Seriously, every video you put out is well thought out. Every question tailored. It seems like nothing in your video is just fillers or fluff and I love it! Your content is honestly the best content out there man. It was a shame that PGN went off the deep end because I missed his in-depth coverage on topics but luckily, we have content creators like you with the same capabilities to deep dive on topics. Keep up the awesome work!

As a guild lead for the last three years In my first year (less than 100 members)my in game skill was very important and it was highly militaristic. I was pretty heavy handed with everything. My second year (300-500 members) My in game skill was not all that important. It was all about how much I could offer the best players. 3rd year (1000+ members across 3 different mmos) I don't even play anymore. I just ensure the right people are coordinated with all the tools they need to succeed at what they do best. I've cultivated over 30 officers to make everything run smoothly. Most of them are subject matter experts at things I have zero clue about and I focus on enabling them and staying out of the way. I miss being a regular guy sometimes but I'm very proud of the community I've built. That militaristic stuff is a thing of the past. In the end - my in game skill was entirely irrelevant.

This was really great. I've been a guild leader for nearly a decade in ESO, and I agree that if you want your community to thrive, running the guild becomes a 2nd job. There's so much behind the scenes that goes into making things run smoothly and people just don't realize that. If you aren't willing to put in the time and effort (and even if you have officers, you still have to recruit, train, and manage them), then the community stalls and dies. I'm pretty knowledgeable since I've been playing so long, but the stuff I'm less familiar with or good at, I can at least point players towards other members or places where they can get the information. At 11:30, I'm reminded of former members who didn't like the way I ran something, and left to create their own guilds. That's fine, but then they realized how much work it took recruiting and retaining like-minded members, and unsurprisingly the guild died and they stopped playing. The one exception I can think of was a guy who'd managed to find officers to actually run the guild (and retaining the guild master title for himself) while getting his members to carry him through content, which apparently had been the reason for the guild.

Ive been a guild leader off and on over the last 20 years. I think those days are over for me now but ive made some life long friends over the years.

before watching this i think a good Gm is just someone who knows how to bring others together. it’s really who’s the best community manager. they don’t need to be a raid lead they just need to be able to bring the right people together to run the right events. They also have to be pretty sociable.

Hey Burns! Love the video and can't wait for the next episode of Bespoke lol. One thing I expected to hear about that didn't come up because it's obvious is you need a guild leader to have a presence. Once an MMO starts to age, the leader must still show up regularly. I've been in guilds where they only show up for once-a-week raids, and it's always with the same group. It rapidly turns from a guild to a social group of 10 people.

it s not only game skills. it s people skills too. say the tank and the healer start dating in real life. it crashes and burns. both WILL discuss it. How do you deal with it? will it cause the guild as a whole to implode? in a guild of any size there WILL be multiple personal issues.>> I have been a guild master so i know :)

Absolute gem. I learned a few things for LFG when Ashes releases, thank you.

I've only had a small amount of experience with MMO's, and none with guilds (I'm older and didn't start PC gaming until the last few years... so I just don't know anyone that plays any MMO's). Your videos are teaching me so much about the genre in general, and some things to look forward to with AoC and some things to be aware of. Thank you so much for the information and education! I appreciate all your hard work with these vids, and to everyone involved in sharing what they know. Thank you!

As long as the GM is good at playing Discord/Community manager their in game skill is irrelevant provided they know how to delegate down the chain. I think people highly underestimate how much time goes into community management. For us, if leadership doesn’t have the skill to carry, they don’t make those teams. We like to point players in the direction which best suits their skill level, and desired goals. Not everyone gets a trophy even leadership.

The GM doesn't need to know how to do everyone's job, but he must have some kind of idea, and have officers that are subject mater experts in those things that he can lean on. When looking for a guild, its important to research like minded people, and people with similar goals.....I might not be the best healer in a guild, but i WILL find my nitch, i might be the best Alchemist or fisherman that the guild needs....Guilds are important, and the leader is the flag carrier that everyone rallies on.

Great questions I agreed with some of the points made but not so much with others. Guilds are a team effort a good leader will recognize people around them who are best suited to different roles and use that skill/knowledge to the best advantage of the guild. Any GM who thinks they are going to do it all is either exceptional or more likely doomed to fail IMO. Finding a guild is no easy task and honestly, you need to do some research into the guilds before just signing up. A guild has to be the right fit as explained by the guys you asked and once you join you really do need to make an effort to become part of a guild but in saying that it is a two-way street you do need to be met halfway by the guild and made to feel welcome. My guild has a policy of low to no drama and it has worked well but then we are somewhat older than the average MMO player plus we have a policy of ingame on Discord even if you just sit in the AFK channel or listen to music. But for most of us, it is about jumping into Discord at the end of the day and just chilling or hooking into whatever guild event we have kicked off. Guilds are the number one reason I love MMOs, well that and crafting. 😀

Honesty and leadership.

I think a guild leader needs to be skilled. If not among the most skilled players in the guild. If the guild has 50 people he should be within the top 5 most skilled and storied players within the guild. Because that's the kind of person who has the dedication to apply themselves to the guild and the knowledge of the game to guide the people who want the guidance. Guild leaders should be mentors. Someone who the guild can go to when they have questions. It's like a guild/club in real life. They don't hand out leadership positions to the uninitiated.

For Ashes more than any other MMO I think finding a cooperative guild will be the most important thing. Gathers supplying processors, processors supplying crafters, crafters supplying everyone with finished goods. Guilds that work together to gear the whole guild above personal profits I think will dominate in the long run.

I love Kash and his responses throughout this whole series, I hope I run into him in Vera

Social skills and game knowledge are more important than in game skill level. You need to know a little bit about everything, and know when to outsource (assign players to roles). Obviously you need to be good enough at the game to not hold the guild back during in game activities as well, but the other things outweigh that. A guild is like running a small business, and you're the business owner. 😂 At first you are everything, you are HR, payroll, event manager etc. Eventually some of those things will become community decisions or put into the hands of guild officers.

Sounds like it comes down to finding others who fit your playstyle. Shouldn't be too hard to do in Ashes of Creation.

Some people are not leaders... not in life or in game. its that simple.

Ryve is my guild leader. He rules with an iron fist

Are you going to lead a guild Burns?

I AM THE EMPEROR EVERYONE LISTENS TO ME LOL

My perception of a guild leader is definitely affected by their knowledge and skill level. I will respect them the same either way if they are friendly, but I'm much more likely to provide input if I don't trust their judgement

Kash liked one of your questions a lot....that last one though, not so much.

One important part I think you didn't touch on too much in the video is that you want a leader who acts with integrity. For example, you don't want a leader who has a girl picture and acts all girly only to get exposed as a dude later on.

Anyone making a guild this early is foolish among other names KZfaq doesn't allow. All those paypigs who bought into those super expensive packs are going to quit in 1-6 months and either absolutely terrible players or ultra tryhard's that ruin the games overall community.

The music bed in these interviews is not needed. Content is good, music bed distracts and isn't adding anything.

While I love the content of your videos and they are well put together, I absolutely hate the AI art that you use for your thumbnails. Putting the moral and ethical issues aside, it just looks bad and uncanny at best.