The Importance of Guilds in Guild Wars 2

[Shard.4791]

What guilds can do and what they will do are two separate things. There's usually a guild activity meta where guild missions, raids, wvw, are given priority over anything else. The guild missions have at last I think given all they can for many people. It's getting too repetitive. My main guild stopped doing them altogether. Maybe it's the fault of raids or maybe not. It's hard to isolate the reason without discussing about it in the guild but I for one would like to do the new stuff with my guildmates. However the option that I can do it won't mean that we will do it. Guild Missions were very reward oriented activity. There isn't that much reward in doing random activities in PoF. My guilds didn't do HoT content as a guild and they won't do PoF content either. Any word twisting won't change that and that's probably true for some number of other guilds too.

[Blaeys.3102]

> @Majic.4801 said:

> Good guilds don't need guild-only content to be good, and guild-only content won't make bad guilds good.

>

> Guilds are important, but *guild-only* content isn't as important as content everyone can enjoy.

 

This thread has nothing to do with guild only content.

 

It is about incentivizing guilds to be more active in organizing and participating in open world activities across the game - essentially by adapting the PVE guild missions to include the model currently used by WvW and PVP guild missions (which leverage existing content into guild missions).

 

I think this change would make it easier for them to incorporate new guild missions into LS releases (by leveraging events already on the map) while using the system to ensure both new and old events are better populated with core groups providing the light level of coordination that makes many open world events more fun.

 

I truly believe they need to do more to leverage the guild communities in the game - encouraging them to do more and incentivizing them to take leadership roles where needed across the game.

 

[Cronospere.8143]

There are so many awesome things that were easy to add to the guild.

I just wonder why they would ever stop evolving 1 part of the game.

Please continue to develop guild upgrades.

 

Like PoF guildhall music? easy and quick to add upgrade.

20% waypoint discount.

They should have added these with the pof release..

[Pimpology.6234]

Well the name is "Guild Wars" but they've clearly run from anything guild related that GW1 had.

[Cronospere.8143]

I really wonder what the reason behind all that is @"Gaile Gray.6029" ? We really want dev's to state an official post about the future of guilds in guildwars 2

Obviously many people are disappointed in the way thing are going (regarding guilds, i still really love almost everything about pof!) and we would love to hear about reasons here on the forums..

[Neage.3579]

No major guild content slated "GUILD wars" lol that's a bummer.

[Blaeys.3102]

> @Cronospere.8143 said:

> I really wonder what the reason behind all that is @"Gaile Gray.6029" ? We really want dev's to state an official post about the future of guilds in guildwars 2

> Obviously many people are disappointed in the way thing are going (regarding guilds, i still really love almost everything about pof!) and we would love to hear about reasons here on the forums..

 

Unfortunately, they did make a statement regarding the future of guilds in the recent AMA. Specifically, they said that there is no longer a guild content team and that any future guild content would have to come from developers having free time and being willing to do it on their own time.

 

In other words, they do not see it as a priority. They believe the game is moving forward on a good track and as Mike O'Brien said (paraphrased) - if we like what we've seem in the past year, we will like what we see in the next year.

 

Obviously, that is a VERY shortsighted statement that directly implies they have no interest in improving upon what we have in the game now - and their hardline stance on this issue ignores the importance of guilds both in building the community we have today and in ensuring the open world game remains healthy for everyone involved.

 

Which is exactly why I started this thread. While I would love a large scale, focused initiative related to guild content, it obviously isn't going to happen (the reason, imo, being because the developers have lost any understanding of what drives their game, probably because of the loss of key developers to other studios, but that is beside the point).

 

Given that, I proposed ideas that I thought might still fit within the scope of their current work model (specifically by integrating guild directives directly into open world and living story content). While it isn't the attention this part of the game truly deserves, it would at least serve to enhance the experience of being in an active guild while supporting open world and living story game goals.

 

So, while I would love for them to be more vocal on this topic, I don't expect it (especially given their reluctance to say anything beyond the basics to players). Mike O'Brien clearly stated their official stance on the issue. It is now up to us - the community and players - to explain why that stance is shortsighted and bad for the game (and HOPE they are actually listening to players).

[Spurnshadow.3678]

Guilds do not live or die around guild missions. They depend on leadership and enough content in your given game mode of choice to keep things going. Guild missions are merely a means to an end to get guild commendations or guild upgrades.

 

For WvW, those upgrades are an absolute necessity, but when completed, missions will not have importance. As far as WvW, the whole game mode is guild driven. It is one of the reasons you see so many guilds leaving this game. After HoT, guilds flat out left due to imbalance and the awful roll out of the new map. They've never returned. PoF is turning out to be similar. This has nothing to do with guild support and everything to do with the game's content.

 

PvP guilds could care even less because they have everything they need free. Again, only reason for PvP guilds to do missions is to get guild coms for what, trinkets? They don't need them. Maybe the completionists who want guild armor/weapon skins. Even the arena is not useflu for a PvP guild as it follows PvE rules. Having new guild missions would, again, do nothing here as the PvP folks care about class balance and getting new maps and maybe a non-conquest mode map.

 

PvE content is a bit different. Raids are great examples of guild content. They'll be coming out with new raids. Open world PvE? I don't get how that could really be guild driven except for hard stuff, like TT. Really everything else is just people getting together. I'd say that having new guild missions primarily cater to the PvE guilds. Slapping existing content into guild missions doesn't do much here as PvE people need new content, not recycling existing content.

[Blaeys.3102]

> @Spurnshadow.3678 said:

> Guilds do not live or die around guild missions. They depend on leadership and enough content in your given game mode of choice to keep things going. Guild missions are merely a means to an end to get guild commendations or guild upgrades.

>

> For WvW, those upgrades are an absolute necessity, but when completed, missions will not have importance. As far as WvW, the whole game mode is guild driven. It is one of the reasons you see so many guilds leaving this game. After HoT, guilds flat out left due to imbalance and the awful roll out of the new map. They've never returned. PoF is turning out to be similar. This has nothing to do with guild support and everything to do with the game's content.

>

> PvP guilds could care even less because they have everything they need free. Again, only reason for PvP guilds to do missions is to get guild coms for what, trinkets? They don't need them. Maybe the completionists who want guild armor/weapon skins. Even the arena is not useflu for a PvP guild as it follows PvE rules. Having new guild missions would, again, do nothing here as the PvP folks care about class balance and getting new maps and maybe a non-conquest mode map.

>

> PvE content is a bit different. Raids are great examples of guild content. They'll be coming out with new raids. Open world PvE? I don't get how that could really be guild driven except for hard stuff, like TT. Really everything else is just people getting together. I'd say that having new guild missions primarily cater to the PvE guilds. Slapping existing content into guild missions doesn't do much here as PvE people need new content, not recycling existing content.

 

Raids are small group content, not guild content. The only way they could be considered guild content is if guilds were limited to 10 people, or multiples thereof. Further to that point, they have stated that raids are designed for a smaller subset of the player base. If they are meant to be the only ongoing PVE guild content supported by Anet, then they missed that mark badly.

 

 

[OrbitalButt.5708]

My friends list serves basically the same purpose as a guild and I don't have to deal with the inevitable politicking and cliquishness of a guild.

 

That is to say, if I had any friends, which I don't, due to my horrible personality, bad armpit smells, catarrhs, and inability to interact with human beings without chronic thunderclap blasts of flatulence and uncontrollable weeping

[Blaeys.3102]

> @OrbitalButt.5708 said:

> My friends list serves basically the same purpose as a guild and I don't have to deal with the inevitable politicking and cliquishness of a guild.

>

> That is to say, if I had any friends, which I don't, due to my horrible personality, bad armpit smells, catarrhs, and inability to interact with human beings without chronic thunderclap blasts of flatulence and uncontrollable weeping

 

And, while disturbing on many levels, that is perfectly fine and an acceptable way to play the game.

 

My recommendations in the OP were made with guildless players in mind. The idea is to encourage guilds to drive activity across the game - possibly even directing them toward those areas that would otherwise grow dormant at times. This makes the game better for everyone while supporting those groups that make up the organized core of the game.

[Spurnshadow.3678]

> @Blaeys.3102 said:

> > @Spurnshadow.3678 said:

> > Guilds do not live or die around guild missions. They depend on leadership and enough content in your given game mode of choice to keep things going. Guild missions are merely a means to an end to get guild commendations or guild upgrades.

> >

> > For WvW, those upgrades are an absolute necessity, but when completed, missions will not have importance. As far as WvW, the whole game mode is guild driven. It is one of the reasons you see so many guilds leaving this game. After HoT, guilds flat out left due to imbalance and the awful roll out of the new map. They've never returned. PoF is turning out to be similar. This has nothing to do with guild support and everything to do with the game's content.

> >

> > PvP guilds could care even less because they have everything they need free. Again, only reason for PvP guilds to do missions is to get guild coms for what, trinkets? They don't need them. Maybe the completionists who want guild armor/weapon skins. Even the arena is not useflu for a PvP guild as it follows PvE rules. Having new guild missions would, again, do nothing here as the PvP folks care about class balance and getting new maps and maybe a non-conquest mode map.

> >

> > PvE content is a bit different. Raids are great examples of guild content. They'll be coming out with new raids. Open world PvE? I don't get how that could really be guild driven except for hard stuff, like TT. Really everything else is just people getting together. I'd say that having new guild missions primarily cater to the PvE guilds. Slapping existing content into guild missions doesn't do much here as PvE people need new content, not recycling existing content.

>

> Raids are small group content, not guild content. The only way they could be considered guild content is if guilds were limited to 10 people, or multiples thereof. Further to that point, they have stated that raids are designed for a smaller subset of the player base. If they are meant to be the only ongoing PVE guild content supported by Anet, then they missed that mark badly.

>

>

 

Completely false.

 

There are many guilds set up just for raids which consist of one raid team and some alts. There are also massive groups with are set up for raids only that have multiple teams that do raids on different skill levels and help others out.

[Blaeys.3102]

> @Spurnshadow.3678 said:

> > @Blaeys.3102 said:

> > > @Spurnshadow.3678 said:

> > > Guilds do not live or die around guild missions. They depend on leadership and enough content in your given game mode of choice to keep things going. Guild missions are merely a means to an end to get guild commendations or guild upgrades.

> > >

> > > For WvW, those upgrades are an absolute necessity, but when completed, missions will not have importance. As far as WvW, the whole game mode is guild driven. It is one of the reasons you see so many guilds leaving this game. After HoT, guilds flat out left due to imbalance and the awful roll out of the new map. They've never returned. PoF is turning out to be similar. This has nothing to do with guild support and everything to do with the game's content.

> > >

> > > PvP guilds could care even less because they have everything they need free. Again, only reason for PvP guilds to do missions is to get guild coms for what, trinkets? They don't need them. Maybe the completionists who want guild armor/weapon skins. Even the arena is not useflu for a PvP guild as it follows PvE rules. Having new guild missions would, again, do nothing here as the PvP folks care about class balance and getting new maps and maybe a non-conquest mode map.

> > >

> > > PvE content is a bit different. Raids are great examples of guild content. They'll be coming out with new raids. Open world PvE? I don't get how that could really be guild driven except for hard stuff, like TT. Really everything else is just people getting together. I'd say that having new guild missions primarily cater to the PvE guilds. Slapping existing content into guild missions doesn't do much here as PvE people need new content, not recycling existing content.

> >

> > Raids are small group content, not guild content. The only way they could be considered guild content is if guilds were limited to 10 people, or multiples thereof. Further to that point, they have stated that raids are designed for a smaller subset of the player base. If they are meant to be the only ongoing PVE guild content supported by Anet, then they missed that mark badly.

> >

> >

>

> Completely false.

>

> There are many guilds set up just for raids which consist of one raid team and some alts. There are also massive groups with are set up for raids only that have multiple teams that do raids on different skill levels and help others out.

 

I respect that. But that still doesn't make them guild content any more than PVP matches or dynamic events in the open world are guild content. It is content designed for a set number of people - content that Anet themselves designate as designed for a very specific kind of player.

 

Just because there are guilds set up exclusively for the purpose of raiding doesn't make raids guild content.

 

Now a system that encouraged guilds to do PVE content across the game, possibly even including raids in a small way (an optional mission to complete a raid boss with at least 3 guild members in the group for instance), would be something designed for guilds.