I’ve played on Wyrmrest Accord since Cataclysm launched, and have been very much an engaged member of both factions’ communities through a number of Heavy RP guilds across both the Horde and the Alliance over the span of years.
I say this in preface because I’m heavily debating moving a Pandaren over to MG to start a guild. I have tried Moon Guard on a few occasions, but I knew absolutely no one and had a hard time getting walk up in the major cities.
On WRA we have had a couple of very good Pandaren guilds that have sadly gone sort of inactive over time. This isn’t at all a diss on them, but I see untapped potential for immersive storytelling based in Pandaria now that the Pandaren ‘craze’ is sort of over.
This isn’t by any means a recruitment post, but I’d like to know since I’m not all that familiar with MG if guilds like this face an uphill battle, or if it’s more dependent on writing, DMing, etc. etc.
I am not sure what the big pandaren guilds are doing on the server at the moment but there are a few already here! One of them I know of is August Accord. I don’t know much about them. There is also Om Nom Noodles but that’s more of a cafe/noodle cart guild that is run by a pandaren and has many in it. There are a few teahouse guilds like Silent Autumn Teahouse that deal in the underground market with a legal front. At least, that’s what I think that guild is about.
I’d love to see and even be part of a new one, although I’d have to make a new character to join it, so don’t get discouraged! There’s just a little bit of info for you to consider.
This is the link to the most recent recruitment post on August Accord:
Yes, I think you would be better joining one of the established pandaren guilds already over on Alliance side, rather than making another one.
If however, you don’t mind doing a bit a work, we do have a rather large vacant void of pandaren guilds over here on Horde side! The population is much smaller than both MG Alliance and WrA, so you’d have to be willing to actively promote your guild. There are many unguilded folks over here that just need a bit of direction.
You could always combine events with the Alliance guilds and use the elixir of tongues to cross any language barriers.
August Accord is on hiatus I believe. Zushou (The guild leader) said the following in a MG discord: “Since WoW’s really bad right now, AA has set up a minecraft server which we’ve been working on for a few days. We’re going to let other people from the panda community join if they want later on today.”
I would definitely be interested with you. The armory for this character is not correct and hasn’t been for months. His name in game is Bayue now and he is level 120 here on Moonguard. Trp name Ba-yue Seng. I’m currently not in a guild. I thoroughly enjoy the pandaren culture and theme. We’re the second least played class on both factions excluding the AR yet I see more of the least played races then I do pandaren.
We are not on hiatus, and in fact very much alive! I would very much recommend joining an already established Pandaren guild, be it Om Nom Noodles, my own guild, or another one that you may find (I’m unsure if the others one I know have gone under.) The Pandaren community as it stands right now is quite small, and even though I have attempted to set up an ultimate community for Pandaria RP in Moon Guard, the population is still very low. More guilds threaten to fracture it more.
TBH I’ve always felt like people saying things like “There can only be one” is more destructive to your community than anything else. Variety is not a bad thing- it provides more opportunity for people who may not fit into your theme, and it creates opportunity for teamwork through making events with other guilds. Suggesting that your community should be the only one just comes off as selfish and controlling.
I did not say anywhere in my post that my guild should be the only one - in fact, I specifically noted another guild beforehand as an option before mentioning mine. As well, I’m the one whom created a Pandaren discord for the community in order to not only create interest, but also keep the guilds talking, share recruitment members if one member does not fit a particular guild, and to share events. Please do not warp my words or my genuine intent for the community.
Then why suggest that new guilds would fracture your community? You’re the one who said it, not me. You suggested in your own post that someone should join one of the already established guilds, rather than make their own. I’m not misconstruing words- I’m simply reading what you already wrote and taking from it that they’re being discouraged from doing something new on the basis that more guilds = bad for the community, which I disagree with.
Edit: Less selfish knowing that there is more than one community involved here, but still doesn’t come off well to me. I’m not a fan of stifling someone’s creative potential. There’s no reason why a new guild couldn’t simply be integrated in with the rest of the community and encouraged to thrive just as the others are.
I’m speaking directly as someone that has lead guilds and been involved in the Pandaren community since MoP dropped, and in these past two years, one of the few remaining Pandaren guild leaders.
You’re correct, I do disagree with people starting new guilds in the Pandaren community right now - as someone that has experience in the population and numbers, the more guilds that are created, the more guilds that collapse, and stretch numbers thin. I have personally attempted to nurture a large number of other guilds - even specifically with the community that I set up - to get them on their feet with their unique ideas that honestly, I quite enjoyed. However, as I’ve noted multiple times, the numbers just aren’t there to support it. Guilds collapse, very frequently - it’s rare when a Pandaren guild reaches its three month birthday. The people involved are often burned out for trying to make it work - I should know, I went through these same struggles multiple times, and only managed to last these past two years through sheer stubbornness to give up.
Do I recommend joining a pre-existing guild? Yes. It helps to keep the community from losing more members. Am I going to actively work to stifle a new guild, or stifle creative potential? Absolutely not, if a guild is starting up, they’d be more than free to ask for help.
I’m not going to be responding to further straw-manning of my point
Sorry for briefly abducting your thread. If you do want to step forward and make a guild, I can only encourage you, and if you reach out to me on Discord, I’d be happy to allow your guild to attend our own, and vice versa!
You are better off joining an already established guild rather than trying to start a new one to be honest. The numbers are simply not there to sustain any new endeavors and odds are you’ll burn out trying to keep things afloat.
This isn’t about ‘fracturing the community’ or whatever nonsense is being offered as a counterarguement. This is reality.
A straw man is a common form of argument and is an informal fallacy based on giving the impression of refuting an opponent’s argument, while actually refuting an argument that was not presented by that opponent.
May want to look up the definition of something before you claim someone’s doing it, FYI. I’m arguing against the point you’re making- that people shouldn’t make new guilds. That’s not an argument that doesn’t exist, thus there is no fallacy.
Meanwhile, I’ll gladly agree to disagree. Guilds take a lot of effort regardless of the number of people involved, and not everyone is cut out to be a guild leader. I imagine it has very little to do with pandas, ultimately, but to suggest that someone doesn’t try at all just because you personally have seen someone (or someones) fail is silliness to me. Not everyone is cut from the same cloth, nor do they have the same ideas or potential. That’s all I’ve got for this.
I would like to add that reality is exactly what some people need a dose of, at least in terms of grand ideas. Rather than turning someone off of the idea of doing something new, giving them a realistic view of what their idea entails would be a lot more effective than saying “you’re going to burn out, may as well give up before you’ve started.”
A lot of people come to this server and see these 400-person mega guilds without at all understanding what it took to get them there, and that most guilds established here took years to get where they are. That’s something people aren’t told. They just assume that because they haven’t gained 50 members in a week, that they’re doomed to fail when that’s far from the truth. This, however, is a discussion for another thread entirely.
My suggestion, is before starting a guild, do your research…which is exactly what the OP is doing. The best guilds fill a niche, a gap that has been identified. It’s okay to make a similar guild, as long as you can make yours different and distinctive in some way. That’s why I suggested a Horde pandaren guild. It’s another aspect of the lore that hasn’t been fulfilled yet.
But if you don’t do your homework, and just go around trying to create something that already exists…well, I’m not saying it’s doomed but it will be tough. People who are interested in that style of roleplay will mostly already be in a guild.
Communities of similar guilds can work together to make a better atmosphere and more player choices. It usually starts with one or two successful, more general guilds, which inspires spin-off smaller ‘niche’ guilds.
It’s like going to a food court instead of a restaurant - there’s something for everyone. But you wouldn’t go to a food court and see 10 McDonalds stores, all competing. That would all be the same and boring. You would see a range of shops of all different flavors and cultures, all of which sell food. People have different tastes. But the smaller the market, the less variety that can be offered.
OP actually does fit the theme of August Accord so you talking for Obu kind of doesn’t make sense given that their intent is made known at the OP.
These aren’t actually the same thing. If you have a small population spread over a large area each guild isn’t as effective as it could be. Given the OP’s interest in the very things August Accord already does it makes more sense for them to bring that entrepreneurial drive to something that’s already there and make it more appealing or make it better in some way.
This is a very good point too.
OP, at the end of the day I know MG would always welcome new guilds. That’s kind of what we do here. Whether you stay WRA or come here I am sure you can make a positive change. It sounds like WRA has a need just as much as MG does in regards to Pandaria-themed guilds. I hope you keep your drive alive and that you still have interest in your idea because I think it’s a good one
What’s interesting is that you say that, and yet it’s been proven to work in the case of WrA’s dwarven community. What started as a small group of multiple small guilds has exploded into something impressively expansive. While it may have been a case of luck, along with a bit of right place, right time, right people, I’m willing to bet that experiment could be repeated if players put down their guns and took a more positive outlook into their process.
I agree that it’s partly luck and I can’t explain how WRA pulled it off but I’m glad they have. A similar thing is starting to happen here with a new guild called Heart of the Mountain, with their focus being on exploration. They have more details on their forum post so I hope they make it and inspire more Dwarf-centric RP as WRA has.
I’m not going to say it’s not possible to make that exact same thing work here and that I want to discourage the OP in trying to start it. The concerns and risks involved with starting a new guild are still something to consider but by no means should that discourage growth! I can’t speak for anyone but myself though I hope my sentiment is shared. With planning, diligence, and innovative ideas it can succeed and I genuinely hope that it does! That is, if the OP is still around and still does want to see it through.
Would be super cool to see something like that happen for the pandas, ey? They’re in a similar situation, at the very least. Small group, fairly under-represented.
I think it would be cool to see more pandaren-themed events happening, personally. There have been individuals who have done some crazy good work in shilling for their race (Forbidra and Flywheel to name a few), and I’d love to see that same passion for pandas!
The dwarven guilds on WrA have an OOC in-game channel that links all the guilds together. They also support each other (by doing things like raiding and doing RP events together) - rather than competing aggressively against each other.
Yes, there is certainly lessons that can be learned all of from this. But as to how it all began? I’m pretty sure it was a two-guild co-op that expanded. It seems to me that the pandaren community is doing all the right things, and I do see RP events cropping up frequently. Unfortunately, other races are more popular at the moment, so in a way I do agree with the ‘right time, right place’ sentiment. It’s hard work encouraging others to play a race when there are other, arguably more ‘exciting’ choices! (Trust me, I know from from goblin experiences.)
I’m sure if two zandalari guilds teamed up right now that would take off in a huge way. Right now is probably be the height of their popularity.
But on the plus side, underneath all the hype, there will always be die-hard fans of certain aspects of the game, who aren’t interested in the latest fad, and those are the ones that form the basis of a community.
