What Makes a Good Guildie - Burnout Happens!

Burnout like other disgusting bodily functions that will remain nameless here, happens! It happens for a variety of reasons, real life drama, work drama, and inevitably gaming drama all play a part in this, be it large or small. Content within the game you are playing is also a factor. I have seen many a bad patch decimate a thriving guild in a matter of days.

The higher rank you are within your guild, the more this affects everyone, and when a guild leader burns out, sadly it is normally the demise of the guild. This last statement is completely dependent on the guild's structure, and whether there is someone there to take the reins and help guide the guild to a safe place. Unfortunately when burnout happens it sometimes actually rips at the seams of what we have construed as friendship in our pixilated world, and before the burnt out member can make his exit, harsh words are spoken and there is no coming back. There is no way that the flame-engulfed guildleader can identify his own problem, he is committed, he is convinced , he is completely certain that the actual laws of nature, and everyone that is and ever was his friend are turning against him and woe be unto anyone that tries to address the problems that are so apparent to everyone but him.

I belong to a multi-gaming guild that has stood the test of time for over 7 years, and over this period of guilded bliss we have come to recognize these symptoms in members and other guildleaders within our structure and we have weekly meetings to discuss these things - why is it that guildleaders have such insight into the souls of their members and none into their own. Why is it that even when presented with the facts of the burning embers and the distinct smell of smoke every time this guildleader enters into a conversation with his peers, he denies it.

I'm not a big one for change, I like tried and true methods - I am a big fan of things staying the same, but change is inevitable within the MMO world and sometimes a step back is just what is needed to move forward. I have found this out the hard way.

A long time ago, in a galaxy far away I played a game called SWG (Star Wars Galaxies) and I was at the forefront of this game for a long time. I led my troops in the same manner for over 2 years within my guild, and then along came the CU (Combat Upgrade). The game was broken beyond repair as far as I was concerned, but instead of abandoning ship like so many of my counterparts, I worked harder than ever to recruit and pull us out of the decline that was there.I neglected my real life, I changed my gaming habits and played non-stop to make sure that we progressed. I dedicated and sacrificed myself to the gaming gods to stop the steady decline of what I felt like was the most important thing in my life. In the middle of all this, I got a phone call one Sunday afternoon that my eldest son was dead. I was devastated and guilt ridden for all the times that he had tried to talk to me in the months previous to his death, that I just couldn't find the time to talk with him. Instead of facing this guilt, I gamed harder than ever to take my mind off his death. To make a long story short, not too long after his death along came NGE (New Game Enhancements) and then the game was irretrievably broken and all my hard work had failed and I had to face my grief and my guilt. I left in a epic rage, and lashed out in a way that still makes me embarrassed to even think about and didn't game at all for months. I allowed myself to get too deeply involved with what was supposed to be fun, I ostracized real life friends and family and ruined online relationships that had been cultivated for years. I allowed myself to burn out and like a meteorite burning through space and the crash was hard once I hit the earth.

It is hard to see your own destructive patterns in a game when you feel underappreciated for all the hard work and dedication you have put into a failing game, but they are there. Trust your peers and your family, trust your guildies and remember where there is smoke, there is fire.

Staying focused doesn't include wearing blinders - Momologic