Monday 19 July 2010

Best guild EU/US is?

That’s not a question that can actually have a genuine answer. Even once you put ego and epeen aside... any attempt at answering will still automatically fail, because the definition of “best guild” is totally subjective. As soon as you start thinking about an answer, your mind is subconsciously formulating a biased answer. Some of the guilds other people would consider the best, I would think of as an absolute nightmare to be part of. Likewise, they may consider a guild like mine in the same way. You can’t just judge the best guild by how powerful they are at large or small scale fighting, how chatty their community is or anything else for that matter. Everyone prioritises each of these elements differently and to make a fair judgement call on the quality of each area requires you to be in that guild, but not be in that guild, be on the same faction AND be on the opposing faction all at the same time… So we can never really say, yes that guild is the best; it just doesn’t stand up to scrutiny by anyone with differing desires. This then leads me to wondering; can we actually make a judgement on what guilds count as good or bad?

I think so yes, but again it’s a very subjective question and requires a certain amount of objectivity to get an answer that isn’t just biased troll bait. The first thing you have to accept is that there are differing components that contribute to a guild being good and missing some of those things doesn’t automatically make it bad. For example my guild is pretty good at 1-2 group warbands, scenario premades (when not slacking, grrr!) and has some excellent very small scale solo roaming, but we’re not that great at full warband combat. In an even numbered full warband fight against the enemy guilds that excel at warband fighting, we will more than likely lose. However, when we go up against people from those guilds in smaller scale combat, we have a much better chance of winning. Now, some people will deem a nightly uber warband of doom as essential, which we don’t have, but actually we don’t want it either and at times may even be accused of looking down on people that don’t do small scale. It’s all just perspective… So in that slightly over wordy example, neither our opponents nor us are bad guilds, we’re just good at different things. Very similar things can be said about the community, guild chat and atmosphere on ventrilo (or whatever voice coms you use). Chatty or more regimented guild communications both have their place, it just depends on what you want out of your guild.

On Karak Norn I can think of a lot of guilds that can meet different criteria towards being good. From small scale heroes, or warbands of doom, to role playing legends. I can’t think of any guilds that have everything for everyone all at once, but that would be impossible anyway.

However there are things that if present in a guild would probably lead to that guild being considered as “bad” by everybody. Obviously guilds that due to a lack of decent management are packed with racists, thieves and exploiters, are utter turd and firmly in the bad category. Unless of course, you’re a racist, thieving exploiter, in which case you’re obviously a morally deficient wanker and are in no position to make a judgement call on good or bad, in any context. Likewise the guild whose leader has 1 rule for him and 5 others for everyone else, or uses his members like his personal banking fund, that’s just not a great place to be spending your time. Guilds like this don’t tend to last long, bad reputation’s stick, but good players and people won’t stick with it.

So when moving to a new server or starting up the game for the first time, don’t ask what’s the best guild on your new server. In fact don’t even ask who the good guilds are. You will only get biased and subjective answers. Instead, you should be more specific. Think about and then explain what YOU want from a guild and only then ask who would be good for you. Will save a lot of headaches in the long run.

6 comments:

  1. So true. I have my dream guilds that I would love to be a part of. The problem is none of them fulfill all the needs I really want, and why for the most part I have been on Gorfang without a guild except my one man guild I have now to prevent spam invites.

    My needs differ, but the one constant is daily activity. I want people that are on every day for 3-5 hours.

    I love scenario premades. It is my favorite. It really feels like it is based more on skills, than numbers aoeing till one man is left standing.

    I love city siege premades. I like to be in warbands that aren't just being renown farmed, and not smart enough to even realize it.

    I don't mind PvE if it means getting better geared. I have never done TOVL except on the PTS prior to LOTD release. It is something I would like to do, and opportunity will probably be better now with my Archmage instead of my BW.

    I hate Orvr. It is pointless. A level 28 in green gear can roam with the zerg just like anyone else, and probably be just as productive as a RR80 roaming with the zerg.

    I have always thought the smaller guilds have been the best on each server I have been on. Do they succeed in WAR? Most of the time no if it comes to orvr, and city sieges. Put these guilds in a scenario, and they are unstoppable.

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  2. @Wasdstomp
    I didn't like ORvR either. But then Bootsie (as Epikk calls him) and his guild introduced me to this novel concept called "roaming". What fun. Also, running in the same zone where your zerg is but not with it can pan out some pretty interesting fights if you're in an organised group. And I've gotten to do more PvE than ever before. Sc premades are also a constant, I'm in one at least once a day now.

    So yeah Boots, you have my seal of approval. *pat*pat*

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  3. Konfuzfanten - BnQ20 July 2010 at 06:52

    Wasdstomp.
    You should really try small orvr. Even a 6 man group can make a very effective fighting force.
    Roaming in War is some of the most fun action in the game:
    Get a 6 man group together(aoe heavy is preferred), avoid the head of the zerg and hitting the side/tail of the zerg and se how many red guys you can take down before the zerg waste you. A very good place to start is to hit a BO 5-10 sec AFTER it has ticked for the other side, you can easily take down +2 group of disorganized enemys with a good group that run in vent+a calling/enemy addon group.

    As you get better at roaming you can assist at keep sieges/BO taking/wb-wb fighting and break the enemy healer/range line --> turn battle. The biggest advantage of the small group fighting in orvr is the very high mobility/quick react time. By the time the big wb was blob up and is ready to fight your 6 man group you can be 200 ft from it. Ofc another big advantage is the ability to build morales from hidden positions on the flank as most wbs wont charge a 6 man group as long as there are other targets.

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  4. Eldard/Gorefist20 July 2010 at 16:36

    The answer is..

    There is no such thing all guilds bring some thing diffrent to the table..

    I mean look at all the e-peen on wha to see thats its a load of bull

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  5. I enjoyed your little meditation on the subjective nature of the world around us (certainly the next step in your reasoning). But the problem with doing that is that any kind of judgement making or branding that follows it is pointless. For example when you brand a certain guild a den of morally deficient wankers you are probably right. But only by your standards and your subjective judgement. See the snag?

    I love roaming. But as I am usually solo (or duo with a fail WL) and crap geared I get rolled alot. So it's enjoyable some nights but a nightmare on others. But it's certainly better than the mind-numbing zerging.

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  6. Zeware - absolutely, though while pretty much everything is subjective and I'll glady sit on the fence and try not to judge other people's playstyles, beliefs, etc, when it comes to the nazi youth types... I'll gladly make an exception for them. I think there's a line between being accepting of differences in general opinion versus irrational hatred and dangerous ignorance. To accept it as ok is to invite anarchy, amongst things. So while most things are grey, that's a bit more black and white. Zero tolerance. At least that's what I think from my own subjective viewpoint :D

    As for ORvR, if like me you find zerging dull, simply when ever possible choose to not do it. Roam around the edges with small groups, hit and fade, etc. The key is changing your goals away from the standard "lock zone, move on", but that's a whole other topic to write...

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