Guide to a well organized group

First thing to say is that there is no step by step recipe for building up a well working group. Opinions about this topic differ a lot but most of them have some very basic things in common. This guide will try to show you the path towards a well organized group. Some simple guidelines and approved processes and rules will be explained. There will always be groups that try different approaches and also succeed, so it is up to you if you and your group want to follow the hints given in this guide.

Finding the right group

The most important thing for getting a group with a friendly atmosphere is to find a group that matches your personal activity (online time) and goals. If you want to go for the top ranking positions than you need a dedicated and pretty active group, where each group member participates actively. Other players might prefer groups with a slower pace, because they can't log in that often. Therefore, the worst thing that can happen is that there are players in the group that have different goals than the rest. This will lead to dissatisfaction and destroys the very important teamwork and the fun while playing the game.

So how can you find out whether the group is right for you in term of goals and styles of playing? The key to solve this issue is communication and participation. Talk about what you want to achieve with your group and find out if it matches the opinion of the other group members. Anyway, communication is an essential part of participating in a group. The more you talk about game-related issues the more organized it will be, thus, leading to success in dungeons and the whole game.

talk about which dungeon the group should attend and when
talk about the last dungeon visit, especially when you fail
talk about your hero and which skills you prefer (hero development)
talk about valuable and useful items
talk about duels, clans and other events besides dungeons
talk about the distribution of dropped items (choose hero who has highest benefit)
talk about the weather and other off-topic stuff to get to know each other

Most of the groups communicate via the ingame group forum. Therefore the forum should be well organized and provide a clear structure sorted by topics. In general the following subforums are more or less present in every organized group forum:

General section (game-related issues which do not fit elsewhere)
Dungeons (strategies, discussions, planning)
Market (everything related to items, dungeon finds)
Heroes (discussions about skills and the main focus of the heroes)
(optional) Duels (if the group is interested in duels...)
Off-Topic (for not game-related issues)

All in all you should donate as much as you can to the group. If the group is pushed forward then each single hero also profits from it. The saying "a chain is as strong as its weakest link" fits perfectly to World-of-Dungeons, so you should try to help your group mates whenever possible. Another good thing is to send reminder messages to the group. Especially in case of special dungeon visits or group / clan duels. That way no one should forget to set the right config and refill the pocket correctly.

Also make sure that you always communicate following the netiquette and the simple rules of communication. Try to be polite and try to see the topic from another point of view. Be open for criticism and try to help your group mates. Also add responses just to signal that you read the forum post or message. Answers like "everything`s set and ready" or "I will see what I can do" can help a lot when organizing group matters. More information about communication in World of Dungeons can be found here: Ingame Communication

Classes and Races

The discussion about the perfect group setup seems to be endless. There are as many opinions about that topic as stars in the sky. Therefore, this guide won't answer the question about which classes should be included in a group. Instead, a small introduction and explanation of the classes and races will be presented, for getting a better overview. At the end, it is up to you to rate each one of them and choose the classes and races that seem to fit best. Further information and discussions about this topic can be found in the forum "The Hall of Heroes".

Main tasks of the classes

All hero classes in World-of-Dungeons can be grouped in regard to their main tasks. A group should try to have at least one hero for each task, otherwise dungeon visits will be much harder. It is also a good idea to think about balance between the different tasks. Just imagine a group which only consists of support characters. Such a group will totally fail because nobody can attack the enemies or block their attacks. This fact leads to the need of a good balance, especially regarding support and attack power.

Most of the classes can fulfill more than one task because each class provides all sorts of different skills. Besides that every class has at least one sort of skills that is pretty easy to raise and there are many skills of this type available. Therefore, this class should stick to this path to be most effective. Just imagine a bard that stands in the front row and tries to hold off the enemies with hardly any defences.

Some classes can be played in many different ways, solely concentrating on one main task or mixing more paths in a hybrid approach. There is always a trade-off between maximum effectiveness and flexibility. The following overview lists all main tasks that exist in World of Dungeons.

Main task	Description
Melee Attack	dealing damage by melee attacks
Ranged Attack	dealing damage by ranged attacks
Magic Attack	dealing damage by magic attacks
Block	defend against the enemies and shield all other heroes
Support	push the offense and defense of the group
Heal	heal wounded heroes
Debuff	weaken the enemies

Classes

The following List of classes will try to point out the main focus of each class. In this overview each class can have one or more main tasks that can be fulfilled very well. Besides that each class can also have one or more secondary paths that could be added to the main direction the class is heading. Focusing solely on secondary tasks is not recommended as it isn't effective. In the end each player decides for himself which mixture he prefers, be it a combination close to common standard or a rather exotic one. This choice should be based on two main issues, the benefit to the group and the fun one will have while playing the class.

You must always be aware of the fact that not all tasks can be mixed effectively, especially main tasks. There are even classes where you must choose one main task and all the others receive high penalties. Concerning this issue the equipment is also important. Focusing on one task makes it pretty easy to equip items that provide high bonuses for this specific path. So it is all down to the above-mentioned trade-off between maximum effectiveness and flexibility.

Class	Main task(s)	Secondary task(s)	Comment
Alchemist	Heal	Support	great healer and some good support
Archer	Ranged Attack	Heal	only heal if no healer is available
Barbarian	Melee Attack OR Block	Debuff	strongest melee attacker
Bard	Support + Heal + Debuff	Support + Heal + Debuff	2 main (+ 1 secondary) works well
Drifter	Melee OR Ranged Attack OR Debuff	Melee OR Ranged Attack, Debuff	one main focus would be good
Gladiator	Melee Attack	Debuff	strong melee attack with few debuffs
Hunter	Support	Ranged / Melee Attack	most times full support with ranged attack
Juggler	Melee / Ranged Attack	Support + Debuff	most times melee attack and some support
Knight	Melee Attack + Support	Melee Attack + Support	most times attack and offensive support
Mage	Magic Attack OR Support	Magic Attack OR Support	most times attack and some support
Paladin	Block	Support + Melee Attack	most times block and some support
Priest	Magic Attack OR Support OR Melee Attack OR Heal	Magic Attack + Support + Melee Attack + Heal	should concentrate on two tasks
Scholar	Support	Attack	Full supporter with rather weak attack
Shaman	Melee / Ranged Attack + Support + Debuff	Heal	must choose between ranged, melee and debuff

Races

Alongside with the class each hero also has to choose a race. The races all share some common skills that don't differ much. Besides that each race also has at least two special skills that no other class provides. These special skills, combined with the attribute bonuses, give a hint which race is good for fulfilling which main task. The following overview provides information about the special skills and gives a hint about which tasks fit to the race. This distribution is of course only a suggestion and other combinations might also work well.

Race	Special Skills	Fitting main tasks
Borderlander	group support, self support	Ranged Attack, Support
Dinturan	self support	Melee Attack
Gnome	self support	Magic Attack, Support
Halfling	group support	Support
Hill Dwarf	self support	Melee Attack
Kerasi	group support	All tasks
Mag-Mor Elf	initiative	Support, all attacks
Mountain Dwarf	group support, self support	Melee Attack, Magic Attack, Block
Rashani	group support	Support
Tiram-Ag Elf	initiative	Magic Attack, Support
Woodlander	nature attack	Ranged Attack

Organizing the group

The daily activities of a group in World of Dungeons define some specific tasks which are recurring and need to be fulfilled. This chapter will try to list all common jobs that are present in a group and provide a small explanation. If a group really needs all of them is rather a matter of taste and possibilities. It also happens quite often that one person is responsible for several jobs listed here, but that could lead to a loss of fun if done long-term.

The Tactician

One of the most important jobs in a group is the tactician. He is responsible for creating strategies for current and upcoming dungeons. Also very important is to take a detailed look at dungeon reports after the dungeon visit failed. Then it is time to adjust the strategy so that the next visit will be a success. A more detailed explanation of dungeon strategies and planning can be found in the dungeon guide: Dungeon Guide

The Merchant

Most of the well organized groups have someone who is in charge of handling all items the group possesses. He should sell all unused items, buy needed consumables and new items for upgrading the current equipment. This also leads to a well filled group fund which can be used to raise the skills of the group members. A more detailed view on the merchant job is given in the merchant guide: Trading and Selling

The Duel Officer

A duel oriented group should have someone who cares for duel planning and execution. So the job consists of searching enemies for test duels, setting up fixed dates for duels and make sure that everyone has activated the right settings. In addition to that, it is also very important that the duels will be accepted before the deadline. One main problem with duels consists of losing because the group didn't accept the duel. This happens quite often if everyone thinks that another member will accept. With a duel officer everyone knows who is responsible for accepting duels, or at least organize someone for this task.

The Clan Representative

Some groups might find it useful to have one person in charge of the communication with the clan. This is all about passing important information from the clan to the group and the other way round. Especially the current status of clan duel planning and important events should be communicated. It is also good if the clan knows whom to address if something is needed. The main task should be keeping track of the clan forum and participating in discussions.

The Leader

Last but not least the leader of the group! This job consists of the collection of all tasks that none of the other members work on. The leader keeps the group running and helps to organize things on the whole. Somehow he should also act like a psychiatrist if it is needed, for example to solve quarrels between the group members. One main trait should be to keep cool in all situations so that at least one person can make a final decision if necessary. Another main task is setting up rules in coordination with the group, for example concerning dropped items and vacation delegation.

Behavior as a group member

As last part of this guide a few comments on behavior in a more challenging group with tough goals. There are some things you definitely should do when reaching for fast and steady progress:

Activity and reliability

Each member of the group should try to be as active as possible. This means to log in after each dungeon visit for refilling and emptying the pocket. If not possible, or in case of an offline-time for a longer period of time, then you should delegate your hero to another group member who will be online (vacation mode). This is the most perfect behavior which is hard to achieve. There are always times when nobody is online or you can't log in because of a good reason. So at least try to keep the ideal state in mind and be as active as possible. Activity can also lead to a closer relationship to your group mates because of on-topic and off-topic talks. This won't happen if you just log in for 5 minutes each day and only care for yourself. World of Dungeons is a team game so it is important to interact and talk to each other. The whole atmosphere is friendlier with a lot of communication and this also increases the amount of fun you will have.

Hero development

For an effective group all available hero skills need to be combined in an effective way. To achieve this, the whole group should discuss the tasks for each hero and define a rough direction where each hero should be heading. One popular way to do this is using skill sheets, generated by skill converters. To get a skill sheet you just need to copy & paste your attribute and skill page into the converter. Afterwards, a good overview in form of a table will be generated. This skill sheet can then be posted in the group forum and discussed by the whole group. You can use the search function of the official game forum to find according threads and links with further explanations. The most important thing about skill discussion is listening to the group mates. Don't think you are perfect and open your eyes for good ideas from your group. There might be players with more experience or just some that saw possibilities for improvements you didn't notice yet. So be open-minded and think about the comments on your skill settings.

Items

Good equipment can make things much easier. So each player needs to constantly look for better items. If the group has a group merchant you can tell him your item wishes and he should try to fulfill them. Otherwise you should constantly browse the market and auctions for better equipment on your own. Detailed pieces of information about trading, items and merchants can be found in the merchant guide: Trading and Selling

Dungeons

Since the game mainly consists of visiting dungeons each group member must be aware of some basic facts about this topic. Therefore, the dungeon guide should be read and understood by everyone: Dungeon Guide

Groups

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