Why are good guildmates so hard to find?

I'm growing more frustrated by the day. I've posted recruitment announcements in several Guild Wars forums and I've not gotten a single response from any of them. Is it too late in the life of the game to find newer players who are my age? (24, but I'd accept 21+ players as well) I had the collector's edition since the game first came out but then WoW took control of my life and Guild Wars sat on the shelf. Now WoW has lost it's luster and I'm back to Guild Wars but finding guildmates for my newly formed guild is next to impossible. I could sit in Ascalon City for days and spam and not get a single whisper. Do you folks have any tips for recruiting more and better quality players for my guild? And before I get "use the search function", I've already read several posts regarding recruitment and none of the methods seemed to have helped. Thanks in advance.

Well, you aren't likely to find "good" ones by advertising on local channels. Best way to find what you want? I say PuGing is the best way. Play through everything you can with others, note the reasonably handicapable people and inform them about what your guild is and if they would like to join that they are welcome. Your age requirements will make it more difficult, so don't expect your guild to grow fast.

Our guild recruits exactly the way I described above. When I was asked to join it was after I finished showing a guild group around the FoW, explaining tactics, etc. We lean towards older people as well, but don't require a particular age. We have quite a few teens much more mature than some older individuals I've run across. We've recently reached a point where we had to split our guild into two as we reached our limit. Making sure the adults hold most of the control helps as well.

But yeah, best way to recruit is by getting to know the person a little, and the best way to do that in GW is to party with them.

I totally agree with the statement of Darwin. You need to play with the people then see if they would like to join.

Age isn't always the sticking point,but it usually shows up pretty fast in a conversation. That is the best way to get a new guild up and running.

Also,remember,the most important thing about a guild that will make or break it is if the members are actually playing alot.

Less time on,less members will stay.

Instead of posting in Ascalon, post in Courthouse, since all the uber people chill there.

Nah, for real...just talk to people, find out what they want in a guild, and find out what you want from a guildie.

Hehehe... post in Court House....

There are many good guilds around with strong foundations. My advice is looking into them, and see what makes them strong and appealing. What type of guild wil you be, PvP or PvE? Both maybe? What are your playing hours, will there be meetings?

Most importantly, do you really want to be guild leader? Is the sense of power really all that worth it?

a good way of finding decent guild mates is to party with lots of people, when you see a guy you like, throw an invite his way.

Thanks for all the suggestions folks!

Just be careful...Trust me...I was a guild leader. Spent my time and my money for this but messed up with retards...So last night noone was online and I just...disbanded it and ignored everyone. No I did not act like a bitch.

all the good players are in good guilds.

anyone not in a guild are most likely guild hoppers.

yeah, you're pretty much screwed.

I wouldn't say screwed, but nohooiam is right to some extent. Most good players are in guilds already.

How to find good player? Hang out in ToA when you have favor leading groups to FoW or UW; or even in the elite missions. When you find someone who meets your standards, whisper to them and let them know what your guild is about, and if they are interested. That is also a good way to expand you friends list.

Good luck with your guild.

I would have to agree that MOST of the good players have already found homes -however There are a lot of great players that started guilds that have just died off. Those players should combine -so look for mergers.

You have to do something that makes your guild fun -other than just show up and play the game!
Most of my new members are coming from guilds that have died off -you just have to create an atmosphere that will draw people to you. Something that is fun and has purpose.

EDIT: lol - plugged my comc in this reply and a moderator delelted it. I just want to apologize -it so did not belong in this thread. I guess I do it so much that I don't even realize that i'm doing it. So again i'm sorry for the inappropriate post.

thinking that all good players already have found a good guild is a narrow mindset, I think

I would say that the important part of founding a guild is having a core level of activity so that you don't NEED people to join to stay afloat as a guild. Generally this comes in the form of a group of friends forming as a guild. Then finding players with the right mindset (I.E. friendly and willing to get experienced or is experienced) and kicking out people who are the opposite.

I've been in a lot of guilds that NEEDED that constant flowing in and out of people so it could look healthy when you opened up that guild menu and to be honest those guilds are, more often than not, on the slow train to collapsing.

I'm 29, but I've played with some pretty horrible guilds trying to find a good one. I don't really respond to somebody that walks up and says, "Wanna join my guild?". What I like better is if I play with 3-4 of the people in a guild, then a guild leader mentions joining. If I play pretty well with them and like their style, I'll join usually. The last guild I was in had a lot of beggar members in it, you know, the kind that want to borrow money all the time, or items, materials, etc.?

Anyway, I've been playing without a guild for a really long time, and kind of like it that way.

Being a guild leader, is a thankless pain in the a**. It's so much work, that you sometimes wonder if it is worth it.

My guild had a leg up, because we started as a group of four friends. I can't even imagine starting a guild from scratch -- I certainly do not envy you.

My guild isn't huge, and we grow *really* slow, but we have a really good mix of people that get along well with one another. Some key things you need to think about when you start recruiting -

1) PvP, PvE or Hybrid
2) Timezones
3) Bond-factor

Item 1 is tough. Our guild is a hybrid, but we lean more torwards PvP. The problem is a lot of people are rabid PvP'rs. It seems tough to find a good PvP/PvE split player. That is those that can PvP worth a flip.

Item 2 is important. You do not want guildies on by themselves. Once you have built a decent membership base, then timezones can play less of a factor. It'd be really cooll to have a `day time' and a `night time' guild.

Item 3 is the most important. I don't know *how* to do this, but you need to ensure that the people you recruit can get along. I think college students and programmers seem to gravitate torwards one another. My guild is comprised mostly of those guys .

Good luck with it. It's a tough, thankless road.

ju

*SORRY DOUBLE POST*

Being a guild leader, is a thankless pain in the a**. It's so much work, that you sometimes wonder if it is worth it.

My guild had a leg up, because we started as a group of four friends. I can't even imagine starting a guild from scratch -- I certainly do not envy you.

My guild isn't huge, and we grow *really* slow, but we have a really good mix of people that get along well with one another. Some key things you need to think about when you start recruiting -

1) PvP, PvE or Hybrid
2) Timezones
3) Bond-factor

Item 1 is tough. Our guild is a hybrid, but we lean more torwards PvP. The problem is a lot of people are rabid PvP'rs. It seems tough to find a good PvP/PvE split player. That is those that can PvP worth a flip.

Item 2 is important. You do not want guildies on by themselves. Once you have built a decent membership base, then timezones can play less of a factor. It'd be really cooll to have a `day time' and a `night time' guild.

Item 3 is the most important. I don't know *how* to do this, but you need to ensure that the people you recruit can get along. I think college students and programmers seem to gravitate torwards one another. My guild is comprised mostly of those guys .

Good luck with it. It's a tough, thankless road.

ju

You may need to recriut some inexprienced players to help them out as that is probably the only way.

@Mr Urthadar: you can delete your posts...

@OP If you chose WoG (world of grindcraft) over GW, you deserve to be frustrated LOL

I very recently disbanded my 2 person guild to merge with a guild that I already considered guildies. After questing with them for 4-5 months it really seemed like the right thing to do. They generally do not advertise that they are recruiting. It is a good way to get filled with bad apples. They like to quest with any potential members a few times first, which is really the best way to go. If the person is already in a guild, it is ok. They are an ally and still a potential member.

Being invited to join [DR] was a real eye opener. I wanted to be part of a large guild, but figured I just had a better option of those I know.

yea i understand the problem...just started a pve farming guild (uw, fow, sf etc) and the best way is to lead ur own groupd with a few guildies in them and recruit like that from people in ur groups....

While it may be true that good players are already in guilds, that doesn't mean they aren't looking to join better guilds. I'm sure many people are in guilds that they really don't enjoy too much and would consider joining a better guild given the opportunity. I know, I'm one of em. :-P

Because they are all in my guild!

You pretty much have to do what everyone here has already said. Play with people and if you get along with them ask them to join. Even if they are in another guild, you can always say something like, if you ever decide to quit your guild, we'd love to have you join us, or something like that.

I would suggest you don't make your guild totally pvp as they seldom last, unless they are korean and I'm really not sure about them either.

You just have to be friendly and helpful and on the game when most everyone else is and above all remember, it's only a game, so have fun.