Brawlhalla The passionate leader's in-depth guide to clan-leading.

Making A Foundation.

There are multiple things you have to set up and decide on when starting your very own clan:

A name.

Rules.

Requirements.

Essence.

1. Name

Deciding on a name is very important, because unless you want to re-make your in-game clan, you can't go back after that. What the name actually is isn't as important, just make sure that you like it, that it's memorable and that you ask for feedback on it from your friends. Other people have to like it too, you know.

Feedback will be a reoccurring theme in this guide.

Not many clans these days have a cryptic, hidden meaning behind their name. Feel free to do it, but it won't change that much in terms of long-term popularity, so don't sweat it.

It is up to you whether you want a clan tag or not and how strict you want to be with asking your members to use it. For example, my clan's name is Perihelion and the clan tag is , but I let people decide if they want to apply it in front of their in-game username.

A neat benefit for more competitive clans that enforce clan tag use is the ability to easily see all of their members' elos by looking up their clan tag on the ranked leaderboard.

2. Rules

I strongly advise that you are strict with BM.

If you are aiming for an appealing, sportsmanlike and friendly community, you will have to maintain that image by forbidding and punishing any actions that may tarnish the clan's reputation in any way. Most people will report the BM to you in DMs if you make it known that your clan does not tolerate it.

Activity is a no-brainer, what is a healthy clan without it?

As a new clan, you will want to monitor your members for activity on a regular basis. When I say activity, though, I only mean in the Discord server for your clan. It is perfectly fine if someone doesn't feel like playing Brawlhalla all the time, because that isn't their one and only way to interact with their clanmates. Be very careful if you choose to have an in-game activity requirement, since that can potentially burn some people out quite quickly.

That being said, the main hub for your clan will be your Discord server, where people can share anything from their interests to happenings in their daily lives. That is the place where bonds truly form. Playing Brawlhalla is a shared interest between you and those in your clan that can help make those bonds stronger, but the environment they originate and flourish in will always be the clan discord's text and voice chat (vc) channels.

If you're having trouble setting up your server, don't hesitate to look at other clan servers for ideas.

It is up to you to decide how strict you want to be with your activity rule, just make sure that your clan doesn't suddenly become a ghost town because you're too lenient (or too strict) with it.

TIP: If you've decided to strictly monitor and require a certain amount of activity every X days or weeks, consider making use of an "On Hiatus" role for those who are unable to be active for a while due to being sick/busy with life/etc. The role would give them a flexible timeframe to focus on their more pressing matters and come back to chatting regularly when they're done, at which point you can take it off. You are encouraged to check in on these members occasionally, both to show that you care and to make sure that they're not abusing the role to avoid your activity rule.

Having high standards can be healthy, but being inconsiderate of people's situations and kicking someone for a reason that is outside of their control is not a good look.

3. Requirements

I would say that this is where you can be the most flexible.

For the ELO requirement, you can go from very low or none to semi-high (don't overdo it unless you can afford to).

There are clans that are more competitive than others, there are also those which are looking to help newer players improve, while also providing a friendly and laid-back environment for them to unwind after a long day of doing whatever they do in their day to day life.

It is up to you when it comes to what demographic you're aiming at.

You can go as low as no elo required if that's not your priority, while the max should be about 2.3k. Generally the only reasons you should have to go any higher are if at some point, there just happen to be too many people trying out for your clan or you want to make a dedicated high tier CB team.

An age requirement, for example "18+" is optional. Just know that this community is mostly made up of very young people, but not necessarily all of them will be immature. Make of that what you will.

A language requirement is also something to consider. If your community is intended to be english-speaking for example, new recruits with a poor understanding of the language will have a harder time communicating and in the majority of cases won't interact much at all.

4. Essence

This is the hardest part by far.

You will have to ask yourself these questions:

What does my clan stand for?

Does it stand for anything?

Why should anyone join it over all the other clans?

What does it have that the other clans don't?

What is it lacking?

Even I ask myself some of these things to this day, so its okay if you don't know at the start. It's a constant iterative process of finding out what will help your clan become a better environment as time goes on. You will have to do a lot of research and a lot of thinking if you want to find the answers to those questions, but remember that you can rely on your members for opinions and feedback on any tweak or addition you're considering.

Once you find a formula that works, you will have to capitalize on it as much as you can and continue to develop it, so that your clan stands out and does what it does better than the rest.

Keep It Going.

After you've formed your clan's foundation, you have to maintain it properly to build it up into what you've always wanted it to be: active, well-known and a great place to be in overall.

These are the things I will cover shortly on the subject of growing your clan:

Promotion

Publicity

Reputation

I realize that some of these are more or less similar to one another, but I'm going to separate them for the sake of not clumping them together.

1. Promotion

This part is fairly simple, but you will have to stick to a schedule and you might not feel like doing it at times.

It is essential that you are in the Clanhalla discord server.

( Here you go: https://discord.gg/clanhalla )

Joining any other big Brawlhalla servers is optional, just check if they allow the promotion of clans before-hand.

Clanhalla is the biggest discord server built around the promotion of clans, interaction between clans and so on with over 9000 members. After carefully reading the rules and acquiring the necessary roles, look for the #recruitments text channel. In there you can promote your clan once a week with a post consisting of your clan's name, region, rules, requirements and anything else you think people should know about.

Make these posts weekly with a carefully picked out day of the week such as Friday or Monday, so you don't forget. At some point you can delegate this process to one of your members that you've appointed as recruiter.

This is all this part really is, promote your clan weekly and be consistent about it.

It can help to have social media presence like posts on Twitter or videos on YouTube, but that's not mandatory at all.

2. Publicity

Be greedy for the spotlight.

Take each and every chance to remind people that your clan exists without being annoying about it. This includes hosting giveaways, tourneys and anything else that could attract people's attention. If you or your members are at that level, maybe even get yourselves involved in the competitive scene!

Your clan tag and in-game clan are visible at all times when playing, so if you do good, more people will notice your clan.

The public forgets easily about what it doesn't care for, so remind it constantly until it starts caring.

3. Reputation

Care about your reputation.

It's not easy to recommend a clan to someone when the clan is known for its toxic aura. Make it as appealing as possible to as many people as possible.

I can safely say that I can't remember any successful clan which was known for bad things.

(Before you tell me that such clans exist, let me say that I personally don't exactly consider them clans. I just see them as "teams", because their only positive reputation comes or has come from skill alone.)

When it comes to gaining a positive rep for your clan's skill, Clanhalla comes into play once again!

Once you have more than 5 members registered in the server you will be a certified leader. In the #cb-organizing text channel (only visible for leaders and CB organizers of certified clans) you will be able to organize ranked and unranked Clan Battles with other clans.

The better your clan's reputation is in any way, the more people will come.

Forming A Strong Leader's Mindset.

To maintain your clan's stability and longevity you will have to truly think like a leader, or else you will find yourself feeling depressed over the slightest inconvenience and generally not making much progress.

Here are the main principles I will be covering for a healthy leader's mindset:

Loyalty.

Adaptability.

Humility.

Patience.

1. Loyalty

Loyalty is crucial for success.

You might be thinking to yourself,

"That's obvious, my members need to be loyal so that they stay for a long time, right?".

You would not be wrong to think that, but there is more to it.

Loyalty, trust and respect can only be earned through actions.

Anyone that says they respect you or that they are loyal to you 5 minutes after meeting you is not being genuine.

To expect these things of your members, you must show them the same in return.

Be a loyal and understanding friend to them, so that they feel accepted.

Be calm, collected, strict and mature along with that, so that they respect you and believe in your leading ability. Show that you care about your clan and the people in it will respond in kind.

For a member to be truly loyal, they must feel safe and welcome in your clan, treating it almost like a home away from home. If you have members like this, you must be doing a good job.

Even then, not all members will be loyal, but those who are will be invaluable during the times when things are going slower than usual or life requires you to pay attention to other matters for a while and you can't constantly monitor for activity or recruit new members anymore. At times like these, your core members and staff will keep your community well maintained while you're gone. Make sure to show them your gratitude upon your return, they deserve it.

Occasionally, though, someone will leave. If you never made an attempt to actually gain their loyalty, that could possibly be on you, however you will also occasionally encounter especially difficult to keep recruits: like clanhoppers that switch clans every couple days; or those that only join because one of their friends is in your clan and then leave the moment their friend leaves.

There will be all kinds of members that will join and leave for reasons that you can't easily control, and that's okay. As long as you keep properly doing what is expected of you, the good results will always outweigh the bad.

2. Adaptability

To adapt is to survive. Not doing so invites death.

(usually just frustration, but death sounds cooler)

Learn from each and every mistake you make instead of feeling bad about it.

To make mistakes is human, to repeat them is foolish.

Every time something goes wrong, ask yourself why that happened and how to prevent it in the future.

If you bash your head against a wall, two things might crack: the wall, or your skull.

If the wall cracks, good on you.

If your skull cracks, you die. (or it'll just hurt real bad)

Most walls in these situations are quite hard, so it's safe to assume which option is more likely.

Adapt or experience constant failure. Always look to alter your approach in order to achieve better results. If you become stuck and things aren't working out, continue iterating and tweaking until you're finally out of the mud and moving again.

3. Humility

Be humble, you are not a god and you do not know everything.

(unless you're me. i'm also very humble. and handsome)

Depend on your members, especially the ones you make your staff.

Constantly ask for help and seek feedback for every small and big decision you make affecting the clan.

A day will come when you give yourself too many tasks at once and feel worn down by all of the responsibilities that accumulate as your clan grows. Give some of your work to those who are loyal enough to happily accept it - this can be member tryouts, chat moderation, making recruitment posts, etc. It is good to allow yourself to ask for help.

Your initial thoughts on an impulsive idea may not be the same after executing it, which could lead to regret or even losing some members. Ask your people what they think about any addition or change you're considering and act based on their feedback.

Humility is key, there is no arrogant leader who becomes truly successful.

TIP: Despite the competitive aspect of wanting your clan to be one of the best, I strongly encourage you to make friends with other fellow leaders! Having connections in an environment like the clan scene can be extremely useful. For example, I have personally dodged countless bullets by turning down recruits that other leaders have told me are toxic. And, of course, it's never a bad idea to make new friends.

4. Patience

In times of crisis, it is important to stay level-headed and not make any impulsive decisions. Always be a step or two ahead of things, including yourself. If something happens, always give yourself a moment to cool off before doing anything unnecessary.

Many leaders disband their clans at the first inconvenience they meet, thinking it's the end of the world. This is the reason so many clans disband (more commonly known as "die") in a couple of weeks or months despite the potential that the clan may have had.

It might sound too simple to be true, but other than everything else that is listed in this guide, not giving up is all there is to having a long-lasting clan.

Conclusion.

I hope this guide helps all those who have what it takes to lead a clan with an exponentially longer than average shelf life while maintaining its good reputation. I put my heart, soul and many hours into this absolute unit of a steam guide and I hope it is useful to many current and potential future leaders!

Please leave any feedback, constructive criticism and thoughts you have on this guide in the comment section down below and don't forget to smash that rate button!

Thank you for your time and I wish you all good luck with your clans!

Source: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1596893437

The passionate leader's in-depth guide to clan-leading.