Why have a guild?

[Shinto]

The question is as it sounds. However, I'm not looking for "to play with your friends", as such things can be done without guilds. What I mean is that, other than guild housing, there does not seem to be any real benefit to being in one. Is it just for the structure?

Just to clarify, I have played in other games that had guild/clan systems. However, they all had some tangible benefit (pvp, taxes, etc).

[lunaris888]

Guilds will be needed to access endgame pvp. It will be very hard getting 54 people together without a guild of sorts.

[Shadow]

It's easier to communicate through the guild chat channel. You could create another chat channel and hope your friends had joined it, but you would have no way of knowing for sure until they said something in the channel or using the list command on the channel (easy, but checking the guild tab in the community window is easier).

You can also have the client notify you when a guild member goes on/offline but with the custom channels you never know if someone gets disconnected.

Guild housing as you've mentioned provides a tangible benefit especially if members have purchased the guild edition which provides some type of buff if the guild edition trophy is placed in the guild hall. (We'll have to wait and see specifically what the buff is)

The client provides an integrated DKP tracker so it's easier to know what you've earned from raid attendence without having to leave the client and check a guild or alliance website.

Usually guilds provide other incentives for their members also. Our guild's adventurers and diplomats provide the crafters with materials. The crafters provide the adventurers and diplomats with gear. The diplomats provide the crafters and adventurers with civic diplomacy buffs and do "other stuff"(tm). Other incentives provided by our guild are access to trial keys for members to share with their friends who aren't sure if they're interested in Vanguard yet.

I'm sure there are many other reasons I can't think of right now (mostly because it's pretty early and I've been dealing with children being in the hospital lately so I'm kinda groggy anyway), but thats a short list of some reason's one may wish to join a guild. Every guild is different though; some may provide much more support and some may provide none at all.

My best advice is not to join a guild until you find a group of people you seem to be comfortable with and enjoy playing with on a regular basis. If you're already hanging out with them, then a guild provides a framework to help that relationship grow further. I know that you said not to use "to play with friends" as a reason, but honestly that's the best reason I can think of to do anything in an MMO.

Otherwise I'd go play my Wii, which rocks by the way

[Pel]

for me, i dont do a whole lot of raiding, but i like to avoid "pickup" grps as much as possible, a guild for me, is a good way to meet new faces, make friends, and build a community that you can adventure with in game ^^

[Liwmial]

For me a guild has always been

1) A group of like minded people that I can discuss my interests with (because they are their interests too!)

2) A crafting network where I can get materials on the cheap, or for free, depending on the guilds arrangement.

3) A pool of players to quest with, allowing you to develop fighting styles with different people over time, instead of "pug'ing" every other quest that requires a group, which is often awkward. (Some pug's rock though, so yuo never know.)

4) A knowledge bank, allowing me to ask questions that, while stupid, will be answered with minimal ridicule instead of drawing mean criticisms from immature players.

[cthulhu522]

Ditto! While one does not need a guild, it sure is nice to have them for these very reasons. It is just nice to have people you are comfortable with the play the game with. Plus, in my experience, it is easier to get a decent group. I find that when people group, they use guildmates first, then fill in spots as needed. This can make it hard for some of the "less desirable" classes to find groups. However, if they are in guild, it makes it much easier for them.

Pickup groups are a last resort as far as I am concerned...

Originally Posted by Liwmial

For me a guild has always been

1) A group of like minded people that I can discuss my interests with (because they are their interests too!)

2) A crafting network where I can get materials on the cheap, or for free, depending on the guilds arrangement.

3) A pool of players to quest with, allowing you to develop fighting styles with different people over time, instead of "pug'ing" every other quest that requires a group, which is often awkward. (Some pug's rock though, so yuo never know.)

4) A knowledge bank, allowing me to ask questions that, while stupid, will be answered with minimal ridicule instead of drawing mean criticisms from immature players.

[Jelonna]

Well for one you can't really raid in pick-up groups. You need to bring roughly the same people all the time to learn the encounters and strategys and who understand each other's play styles. Even if you're not raiding dungeon crawling is much easier when running with the same people all the time.

Really it's a group of individuals commited to making the whole better. I.E. sharing resources, advice, crafting for each other etc. etc.

[Gillfrei]

I've been in the same guild for years. We have played multiple games together. Our main means of communicating is through our private forums. You can see part of it by clicking on my sig. Ask me when I joined if I would be here years later and I wouldn't have been able to answer that question, but here I am!