Book Review: The Guild Leader’s Companion

(Lost my initial post to a crash. Ctrl + S all the things )

In ten words or less: Solid pickup for new players wanting to start a guild

I’d definitely recommend this for players looking to start their own guilds. Not only does it have an excellent set of instructions, it also gets you to really think about what you want to do and how to do it. The book covers all of the main aspects when it comes to a guild startup: Selecting your officers, recruiting members and outlining policies. Guild policies are often one of the hardest and slowest things to get down largely because it can be a huge pain in the but to write down the different rules and guidelines. Adam does a great job walking you through the process. To top it off, you can find some example charters and other rules at the end of the book to help with your guild’s principles. If you’ve been in a guild before, I’d wager that you would take for granted the day-to-day management activities and the other things that go on behind the scenes. The Companion helps you navigate through them.

Now if you’re a veteran guild leader, you’ll want to know if it’s still a worthwhile pickup.

I’d say yes.

You can pass over the section on loot management and recruiting. If your guild’s been around already, then chances are you’re comfortable with it. Recruiting might be a worthwhile chapter to read through again as it covers other techniques and tips, but if you’re already established with a good stock of players then it might not be necessary. I paid close attention to the section on Public Relations. I’d bet PR is easily one of the weakest skillsets a guild leader can have. Solid tips though on how one should conduct themselves online and how to react to trolls that are trying to bait reactions. Not many people are able to suppress themselves and maintain a level of professionalism against attackers. The section on burnout offered a variety of tips on how to combat both member fatigue and (more importantly) your fatigue. It also offers some information on the differences between raiding and competitive raiding.

I wouldn’t recommend competitive raiding for everyone. Being roused awake at 3 AM to take down a recently spawned Ysondre or one of those other green dragons does take it’s toll. Server firsts ain’t got nothing on world bosses.

Anyway, if you’re looking to start a guild or have started a guild and are looking to polish up your skills, you can pick up The Guild Leader’s Companion on Amazon (Alternatively, Kindle edition).

Oh and check out Adam’s blog: Epic Slant!

I’ll be posting an email interview I did with Adam tomorrow.