One of the hardest things to do in any game — unless you are lucky enough to be part of a multi-game guild whose members’ interest in MMOs aligns with yours over time– is to find a guild that’s the right fit. But that’s where this guide comes in.

Before launch, it was, in theory, pretty easy to find a guild thanks to the guild recruitment functionality on the SWTOR website. With that handy tool removed, it is a little more arduous a task to find a guild that’s a good fit, but it truly can be done. Though it may take some trial and error– including joining a few guilds that turn out to be duds.

So, how do folks find guilds? A few of the more common methods include:

• Word of mouth–asking your gaming buddies if they’d recommend their guilds as a good fit
• Joining a guild affiliated with a blog you are a fan of or a website you’re a member of
• Scanning Kristin Archer’s guild profiles on TORwars
• Perusing the guild list on reddit or Ten Ton Hammer or TOR Syndicate
• Eyeballing the guild recruitment posts in the server forums on SWTOR.com
• Joining a guild that is advertising in trade or general chat on your server
• And if all else fails and you can’t find quite what you are looking for, you can always start your own guild

At this point in my gaming life, I’ve pretty much done all of the above, EXCEPT for joining a guild that was advertising in chat for members. Call me old fashioned, but I would like to think I’m joining a guild that is more discriminating about creating a positive and collegial guild culture than by inviting all comers via a mass chat channel.

Before you jump in and start applying, make sure you know what you are looking for!

Before you start checking out guild recruitment posts, however, I think it’s a good idea to take a few minutes to think through what you are looking for in a guild. When I sit and think through the most important qualities I look for in a guild, a few of the top things that come to mind are:

• I’d prefer West Coast, PvE. I’ve played on East Coast servers mind you, but I’m never home before 6PT, so unless the guild is a bunch of East Coast night owls, it doesn’t usually provide enough to do w/others.
• I prefer a guild ruled by DBAD. In the guild’s overview in one form or another, I need to see that they don’t tolerate D-y behavior. Of course having it in writing is not always a guarantee the guild isn’t being run by a bunch of D’s but it’s a good ground floor.
• I like a guild to have 15-20 people on per night minimum. This means there is a high likelihood of Operations and Flashpoint groups forming. Raiding has been one of my favorite activities in MMOs, so I like to see at least a glimmer of hope that there can be such activities in the future.
• I prefer a diverse guild. What I mean more directly is: I don’t want to play exclusively with a bunch of teenage to 20-something dudes. It’s not that that demographic can’t be fun (I have enjoyed playing with so,e folks who fall into that category), but I get the most out of a guild when there is a solid mix of older professionally employed people, including a solid group of ladies. In fact, some of my favorite raid teams had a higher than average percentage of couples. I think that led to the high degree of coordination amongst the team.
• On SWTOR specifically, I prefer the Empire. Because they have the purple lightning. I’m addicted, what can I say??? When searching, you want to make sure you only look for a guild that actually is the faction you want to play –ty to @Asros for making me realize I left this out.

So now that you’ve made your list, get out there and start hunting for your ideal guild! And let me know in the poll and the comments how you found your guild.