The rules that affect your guild decision
Blizzard’s 21 September ruleset announcement confirms that grouping, dungeons and raids require the same ruleset and faction. Changing rulesets normally requires a new character, with an exception for dead Hardcore characters. Battlegrounds can mix rulesets except Hardcore. This guide was checked on 28 September and applies that announcement to a guild decision; it is not a new beta hotfix.
| Ruleset | Distinction to check |
|---|---|
| Normal | Cooperative baseline; PvP when players choose to engage. |
| PvP | Contested territory enables world conflict. Your characters here must belong to one faction. |
| Roleplaying | A community focused on roleplaying; both factions can be created. |
| Hardcore | Arrives after launch. A dead character can transfer elsewhere, including PvP. |
Normal or PvP: ask about an ordinary evening
Start with this question: what should happen when members log in with only an hour to play? Ask whether they want to pursue a planned objective or welcome an unexpected fight on the way. Collect answers from the people who expect to attend regularly, including those who rarely speak in group chat.
Our recommendation is Normal when the shared priority is predictable cooperative sessions. Consider PvP when the group actively wants world conflict as part of those sessions. These are planning preferences, not predictions about population, difficulty or which community will last longer.
Separate “I enjoy PvP sometimes” from “I want world PvP to shape my everyday play”. Likewise, ask prospective roleplayers whether they want ongoing character stories and community events. A poll that offers only a favourite ruleset name can hide very different expectations.
Resolve the faction decision before recruitment
The announcement allows both factions on Normal, Roleplaying and Hardcore. PvP has a one-faction character restriction and may limit new characters on a faction to support balance. Read Blizzard’s faction rules.
Before promising a recruit a place, ask whether they have already committed to a character elsewhere. Treat a conflict as a conversation about what they want to play. Do not tell someone to delete a character or assume a transfer service will resolve it.
Write recruitment messages around a named group choice: “Normal, Horde, two evenings per week” is more useful than “casual guild, everyone welcome”. It lets applicants check compatibility before discussing classes, professions and attendance.
Use one decision card for the launch roster
Keep the agreement beside your guild roster plan. The following is a suggested officer worksheet; it is not an automatic eligibility check in RaidMuster. Confirm each member’s answer instead of interpreting silence as agreement.
| Field | What to record |
|---|---|
| Group choice | Agreed ruleset, faction and date of the decision. |
| Playing commitment | Usual evenings, start and finish times, named time zone. |
| Character commitment | Confirmed launch main, undecided, or beta experiment only. |
| Unresolved mismatch | Member, obstacle and an agreed follow-up owner. |
| Recruitment wording | The exact choice applicants should check before joining. |
Keep a future Hardcore group separate from launch commitments
Blizzard’s 23 September Legacy explanation says non-Hardcore Legacy Challenges do not carry into Hardcore. Completing one in Hardcore grants it in other rulesets. Blizzard also plans 12 Hardcore-specific challenges because PvP challenges cannot be completed there.
For a guild considering both experiences, ask members whether Hardcore is a future side project or their main reason to join. Keep that interest list separate from confirmed launch attendance. The same person expressing interest in two projects does not give either group a guaranteed extra participant.
Once the choice is settled, use our guild organisation guide to assign officer responsibilities. Use the realmless grouping guide for joining instructions and the Oceanic guide for cross-location session planning.