What Is an MMO Guild?

An MMO guild is a group of players in a massively multiplayer online game. Guilds can be large or small, and they may consist of players who know each other outside the game or players from many different geographic areas. These groups band together to defeat challenges in the game that require several players to complete and to socialize and connect with other players.

Guilds come in a variety of sizes and types. For example, a group of close friends who all play the same game online together might form a small MMO guild that consists of only the people they know. Other guilds are extremely large and may have hundreds of members. They may actively recruit online players to join their guilds, particularly players who possess in-game items and armor that give them an advantage when fighting enemies in the game or completing difficult in-game tasks.

There are many types of tasks and styles of play in many online games, and an MMO guild may choose to focus on one type of challenge or task or several. Many MMO games feature raids or dungeons, which are instances that force players to band together to defeat many enemies and extremely challenging enemies. Consequently, some guilds focus on raiding. Other guilds may form to help lower level players advance their characters or to take part in player-versus-player (PvP) combat, which is where players combat other players rather than fighting against creatures and enemies that are controlled by a computer.

Some online games use other terms for guilds, such as clans or crews, but groups by these names operate very similar to an MMO guild in any other game. Fellow guild members are often referred to as “guildies” by MMO players. Guilds often communicate through tools outside the game, such as instant messaging programs or through voice chat clients, such as Skype, Ventrilo, or TeamSpeak. Many guilds prefer communicating via voice chat to leave players’ hands free for the game, and some guild leaders, or guildmasters, require members to communicate via voice chat during certain encounters or raids.

Children and teens who play MMO games should be particularly careful when joining guilds and communicating with guild members. While it’s easy for someone to feel like a person who they have played a game with for a long time is a true friend, it is rather easy for some people to conceal their true identities and motives in an online setting. Players should always be careful to keep their personal information, such as real names, phone numbers, and addresses private to maximize safety.