The absence of rl political talk.
The balance of positive/negative comments with it being more positive than negative.
The members being engaged in calls for grouping for group content and having many members online.

• Nice players/officers
• No dues/minimums
• Welcome atmosphere

When there are active (at least on weekends) higher ups that show genuine passion and thoughtful care for the well being of the environment and its members, no matter the sort of guild. I'm biased towards smaller guilds, though.

That's an interesting question! I think the answer is going to depend on what in game "need" was going to get met.

When I was interested in end-game content, my criteria for a trials guild was a lot different than my criteria for a social guild. What I wanted in a trials guild was: a clear schedule with clear requirements, members who were competent/skilled without the elitist vibe pitfalls that often come with endgame groups, a rotation that allowed new members to get an opportunity to do trials/have spots/learn without sacrificing the guild's ability to actually complete content, etc. etc.

I do think there are a lot of trials guilds that meet those requirements. The reason I didn't stick around in them because I left the game due to an inability to find a social group to stick with.

As far as social guilds go, I have memories of the first MMO I played that was heavily social with a small player base - very active and small enough where you'd recognize the names of people wandering around who played at the same time as you, even if you weren't in any kind of organized group together. I spent a lot of time looking for small, active guilds where you actually got to know people and do things together in a way that wasn't just self serving/mutually convenient.

The closest I got to that was a fairly friendly larger-ish guild, but that "close social" aspect really only applied to the inner clique and was largely limited to officers. They weren't unfriendly by any means, but there was always this sense that the roster was full and they loved to help out and do superficial activities with members, but they weren't really there to make friends. I spent nearly two years in that guild and even after becoming an officer, it hit me that nobody there really knew much of anything about me, even though I was often in voice chat multiple times a week with them. When I left the game, I didn't keep in contact with any of them (although I did try, at first). That was a far cry from the experience I was looking for from my first MMO - I am still in contact with some of those folks a good 15+ years later.

So, yeah. For me? I wasn't really looking for a guild. I was looking for game friends to do things with, and a guild just seemed like the clearest way to find that. It ultimately did not work. And without a social group, after I exhausted endgame content I was interested in, I didn't see much of a reason to continue playing a social game. Why play ESO when I could play modded Skyrim? Why spend tons of money on housing that no one will see, when I can do that for free in a single player game? Plus, I was pretty miffed about game changes (re: my unending complaints about nightblades), but that was more the straw that broke the camel's back in the end. I very likely would have stayed if I had a good guild!

Im Gay. Im in a few LGBT guilds. People are supportive, friendly, funny and nice.

I'm a solo player and a trader and only join guilds for their trader.

What guilds attract me?
If they can consistently maintain a trader at a high traffic location.

What keeps me around?
If they can consistently maintain a trader at a high traffic location. I am leaving one today because we've gone from consistently in Vivec City to Leyawiin for two weeks in a row.

Dues and min sales don't bother me at all since my sales cover it naturally.

My guild chat is almost always turned off so I never notice if there are any drama or hostility.

I just like a social guild where the folks are nice and not uptight but not immature either. I've been in trial guilds, fishing guilds, trading guilds, but it's the people that matter the most.

Thannazzar wrote: »

Dojohoda wrote: »

The absence of rl political talk.
The balance of positive/negative comments with it being more positive than negative.
The members being engaged in calls for grouping for group content and having many members online.

This, especially the first one, happy to hear about your build or ingame discussions but really not interested in guildies sociopolitical opinions.

A guild that makes bunny hopping a boot able offence always makes me want to stay too.

If a guild booted people for jumping around there's a real chance I would be compelled to do so until I was kicked. I just wouldn't be able to help myself.

I use guilds for three reasons.. Free ports, the data I need for the trade market add-ons, and crafting tables. Don't do raffles, auctions (rip off usually, regardless the reason) etc.

Great insights. It should be obvious to some I am considering making a guild. Trying to do some research before I launch it. Make sure my bases are covered.

As an Australian who can't find a guild in my timezone on PC EU, I can't join events (at least in winter time). But I'll stay in a guild with a lot of members who chat a lot in game.
I don't have time to keep up with Discord though, so if the majority of the socialising goes on there, I miss out.