My experience and thoughts after joining a guild last month

How I Found A Guild

At some point in January I read a post by Hive account@greeneyedwitch describing their introduction to Splinterlands. My biggest take away from that post was how much joining a guild had assisted in progressing their understanding of the game.

I had been playing the game for a few weeks and was starting to get curious about guilds. I commented on the post asking for suggestions where to look for guilds that were recruiting as I was overwhelmed when I browsed the main Guild page on the Splinterlands website.

Hive account@hiveabbyftp happened to pick up my comment and offered me a position in the Merchant's Guild. Before I knew it, I was a member of a guild.

Now What 🤷‍♂

There was no entry fee to join the guild but there are weekly requirements to maintain good guild standing. The tasks to stay in the guild are to...

1) Post in the guild chat every couple days

2) Post or curate on Splintertalk or PeakD

OR

3) Donate 20 DEC each week.

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• Post in the guild chat every couple of days: I clicked on the 'GUILDS' icon on the Splinterlands main page and was presented with the Guild 'ABOUT' page. There is not a 'Guild Chat' menu so I started exploring the various menus to make sure I got off to a good start on my guild tasks. It didn't take long and I found the 'TAVERN' menu where I could join the guild chat. Once in the Tavern it is a simple matter of typing a message in the chat bar. Task one complete. No problem.

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• Post or curate on Splintertalk or PeakD: Also easy 👍 I enjoy posting on both platforms. What I needed to learn more about was curating. I had a general feel for voting on posts, but up to this point didn't have a group that I needed to follow and curate. Thankfully there was nothing to worry about. Following someone on PeakD is as simple as finding a user and clicking on the 'FOLLOW' button at the top of their feed. It is then a simple task to visit my feed and see when those I'm following are posting so that I can remember to interact with and upvote their posts.

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• Donate 20 DEC weekly to the guild. This one is straightforward enough. You can either afford it or you can't. From what I have seen on other guilds this is a small ask. This is not a requirement in my guild if you are doing the above, but it is a small ask for the benefits I gain from the guild. More on the benefits and returns below.

What Do I Get For These Extra Responsibilities?

There were three expectations I had when deciding to join a guild.

• Connect with a supportive group of like minded players
• Be able to take part in Brawls
• Learn more about Splinterlands

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Connection

Right out of the gate I was welcomed into the guild through the chat. This is still where much of the guild interaction takes place, but what I was surprised to also see was the extra interaction that takes place through guild members PeakD and Splintertalk posts. My post payouts didn't suddenly skyrocket from the extra attention, but it is still nice to see a few extra upvotes on each post and to have some other members posts to keep a eye out for.

A great example of the extra learnings I gain is the interaction after a 'Share Your Battle' post. It is great to have a team behind me giving suggestions for better positioning, different combos that could have been used, or further insight to what went right.

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Brawls

I didn't really know what Brawls were going into the guild, but I knew it involved more chances to play the game. I still get owned in just about every Brawl I enter, but each and every one I enjoy and add to my knowledge of the game. Our guild recently upgraded our Store and have started to earn Merits for each Brawl. We haven't upgraded to the point of being able to purchase Gladius Cases (The fancy name for a pack of five Gladiator cards that can be used in Brawls), but honestly I am not there yet anyway. I am just happy to be able to participate, earn some Merits for a later date, and continue to learn about different aspects of Splinterlands.

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Learnings

The best part of the Guild is having a place to ask all the random questions I have. The Splinterlands Discord is great, and the Splintertalk community is amazing at answering questions posted in comments on posts, but it is nice to have a common place to ask a question and know you will get a quick response from someone that you already have a connection with.

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Beyond My Expectations

Need a card or team for a, "Insert difficult Daily Quest Here 😀"? The Guild has got your back with some timely delegations. Need a few extra CP because your rentals were cancelled just before the end of the season? The Guild has got you. In the words of the most recent NFL playoff advertisement campaign, "We got your back!"

The best example of the Guild going above and beyond happened to me at the end of the last season. It had been a great season of rewards for me and a decent end of season set of rewards too. After the season I was just over 300CP shy of having 5000 CP and not needing to rent to reach Bronze I. I posted this milestone in the Tavern in celebration. Later that day Hive account@pewsplosions, a member of the guild, gifted me enough CP to reach 5000 CP. I was blown away by the generosity, but that sums up my experience with a guild, nothing but support.

Wrap Up

The Guild isn't perfect. As a beginner guild there are some members that inevitably drop out or don't contribute. Hopefully as the guild gains it's footing the team of contributors will grow and add to the gains. We have a long way to go to level up our buildings, but for me it is at the perfect stage. I'm not ready for what the higher level buildings have to offer. At this point, I am more than happy with the decision to join the Merchant's Guild and look forward to growing with my other guild mates.

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Credits:

Card images from Splinterlands
Banner created by me using Canva

Thanks for reading!

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