Friday's Food for Thought - Guild Types and How to Get In Them...

So you want to get into a non fail guild right? You are tried of being one of the few in your previous guild(s) that actually knew how to play their class and are willing to put the time and effort into it.

Maybe you are just looking for a casual raiding guild and maybe your just looking for a social guild.

In either event, I am categorizing all pve guilds into three possibilities...

• Social
• Causal Raiding
• Raiding

Those are very generic categories and there is definitely sub-categories within each of them. However, 100% of WoW pve guilds fall into those three basic ones.

Lets do a quick review of each shall we?

Social - This type of guild is into leveling alts, professions, and treating WoW as a social grounds to meet others. They have very little or no requirements for their members and probably do not have a guild website. Most of these social guilds do have a vent server and a tabard...but anything else is a big stretch. 9.8 times out of 10 they do not have any sort of guild application to fill out. To get into this type of guild all you really have to do is ask to join. If they don't want you in the guild it is very possible that it is a "friends only" or an alt guild.

Causal Raiding - This type of guild is a big step up from the previous, social. They more than likely have a guild website and some sort of application process. They also have scheduled raids and expect their members to be reliable as they can and to meet certain requirements. To get into this type of guild really depends on the guild, but for the sake of this article I am going to say that you either need a recommendation from a member or fill out an application.

Do not get a causal raiding guild and a casual guild that raids confused.

There is a strong focus on raiding in a casual raiding guild. There is NOT a strong focus on raiding in a causal guild that raids and I would categorize this type of guild in the "Social" category.

Raiding - This is a huge step up from the social guilds and a pretty large setup from the casual raiding guilds. This type of guild is 100% going to have an application process and a trial period. On the lighter end it might be very generic to see what kind of player and personality you have and on the heavier end the application process can be very in depth. Including multiple interviews, written and verbal, and a lengthy trial period.

Like I stated before, these are very generic! Please don't comment or email me saying that I am wrong and that your pve guild does not fit into any of the above categories. I already get enough hate mail from you guys d-(-_-)z

Ok, I know what type of guild I want to join, now what?

I am only going to talk about how to correctly apply to the raiding guilds. The social category of guilds is pretty cut and dry due to the fact there isn't a viable application process.

Ok, now lets get into it...

WTFspaghetti's 15 man Choir

/music

"THIS IS HOW WE DO IT"

/electric slide

First impression is EVERYTHING! Believe me guys, your application and how seriously you take it means everything to the guild you're applying too. It lets them know that you are a serious about joining and that you respect their guild. Think of it as a job application, but do not think of it as a shitty minimum wage job, think of it as a career job opportunity....

Confused?

Think of all those shitty jobs that you had (have?) in your life...fast food, gas station, ect. The minimum wage, high stress jobs. Think of those being the socials guilds that do not raid. Even if you had to fill out an application for a social type of guild, you wouldn't have to put a ton of time and feel you had to sell yourself up. No way, its just a social guild. Same aspect applies in real life and who really cares about getting a job at McDonald's? I rather sit back and collect unemployment truthfully =P

Last example to really drive what I am trying to get across...

I think I spent a total of 15 minutes filling out an application to Pizza Hut when I was younger. After I got through college I probably spent a total of 2-3 hours writing, editing, and rewriting my resume for a job in my career field. When applying to a raiding guild, especially one that you know is very good. Do not fill it out like its a Pizza Hut application, fill it out like it is a career field resume / application.

Attempt to be professional...

Do not answer the questions like you are talking to your friends in WoW. Try not to use any sort of "1337" speak and make sure your are writing in complete sentences. Also, make sure your sentences actually make sense. Proof read and edit multiple times to make sure you don't sound like a dipshit that is trying to act professional.

I am not saying to be a robot and show not personality, but pick and choose carefully when to do this. Showing your personality can work wonders for your application, but it can also send it directly to the DECLINED folder. That is why it is best just to answer the questions and move on. There will be PLENTY of other times to show your personality, during the application process is just too risky in my opinion.

Detailed and informative answers works wonders...

This is by far the most important part of getting your application accepted to the next step in the guild's process. Alot of guilds can see past the professional part that I just wrote about if you know your class and you are able to convey it in writing.

If the questions are generic that does not mean that they are not looking for a few sentences. If the questions are very detailed, then you need to answer the complete question. Do not leave an question half answered just because you already wrote alot or just didn't feel like answering it.

Let me give you an example of a commonly asked question.

What is your main spec?

You could answer the question in one or two words and give a break down of your talents. That would work but it doesn't make a great first impression. They have seen that answer hundreds of times and this is not the time to blend in with the crowd.

Here is an example on how you should answer that question that follows all my guidelines that I have been talking about in this article.

(Due note that this answer was the exact same answer that I used to get into a pretty hardcore raiding guild last week.)

The most common restoration shaman specs are either 0-13-58 or 0-16-55. I have played around with both and made a few changes to them to better adapt for my playing style.

I have found that 0-16-55 is working best for what I am doing in the game currently. I chose to get 3/3 Elemental Weapons instead of 3/3 Healing Focus. Elemental Weapons give you an extra +45 spell power and 3/3 Healing Focus reduces the pushback of your spells if something is damaging you by 70%.

The reason why I have made this change is pretty straight forward. I do not have any issues getting off spells when I am getting hit by normal raid damage. People, including myself, do not die because of my pushback due to damage. Now I have not done too many hardmode encounters, so this might change if I start doing them. Currently, it makes the most sense to maximize one of my strongest stats and that is why a made a modification to the "cookie cutter" specs.

See the difference? I didn't blow them away with the answer or ramble on, but I did make it known that I appear to be very knowledge about my spec. Also, that question is usually the first if not one of the first questions asked on applications. I already put it their heads that I seem like a skilled player that knows what I am talking about. From here on out I put myself in a positive light for the rest of the application.

Its not like I remembered all that crap in my answer from memory. I looked at my talent spec and did a little research over at Elitist Jerks, then I wrote it.

Be careful not to ramble, but give alot of valid information and details on each question. This should send you on your way to the promise land...aka trial run or /ginvite.

I Make This Look GOOOD!

After you answered all your questions and you are feeling good about what you wrote down, don't forget to add your formatting style to it. Use bold, italic, underline, different colors to make it look really good and stand out from all the rest.

Add extra stuff that they don't even ask for, such as a screenshot of your User Interface. A good time to add a screenshot of your UI is if they ask you what addons do you use? List the addons and post a screenshot on dat biatch.

Believe me, take it from a former GM of a casual raiding guild and someone that has been involved with raiding guilds since Vanilla WoW. They WILL be impressed and you will get that guild invite or move on to the next step in becoming a member of the guild.

Remember Young Grasshopper...

The application is a direct representation of yourself and how you play WoW. If you don't take the time to fill out the application correctly for the type of guild you want to join, they will not take you seriously.

If you can't be expected to at the very least go find out the correct answers to your spec or gear itemization that they asked, then I highly doubt they could rely on you to go do some research for new content. See where I am going with this?

• Answer every question to the fullest. Don't leave anything unanswered
• Try and be professional and use correct grammar and complete sentences
• Try to covey in writing that you are a knowable person when it comes to your class and WoW in general.
• Make sure to be detailed and informative, but make sure you aren't rambling.
• First impression is EVERYTHING. If it takes you a few days off and on filling out the app to make it right its ok. Its 100% better then turning something in half assed.
• In the WoW world, good raiding guilds are NOT McDonald's. If you apply like you are going for a job at McDonald's, don't expect to be taken seriously.

Hopefully this was helpful to someone. I know it has helped me get into a guild that I thought was too good for me. So I can say that if you follow what I outlined in this article, you will be taken seriously and get to that next step. The rest is up to you!