michaeljones161b16_ESO wrote: »

What is a Player Guild?
Why would I want to join?
Where is the best place to look for a guild? Forums, websites, etc.
How do I join?
How do I choose which one to join?
How do I find a guild that fits with what I want to get out of the game?
What's the difference between PVP, PVE and RP guilds?
Why should I choose a faction specific guild - or why I should not?
What do I need to do when I join to get the best out of guild membership?
What are the commitments of joining a guild? eg time, forum activity, etc,
How does joining a Player Guild actually translate into the mechanics of gameplay? eg joining a party, PvP, party dungeons, etc.
How do guild shops work?
How does the voice chat (that some guilds 'advertise') work - eg Ventrillo, Team Speak, Skype - (Sorry if I got those names wrong!!!) and do I need to use it?
And if I can't find a suitable guild, what do I need to know before starting my own guild?

A player guild is one run by players. The guild master creates the guild, sets up everything for it sometimes including a website and/or voice chat server and handles all the responsibilities such as making sure the guild provides as advertised and keeping the members active and participating and sometimes dusting it of old players that don't log in anymore.
The purpose to joining a guild is so you don't have to do things alone. Even if you're out questing by yourself, you still have a *sometimes* close knit group of players with which to interact with regularly in the guild chat and ask for help from.
There really is no best place to look for a guild. Many will advertise in game in zone chat, others post on here or on websites. Just a matter of looking for what you want and checking it out.
You join by asking the guild master or officers to invite you or find out what requirements they may have to join.
You choose which one to join by figuring out first what you want out of the game. If you want to run group things like dungeons and quests then a PvE guild is the way. If you want to do pvp and engage in combat against other players, you want a PvP guild. If you want to interact with other players and play your character as an entity of its own separate from yourself like playing a character in a play, then RP is what you want.
The only time faction applies in ESO in particular is with PvP. So it's up to you which one you want to partake in.
To get the best out of guild membership don't expect the guild master to provide everything for you. Engage with the other players in the guild and try to do stuff with them if that's what you want to do. There are players out there that join guilds just to have the guild chat to read while they quietly quest solo. It's all about preference.
Commitments vary from one guild to another. Ask the guild leader about that.
It translates into the mechanics of the game by having an easy pool of players to choose from to try to do those activities with instead of grouping up with some random player you will probably only ever see once.
Guild shops are auction houses where members of the guild sell and buy things from other members of the same guild.
Ventrilo and TeamSpeak are voice chat servers that allow players to sign into the program with a headset and mic and talk to eachother while playing as if on a very large phone conference. If it is required, the guildmaster will tell you.
Before starting your own guild I would highly suggest joining one or a few to get a feel for how they work and then you can decide if you want to run one and how you would like things to be. You would then be responsible for all the inner workings of the guild and all the stresses and drama that can potentially come with it.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

Because I feel I may have something worthwhile to add, I shall try and answer as well. Do enjoy the BOLD text.

Hi

(PLEASE NOTE: I'll post this text in each of the three guild thread categories (PvP, PvE and RP) so hopefully all guild experts will see it. I hope that's OK.)

This is little bit off topic but I wonder if anyone who understands these things would be willing to write a guide to Player Guilds and post it in a suitable place in these forums? Perhaps in the "Players Helping Players/Player Guides" section.

(If such a guide already exists, please point me at it!)

While I do not know of a specific place for a guide, I would strongly suggest looking at the multitude of wikis out there for TESO. Outside of that, there's nothing better than doing what you're doing right now, posting on some forums and asking other players. The third option of course is joining a helpful guild (such as Mine) who would be willing to explain things as you come across them.

I have played several MMOs (LoTRO, GW, GW2,) but have never really got into the guild thing. I tried when I played GW2 but just felt stupid and "nooby".

However, I am keen to try again in TESO.

Could someone write a short guide for guild virgins like me, covering such topics as:

What is a Player Guild?

A player guild is a group of people with a unified goal or purpose, exactly like the existing guilds in game (mages guild, fighters guild, etc) but made up entirely of players, and run by players. To be more specific, every guild is made up of a guildmaster (pretty self explanatory), officers (like admins or moderators), members (the baseline member), and recruits (new members, usually with restricted privileges). After that the three main types of guilds are PvE (player vs everything, where co-op playing against NPCs is the priority), PvP (player vs player, where the war in Cyrodil is the focus), and RP (roleplaying, where players take on personas and play in character as opposed to a gamer playing a game). And while these are the three main types of guilds, there are many varieties, for example there could be an RP guild for vampires only, or a PvP guild where they also RP.

Why would I want to join?

Everyone joins for different reasons. Some wish to be part of something that has a purpose, some just like playing with other people with likeminded playstyles. There are also practical reasons, such as joining a trading guild for ease of finding buyers or sellers for items, or an experienced guild for advice on things in the game, or help fighting. And when none of this excites you, there are also some nice side benefits, like the guild bank, guild store (more on these later) and being able to use "travel to player" on guildmates instead of having to pay to travel to a wayshrine.

Where is the best place to look for a guild? Forums, websites, etc.

There are many places to join. Here are just a few.

TESO RP guild forums
Reddit Aldmeri Dominion guilds
Teso-rp.com NA server RP guilds

But of course as I said, there are MANY places where guilds are listed out there. You can check just about any TESO forum and wiki and you'll find some kind of guild.

You can also find guilds advertised in game, or you can just talk to friends and see if they're in a guild, and hey, there's nothing stopping you from creating your own as well! Just use the guild tab (default keybind g) and look around for a while, you'll see options there to create your own guild (and manage any you're in).

How do I join?

The easiest way (the only way really) is to get an invite from an existing member of the guild with the requisite permissions. Permissions are set by the guildmaster, so he or she will have it set whether you can be recruited by officers, members, and/or recruits. You can always get an invite if invited by the guildmaster. Once you have the invite, it will appear in your notifications, and you can accept it from there.

How do I choose which one to join?

Again, this is all up to you. Depending on what you like, and what kind of player you are, you'll want to join a different guild. The nice thing about TESO though is that you can join up to 5 guilds at one time. This means that you can be part of a PvE guild, a PvP guild, an RP guild, a trading guild, and your own, all at once. You might instead have a guild for Pact characters, Covenant characters, Dominion characters, and one for all alliances, and then an empty guild space. Other than that I would look at what type of guilds fit you, so if you like to RP, join an RP guild or two. If you find you spend almost all your time working the TESO economy, go ahead and join five trading guilds. The possibilities go on.

How do I find a guild that fits with what I want to get out of the game?

As I mentioned above, first find what you want, then use those base criteria to do a bit of shopping, so to speak. If you find yourself looking for a specific faction, look at that faction's guild listings in the reddit wiki. If you are looking for an RP guild, go ahead and look at the RP sites like Teso-RP.com, or in the RP section of the TESO forums. If you want a trading guild, try going to one of the main cities and listen to the zone chat for a while.

Do keep in mind that these are just examples. Because of the many guilds out there I am not able to mention every possible situation, and you can find and join a guild virtually anywhere.

The other option is finding one of these places, saying "Hey, I'm looking for a guild with A, B, and C. Anyone know of a guild like that?". Whether it's on a forum or in the game, you're likely to receive at least a few replies.

What's the difference between PVP, PVE and RP guilds?

As mentioned near the beginning, PvP stands for player versus player, PvE stands for player versus everything, and RP for roleplaying.

PvP is what many non-MMO games, such as Call of Duty, would simply call multiplayer. In TESO however, PvP combat is relegated to the war in Cyrodil. When one reaches level 10, they are able to enter that area, and fight with their faction against the other two for control of the map, by killing other players and taking and defending key areas. PvP guilds attempt to coordinate players on the same side to help take on the other factions, and are often significantly more effective than if you were to enter the war by yourself, and, say, run into a group of an enemy guild.

PvE is the most common type of guild you'll see in almost any MMO. This is what most other games, again like Call of Duty, or Halo, or what have you, would call co-op or campaign. This is players fighting NPCs, doing quests, working their way through dungeons, trading, and generally just playing the game without any specifics. Of course pretty much anything is easier or more effective in groups, so these kind of guilds are still quite handy.

RP is what my guild would be considered. When you make a character, that character is not you. You are a gamer playing a videogame. That character is a person that exists in Tamriel. When you choose to roleplay, you do not act like you normally would, like the gamer. You speak, act, and play as if you were the character you created. Some RPers have elaborate backstories for their characters, some simply like to have their khajiit speak as a khajiit typically would in the Tamriel. However each person does it, they intend to get more enjoyment out of TESO by being more immersed in it and feeling like they're actually part of the world.

Why should I choose a faction specific guild - or why I should not?

Some guilds have restrictions on them. Some restrict you to a certain alliance, some to a certain race, some to only one guild!

Each guild has something to offer, but if they restrict you, you know they'll be very good at that one thing they offer. For example, if you join a vampire only guild, you know you'll be getting everything you need to know (and some things you probably don't need to know) about vampires.

Other guilds don't restrict you, and in return, you'll have a much wider spread of offerings to draw from. If you join a cross alliance RP guild for example, you'll be able to roleplay as a khajiit in the Dominion, a Dunmer in the Pact, and an orc in the Covenant, instead of being stuck playing just that one orc.

What do I need to do when I join to get the best out of guild membership?

Whatever you came there to do, do it. If you joined an RP guild, roleplay. You joined a trading guild? Trade. You're now part of a PvP guild? Well, you get the picture.

It can also help to fully utilize all the benefits of guilds, like I mentioned before when talking about the benefits guilds.

And hey, it never hurts to recruit some new members yourself and offer your own advice when you have it.

What are the commitments of joining a guild? eg time, forum activity, etc,

This will be guild specific, and you should probably ask as soon as or even before you join a guild. For most this simply amounts to "be part of the guild". For most others it is "be active, be a good person". The only thing you really need to watch out for are those that require you to post on their forums twice a month, or join mandatory guild events, but even those guilds can be nice, because they usually get something in return for that extra effort.

How does joining a Player Guild actually translate into the mechanics of gameplay? eg joining a party, PvP, party dungeons, etc.

There are three ways a guild can work in this respect.

The first is by there being a guild chat. This means the same people that you know always able to communicate, so advice, trading, whatever, it's always at your fingertips.

The second is easy grouping. You need help with a dungeon or you feel like heading into Cyrodil? Call it out and you'll probably be able to find a few others in the guild who want to go to, and BAM! Instant group.

The third is guild events. Most guilds will have times when the entire guild (or a good number of them) join up to do a planned activity. Basically this comes to extra large groups, but it can also mean more varied things, like parading around town, or having a large group RP.

How do guild shops work?

Just go to one of most bankers and they'll have an option to use the guild store and guild bank.

The guild bank is just like your personal bank, except instead of being shared across all your characters, it is shared by everyone else in the guild. Depending on the permissions set by each guildmaster, certain ranks can deposit or withdraw from the guild bank.

The guild store works like any other NPC shop, but it is comprised entirely of items being sold by members of the guild. The guild store will take a small fee for putting any item up for sale, and then when someone buys the item, the player who sold it gets the profit in their mail. A member can only set a certain number of items for sale at any one time, and again depending on the permissions the guildmaster set, certain ranks may or may not be able to sell or buy from the guild store.

One thing to note is that for both of these, the bank and store, the permission to withdraw is separate from the permission to deposit, so a member might be able to deposit something in the guild bank, but not withdraw it later.

How does the voice chat (that some guilds 'advertise') work - eg Ventrillo, Team Speak, Skype - (Sorry if I got those names wrong!!!) and do I need to use it?

Voice chat, or voip, is used by many guilds, but not all. What you'd have to do to join in voice chat is download the program (the most popular are Ventrilo and Teamspeak, although skype is common among smaller guilds, and there are a few other programs gaining popularity as well), figure out how to use it, and then join the chat channel or call of your guild. Each program is different, but none are too complicated, so I'll let you figure out how whichever one your guild uses works.

And because each guild has their chosen voip program, you typically won't want to worry about it until after you join the guild. If voice chat is something you're factoring into your decision in choosing a guild, try to consider it if you just want voip or not, not which program they use (because most are very similar). Usually the guild will have already picked the one most appropriate for their guild, so you shouldn't have to worry about that.

For some, like most PvP guilds, it is integral, and may be required. For other guilds, such as RP guilds, it may not even exist (as voice chat can break the RP). So the short answer is no, you don't need to use it unless the guild you join requires it. You may also find you want to use it in a guild where it's optional.

And if I can't find a suitable guild, what do I need to know before starting my own guild?

What you need to know basically comes down to having leadership skills. Depending on if you want a large guild, you may need some skill at advertising, and you may also want some experience with whatever your guild is doing, but leadership pretty much sums it up. Making your own guild is not for everyone, because it can be hard work, but it can be rewarding if you can manage it.

I would also suggest coming up with a good name. That's just me.

And any other topics you can think of...

For many newcomers to MMOs, the whole MMO thing can be a bit daunting. Adding in the world of Player Guilds makes it all a bit more so.

In the meantime, I will struggle on looking for the right guild for me!

Thanks for reading.

I'll also mention that if you have any other questions (this applies to anyone reading this thread) I'm more than willing to answer best I can or elaborate further. If you want to know more about my own guild that I lead, the RP guild Magicka, please feel free to click Here, otherwise you can also reach me ingame under the name Kha'jiri or @Marginis.

Hi ppl,
this is a nice explanation about this subject, but I have another question.
What is the max number of players a guild can have?
Do the guilds have rank, and how could we rank it up?

Thaks for the answer