When it comes to leveling Great Buildings, swap threads are all the rage. It’s pretty standard practice for a guild to have general swap threads set up, but there’s a second kind of swap as well: the coveted dedicated swap. Let’s discuss both, in-depth, as far as etiquette goes. Much of this may seem like common knowledge, but to the player just starting out, with a whole bunch of things to think about and their eyes rolling up into the back of their head from information overload, this may prove especially helpful.

First, lets define the two kinds of swaps:

  • General Swaps
    • These are swaps that your guild has set up for anyone to use, at any time. They’re often set for 5 FPs, 10 FPs, 20 FPs, etc. Some may be specialized to just one kind of GB, like treasury GBs, but all that information is in the thread title. Click here for instructions on how to use them.
  • Dedicated Swaps
    • This is something set up between you and one or two other people. You’ll be trading an equal number of FPs daily, agreed upon by the involved parties, on the GBs you choose. They may be the same, or they may be different. It depends on your goals. No one else will be aware of this swap though, because it is private.

Swaps are great for leveling up your GBs, but it’s important to use them in a way that doesn’t make your whole guild resent you, or that potentially breaks guidelines set forth by your guild. Essentially, you need to have decent etiquette. Mind you, none of these are rule (unless your guild has them as such), but rather guidelines. Aside from shorting mates FPs, most guilds don’t police the swap threads. So these are just things to consider.

When it comes to the general swap threads, these are some things you ought to be mindful of:

  • It’s okay to add more FPs in than the swap calls for to lock a spot, but consider if you’re potentially knocking a younger mate out of a spot that would give them much-needed resources. If it would, it’s much more polite to stay below them and help lock them into position instead, especially if they’re after BPs and you’re just after FPs.
  • If someone has not posted that it’s okay to level their GB (and it’s not Zeus or ToR which give no rewards), don’t level it. Sometimes someone may post a GB and it has plenty of FPs left on it, but then it gets sniped, or someone adds extra FPs to lock a spot from a different thread, and now there aren’t enough FPs left for you to add in to completion without leveling it. You have two options:
    • Option one is to add in as many as you can without leveling the GB. Keep in mind though that you still owe them the remaining FPs, so don’t do this if you can’t guarantee you can still give them what you owe. Make sure you advise them of what you are doing, both in the swap (for total transparency) and privately (in case the swap keeps moving and your note gets buried).
    • Ask them if it’s okay to level the GB (publicly in the swap is good), and don’t put any FPs on until you get an answer.

If you are doing a dedicated swap with one or two people, that changes things a bit. Now, you’re not sharing your GB publicly for a while, which means a different mindset. Here are some things to consider though:

  • Don’t start a direct swap until you have a fresh level (no one has donated yet) on the GB that one or more players is going to put FPs on to earn BPs (at least typically) on. This way they will have the best chance to place.
  • Don’t put a GB that you’re doing a direct swap with someone on in the general swaps until they are locked into place. Locked means that no one can add in enough FPs to pass them and steal the reward spot that they’re in. Once they are locked though, then if there are rewards left, the general swap could be a good option to help finish it off.
  • You’ll want to post back and forth what you’re adding, and when, so that each party can ensure fairness. This can look something like “+25 Jane Doe Zeus Monday” or just a simple “+25”, depending on how complicated the swap (and number of partners involved) is.

Similar to a dedicated swap, if a guild mate comes forward and says to you “Hey, I’m searching for BPs for a GB you have, would you mind if I dumped FPs on your GB to get them?”, you should follow the second bullet point about direct swaps above, and the first one as well if it’s possible. In this case they aren’t requesting a direct swap, so you’re under no obligation to reciprocate, but instead it would be generous and polite of you to self-invest to make their endeavor less expensive, especially if they are young and don’t have a lot of FPs to spare (or perhaps don’t even have a GB yet so there’s no other way for you to reciprocate).

In the end, none of this is too complicated, but it might not have occurred to you as something to consider. Basically though, it’s common sense about being a team player with your guild (also known as a guild-first mentality).