Never underestimate the influence of guilds in MMO’s. There’s a reason why many MMO developers hold summits and conferences to share information and solicit feedback from guild leaders. Being in a close knit guild helps to bring the multiplayer aspect of these games to the players. Guilds mean so many different things to different people, some people value the friendship of their guild mates, while others value the skill and competency, and others still value just having people who share common interests in their guild chat. Regardless of the reasoning, most people would agree that guilds help to foster community, as they give players a reason to come together, even if that reason is as simple as meaningful conversation.
Here are 5 reasons why I love the Guild System in Guild Wars 2. Keep reading to find out what they are!
1. You can be a member of multiple guilds simultaneously with a single character. Keep in mind that you can only choose to represent one of those guilds at a time. You chose a guild to represent when you log in, and you can switch this without even logging out of the game. This is a totally novel idea for guild management. Gone are the days when players have to chose between being guilded with friends or being guilded with people who share their play style. This also allows people to meet brand new people in a completely different way, just one more step that Guild Wars 2 is making in their efforts to bring the community together.
2. Guilds are linked to your account, not your character. If you’re the type of gamer who likes to make multiple characters, you no longer have to find a guild officer to get an invite. Newly created characters have access to all the guilds that all your other characters are members of. Simply choose who the character is representing and that’s it. It’s really a requirement given that you can be a member of multiple guilds. I couldn’t imagine what a pain getting officers from four or five different guilds to invite each of your alts.
3. The guild roster will show all pertinent information about your guildies, including their server, location, profession, level, crafting disciplines and their levels, as well as their achievement points. The level of information is excellent if you’re looking for someone to group with, or if you’re looking for an experienced crafter to advise you. There’s no need to ask in guild chat, as all of the information is right there at your fingertips.
4. Guild Wars 2 encourages guild play by their influence system. Influence is a type of guild currency that members earn for their guild by logging in and participating in activities. Influence is used to buy buffs across four major categories of perks. Politics contains the buffs that boost influence, or to purchase guild armor. The Economy category contains buffs to increase item drop rates, karma buffs, or experience gain buffs. Architecture allows for Guild banking and additional constructions. The Art of War category is for buffs that are useful in WvW
5. Connect with your guild via your smartphone. The Extended Experience team at ArenaNet is committed to bringing us extensions that operate outside of the game, such as mobile and web apps for the Trading Post. However, they’re also demonstrating that they have the technology to view in game maps, watch your guilds activities, and participate in guild chat all from your smart phone, in real time. This is the epitome of what should be included in a next generation game, and it’s one shining example of how ArenaNet is putting multiplayer back into MMO’s.
