Running You Warcraft Guild

Beyond the command, tabard, and charter, there is a great deal of social management that goes into a guild. A huge number of guilds run into problems with their player base at some time or another (bored, anxiety about end-game matters, ego conflicts, drama, and so forth). A skilled guild leader needs to be far more than a good player; these leaders need to be listeners, enforcers, and diplomats. It’s not always easy, or sometimes even possible to fill all of these roles at once! Sound a little intimidating? It should. Don’t get involved with guild leadership unless you truly are ready and willing to devote some time and energy into herding cats!

Guild Rules

Creating a good foundation for a guild ensures along, productive existence for it. This also promotes players who are happy to be members of that guild. If you haven’t already done so, create a set of rules for guild members. Keep the rules simple. No one wants to read 43 pages of rules and regulations just to become a member of a guild. Games are meant to be fun and guilds are meant to enhance that experience. You can always adjust the rules as the need arises during the course of your adventures in Azeroth.

Most disputes with guilds arise from arguments over items. When crating your set of guild rules pay close attention to “Loot Rules.” Once again, keep them simple. Members need to be aware of the rules pertaining to item drips prior to venturing into Instances. Go over rules pertaining to item driops at the start of every group run. Yes, you’ve said them 100 times before, but stating the rules at the beginning of run through a dungeon alleviates arguments later (usually).

Make sure that members have easy access to these rules at all times.

Guild Loot Distribution

Usually loot issues are easier to handle for the sub-60 levels. Many guilds are going to go with some form of Need Before Greed and stick to it. With the later levels, however, this is a big push to come up with a system for “fairly” distributing Epic loot (and beyond). DKPs, or Dragon Kill Points (see Complete Guild Guide) are used heavily by a number of WoW guilds to try and ensure that people who invest the most time in guild raids get the gear that they want. Other guilds may try to encourage Need Before Greed and rolling even in the raid instances, though this is not as common.

Guild Conduct

Some guilds have standards of conduct even with people outside of the guild (or with the opposing faction). You may have things so that guild members must always accept duels, never run from PVP fights in the world, avoid Graveyard Camping for any reason, don’t spit, or whatever else. These rules are highly subjective, based on the guild’s interests, and should be adhered to by guild members. Anyone who signs on and understands the rules is free to walk away if they disagree.

If a guild member consistently breaks the rules of conduct, use a system of warnings and eventually remove the person from the guild if they are causing internal drama or strife. Be sure that the warning sytem is in writing, is fair, and is applied evenly whenever possible.

Guild Language Restrictions

If some words are taboo in your guild, be clear about it, correct people when they slip, and be very consistent. There isn’t much to say about this matter, save that quite a few guild members have sore points about one word or another. Be sensible and treat guild chat as a large table in the middle of a restaurant; everyone can hear you, even strangers might catch an odd bit of conversation, and feelings can easily be hurt.

Guild Required Play

Larger guilds may require a certain level of playtime per week/month for a person to stay in the guild. This may even be restricted to specific activities (members must participate in one Heroics Raid per week, members must put in ten hours of BG time per week). Be very clear with all new members about these requirements.

The trickiest time of all is when your guild considers placing new requirements on members. This is the type of scenario that splits guilds (sometimes taking even the members that wanted the change in the first place). Be very careful of placing demands on you player base.

Guild Roleplaying

Roleplaying guilds may have extra rules to demand that guild chat be IC (in character). For guilds of this sort, there is often a chat channel used on the side for speech outside of you character.

Guild Forums

No one expects you to rush out and purchase a hosting plan or have someone design an elaborate Flash site for the guild. There are may free forum hosting sites available on the web (including Warcraft-Twinks.Com, use This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it for more info).

On this site, place your guild rules in plain view for members and potential members.

Forums are great for posting information on dungeon crawls, roleplaying events, and guild communication. Be sure to setup a forum for Officers so that issues can be posted for all members in leadership positions.

Choosing Officers

A common drive when choosing officers is to hand out ranks to close friends, but this might not be the best choice for the guild. When you choose officers, be sure to select those players who have proven leadership skills and the ability to arbitrate disputes between members. Everyone handles things differently and it’s a good idea to have a diversified group of people as officers.

Use promotions as rewards for dedication to the guild. Players want to upgrade their characters and there are many players who enjoy earning rank with the guild structure.

As a leader, remember to trust your officers and support their decisions. You’ve taken the time to select them and put them in charge; don’t hover over them.

Guild Recruiting

There are many ways to recruit members for your guild. There is no right or wrong way. Recruiting processes should be determined by our vision for the guild.

Do you want a guild with hundereds of members? Perhaps you want a small guild that will focus on exploring all of the content that the game provides. Guilds come in all sizes as well as types. Some guilds massively recruit members by issuing random invites in starter zones. A lot of role playing guilds use an interview process.

Do what’s best for you and your guild.

The Guild Tabard

Admit it. We all love those tabards. They show the community that we’re all together in everything we do. Tabard selection can be a process that the guild leader handles or it can be a guild decision. Many guilds have members contribute what they can toward the purchase of the guild design. Tabard designs cost ten gold pieces. Individual tabards cost one gold piece (and are influenced by faction and PvP discounts).

**Need help with gold, download the Gold Guide here!

The Guild Tabard Viewer

Guild tabard designs are purchased from the Guild Master in major cities. Speak to the Guild Master and select “I’d like to create a Guild Crest.” A guild tabard design may only be purchased by the guild leader bu members may view the selections available.


Once you’ve made a choice for each selection click “Accept.” The tabard design will appear on you equipped tabard. If members have trouble viewing the design on their tabards this is remedied with a quick logout and login.

Guild Events

Even the most hardcore “lone wolf” player enjoys a planned guild event. Be sure to post the event several days in advance so that members can arrange to be present. The typical event is completing quest in an “Instance” or “World” PVP. These events bring experience and item upgrades for members.

Rewards and Discipline

Reward good behavior and punish bad behavior. No guild leader is perfect and sometimes members step over the line in regard to rules. Your members look to you and your officers to maintain the guild environment they expected when they joined. Offensive conversation in the guild channel, bad conduct on a guild raid, or constant belligerence can undermine a guild quickly if not dealt with just as quickly.

Reward members who show dedication to the guild. You don’t have to empty your coin purse to do so. Acknowledging the generosity of a player’s time, skills, and knowledge is just as good. You can create special ranks to show praise, have a forum for “Guild Mate of the Month,” or an event to honor the player(s). A little praise goes a long way!

The secret to being a great guild leader or having a great guild is respect for the players who bear the tabard. The friendships that can develop from guild membership can be some of the most rewarding out there.

***If you would like a more complete and detailed look into the creation of a Warcraft Guild and its management from DKPs, Rules, Guild Bank, Allowances, Instance Guides, and Player Roles please download The Complete Guide To Guild Creation by clicking here.