MMO Friday Fight Round 23: Guild Size

When it comes to life in an MMO, few choices define your experience quite like the guild you join. And while players may debate classes, metas, or endgame content, nothing sparks as much passionate debate as large guilds vs. small guilds. Both offer distinct advantages—and just as many drawbacks. But, just like every Friday Fight, in the battle of guild size, there can be only one winner. Let’s rally the troops and settle the score.

Large Guilds: Strength in Numbers

Large guilds are the juggernauts of the MMO world. With hundreds of members, these guilds thrive on sheer size and structure. Whether you’re looking to run endgame raids, dominate in large-scale PvP, or never worry about finding a group, a big guild has your back. There’s always someone ready to jump in and help, so your night isn’t over if one of your regular party or raid members is unable to attend.

Large guilds often feature dedicated raid leaders, event calendars, guild banks, and training programs. You get instant access to a bustling Discord, rotating groups for content, and a built-in pool of experts ready to answer your questions. Large guilds are especially great in MMOs with massive PvP content like Guild Wars 2's WvW, where coordination and numbers can turn the tide.

Small Guilds: Quality Over Quantity

Small guilds, on the other hand, trade scale for intimacy. With tighter rosters—often 5 to 30 active players—these groups offer deep friendships, consistent teams, and a strong sense of belonging. Everyone has a voice, and you're not just a DPS #372—you're you.

In PvE games like Final Fantasy XIV or World of Warcraft, small guilds often evolve into family-like communities. Everyone knows each other’s playstyles, schedules, and quirks. That familiarity can lead to smoother dungeon runs, personalized events, and a drama-light environment. Leadership is usually more accessible, and decisions are more democratic.

In a large guild, it’s easy to feel like just another cog in the machine. Drama? It’s magnatudes higher in a large guild. And good luck getting a word in edgewise when a large guild’s chat gets pumping. In a small guild, it’s just you and a few close friends - oftentimes real-life buddies - and none of the pettiness and bureaucracy that gets compounded by hundreds of players you don’t really know.

My Take

I will take a large guild and all of its issues every time. Small guilds do offer a quicker, easier path to a tight-knit community, but it’s hard to keep that small group going through the ups and downs in a seasoned MMO. All it takes is for one or two players to drop out due to boredom in between content drops for a small guild to wither and die.

Large guilds bring the firepower. You may not know everyone in the guild, but the sheer number of players means the guild can weather the storm; hardcore players will be there no matter what, while the casual players can go absent for days or months and still have a home to come back to. There is going to be some splintering in a large guild, but good leadership can hold it all together. Some of the most powerful guilds have lived on for decades and span multiple MMOs. Yes, bickering is going to happen, but the good guilds take it all in stride.