It seems to happen to everyone at some time. You've been playing for a while, and you realize you can do so much more when you have a regular group of friends you can team with. Maybe you want the benefits that owning towers can bring. Maybe you just want a group of like-minded people you can chat with, without spamming the OOC channels.
You can always look for an organization you've enjoyed teaming with. That's always a good start. But what if you're totally new to AO (or playing on a different server than usual) and don't really know anyone? Well, there are a few tools available for you.
The first tool is AUNO.org's character database. This tool lets you search for characters by name, server, faction, class, and level, making it the most powerful tool around for finding potential teammates. In many ways this is far superior to Anarchy Online's character lookup service, which only lets you search by name. Auno.org's service also provides you with a history each specific character's level, which is nice when you want to find out whether that level 207 soldier you're interested in has been playing since release or started 3 months after the last expansion.
Both services will also provide links to information about organizations the characters belong to. This is where you should take a close look once again at Anarchy Online's character lookup service. See those letters below the text input box? You have all the organizations in AO conveniently listed in alphabetical order.
For example, if you click the letter "S," you will see a list of all organizations with names beginning with "S." Click the name of an organization, and you'll see why Anarchy Online's organization database is superior to what AUNO.org provides. AUNO.org's organization database simply tells you server, faction, and members. The official AO database, on the other hand, conveniently provides charts showing how many of each breed and class belong to an organization, as well as some additional information like goals and organization history. Some organizations will also include URLs for any websites they havein this information.
If you want the fastest way to learn about organizations suited to your character, use AUNO.org to look up characters, cut and paste their names the official AO database, and click on their organization names to find out the most about their organizations.
Now, that's actually just the timesaving part. You can find oranizations by other means (like reading the "life on Atlantean/Rimor" forums), but using the database you get information people often forget to post, like faction, level requirements, etc. This shows you that Adrastus II won't accept your level 5 neutral MA, and that Shattered Dreams isn't interested in your ability to tweak for PvP. Also the databases are faster than talking to everyone you meet, and at the same time they show you more options than lurking (or even posting) on the forums.
The last (and most essential) step in finding a new organization should be common sense: Get to know the members. Talk with org officers, and team with org members. This is where you learn whether that "uber PvP guild" holds their own in tower battles, or if they're just a bunch of losers who camp reclaim terminals waiting for flagged people to show up. It also shows you which groups are the most fun to be with, which is the name of the game after all.
[edit] Emiko has started an excellent thread in the Reet Retreat forum.
Good luck, and happy org hunting.
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