Guide
How to build an officer team
Every WoW guild needs help running day to day. Here are the three officer roles every PvE guild needs, plus extra roles for bigger guilds.
No matter which version of the game you play, if you run or co-run a guild, you'll sooner or later realize you need more people to help with the day-to-day. Every guild is run differently, with its own hierarchy and its own quirks. But there are things every guild does, or at least similar things.
That's why, before you start a guild, you should write down all the chores and assignments, and then assign them across your leadership. Make sure everyone is doing their part. That's how you build a successful guild, one that runs for years.
Start with a list of chores
Before you pick people, list what needs doing. Then give each chore an owner and a backup.
| Chore | Owner | Backup |
|---|---|---|
| Loot during raids | [Officer] | [Officer] |
| Loot history and rules | [Officer] | [Officer] |
| Raid roster and assignments | [Officer] | [Officer] |
| Leading the raid | [Officer] | [Officer] |
| Recruitment posts and applications | [Officer] | [Officer] |
| Discord moderation | [Officer] | [Officer] |
| Guild bank | [Officer] | [Officer] |
| Events | [Officer] | [Officer] |
The three roles every PvE guild needs
In my opinion, these three roles are mandatory, and every PvE guild has them.
1. The loot officer
This person handles loot in game during the raids, and keeps track of it with some kind of loot history or loot log. They should probably also write the loot rules for Discord and the website. One person is in charge and handles it on their own. But everyone else should know the basics, in case that person can't make a raid.
The same goes for every role: if someone can't attend a raid, you have a backup. Not sure which loot system to use? Read How to pick a loot system.
2. The raid leader
Some guilds have the raid leader as a separate role, but in most cases it's simply an officer whose assignment is to lead raids. The raid leader works on the roster, knows who is doing what during the raid, calls out assignments during the fights, and makes sure the raid runs smoothly.
They'll also help a lot with recruitment, because they know best what the guild is missing.
3. The recruitment officer
Someone should be solely in charge of making sure people are being found and recruited. They'll need to talk to your raid leader, and possibly other officers, to get their insight. You can't decide on your own who's allowed into the guild. You can, but it's always nice to discuss with others whether someone is a good fit.
As a recruitment officer, your job is to post a thread on Discord, use different websites for guild recruitment, and send recruitment messages in game. You might even talk to random guildless players in dungeons and raids when you see how they behave and perform, and try to bring them to your Discord. See How to write a guild recruitment post for how to do that well.
This job takes quite a bit of time. The way we ran it in all our guilds was with one person doing it:
- The applicant makes a ticket on our Discord.
- Leadership briefly discusses it in a private channel. It usually doesn't take long.
- The recruitment officer goes back to the applicant in that private ticket chat and tells them whether we'd love to have them.
Want to set up tickets? See Discord bots: build or buy?
If there are only two of you, split these chores and help each other. If you're the one person doing it all, either find someone to help, or realize this is a lot of work and you'll have to invest a lot of time.
More roles for bigger guilds
In bigger guilds, you'll want more officers. If you run a 40-man raiding guild, or a 20 or 25-man guild with several groups, you'll need several raid leaders.
Even with two or three officers, you'd ideally want everyone able to lead raids on a basic level, with one main raid leader. But in a bigger guild, you'd want two or three raid leaders who are solely raid leaders. Their whole focus is raid leading. They look into logs, look at what went wrong and find ways to improve your runs. They help the recruitment officer by saying what the guild is missing and what the optimal composition is.
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Extra raid leaders | Focus only on leading, reviewing logs and improving runs |
| Class leaders | Help with their class: gear, rotation questions and recruiting for it |
| Community officer (the "HR" role) | Keeps everyone having fun and getting along |
| Guild bank officer | Looks after the bank, professions and consumables |
| Discord and tech officer | Looks after the server, bots and website |
| Events officer | Plans events, alt runs and social nights |
The "HR" officer
People joke about having HR in a guild, but it's a real role. It wouldn't be your typical HR. It's someone who's active in game and on Discord, and who makes sure everyone is having fun, things are going smoothly and everyone is getting along.
This person is online a lot, talks to people, and runs dungeons and raids with them: alt raids, leveling dungeons, quests and all that. They're the face of the guild, someone who shows members that leadership is just like them, there to help and have fun.
We usually made our guild master that person. The guild master is the face of the guild: active, approachable, and talks to everyone to make sure they're heard. If someone needs to complain, they reach out to the guild master and talk it through. It's a way to keep things running smoothly and cleanly.
How to choose officers
These are my own rules of thumb:
- Reliable first, skilled second. Someone who shows up and does the job beats a better player who disappears.
- Good attitude. Officers set the tone for everyone else.
- Doesn't grab the best loot. Trust is built on how loot leaders treat their own loot.
- Fits the chore. Give loot to someone organized, recruitment to someone social, and raid leading to someone calm under pressure.
- Try before you promote. Give someone a trial period with a smaller job before making them an officer.
- Cover your time zones. If you raid at night, make sure someone is around at other times.
Keeping the team healthy
- Give every officer clear permissions, in game and on Discord.
- Have a private leadership channel (see How to set up a guild Discord).
- Decide together on big things, like loot rules, and write them down.
- Make sure the work is split fairly, and nobody does 80% alone.
- Settle disagreements privately, and show a united front in public.
FAQ
How many officers does a guild need?
A PvE guild needs at least three, covering loot, raid leading and recruitment. Bigger guilds need more.
Can one person do all the roles?
In a small guild, yes, but it's a lot of work. Find help as early as you can.
What does a raid leader do?
They manage the roster, call out assignments and keep the raid running smoothly.
Who should handle recruitment?
One person, who talks to the raid leader and other officers before making decisions.
Should the guild master be the HR officer?
In my guilds, yes. It keeps the face of the guild active, approachable and close to the members.