I’m almost there now. In a huge freaking guild, but with only a few people I’m getting to know, so circles within circles. And I’m leveling solo. :)

I see it as a mix of the three.

When I started playing WoW at a friend’s insistence, I joined his guild, which was HUGE. It didn’t just span WoW, but was a collective of a few hundred players who played many games. First-person shooters, real-time strategy, MMORPGs — if it was out there, these folks played it. It’s a meta-guild. To give you an idea of what that’s like, the WoW province of the meta-guild was so large, that there was one WoW guild for Alliance characters on one server, and two WoW guilds for Horde characters on another.

When a guild gets that massive, it’s inevitable that small groups form. Say you wind up playing with the same 50-75 people for years, because they’re on the same schedule. Of that 75, you’ll get along decently with ¾ of them, and then really well with about ¼. You effectively make your own tiny guild within the larger one, and have the cooperative experience with your friends and family that way. While I started playing so that I’d actually interact with my friend who’d disappeared into Azeroth, I started making friends with my guildmates. Some of those friendships have lasted for six years. But it definitely took months to hit that sweet spot, where I knew enough people and had spent enough time there to break the ice.

I got the solo experience, when I came back to WoW at the tail end of Wrath, and had to level from 70-80 on my own. That was strange, to only be occasionally joined by someone’s alt. I still talked with everyone in guild chat, and on Vent… but man, catching up 10 levels was damn lonely. Not my bag at all.

As far as the guild perks… I sure wish that guild rep was tied to your rank in the guild.

(Btw, sorry to make my first comment so freaking long!)

Also if you are getting annoyed with the questing in outland and northrend then try going back and doing some of the low level zones as a high level characters. I have been working on Loremaster (only the Hinterlands left yo) and there are some really cool zones. Silverpine Forest if you are horde moves into a battle between the forsaken and the Gilneans, and hillsbrad is really funny. You already mentioned Un’goro, the maximillian(spelling?) quests there are golden. Ive found it really relaxing and a lot of fun to go back to those zones and see all the updates.

From what I understand, you have your high level toon on that server buy them, and send them to your low level alts. They don’t have to be in the same guild.

“Guild Levels have been out for a while. I imagine most folks have already made their decision. They’ve chosen to either stay with their small guild and accept no rewards because they don’t raid or play enough, or split and join a larger guild.”

Not necessarily. I have my own guilds on 3 servers, and have a system in place to level the guilds, without raiding. After I leveled my guild on my main server to level 2 by MYSELF, I said “screw it,” and outsourced. Since then I’ve gotten to almost level 7 on Demon Soul, almost level 3 on Daggerspine, and almost level 2 on Darrowmere. I want the guild rewards, but I don’t want to have to raid to get them, at least not until I’m ready.
http://aboyandhisdeathrays.blogspot.com/2011/03/dirty-little-secret.html

Going back there, long after the world’s pulse had left Shattrath and moved onto Dalaran, the memories were haunting. The place seemed so empty. Echoey. The pounding music was still there, but no players. Just quiet NPCs, subdued, with far fewer people to sample their wares. I miss the place, and am more attached to it, than many places I’ve spent time in IRL – this side of the screen.

I remember toons climbing up in the AH rafters. I remember when that giant demon ran through Ironforge over and over and left hundreds of people dead – there were bones everywhere (I still have pictures!). But most of all, I remember guildmates, friends who are long gone.

I remember times when we’d light a fire right there, sit in a circle, and tell each other stories.

Thanks for the post.

If you don’t drink the milk, you might forget how rich and delicious the cream is. ;)