changed. We left. End of story.
My response was to those players who have a knee-jerk (uninformed/narrow) perception that the obvious answer is “merge”, or “learn to grow”. There are reasons we keep our guild limited, some which started out with protecting guildmates. It is our choice. We accept full responsibility.
That does not mean we are anti-social. Like I said, we have participated in and also led raids of various nature (PvE, raid, and PvP). We have adapted. And continue to do so.
Nor does that mean (and I have not seen any posting of mine on this board or others) that indicate that we deserve special preference, shouldn’t have responsibility, nor (list of negative adjectives here) want to take away anything from other players.
We came to this game, because interviews and videos and statements from ANet devs were promoting small group structure.
There is a concern about small guild participation, and that is being voiced by my guild and others.
(edited by goldenwing.8473)
There is a concern about small guild participation, and that is being voiced by my guild and others.
And it’s a very simple view. “We play the game as we like to. When we can’t anymore, we leave.” I appreciate it.
I’m concerned a bit more about the costing of these things, than the ability to actually do them. If a small guild wants to do them badly enough, I have no doubts they will manage to do so. And it’s within anyone’s right to say “no, I don’t want to do that” and . . . not do it.
I still think until we see exactly what this is, that anything more than concerns are probably premature.
There is a concern about small guild participation, and that is being voiced by my guild and others.
And it’s a very simple view. “We play the game as we like to. When we can’t anymore, we leave.” I appreciate it.
I’m concerned a bit more about the costing of these things, than the ability to actually do them. If a small guild wants to do them badly enough, I have no doubts they will manage to do so. And it’s within anyone’s right to say “no, I don’t want to do that” and . . . not do it.
I still think until we see exactly what this is, that anything more than concerns are probably premature.
I agree they seem to be premature.
I usually advocate a “wait and see” position on any new changes to software/MMO’s.
There’s enough folks raising an expenditure concern here, that I think it indicates there may be issues once it’s released.
As I tell my son all the time, we shall see.
5 ppl not realty a guild that just a group of ppl who play together often. If any thing i would be more thinking about the cost to upgrade to the point where you can even start to make the guild quest. Its going to take a great deal of time even if you have 25 ppl playing a lot.
Now that out of the way you could run with other guilds that you know of who are making these guild events there was lots of talk for ppl out side of the guild joining in now you will not get guild banners etc.. but you will get person things.
There are things you must deal with inherent with your chose of play if being in a big guild is not for you then there are going to be things you cant do. This is true with any thing in life.
Guild : OBEY (The Legacy) I call it Obay , TLC (WvW) , UNIV (other)
Server : FA
Small guild can work as mercenaries i guess. Collaborate with some big guilds. Whenever they go on a guild mission, help them out. Assisting will give reward as well.
So, basically it encourages Guild Zerging?
Small Guilds need help from how many more people exactly in order to complete what they need to?
What is the ideal target number in order to smoothly complete a Guild Challenge or Bounty Hunt?
This seems messy or maybe I just don’t understand.
First, let me make this perfectly clear:
No one is stomping their foot.
No one is digging in their heels.
We have paid the cost over the years. Being forced out of some games where the devs have made a sudden design decision to punish small guilds under 10 people. It was a deliberate, published decision. And we voted with our feet. We had fun. The game was deliberately changed. We left. End of story.
My response was to those players who have a knee-jerk (uninformed/narrow) perception that the obvious answer is “merge”, or “learn to grow”. There are reasons we keep our guild limited, some which started out with protecting guildmates. It is our choice. We accept full responsibility.
That does not mean we are anti-social. Like I said, we have participated in and also led raids of various nature (PvE, raid, and PvP). We have adapted. And continue to do so.
There is a concern about small guild participation, and that is being voiced by my guild and others.
Accusing people of being “narrow-minded” and going on their knee-jerk reactions is a bit presumptuous, especially when the suggestions follow a logical train of thought.
Don’t have enough people to do something? Find more people. Be it from being in an alliance (a point which you decided to ignore, by the way), or having membership in a larger guild, while keeping your own, for just such situations where you need to tap into a network of more people.
I’m just saying that if having 1 small guild with no alliance is hurting more than it’s helping, maybe it would be a good idea to be open-minded (as opposed to narrow/uninformed/knee-jerk) toward additionally participating in larger groups, as well as being in your own.
Anyhow, I do agree that all this panic is a bit premature; the details do seem to imply that smaller-scale guild missions will be available, and that outsiders would be able to join in on the open-world portions, which should help out the smaller guilds. We’ll have to wait and see, and it’s not going to be a very long wait.
We have not yet joined an alliance in this game because there has been no need. Until maybe now. It’s not clear from the information that ANet has posted.
We are not averse to doing so, just have not had the need. Alliances, like any other choice, also have consequences. If we join one, we want to make sure we are contributing to them.
I agree, as I said before, we need to wait and see how this all plays out.
(edited by goldenwing.8473)
Is actually pretty simple, they said before that there are different levels of difficulty. So if you have a small guild, just do the ones that only requires a few. That is it.
In an interview it was said the the easier ones can be done with 15 – 20 people. Some might consider that a small guild but my guild of rl friends has 4 of us left since others quit playing long ago and so far there hasn’t been anything in the game we haven’t been able to do until now.
Hello,
Since there is several thread about the new guild missions, we created a dedicated thread for it here : New guild missions: opinions & concerns.
Please start using this new thread for every questions, concerns or opinions you may have about this
This one is now locked, thank you.