One of the questions that pop up quite often on the Star Atlas’ Discord is this:
“Why should I join a guild? And what guild should I join?”
To give a proper answer to this question, there is a lot of ground to cover. In this article, we will try to give you an overview of the most important aspects of the game and guilds that may factor into this decision.
What’s in a Name?
When the original white paper was released in early 2021, it (re-)introduced the term DAC (Decentralized Autonomous Corporations) as the official title for player organizations within the game. On Discord, however, the term guild was used to name the channel where players could meet and get organized. This term was no doubt chosen due to it being the term used in most MMO games to denote an organization of players.
In plenty of early interviews and Townhall-meetings, Michael used both the term clan and guild frequently, likely for similar reasons, as the term clan will be familiar to most competitive multiplayer gamers. And lastly, internally the team also refers to DACs simply as player organizations.
The takeaway from all this? All of these terms refer to the exact same thing. Whenever you see any of these used, it always refers to a collective of players who are taking on the game together, instead of going at it alone. To keep things simple for the remainder of the article, the term guild will be used where possible.
As this guide is lengthy enough as it is, potential perceived differences between a DAC and a guild are left mostly outside the scope of this article.
Factions?
One common point of confusion (especially for people new to Star Atlas) is the term faction. Factions are not directly related to guilds at all. Factions in Star Atlas refer to the three economic regions that are each dominated by one of the three playable races, the MUD, ONI and Ustur.
Frequently Asked Questions
Let’s kick this article if with a few of the most common questions.
Q: What is a guild?
A guild could be defined as an organized group of players (of a certain game -or games) who share a mutual (usually gameplay-specific) interest.
MMOs have popularized the term greatly, and people joined them because they wanted to (for example):
- play the game with newly made friends
- play through the storyline together (making it easier)
- achieve greater in-game feats as a group
- help others out / get help with quests
- get more beneficial trades of goods/items (when trading among members)
- join in on the organization of fun events, taking advantage of some specific piece of gameplay or just roleplay
All of these are equally relevant for Star Atlas. But there is more!
Q: Do I need to join a guild?
No, you do not need to be part of a guild in order to play the game and earn in the process. You can participate in all aspects of the game, even when you are on your own. However, there are quite a few reasons why you might consider joining one, which we’ll cover in a bit.
At this point in time (July 2022), there is no playable game yet. The first module that was released late last year — called Faction Fleet (aka SCORE) — is a single-player endeavour only (and not really a game, to begin with). However, the first real multiplayer game experience, dubbed SCREAM, should launch later this year. So if you were contemplating joining a guild in order to get some nice multiplayer quality time going, that time is coming!
Q: How do I find the right guild?
With the rapid growth of guilds looking to get involved in Star Atlas, it can be pretty hard to find the one that is right for you. Besides knowing what to look for, you also need to know where to look.
First off there is of course the guild category on the Star Atlas Discord. This section contains several channels, including one for guilds to promote themselves. More interesting, however, might be the #looking-for-guild channel, where you can specify what you are looking for, and guild members will try to pitch their guild to you.
Over time, as the number of guilds grew, a few players decided to try to come up with an alternative. The only one of these that has seen some more recent updates is the website: https://staratlasguilds.com
Note that this one does not contain all guilds, however. Looking around on the Star Atlas Discord, and asking questions seems to be the smartest move!
Need more? Near the end of this guide, there is an additional section that goes deeper into determining what could be the right guild for you.
Q: How do I join a Guild?
As Star Atlas does not yet offer a way for guilds to officially register, joining one in-game is not yet possible either. This did not stop players from gathering and setting up various organizations already that will be made official as soon as that becomes possible.
Most guilds have set up a Discord server, where they host their members and plan for the future. The first step to joining one of these is therefore by joining their Discord server. From there on, locals will help you get up to speed and guide the way to becoming an active and contributing member.
Of course later on, when Star Atlas DAC support has been launched, you will still have to officially join your chosen DAC in-game.
Q: Why would I want to join a player organization?
I’m glad you asked! Let’s dive into it!
Community
There are many reasons why you might want to join a guild, let’s start with the most straightforward one: Community.
Joining a guild is like finding a new group of friends, a family for some even. Instead of going at it alone, or with a few friends, you will have dozens of like-minded individuals with whom you can chat, have fun and play together; leading to a much-improved experience, both while playing, and when you’re not. Additionally, you can get help when you’re stuck, and in return help out others when they are. That’s what friends are for!
This alone will be a strong reason for many to consider teaming up, and rightfully so! If you’re open to it, you can make friendships for life!
Wisdom of the Crowd
Two know more than one. So a few dozen individuals will have… an impressive amount of knowledge 😉
Star Atlas
Though not every guild has members who are fully up to speed on all things Star Atlas-related, this is a major benefit of joining one. It can be argued that at this stage of the game, it is really the most important reason to join one at this time.
Getting up-to-date advice on how to invest your money, which ships to buy and what moves to make, can greatly impact both your short-term and future earnings. This is not just useful when the game becomes playable, this is highly relevant at this very moment as ATLAS & POLIS are on the move and NFTs are being traded on the secondary market, with new ones being occasionally sold by the team.
Crypto / NFT’s
If your interest in crypto is broader than just investing in Star Atlas, then having access to peers who can explain to you the more advanced aspects of trading crypto (or NFTs), and can recommend good projects to take a look at can be highly lucrative.
Similarly, if you are completely new to crypto, all the more reason to join as within a guild there is a treasure trove of knowledge.
Protection
Now let’s get into the aspects that play a role later on during the game’s development cycle (when more of the game has been released).
One of the key USPs of Star Atlas is its unique approach to player-versus-player (PvP) gameplay. There are plenty of games with PvP-elements, including blockchain games, but running the risk of having your assets burned off the chain (aka dealing with real asset destruction) elevates this concept to another level!
Yes, you are able to play this game just by yourself. Still, in that case, you might want to restrict yourself to the Safe & Medium Risk Zones of your faction, as leaving this (relatively) safe environment means you will run a significant risk of losing your ship and everything on it.
As the High Risk Zone is the biggest zone in the game, being on your own has the potential to severely limit the amount of space you are able to „safely“ visit.
It will come as no surprise that travelling together with your teammates, as part of a larger fleet, should bring that risk down considerably. It’s great to have access to people who you can ask to provide a security detail if you need to go somewhere safely.
Even if no teammates are available, being part of a larger, well-known guild can be enough of a deterrent on its own, provided your potential opponents realize this in time 😉
Economy of Scale
There are two big factors that determine the cost and outcome of production in Star Atlas: the level (Tier) of the specific production facility structure (e.g. Mining Drill) and the skill level (and skill-tree choices) of the crew members whose job influences this type of production.
Given enough time, everybody might be able to upgrade to the most expensive structures and level up their crew to the max. But it will be no surprise that a guild will achieve these things collectively much, much sooner, provided they embrace specialization.
This means its members will have access to notable benefits compared to those not part of a guild, and by extension to those being part of a (much) smaller guild.
Why join a guild now?
There is no time like the present to join a guild. Being early usually pays off, whether that is a project like Star Atlas or one of the many guilds that will exist in its corner of the metaverse.
While the team is building, this is a great time to start building connections that could be important later on or result in actual friendships that make the game more fun to play as well. Of course, you can make these outside of a specific guild, with the wider community. But if you join a guild now, you have an additional, more tight-knit group of people to build those relationships with. And those relationships are important when playing together becomes possible. You do want to be able to trust the folks who guard your back within the game.
Additionally, getting in now means you can help build a guild from the ground up, which presents more chances for you, compared to joining one after a few years when most things have already established themselves.
If you are looking to take on some important responsibilities, you can never be too early. Some guilds are assigning roles to their members already, and those won’t be easily stripped and passed to you later on.
Guilds in SCREAM
With SCREAM on the horizon, this article needs to talk about that as well. You can read more about that game in our dedicated guide.
SCREAM v0 will come with no support for guilds. It will 100% be a faction-based territorial-control game.
This does not mean you won’t be able to work together, but inside of the game there will be no indicators as to who is who, let alone in which guild they are. The reason is of course obvious: There is no official guilds registration yet, let alone a module where people can sign up to join one.
That said, when DACs will be able to be created and joined, it is expected that SCREAM will be updated to give those a function, and also visualize who is part of which one. This update might come with some other changes to the underlying mechanics of SCREAM, however, though we really don’t know anything about that just yet.
Choosing the right guild
Gameplay Focus
Most of the guilds have selected a subset of gameplay that they will focus on. For example, there are guilds focused on piracy, freighting, shipbuilding and even ones that dedicate themselves to facilitating shipping lanes throughout the galaxy.
It’s important to choose a guild that aligns with the elements of the game that resonate with you the most. After all, this remains a game, and this should be a fun experience if you are going to partake in it daily.
Good to know: Most guilds are open to all players, as almost all guilds have a use for nearly everyone, no matter the elements they want to focus on more in-game, their assets owned, or the amount of time per day/week they want to spend.
However, if a guild’s goal is freighting, it would still make sense that you have some affinity with it 🙂
Governance Structure
Not all guilds have the same governance structure. Some have centralized leadership, others have democratic processes to decide the fate of the guild.
Of course, those truly embracing the DAC concept will try to involve their members in their decision-making processes, setting up a proposal/voting system on-chain and a multi-sig wallet to make sure no single individual is in control of the guild’s treasury.
There is a lot more to it, but if you care about this sort of thing, definitely do your research before joining (which usually means starting a conversation and asking questions).
Language
Some guilds focus on specific spoken languages or require their members to come from certain regions. If you are a non-native English speaker who prefers to speak your mother tongue, this aspect probably will be on top of your list.
Faction Dependence
When you register your game account, you will be asked to choose a faction. That choice is permanent, and you can read more about it in our guide on Factions. Likewise in the future, when DACs can be registered (created) officially, they too will be bound permanently to a faction.
This has serious consequences, as your account will need to be bound to the same faction as the DAC you want to join. If the two mismatch, you won’t be able to join that guild.
It’s also good to note that some guilds are planning to set up shop in multiple factions, by creating multiple DACs (one per faction).
Conclusion
Hopefully the above helped you get a clearer picture of what to expect. If you’ve never been part of a guild (in another game), the prospect might be scary. But simply reach out and you’ll find that it is really a warm, welcoming experience! You won’t regret it!
If the above did not convince you to start looking for a guild, we’d love to hear what’s keeping you. Please contact us and let us know!
