### Iziena's Guide to getting in the top Guilds ###
So, You want the best, and only the best quality when it comes to raiding guilds, especially with Cataclysm on the horizon, But before you do this, there are several things you will need to consider, all of which will be stated in this guide.
1. Your Character
The most important thing when it comes to getting in a top raiding guild is your character, chances are most guilds don't care how much of a nice person you are, they only care about what you've experienced and how you perform, But do not get miss-judged, Being a nice person will carry you a long way when playing in a top guild.
So, how do you know your character makes the cut? Well the expression "You get back, what you put in" very much comes to play in this scenario, the more effort you have put into your character, the more likely you are to be wanted in the guild, And yes, in most cases achievement points do matter, even if most people don't like to admit it, If you can verify you have seen top content on your character and can back it up with the achievements, then you are going to be wanted.
So, what happens if you don't have the best in slot gear, or top quality achievements? Well it's not over yet, Keep reading to find out how far the application itself can take you.
2. The Application Process
Almost every serious guild WILL ask you for an application submitted on their website, 90% Of your chances of getting in the guild are based on the application, your armory is the other 10%, If you can write a cracking application, Almost as if you are selling yourself to the guild, then chances are they are going to be interested in you, even if your gear lacks moderatly.
Key points on writing an outstanding application:
- Sound Enthusiastic, Afterall this is the guild YOU are applying too, they aren't applying to you.
- Write in clear and understandable english (unless the guild are specifically from another location) Writing in clear english will go a long way, There is nothing worse then reading an application with somebody who uses short term words, e.g "I wanna join this guild coz i rly like doing top content kk"... It just looks and sounds so unproffesional.
- Back yourself up, even as silly as it sounds, but in most cases it's a good idea to ask your CURRENT guild leader of the guild you are leaving to write you a short refferal, If you have any decent of current guild leader they will do it, no matter how much they don't want you to leave, chances are they will still be happy to write you a reccomendation.
- Make sure your application includes EVERY POSSIBLE DETAIL, This may sound obvious, but you wouldn't believe how many applications i've seen that have actually missed out key and essential points from their characters, Include everything you've done that you're proud of that the game has to offer, Even if it sounds silly, for example if you've ran Baron Rivendare 200 times to get the mount, That will actually score you huge points with a guild, As it's nice to see somebody putting in such a huge effort to achieve something that means obviously alot to them.
3. The After Contacts
In almost all cases, an application will not just be instantly accepted without an officer contacting you to have a quick chat, It's important you make a good impression when the officer is contacting you, Show alot of enthusiasm without sounding too cocky, This will play a huge role in you earning a trial period for that specific guild.
In some cases you will recieve comments on your application from either other members of the guild or an officer, It is important that you address all response, even if they are criticism, as it shows first of all that you are actively checking the site, and secondly it shows that you care about peoples feedback.
4. The Trial Period
Possibly the most important time you will ever spend in any guild, as this is what determines whether you are worth keeping in the guild, or whether you aren't all you were cracked up to be from what your application stated.
Key stages to passing your trial:
- BE COMPETITIVE, I know it sounds like it defeats the object of working as a team, but you MUST be competitive when it comes to DPS, or healing, as you need to show you are playing at the same level if not higher than everyone else, As a tank it's slightly different, you need to be extremely alert and be very good at holding your aggro.
- Socialise, Talk with the other members, log onto vent every so often, BECOME ONE OF THE TEAM, this will go miles in passing your trial period, getting involved with the guild will help you out alot.
- Be Willing, If somebody asks for help, just do it, whether they are an officer or a fellow trial, if you put in the effort towards others, it WILL be recognised.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you very much for reading my guide, If you follow these pieces of information this should seriously help you getting in a guild of high standards.