On November 1, 2021, the Update 32 of the MMORPG The Elder Scrolls Online was released. The community is known to be particularly friendly and welcoming. But what does it really take to bring a group of people together in a guild? For that, MeinMMO author MiezeMelli simply asked her most important guild officer.
Why is it so important to have a guild in ESO? The community of a guild can help you in almost all areas of the MMORPG. Especially for beginners, they are an important support in getting started in Tamriel. But even experienced players benefit from the advantages of a guild, especially in group content.
In which areas guild members can support you
- Crafting – Other players can craft items for you that you can use for trait analysis.
- Equipment – For craftable sets, you need a certain number of researched traits. This naturally requires that a player has been in the game for a while, as the analysis takes longer for each additional trait. Here too, other players can be a great help.
- Dungeons – An experienced player can sometimes venture alone into one or more dungeons (which are actually for 4 players). However, this is not advisable for inexperienced players yet. Guild members often support you when you want to complete a dungeon or farm equipment from a specific dungeon.
- (Furniture) Recipes & Crafting Styles – Completing recipe collections is best done in groups. Among the members, you can trade and help each other.
- Trials (Raids) – These instances for 12 players sometimes require a lot of organization and planning. Therefore, it is essential to have a fixed group for successful raids.
- Real life – Yes, you read that right, your guild mates can also support you in real life. Because like in any other hobby, you can also find friends for life in Tamriel who will support you with advice and action. But maybe don’t expect that from every person you meet, and also be mindful that it is based on mutual interest.
However, it is not enough to just found a guild. You also need to invest a lot of care into this community and ideally have people to help you with it; otherwise, it can become unmanageable. But what exactly does a guild need to be successful?
What is actually a community guild? These are guilds that arise around streamers. You find the stream through shared interests, establish connections in the game, and as a streamer, you can better respond to questions and wishes.
The basis is usually a common Discord server where people can not only reach out to the person from the stream but also to all other ESO players for questions.
At the same time, you can provide your community as a streamer with important news about the game or the stream. In many Discords, groups for other games also form sooner or later.
But those who think that it will all just roll on its own are mistaken. Especially when you are new to the game, you tend to be a bit reserved at first. I was no different.
As a streamer, you’re often good at handling things even without the guild, as long as you’re not doing this professionally and have a study or another job on the side. This likely applies to many streamers in the ESO universe. Just like to me.
And therefore, the key to an organized community guild is the diligent work of the guild officers.
Diligent guild officers and helping hands are the most important
You need people you can rely on and who take on responsibilities. A guild can have up to 500 active members. That requires quite a bit of organization and planning. And you especially need people who keep their promises, so you can rely on them.
My guild officer @XCrusaderX36 takes on many of the leadership tasks for me. Without his help, “the magical Miezmuschel” would not exist in its current form. He takes care of recruiting new guild members, member attendance, and the behind-the-scenes work.
And I must note that there are other officers as well.
But what exactly does he do daily to keep the guild running?
“Most important in my opinion is connecting the individual members and especially supporting new members who still have many questions about the guild and the game itself.
We essentially live what ESO community stands for: A helpful and family-oriented community in the spirit of ESOFam. Just on a smaller scale within the guild. It can have up to 500 members.”
The loving ESO community is the motivation for guild work
What exactly is involved in networking, and how do you achieve this goal?
“The foundation for networking is provided by ESO itself, which is the guild chat. As trivial as it sounds, a -Hello, how are you?- is quickly written and encourages members to communicate. All questions related to ESO also lead to quick networking, as members receive help from the guild leadership as well as from other members, creating regular contact. I myself offer regular random dungeon runs or world boss fights to bond the community. In addition to the guild chat, it is essential for a successful guild to utilize other messaging services, as they provide opportunities to talk and thus make playing together more personal.”
How many hours do you invest daily or weekly in guild work?
“This question can’t be answered so categorically, as guild work never rests and there is always something to do. Some days it’s more, some days it’s less. However, I must say that someone who takes on a significant role in a guild should shine through high activity and involvement, as this lightens the load for other officers. On the other hand, it’s important for the members that there is someone available to help with any concerns.”
Have an open ear and motivate group activities
And what do you do in detail? How does recruiting new members work, for example?
“Every day when I log into ESO, my first action is to greet the guild. After that, I turn to the open applications and the guild bank. Since many players use the guild bank as a dumping ground (consciously or unconsciously), it needs to be cleaned up daily, so everyone has the opportunity to deposit items. I then use these items to distribute to members. If there is no demand, I sell them to generate gold for the guild, so we can auction a guild trader weekly. However, it should be noted that without the weekly donations from members, whether through gold or items, we couldn’t afford a guild trader.”
Guild records are equally important, as a lot of information is provided by an addon and should therefore be checked daily. Once I have completed these tasks, I travel through the areas and advertise in the regional chat to find new active members for our community. At the same time, I regularly assist members by answering pending questions and supporting them during dungeons or boss fights.”
Similar experiences are also useful for ESO guilds
Is this your first time holding such a significant role in a community?
“For me, it’s the first time in ESO that I have a significant role in a guild, as I previously focused more on extensive trading systems with their thousands of various products. In my entire online gaming career, however, it’s not the first time, as I have held leadership roles in other games. I always plan to take a back seat in a game, but since I naturally enjoy organizing things, I consistently end up in leadership positions and have fun with what I do.”
How did you end up in the guild yourself? Or first, with ESO itself?
“I came to The Elder Scrolls Online through an ad I found on the internet. After that, one thing led to another. I watched videos and livestreams from ESO players, fell in love with the game, and bought it. I personally enjoy ESO so much that I play it daily and have managed to get friends and family members excited about it, so the community and enjoyment of the game continue to grow. I entered the magical Miezmuschel through a partner guild of the Miezmuschel and the call to play ESO live on Twitch. When I tuned in, I noticed that you have a vast pool of knowledge about ESO and were immediately sympathetic to me, leading me to apply to the magical Miezmuschel right away.”
Happy and friendly guild members are a great motivation
What were or are your incentives to take on the role of an officer?
“The basic appeal was that I saw how much you had on your plate as a guild leader, and I wanted to alleviate your burden. However, my motivation now also stems from the fact that our guild community has grown dear to my heart, making what I do enjoyable. A smaller but still important incentive for me is that professionally, I also deal with many such matters, where I have to organize a lot online, making it a kind of control and self-improvement for me. Ultimately, I can say that organizing things is my world, so the position of guild officer fits me like a lid on a pot.”
Are there areas that annoy you a little about the position?
“Like everything in life, there are days that are beautiful but also days that are totally annoying. For example, I don’t like it when I have to chase after other officers or members for days to gather important information for me. Also, when members argue in chat and sometimes forget that there are people behind the devices and I have to mediate, can be a bit annoying. However, I tell myself at the end of the day that it’s just a game, and when it gets too much for me, I log out of the game and take care of other things until I have enough energy to resume my position as guild officer.”
On the other hand, are there things that you particularly enjoy about it?
“Due to my position and high activity, I have met many people who are dear to me, making it enjoyable to be online in the game. ESO shows that even if there are always game problems, what makes ESO special is the family-like interaction with each other. Of course, I cannot forget to say that I enjoy organizing the guild, and at the end of the day, having happy members. I love to see that what I do seems to be right and also bears fruit that I perceive in the guild.”
A thick skin and organizational talent can be beneficial
What qualities do you think a guild officer or leader needs?
“What a guild officer fundamentally needs is time and a talent for planning, executing, and controlling things. Additionally, character strengths such as helpfulness, being open, and remaining friendly are necessary. As the saying goes, you should have a thick skin or develop one when you are a guild officer, so you don’t take statements from members too personally and can evaluate the situation objectively. Another important quality is trust in other officers, as an officer won’t be able to organize everything in a guild of 500 players.”
What advice would you give to aspiring guild leaders or officers?
“You should ask yourselves whether you really have the time and interest to hold such a position in the long term, as nothing is worse than constantly changing officers or guild leaders. If you have these prerequisites, then set intermediate goals that you can realistically achieve, as such a large guild is not built overnight. Don’t be disappointed if something doesn’t work out once; a successful guild needs time and trust to grow and thrive.
Always be there for your members and live the ESO family dream.”