Comments on: You were … disloyal: How do old guildies see returning ones?

By: smakendahed

smakendahed — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 17:01:17 +0000

The only person I’m 100% guaranteed to live with my whole life is me so I do things and make decisions based on what I can handle.

If people are bitter about me coming and going, that’s their problem, not mine. I don’t want to find myself in a position where I’m paying to play a game I don’t want to play just because of other people.

Yeah, I miss some of the people, but there are plenty other methods of staying in touch.

By: Tyrion10

Tyrion10 — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 14:05:30 +0000

Unfortunately there is some people that treat returning members as though they have been disloyal to them personally.

I love seeing old guildies log back in. It’s about the person, not where they spend their gaming time.

By: spinks

spinks — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 06:41:36 +0000

You wouldn’t be human if you didn’t have feelings.

Maybe I feel a bit bad because I’m now tending to leave games when I start to feel burnout, and I know it’s only because other people stayed that I might have a guild to go back to later. One likes to hope they stayed because they were having fun and not because they felt obliged though. I just sometimes wonder if it would be easier if people said, “You’re just a fair weather player, why don’t you go join another guild because you’re not really one of us any more. Unless you’re willing to tank raids in which case we’ll allow you to come along.”

By: Sullas

Sullas — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 00:46:09 +0000

Yes. All things being equal and guild needs/drama/personal chaff aside, my observation corroborates what Berath said: many people treat returnees like prodigal sheep, with a certain unspoken air of superiority. “You’ve wasted all this time straying elsewhere, but I was wise enough to stay with what you ultimately deemed best” kind of thing.

By: Berath

Berath — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 21:50:52 +0000

I’m always pleased to see old kin members return. In a way it vindicates the decision I made to stay! I also like it when ex-members drop by to say ‘hello’ and let everyone know how they are getting on. It’s simply nice to be remembered and keep contacts going.

By: Redbeard

Redbeard — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 19:29:06 +0000

I think it depends on what the situation was when you left WoW. Did you leave on good terms or bad terms? Was there a lot of churn and poaching from other guilds, and you just up and left because it sure didn’t seem like the guild was going to survive? Did your friends all leave first, on less than stellar terms?

Those are all complex questions that go into such a loaded inquiry, Spinks.

By: kiantremayne

kiantremayne — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 18:33:45 +0000

I’ve no problem with people who’ve taken a break for whatever reason – be it personal issues or service abroad or just getting burned out on a game. There does have to be an understanding on the part of the returning player, though, that thinghs have moved on in their absence – for example, they can’t expect to be instantly reinstated as a core raider if there’s some other guy who has held down what used to be ‘their’ raid spot for the last six months.

My wrath is reserved for those who join a guid, take advantage of that guild’s help in levelling up and gearing up, and then leave for a more ‘progressive’ guild just when the time comes for them to pay all that help forward. There’s no way to paint that behaviour as anything other than ‘self-centered asshat’ and players who pull that stunt go straight on my shit list.

By: Imraith Dos Santos

Imraith Dos Santos — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 17:14:23 +0000

As the GM of a (mostly) abandoned guild, I would not be happy if an old-timer returned. We have worked hard to put our guild back together, and have succeeded, but it is a different guild now. In the past, returners have been drama-bringers, and have caused guild-wide dissension when they were not allowed to do things in “the way it used to be.” It isn’t like that anymore, we do things the “new” way and returners are never happy. And neither is anyone else. When people come back, I think they should look for a new guild and start over. I’m sorry if that sounds harsh, but it did seem that you were looking for an honest answer.

By: Goodmongo

Goodmongo — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 17:00:43 +0000

To sort of quote Grocho Marx; “I would never join a guild that would have me as a member”.

By: Tonk

Tonk — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 16:58:02 +0000

For me, it’s more about the personal relationship. If I actually like a person, I’m always happy to see them return regardless of whether they stopped playing, transferred servers or left for a different guild. On the other hand, if it’s just some guy who used to raid with us and then disappeared, he’ll need to start over and definitely isn’t going to step right back into the same spot he left. The guild has moved on since he’s been there.

The only way to know how your guildies will feel about your return is to ask them… publicly on a blog.