Guild Wars 2

Not trying to start a war here but I’d truly like to know why this game allows people to be in numerous guilds, thus contributing nothing to those they are not “representing”? I’ve played maybe over a hundred MMOs and have never seen this. I would like to understand the reasoning for this system.

There is a restriction on people who create guilds, like you can’t dissolve them and make another until so much time passes. Is there a restriction on people leaving and joining another?

I see guilds as something akin to teams in sports. You can’t play on multiple teams, so why multiple guilds? People should take pride in their guild and try to support it. If you aren’t representing, aren’t you really harming the guild by taking up a slot that someone else could use? I’ve seen a lot of posts of people hating on guild leaders because they “hassle” them by asking them to represent.

If I create a guild, all my characters are part of the guild. I think it should be on an account basis for everyone as well. You join a guild, all your alts belong to that guild. If you don’t like a guild, you are free to leave.

I think the current system weakens the guild system. Respond only if you have constructive insight.

In other MMOs, guilds are generally character based. You can join as many different guilds as you have characters. My main character is going to be in guild X, but this alt I only intend to play with IRL friends is going to be in guild Y. I personally prefer this system because guild X won’t know of and bother my alt.

GW1 forced you into a single guild account wide. GW2 was an improvement on that.

TESLA.7415:

I see guilds as something akin to teams in sports.

You can play multiple sports with different teams. Guild 1 is for PvE, 2 is for WvW, 3 is for PvP, etc. Not all guilds are going to specialize in everything and guilds can double as teams (as in a set PvP team).

Too many people really shouldn’t be an issue, especially considering the cap is 500. If you don’t know everyone in your guild, you’re not a real guild, you’re a group of randoms.

That’s certainly an opinion that you and probably many others have.

Personally I like the option of different guilds so that I can play with different groups of people. I have a small guild of close family and friends who aren’t very active and would get booted from other guilds. I also have a large guild that is very active and impersonal. The current system allows for me to play with my inactive friends when they do have time to log on as well as participate in the benefits of a large guild.
I’m also considering making my own guild just for my wife and I to have some extra storage space.

The harm, as you see it, is in players taking up a member slot without representing/contributing. I only see this as an issue if the guild is large enough to hit the max cap, which happens often enough. In those cases I can certainly see the argument for having repping requirements – the guild is large enough to be able to pick and choose the more loyal members. I see no problem with that. If your guild is short on member space and you can’t be bothered to rep with them, then you aren’t committed enough to that guild to stay in it. Same goes for alts in different guilds: if one guild is at capacity and your alt is collecting dust because you haven’t played it in a while, it should probably be booted.

But if not at capacity, I see nothing wrong with leaving an inactive character there to sit for long periods of time; it’s not hurting anything. The new chat system showing all guild chats should help bring about some activity from those characters that were previously disconnected from the guilds it was not actively repping.

Healix.5819:

Too many people really shouldn’t be an issue, especially considering the cap is 500. If you don’t know everyone in your guild, you’re not a real guild, you’re a group of randoms.

My large guild is at cap and I don’t know the folks in it very well. But we chatter all the time about whatever, and there are organized guild events weekly in which everyone is encouraged to participate. We may only get 20-30 folks out of our 500 but it’s still run by the leadership and they take great pains to show new people the ropes and make sure no one is left behind. There are typically 60-70 folks online at normal playtime hours and they are always asking for folks to join them in dungeons/fractals/PvP/etc so I would say it is a real guild, just a very impersonal one. It’s active, inclusive, friendly and they do boot inactive (those that haven’t logged in for a while) characters that were not repping when they need to invite new folks in. If the new folks turn out to be inactive, they eventually get booted as well.

TESLA.7415:

Not trying to start a war here but I’d truly like to know why this game allows people to be in numerous guilds, thus contributing nothing to those they are not “representing”? I’ve played maybe over a hundred MMOs and have never seen this. I would like to understand the reasoning for this system.

There is a restriction on people who create guilds, like you can’t dissolve them and make another until so much time passes. Is there a restriction on people leaving and joining another?

I see guilds as something akin to teams in sports. You can’t play on multiple teams, so why multiple guilds? People should take pride in their guild and try to support it. If you aren’t representing, aren’t you really harming the guild by taking up a slot that someone else could use? I’ve seen a lot of posts of people hating on guild leaders because they “hassle” them by asking them to represent.

If I create a guild, all my characters are part of the guild. I think it should be on an account basis for everyone as well. You join a guild, all your alts belong to that guild. If you don’t like a guild, you are free to leave.

I think the current system weakens the guild system. Respond only if you have constructive insight.

Many guilds, mine included, require full representation across all characters. If they have a problem with it then they don’t become members or they are asked to resign.

The only part of the system that weakens the integrity of a guild is the fact they can rep multiple guilds. But that only weakens guilds that don’t require representation. For those that require 100% rep, this system is no different than any other.

I totally respect those that don’t want to rep a guild 100%. That’s their freedom and they are likely looking for a completely different experience than we are. We are looking for people wanting a solid, long-lasting community rather than a chatroom and impromptu LFG channel. You can only accomplish that by having your members represent your guild.

One main guild and another smaller guild of some RL friends just to stay in contact. It’s awesome that we have this option that’s missing in many other games.

Thanks everyone for your reasonable responses. I am so used to being attacked in every forum I post in that I’m a bit guarded in even bringing stuff up. I have noticed that even in-game, the community inm GW2 is far more civil than others and I’ve played dozens, if not a hundred, different MMOs. So thanks again for this.

If I misunderstood the Wiki (or it’s outdated), it seemed to state that the cap was 50, not 500, unless you’re assuming an expansion of some sort. I don’t know what this requires (gold?), but unless it’s very simple, 50 would be an issue.

I do have my own thoughts on guild systems and most of you would probably not want me to design the one used After having run several in different games, I know the problems incurred. I’ve also noticed a general change in how people participate in MMO guilds. People used to be willing to register on guild websites and participate in them and try to do things in the game to better their guild. Now people act like they can’t be bothered and they just want to join a large established guild in order to tap them for all they can get for free and then hop to another.

GW2 appears to have more restrictions on guild leaders than members. Maybe I don’t fully understand the current system. I have not been a continuous player but have been around since launch. I have recently only leveled my first 80 toon. Maybe you can help me with exactly how the system works.

I created a guild and all my toons belong to the guild automatically. If someone joins, are all their toons in my guild? Are you always in every guild you join with every character? Can you be in eight guilds if you have eight toons? Can each of these toons be representing a different guild? If so, I don’t understand why a player would have an issue representing each guild but with a different character.

I will offer some of my ideas, take them or leave them:

I think if someone joins a guild, they should have to submit an official “document” in the game (game mechanic) that the guild master receives. They could then decide to give the player an “honorable discharge” or other action, if they choose. They would have to respond within a time frame (24 hours?) or something and if they did not (perhaps they are no longer active), the player would get a free release from the guild. They could then rejoin another.

If the player did not want to file a petition to leave, they could exit without notice but would have to pay some kind of fee (gold) to the guild. They would also suffer a cool down before being able to rejoin another. A week would be my suggestion.

I also believe it should be more difficult to create guilds. My reasoning is that there are just too many guilds and not enough people in them. Tera Online comes to mind here. When the game was first released, within one week there were over 1000 guilds in my server alone and 98% of them had 1-2 members.

In Rohan: Blood Feud, on the other hand, it was an accomplishment to create a guild. You had to be level 30 minimum (I believe cap was 70), pay 2,000,000 Crones (gold), supply 30 Sweetfish (rare item) and fulfill a chain of seven (some difficult, some timed) quests. That game is pretty old now but they had the best player shop of any MMO ever.

Anyway, enough of my rambling. Thanks in advance for your answers and politeness.

kylania.6924:

One main guild and another smaller guild of some RL friends just to stay in contact. It’s awesome that we have this option that’s missing in many other games.

What is it you can accomplish being in multiple guilds that you can’t from being in just one? Why can’t you and your frinds be in the one guild and still do everything?

With the removal of influence from everyday play, there’s no reason to ever rep any guild anymore — except for the brief moments when you’re doing guild missions.

TESLA.7415:

kylania.6924:

One main guild and another smaller guild of some RL friends just to stay in contact. It’s awesome that we have this option that’s missing in many other games.

What is it you can accomplish being in multiple guilds that you can’t from being in just one? Why can’t you and your frinds be in the one guild and still do everything?

The whole point of the multiguild system, originally, was that people could have more granular and focused communities as an option.

For instance, you like to play PvP and PvE, but the people in your PvP guild hate PvE, and the people in your PvE guild hate PvP. Thus, you’re allowed to be in two guilds and switch tags based on who you’re playing with/what you’re doing at the time.

With the guild hall system is also adds some other nice features. I have a permissionless “honored guest” rank in my guild for the people outside my guild that helped us claim the hall, which allowed them to use our vendors, or just visit without having to find a taxu.

Also, repping isn’t really tied to advancement any more. You now only gain favor from completing guild missions, which are content you would logically tag for. Outside of guild missions, tagging no longer gives that guild any benefits whatsoever, as that sort of contribution was moved to the treasury system so that guild advancement is less passive and generally more about teamwork. You donate mats to any guild you’re a part of, and do guild missions with them if you want to help them out. Not repping them doesn’t hurt them any more. You can easily rep your “main guild of close friends with no hall” while being part of a much larger guild that many small groups contribute to just to have access to guild hall benefits. You only need to tag if you want the benefits, so the situation is reversed. In stead of punishing a guild by not tagging, you’re punishing yourself by not tagging if that guild has passive benefits unlocked like WP cost reduction and other such things.

When you join a guild, your account is joined to the guild, and whichever character you are currently logged into will show up in the guild list. But all your characters are not automatically representing to begin with. If you’re not repping, the guild list will show the otherplayers that you logged in but with a “Not Representing” indicator. All the guilds will show up on the guild list of all your characters, and you’ll be able to rep with any of them from any character. In this way it is possible to rep 8 different guilds with 8 different characters, but you’ll always show as “Not Representing” to the other guilds that your other characters rep with.

As for more stringent guild requirements: ANet specifically wanted to make guilds and social interaction easier, which is why they went with the multiple guild option. This method appeals to more players than the more “hardcore” concept of guilds as an achievement. Since many guilds were porting over from GW1 they wanted the players to be able to form right back up without hassle.

Healix.5819:

In other MMOs, guilds are generally character based. You can join as many different guilds as you have characters. My main character is going to be in guild X, but this alt I only intend to play with IRL friends is going to be in guild Y. I personally prefer this system because guild X won’t know of and bother my alt.

GW1 forced you into a single guild account wide. GW2 was an improvement on that.

TESLA.7415:

I see guilds as something akin to teams in sports.

You can play multiple sports with different teams. Guild 1 is for PvE, 2 is for WvW, 3 is for PvP, etc. Not all guilds are going to specialize in everything and guilds can double as teams (as in a set PvP team).

Too many people really shouldn’t be an issue, especially considering the cap is 500. If you don’t know everyone in your guild, you’re not a real guild, you’re a group of randoms.

You are part of the problem. I completely agree with the op.
Why join a guild if you’re only going to be part of it for 15 minutes per week? You waste a slot that a more dedicated person could have.
You can’t have the cake, and eat everything around it too.
You like to do WvW? join a WvW.
You can’t freaking represent your PVE guild to leech off some guild comis once a week and then leave.
It doesn’t work like that.

In any other MMO there isn’t even such a thing as “Represent” you join and you are a full member. Why the heck would you accept a guild invite just to take up space as a freaking person who isn’t fully joined.

I see nothing wrong with this. I can now take part in both my Roleplay guilds at the same time and coordinate events through guild chat, while at the same time talking to my family guild who dont understand roleplay at all and thus have no interest in it. I can also talk to my dungeon guild and arrange dungeon and or fractal runs while talking to everyone else in my other guilds, without missing out on any conversations..

This is a good thing. Sorry you dont like it, but its about time this was done, now i can feel like a part of all my guilds. Not everyone i play with is interested in the same thing, and to get them all in a guild together wouldnt work, theyd never rep it.

Dante.1763:

I see nothing wrong with this. I can now take part in both my Roleplay guilds at the same time and coordinate events through guild chat, while at the same time talking to my family guild who dont understand roleplay at all and thus have no interest in it. I can also talk to my dungeon guild and arrange dungeon and or fractal runs while talking to everyone else in my other guilds, without missing out on any conversations..

This is a good thing. Sorry you dont like it, but its about time this was done, now i can feel like a part of all my guilds. Not everyone i play with is interested in the same thing, and to get them all in a guild together wouldnt work, theyd never rep it.

The point flew so far above you that even airplanes are closer.

Dante.1763:

… now i can feel like a part of all my guilds…

That’s the problem. These things should be group activities. A guild is supposed to be more than a group. It is supposed to be “like-minded” people who are more tight-knit. If everyone doesn’t like the same things, they shouldn’t be in a guild together. I just don’t buy the “I like this activity, but this guild doesn’t, so I need to be part of another guild” thing. With the thousands of guilds, I’ll bet there is no combination of activities that are not covered by many guilds. Just group with people when you want to do like things. There’s a group chat as well.

I think about the historical guilds and what it would be like had they used the same system. Say you’re a Templar in a Christian guild. Are you going to say “Thanks for this meeting, guys, but tomorrow I’m going to be hanging out with the Catholic guild. And the next day, the Pagans.”

I like just about every aspect of GW2, but I feel we’re being a bit slighted with this weak implementation of guilds. The other thing that bothers me is not seeing guild names over people’s heads. Maybe I’m a traditionalist, but there’s a reason they have “groups” and “guilds”.

P.S. I think the use of the word “kitten” in the forums to censor harmless words is ridiculous.

Healix.5819:

You can play multiple sports with different teams. Guild 1 is for PvE, 2 is for WvW, 3 is for PvP, etc. Not all guilds are going to specialize in everything and guilds can double as teams (as in a set PvP team).

This is the reason I like the current system. I’ve never been in a guild that does everything equally well. This game has a lot of different modes, so a WvW guild makes doing that more fun, while a fractal-heavy guild makes that more fun, and then there’s nice options like a solid RP guild when I’m in the mood for that and an exploring guild for getting the most out of the maps.

the guild system is fine.

too bad there is only a max of 5 guilds to join.

my guild members do not represent 100% and i do not force them to,
thus, in the end, those who will stay and become core members, will continue to do so,
those who do not fit in will simply leave.

Isn’t it also true that if you are not representing, there isn’t even the guild tag by your name, you can’t see guild chat, which also means you don’t see the guild’s MotD?

Deimos Tel Arin.7391:

the guild system is fine.

too bad there is only a max of 5 guilds to join.

my guild members do not represent 100% and i do not force them to,
thus, in the end, those who will stay and become core members, will continue to do so,
those who do not fit in will simply leave.

Well, this could easily be fixed if everyone in the game were just automatically in every single guild in the game.

I glad I disagree with you.

Multiple guilds is the only redeeming feature of the guild system in this game.

Then again, every guild has its own rules. Some people prefer 100% rep guilds, some prefer freedom.
And I like how the system embraces both.

TESLA.7415:

Dante.1763:

… now i can feel like a part of all my guilds…

That’s the problem. These things should be group activities. A guild is supposed to be more than a group. It is supposed to be “like-minded” people who are more tight-knit. If everyone doesn’t like the same things, they shouldn’t be in a guild together. I just don’t buy the “I like this activity, but this guild doesn’t, so I need to be part of another guild” thing. With the thousands of guilds, I’ll bet there is no combination of activities that are not covered by many guilds. Just group with people when you want to do like things. There’s a group chat as well.

I think about the historical guilds and what it would be like had they used the same system. Say you’re a Templar in a Christian guild. Are you going to say “Thanks for this meeting, guys, but tomorrow I’m going to be hanging out with the Catholic guild. And the next day, the Pagans.”

No, thats ridiculous entirely.
1.) Nobody in my roleplay guilds do anything else 90% of the time. Without guilds as they are, we wouldnt be able to set up large events in a reasonable amount of time. We are a roleplay GUILD we do things in Roleplay as a guild. we meet twice a night, most of them are also in other guilds throughout the rest of the week where they have friends and even family.

2.) Again: My family has no interest in roleplay at all and they dont like discussing the idea of it even so they would never join a guild where it was discussed period(Maybe said in another thread)

3.) A guild by the standard definition is

“1: an association of people with similar interests or pursuits”

We are using guilds for this purpose. My roleplay guild is all interested in Roleplay, nothing else most of the time, they log in on the nights we roleplay then logout and dont log in again until the next roleplay night. When im doing PVE and want groups for PVE i get ahold of my PVE guild, they do not do WVW again most of the time, or PVP, they /only/ do PVE, Dungeons, and Fractals. If i was into WVW and PVP i would be in a guild that did those things too.

4.) My past experiences with guilds, big guilds specifically, isnt great, i will never join another one.

The point is, you dont have to buy it, but both type of guilds, yours, and the ones you dont like quite obviously can coexist peacefully. My mother is fond of saying “If you dont like it, dont do it” this can apply here, your guild doesnt have to be like ours, if you want to do a 100% rep guild, then by all means do so. But dont try and tear apart all these other guilds because you dont think they are a “True Guild”, they are just as much a guild as yours is.

Sorry if i sound a little irritated by the end of this, but these threads remind me of the time in GW1 when i and my family got excluded from the guild wed been in since it was founded, and then kicked because and i do quote “We werent true guild members because we didnt do Arena battles and didnt donate faction.” When a new guild leader took over who wanted to change what the guild was for entirely. The guild died a weeks later, and all the people i knew stopped playing because of the bad taste in their mouths.

A few of us have stayed in touch and they are part of my family guild in GW2 so when they log in, whenever they have time we can play together again. Anyways, this will be the last time i post in this thread, ive seen these threads before, and i really dont think they will ever change the way guilds are handled in this game.

My view on it is simply this: does it harm a larger guild for there to be smaller ones, even if they’re only 1-4 people? If not, then there is no reason for this artificial restriction.

My friends that were planning on joining me here (there are only 3) are now holding off until they see if this is remedied. Two weeks ago we would have been fine. Now there would be no point in being in our own guild.

In GW1 we had a 4 person guild only, just myself, my husband and 2 friends that played very little. We mostly did the GH just to stop people from asking ALL the time about joining theirs.
Here in GW2 I am part of 2 guilds. Both have some of the same members and it was done that way on purpose for some extra things. So there is no problem from anyone about the 2 guilds.

What I do has no impact on you so why should you care how many guilds I am in or rep? None of them are any that you are in …..

It’s like political parties. I’ll bet anyone here who is registered belongs to a single party. You can’t be in the Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Green Party, Peace & Freedom, etc. all at once. You pick the one you most closely identify with.

Groups are for people to get together for various activities they enjoy, not guilds. Some people don’t know a guild is, I suppose.

Thanks for the responses, especially those who do get it.

TESLA.7415:

Some people don’t know a guild is, I suppose.

Thanks for the responses, especially those who do get it.

So, because some opinions differ from yours, everyone else is an idiot?

Okay, then…

rolls eyes

TESLA.7415:

It’s like political parties. I’ll bet anyone here who is registered belongs to a single party. You can’t be in the Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Green Party, Peace & Freedom, etc. all at once. You pick the one you most closely identify with.

Groups are for people to get together for various activities they enjoy, not guilds. Some people don’t know a guild is, I suppose.

Thanks for the responses, especially those who do get it.

You can absolutely join as many political parties as you wish. You just can’t vote in multiple primaries in some states. However, this has absolutely nothing to do with the topic.

A “group” of people has no set size definition other than not one. Some historical guilds only had a few members because of trade secrets. This also has nothing to do with this topic as we’re not forming historical merchant and artisan guilds.

Again, how would my 1-4 player guild damage your gameplay experience?