Guide
How to set up a WoW guild Discord server
A step-by-step layout for a WoW guild Discord: categories, channels, voice rooms, roles and color hex codes, ready to copy.
Your Discord server is often the first or second thing a newcomer sees of your guild, so it should leave a good impression. A default-looking server tells people you haven't put much time into this, which can mean you don't care about it enough. Building a good one isn't hard, at least at a basic level: organized categories and channels, a few emojis and dividers, and well-structured roles with colors that make sense. That's most of what you need to look good at first glance.
This guide works whether you're improving an existing server or building a new one. Starting fresh? You can save time with a free template. Before you change an existing server, make a backup template of it first.
Fewer channels, not more
Back in 2010 I ran forums, and I learned that a new forum needs far fewer categories than you'd expect. People should feel that it's active. Ten sub-forums with 100 posts look busy. Fifty sub-forums with the same 100 posts look empty and dead.
The same logic applies to Discord. You don't need a General category with separate channels for pets, food, drinks, hobbies and music. You need one or two channels that can split into more as your community grows.
A starter layout
If you're just starting, I suggest this layout. Channel names are lowercase with hyphens, which is the Discord convention.
Leadership
Private, only the Guild Master and officers.
| Channel | What it's for |
|---|---|
chat | Talk with your officers about anything guild-related that should stay private |
voice | A private voice channel for quick calls to discuss something |
wip | A place to test announcements before they go public, or to draft in-game guild messages for recruiting |
Important
Everyone sees it, only leadership can post.
| Channel | What it's for |
|---|---|
welcome | The first channel people see. Put the rules here, plus the next steps they should take |
about-us | An in-depth look at who you are, so people learn everything from the start. It also filters out people who don't share your philosophy |
roles | Where people pick their roles: class and professions |
apply or tickets | Either or both (see below) |
If you want people to apply before they get access to the guild, add a channel for that. Tickets are always good to have, too. They let your guildies talk to leadership privately, for example when they want to discuss something or complain about something or someone. Instead of making a big deal in public, they reach out privately, and all of leadership sees it, so you don't have to be the messenger.
Guild
Your main category, members only.
| Channel | What it's for |
|---|---|
announcements | You need this, and only guildies need to see it, so I keep it here and not in Important |
introductions | The best way to build a community is for people to introduce themselves and read about others. A rogue called Slayer becomes a DJ from Sweden who happens to play WoW with you |
general-chat | Talk about anything. This is your guild's lounge |
hobbies-projects | Covers a lot and keeps things clean early on. Our members share YouTube videos, singing, guitar playing, drawings and more |
gallery | Mostly IRL photos and memes. An image-only channel |
pvp | If your guild is a PvE one, people still need a place to talk PvP, even if only two or three of them do |
professions | Guildies need enchants, transmutes and consumables. Let them help each other |
Raids
| Channel | What it's for |
|---|---|
raid-chat | Discuss upcoming raids, boss mechanics and so on |
raid-signups | Where your bot of choice posts the signup sheet. With several raid nights, make one channel per night. Starting off, one is fine |
logs | Even if you don't care about logs, it's nice to have a place where whoever logs can post them (or set up the API to post them automatically) |
Voice
| Channel | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Main Raid | Capped at 25 or 40, depending on the game version you play, with stricter permissions and priority speaking for the raid leader and leadership. The cap shows how many people are in there, so you don't have to count (for example, 20/25) |
| Alt Raid | For alt raids, fun runs, or runs alongside the main raid if you have a bigger, more casual guild. Can be capped too. If you do splits, name them Raid Group 1 and Raid Group 2 |
| Dungeon | One or several channels, for people leveling or running dungeons, so they don't disturb others |
| Social | For those who just want to talk or quest |
| PvP | Or PvE, or RP, depending on what your guild is not. It's nice to give an option to those who aren't doing the guild's main activity |
| AFK | People are moved here automatically after X minutes of inactivity, and they're muted. If someone forgets to leave and goes AFK, you don't have their mic on |
Optional extras
- A class category. Give every class its own channel, visible only to people with that class role, so druids see only the druid channel. You can add tank, healer and DPS channels too, so those groups can discuss their raid assignments.
- A forum for raid mechanics. Make a forum where each boss has its own thread. Add an image of the boss so mechanics are easy to find. Leadership posts a guide in each thread, with tips and how your guild handles that boss. We love having one.
- Ticket categories. If you use tickets, add categories for open, closed and resolved tickets.
- An archive category. Instead of deleting a channel, move it here so you always have a backup if you ever need it.
Roles
Your guild needs at least its in-game ranks as roles, with the permissions set correctly. You also want a role for people who have just joined, so newcomers can't wander around and possibly harm the server. In Discord, a role higher in the list overrides the ones below it, so order them from top to bottom.
This is how I like to set them up:
| Role | Who it's for |
|---|---|
| Guild Master | Use whatever name you use in game. This is the admin, often with full control (you, the owner, and your co-GM if you have one) |
| Officer | Same, use your in-game name. Access to the leadership category, priority speaking, and the right to mute people and remove them from calls |
| Raid Leader | Needed to give priority speaking. If leadership leads raids, you don't need this role |
| Raider | A nicely colored role that makes raiders stand out. Show them they've accomplished something |
| Member | Your members. They should see almost everything, but they've just joined, so they shouldn't rock a cool colored name yet |
| Sworn | Someone who accepted your server rules and can now apply to the guild |
| Scout | Someone who has just joined and sees only the server rules |
Role colors
Color your roles by your brand (primary and secondary colors), or give them a WoW theme. For the WoW theme, use the item quality colors:
| Role | Item quality | Hex |
|---|---|---|
| Guild Master | Legendary | #FF8000 |
| Officer, Raid Leader | Epic | #A335EE |
| Raider | Rare | #0070DD |
| Member | Uncommon | #1EFF00 |
| Sworn | Common | #FFFFFF |
| Scout | Poor | #9D9D9D |
Class and role colors
If you let people pick their class, give each class role its in-game color, or add class icons next to their names. Click a color to copy its hex code:
Later game versions add more classes. Check which ones your version has:
You can also add tank, healer and DPS roles, with colors or icons of your choice.
Coming soon
This guide covers the basics. I'm writing separate guides on the following:
- Community server vs regular server: pros, cons and setupComing soon
- Roles in depth: colors, ideas, icons and moreComing soon
- Free Discord templates
- Webhooks and embedded messages, for that branded lookComing soon
- Bots for guildsComing soon
Ready to pimp your server?
Take your server away from the default look. If it feels like too much work, check out my Discord setup service that does exactly that for you.
FAQ
How many channels should a new guild Discord have?
As few as makes sense. A handful of categories and one or two channels each looks more active than dozens of empty ones.
What roles does a guild Discord need?
At least your in-game ranks, plus a role for newcomers so they can't see everything.
What colors should I use for roles?
Your brand colors, or WoW item quality and class colors. Hex codes are above.
Can I use a template instead?
Yes, when you're building a new server. See the free templates post.