Welcome to Hao2Game!
This is the first installment into a series called Hao2Game. It is aimed towards anyone willing to gain some insightful knowledge into the world of gaming that may not be so obvious at a glance. You’ll find serious topics such as learning how to find your perfect play style, how to be an efficient gamer, the types of gamers, and much more. Sometimes you’ll find quirky topics such as how to properly troll, how to make games mind numbingly difficult and even how to explain video game humor to a non-gamer.
So buckle up, ladies, gents and other assorted entities, here’s how to be a complete boss in a guild setting.
Focus your Guild
So that seems like an obvious tip, but it is probably the most overlooked one. Now, unless you want to open your doors to every prepubescent thirteen year old, you’ll want to crack down your mighty whip and establish an audience. There have been a lot of cases where a guild has been formed with no focus, and simply takes in everyone that has enough intelligence to put “Invite pl0x” into Google Translate. These are doomed to fail sooner or later as it will create internal conflicts of interest between members.
Even if your guild is labelled as a “social” one, you still need to lay down criteria for what the purpose of your socialising is. If there are no rules in place, there will always be more than enough people to take that as an invitation to spread My Little Pony fan fiction across your guild chat, or “This one time, at Band Camp…”
Even if she IS the best pony, dammit!
With that said, don’t be afraid of cliques. Humans seek out people with similar interests to them, it’s in our nature. Forcing people to put up with others is not something you can do on the Internet, especially in a video game where everybody is willing to burn each other’s first born child over the epic loot that just exploded out of the boss’ derriere. Instead, allow the natural formation of cliques, but keep everyone focused on the big picture: Why the guild exists. Whether it’s running Rambo style into bloody battlefields or living off Red Bull and Cheetos while creating spreadsheets, make sure everyone is always on the same page.
Remove toxic members
Kicking people from the guild usually always sucks, unless they rolled a 100 after your 99, then you better wear steel toed boots when you do it. The removal of a member is either filled with angsty drama or a lot of sad pixelated faces. However, sometimes it is for the best and a necessary action in order to preserve the guild as a whole.
“I’M GOING TO TAKE MASSIVE DUMPS ON YOUR KEYBOARD” – Angsty drama
So what is a toxic member? Well, they vary. This can either be someone who constantly breaks the rules of the guild, even if they are minor offenses, or just has a negative attitude towards things. Whatever it may be, you need to watch out for these. Sometimes it is hard to spot, but here are some red flags in determining whether a player is toxic:
- They treat you with immense respect, but talk down to other people.
- There are at least three people in your guild that have a huge problem with the person.
- The person always challenges everything the guild does with their own opinion.
- Has emotional episodes
A toxic player brings the whole guild down. They generate unneeded drama and tarnish the reputation of the guild. A tip for minimizing the amount of resentment towards the guild after a boot, try employing this strategy:
Give a simple orientation in front of all the guild members and state that the guild comes before the individual. If you feel that anyone is being toxic, they will be removed, no matter how long they have been in the guild for. However, state that there is no personal vendetta and that they are more than welcome to join the guild in events; they will simply not wear the tag. Just by stating the consequences and your intentions in the very beginning may help prevent you being murdered in your sleep because you happened to kick the son of a hitman.
Understand Your Members
This is probably the most important thing to remember for the long term. A guild should be like a family, except without the insane uncle that gave you butterfly knives for Christmas when you were six years old. A family should understand each other’s needs and support them, while working towards a common goal. You are the head of the family, so it is your responsibility to make sure you understand the needs of the other members.
So what does this mean? Well, it’s paying attention to the little things. I’m sure if a complete stranger remembered your birthday, you’d feel pretty good about it. However, if they gift you a Furbee, immediately perform an exorcism and file a report to the police for attempted murder, because we all know Furbees are demonic. Don’t get me wrong though, this doesn’t mean you need to stalk every single person’s social network profiles. It just means looking out for certain things they say and taking note of them.
I will taint your soul and pour liquid nitrogen on your crotch.
Look for things such as life changing events that are coming up, such as weddings or graduations. Look for favourite activities and hobbies. Pay attention to people’s moods and how they talk. If it helps, keep a record of it for future reference.
For example, a guild mate says their favourite colour is blue and they really like wearing blue. If you happen to find a really cheap vanity item for sale that just happens to be coloured blue, buy it for them. Random acts of kindness go a long way in gaining the respect and loyalty of your members. This also encourages them to do the same for other members, further strengthening the bonds between everyone. Lead by example! Just keep your pants on, or it will lead to some pretty crazy and/or awkward nights.
Now You’re a Bawss
Congratulations, you have now (hopefully) gained some insight into being a more effective leader. Now you can bend everyone over into submission be a shining example for all your friends and totally prove you aren’t a loser! You’re not a loser, right?
To finish up, I want to thank you for reading and if you enjoyed it, be sure to share it with your friends. Any feedback is welcome and encouraged! Stay tuned for future installments into Hao2Game and if you want any specific topic covered, feel free to give me your suggestions!
