Picking Your Perfect Guild

But how do you find the perfect guild?! There’s so many choices! There’s endless possibilities, and a thousand different options that you can choose from.

But before you make any rash choices, first you need to understand what a guild is! In this article, you will learn the key processes and decisions you need to make before joining a guild in order to find the one that best suits you.

Let’s begin!

What is a Guild?

A Guild is a group of people who, generally, share a specific interest or goal to which the guild is built upon. A guild does not need to be in a specific place, and can have any theme. Here in Neopia, you can find guilds based on fan-groups, self-improvement, age, interests here in Neopia and activities, like roleplaying. A guild has a Homepage (where it is common to place the central navigation), Chat Room, Calendar, Members list, Invitation link, and the choice to leave the Guild if you choose. Every member is assigned a rank, chosen by the Guild Council leader, and any member may view the Guild Stats below.

Guilds are a fun place to socialize. There are some that exist simply to rebut guild invitations from others, but on the whole, joining a guild means you are interested in meeting other people in Neopia who share a similar interest. Guilds often incorporate exclusive activities, groups and pages for their members to inspire and exercise fun and community bonding. Many guild members become Neofriends. Take this into consideration when looking to join a guild. If you do not like talking to others, perhaps a guild is not for you.

Finding a Theme

A lot of the fun in guilds comes from sharing a specific interest and theme. Current popular themes are Neo-Related and Account Improvement guilds. Neo-Related means that the conversation and activities within this guild are only related to things found on Neopets. This is a very broad theme, and many guilds incorporate a more specific theme – such as Faeries, a pet species or a site event. Account Improvement guilds are socially motivated to inspire other users to improving their Neopets accounts. This can refer to nicer user layouts, finished Pet characters, avatar count, Battledome training, etc. When joining a guild, it helps to take into consideration what theme interests you the most. If you are trying to get to a goal avatar count, consider a guild that helps users improve that! Many Account Improvement guilds are happy to help – and many offer guild-exclusive avatar lending to make it easier for you! If you want to help others, seek out a guild that specifically focuses on doing that. There are many guilds out there that focus on gifting other users dream pets!

Once you have found a theme that inspires you, you’re one step closer to finding your perfect guild!

The Guild Board

This is a board on the Neoboards where many users advertise their guilds for potential joiners. Users seeking guilds also advertise themselves, often specifying what type they are looking to join to help narrow down their search. If you haven’t had much experience on this board, start off by perusing the posts and investigating the current guilds. A lot of these posts will try to be as helpful as possible – the perfect guild wants to find you too, remember!

Although names aren’t everything, find ones that catch your eye and see if they comply with the theme you are looking for. If the information you find interests you, many guilds will have their own pages (called ‘Webbies’) that are made to inform potential members. Reading these are essential to finding a guild that is perfect for you.

Processing Guilds

Once you have gathered as much information about the guilds that interest you as possible, it is time to make some important decisions. When choosing a guild, you need to make sure they fit with your preferences. Everyone is different, and so if every guild, but here are some important points you may need to consider before leaping to the ‘Join’ button.

1. Firstly, does this guild fit in with my preferences, and if not, will I be able to get over that?

If you are looking for a Literate guild, but you find one you like that is only Semi-Literate, you must decide if you should keep looking, or if you can deal with this. There is no point being in a guild you don’t enjoy visiting because something peeves you off. Take this into consideration.

2. Is the guild active?

Guilds need to be active to thrive. An inactive guild is boring and lifeless, and can sometimes hurt your motivation more than improve it. If you are the only one chatting or doing anything, this guild is probably not for you. In order to remain stimulated and interested, guilds need to have and active leader and council, and active members.

3. Can I be active in this guild?

If you have other responsibilities (and we all have a life outside Neopets, so it’s no surprise if you do!) that will prevent you from being an active member, perhaps this is not the right time to join a guild. Many guilds require its members to participate in the goings on and socialize with others to maintain membership. Many guilds depend on their members partaking in group activities or chat in order to survive. If you cannot do this for your guild, there is a good chance you will eventually become inactive – and maybe even kicked out!

Before you join a guild, consider your outside life and whether you can be an active, contributing member.

Guild Requirements

If the guild you want to join is a Private Guild, this means you cannot simply click ‘Join’ to be a member. These guilds often have requirements to joining, and in order to do so, you must know what these requirements are.

Luckily, most private guilds will supply you with a page that outlines these requirements and explains what you need to do in order to join. Some require applications, some require a certain amount of achievement (avatar count, trophies, etc) and some even have you speak personally to the owner to determine your potential as a member. If you want to join a private guild, but cannot fulfil it’s requirements at present – there is no reason you can’t go and work on them and come back later! And if you cannot achieve this, it’s time to find a guild that suits you better! Public Guilds are always happy to accept new members!

Picking Your Guild

So you’ve found the guild you want to join? Fantastic! There’s nothing better than that feeling of finding somewhere you belong!

But wait, what’s that? You’ve found THREE guilds you like! Oh no!

This is pretty common on Neopets. There are lots of great guilds to choose from! If this is your dilemma, you need to do the old fashioned ‘Pros and Cons’ list. You need to do as much research as possible – talking to current members and even the guild leader is helpful – and devise a list of each guilds good points and bad points. At the end, you should have a guild that clearly lists more things you are looking for.

However, I cannot stress enough about following your gut feelings! A lot of great guilds are based on feelings – if the guild has a great atmosphere and vibe, it doesn’t always matter how many good points it has over another guild. If it feels right, you should go for it! You can always leave, remember!

I hope this article has been insightful and helpful! Neopets is a wonderful, exciting place full of adventure – and finding a guild that explores the things you like is just one of the things I love about Neopia!