Guild Checkpoint – Tips for choosing a guild
This week’s Guild Checkpoint is a bit different. I have been on vacation this past week and dealing with a fever…yuck, but the show must go on, as they say. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to give a guild the proper amount of time and attention for an article; therefore, I decided to write about how to go about choosing a guide.
come on...RP server guild...
So, what exactly should a player look for when choosing a guild to join in SWTOR? Have you felt like just throwing a dart at the wall of guilds?
More helpful tips and discussion about choosing a guild after the Jump…
This for many of you seems straight forward and pretty easy to answer. But, I will bet that many of you have had some bad experiences with a guild that just didn’t fit. I’m not saying that this article will give you all the answers, far from it, but it does have tips that will assist in making your decision. Many of these suggestions were picked up from other gamers that helped me along my gaming journey.
Before looking or applying to a guild, a gamer needs to do a little self examination. Look at how you like to play an MMO. Ask yourself questions, do I like to PVP, do I want to PVP in just certain areas or have the ability to fight the opposing faction at anytime, what time zone best fits with my schedule, do I want to roleplay my character, for SWTOR which faction do I want to play, and these are just a few to get started.
Once you have these answered, you can narrow down the type of server you want. Once your basic elements of playstyle are established you can search for guilds that fit your server criteria on SWTOR’s Guild page. You will need to be logged into your SWTOR account and then go the guild page; about halfway down you will see icons for Republic, Empire, PVP, PVE, and RP. You can easily click any of the icons and get a list of all the guilds that fall into that category, however, this might not be the best plan. I would suggest going below the icons and selecting detailed search. This will allow you to better narrow down your search and plug-in more of the answers to the above questions you answered about your gameplay.
The refined guild search asks for faction, server type, language, and server time zone. These options will give you a better choice of guilds that might work for you. If there are still too many, you can click on more options under refine search. The extra options, (see below), include selecting hours per week able to play, guild focus – (PVP, questing, social, endgame content), how much role play the guild does (light, heavy, or none), and the final few questions you can select what you prefer on scheduled play sessions, voice-chat, forum usage, and amount of chat a guild does.
Now, that you have a list of guilds that fit your criteria, this is when you need to start checking out each guild’s SWTOR guild page and/or private website. By checking into the guilds you can find out whether it is a large or small guild. Most guilds, which have their own private websites, offer FAQs or guild information page. This is what I do for the Guild Checkpoint articles to formulate questions for the guilds, but for an individual you would want to create questions to ask the guild leader or officers to see if that guild works for you. I think it is important to remember that you can and should ask questions to any guilds you are considering joining. This sounds like a lot to do, but asking the questions can save you from joining a guild that isn’t right for you. Taking the extra time and effort also shows to prospective guilds that you are dedicated and willing to put forth the effort.
Several guilds have those players wanting to join fill out an application. They like to know what games you have played, if you have been an officer in a past guild, what roles you have played within MMO games, they also like to know about your personally and how much time you will be able to be a part of the guild. These applications are not judging you as a gamer, but as you are trying to find the right guild, they are trying to find the right people to fit in their guild format. Just be upfront and honest in your answers this will benefit you and the officers going through your application.
The main thing to remember when choosing a guild is to make sure the guild fits you and how you like to play. If it feels weird or just not right, you can talk to the officers and see what can be worked out or you might need to find another guild that is better suited for you. There are a lot of great guilds out there for every playstyle and that fits the faction you choose to play. The extra work it takes in finding a good guild will reap benefits for you when you are in the game. A good guild is like a family, whether it is in PVP matches, questing, helping with resources for crafting or the great social aspect they are there to help.
Next week we will get back to looking at more of the great guilds in our SWTOR community. If you have missed any of the past Guild Checkpoints, you can find them at under the Media at the top of the page, just below our breaking news window. In the CRR Columns tab under Guild Checkpoint for all the past features on some really great guilds.
Now, if you would like to have your guild highlighted on CRR, please submit your guild’s name and website in an email to me at jason@corellianrun.com.
As this article states in general, you tend to find better guilds for you by doing your homework. Research the guild you want to be in, and just remember the biggest guilds may not necessarily be the best guild for you.
JediMasterBurst
Guild Co-Leader and Officer, Mansurus Ordo
Forum Administrator, Ordernet Gaming Community
@JediMasterBurst Thanks for your comments! I agree, that bigger does not always mean better. It really depends on what a player is looking for in a guild and how they like to play.