Guild ranks are a powerful tool for organizing your members, providing incentive to advance (and rewards for doing so) and managing your guild bank. Before getting into the details of how to set up guild ranks, there are a few general rules to keep in mind:

- Guild ranks are always added to the bottom of the rank list.
- New members are always added to the lowest rank, avoid providing the lowest rank with lots of access to the guild and guild bank for safety.
- Only the lowest rank can be deleted.
- A rank cannot be deleted if there are any guild members in it, so they will need to be promoted out of the rank first.
- A guild can have a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 9 ranks, including the guild leader.
- Ranks cannot be moved up and down the list, but they can be renamed and the permissions can be changed based on what you want the rank to do.

To adjust guild ranks, open your guild window and click on the “guild control” button at the bottom right corner. This will open the guild control window where you can add and remove ranks, adjust the guild permissions for the rank and set the guild bank permissions for the different ranks and tabs (NOTE: More information on setting guild bank permissions, and protecting the items in your guild bank can be found in this knowledge base).

The top of the guild control window has a drop down with all current ranks in it. Next to that is a + button that you can use to add new ranks. Below this is the Rank Label box. You can change the name of the currently selected rank here. Below that are several check boxes that determine what guild functions the current rank can perform:

-The top options are “Guildchat Listen” and “Guildchat Speak”. These determine if the current rank can see what is said in /g and if they can speak in the /g channel. Unchecking these will create a rank that cannot speak or listen to guild chat.

-The next options are “Officerchat Listen” and “Officerchat Speak”. The officer channel is accessed using /o. Limiting these permissions to your highest ranks can allow you to discuss things with your officers without the rest of the members being able to see.

-Below that are the “Promote” and “Demote” check boxes. These will determine if the current rank can promote and demote members. Ranks with promote or demote permissions can only promote members up to the rank below theirs, or demote members from the rank below theirs and lower. (NOTE: Who has access to these functions and how they are used can have a huge effect on the safety of your guild bank. More information on this can be found in this knowledge base).

-The next options are “Invite Member” and “Remove Member”. Invited members will always be placed in the lowest rank. If you need to expand your guild, allowing all but the lowest rank to invite, but not promote, can help fill your guild quickly (without risking your guild bank).

-Next you have “Set MOTD” and “Edit Public Note”. The MOTD is the guild Message of the Day, and is usually only edited by people who need to provide information to the entire guild. The public notes are the notes for each character that can be viewed when you click on the character’s name in your guild window.

-Below that are “View Officer Note” and “Edit Officer Note”. Officer notes function just like public notes, except that you can limit who can see them. This allows notes to be made (good or bad) without everyone being able to view them.

-The last option is “Modify Guild Info”. This option determines whether the current rank can change the guild information (accessed from the “Guild Information” button at the bottom left of the guild window).

-While setting all of this can be daunting at first, using the permissions and ranks well can provide a great deal of organization to your guild. This, in turn, can play a big part is how successful your guild is.