World of Warcraft Classic is right around the corner, and with it will come leagues of current and prior WoW players flooding into the game and trying to get their footing in old Azeroth.
Part of getting that footing is being a part of a guild, whether as a leader, an officer, or a rank and file and sharing a big part your WoW experience with that group.
A few years ago, MMORPG guild-leading veteran Elliot Lefebvre wrote an extensive and long-running series of guides on being a part of and leading a guild, most heavily focusing on effectively running a guild without running it and its players into the ground.
We’ve collected this series of “guild guides” in one place so that you can go into Azeroth with the right community mindset. These are particularly useful for guild leaders, as these articles touch on a lot more than just the base social aspects of running a guild: managing conflict, running events, effectively recruiting, tiering leadership, and more are covered in these articles.
Without further ado, for your perusing pleasure, here are Elliot’s fantastic guides to running a guild in a productive and sustainable manner, and to being a productive and helpful member of any guilds you may be a part of down the road.
Guides and Tips for Guild Leaders
- The Simple Guide to Starting a Guild From Scratch
- Basic Rules Guilds and Teams Should Lay Down
- Maintaining Continuity in Your Community
- Dealing with Problem Members in Your Group, Guild, or Clan
- Dealing with Problem Officers in Your Guild, Group, or Clan
- Making the Most of New Members in Your Group
- Making Events People Show Up For and Enjoy
- Mediating Conflicts in Your Guild or Clan
- Group Meetings that Aren’t Horrible
- How to Give Good Performance Feedback
- Pulling the “We Need to Talk” Trigger Won’t Kill the Group
- Keeping the Group Focused During Hard Progression
- Recognizing the Signs of an Unwell Group
- How to Handle Resource Distribution Better
- The Loot Distribution Dilemma
- Nailing Down What You Need for Guild Officers
- Learning to Love Guild Drama
- Taking Feedback and Managing Discontent in a Group
- How Do You Get Rid of (or Step Down From) a Leadership Role?
- The Life Cycle States of a Guild
- A Concept of Distributed Leadership
- Creating Guild Projects and Community Initiatives That Work
- How to Pick Out Good Potential Officers
- Giving New Applicants What They Need to Succeed in Your Guild
- Improving Your Guild’s Performance in World of Warcraft
- Managing your Guild’s Reputation
- Dealing with Rival Guilds
- Pushing and Pulling with Leadership
- Making a Guild Into an Inclusive Space
- Creating and Considering #GuildResolutions
- How to Split Your Guild
- Dealing with Disgruntled Members
- Handling Multi-Guild Members
- How to Merge with Another Guild
- An Easy Drag-and-Drop Template for Guild Rules
- How to Make Schedules Work
- The Big Book of Punishments (& How to Use It)
- Taking Breaks
- How to Handle People Who Aren’t in Your Guild
- What Should You Put on Your Guild Site?
- When to Use the More Specialized Features for Guild Sites
- Making a Solid News Update for Your Group
- How to Deal With Server Changes
Guild Recruitment and Promotion
- How to Properly Promote Your Guild
- An Easy Drag-and-Drop Template for Guild Applications
- How to Turn Down Applicants the Right Way
- What Do You Do When You’re Not Recruiting?
- The Mistakes You’re Making with Recruiting
- Holding a Better Interview for Your Guild
- Making Sure Your Applicants Have the Qualities You Need
- How to Recruit Smarter, Not Harder
Guides and Tips for Guild Members
- A New Player’s Handbook to Joining a Guild
- The Seven Big Benefits to Guild Membership
- Avoiding Drama and Needless Guild Conflict
- Should I Find Guild/Clan or Make My Own Gaming Group?
- How to Leave a Guild Properly
- Reasons to Stay With a Guild You Aren’t Fond Of
- Mistakes Every New Guild/Clan Officer Makes
- Learning How and When to Say “No”
- Giving Better Guild Feedback
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We wholeheartedly wish you the best adventures in your return to Azeroth of yore, and hope you don’t get ganked too many times in STV.
If you’re a current or prospective guild leader, check out our sister site Gamer Launch and its tools to build and maintain a guild website. You don’t have to have a website to run a guild, but it certainly helps organize your members and keep them engaged with one another.
