Can Warhammer Save The Guild System?

Can Warhammer Save The Guild System?

As a MMO veteran, I have long become disillusioned with guilds in the games I had been playing. It seems that every guild was either just a bunch of people hanging out, chatting about TV, movies and food, that never accomplished anything, or were a strict group where you can't have a life outside of the game type guilds. While I love movies and TV as much as the next guy, and I also love progression, neither type of guild really struck the right balance for me.

In both types of guilds, the other issue I had seen develop was that even in guilds that were progressing fairly quickly, there was no loyalty. I hate to sound like grandpa lecturing, “why back in my day...” but I remember a time where players banded together, and when the going got rough then they stuck together and found a way to progress. Now a days, if you wipe on the same boss more than once, half your guild leaves to find the next guild that promises phat lewt. I was never really in it for the loot, although it doesn't hurt, I really enjoyed people coming together for a common goal and seeing it through to the end. Loot was more a means to help us all accomplish the end result.

When I heard about Warhammers living guild system I became very excited that the good old days may be coming back. When first reading about all the features and rewards for guilds, I couldn't help but feel like a breath of fresh air was about to hit the MMO scene. For those of you that have not heard about these rewards and features, let me run down a few for you.

The Guild itself levels, much the same as the players do. There are 40 player levels and 40 guild ranks. The guild increases it's rank through Public Quests, Standard Quests, unlocking items in the Tome of Knowledge, exploration, and RVR. With each rank you unlock features, and tactics for your guild. Tactics are enchantments that help in your battles and there are 3 different types: Offensive, Defensive and Stat Enhancement. These enhancements help people in your guild as you fight the other faction, and are held on your Guild Banner or Standard.

Standards are another cool feature. On top of carrying your guild's enhancements, you can also place trophies on your banner to show off past victories. Each guild has a Standard Bearer that carries your banner into battle. The Standard Bearer is not able to use his own abilities while carrying your banner but as your guild levels it unlocks abilities for your guild's Standard Bearer, such as swinging the Standard itself as a weapon and planting it into the ground and allowing the Standard Bearer to fight along side your guild while still maintaining the buffs from the banner. You have to be careful because other guilds can steal your banner, either by killing your Standard Bearer or by removing it from a planted position. Standards also allow you to capture keeps.

Keeps can be captured by planting your guild banner into a special slot located in the Keep. This turns the Keep into your guild's Keep. All players from your realm within a certain area of the Keep will maintain the buffs from your banner. The Keep will also be decorated with your guild's logo and banners hanging from it. This also opens it up so you receive messages and warnings in chat when the enemy is trying to take your Keep away from you. Defending your keep for a certain amount of time also helps level your guild.

Also, you can level your guild up to have access to Guild Taverns. The Guild Taverns are located in Altdorf and The Inevitable City, the 2 current capital cities. You will be able to access these taverns once your guild hits rank 4. In the Tavern, you will have access to special Merchants, depending on your guilds rank, so you can buy crafted items and materials not available elsewhere. You will also be able to buy siege weapons and other items at a discounted rate and it will open up new Flight Master locations for your guild based on your rank. Also at rank 16 it will open up The Leader's Hall where Guild Leaders and officers will receive a rest bonus that gives the players rested experience an added bonus.

On top of all the above mentioned features, you have your standard features of collecting and assigning dues, voting, calendars, and the ability to form alliances with other guilds. I think that guild alliances will play a big role in RVR. It can allow you to maintain a nice balance of players without overgrowing, and still allowing you to bring together large forces for battle that can formulate a strategy together. Strong alliances can come to count on each other and form forces to be reckoned with on the battlefield.

All these bonuses and rewards make me feel like being part of a guild and growing together will be fun again. I am sure there will still be the players that quickly jump ship, and those impersonal mega guilds of 300 people, but I do think there will be a lot of guilds that will be a tight, close knit group with common goals and victories in mind. I feel an ideal size of a guild should be 50-100 players. My perfect number would be 75. I feel like this stops you from being overgrown and impersonal, while also giving you the numbers you need for battle. It will also account for peoples' real life issues and schedules. I know some will say that not all these features are ground breaking. All of them aren't but taking some of the ones that are and adding them to what's good about guilds from games past adds a new dynamic to the guild feature.

I am not usually the type to jump on the new game bandwagon, you really are setting yourself up for disappointment in the end, but War delivers on a lot of it's promise. I have been in War beta for over a year, and although the game is not perfect and they haven't invented the wheel, I believe they are bringing back guilds to what they should be, and what I know I want them to be. That alone was enough for me to give Mythic my pre-order. I will be there opening day, and so should all of the players that have become disillusioned with guilds in current MMO's. Come stand next to me in battle, I may even let you be my Standard Bearer. Lets fight together to take control of what is rightfully ours in the game, and in the guild system.