This was a topic of discussion on Jedi Covenant in Gen Chat on Fleet this evening.

 

Every day I see people in Gen Chat typing, "looking for active guild". The problem is that many GMs, like myself, are wary of accepting people in the blind. Generally, only the mega-guilds take all comers. There are also those players that never seek out a Guild because they are afraid of a bad fit, or are just new to the concept. SWTOR was my first MMO four years ago when it launched. I know that there is a section under the Server Forums for Guilds to advertise. However, this is grossly underused and many players never even visit the forums. Especially those new to the game.

 

I propose that there be an in game option for Guilds to seek members and for players to view a variety of Guilds to pick the best fit. The Guild Registrar could be used for this purpose. The GM of a Guild could choose whether or not to be listed if they are currently accepting new members. Players could view a list of Guilds that are currently recruiting and submit an application. The following information would be listed:

 

- Guild Name

- Number of Qualifying accounts (for XP and Rep bonuses)

- Type of Guild (Social, Hardcore, etc.)

- Focus (PvE, OPS, PvP, Leveling, etc.)

- Benefits (Guild Ships, Headquarters, Opposite Faction Guild, TS3, Vent, etc.)

- Requirements (Adults Only, Any Age, F2P, Subs Only, etc.)

- Website or POC for applicants

 

I think that this would be an amazing Quality of Life enhancement to the game and would reap benefits in player retention. Please chime in and let your voices be heard. I have already heard many say that it won't happen because it doesn't make money for BW. But it actually does if more people choose to retain their subscriptions because they became more engaged in the game through a Guild. I have been here since launch. But I would have left long ago or gone F2P if it weren't for my Guild.

that means more $$ to spend. dont think this will happen any time soon = / EA/Bioware has the same problems like the U.S government.. trying to sort out their funds to the appropriate groups accordingly.

 

"First of all, let's clarify what the NASA budget is. Do you realize that the $850 billion dollar bailout, that sum of money is greater than the entire 50-year running budget of NASA?"

 

This was a topic of discussion on Jedi Covenant in Gen Chat on Fleet this evening.

 

Every day I see people in Gen Chat typing, "looking for active guild". The problem is that many GMs, like myself, are wary of accepting people in the blind. Generally, only the mega-guilds take all comers. There are also those players that never seek out a Guild because they are afraid of a bad fit, or are just new to the concept. SWTOR was my first MMO four years ago when it launched. I know that there is a section under the Server Forums for Guilds to advertise. However, this is grossly underused and many players never even visit the forums. Especially those new to the game.

 

I propose that there be an in game option for Guilds to seek members and for players to view a variety of Guilds to pick the best fit. The Guild Registrar could be used for this purpose. The GM of a Guild could choose whether or not to be listed if they are currently accepting new members. Players could view a list of Guilds that are currently recruiting and submit an application. The following information would be listed:

 

- Guild Name

- Number of Qualifying accounts (for XP and Rep bonuses)

- Type of Guild (Social, Hardcore, etc.)

- Focus (PvE, OPS, PvP, Leveling, etc.)

- Benefits (Guild Ships, Headquarters, Opposite Faction Guild, TS3, Vent, etc.)

- Requirements (Adults Only, Any Age, F2P, Subs Only, etc.)

- Website or POC for applicants

 

I think that this would be an amazing Quality of Life enhancement to the game and would reap benefits in player retention. Please chime in and let your voices be heard. I have already heard many say that it won't happen because it doesn't make money for BW. But it actually does if more people choose to retain their subscriptions because they became more engaged in the game through a Guild. I have been here since launch. But I would have left long ago or gone F2P if it weren't for my Guild.

Edited January 31, 2016 by Ouardajason

This would not take that much in terms of resources. It is basically the same code as choosing whether or not to place you Guild Ship in the public listings. Unlike the Federal Government, BW / EA is in business to make money. Quality of Life improvements do have an ROI in terms of subscribers and player retention. They have literally made thousands off of my family in the last four years. Even a small number of people that choose to retain their sub longer term would pay for the development costs.

 

The one way to be sure that nothing will happen is not to ask.

 

So who else out there would like to see this feature available in game?

The same kind of problem comes up on pretty much all of the servers. The Euro servers have a slightly easier time, I guess, because some guilds and members automatically gravitate to each other due to a common language. But most are international, multi-lingual, multi-purpose guilds.

Generally, with the guilds that I recruit for, I look to get a sense of the person's personality before inviting them. With f2p players and the limitations on chat that can be difficult, but I usually find that getting prospective candidates into a group and chatting and/or running a tactical flashpoint gives me a pretty good idea. Some will flatly refuse to run TFPs - "I am a pvper, not interested in that stuff" (good to know... leave the group and specifically ask for a pvp guild then), or "No thanks, I am only in it for the Conquest game" (which can work, but as so many of the Conquest goals are tied to group content, does not bode well), or "Oh, I've never done that/I hear it is hard/variations of those reasons" (that's ok, we all have to start somewhere, but the guild run a lot of group content, and while you will not be forced to join in, it is definitely encouraged... so either let us help you, or find a more social leveling guild that does not run group content).

Also, being one of the more "sociable" members of my guilds, I tend to talk a lot in General and Guild Chat. People who get irritated by that should really get to know that ahead of time, so they do not waste their time.

 

In other words, they get a group invite and an interview rather than a guild invitation at first. I look to the kind of content and activities that my guilds like to run, and put potential recruits in a situation where they are experiencing that kind of content. If they like it and they want more, and if I don't get that bad feeling about them, then I invite them.

 

Obviously you get end-game raiders looking for a guild, for whom that approach doesn't work. Generally in those cases, we find that when we have a 6 person group looking to run a 8-person Op, we will call for some randoms on the fleet, and if they do well and behave around the loot rolls (No Master Loot generally), then they either get an invite (if currently unguilded) or they are added to Friends lists, and told there is an invite (either to future Ops or the Guild, whichever they want) if they want it. Basically, the Op run itself serves as a recruitment interview.

This is something I thought should have been a basic feature in the game since launch.

 

Basically a list of guilds currently recruiting and a way to submit applications in game.

 

I can't really think of any reason why this could be a bad idea, aside from obvious trolling you'd get from any sort of service.

 

But that's what the ignore feature is for. And I also think that someone looking for a guild should have the ability to ignore/hide a guild that's listed in the case they don't like them for w/e reason.

Sounds like EQ2. Maybe someone at BW can call them up and get some tips on how to do it. Though the original coders are probably long gone.