Building a Winner
Founding a Pre-Release Guild
"Gettin' good players is easy. Gettin' 'em to play together is the hard part."
Reverenced Ire began with one man, the inimitable Xaices Wrathborne, and his vision of what it will take to become a prominent figure pre-release, and a immutable force post-release in our favorite yet-to-go-gold game, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes. Below you will find a commentary about what Reverenced Ire believes it will take to be one of the best in the game.
It Begins with the Right People
When choosing people to become members of a successful guild, it’s important to look for people who are like minded. That’s not to say they’ve all got to like the same things, just that these potential members need to have a focus on the same objectives, the objectives of the guild. For a raiding guild, people with experience raiding in multiple games are a natural choice, but dedication, loyalty and fidelity also come in to play. Have the potential members had high or maximum level avatars in other games? Have they stayed with one guild or do they seem to be hopping from organization to organization?
A well thought out application will flesh out these issues and help to make a choice clear. Some may say that an application process is unnecessary or even a hindrance to 
recruitment in a pre-release guild, but in the case of Reverenced Ire it has helped us weed out a lot of people who just wouldn't fit, whether due to their expectations or their attitudes. And while raid and adventuring experience is important, it’s not the only factor that goes into determining who will be an asset to the guild. A game like Vanguard will have many different things that need time and attention. Consider shipbuilding, carpentry, armorsmithing, and diplomacy: these aspects of the game will need attention; perhaps a person who either cannot or will not raid will need to contribute in these areas to ensure success. Everyone must pull his or her own weight, no matter what their favored activity is.
Creating a Structured Community
Vanguard hasn't been released yet, of course, so it's difficult to determine how well a guild will perform together; some say the only way to be sure is to play together. However, many things that can be determined pre-release, and many issues that a post-release guild might have can be eliminated before hand. Generally, with an active guild website and forums, the leadership can see the types of personalities members have.
A guild charter and rules are essential to ensuring that members are clear about how issues such as loot whoring and personal drama will be handled, how gear and harvested items will be distributed, and how members will be expected to handle themselves, both during guild events and in the community in general. Members should have a clear set of rules in place for them before points of contention arise, so that there are no surprises and people can make decisions about whether or not the guild will be a good fit for them. Reverenced Ire has a charter and set of guidelines that are among the best I’ve seen. Structure is crucial. As I'm sure many of you have experienced in the past, a guild with no structure is a guild that will fail.
A Guild is Only as Strong as its Leadership
A successful guild also has dedicated leadership, not just on the part of the guild leader, but also of the officers or council members. Officers of a successful guild have to be dedicated and loyal, but also often times must be discreet and diplomatic. A good officer can (and often does) put his or her personal feelings and expectations aside and will act in the best interests of the guild. It's also important that the guild not be run like an abusive garrison.
Reverenced Ire tends to run itself more like a benevolent dictatorship, everyone will have
their say, but the leader and council members determine the outcome of any situation, and their word is THE word. Micromanagement isn't our style; our members have to be mature enough to deal with each other without being a disruption to the entire guild. In the event that there is an issue that the members cannot work out themselves, they will bring the issue to the attention of the council members and ask that they intervene. This will usually be done in a private session of the council, and they will work out the matter to the benefit of the guild, and not necessarily to the benefit of the individuals who engaged in the controversy initially.
From a personal standpoint, I'd suggest that any issues that arise should be handled by the people involved, because if the council has to get involved the outcome might not be one that is expected. The needs of the guild come first and foremost, then the individual members. Not everyone will be friends, but a stable and fair affiliation is the backbone of any organization.
Remaining Flexible
Flexibility is also key to making a pre-release guild a success. Some decisions and rules that have been made pre-release might not fit into the structure of Vanguard. If we find out that something we have in place is unworkable or impractical it will be changed, and happily. We're structuring the guild around the game, and that's the only way it can be done. While many of our policies and procedures will work with any game, others will not. Take loot distribution, for instance. We're not entirely sure how the game will enable us to manage the distribution of dropped items. Will there be a system that allows the guild to keep ownership of the gear once it has been passed to a member? Will items be 'soulbound'? What about passing 'used' loot to alts or lower level members? Reverenced Ire will be front-loading its key players, but what happens to the gear the key players get awarded once new gear is dropped? What stats will be most beneficial to which classes? We'll probably have to change our processes and procedures a few times before we find out what works best for us. Game mechanics are not entirely clear at the moment, and adaptability will be a very important factor in our success.
It's not all easy to put together a guild at any time, but doing so before a game's release is an even more daunting endeavor. We at Reverenced Ire are working very hard to ensure attainment of our goals, not only for ourselves, but for the game and the community at large. In order for us to be a success, the game and the community must remain healthy. Only time will tell if we've got what it takes, but with all the preparation and dedication that has gone in to the guild thus far, I cannot imagine us being anything other than a raging success.