This is a guide that I've written for those who aspire to create their own clan instead of joining one and wishes to be successful as a clan leader. For those of you who don't know already, you're receiving advice from a former clan leader who used to have a clan that peaked #5 on the top 24 list of clans in May 2001 and had consistently been on the top 12 list for almost two years. I'm willing to share my experiences, which are full of successes and failures, with you and anyone who cares enough to read about them. Make sure that you don't make the same mistakes that I did!
Building the Clan
Before thinking about doing anything else, the very first thing that you have to do is create the clan. In order to create a clan, your character has to have at least achieved the rank of Baron or higher. Next, you'll have to have at least 75 quests to spare and 250,000 marks at your disposal. After these basic requirements have been fulfilled, think of a good name for your clan. After doing so, go to the Clan Hall in the Castle Area and type in the desired name for your clan. If the name hasn't been taken, you'll be able to create the clan. Congratulations! You are now a clan leader.
Not Getting Petitions
As a clan leader, one thing that you should realize is that getting people to join your clan is much harder than you probably think it is. Even securing a spot on the top 12 list doesn't necessarily mean that your clan is going to get more members. If you aren't getting any petitions or not nearly as many as you think you should be getting, don't feel too discouraged. Also, try not to feel intimidated by all the other clans that have more members and power than your clan does. These are things that are simply out of your control and you should concentrate on doing things that will make your clan more attractive in the eyes of others.
Lower Your Expectations
You should understand that you're not going to be able to get everyone to join your clan, and you shouldn't be too surprised if the people who petition to join your clan end up joining a different one. Keep in mind that you're competing against hundreds of other clans, and even if your clan happens to be one of the top clans in the game, you still face competition from the clans that are listed above and below yours. Don't ever underestimate the clans that are listed below yours because they'll eventually pass you up on the list if you can't at least offer what they're offering (dedicated members).
Multiplaying
If you're hoping to become the leader of one of the top clans in the game someday, you should forget about it unless you can formulate a group of members who are dedicated to ranking up a bunch of characters (multiplaying) to contribute to the advancement of your clan. Probably all of the clans that you see on the top 24 list have members who participate in varying degrees of multiplaying. In all seriousness, any clan leader who says that he or she doesn't have people in his or her clan who don't own many characters is probably lying to you. You'll notice that a lot of the top clans will have a shift in power every few weeks or so because someone in that clan had a lot of characters that hadn't logged in for the past 2 weeks.
The number of characters in a clan isn't a reliable indicator of how active that clan is or how many unique people are in that clan. Let's take my old clan, Sky Riders, for example. In June 2001, we peaked at around 580 members and 3,417 power, yet we never had more than 70 or 80 unique members at any time. While some of our members only had one or two characters, others had upwards of 30 or 40.
The Importance of the Members
By now, you should've realized that it's the members of your clan who will determine how great your clan is going to be. No one wants to join a clan in which no one ever socializes and keeps to themselves. You can guarantee anything and everything to those who are interested in joining your clan, but he or she is bound to leave as soon as he or she finds out how boring your clan is.
Every top clan in Dragon Court consists of dedicated members who provide the bulk of power points for that clan. If you can't attract or inspire these types of members, you might as well forget about being the leader of a top clan someday.
Co-leaders and the High Council
In all honesty, assigning members to positions of power in your clan is one of the last things that you should worry about at this time. Having co-leaders and a clan council really isn't necessary unless your clan already has a fair amount of active members. It would be impractical, for instance, to have 8 members on your clan council when there are less than 15 active members in your clan. When your clan becomes fairly active, adopt a council system and consider limiting the number of people who can sit on the council. Reserve council positions for members who have at least demonstrated their loyalty to your clan through giveaways and other activities that promote the image of your clan. This helps ensure that their loyalties lie with your clan and not other clans; it will reduce the probability of electing someone who will end up leaking important information out.
Members who are elected to sit on your council should realize that they're basically doing volunteer work to help out your clan. Even though they probably won't be getting anything to serve on your council, it can be quite advantageous to them in that they will be among the very first to have a voice in the clan whenever important changes are made.
Choosing Clan Abilities
After your clan has acquired a certain amount of power points, you'll be eligible to request for clan abilities. Clan abilities are essentially the same as the attributes that can be found on rare weapons, only except that all members of your clan will gain that attribute. Go to the Clan Utilities section and select the clan abilities that you'd like to have for every member of your clan. Be sure to look at the Rare Attributes Guide to get an accurate idea of what each of these abilities will do for you and your clan.
The amount of abilities that you can choose for your clan is dependent on the amount of power that your clan has:
| Number of Abilities |
Power |
1 |
100-299 power |
2 |
300-999 power |
3 |
1,000-2,999 power |
4 |
3,000-9,999 power |
5 |
10,000-29,999 power |
6 |
30,000-99,999 power |
7 |
100,000+ power |
Also, the abilities that you select for your clan will not be removed if your clan ever dips below the amount of power that was necessary to gain those abilities in the first place. In this case, they will only be removed if you try to request for different clan abilities.
What's also worth noting is that no clan has ever come close to 30,000 power and that there aren't any clans that are expected to accomplish this amazing feat. However, there are actually two clans that have 7 abilities: The_Warfareians and EVERLAND. The fact that these clans offer 7 abilities is more or less a result of a bug.
Clan Abilities in the Past
Before the 2005 DC update, choosing clan abilities was substantially more important than it is today because weapons with clan attributes didn't exist in the game. Also, far more power was required to gain clan abilities in the past:
| Number of Abilities |
Power |
1 |
100-499 power |
2 |
500-2,499 power |
3 |
2,500-9,999 power |
4 |
10,000+ power |
Building a Clan in the Past
In the past, characters didn't have to be at level 15 to create a clan. Since there weren't any level restrictions for entering the Royal Court, it was possible for a level 13 character to create a clan. Characters who weren't at level 13, however, could take advantage of an underhanded technique that was used to create a clan. They could join a clan that offered the Quick ability and stay in that clan for one day to allow clan abilities to be activated for them. On the following day, they left the clan and created their own since they still retained the Quick ability. Of course, they had to make sure that they had at least 80 quests at the start of the day; otherwise, their efforts were wasted.
