Not my post, credit is due to a Norwood Black on the EQ2 forums.
Fellow guild leaders and members,
I have put this document together for my own understanding, and to help my guild better understand the political meta-game system that guild's can choose to participate in. My hope is that a developer will see this and correct any mistakes so we can have an official Q&A document. Feel free to use this for your own guild if you find it helpful.
Few things to note before reading through this:
This is my first draft - it's a work in progress
Feedback - if you have solid facts about the system that I've gotten wrong or left out, let me know.
I don't claim this is 100% accurate or complete - however most of the verbage below was cut and pasted from developer comments
I tried to use terminology that I understand and that make my document internally consistent. This may not necessarily be the official terminology or the terminology your guild uses. I'm happy to use official terminology when I figure out what it is.
Many thanks to Mario Rizzo and BonePile for all of their input into the thread on the beta boards dealing with this same subject.
Thanks.
Duinor
Chancellor - The Dungeoneers
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What are Player Guilds in EQ2?
Player guilds are organizations that ally themselves with one of the two cities in-game (Qeynos or Freeport). These organizations are created to support the factions in each of these cities (currently there are 5 factions in-game for Qeynos and Freeport). "Guilded" players of the same city may ally themselves with any of the faction groups within their home city in order to gain experience and levels for the guild as well as personal status. This translates into rewards from not only the faction, but also the city itself. Player Guilds can have two types of members: Patrons and Followers.
What are Status Points in EQ2?
Status points are a measure of the personal contribution that players make as they complete writs for their home city. In order to earn status you must be in a player guild and accept "city writs" from whatever faction you choose to work for. Gaining status with these factions will unlock rewards that both patrons and followers can spend coin on to acquire in-game.
What are “City Writs”?
City Writs are tasks that are given by each of the five factions in the cities of Freeport and Qeynos. These are small quests that are used to garner both personal status (patrons and followers) and guild experience (patrons).
Who and Where are the City Writ NPCs?
[Left out of this version so that people can figure it out]
How does the Guild’s Level and my Character Level affect the City Writ quests I receive?
The guild level acts as an upper cap on the level of the city writ quest that is given. However the level of the character is also checked to ensure that players are not offered quests beyond their capabilities.
Should I focus on completing writs for a single faction or all of them?
You are not restricted to a single faction, but it will be more difficult to raise faction with multiple groups versus a single group. You may quest for and purchase rewards from any faction that you choose within your home city.
What is Guild Experience in EQ2?
Guild Experience is measure of your guild’s overall contribution to the well-being of the city. This is handled in much the same manner as adventuring through a level progression system. As your guild Patrons accrue more guild experience, your guild level will rise. As the guild level rises, this will unlock more prestige rewards that the guild will have access to for their contributions.
How does the game calculate Guild Level?
Guild level is a “rough” average of the total amount of experience contributed by the guild patrons. In addition there is a modifier for guilds with fewer than 12 patrons that will make it more difficult for them to raise their guild level.
What is Guild Experience Decay?
Decay reflects the need for Player Guilds to maintain their current standing within the city by continuing their efforts to rebuild their community in the events following “The Shattering”. Over time, accumulated guild experience decreases. What this means is that if patrons do not continue to complete city writs, the guild level will drop and this could change the access that players will have to specific guild rewards.
Can a Guild’s level decrease?
Yes. Over time the guild’s level will decay if no city writ quests are being completed by Patrons. Patrons must consistently do city writ quests not only to increase the guild’s level, but also to guard against level decay.
What does the Guild’s Level influence?
The following occurs as the Guild rises in level:
More status rewards become available on the nine social status merchants.
The coin and/or status cost of status rewards will decrease as the guild levels.
Hallmark Raids become available at certain guild levels.
Certain NPCs in your home city may treat you differently (not confirmed).
What does my Faction Level influence?
As you complete city writ quests, whether as a Follower or Patron, your faction standing will increase with the group you’re doing the quests for. As your faction with this group rises, it will unlock more status rewards with the corresponding faction merchant.
What is a Patron?
Patrons are members of a guild that have been marked as a contributor by the guild’s leadership. This means that a patron earns guild experience whenever they complete “city writs”. By completing city writs, the Patron is directly contributing experience to help the guild level. A patron also has the ability to spend their personal status points to purchase rewards for themselves and their guilds at designated city merchants. This is an ability that Followers do not have.
Does being a Patron give you a game-play advantage?
No. Being a Patron is not designed to give your character a game-play advantage. It is designed to be a fun, competitive meta-game where guilds can compete within their city. Patron specific status rewards are more for “flavor” versus being an uber item or critical quest piece.
Is there a penalty for having less then 12 Patrons in a guild?
Yes. If you have less than 12 patrons it will affect your guild’s leveling performance. This is to prevent a guild of 6 people from having a very high average and outperforming guilds in the regular structure.
Is there a penalty for having more than 36 Patrons in a guild?
No. However, it is probably wise to have a small group of patrons that consistently complete city writs. This smaller group of individuals will be able to maintain the guild level and expand on it in a much more efficient manner than 100 people doing them intermittently.
What is a Follower?
Followers are members of a guild that are not marked as contributors by the guild’s leadership. A follower, like a patron, may complete “city writs”. However, followers do not gain experience for the guild – they only gain personal status. A follower cannot spend their personal status points but they can purchase faction rewards with personal coin at designated faction merchants. Followers can however participate in “Hallmark” guild raids that are awarded for attaining “Hallmark Levels” with their guilds.
What happens if I am promoted from Follower to Patron?
The following things will occur:
You will retain your personal status points.
Your guild contribution level will be zero to start.
A percentage of experience you earn from city writs will go to the guild’s total.
You will gain access to Status Merchants in addition to Faction Merchants.
What happens if I am demoted from Patron to Follower?
The following things will occur:
All experience you earned for the guild will be subtracted from the guild’s total and lost.
Your guild contribution level is reset to zero.
You will retain your personal status points.
You will no longer have access to the four Status Merchants.
Can I choose to stay a Follower and not be a Patron?
Yes. There is no requirement to become a Patron. You can still complete city writ quests, gain faction, and have access to Faction Merchants as a Follower.
Can I choose not to participate at all?
Yes. There is no requirement to do city writ quests at all. Like crafting or general questing, it is up to you whether you want to experience that aspect of the game.
What happens if I leave the guild?
The following things will occur:
You retain your personal status points.
As a Follower, it does not affect the guild’s level.
As a Patron, the experience earned for the guild is subtracted out and lost.
You cannot spend your personal status points until you join another guild.
Can I take my guild contribution points to another guild?
No. Any experience you contribute as a Patron for a guild is tied to that guild. If you leave, the experience you contributed is subtracted from their total and lost. When you join another guild and become a Patron, your guild contribution will be zero until you’ve completed city writs for that guild.
Can I lose my personal status points?
No. You cannot lose your personal status points.
Who sells Status Rewards (via coin or status points)?
There are nine merchants in both Qeynos and Freeport that are part of the Social Status system. Five of these merchants are Faction Merchants and four are Status Merchants.
Who and Where are the Faction Merchants?
Faction Merchants correspond to the five factions within your home city. Both Patrons and Followers can purchase status rewards from Faction Merchants using personal coin. Prices on these merchants are the same for both Patrons and Followers.
[Who and Where - To be completed later]
Who and Where are Status Merchants?
Status Merchants can be accessed by Patrons only. Patrons can use their personal status points to purchase status rewards from these merchants.
[Who and Where – To be completed later]
What types of things can Patrons purchase from Status Merchants?
The status reward inventory that Patrons have access to at Status Merchants are similar to the ones that Followers have at Faction Merchants. The main difference in the rewards are the way they are "flavored".
Some examples of this would be:
a nice painting to hang in your home;
a nice new uniform to wear around town;
a cool piece of furniture that others could admire.
a cool title with a thank you letter from a faction for all of your hard work on behalf of the city.
Followers have access to the same item “types” (i.e. furniture, art, clothing, etc.) at Faction Merchants, but the specific items may differ.
What if I completed the Betrayal Quest?
Members that betray their cities will be considered full members of their new homes once they complete the betrayal quest. This means they can participate in the player guilds system in their new city as if the character had originated from that city to begin with.
What are the “Hallmark” Guild Raids?
This is an additional raid that is unlocked as the guild levels. The city gives the guild organization a special commission to seek out and destroy particular enemies. Once unlocked (assuming the necessary guild level is maintained) the guild can complete the raid once a week. Both patrons and followers of the guild city can participate in “Hallmark” raids.
Hallmark raids will reward in-game items but not to the significance of normal adventuring raids. They are intended to be an added "bonus" for guilds aiding their city. The toughest fights in the game are still found and un-locked in the traditional manner.
Hallmark raids do not give out the "phat lewt". Instead they are fun gatherings that the guild can take part in. Think of them in the same manner as a quick "pick-up" raid that gives the members who are just logging in something quick and fun to do.
