It's not necessary to return to the guild hall either for training skills or advancing guild levels. The presence of another, more experienced Changeling is not required for these advancements. There's no need for Changelings to return to the guild hall other than to advance stats or advance levels of experience, with the rare exception of learning new forms. Because Changelings can use very little in the way of weapons or armour, there's no need to stockpile such items in a guild donation box. "Boot runs" aren't necessary unless you enjoy the challenge.

The very heart and soul of a Changeling's combat ability is the knowledge of animal forms. There are defensive forms that can withstand a great deal of punishment, offensive forms that can inflict devestating damage, dodging forms that can be very difficult to hit, balanced forms, and everything in between. Some of the most oft-used forms are Turtle (defensive), Eagle (offensive), Hummingbird (dodging) and Cat (relatively balanced).