Game Guilds FAQ : RO Discussion

Premission Given from owner of this guide

Guild FAQ for Ragnarok Online V1.12
by Heiko-Jiro and Anthwerp
Guild: Blue Steel Dragons (Chaos) pRO
Philippine Ragnarok Online
Copyright 2003

Version History:
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V1.12 - Deleted a section of the Introduction and corrected more more more
spelling mistakes! I also added a little something for the readers in the
acknowlagement section! Also added some more info on Emperium drops and
where the monsters are located. Next update, I promise I'll do the section
on the Guild Skills ok? Thanks!

V1.11 - Yet again fixed some spelling errors! I seem to have been veeery
sleepy on version 1.0! I also updated the Legal stuff section and the Managing
Your Guild Section. I also added some other stuff here and there so keep
readin'! I added some stuff about the Guild Taxes too!

V1.10 - Added the Guild Master's Management Etiquette Guide and also fixed
some grave spelling mistakes. Also elaborated some important parts of the
FAQ.

V1.05 - Corrected Some Spelling Errors and Fixed the Characters per line

V1.0 - Created this FAQ! This is my first FAQ (also Heiko-Jiro's First) so
please bear with us! There are some sections lacking including the Guild
Skills and the Guild Master's Management Etiqutte Guide. We hope to be able to
add this later on. Enjoy~~!
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Contents:
I. Introduction

II. Creating A Guild

III. Managing Your Guild: Essensials and Advice

IV. Guidelines in Selecting Guild Members

V. Guidelines in joining a Guild

VI. Guild Master's Management Etiquette

VII. Guild Member's Etiquette

VIII. Practical Example on how a Guild is formed: Blue Steel Dragons

IX. Legal Stuff, Credits and Contact Information



I. Introduction:
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The Guild system in Ragnarok Online is a very interesting and unique way
to build your skills and make new friends in the process. Basically, a
guild is an extended party of sorts. This "party" transcends lag,
disconnection, and rollbacks (well, maybe not rollbacks). More often
than not, your guild lasts for as long as you are playing RO (Or as long as
the GM is still active anyway) Other than that, having a guild is very cool,
in the most shallow sense. Not only do you get to see who of your guild is
online without PM'ing (Private Messaging) them, and as an added bonus, people
get to see your guild name, your party name and a very cool (well, it depends)
emblem when they point their mouse on you!

Nowadays, I get to see many people online who sport the cool emblems of
their guild. But quite frankly, I don't think they realize the true
importance of a guild. The Guild system was created to foster teamwork
and comraderie among the players, as well as a way to be able to have
better relationships with other people online. Sad to say, the guild
system has been reduced to nothing more than a status symbol. Most
guilds don't realize the true essense of a guild, thinking of it as only
a way to look cool ("Ooooh, I have 1M zeny and I bought my emperium to make
myself look cool!", or "Ooooh, I'm so lucky! The requiem I fought dropped
an emperium! People will like me now!"). Seriously, now is the time to
realize the true meaning of a guild.
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II. Creating A Guild
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Ok here's the Deal, I've seen many people online ask me about how the
guild works, what's with the emblem stuff and how did i put those spaces
on the GUild name and etc etc. Well Here's a practical step by step solution
on how to create your guild!

1. First off, you need an Emperium (YES! AN EMPERIUM!) It costs arount 700K
zenny to a whopping 1M zenny. But for my guild, I only bought ours for 800K.
If you're lucky enough to be able to pick up an emperium, good for you!

Emperiums are dropped by: Shining Plants, Orc Zombies and Requiems.
They look like Gold Oridecons or Gold Mystic Frozens.

Shining Plants are located in Poring Haven (Izlude-->WEST-->SOUTH-->EAST)
Orc Zombies can be found in Orc Village (Izlude-->WEST 5X)
Requiems can be found in Morroc Sphynx (Morroc-->WEST)

2. When you finally have your Emperium, be sure to give it to your future GM,
or if you're the future GM, well there ya go!

3. While the emperium is in your items, type: /guild "<Guild Name>" This will
create the guild with the specified name on it. You will see a confirmation
afterwards, then you're all set!

Note: BE CAREFUL! You cannot change the Guild Name after this. Well, unless
you get another Emperium that is.. but then you'd have to start all over again.

4. Next, create the emblem. An emblem must be and I repeat: MUST BE 24X24
pixels. Otherwise it won't load. Use an image editor like ACDSee Photo
enchance or Adobe Photoshop to create your image or just to shrink it down.
Bitmap format is preferred, you know, the one with the .BMP extension.

5. Go to your Ragnarok online folder
(Ususally found in c:\Program Files\Gravity\RagnarokOnline\)

6. Create a new folder named Emblem

7. Place the 24X24 Image in that folder and go back to Ragnarok.

8. press ALT+G for the guild menu. You will then see a screen that shows the
guild Information. At your upper righthand side, you will notice a word that
reads Emblem:
with a blue square beside it. There is also a button beside that with the word
Edit. Click on that.

9. A dropdown menu will show you the contents of the Emblem folder, simply
select the file name of the 24X24 image you put in there.

10. Log off then log back on to see your emblem and guild name under your
character! Congratulations Guild Master!
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III. Managing Your Guild: Essentials and Advice
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First I'll discuss two important things, Accessing the Guild Chat and accessing
the Guild menu.

The Guild menu is accessed by the GM or any guildsman by pressing the ALT+G key.
a new menu would then be shown and this will be discussed later on.

The Guild chat in RO is simple! Simply type the sentence you want to send to
the guild, then press ALT+ENTER to send this message to the Guild. All the
Guildsmen will be able to view it. It is marked by a light green color in the
message box.

Ok so, Mr. Guild Master, Congratulations! Now what!? Well first of all, let's
have a shot at that ALT+G menu you now have okey?

1. The First Menu: Guild Info
The First menu is the Starting point of every guild. It contains the summary
of the Guild including some important information like the Guild Emblem. the
Guild Level, the Average level of Guildsmen, the Alignment, the Alliances and
the Enemies. This also displays the Guild Alignment and the number of
Guildsmen Online at the moment. This is basically just a summary page of the
entire Guild.

2. The 2nd Tab: Guildsmen Info
The second tab is very useful for finding out which person in the guild is
online at the moment. Online members appear with their faces beside their
names and Green highlights on their information bar. The level of the Guildsman
is also displayed here as well as the position
(Which can be changed by the Guild Master)

Beside the position of the Guildsman, the GM may notice a down arrow that
appears. This will allow the GM to change the position of the Guild member.
Note that a drop down menu will appear when this down arrow is clicked, from
there the GM can choose a new position for the GUildsman. These positions are
IN ORDER. So the First position that you choose will be the First Guildsman
that will appear on the Guildsmen Information Tab. The positions are determined
in the Third Tab: Position.

There is also a Devotion Field that appears on the IOnformation of each
Guildsman. Every new Guildsman (and also the GM) will start at 0% meaning he
or she has contributed 0% to the total Guild Experience. The Guild experince
will be discussed later on. There is also a field called Tax Points. This is
the total amount of taxed experience that a member has contributed to the Guild.

You can also use this menu to expel Guild members (Providing you are of
course the GM) Simply right-click on the member you wish to expel, A menu will
appear with the option. Choose expel. There will be a window asking you for the
reason of expulsion, put the reason down or simply leave it blank and the
member will be expelled.

3. The Third Tab: Position
Here, the GUild Master can set the names of the positions of the Guildsmen. The
position title can be edited by the GM. Next to the tax points, There is a
field called Invitiation Authority. If the GM checks this box, all members with
the corresponding positions (chosen at the Guildsmen Info Tab) have the
authority to invite new members to the Guild. After that there is the
Punishment Authority Field. If this is also checked, all Guildsmen with the
position have the authority to change the Tax of a specific position. Which
brings us to the tax field.

The Tax field is the amount of Base experience a member with the position will
be taxed or will be forced to contribute every time he or she kills a monster.
For example, I have a position in which I have a Tax of 50%, everytime I kill
a 1000 base exp monster, 500 exp will go to me, and 500 base exp will go to
the Guild experience. ONLY 500 exp will go to the Player so it is not a good
idea to set this too high because your guild members would have a really hard
time leveling up.

4. 4Th Tab: Guild Skills
The Guild Skills are not yet implemented on RO, I will add this section as
soon as I get more information. This is why I don't advise any taxing at the
moment.

5. The Expulsions History Tab
Not much, this only keeps track of the members expelled from the GUild and the
reason for being expelled.

6. The Final Tab: Guild Notices.
This tab can be edited by the GM only, This is where the GM places the stuff
like announcements to the whole guild. It will be viewed immediatley after the
GM edits and sends the message. Simply type in the message the click on the
send button on the bottom right corner of the guild menu and the message will
be sent to the Guild. This can be seen in the message box.

Advice to the GMs: Arrange your members in ascending or decending order
according to their levels so that you will easily be able to see who has the
highest level in the guild and who is not really contributing much. In my
experience, this also forsters "Competition" amongst the guild members for good
old fasioned level racing. This would mean that they would be leveling up as
fast as they can so this would be a great benefit to the Guild.

I don't really recommend setting any Guild taxes at this point because
the Guild Skills and levels are not implemented yet in RO but if you want to
have tax to be ready for the future, it's your choice. I recomment starting
to set taxes when a guildsman reaches lvl 99 or something because he won't gain
anymore experience and all of his experience won't be wasted then, it will go to
the GUILD EXP.
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IV. Guidelines in Selecting Guildmembers:
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Ok, so now you have made yourself a guild. Now as a GM you have the power
to hand-pick your members, but wait a sec. Just because you can invite
people doesn't mean you should right-click at every character you see.
Selecting your members is a very delicate task that could either make you, or
break your Guild.


1. Never Recruit Flooders, Kill-Stealers and Looters

I can't express enough how important this is. A good guild is dependent on
how well-behaved their members are.

There was one time while I was still in my low levels when an archer was
KS'ing me, not only once, but repeatedly. I asked him nicely not to do
that. Instead of obliging, he just cursed me. Also, it was not just me he
was KS'ing, but also everyone in the area. Weeks later, he became a hunter,
and he now had a guild. Most of the people who he KS'ed called that guild
as being full of jerks, looters and KS'ers, and refused to deal with any of
their members. Mind you, these people who refused to deal with the guild
are Priests, Merchants and Blacksmiths - the worse people to pick a fight
with IMHO.

This is why it is very important that guild members behave, because
the guild suffers for their misbehavior. The guild name could be ruined
and NO GM wants that! GMs have the right to reprimand their Guild Members,
remeber that.

2. Recruit while they are still in their 1st job

This is probably the most difficult thing to live with as a GM. Characters
still in their first job don't contribute much (well, except for merchants)
since they are still relatively weak. But remember that today's lowly
acolyte might become the super-mega-ultra-uber-priest of tomorrow, who
will MVP Baphomet with a simple Magnus Exorcismus. Waiting for him/her
to level up will be no problem, since your guild can tank for him/her.
The guild might suffer now, but trust me, it's worth it. Besides, most
people of 2nd job already have guilds, and the few who are guild-less don't
really care.

3. If possible, recruit only those who you know personally

Knowing your guildmembers personally has several advantages. First, you
can be sure of the quality of the "merchandise". This means that you have
first-hand knowledge of the worth of that character, and what he/she can
contribute to the guild. Next, you can be sure of what kind of person
he/she is behind the character sprite. This way, you can avoid your guild's
name being trashed like old underwear because of the actions of your guild
members.


4. If you can, make a background check on the member before you recruit

If you don't know this person personally, at least perform a background
check. This means that you have to first see him fight. See if his skills
in battle would be an asset to your guild. Next, be observant. Before you
considered him to be a potential member, did he flood a lot? Is he known to
be a kill-stealer or a looter? These are questions you have to consider if
your guild's name matters to you.

5. Don't expect that everyone you offer accepts your invitation

Don't think of your guild too highly. Just because you have the cool
emblem and your guild member's average level is in the 80's doesn't mean
people will give an arm and a leg to be part of your guild. Ask people
nicely if they want to be in your guild or not. If they refuse, don't
take it against them. They must have a good reason why they don't want to
be in your guild. Maybe the character already has a pending membership in
another guild. Either way, don't make a fuss about it.
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V. Guidelines in Joining A Guild:
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So maybe you're not lucky enough to be able to pick up emperium, or earn
enough to buy one for yourself. So what do you do now? Why not consider
being a guild member rather than a guild master? Lots of people find that
more appealing than spendging hours in orc dungeon for the chance to get
emperium from orc zombies. As with everything, here are some guidelines.

1. Do not Flood, Kill-Steal or Loot

I seem to repeat myself these days. The really decent guilds are composed of
people who play by the rules. Which means, if you don't, do not expect any
guild to want to recruit you. 'Nuff Said.

2. Set your horizons straight

Let's face it. No matter how strong you are, guilds don't really care. An
example of this is the well-known guild MvP-Hunters (did I spell that
correctly?) in pRO. Their membership is strictly by invitation, so don't
get your hopes up. A more realistic guild to aim for are those who still
have members in their 1st job, which means regardless of who you are and
what character you play, they will take you as who you are. Who knows,
these people might become the next "in" guild.

3. Be wary of those guilds with a recruitment fee

Let me clarify this one. I'm not saying that guilds should never have a
guild membership fee. I know I paid to be a part of my guild (well,
indirectly paid). Just be careful because they can expel you at any moment
the choose. Or even worse, these recruiters could be scammers.

4. Stick to those you know personally

People who know you personally would think twice before expeling you from
the guild when the time comes that they need space for members. They would
also understand whatever reason you have for not being able to contribute to
the guild. Maybe you're poor, or just unlucky, people you know don't care
and are more trustworthy in the end.

5. Do not pester the GM: Just wait to be invited

There is nothing that can change a guildmaster's mind about recruiting you
more than pestering him to recruit you. Let's face it, no one wants someone
who is so desperate to get something that they will annoy people to get
it. Annoying the GM is a bad thing, and would usually shoot your chances
of a guild membership down the drain.

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VI. Guild Master's Management Etiquette
*******************************************************************************

So you are now the Guild Master of a very new guild! You currently have only
one member (which is YOU by the way) and thats about it. Well when you do have
Guildsmen already, here's some guidelines:

1. Do NOT fill up the Guild Notices with useless information or annoying
messages. The memo appears EVERY TIME a character Exits and enters a map. Seeing
the same long annoying boring message over and over again is really annoying to
your Guildsmen.

2. DO NOT put up very high taxes. Your Guildsmen will have a hard time levelling
and this will cause some of them to leave the guild. Of course as GM, we don't
want any of that now do we?

3. It is the GM's responsibility to assist all his guildsmen whenever possible.
If your Guildsman is looking for a whisper card and you happen to find one
lying around (highly impossible.) AND you don't really need it, just give it
to your guildsman. It is your responsibility to take care of your Guild. One of
the real downsides of being the GM.

4. Don't fool around with the Position Names. Guildsmen generally want you to
put some name that THEY request. IMO, just give it to them, let them have that
satisfaction since it's only a name and that it doesn't really do anything.

5. If you are going to raise taxes, please advise your guild beforehand. It's
not good to just shock your guildsmen with astronomically high taxes that they
themselves did not find out about at least a day before.
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VII. Guild Member's Ettiquette:
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Congratulations! You are now a part of a guild. Now you have the really
cool emblem and are now associated with the likes of Tomoe Hotaru, kelvs and
Crescens (ok, so they're all blacksmiths, but they are just examples).
You might think that it all stops here, right? Wrong. You still have to
live up to the name of the guild who recruited you. Here are the two most
important things you have to remember as a guild member.

1. Do not flood, kill-steal or loot

And for the upteenth time, I repeat myself. This is THE commandment for
all guild members. Learn to behave, or you might ruin the name of the
people who were kind enough to take you in when you were still a lowly
mage, or whatever your job was. More importantly, they are more likely to
expel you from the guild if you don't play nice.

2. Help each other out, for crying out loud!

As a part of the guild, you have just signed a binding contract that ob-
ligates you to help your guildmates out. Regardless of how high your level
is compared to the other guild members, you should oblige when one of them
asks for your help. Whether they ask you to tank them, or asks if he can
borrow your +6 very very strong wind bastard sword when you're not using it,
help him/her out to the best of your abilities. Believe me. It's much
better for a guild to have a guild average of 55 rather than having only one
member in his 70's, while the guild's average is only 40+. After all, don't
you want to have THE strongest guild in the whole of Midguard!?

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VIII. How Our Guild Was Formed: A Practical Example
on how to earn the money for the Emperium and Management
of the Guild(As of October 2003):
*****************************************************************************

Okay, so let me do a little horn-blowing and introduce you to my guild.
This was started by my pal, Anthwerp and I have been a member of this guild
since the day it was formed. Heck, I even helped acquire the emperium we
used to make this guild (although not that much compared to a former member,
who alone gave 500k, which he earned by selling carrots, hint hint to the
merchants out there). All of us know each other pretty well and became part
of this guild because we knew the guild master.

We are basically a guild who play by the rules and don't put others down.
Though at times we may seem aloof, we don't pick fights with people unless
we are provoked. In which case, each and every one of us would gladly stand
up and fight for our name. Our emblem is a blue, metallic dragon imposed on
a black background, and we proudly carry the name Blue_Steel_Dragons.

So what does this all say? Well to put it simply, If you can't pick up an
Emperium, Buy One! an Emperium usually costs around 700K to 1M zenny so this
is really expensive! To raise enough funds:

1. Solicit help from future guild mates, those on whom you plan to become guild
mates or guild members.

2. Sell Carrots! at full DC, about a couple thousand carrots should be enough
to buy you an Emperium. Fly Wings and Butterfly Wings work too! JUst don't over
price them, otherwise no one would buy from you.

3. Sell valuable stuff or trade: An Apple o' archer could buy you your very
own guild emperium!

So there are a million ways to raise the money, it's only simply hard work
that's all! Having a merchant around would help you raise the money A LOT! so
recruit those merchants!
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IX. Legal Stuff, Credits and other stuff you might not read anyway
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This FAQ was submitted on www.gamefaqs.com and you can always find this there,
every updated version will likewise also be posted there first. IGN has also
requested to host this FAQ. While it's OK to post this FAQ anywhere else, I
advise that you credit the original authors on this FAQ as with the other
reference materials that you may have possibly used and please tell us before
doing so. There is also the thing I hate, please do not sell this FAQ for
personal profit OR post it in those websites that have those BOTS and HACKS
and the other stuff that just makes the game SO unfair. Please also tell us
if you plan to post this FAQ, we would appreciate it very much! Any infraction
of the afore-mentioned stuff will prompt us to pursue legal action.

^_^. Thanks for reading this FAQ by the way! We'd appreciate any comments you
would give us!

A Big big thank You to gameFAQs for accepting and posting this FAQ! Mwah!
ALSO: Thanks for all the feedback! We appreciate your kind comments! Just
keep em' comin ayt?! (^_^)/

You can contact Anthwerp: anthwerp@mydestiny.net
or Heiko-Jiro: i_am_johnsay@yahoo.com

**From The GM**
This FAQ is dedicated to my ever lovin' Guild! Go Blue Steel Dragons!
Reign of Chaos, moonblade, Lysel, Calysta, Yvaine, Heiko-Jiro, Azeal, Kira
Special Thanks to Heiko-Jiro for the initial FAQ!
-GM Anthwerp

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