Small Guild Necessities

[Savingsupertokyo]

I finally got all my friends at school to all get on one server (spirestone) and start up a guild. We currently have about 10 people definately, maybe 15 or even 20 total.

What does a small guild need class- and profession-wise to be completely self sustaining.

My preliminary thoughts:

2-3 tanks
2-3 primary healers
3-6 main damage dealers (mages and rogues)
warlock

enchanter
2 blacksmiths -> one armor and one weaponsmith (eventually)
tailor
alchemist
leatherworker
engineer



I'm sure that theres a lot missing; any suggestions are appreciated

[Crusader]

some pointers:
1: The people to be active yet willing to hang around the same level. With 10 people (even 20) it's hard to find people around your own level in the guild if people play at their own pace (be it fast or slow). Not much use if all your tanks are level 15 when you want to do a level 40 instance. If you're only interested in truly partying at level 60, ignore this.

2: more Tradeskillers and gathering specialising people. If a guild is to be 100% self sustaining (in the way of having a master crafter), it needs people to collect the goods. Also, it can get quite tough without proper organization to get Resources 6A,2D,2Q processed by Person B so Warriors C and R can have their brand new axes for an entire guild. Also note that a Tradeskiller normally barely has enough resources to make his own gear. If he has to supply the entire guild, the guild has to supply him, and to do that, you're going to need a few miner/skinners and miner/herbalists. If people all take processing skills (miner/blacksmith, for one), there won't be a large ammount left for the master tradeskiller. This especially counts for the rarer components like Elemental fire, moss agate and thorium bars and the like.

I myself currently am a guildmaster and although there is some traffic in raw material, we are far from self-sustaining. It's more like doing guilmembers a favor now and then.

Hope these pointers help.

[Guest]

I bet half paladins/shamen, half mages could handle pretty much everything.


CLASSES

You really dont need any rogues(for pve) - but chances are everyone will want to play one. Mages are better.

You also dont need any hunters.

Its handy to have a warlock or 2 around.

Druids are nice class to fill in holes but youre better of if those players go with priests.

Priests are the rarest and generally most wanted class in the game.

PROFFESSIONS

Id try not to to get to dependent on anyone for this stuff, because it leads to people being upset IRL if someone quits because others feel used if they fed the quiter materials.

If your sure that no ones quiting and yo have each area covered then go for extra alchemists.





Over all I bet you will all be more happy if you just play what ever looks like fun to you.

[kandrathe]

...
You also dont need any hunters.
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:) I love hunters, so I resemble that remark.

Technically, you need a tank that can hold aggro in front, a healer type that can keep the tank alive, and everyone else is max dps. I can think of places where each specialization of the other classes can be useful in delivering to the party.

Rogues have stealth, sap and lock picking.

A hunter has ranged high DPS and a their pet is a good expendable psuedo tank that can draw adds from the tank.

Warlocks can act like mages, and also use their pet like a hunter.

Mages are the masters of AOE spells, and while this is often bad news in instances I've run in, I can imagine where there will be a time when you need to freeze 5-10 mobs in place.

Druids are the jacks of all, and masters of none. But, that flexibility can adapt to make up for whatever the party lacks.

My point is that there is a role for all the classes in a party, beyond the tank, and the healer. Us sad 2nd class classes run instances fine with hunters, mages, warlocks, rogues, druids and paladins.

[DarkCrown]

Druids are nice class to fill in holes but youre better of if those players go with priests.

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I strongly disagree with this statement. A druid with decent bear gear and a good party behind him can function as a tank through most of the game. I've tanked in every high level encounter but Molten Core, UBRS and Onyxia. I've tanked a 5-man group in LBRS. I'm not as good as a warrior with similar skills and gear, but I am good enough when the guild is short on tanks.

When we have a better tank around I can function as main healer. As with the tanking role, I'm not quite as good as a priest with similar skills and gear, but good enough to main heal a decent tank and keep the group moving.

I've also seen Innervate and Rebirth save small parties from a total wipe. These are handy skills to have around.

If you have a small guild and will often be short of players, it seems to me that druids able to fill either one of two primary roles would be a good choice. These players need to be willing to learn to play both roles though, and the groups need to be willing to work around their limitations.

-DC

[Ruvanal]

Mages are the masters of AOE spells, and while this is often bad news in instances I've run in, I can imagine where there will be a time when you need to freeze 5-10 mobs in place.
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You have not run in the right areas yet with a group to see how a mages AoE should be used in an instance. They will not be 'freezing' a group of mobs, but rather using things like Flamstrike and Improved Arcane Explosion to generate fast mass kills. This is usually dependent on a priests Power Word: Shield to do effectively, but that is not always required in the lower level instances.

[Guest]

There are several classes that can tank. Warriors do it best.
If you dont have a warrior chances are there will be a paly or druid around. Pallys and druids are much more poplar choices than priests for the players.

Priests care the class everyone is short on. If your advising people rolling what will help a guild the most - priest is the right answer.

[kandrathe]

You have not run in the right areas yet with a group to see how a mages AoE should be used in an instance.  They will not be 'freezing' a group of mobs, but rather using things like Flamstrike and Improved Arcane Explosion to generate fast mass kills.  This is usually dependent on a priests Power Word: Shield to do effectively, but that is not always required in the lower level instances.
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How right you are! So far in the lower level instances the inexperienced mages have been a liability to the group. :)

[liffuie]

well also depends what lvl range your talking about
15-20 people sounds like if you guy's survive to 60 game, you'll be a viable raid force.

espiecly considering by the time you guy's do get to 60 (seeing as your just starting), most likely blizzard should implment the 15-25 people raid zones.(and the following advice is for that)

rogues are defently out imo=p, for the 5 people instances rogues are great, but for bigger stuff, where everything tends to have an AE, rogues are hardpressed to deliver. hunters are much better cause of their ae avoidance.

who know's how long fights will be in those instances though, but most likely not the 5-15 minute fights of molten core, so going all mage instead of mix mage/hunter force could be viable.

i would change your part of your classes philosphy though as it looks like the holy trinity realy

you'll want a mix force of tanks (wars plds), dps(hunters maybe mages), healers (priests and maybe druids), and support (plds druids, mages, warlocks, shamans).


i list support because some class ability's make fights soooo much easier. example druid can be a healer, but their inervate ability makes the long fights go sooooo much easier, also their ability to help dispell helps alot. same for paladins, but for raid forces they tend to be more support then tanks.

mages i'm said above i'm sorta split, in m-c and onyxia yeah they do dps, but hunter through the whole fights do more total dmg, but in the 20-25 people zones that balance could change. Their ability to dispell curses is critical, in 1 molten core fights, the encounter is made or broken by the mages to keep curses off people in a timely maner.

also you may want to do a couple alchmist, one of the most wanted things for highlvl tradeskills inis alchmist transmutes, which are on a timer. When recipes for blacksmithing, and leatherworking, call for mutiple transmutes, such as arcanite, or elemental essences, your looking at sevral day's per item(or week for some purple recipes). by having mutiple alchmist you make it much eaiser to pump out items for your guild.

Tailoring also is like that, but to a lesser degree, but fellcloth transmutation is a constant demand for top tier bags, and some of the cloth items for your mages/priests

[stabby]

As far as professions go, keep in mind that the majority of crafted items that people actually use in the endgame are dependent on items produced by transmutation. So, multiple 275+ alchemists (arcanite bars, eventually Water to Air) and 250+ tailors (mooncloth - everybody loves bags, and the gear you can make with it isn't too shabby, either) are a great help.

Capped out tailors are also a great source of enchanting materials, though chances are that your enchanter will be one.

2 engineers (one goblin, one gnomish) is suggested, as well.