New player: Guild or no guild

[Hotride.2187]

Hello, I have two questions regarding joining a guild:

1. Am I missing out on anything notable (other than the social aspect) when not joining a guild? I've seen guild event markers in some areas so that makes me curious to a small degree; there also raids (havn't been to one yet). Asking since the game mostly takes care of parties/squads itself (via LFG).
2. Does any/most guild gated content require regular or high time availability (e.g. WoW semi-hardcore or hardcore raiding)? To what extent does a casual guild offer benefits / content (other than the social aspect)? I've seen many guild recruitment messages that look for veteran/new players but that states nothing about time commitment.

I'm asking in the context of average Joe guilds; I realize extraordinary guilds can do a lot with fairly little time and coordination.

I've read a bit about guilds on the wiki but that doesn't seem to help with my questions. Sorry if the question comes up a lot, I don't find a topic in the first 2 pages of a "guild" search.

[HnRkLnXqZ.1870]

There are a couple of advantages a guild can offer to a player:

• Guild Enhancements: Those are free 24h buffs which increase progression for different game types. Those increase EXP gain, Karma gain, Gold gain, but also WXP gain or Reward Track progress.
• Waypoint discount: As the name says, you pay less for using waypoints. On the final tier this is 15 %. Does not sound much? As long as your character is below level 80, using waypoints does not really cost much. Once you are level 80, a teleport can cost up to 4s or more. Depending on your wallet, it could be a little annoying. When I unlocked the 15 % discount for my guild I ran a small personal calculation and came to a result of ~ 30g per year, the money the discount saves for me. Some may call this peanuts, for others (like me) that is already the money they make in a whole week or two.
• Guild Bank: Most guilds have one, often filled with useful stuff no one really wants. In our guild we often deposit dyes in there, members are free to grab the ones they do not have yet. Others use the bank to collect rewards for guild-events.
• Guild Missions: The markers you have seen in open world belong to them. There are different types of missions. Participation requires being part of that guild. You get a few rare (= yellow) gear pieces, some gold & karma and guild commendations. As you can see in the link there are various useful items you can purchase for these. Depending on the guildhall of your guild, you can also purchase recipes to craft certain weapons (Shimmering Weapons / Tenebrous Weapons) and guild-armor.

Most of these require Heart of Thorns.

Many guilds have an objective they mostly focus on. PvX guilds for example mostly have no real rules. Be nice to everyone, be helpful and have fun. Raiders are more strict people. It mostly depends on the leader. Especially some of the larger guilds have serious issues about their "rules." If you want to raid, you should join a raid guild once in a while. Raiding also allows to join random groups, but it is not recommended - especially not for new players.

You can join up to 5 guilds simultaneously. Many people have guilds for different reasons. Some have a WvW guild, to do organized WvW actions. A fractal and/or raid guild. One guild for PvE. A guild for farming. ... etc. Don't be shy. We do not have penalties for joining/leaving guilds. We only have a penalty of 5 days for guild-bank access for new members.

The participation varies from guild to guild. For some of the random guilds (without a certain objective), it is fine if you log once per week. Most of us have inactivity rules which vary between a few weeks and a few months of inactivity before you get kicked. Those also have a very open mind about representation. Just talk to a recruiter/leader of a guild you are interested in and ask them about their rules considering activity.

[phs.6089]

this isn't WoW raiding isn't required for gearing. WvW guild will ask for participations, raiding guilds wil ask to know your class etc. Check Looking for guild section to see what guilds have to offer and what they ask.What are you missing? Guild buffs and guild commendations that can be big help for a new player to get ascended earrings, that is about it.https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/categories/looking-for-guild

[joneirikb.7506]

Hmm, there are some mechanical benefits of joining an established guild, like HnRkLnXqZ pointed out very well. But on the whole I'd say that the mechanical benefits aren't something that's worth joining a guild for. Guilds also have access to a set of Guild skins one for each weight type btw.

The largest benefits lies in the social aspect, the obvious stuff about having people to talk to etc, but also to have people to ask for help with things, have people that can be willing to help you out doing Fractals or even try Raiding with you etc. Fractals/Raiding can be really annoying to do with LFG/PUG, because even if most players you get will be competent, they have no real experience playing together/organizing, if you play with some of the same people each week you learn to adapt and play together (organize) and can see yourself progress.

In general, finding a guild of like minded people willing to play with you will usually be the greatest benefit you will find in the game. Problem is often finding that group, it can be hard.

[Kabuki Theatre.9752]

There are some cool guilds, andthere are some not-so-cool guilds.Just like everything else in life.

I got into one early on, where somebodygave me lots of great stuff just for joining.

I'm wedded to that guild forever.What generosity beyond other guilds.

Amazing.