Recruit Minimum Level

[Virax]

Breiten says this is addresses somewhere on the forums, but I can't seem to find it, so I'll just make a new thread.

Breiten tells me that there is a minimum acceptable level for recruits, and that being the level 20. I am not particularly in favor of that.

Why; you ask? Answer; I shall.

You see, when a character is new, truly new, then the 1-20 levels is precisely where they need the most help, suggestions and guidance. This is precisely where a guild becomes most important, in those formative levels. Guild should not just be about all 70 crazy l334 people running around grinding raids and humping gear. Guilds, especially RP ones, should have more depth and offer more, especially to the non-gearwhores among us.

Furtherly, when we reach out to those of low level and bring them all the way up through our ranks, we instill in them a genuine sense of loyalty. If we only take people past a certain level, then we very likely will be farming people who guild hop, or have their own ideas about how things should be and will be resistant to the Nyx way of life.

In short, I recommend if there be any limitations, it be that we not allow people who are too high in rank, and turn a friendly gaze towards the lower ones. That way we can raise them as our own rather than just getting castaways from other guilds.

[Breiten]

There's more in that post than just the level cap, so I'll respond to more than just that.

We're trying to balance a lot of factors when it comes to recruitment. The gist of it is that we want good people and good players, part of that is making sure someone is dedicated to a character and that's why we decided to ask for a minimum level. 20 or even 30 isn't a lot of work, but does show that someone likes that particular character enough to get there.

Helping low level people is a challenge. You can't really do runs wtih them and expect them to get the same experience out of it, handouts are a drag. It is really tricky to give them the support they need. Good events are essential, but other than that what's there to do? Better bags and crafted gear? Maybe.

Raiding at 70. We have to have it. We have to have something for people to do once they're there. If we don't provide it, there are other people that do and we will lose people.

Now I want to be in an environment where I am with the most awesome group of people that I possibly can. The way to get that is be awesome people in game, and rely on good positive recruiting. The app we have is pretty good and lets us get to know people, I think a really solid application at sub-20 shouldn't disqualify people.

Now we are a good group of people. We have RP and are getting to where we can provide endgame. We're going to get people who are 70 from other guilds and we're going to take low level people. Some are going to fit right in, and some never will. That's okay. We'll work with them to move them where they can enjoy the game better.

Summary: I'll ignore a lot of things for a really solid application and I'll ignore a weak application when I know someone is really great.

Breiten

[Virax]

I hear what you say. Obviously there has to be Raids and stuff. 90% of the game is built around them and gear acquisition. It is just not for everyone.

As far as helping people being tricky...sure, it is.

However, the way I dealt with it on my former server was I built a healer every 10 levels and left them at that. That way I could help heal or tag along or whatever for any kind of quest or Instances was needed, and do so without ruining the exp gains. We could easily do something similiar.

I am just saying I am not in favor of excluding people based solely on a number. I remember when I was new to this game, when I made level 20, it felt like it took me forever. I like to help other along who are in that same boat now.

[Barefoot]

Very well-put. I agree with these points.

I've often thought of trying to leave a character around every 10 levels... if I could get one of my teens to the 20s and one of my 40s to the 50s, I'd be there.

[Gorehorn]

If I may, there is more to the helping of a toon than escorting and getting them geared etc. There is nothing you can do to a lvl 20 toon that can't be fixed except have them (the player) with no clue as to how to play the class. I have 10 toons on this server and only one under 20 and thats a bank toon. The rest made level 10 the day I made them. Level 20 is reachable in casual play in 2-3 days easily. It can take that long to decide if you even like a class or not. We are recruiting people not toons since we do not place limits on classes or professions. The level 20 minimum (which is negotiable on a case by case basis as I understand it) is a measure of minimum dedication to a character or play time. I think it is a reasonable limitation.

[Warburn]

As Gorehorn put it, the current lvl 20 req is so that we know we recruit a chracter that the player is probably commited to. Lower levels have made it in, It's not like if we see a level 19 app we don't even read it and toss it aside.

I would like to say that it's noble of you, Virax to be so commited to helping others that you have alts in every bracket just for that. With member's guild dedication such as that, Nyx will reach new heights, I have no doubt.

I would just like to note that I don't want Nyx to be a leveling guild. We have had too many 70s (who started with us as lowbies) be with us for a long time and leave for our lack of support in the end-game level. However your idea of weening lower levels and instilling loyalty is a good approach. Eventually however we want our lower levels to reach 70 and help our guild progress in PvE, RP-PvP world raid success etc.

Once we reach a certain size however (our goal is to have 150 player accounts) we tend to close recruitment. We don't want to be a huge guild, we hope to be big but tightly knit, and have it feel like a big happy family (which is almost impossible when you have over 200 accounts).

Feel free to contact Tomoyo, Aitana, Baelspar, Gorehorn, Undesireable, Breiten or myself with any questions, suggestions or concerns.


GLORY TO THE HORDE~!

[Viperson]

I remember when I first came to thi play this game as a wee Tauren. I was but level 8 or so when I entered the fold and I stayed and learned and had fun. One thing that sticks out in my mind as the most fun was when I got into a group with Wakanda and we went out to give stuff to lower levels for free. I felt so bad because I was but level 15 or so by this time and felt I didn't have much to give. I was a Miner / Skinner then and I had some light leather and a 6 slot bag on me. Wakanda never left my side until I had found someone under level 10 to give it to. It made me feel good to do that and we did it as a guild thing. We all met up at Fray Island did some RP stuff like dancing and fireworks and then we all set off to go find low levels.
Stuff like that is always nice to do as it puts our name out there to the lower levels as well as just spamming Trade chat at times. There were other times that I can remember feeling good about being in Nyx before my first departure like Wakanda and Khallah running me through WC. Or the big raid in the alliance town when I was but 33.
I'm not trying to get off topic but to try and recruit low levels doesn't always have to be a bad thing. I had never played the game before. My first 70 was my hunter and it was the first toon I ever rolled. My 2nd 70 was a Paladin and I now have a 68 Rogue that I found to enjoy more than my other toons.
The point I'm trying to make I guess is that just because a person levels to 20 or higher doesn't mean that they will enjoy that class. I have played all the classes now and I prefer my warrior and rogue over my hunter and Paladin and my warrior is 40 and my rogue is 68 right now whereas my Hunter and Paladin are both 70. Level means nothing if a person does not like to quit. I finish what I start for the most part and that is why My hunter was 70 first.

On a side note thinking of all those times makes me really miss Wakanda and Khallah and all the old Nyxer...Tumeke, Sert, Nyrix, Parian, Shannin, Sabrissa and Skeletron to name a few. I wonder if they ever forgave me on how I left. I miss them alot now. If anyone knows how to get ahold of them tell them I said thank you because I learned alot in my 30 something levels with Nyx the first time and I will do everything I can to help others learn the same things they taught me.

[Virax]

I dig the whole conversation.

For me, I have played on about 15 servers. I have hopped from server to server to server looking for one simple thing: a good group of people to hang out with. For me, the emphasis is all about people, not toons or even levels or even (God forbid) GEAR.

This all came about because of a guy I ran into. He was brand new, an undead rogue. I ran into him while I creating my warlock to experiment with during downtimes when I am letting my main toons gather rest time. He seemed like a decent enough person, enjoyed the game, showed some maturity and willingness to learn. He asked to be in Nyx, so I directed him to a senior member since I cannot add people.

He was told to apply on the site and about the level 20 requirement. He was level 7 at the time. Unfortunately for us, I believe, he was actively recruited by another guild and elected to join their ranks.

Nonplussed, I have continued to help him along, not with the intent of trying to get him to change guilds when he gets to 20, but for the same reason I started this thread....

It is all about people; not levels.

I have been in guilds full of all level 60 (pre-BC) gear-whore jackasses who raided MC everyday with a fervor that would make any left wing radical envious. I could not have any conversation with any of them if I did not start my sentence with "raid", "MC", or "Tier 3". Otherwise I was totally ignored.

On the flip side I have been in two pure RP guilds who had level limits set at 20 and were and absolute blast. One was an RP guild that pretended to be Special Forces defenders of Northwatch (I was Alliance back then) and one was a guild of Stealthers that ambushed people in Ashenvale and Auberdine. In fact, Virax is the same druid that used to be in that guild, but I brought him over to this server when I moved.

It all goes back to the same thing for me. I look for people; not gear, not raids, not items. That is why I followed Desi and Breiten here, because I met them on a run in SM and they were good people.

THAT being said, let me play the Devil's Advocate against myself and say that I fully understand that the guild leadership must provide a product that is appealing to the top end members as well to keep them happy. Therefore we obviously need dedicated gamers who can do raids and stuff like that. I just don't want to forget about the little guys in all of this. The guys that still get a thrill out of killing murlocs as well as Magtheridon.

[Eyesore]

You never know where you will find treasure, but this thread, and others at this site, are a treasure, rich with promise. We are most fortunate to have such talent within Nyx.

Eyesore is level 70, and has never been on a raid. Were end-game content limited to raiding and bragging on my latest purple item [only my new mount is purple] I would be long gone from Nyx. Level has no bearing in role-play, and we are on a role-play server. End content for this level 70 is desire for wit and charm, even grace under fire. This old Orc enjoys the sound of children playing. For what else do we fight?

Eyesore