Project Lore

I've never played World of Warcraft without being in a guild. When I first started playing way-back-when at the games launch, I joined a starter group with a few people from a forum I frequently post on. Since those rarely last long (and this one certainly wasn't breaking the trend), I eventually hopped servers and fell in line with my roommate's guild.  They were focused on end-game raid progression and we had some wonderful times fighting through Molten Core, Onyxia, and Blackwing Lair, but by the time Burning Crusade rolled around, the leadership started to crumble. Our guild leader got fed up with the drama and quit, while I had my own sort of "falling out" with my own roommate. Needless to say, I had to find a new home in more ways than one. In real life, I finally moved in with my girlfriend, but the lack of viable options in WoW meant that I was taking a hiatus from the game for a little while.

Several months later, I decided that I wanted to get back on the wagon and found out that several of my female friends were actually playing together. One had hooked up with a group of players she had met through playing Final Fantasy XI previously, so I figured it wouldn't be a terrible idea to throw my chips in with them. I started leveling a Warlock and eventually pulled my level-capped Rogue (which is still my main character) over since I so dearly missed playing her. We were a small, close-knit guild, but we hungered for more. Several mergers, and a complete take-over later, and I find myself in a fairly dedicated progression raiding guild once again, with a fair group of people that I generally enjoy interacting with.

So what's the moral of the story? That I've been exceedingly lucky in my choice of companionship so far. The reality of things, though, is that most people have trouble finding a guild, let alone one that they actually enjoy being a part of. Joining a guild can feel a lot like applying for a job, and much to the chagrin of most of you out there reading this, I have to admit that this is not an empty comparison. But don't fret! It's not quite that dire. Unless you're seeking a spot in one of the guilds at the absolute pinnacle of raiding in the game (almost every server has at least one or two), you're not going to have a whole lot of competition. In other words, while a lot of progression guilds can be picky, they're willing to take on just about anyone who makes themselves an attractive addition, and in a series of articles over the next few days, I plan to help you do just that.

WoWProgress is a wonderful resource for scouting out the perfect guild!

Where do we begin? Well, people are starting new guilds every day, making empty promises of "one day hoping to raid" and hawking their "sweet tabards" and "two bank slots" in an attempt to swell their numbers. If you're at all interested in becoming a progression raider, you need to avoid these guilds like the plague. So, the first thing you need to do is educate yourself. Figure out what the serious guilds on your server are. The easiest thing to do is ask around in general or trade chat, but the top groups often require you to apply at their websites for consideration. If they're openly recruiting, chances are that they'll have posted something on your realm's official forum. In general, that's a good place to look when figuring out who is prominent on your server. If they maintain an active presence, this also allows you to figure out whether or not your personality is going to conflict with theirs (this is something I'll get into in the future).

But if you're looking for pure stats, sites like WoW Progress can help. Simply find your realm and it will give you a ranked list of guilds on it, based on level and speed of progression, as well as any special achievements they've earned. Some guilds even list the classes or specs they're actively looking for and provide a link to their individual websites.

If you think you're already geared and experienced enough, I'd suggest aiming for the top. If you don't make it in, then they're likely to give you a few tips as to why you weren't up to snuff. At that point, it's up to you to follow their advice and try again at a later date, or start working your way down the list to find a guild that will accept you as you currently are. It should go without saying that most top-tier guilds have extremely high standards, but you'd be surprised at the kinds of people that end up applying.

Something else to consider, and you should come across it at some point if you're doing your research, is whether or not you can make the raid schedule. In my guild, we have three core raiding nights a week, and each one generally lasts three hours. Now, due to the nature of our guild we don't technically enforce attendance (even though we do encourage it). However, what we require is often the bare minimum. Stone-cold serious proression guilds may raid four or five days a week and they may ask you to put in longer hours. Chances are good that they also make many of their raids mandatory, meaning that if you can't make it, or you don't have a reasonable excuse for missing a given night, you won't find yourself in the guild for very long. At the least, you'll be put on the second or third string, at the worst, they'll toss you right out the door.

Keep in mind that a lot of guild officers take their job setting up and running raids seriously. They want you to be successful. They want you to get better gear and become a star player. If you can't show them the appropriate appreciation or respect, then they won't want you around. But I'm getting ahead of myself now and, looking at my word count, it's about time to wrap things up!

Shopping around for guilds is one thing. Making yourself a top candidate for admission is another completely. In the next edition, I plan on covering basic gear requirements. Any questions or thoughts, readers?