Nov 11 2008
George Washington never told a lie…
But then, he never had to file a Form 1040.
Though WOTLK is taking most of the spotlight here recently, the buzz on the street right seems to be guild tax. Yes, in the near future your guild leader might be able to tax a percentage of your earnings within the game. Some are up in arms about this, and some say it’s a saving grace.
What do I say? It’s about damn time.
Jeff “Tigole” Kaplan has responded, saying that it “was an interesting idea” and they’re considering options for improving guild administration, but there was no way they could program a change like this in time for Wrath.
I think Grig from Winterspring made a great point in regards to taxation. He says, “So, Blizzard is considering taking one of the most universally loathed concepts from real life and adding it to a game. Why, they’d be silly not to do it.”
I must admit that I agree. But, remember, this is coming from a guild leader’s viewpoint.
While I will do my best to explain why I think that this is a fabulous idea, I will also attempt to play devil’s advocate.
I suppose that I will attempt to do the latter first. Those of you who don’t already hate me probably will by the time I am done. By the time I am done, most of you will be convinced that I punch babies in my spare time, and eat delicious old people for breakfast. MMM… old people.
Okay, so the idea of a guild tax will make some players more nervous than a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. This is to be expected. The players we are talking about are the casual players. Those who either don’t have the time to farm for cash, or worse, the initiative.
We can tackle initiative first: You have no sympathy from me, please move along.
Work, family time, wife aggro? That’s a little more acceptable of an excuse. This is when it comes down to what kind of guild you are in, or want to be in.
Let’s face it, if you just do a few instances a week and a few quests or dailies when you get home from working all day, then it might actually hurt you when it comes to taxation. Certainly, a 3% tax may not break you, but it’s that much more you aren’t making when you put your best effort into questing, or however you make your money. I suppose this is when it breaks down to what do you expect from your guild. Or even better, what does your guild do for you.
If you are in a casual guild that never raids, this might be the only way the guild can make money. But, what do they really do with that money? If you have some creative leaders, they might put together events or contests, or even arrange for repairs for all members. Odds are, however, if you are in a small guild, there isn’t as much use for cash flow like there would be in a larger guild, or even worse a raiding guild.

Well, I wouldn’t quite say dead. Even Anarchy Online is still around after one of the most abysmal launches of MMOG history. I am sure that AOC will stick around for some time to come; like so many others, it will remain a dirty corked bottle in the ocean of battling online games.