Good luck and Glory to Atys!
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What is a guild in Ryzom?
Technically, a guild is an association of players that
1) Have access to a guild-specific chat channel
2) Contribute to shared "guild fame"
3) Have access to a shared Guild Hall (if the guild has purchased one)
From a practical perspective, a guild provides easy access to a group of people with common goals and alignment. Guilds vary in their focus as much as real-world groups and organizations do.
Why would I want to join one?
1) Social - A lot of people join guilds just to have access to a group of friends that they can chat with regardless of where they are on the planet. Guild Chat spans all regions and is always accessible to guild members.
2) Grouping - Having a pool of people that you know makes it much easier to pull together a group for hunting, a healer to rez you, some protection while harvesting or a careplanner for those all-night digging sessions.
3) Access to Crafters - The best items are usually custom-made. The stuff on the vendors will get you by, but for the best looking equipment with the best stats, you'll need to hook up with a crafter. The economies of guilds vary. Some will work off of a barter system. Some guild crafters will craft only if you provide the mats. Some will stockpile equipment and provide it to guildies for free. There are advantages and disadvantages to all systems.
4) Team-based PvP - Player vs. Player combat doesn't require you to be in a guild. But it's certainly a lot more fun when you have a team of people that you know and trust fighting by your side.
5) Events - Many guilds run events for guild members. They can range from regular hunting parties to Epic world-wide treks for teleporter tickets. Some even conduct competitions for prizes or rewards.
6) To be part of something bigger than yourself - Ryzom is a free-form environment. Unlike many other MMORPGs, you really aren't guided into a particular path or chain of events. Players make the story. This is great when you're starting out, but can become boring if you don't have any goals to keep yourself motivated. Guilds provide an outlet and some common goals. Even if the goals are as simple as "help the guild grow" or "help xxx level their fight skills", it beats wandering aimlessly through the world. Some guilds have heavy role-playing agendas and have epic power struggles for Outposts and control of entire regions.
Which guild should I join?
That's a very personal decision. In general, find people that you like and whose company you enjoy and move forward from there. You should get to know the guild that you're joining and they should take the time to get to know you. Usually, guilds that "blind invite" should be avoided. It's not unlike someone going out into the street and inviting everyone they meet to come and live with them. In general, you're going to end up with chaos and a very highturnover rate. Neither is very good for a guild.
What factors should I consider?
Personalities - The very top consideration should be how you like the people. These are people that you will be sharing a channel with, crafting, digging and fighting beside and defending with your life. If you hate your guild, it's not good for you or your guildmates. It's certainly not going to make for a fun gaming experience.
Guild Purpose - Is the guild a family "social" guild? Hunting? Crafting? Foraging? Exploration? Military "Outpost Acquisition"? Match to your own style.
Roleplaying - There are some hardcore RP guilds and also a number of guilds that are totally RP-intolerant. The majority are somewhere in-between. But you need to make sure that you choose a guild that's compatible with your own personal play style.
Leadership - The style and personality of the guild leaders tends to dictate the overall feel of the guild. If the leaders of the guild are never around, the guild may fall into chaos or disrepair. In some cases there may be a core group of players that the guild follows. On the other hand, some guilds are very structured and almost dictatorial with leaders that are always watching and are quick to kick out people that don't conform to the guild rules. Every guild is different and the dynamics can evolve over time. In general, if you don't like the guild leaders, you're unlikely to be happy with the guild. Note the personality of the leaders and whether or not they expect you to follow orders or directions.
Guild Size - The obvious advantage to a large guild is that it usually makes it easier to find someone online and available for a group. The disadvantage to a large guild is that you can get lost in the crowd. So whether you look for a large or small guild is primarily a personal decision. Even with large guilds, there tends to be a much smaller core group. With smaller guilds, most members tend to be "time zone compatible" (since they wouldn't have been recruited/stayed otherwise)
"Stuff" policy - How does the guild allocate equipment, cash, catalyzer crystals and other "stuff". Keep in mind that if you get stuff for free, you will likely be expected to provide it for free. So if you expect guild crafters to make stuff for you without any charge or harvesting on your part, you had better be prepared to return the favour. TANSTAAFL (There ain't no such thing as a free lunch - Robert Heinlein). Most guilds will bend over backwards to help new recruits to help them become productive members of the guild. Very few do it as voluntary charity work.
Guild Alignment - There are four different factors to consider here:
1) How militantly the alignment is enforced? Will you be cast out from the guild if you heal someone of an opposite alignment? Will you be expected to further the goals of your alignment group with every waking moment? Will you be expected to come to the aid of any allies regardless of what you're doing? Will you be KoS (Kill on Sight) with any enemy guild?
2) Faction Alignment - Kami vs Karavan vs Neutral - Read the lore and at least understand the conflict before choosing sides. Also, the balance between Kami and Karavan is different depending on the server that you're on. Choosing an alignment has an impact on which teleporters you can use. Kami generally can not use Karavan teleporters and vice versa. Faction alignment will impact how some NPCs react to you, cost of equipment from certain vendors and will impact your ability to accept certain missions.
3) Racial Alignment - Some guilds are race-specific (Fyros, Matis, Tryker or Zorai). Also the level of racial tolerance varies. In general, you'll probably want to join a guild based in your home region (just for convenience) which will mean that it's likely to be predominantly that region's race. Racial alignment will impact how some NPCs react to you, cost of equipment from certain vendors and will impact your ability to accept certain missions.
4) PvP policy - If your focus is Player vs. Player, you want to make sure that it's not against your guild policies. The game engine supports voluntary PvP in most regions. So it tends to be a personal decision more often than a guild policy. But there are some exceptions with hardcore PvP and Pacifist guilds.
Warning Signs
1) A guild that tries to recruit you without ever having met you. Quite a few guilds do this and basically see how you work out. This tends to be a "quantity" vs "quality" approach. It does actually work for some guilds. But as a general practice, it makes for a chaotic and disjointed guild. In general, guilds like this will spend a lot of time developing new recruits that then leave as soon as they figure out that they aren't compatible.
2) A guild that tries to buy your membership - No guild should be so desperate that they need to buy members [either with cash or even with "stuff"]. If they are, you should be asking yourself "why?". Also, you should be thinking about what your personal contributions to the guild will be used for. These guilds attract the greedy and opportunistic. (of course, if you're greedy and opportunistic, you should be seeking these guilds out
3) Guilds that poach from other guilds - If you're already in a guild and another guild actively tries to recruit you, you should be concerned. The guild is likely to be made up of people who have limited loyalty and may hop from guild to guild regularly.
4) The high-pressure sell - If a guild uses a "join now or never" approach or just tosses the invite at you when you show the slightest interest, you should be concerned. It's another sign of possible desperation. Most mature guilds will make an offer and just let you decide at your leisure.