L2 is a team game. Every aspect of it crushes solo players and rewards teamwork. PVP, gear aquisition, the tedious grind...all of it can be done more efficiently one way or another with the help of clanmates. So yeah, there are tons of reasons to make a clan, but should you and how?
[Disclaimer]
What follows are my opinions and some tips regarding the general construction and maintenance of a clan. I was successful running a high end raiding guild in WoW and I see a lot of easy mistakes being made in L2 so I figured I would share some lessons I learned. You want specifics that are applicable to L2? Ask a clan leader in L2(read: not me). These are just generalities.
1. Should you?
Seriously, ask yourself some critical questions and answer as honestly as possible because you get one shot at this:
- Are you really filling a need that other clans aren't? If you just want to make a clan and it's the same as all the other clans that people just like you made then what's the point?
- Do you have the time that it will take to see this through? If you can't spend the hours it takes every week or even every single night to make sure that your members are getting the guidance, events, support, and leadership they need to be successful then why are you willing to waste their time and ruin your reputation?
- Do you have the resources? Good clans cost money. Don't kid yourself on this. Ventrilo servers, websites, forums, and extras are pretty cheap but most folks I have met online consider spending any money beyond their monthly subscription to be a wholly unacceptable proposition. If you aren't willing to invest even a little money then you seriously need to question your commitment to this project.
- Finally, do you have the will? Is this really something you want to do, and do right, or are you just clicking buttons to get a title under your name? If people are going to be part of your clan, invest time in your clan when they could very well be someplace else, then do right by them by deciding that you are either going to make the time they spend worthwhile or you'll save them the trouble altogether by just not making the clan.
2. So...uh...what's the plan?
By that I mean, what kind of guild are you intending to make? You have tons of options in regards to:
- Focus. Are you going PVE? Will this be a PVP guild? Do you plan on keeping it small and "l337" or are you looking to be inclusive? Will the clan consist of end-game toons or can you invest the time to take on Academy members and develop them? Seriously, no clan can be all things to all people and you don't even want to try. Why? Well, whatever it is that you're doing will come at the expense some other area that you could have focussed on otherwise. If for example you are making a PVP clan then how easy do you think it will be your PVE minded members to exp? Yeah...you might have wanted to mentioned that to them when during the recruitment process. Now you have to deal with the fact that they are leaving anyway and they might cause some trouble on the way out the door or even talk smack about you to prospective members after they've left.
- What will your rules be? How do you plan on enforcing them? Is it you, you and some officers, or do you have a whole rank structure in mind once the key personnel are brought into the fold? Are you going to pretty hands off or do you see the need to strict enforcement since you have specific needs for certain types of conduct? Go to successful clan's websites in L2 and other games. Find their FAQ and see what might work for you and what won't. Get an idea of what you want from your members/allies and then craft rules and a governing structure that will get you there. Oh, and if you are planning on have a large clan then learn to delegate responsibility and give those people the authority to act in your absence. Large clans are just too tough to handle by one person and you can't be on 24/7.
3. Okay! Fine! I still want to do this. So, what do I do?
Well, Skippy the third thing you need to realize is that, on the internet, image and perception are everything. When you announce your clan you should be ready to roll and in that split second that you have someone's attention(an really, that's all you have) you should make it as easy as humanly possibe for them to find out every conceivable thing that they might want to know about your clan. If someone has to do anything that is even mildly difficult to find out what they want to know you've already lost them. So to make sure that you present a decent face to the rest of the server and prospective members you should have:
- A Ventrilo or TeamSpeak server. Why? Uh, I don't know if this has dawned on you but MMO's are notoriously heavy on the level grinding, L2 even more so. Vent or TS will keep your members from hanging themselves in their showers from boredom. Add that to the fact that voice communication helps immeasurably in PVP and can create unity between your members because they might actually *gasp* make friends with one another using voice chat and it's just a no-brainer. Look around on the internet and you can find cheap or even free solutions. Hell, I ran a TS server out of my closey using an old PC. Whatever you do though make sure that you have it ready when you announce your clan's creation and that it works.
- Well designed and well maintained forums/website do a lot of things. Just like having a voice chat server they show they you are serious about making this work and that you are undertaking this project with a professional attitude. Well, at least that's the hope. What's worked for me in the past was getting a small professional hosting package from a reputable web host, learning some html/PHP and doing it myself. Yes, crack a book and learn it. Believe me it's not that hard and it will save you a ton of frustration later. Yeah, you can sign up for Guild Portal but that kind of stuff leaves you with little flexibility and no real room to grow whereas installing a CMS(Content Management System) and you preferred forum software will probably take you a weekend but it will let you go in almost any direction you can envision should you wish to make changes. I use Joomla(CMS software for our website) and Simple Machine Forums(forum software) but there are flavors for all needs and almost all of them are free and ridiculous simple to upload, install, and customize. You did say that you were willing to spend the time didn't you? Well, get to uploading chico.
- Make the announcement. Keep it short and to bullet points. Every sentence should communicate the absolute essential items that you need people to understand about what you are doing, why your clan will suceed, what you've accomplished so far(even if you are the only member, how you plan to grow, what your clan brings to the table, and where you eventually see you clan fitting in on the server. Again, and for the love of God keep it short though. Just a few sentences that touch on the key points is all it should take. If anyone has any questions or is interested they should be able to find out everything they need to know on your website in the FAQ(Frequently Asked Questions), your rules page, or in your forum. Remember, if they have to search extensively for it then you have already lost them. You members might have patience but Joe Stranger doesn't...yet.
3. Cool, what's next?
Hell, if I know. I've never been a clan leader or even an officer in L2 and beyond that it's late and I am tired of typing. In closing, I guess the biggest thing to touch on is the idea that there are already tons of clans in L2 and that unless you are offering something better than what's out there and you are willing to create and maintain that then don't even bother. I know that sounds harsh but bad clans are a dime a dozen in L2 and all they do is give people a tag until they find something better. If you are going to make a clan then try making it into something you can be proud of. I can say from personal experience that managing a clan was a constant drain but in the end I looked back on it as a rewarding experience that taught me a lot about people and how to manage them.