guild/gang system feedback and thoughts

[Dredmantis]

the guild system has been out for a while now and i wanted see what people think. i dont group much and dont know much about how players feel about it.

dont want a turbine bashing trolling rant of a forum fire.

what do you like and or dislike?
do you like having a # by your guild name?
what size is your gang? any relation to likes dislikes
is gaining renown important to youre guild?
is youre gang trying to reach the max # by its name, do you think it will happen and when?
what effect or changes has this system caused youre guild?
does the gang rank# have anything to do with youre guilds acheivements or longevity? should it?

not a survey these are just example questions i ponder. please add questions, please keep the criticism constructive, identify problems-solutions-ideas.

[grodon9999]

do you like having a # by your guild name? No, it's kinda stupid.

what size is your gang? any relation to likes dislikes: about 130 active "accounts." I mainly dislike the guild ranks being displayed next to the name because guild ranking has NOTHING to do with the quality of the guild.

is gaining renown important to youre guild? No, but we have done stuff to cut down on decay.

is youre gang trying to reach the max # by its name, do you think it will happen and when? Inertia in motion stays in motion, you will eventually get there.

what effect or changes has this system caused your guild? We get a bunch of over-powered buffs that make an easy game even easier.

does the gang rank# have anything to do with your guilds achievements or longevity? should it? Has nothing to do with either. Renown is just another grind for DDO where the best don't get the best stuff, only the most patient.

[Doganpc]

Not a fan, but part of that is personal bias.

I think the guild system took the game a step back in terms of being classified as an MMO. Before Update 5 and all the guild benefits the LFM seemed more populated and the people in those groups more competent. Perhaps its just Orien where all the long time players have returned to their other servers or just the new player queue rotation favoring our server. My theory goes that with large guilds running rampant and taking in a majority of the players what used to make it onto the LFM page now stays within the guild chat channel. This hurts the rest of us in smaller guilds who do not have the luxury of forming a 6 man group when its convenient. Also the guild vendors seemed to have replaced Hagglebots, but this is pure assumption as I havn't really compared with my hagglebard.

Oh and while I havn't had the same experiences i've read from others but the airship buffs becoming a group requirement is troubling.

Dogan
If you need that much help... you're doing it wrong.

[Levonestral]

what do you like and or dislike?

Overall it seems to be working well from a mechanical perspective. The social issues are something I'm sure will work itself out over time as everything else has eventually also.

I do wish there were more options for things to put onto the boats at more levels. A good one could be the ability to add the guild vendors from house K onto your ship.


do you like having a # by your guild name?

No, I've always thought that was silly. They should make it optional to show the guild renown level, guild player rank (officer, member) or nothing and allow people to choose through their own settings.


what size is your gang? any relation to likes dislikes

It's hard to say how that relates to likes & dislikes. The maintained size of a guild is usually determined by the leader (or group) based on their personal preferences. People generally head towards guilds of a certain size also for the same reasons.

Some like large guilds with loads of people to run with, while other people like having almost "static" like groups of people in which they get to know on a more personal basis because they play together on a regular basis.


is gaining renown important to youre guild?

No, we just take advantage of what we get, when we get it.

Are we excited to be creeping up on 55 for the next ship? Sure.

Pushing renown grinding for it? No.


is youre gang trying to reach the max # by its name, do you think it will happen and when?

I think that with decay in place, every guild will reach a point where their daily renown increase will balance with the decay and they'll hit that spot where the gain will be very slow to none. That will be different for each guild based on their size and activity level. There have been charts made by others that explain this balance quite well.

That said, having the goal of reaching level 100 isn't impossible, or something you shouldn't aim for, but it might take a little longer or a little more effort than expected for some guilds.


what effect or changes has this system caused youre guild?

None. We decided in the beginning it would not affect how we're doing things and have maintained that decision since then.


does the gang rank# have anything to do with youre guilds acheivements or longevity? should it?

No. Guild rank means absolutely nothing other than their activity level in relation to their guild size.

The guild size bonuses allows guilds of all sizes to be able to "keep up" (or at least partially) with each other, allowing everyone to have rewards for their work without being left to feel they can never get what they want. I like this bonus and believe it was a great addition.

It does however, have no reflection whatsoever on a particular guilds ability to accomplish anything in game. This is something that is not easy to measure and has been attempted before with little success. Each guild is a different beast and people belong to their guilds for their own personal reasons.

[redoubt]

the Guild System Has Been Out For A While Now And I Wanted See What People Think. I Dont Group Much And Dont Know Much About How Players Feel About It.

Dont Want A Turbine Bashing Trolling Rant Of A Forum Fire.

What Do You Like And Or Dislike?
Do You Like Having A # By Your Guild Name? i Have Guild Names Disabled... Didn't Even Know It Was There.
What Size Is Your Gang? Any Relation To Likes Dislikes 8 People. I Know All Of Them. I Like That.
Is Gaining Renown Important To Youre Guild? sort Of. Its Been Fun Seeing How Far We Can Grow. The Buffs Are A Nice Add On.
Is Youre Gang Trying To Reach The Max # By Its Name, Do You Think It Will Happen And When? no.
What Effect Or Changes Has This System Caused Youre Guild? none.
Does The Gang Rank# Have Anything To Do With Youre Guilds Acheivements Or Longevity? Should It? ah.. No Idea.

Not A Survey These Are Just Example Questions I Ponder. Please Add Questions, Please Keep The Criticism Constructive, Identify Problems-solutions-ideas.

:d

[Dredmantis]

thanks to the few who responded. was hoping for a wider variety in relation to guild size.

thank you very much levonestrel for taking the time with such a good post. very informative. have to see if i can find the charts you mentioned.

would anybody be upset if they got rid of the guild rank# ? i can only suspect that role players dislike it. if most dislike the # or dont care, getting rid of of it would at least be nice thing for the role players.

maybe replace the # with emblems/symbol similar to the true reincarnate. or a choice of them. for every 5 or 10 levels of guild rank the choices expand. little skulls-dice-lightning bolts-swords-sheilds-wings-squigles-whatever.
the same could be done with color and fonts of the guild name text as it apears to others. offcourse individuals having the option to turn it off like the guild name.
i dont know hard or how much work it would require.

would guilds like that?

[Hellllboy]

what do you like and or dislike? I like a few of the Guild benefits-as they make things more convenient.
do you like having a # by your guild name? I dont care about the #-it means nothing to me.
what size is your gang? any relation to likes dislikes Midsized Guild. We have a lot of "on and off" activity members that keeps our renown bonus lower than I think it should be.
is gaining renown important to youre guild? Yes-only so we can get a bigger ship with more stuff on it.
is youre gang trying to reach the max # by its name, do you think it will happen and when? No-it will never happen
what effect or changes has this system caused youre guild? It has not changed us at all-except that members have more freedom to do their own thing.
does the gang rank# have anything to do with youre guilds acheivements or longevity? should it? No, my Guild is very new and still has a # in the 40's ATM. I dont feel our acheivements accurately represent our Guild #.

[Levonestral]

thank you very much levonestrel for taking the time with such a good post. very informative. have to see if i can find the charts you mentioned.


I just found the post I was talking about earlier:

http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=266748

It's pretty heavy on the math, but is an interesting read on how each guild will each it's own "balance" based on their size etc. Hope it provides some insight for you :)

[ogee11]

what do you like and or dislike? I like the buffs, especially the 30 resist ones, saves the casters alot os SP not having to buff those at raids. I dislike people being able to take 25% of their renow if they get mad for some silly reason and leave.
do you like having a # by your g uild name? This doesnt bother me, but then again my guild is higher than most
what size is your gang? any relation to likes dislikes 63 atm / no
is gaining renown important to youre guild? yes, we want to get to bigger and better things
is youre gang trying to reach the max # by its name, do you think it will happen and when? yes we want 100 and I think it will happen in 9 month to a year
what effect or changes has this system caused youre guild? Well my guild started after this system so none
does the gang rank# have anything to do with youre guilds acheivements or longevity? should it? no we are here to raid as a team so the guild lvl doesnt matter and it shouldnt matter

[Lorien_the_First_One]

thanks to the few who responded. was hoping for a wider variety in relation to guild size.

Your "gang" comment smelled like you were datamining to deal with a bias you had and as such, I imagine a lot of people avoided the thread.


would anybody be upset if they got rid of the guild rank# ?

You mean the public display of it? I don't see what value it adds, but I also don't see what harm it does.


maybe replace the # with emblems/symbol similar to the true reincarnate. or a choice of them. for every 5 or 10 levels of guild rank the choices expand. little skulls-dice-lightning bolts-swords-sheilds-wings-squigles-whatever.
the same could be done with color and fonts of the guild name text as it apears to others. offcourse individuals having the option to turn it off like the guild name.
i dont know hard or how much work it would require.

would guilds like that?

Now that substitution would annoy me. It wouldn't present clear and useful information, and thus is programming for no clear benefit. Either keep the number or get rid of it, but we don't need more squiggles.

[JudasPriest]

Guild rank decrease + bad news for my type of playing.

So I take a 3 month break from the pc, I come back guild rank 1.


Get rid of that please. I never play any MMO more than 2 months straight. So i can never expect to have a guild rank in this game the way it stands.

[MrkGrismer]

You mean the public display of it? I don't see what value it adds, but I also don't see what harm it does.

I would prefer it went back to how it was before, with the character level displayed instead of the guild level. Why do we need to broadcast guild level anyway?

Just recently I was turning in ice games coins on all my characters and I had somebody with a level 2 character in the harbor blind party invite me on my level 7 barbarian. I didn't even feel like explaining why it would be a bad idea to party together (much less why blind inviting is no way to make friends, etc.), but it occurred to me that if my character level was showing instead of my guild level maybe it would never have happened (I know, chances are it would have happened anyway). I understand that they could just Z-examine to get that info. Nevertheless...

[MrkGrismer]

Guild rank decrease + bad news for my type of playing.

So I take a 3 month break from the pc, I come back guild rank 1.


Get rid of that please. I never play any MMO more than 2 months straight. So i can never expect to have a guild rank in this game the way it stands.

Guilds don't decay below level 25, btw.

[die]

Yes i dislike the # and i also disliked.. officer/member next too name also takes away from the .(.im going too get in trouble here but what the hey).. realism. But i can always turn it off also.

[die]

what do you like and or dislike? 1.i like being in a guild wiht likeminded pepps who have the same goals in my case thats toohave fun and too raid.
do you like having a # by your guild name? No
what size is your gang? any relation to likes dislikes im not in a gang im part of a good group of ladys and men who love having fun and talking dnd alot of very knowledgeable pepps in our guild
is gaining renown important to youre guild? no but the ship buffs have been nice
is youre gang trying to reach the max # by its name, do you think it will happen and when? not trying but im sure we will when your guess is as good as mine 53 ATM
what effect or changes has this system caused youre guild? i have seen no change pepps log on same time for the most part . play too have fun
does the gang rank# have anything to do with youre guilds acheivements or longevity? should it? i dont believe so madborn has been around as long as i can remember being Xoriat born they have always been thier and believe as long as the game is around so will we

[Quarterling]

I have two different guilds that my characters are in. Shadowblade Assassins and Arcane Arts. I'm just a regular member in SA so I'll be reviewing Arcane Arts.

What do you like and or dislike?
It's a two-account guild (with 4 fake accounts to bump it up to the 6-account 300% bonus). It's small but it's fun being in my own guild with my friend.

Do you like having a # by your guild name?
I have absolutely no preference.

What size is your gang?
Two accounts. The guild was created about a month ago.

Is gaining renown important to your guild?
Right now yeah, but we're just trying to hit level 52. Then we will stop caring about progress.

Is your gang trying to reach the max # by its name, do you think it will happen and when?
We are level 24 now and want to get to level 52. This means we are about 10% of the way there. Factoring in guild decay, we might obtain our goal by or near the end of 2011.

What effect or changes has this system caused your guild?
Nothing much, it's just that I often pass up junk items for legendary victories.

Does the gang rank # have anything to do with your guilds achievements or longevity? should it?
My friend and I have been playing since 2007, so we don't care about judging people based off of their guild (unless it is certain ones that have mass spammed blind invites to pump up their member count to 1,000); we know better of course.

[azrael4h]

what do you like and or dislike? - I hate the fact that guild amenities are generally worthless temp things. Why is a freaking chest a temporary object? It's why our guild ship remains empty, and will continue to remain empty, and Turbine will never see a dime for upgrading it. All of us generally regret even buying the thing, as that plat was more useful being spent on trash loot on the AH (a guild ship is that useless).

do you like having a # by your guild name? - Don't ever notice it.

what size is your gang? any relation to likes dislikes. - 6 active accounts.

is gaining renown important to youre guild? - Not any more, since there's 0 value in getting useless amenities that you have to rebuy. When I can put a chest on my ship and never have to worry about it again, I'll consider it useful.

is youre gang trying to reach the max # by its name, do you think it will happen and when? - No. There's no point.

what effect or changes has this system caused youre guild? - None

does the gang rank# have anything to do with youre guilds acheivements or longevity? should it? - Nope and nope. The number only indicates how much a guild farms renown. Not any realistic measure of ability or achievement.

[azrael4h]

Guild rank decrease + bad news for my type of playing.

So I take a 3 month break from the pc, I come back guild rank 1.


Get rid of that please. I never play any MMO more than 2 months straight. So i can never expect to have a guild rank in this game the way it stands.

Renown decay only starts at GL 25, IIRC. You do, however, lose renown for characters leaving your guild. Otherwise, you should be able to hit 25, and pretty much stay there (unless it changed, but I think that's how its supposed to work.)

[Lorz]

Guild rank decrease + bad news for my type of playing.

So I take a 3 month break from the pc, I come back guild rank 1.


Get rid of that please. I never play any MMO more than 2 months straight. So i can never expect to have a guild rank in this game the way it stands.

Um its not really a guild if its just you.

:)

And as noted not decay below GL25. So enjoy your months off at a time...your not being penalized.

[mariedee]

what do you like and or dislike?
guild buffs are nice; I like being able to transport to different places instead of running there

do you like having a # by your guild name?
doesn't matter to me

what size is your gang? any relation to likes dislikes
not sure, i'm in 3 guilds (2 are solo-oriented guilds), probably less than 100 active people each
with a large guild, it should be easier to find like-minded players; I joined a large guild (over 500 people), but they rarely grouped together (or maybe I should say rarely grouped with me)

is gaining renown important to your guild?
nope

is your gang trying to reach the max # by its name, do you think it will happen and when?
nope

what effect or changes has this system caused your guild?
not my guild, but a guild I really wanted to join doesn't accept new members because of the new system

does the gang rank# have anything to do with your guilds achievements or longevity? should it?

[visionary1977]

what do you like and or dislike?

I like having something that the guild can work towards whilst questing together, an added bonus as it were rather than the main focus.

do you like having a # by your guild name?

Not to worried to be honest, keep it, bin it.. its all the same to me, my guild and I play together for fun not for ego

what size is your gang? any relation to likes dislikes

There are 10 of us, so more a group of like minded friends then the usual mmo guild.

is gaining renown important to youre guild?

its an added bonus, we dont take it to seriously, but is nice to see the guild progress together.

is youre gang trying to reach the max # by its name, do you think it will happen and when?

Would like to get to renown lvl 100, but as there is only 10 of us, we wont reach it before they switch off the lights methinks :)

what effect or changes has this system caused youre guild?

We have a boat, with some low end buffs.. that I always forget to pick up.. ho hum..

does the gang rank# have anything to do with youre guilds acheivements or longevity? should it?

I was formerly from Cannith, and whilst on cannith tried lots of guilds, most of which were superb, but i seemed always to get itchy feet.. recently moved to Ghallanda, and am questing with my friends from ddo Eu, we are small in number but have great experience in questing with each other through, lotro & ddo, we are not recruiting anymore members and are all happy for it to play out this way, we are casual about guild rank... its no biggy.. its the fun we have whilst playing that matters. so yes our attitude to gaming does relate to our attitude about guild renown.