"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players."

Disclaimer: Nobody is making you read this, and this thread's contents reflect my opinion alone. It is a mere retrospective that touches on the evolution of the community from my perspective and what has led to the circumstances we recognize today. I make no effort to suggest a change to in-game mechanics to the guild feature as this thread is not a reflection of the developer's work or the mechanics themselves, but rather how changing mechanics have influenced change within the community over time. I make no intent to establish whether these changes are inherently good or bad. I accept that change is natural and is not objectively better or worse; it is just different, and I leave such things open to private interpretation.

---​

I must be very bored, and even though forums stay dormant nowadays, I decided to make a thread on this phenomenon I have witnessed based on my observations and conclusions since I like to write so much.

In 2014 guilds were officially released as an in-game feature. Guilds had existed prior on forums in an era that saw much activity before they were added as an addition to gameplay. Guilds then were roleplay-oriented, and the in-game feature gave sustenance to the concept. The addition of territories and the war feature was quickly embraced as a new outlet and extension to role-play within the guild feature that has become staple end-game content to a large base of players throughout the years. Guilds put the RP in MMORPG.

So why is roleplay not a major component now?

Well, that question has a lot of nuance. The cause I will primarily focus on is territory compensation. You see, back then there was little tangible reward to owning territories. They were, as many put it, merely "block squares" that players fought over. Ownership only rewarded guild XP and emeralds, the latter of which could only be used towards guild wars and did not exist physically. So what did guilds have to gain? Why did guilds pour in great effort and countless hours into something that yielded, well... virtually nothing?

And that is my point. The driving component was not merely the territories themselves, but the roleplay it stimulated aside from prestige. The possession of territories and the process of fighting for them was the reward itself. Territories were not the end, but rather a means to an end. The coined term "guild politics" is what the collection of these wars simulated and the climate it fostered. Guilds would organize themselves into alliances and the political exchange of territories ensued coupled with the exchange of power amongst guilds and factions. The dream of growing your guild, competing with the big names, and making a name for yourselves.

Since there was no physical reward and territory ownership was rather a means to an end, guilds could afford to make riskier moves even if they jeopardized their claims. The community seldom stayed in a stalemate permanently and had a way of shaking things up with every tide of power plays. There always had to be the presence of opposition, and if not from outside, then from within. If not so, the gameplay quickly became dull and unrewarding in the fashion that there was nothing initiating role-play or change. It became a rather common occurrence that a guild in conditions rather favorable would leave an alliance or initiate war to instigate action within the community. That in and of itself was a reward despite the outcome. Guilds were not as hesitant to risk war for the sake of fun as that was virtually the only real benefit of the war feature before 1.20.

So exactly what changed post 1.20?

In what I view as a noble effort to reward the work that players had historically put into the war feature, the 1.20 update with time introduced a new compensation system for territory ownership. Territories could now produce buffs that boost mob or Prof XP, produce guild tomes that could exclusively be obtained through guild membership, and reward real emeralds (you heard that right!) amongst many other benefits. Territories finally compensated legitimate tangible rewards as an incentive to participate not only in guilds but in the new 1.20 war system.

So what happened? Many guilds were suddenly created with the intent of taking advantage of these new buffs. Many players who hadn't taken an interest in guilds prior now had the incentive to participate with the sole intent of reaping the benefits of these buffs such as prof boosts or obtaining exclusive guild tomes. They now had an incentive to participate in a feature previously negligible with no necessity to interact with the community that previously used it. Guilds that had participated in the system before the update were likewise enticed by the new rewards and also now had something real to gain from warring but equally something to lose.

The reward was no longer driven by simulated politics and wars or the dream of the past but now substantial prizes incorporated into the game that offered tangible benefits to its participating players. The mechanics were also designed at the time to combat limitless alliances and hence it was no longer as advantageous to organize politically as once prior. Now that territories offered real in-game advantage and incentives, guilds had something to lose and naturally would not be as willing to jeopardize those newly found benefits. It was now in their favor to remain neutral and to keep the status quo once settled into favorable conditions. Guilds could function independently and no longer required allies or had to engage directly in relations with other guilds as once before. The vision could now just be some additional prof xp boost or whatever desired benefit territories now yielded.

The legacy role-play-oriented and driven war scene witnessed for years slowly came to a halt accompanied with changing demographics and emerged a new environment for the guilds who now participate, the world stage now one to be exploited for in-game benefits. One where order and stability are favored and advantageous. With all this considered, these changes to the guild system with its refurbished reward system helped expand the guild feature to the general Wynncraft community offering real benefits to join a guild (especially with all the added guild slots!) and engage with other players in the communities that guilds provide among the establishment of new guilds who could now benefit from organizing through the guild feature for a plethora of applicable reasons.

 

Guild update when! But real talk it's kinda sad how stale guild wars have become. I didn't play post 1.20 but from what I've heard it was a lot more fun

 

Based and Icepilled

 

i want to roleplay as a professional aura dodger

 

scroatingg

 

berb tribe roleplay was peak guild gameplay for me

 

I do not like Zuid_Holland and Mocomochi

 

I do not like Zuid_Holland

 

you know how big i am when a random player mentions my name without i even knowing them, stay big 2025 year of Mocomochi

 

lets play uhc

 

This lad knows what he's talking about.

 

I would call this phenomenon "the dispassionation of guilds". While the changes to warring heavily contributed to guilds changing their incentives, that didnt force them to stop roleplaying. I think what did is that players grew up. They grew up with their guilds. The founding leaders of the biggest kingdom guilds leaving them behind to a new generation of leadership that does not have the same dreams and skills as the ones before them. The old, original kingdoms were once founded by their leaders when they were still teenagers, now adults in their mid to late 20s, and as such, priorities changed. They grew out of it and the focus in community with it too. I will admit the current guild system should incentivize roleplaying, however. For example, why not add political campaigns in-game? I'd gladly roleplay as a money hungry gavellian. And with all the fox and furry cosmetics in-game, surely there has to be an Orphion campaign too. I'd personally create the yokai campaign, so my members and I can roleplay as onibi or other japanese spirits. Another suggestion I have to revive roleplay is to let guilds create NPC's with custom dialogue and skins for their guild housings. That could lead to interesting puzzle or world building creations.

 

You should show this to the one that has the owner rank of your guild