So you’re thinking about starting a clan? Well let me share with you
some of my experiences and lessons-learned within clans. Managing a clan is
a responsibility. If you’re unsure whether or not you want to do it, I
suggest you join other clans and take a look at the leaders and how the clan
functions. Are the leaders enjoying themselves or are they over-worked? Are
they organized? Do they regularly remind or show you the benefits of being a
member of their clan? Do they login on a fairly consistent basis or have you
not seen them for months? Examine them and decide if you can (and want to) do
it better. Another reason I recommend doing some more research is because it’s
not fair to other players who commit to your clan just to find out a week later
that it’s folding because you weren’t serious.
Belonging to a clan gives players a sense of home and where they belong. It
can add to their self-esteem and fame within the player community. Most importantly
it can add a new social dimension to game play and alter how they play (scheduled
meetings, clan assignments, etc.) Good players are making a commitment to your
clan and vision when they sign up and that commitment should be respected. Sure
there are players who will join a clan for the hell of it without knowing anything
about it and maybe split in a week. However, for those players who really want
to be a part of it, you should make sure you’re ready to hold up your
end of the commitment as well.
Along with the greater fame and respect it brings, you also take on increased
responsibility and duties. You are the head guy, the “Superman”,
the one at the front of the formation when the clan poses. As someone once said
in a movie, “it’s good to be the king!” However every good
leader has a responsibility to his or her clan members. Some players like to
be leaders, need to be leaders. Others enjoy supporting a clan for a greater
purpose and still others are completely solo. This guide is for those players
who know they want to lead others.
There are many different playing styles, not only for individual characters
but for whole clans as well. I’ve been in clans that were run very strictly
as a military unit with rigid chains of command. I’ve also been in clans
that were pretty loose and really just a uniting of independents who wanted
to share clan bonuses occasionally. One thing these clans all had in common
though was a leader who cared about his or her people and through organization
and a little effort showed me the value of belonging to that team.
Two important ingredients to successful teamwork are participation and cooperation.
Obviously without participation, there is no clan. It's important to plan and
execute a clan structure and environment that will encourage players like yourself
to participate in the clan. Put yourself in their position, what would motivate
you to participate and work towards clan goals? The other important key is cooperation.
A group of people "participating" in an activity to reach a goal does
not make them a clan. Clan members need to be able to cooperate with each other
and work together to surmount larger problems and enemies that none of them
could handle alone. Cooperation makes a clan. The rewards can often be better
or come much more quickly for everyone when they follow these two ideals.
Below I’ve broken down, what I feel, are specific areas that a clan
leader will need to be familiar with.
Participation and Cooperation These are the Batman and Robin of clan work. Clans built on this foundation
are strong and if your clan has strong participation and good cooperation, it
will achieve greatness. Participation and cooperation are basic, core concepts
that ALL clan members should follow. Good clan almost always acquire more loot,
fame and fortune more quickly than players on their own.
Recruiting This is a crucial skill unless you’re signing up with a group
of friends who already want you as their leader. Most clans recruit, especially
if they want to grow. MMORPGs provide a global reach and you’ll often
recruit people you have never and may never meet in real life. Good recruiting
skills are important to bring in the good, committed players who are looking
to be part of a clan. A solid vision and regular appearances in the community
will help recruitment.
Internal Conflict Management Clan member conflicts, loot disputes, and low morale are just some
of the management issues that you will need to address as you lead the clan.
I believe management in online gaming is the skill of keeping the clan motivated,
organized and focused on what should be done to reach the clan's goals. Treating
everyone fairly within your established chain of command is important. It may
be a good idea to map out a general system for handling clan member disputes.
Put yourself in their place.
Organizing smaller groups of clan members into squads is one way to help you
keep track of a growing clan, delegate some leadership and promote clan member
cooperation. You can even have competitions between squads searching for the
same prize or a certain dollar amount by a certain time. Scheduling (see Time
below) is key to this as well as a good mix of powers and similar playing styles.
Loot allocation and disagreements about it can rip a clan apart very quickly.
As part of your clan management plan I strongly suggest you plan how to handle
loot (money, items, etc.). Then write a statement as clearly as possible about
this in your clan's guiding principles or rules of operation. You want potential
recruits to know and agree to your clan's rules of operation before they sign
up. This helps recruiting by weeding out people who don't agree at the start.
Guiding Principals Vision. What is your clan’s mission? What is its background story?
It helps recruiting and management when you can clearly state what your goals,
sworn enemies, or overall plan is. This also helps by showing good, experienced
players that you’re committed to this clan and have taken the time to
develop a long range plan for it. People who don’t agree need not apply.
Trust Trust can be important because as time goes on your clan may grow.
As it grows, you’ll see the need for officers or high ranking clan members
who have proven their loyalty and commitment to you and the clan. You can delegate
missions and general clan work to these loyal clan members.
Time In MMORPGs, you can have players from every part of the world and every
time zone in your clan as well as differences in preferred playing times within
time zones. You'll need to find out when your clan members are scheduling their
playing time, at least in general, so you can schedule clan meetings and possible
squad assignments.
You also have to know whether or not you can put the real life time in to lead
a clan. If your schedule is hectic or unpredictable, it may be harder to lead
and motivate people because you can't be there for them. A good group of squad
leaders may be able to fill in the gaps here but barring that you should make
sure your schedule allows you to login regularly to provide your leadership
and keep the clan on track.
