having a real life couple in your mmorpg guild is asking for trouble. i have reached that simple conclusion after over three years of experience in different mmorpgs. i have met several couples in various games and had a few couples in my guilds but all had one thing in common: they were a good source of drama.
now why is that so? i do not want to make a general assumption that *all* couples that play a mmorpg are causing trouble and dramas in guilds; there might be as well exceptions only i haven’t met any yet.
one of the underlying problems with recruiting couples into your guild is that when one of them is pissed off you will most likely piss off the other significant part as well. that means usually if one quits or leaves the guild, the other does so as well. this fact is usually connected to what i would like to call the “package deal” you accept the moment you invite a couple into the guild. “package deal” means that usually one of the two plays a healer, one of the most desireable and needed classes in almost every game. healers are always in huge demand and with said “package deal” you only get the healer if you take another, less needed class as well. the same applies for all events your guild runs: couples usually insist of attending guild events together. having a space for a healer in a group is usually no problem, but fitting that additional dps or offtank in might prove a bit more difficult and will sooner or later lead to grief. no matter what rotation or signup system you have in place to ensure everyone gets an equal chance to attend guild runs, you will have to make exceptions for your couple.
additionally, couples have more leverage to push their agenda than your average guild member. one example: a new raid schedule is introduced. as with everything in life, you can’t please everyone but you can try to make a good compromise and try to please the majority of people. if the average joe has some issues with the new schedule, you are most likely to tell him to deal with it. as far as the couple is concerned, you are again asking for troubles. if one of them does not agree with the schedule, the other is bound to take sides. in the end you lose a valueable healer or end up changing the schedule again to please the couple.
i am perfectly aware that my observations are not extensive nor universal. it is plainly my experience and the underlying assumption is that one player of the couple is a healer. nevertheless, i still find it intriguing to recognize a pattern in the behaviour of couples in mmorpgs.
I think these are some profound observations and one which certainly also reflect my experience.