The problem with ninja guild invites

[ModerNertum]

Hey,
I decided to write this post geared specially to new players in the game as this is a problem on some servers, on a specific faction. I will post the server which I play the game on at the end of the post but for now let us dive deep into this.
You may be asking what is a ninja guild invite, how to know what it is and how can you avoid it. Well, a ninja guild invite is a unwanted invitation to a guild made from someone who just wants people do join their guild and in SWTOR in particular use them as fodder for conquest points. Yes thats right, because even with the grace period in place (the mechanism that prevents people from outright giving the conquest points to a guild upon joining) this is still happening. The guilds most seen doing it are usually guilds with very poor leadership standings in regards to member recruiting. Now that you know what it is let us know how you can identify it. There are several ways you can be targeted as a ninja invite candidate if you are not in a guild. They can use the /who (who list) to invite anyone in the instance they are currently on (and even every instance in the game). They can invite you if you are grouped with them in some way or they can invite you if they see your character on the instance map. The problem is the invite is not wanted, you did not ask for it nor do you want it and you believe its a good thing because the game itself will tell you the amazing perks you get for being in a guild but it wont (because it cant) tell you about this ninja invites and the fact they are what they are. Remember, a ninja invite is always bad because you dont know the people inviting you as a player and as such you also dont know the guild inviting you. Ask an experienced player first for recommendations if you wish to join a guild. Not all guilds are bad as I seem to describe here. Depending on your server and faction there are good guilds there in need of members. Always ask what a guild is about before joining. Dont be fooled because of what the game tells you as the information the game gives is limited. It is best as I said to know a few experienced players in the server or faction behaviour on that server because those are the ones that will know which guilds are good and which guilds are bad to join.
However, if you just want to be a solo player and do not care about guilds but are still being spammed by them there is a "auto ignore guild invites" option you can toggle on in the Preferences menu of the game (dont know which tab exactly as I dont have the menu in front of me so you will have to search for it there, sorry about that). This is great and the best tool to counter guild ninja invites as this option will actively block the guild invite pop up window from ever disrupting your gameplay. Just remember to disable the option if you ever want to join a guild you happen to like in the game.

As promised, I play on the Darth Malgus server (EU English server) mostly Republic side and there is a problem regarding to this with a particular well known guild (for all the wrong reasons) there and this is the whole reason I decided to write a post geared mostly for new players to the game and people who may not be aware of this horrible guild practices.

[Dethlane]

If you don't like a guild, you can always quit it and find another one. And you can also just accept an invite, filter out guild chat and enjoy solo content with guild bonuses

[tathen]

im not doing to try and read that massive wall of text

but if u dont want guild invites u can turn on auto decline and i would recommend doing so

[MSgt Peterson]

When I'm on Starforge, I swear no matter where I go, I always get a dam invite from the Mandalorian guild >_>

[ModerNertum]

The post is not about that. I know all about how guild invites work. I am not exactly new to the game. If you read the OP you will know what really is about. There is a problem on my server regarding to this. And this is a guild side issue that game devs tried to adress but still cant fix. Please read the OP before posting comments as it is an important issue (on my server at least). I see players everyday being ninja invited and accept. I was talking with buddies yesterday who told me they clicked ninja invites by mistake and it was the worst thing they ever did. This has nothing to do with wanting to solo play or be in a guild (as I said I also know some good guilds on my server that are losing potential recruits to guilds ninja inviting the whole planets/fleet)

Originally posted by MSgt Peterson:

When I'm on Starforge, I swear no matter where I go, I always get a dam invite from the Mandalorian guild >_>

I see, thanks for confirming this is not an issue isolated to the Darth Malgus server. Yes its so annoying indeed (you dont even see the player who invited you on my server thats how bad it is there). And also they ninja invite the whole planet/fleet out there?

[maVRoyal]

Tulak Hord Seems relatively safe from that. or at least from what i experienced in past few times when i launched my game again. Though i was on Voss, not sure how it is on earlier planets.

[Gimlisk]

Good thing for the "auto-decline", I've had probably 4 throughout my game time since I came back.
I just tend to add them to my ignore list whenever I get a random invite.

Always hated it in other MMO's, still hate it now in swtor.

[NavFamG]

I've always hated ninja invites in any game I've played and generally the first thing I go looking for is the 'auto decline' button.

[Zero McDol]

I only invite if asked, and even then, I clear it with the Guild Leaders before inviting.

[Drakira]

Originally posted by ModerNertum:

As promised, I play on the Darth Malgus server (EU English server) mostly Republic side and there is a problem regarding to this with a particular well known guild (for all the wrong reasons) there and this is the whole reason I decided to write a post geared mostly for new players to the game and people who may not be aware of this horrible guild practices.

Thanks to that guild and some others I've decided to use the auto-decline option for guild invites. It's a great feature. Empire side also have guilds spamming their invites and texts all over general chat as well.

[Mythical Ostrich]

I often ignore the people the people who do things like that. I don't have the auto ignore on because I occasionally help people create guilds

[ModerNertum]

Originally posted by Drakira:

Originally posted by ModerNertum:

As promised, I play on the Darth Malgus server (EU English server) mostly Republic side and there is a problem regarding to this with a particular well known guild (for all the wrong reasons) there and this is the whole reason I decided to write a post geared mostly for new players to the game and people who may not be aware of this horrible guild practices.

Thanks to that guild and some others I've decided to use the auto-decline option for guild invites. It's a great feature. Empire side also have guilds spamming their invites and texts all over general chat as well.

To be clear:
-Guild recruitment text in general chat is fine. I have no problem with it (and it is the same on republic side). This is actually how most guilds will recruit (through advertising on locations)
-Ninja invites (which still happen on republic side on Darth Malgus server) is the issue, because they are not wanted, they can disrupt gameplay and they are out right annoying. It is not fun having an unwanted pop up window during combat or during any other activity that requires you to have another window open. It is actually good the game already has an auto ignore guild invites
-However, most new players to the genre or even the game itself will not know this and will not know some servers are under siege by random ninja invites (that invite all /who list from a planet or location). I have seen already this happening (as said on OP) where a player gets a ninja invite and clicks by mistake and regrets that action instanly (which is not a very good new player experience). And as also stated on the OP the information was mostly for new players to be aware of this (and steam is popular enough to get the word out)

Originally posted by Mythical Ostrich:

I often ignore the people the people who do things like that. I don't have the auto ignore on because I occasionally help people create guilds

This is not the case on my server, I am unable to see who sends me a ninja invite most times because they are using the /who list and I am too distracted to notice. I also do not use the auto ignore guild invites function for that exact reason. I either may want to join a good guild someday or can help people on my server to make new guilds. That is it

[Avy]

Nice wall of text.
Settings > Disable guild invites.
Thank me later.

[Blazed]

I am new to this game and got a ninja invite and accepted... I now want to leave the guild but can't figure out how... is there a button or chat command to leave a guild or do i need to delete the character and start over?

[Mythical Ostrich]

Originally posted by Blazed:

I am new to this game and got a ninja invite and accepted... I now want to leave the guild but can't figure out how... is there a button or chat command to leave a guild or do i need to delete the character and start over?

/gquit in the chat

[makeityours2130]

Originally posted by tathen:

im not doing to try and read that massive wall of text

but if u dont want guild invites u can turn on auto decline and i would recommend doing so

classic...comes to discussion....doesnt want to read...smh