Running A Pack - Not as Easy as it Seems

Packs! *insert #nun# here* We love them, yet at the same time we hate them. You love packs like Blue-Moon and Swift-Night, and maybe even Ambrose, but you hate new packs and n00b packs, correct? If you are a general WH user who is normally referred to as a "large portion of the WH population", this would apply to you.

*cannonballs into blog entry*

Firstly... why do we have so many packs? Well, the requirements are way too low. Level 40 isn't hard for an average player to achieve. I think that the Alpha rank would be a better requirement. That way, we wouldn't have Betas as pack alphas. Think about it; it doesn't make sense. Your on-site rank being lower than your pack rank is kind of odd. The DP requirement is also a bit low. I have to admit, though, lower-leveled members do not find it easy to earn DP. It isn't extremely worthless, really; you simply have nothing to do with it after you get all of the Equipment. It's only worthless because the popular members who affect the community the most say it is. When they say it, other members say it, and it spreads to even more members. If DP was worthless, you'd have 200 million of it. Having 1 million DP and being a Champion is not bad; you simply don't have anything to do with it, so it just adds up.

Alright, now we know why packs are so plentiful. Why are there so few good packs, though? A good pack takes one or two (or even three) good Alphas. If both of your alphas don't know how to play WH and tlk lyk dis, their pack will not have a good reputation and won't make it far. Take a look at our popular WH packs; do you see any grammar mistakes? Are there n00bs as alphas? Good leadership qualities are needed, too. If you can't lead a group of people, you can't lead a pack, because that's pretty much what it is.

Thirdly, you need to be active. If your excuse is, "I have a life," don't own a pack. Most of us are here because we have no lives, and we're around all of the time so that's why we succeed. If you don't have at least three hours a day dedicated to Wolf-Haven, a pack probably isn't the best option. This doesn't necessarily have to be for both alphas, but having an active alpha and an inactive alpha is worse than having just one regular alpha.

So, you know how to play the game, you're an active member, and you meet the requirements. You're ready to run a pack... right? Well, no. You need other things, too. Anybody can type normally and be Level 40; you need extra.

You need to be powerful. If you have a lot of XP, you're going to attract a lot of members. On WH, strong users tend to join strong packs. Take a look at Shimmer; most of our members have over 1 million XP. Our strength attracts more people. You can run a pack very well if you're a Champion, but having more XP will simply attract people.

You need a plan. Why should people join your pack? Are you going to have active forums, contests, giveaways, a roleplay, what? People will leave if they aren't entertained. Make your pack interesting! After you have all of that, you need to manage to run the pack. It takes a lot of time, dedication, and good qualities. If nobody knows who you are, they won't want to join. Make yourself known! If you're a rude person, that won't get members, either.

If you ever plan on running a pack, I wish you the best of luck!