I started playing Tribal Wars in July of 2008 as Gaelen Strident. My first world was 19, a classic, of course, and the best world I have experienced. I regret giving up my 3000+ village account, though at the time it was affecting my grades at college.
I started in K5, to give you an idea of the progression of the world at that moment. In three years I had nobled nearly all of K5, much of K4 and a nice piece of K15. A lot of it was luck and regional advantage. But most of my success was due to radical involvement in the game.
I had a full time job (a business I ran) and a family with two kids. And other responsibilities were thrown in.
But premium at that time was essential to manage the account — not grow it. Clever use of groups made organization not only easier, but interesting. These were the days when scripts were just being popularized and flags not yet invented. The game was played by infinite clicks and micromanagement. And those with nothing to spend besides time and energy had a fighting chance.
I started next to Trapkid who at that time was in the number 2 tribe, Signos, and who sported around 120 villages, many within a half-hour of my little shack.
I am humored by those who tout skill. They sometimes conflate success as such. I had no idea how to play at first and honestly, didn’t earn my stripes until my first intense days-long battle against a neighboring player with three times the villages in a later world. Then again, on a world where I successfully fended off an entire tribe single-handedly when my tribe offered no support because of a war with a third tribe. (After two weeks of severe fighting I began to lose villages.) Time and stress are the dues for success.
The point is, that skill is easily attainable in this world when enough attention and work are put into it. This is the best way I can define fairness.The game is rewarding to those willing to play and succeed. And those that play that way invest an enormous portion of their lives to do so.
Nowadays no amount of skill can compare to the brute force of overpowering advantage now available via premium options that create resources almost instantly. Those who invest only time and energy cannot expect to be rewarded. It’s now a pp-enhanced time rush on building and troop queues that wins. The playing field is nothing compared to level, as it was in 19, when a hardworking noob had a chance.
This is sadly a game where elites rule the day and those wishing to become them are those with seemingly only one goal in life— to win at any cost of premium.
And honestly, if anyone has a problem with this, there’s nothing keeping a player here. It’s what it is. If you want success in this game, find a way to beat it. It’ll mean redefining the meaning of activity and a level playing field. With that knowledge there won’t be justification for whining about fairness nor bragging about skill.
If you can’t play this way, there are always board games. Enjoyed a wonderful game of Risk just two days ago. Was decided in four hours, and months of my time wasn’t spent building up an empire for a premium whore to take over.
