Last week, a formerly, and amazingly, unknown entity to many of us in the staff made good on our recent [B]decision[/B] to highlight guilds and clans across the Diablo franchise. Guild Medieval, like [B]Clan Tysan[/B], is founded in years of experience, opening its proverbial doors to the annals of Battle.net in 2001, for many the beginning of a golden age in Diablo II online:
Quote from "Philly »
[...]our founder [B]Agravane[/B], thought that there would be a better place away from the public games, where trust and [B]friendship [/B]could evolve, somewhere to play where the public rush for the drop doesn?t happen, drops? are shared via rotas, so everyone is equal in the game. I suppose we have survived because of the people who work daily for the Guild their [B]strength of character[/B] makes people feel [B]welcome [/B]and comfortable, each member is known to those who play on the same realm, so the member doesn?t feel like a number, he is one of us, our members feel they belong to a select group and are proud to state that, we are unique in todays game in the respect that we are anti anything to do with cheating, [B]call it old fashioned, but our longitivity speaks for itself[/B']. Once you join Gm, you never leave.
Medieval has searched far and wide over its many years, a clan which plays on nearly every realm but Asia, looking for "like minded individuals who would benefit from our friendly forums and to enhance us as a Guild." Altruistic goals such as they have enforced for nigh unto a decade can attest to the pervasiveness of selflessness in the guild:
Quote from "Philly" »
The whole concept of Guild Medieval is built around the Knights of old, honour, trust and unswerving loyalty, imagine the Knights of the round table, honest, brave, polite and there to assist anyone in dire times.
The effect has obviously been a good one, as the guild enters its ninth anniversary this coming May, but that isn't the end of the story. In order to imbibe new members into their clan culture, and in order to keep order, the guild has adopted a strict-yet-strategic hierarchy:
Quote from "Philly" »
The ranking system follows on from the Guilds name; call it a theme, a Guild associated with the noble Knights of old must have a system to differentiate between new members, full members and officers. A Squire is a new member, he is a Squire for a period of time that allows him to get to know us and us him, we have a voting system where comments either positive or negative can be posted and acted upon. Each Squire is allocated to a Knight Templar who is his ?buddy? within the game and first call with questions and answers. Each realm will usually have several Kt?s, these are controlled by the Lords or Lady?s who would then report to the Realm Leader. It is a very effective system.
However, that is not to say that Guild Medieval has not faced its giants. As with any guild, endurance and vitality are only one part of the picture. The struggle for power can be an insidiously attractive vice for any leader, and further miscommunication can be ruin:
Quote from "Philly »
Over the years we have had some very strong characters within the Guild, exceptional at their role as an officer, unfortunately as with all online games and forums battles of wills come about, people feel very strongly about their beliefs and leave to form their own Guild. The loss of exceptional individuals and the void created by the loss I would say has been our biggest challenges. That doesn?t happen now, the structure is more controlled and all issues are expected to be sorted in private or via a mediator (Kt, lord, leader). [B']Strength of the individual?s talents can at times cause opposite thoughts.[/B]
Guild Medieval now supports other games than Diablo, but Philly states that its siring game will forever be its hallmark:
Quote from "Philly »
Diablo was THE game at the time of creation, the love of the game and the sadness of the public gaming side of things was the major factor. [B]Games are added by request from members[/B], currently we have added Dungeons and Dragons online and it is brilliant, two to three new members per day. We have the Wow side of things, but it is a different animal to D2 and DDO in regards to forum usage, so unless you play the game you hear very little in regards to that game. [B]We have added and dropped games in the past due to lack of participation[/B] and to clear up the forum boards. Sacred, NWN?s, all decent games in their own right, but [B]the longetivity of Diablo rises above them all[/B'].
The guild's hope in Diablo III is to be expected of one that supports a very, very old game and dedicated but aging member base. They remain optimistic of the future, and Philly states, "[W]e expect, and hope that when D3 does eventually come out that we will see a major influx of new members. Also a lot of existing members who have drifted off to other games will come back, we are expecting to be very busy."
Philly's, and Guild Medieval's, advice to new and hopeful guilds and clans is full of nuggets of wisdom which I can personally say work. Some of them we use for our own staff choices. But how can one possibly distill a near decade of wisdom in to a few brief sentences, let alone a single page? Philly tries his best, and the advice is simple but pivotal:
Quote from Philly »
Too numerous to mention, the bigger the realm becomes the more work it becomes, you are expected to be available at all times, to have all the answers, to sort any conflicts, one person can?t do it alone, so delegation is important, don?t just delegate to your friend, delegate to someone who can actually do the job you have in mind, a Guild is only as strong as its newest member, your day to day actions determines if you ever have an new members. Listen to them, get to know them and become friends, most of the officers on my realm I recruited, I have seen how they react in a situation prior to recruitment so I have a good idea if they are officer material. [B]We run the Guild like a business, it is important to us and our members, so we have to work hard to ensure they enjoy their time with us, as without them, we the same as any Guild, is an empty shell with untapped potential.[/B]
Have a reason, don?t just make a Guild on a whim, give it a reason for its existence and stick to it, adapt as time progresses, but stay to the core reason for creation.
You have to put in the work, long hours sat simply sorting issues is going to happen, many nights officers have logged on, been on for hours and not once entered a game, it is hard work, but if you believe in the Guild you are trying to create, it is very rewarding.
And that's that. See Guild Medieval's [B]official website[/B] for details, membership, their board, and much more.
Last week, a formerly, and amazingly, unknown entity to many of us in the staff made good on our recent [B]decision[/B] to highlight guilds and clans across the Diablo franchise. Guild Medieval, like [B]Clan Tysan[/B], is founded in years of experience, opening its proverbial doors to the annals of Battle.net in 2001, for many the beginning of a golden age in Diablo II online:
Medieval has searched far and wide over its many years, a clan which plays on nearly every realm but Asia, looking for "like minded individuals who would benefit from our friendly forums and to enhance us as a Guild." Altruistic goals such as they have enforced for nigh unto a decade can attest to the pervasiveness of selflessness in the guild:
The effect has obviously been a good one, as the guild enters its ninth anniversary this coming May, but that isn't the end of the story. In order to imbibe new members into their clan culture, and in order to keep order, the guild has adopted a strict-yet-strategic hierarchy:
However, that is not to say that Guild Medieval has not faced its giants. As with any guild, endurance and vitality are only one part of the picture. The struggle for power can be an insidiously attractive vice for any leader, and further miscommunication can be ruin:
Guild Medieval now supports other games than Diablo, but Philly states that its siring game will forever be its hallmark:
The guild's hope in Diablo III is to be expected of one that supports a very, very old game and dedicated but aging member base. They remain optimistic of the future, and Philly states, "[W]e expect, and hope that when D3 does eventually come out that we will see a major influx of new members. Also a lot of existing members who have drifted off to other games will come back, we are expecting to be very busy."
Philly's, and Guild Medieval's, advice to new and hopeful guilds and clans is full of nuggets of wisdom which I can personally say work. Some of them we use for our own staff choices. But how can one possibly distill a near decade of wisdom in to a few brief sentences, let alone a single page? Philly tries his best, and the advice is simple but pivotal:
And that's that. See Guild Medieval's [B]official website[/B] for details, membership, their board, and much more.
GM is the best, I'm in that guild.. (or else I used to be, since I didn't log in for a long time. I forgot my pass, tried to reset and stuff.)
But anyways, they helped me in alot of things. Specially when I got scammed, I got most of my items back from GM's great members.
Everyone in GM is awesome, I loved that place and I wish to be back there.
Nothing much to say, didn't read all of this (tl;dr)
Edit: Just reset my pass, seem's like I'm still there.. oh wow.
brb