The purpose of this guide is to describe the guild creation process for World of Warcraft
(WoW) and to get into aspects of the process that you should consider when making a
guild. We will also go over some common guild management issues & decisions that you
will face when running a guild. By the conclusion of this guide you should be able to
create a guild in WoW and have a basic understanding of some of the fundamentals of
running a long term, successful gaming guild.
This guide is based on not only the actual WoW game mechanics but also on years of
practical research and expertise by the online gaming guild, The Syndicate
(www.LLTS.org). The Syndicate has been a stable 525+ person, adult guild since 1996
where more than 80% of the members have been with them for at least a year. That large
size, multiple gaming world experience, and lack of any major implosions or other
catastrophes uniquely position us to offer some tips and tricks and basic guild
fundamentals.
The World of Warcraft game engine provides a robust and somewhat flexible architecture
to design, create and manage a guild within. The Syndicate is a guild of hundreds of
members, across several games, and has survived the test of time and as such has a lot
of practical experience to share with future guildmasters. Combining those two
components makes this guide a very good one for getting the basics solidly in place for a
successful WoW guild.
Research conducted by The Syndicate, since 1996, indicates that:
●The average lifespan of a guild is 3-6 months
●The average size of a guild is around 20 members
●99.999% of guilds will fail before the 3 year mark which means since 1996 around
a million guilds or more have risen and fallen. As there are only 2-3 million
MMORPG subscribers, guilds are almost a dime a dozen.
●The average player will be in 2 guilds per year they game with most common
reason for changing guilds being their guild imploded and ceased to exist.
●Across the major MMORPGs combined, as of 2004, 400-500 new guilds are
created each day and almost an equal number cease to exist each day

●While many guilds will cease to exist when the guildmaster retires, the second
leading cause is poor management and poor decisions made by the guild's
leadership that lead to a guild imploding
By following the guidance provided within this write-up, you will at least be able to start
your guild off on the right foot. You will get your guild created and learn some of the
basics of guild management that may allow you to beat the odds and manage a larger
guild, for a longer period of time, than might otherwise occur. There are very few '1 size
fits all' solutions in the online world since there are more than two million fantasy
MMORPG players with a great many personality types and gaming styles. But many of
the fundamentals in this guide can be tailored to your guild and your members to help
make you more successful. And the basic mechanics of how a guild works within the
World of Warcraft game entity apply to everyone.