W27 Weekly: 14th February
[spoil]Zarin – Editor
Submissions: Lord of Bones
LIGHT’s Love Affair With Loss
LIGHT
Total conquers against opposite side:
Side 1: 73
Side 2: 0
Difference: 73
For an issue written on Valentine’s Day, one does wonder whether this week has engendered a match made in Heaven for LIGHT. 73-0 is a brutal score line and one made all the more interesting by the fact that 73 is the exact number of total conquers that LIGHT made. If not one of these were an internal, then they should, at best, be equal to the beginning of the week. However, as some of those conquers were internals, they have in fact declined this week.
It must be worrying for both LIGHT and the rest of the world that the greatest threat to Shadow is in decline whilst their enemy grows. And indeed, should they not also be worried that LIGHT have finally managed no conquers at all?
Positives are a little hard to come by in this instance, and without some supreme intervention we could be facing a rapid decline for LIGHT as morale begins to drop. It is an interesting statistic that Shadow has more points than every other tribe on the world put together and that would surely seem to hint that very little can be done.
One can admit that it could be worse, and indeed one should not be without some praise for members of LIGHT who are stirring again and making the effort. As it stands, they will not be enough and although one might implore LIGHT to act before it is too late, this author wonders whether it already is.
On the Shadow side, the loss of GR*FM as an opponent has probably given them some breathing space. No doubt much of the weight of Shadow can be bought to bear on LIGHT if required and the entire southern front seems almost conveniently wrapped up. A solid total of 365 is not to be sniffed at and it would not seem that they are resting on their laurels, even if the sea of barbs is a tempting digression.
Overall it’s the recurring story on this front and as long as Shadow do not forget themselves or fall to internal strife, it is very difficult to find what LIGHT can do.
In Other News…
Commentary
As I promised last week, I thought that I would catch up with some of the leaders of the tribes in the game and ask for their thoughts on the world as it is. The response was good and it was probably my fault that it was rushed.
Each leader was asked the same questions and the answers are below. The responses are featured with the questions for your ease and are sorted by rank. I also decided to include my own comments as duke, which was admittedly surreal, but fair I felt.
Shadow
[spoil]
Ephette
Would you care to outline how your tribe has come to this point?
Shadow has been a tribe at war since the beginning of the game. After tribe lock ended, we became ATTACK. The history of our tribe through these stages has been discussed in various places. After the merge with AOW we became Shadow, war with Nstlk* followed, then with the Coalition.
Where did the name of your tribe come from?
Following our merge with AOW, we held a competition to come up with a new Tribe name, to reflect the new tribe that we had. Shadow was the winning entry.
What do you see as the strengths of your tribe at this point in time?
We have a long history together, and have therefore built up a good working relationship with our tribe members. There is a lot of trust, and a great willingness to work together towards the goals we have set for ourselves.
What are your goals with your tribe?
We are currently working towards seeing the end of this world.
Do you have any wisdom that you have gained in your time here that you would wish to impart?
Get a good group of people around you, who you can bounce ideas off. Be willing to listen to others, everyone has something to offer.
What do you see for the future of your tribe?
We will continue to clear the world of all the red dots.
Do you have any regrets in your tribe's decisions?
Hindsight is wonderful thing. There are no major regrets, but if I could do it again there are probably some things I wouldn't do. Sorry but I can't elaborate on them.
What did you think of the Coalition?
The Coalition was a marvellous opportunity that never happened. They had the people, they just didn't have the willingness. A sad disappointment, but on the other hand they will probably be remembered longer than some other tribes that passed through this world and left it untouched.
What do you think of Shadow?
What can I say? I'm very very proud of us.
What are your thoughts on the Shadow/LIGHT conflict?
Another disappointment. What did LIGHT hope to achieve that others before them had not been able to? Their lacklustre leadership, and absent members spoke voulmes about their lack of commitment towards bringing anything to the table that even remotely resembled a war.
Will you be leading tribes in the future?
After W27 I'll probably have a break from the game a month or so, or at least until I can no longer bear to be away from it.
Zarin
Would you care to outline how your tribe has come to this point?
The history of Shadow is well documented, it was the vision of ATTACK that brought it to its dominant position and the merge with ~AOW~ that engendered the name.
Where did the name of your tribe come from?
It was the result of a vote within the tribe.
What do you see as the strengths of your tribe at this point in time?
Well aside from our massive advantage in points, I would definitely cite the experience and cohesion of the membership. I feel that this tribe has a grizzled core of veterans against whom no one can stand and points are all very well for other tribes, but to my mind, many of them are lacking the experience, particularly in war, to make an adequate stand against Shadow.
The ethos of the tribe too is excellent and it’s an absolute pleasure to work with so many fantastic people. Members are driven and diligent; they work together so well and it is testament to the underlying attitude of the members that is responsible for Shadow’s continued success.
What are your goals with your tribe?
World domination…enough said.
Do you have any wisdom that you have gained in your time here that you would wish to impart?
The first thing to say would be to remember who you are and know yourself. Far too easy it is to become wrapped up in a persona, to take the game too far and forget yourself. As part of that, you should also recognise that each player is a person too, so treat them as such and respect them. I’ll admit that I have lost my way in that one, but you’ll learn it one way or another.
Indeed, it’s just a game, it’s not personal and it’s not your job. Like any addiction, one has to recognise when it is becoming problematic and assess things. It is meant to be fun and although it is all too easy to become imbued with some sense of tribal duty, we all need breaks at times. Enjoy it, have fun and take it seriously…but always make sure that you are playing the game, not that it is playing you.
Learn from those around you, all of them. You can find what you are looking for in the most unlikely places. Never assume that you know everything on a subject, and never be afraid to pass on your advice when the time comes. Always remember that you were inexperience once, and that you are only where you are on the advice and guidance of those around you.
Finally, basic qualities go a long way. Honesty, trustworthiness, compassion, respect...the most basic things go a long way, particularly between tribes and they will be returned in kind. Leaders need to respect members and listen to them and it will be returned. If you expect qualities from players, you have to be prepared to demonstrate them yourself. Put yourself in another’s position before you judge too.
I suppose you get out what you put in and TW is a wonderful game with many special and unique people. Enjoy it and take the good times with you in life.
What do you see for the future of your tribe?
I see world domination to be honest; our only threats lie within these days and I am confident that we can surmount them.
Do you have any regrets in your tribe's decisions?
Regrets are funny things. Who are we to say what might have been had we done it differently? Not every decision gives the desired results, but we have to learn from them and move on positively.
What did you think of the Coalition?
It was a marvellous idea and they should be commended for putting it together and keeping it well hidden. It was a challenging endeavour and it turned out not to work, but that was more down to the quality of members than the idea itself. It was brave, and the best option, but it unfortunately came to nothing. It is easy to be critical of its execution, but I am not sure that I could have done better.
What do you think of Shadow?
I shall simply say that it has been an absolute pleasure to be part of Shadow and that is has a wonderful group of people behind it. I count myself lucky to be a part of it.
What are your thoughts on the Shadow/LIGHT conflict?
LIGHT had a lot of promise, but ultimately they were and are lacking in initiative. Low morale, apathy and inactivity have hit them hard and it is a real shame to see a promising opponent succumb in that way. I am positive that Shadow will win and I am going to enjoy fighting every inch of the way.
Will you be leading tribes in the future?
I have not even decided whether I shall return to this game. Lord of Bones said that there is no time after TW, only time between it and I think that he is right. However, even if I do return, I think that I want a more relaxing run of things…but I said that when I came to W27. It is fun, but a lot of work, even now, so I shall be magnanimous and suggest that others deserve to try their hand.
[/spoil]
LIGHT
[spoil]
Onyx Knight
Would you care to outline how your tribe has come to this point?
I apologize, I'm not completely clear on the question. I'm assuming your asking how LIGHT was formed? If so, basically myself and Testicules formed K25PG, which eventually had SORRY! and a few other tribes merge into it and became known as [IRON]. I briefly left this world, and during that time [IRON] became known as LIGHT.
Where did the name of your tribe come from?
Again, I was not here when LIGHT was formed, however it only stands to reason that since we are a tribe that is at war with Shadow, I can't think of a more fitting name then LIGHT.
What do you see as the strengths of your tribe at this point in time?
We are a very close knit tribe; skirmishes among us are rare. We unite well, and I feel, we have strong bonds among members.
What are your goals with your tribe?
As with any tribe, we have some minor issues we need to work on; I feel we are steadily working on these issues and have made quite a few improvements in the recent weeks and it is my hope we will continue to do so.
Do you have any wisdom that you have gained in your time here that you would wish to impart?
As with most players here, I do take this game seriously and I also take my role within the tribe seriously. That being said, I think it is a common occurrence for most of us to think of TW more as a job instead of a game. So while most of us want to be a serious, formidable player, we all need to remember to balance that with real life which can be a hard thing to remember to do at times.
What do you see for the future of your tribe?
We have recently made some changes, and I feel this will make us stronger as a whole. I see us sticking around for a long time to come.
Do you have any regrets in your tribe's decisions?
I think we have made sound decisions as a whole. While no tribe is perfect, I can't think of anything we as a tribe would have done differently given the chance.
What did you think of the Coalition?
I think there were some areas for improvement, but overall I feel it served its purpose.
What do you think of Shadow?
I personally respect Shadow, I've even played along side a few Shadow members in other worlds and I counted it an honor to work with them. I think Shadow is a worthy adversary and I hope we prove to be the same as well.
What are your thoughts on the Shadow/LIGHT conflict?
I think both sides have strong players and time will tell how this conflict evolves. In the meantime, I think we're all having a pretty good time killing each other. <grin>
Will you be leading tribes in the future?
When I join new worlds, I at times ‘create’ a tribe just for fun which is usually small and consists of a few friends who eventually merge into larger tribes. At this point I don't foresee myself seriously running another tribe, as this one demands a lot of my attention already.
[/spoil]
*TKP*
[spoil]
anullo
Would you care to outline how your tribe has come to this point?
As far as I know TKP started ages ago, as far as I can tell on the 13th November 2008 at around 01:00 by a player that no longer exists, the tribe slowly grew and grew like most big tribes we were doing well I think we had got to third and then around the 8th-9th of December shadow asked a lot of our bigger players to join and most of them did, and since then we have been growing still and regained our position as third.
Where did the name of your tribe come from?
I have no idea, as far as i know it has always been that and a good name it is too because penguins are fun 
What do you see as the strengths of your tribe at this point in time?
The fact that we all are striving to reclaim the glory that we lost when our main members left, and the fact we all stuck together like a group of children when the adult leaves
What are your goals with your tribe?
Just try to rebuild what we once had and to be big enough so that when Shadow come knocking we can at least try to put up a decent fight.
Do you have any wisdom that you have gained in your time here that you would wish to impart?
Of course I have too much to mention and a lot of which can't really be put into words, I think the main one would be: be active be on as much as possible and always be doing things; be polite and people will like you more; talk on the forums and people will notice you and are much more likely to help to you then and lastly, a lot of people are scared of attacking players because they are scared they'll attack back, just do it.
What do you see for the future of your tribe?
Unless something drastic changes in the next month (maybe even less) I see us being taken out by Shadow as a lot of our villages are near theirs now as older members are now part of them.
Do you have any regrets in your tribe's decisions?
None that I have made but of course the choice to leave to shadow is one I regret on behalf on the people that left.
What did you think of the Coalition?
Erm ... The what?
What do you think of Shadow?
Standard big tribe: they exist to grow and to continue their own existence, I hold no grudge against them.
Will you be leading tribes in the future?
I probably will, but I'll probably co-run it so I'm just there to help make decisions rather than talk to people lots
liverpooljk
What do you see as the strengths of your tribe at this point in time?
Location of our members/ability of members are the strongpoints I feel.
What are your goals with your tribe?
To keep the tribe highly ranked until worlds end, and get the tribe’s members a reputation for being decent players.
What do you see for the future of your tribe?
I see *TKP* staying in #3 spot till the end of the world hopefully
Do you have any regrets in your tribe's decisions?
None whatsoever.
What did you think of the Coalition?
Inactivity was their main downfall; I think they had the numbers to put up a fight against Shadow but inactivity gave Shadow the advantage.
What do you think of Shadow?
Played this world very well and deserve to win it.
Will you be leading tribes in the future?
Probably not.
[/spoil]
Dawn
[spoil]
wobba987
Would you care to outline how your tribe has come to this point?
I am very happy with the current leadership and running of the tribe; everything is good. Being the only duke, I do get a lot of jobs to do, but I have many close friends here that are always willing to help me out.
Where did the name of your tribe come from?
The name came from a poll that I did because we lost a lot of points and ranks when TLF changed and well it seemed like we were out but, through vital members’ help, we kept it up.
What do you see as the strengths of your tribe at this point in time?
I believe our determination is probably the best quality.
What are your goals with your tribe?
Our goals are simply to protect ourselves, our allies and most importantly, our academy.
Do you have any wisdom that you have gained in your time here that you would wish to impart?
In earlier worlds and tribes, I believed that running a tribe would be easy, but I know now that running any tribe single-handedly is good, hard job even if I have help.
What do you see for the future of your tribe?
I really don’t know what is around the bend for us; I hope that we will be able to sort the academy, and tribe, minimums because its only about 10k to get in here.
Do you have any regrets in your tribe's decisions?
Sometimes I wish that I had tried to keep those close to me from quitting.
What did you think of the Coalition?
2 words: crushing failure.
What do you think of Shadow?
Pretty awesome; it takes something to get a tribe to rank 1 but with the margin that they’ve got over everyone, it is pretty amazing.
Will you be leading tribes in the future?
I will never leave Dawn, its legacy will live on.
[/spoil]
NOS
[spoil]
chickenhead7 neglected to comment.
[/spoil]
Purge
[spoil]
Lost8505
Would you care to outline how your tribe has come to this point?
3Reese3 and I didn't agree with some of the decisions being made by the leaders of our former tribe so we decided to start over and Purge was created. Our ‘war’ with Bella was an unfortunate result of some of those poor decisions; we have since resolved our differences and moved on to more important matters.
What do you see as the strengths of your tribe at this point in time?
We are fortunate in having several experienced players who are excellent at planning and organizing campaigns and getting our members where they are needed most. The experience and knowledge they provide to our younger members is invaluable.
What are your goals with your tribe?
I think our goals are the same as every tribe on W27. Take control of our territory and survive.
Do you have any wisdom that you have gained in your time here that you would wish to impart?
Be a sponge and soak up all the knowledge and game strategy you can. Take advantage of the experiences of the veterans in your tribe, they have a lot to teach you and will make your TW experience much more fun.
What do you see for the future of your tribe?
We will continue to grow and gain experience. I hope to see us as one of the top 5 eventually.
Do you have any regrets in your tribe's decisions?
The war with Bella was a mistake and waste of resources. Neither tribe was able to make significant gains against the other and it slowed both tribes’ growth.
What did you think of the Coalition?
It was a good idea but lacked the cohesiveness to be effective. If they could have gotten everyone involved and with someone coordinating their efforts, I think they could have given Shadow all it could handle.
What do you think of Shadow?
At this point Shadow is like a landslide, just continuing to gain more and more momentum taking out everything in it's path. It will take the combined efforts of all the remaining tribes to stop them. Unfortunately I don't see that happening anytime in the near future.
Will you be leading tribes in the future?
Don't know, leading the PACK and now Purge just sort of happened. It's good to just be one of the grunts sometimes.
[/spoil]
Bella
[spoil]
Michaelprogers
Would you care to outline how your tribe has come to this point?
Our tribe has slowly built up and now we have a tribe of players who are very loyal to each other, and would gladly do anything to help each other. That loyalty to each other just gets stronger every day.
Where did the name of your tribe come from?
Sweeney came up with the name of the tribe; it's from the Latin ‘bella’ meaning war.
What do you see as the strengths of your tribe at this point in time?
Our tribe has a lot of very experienced players; I myself have been playing since World 8.
What are your goals with your tribe?
We hope as a tribe that we will grow even bigger and stronger.
Do you have any wisdom that you have gained in your time here that you would wish to impart?
Too many players seem in a rush to grow as fast as possible, you should always take the time to plan where you want to expand and for what reason.
What do you see for the future of your tribe?
I believe our tribe will get bigger and stronger; we have a lot of highly talented players.
Do you have any regrets in your tribe's decisions?
You should never regret any decision that your tribe makes, never dwell in the past, it never achieves anything.
What do you think of Shadow?
I think shadow have done really well, good luck to them.
Will you be leading tribes in the future?
I've been the duke of tribes since World 15, and I'm sure I'll be leading tribes in the future.
[/spoil]
BIP
[spoil]
Joe the Elder was unavailable for comment.
[/spoil]
ALLIES
[spoil]
sam.e118 failed to reply or even read my mail.
[/spoil]
WOLFS
[spoil]
scarlett-maiden
Would you care to outline how your tribe has come to this point?
We started this world quite late, it was already well established when the tribe began. Rockafella aka jack107. is the founder of the tribe and my son. I joined him as a Duke when he first started the tribe, but he had to leave for a while shortly after starting the tribe, so it was handed to me.
White Wolfs was formed from mainly new players to this world and to tribal wars, myself included. I had played a little on world 21 at that point, but was still very much a novice. So it made it harder for us to get a good foothold.
I honestly do not believe we would have lasted as long as we have, without the help of a player that joined us after a month or so of us forming. Sokraps soon became our baron and my friend.
He was, is, a very experienced player and helped me a great deal in those early days. He knew my limitations at that time and spent a lot of time and patience helping me learn the basics and to develop a good understanding of this game, quickly. He is greatly missed. I owe him a lot.
Where did the name of your tribe come from?
The picture on our profile is a personal favourite of mine and has been for many years, its my screen saver on my pc, mobile etc and I am assuming my son was influenced by it when naming the tribe.
What do you see as the strengths of your tribe at this point in time?
My tribes strength has always been based on their loyalty. We had to make a tough decision regarding our top members last year and members who didnt want to leave, were being forced to, in order to safeguard the rest of us and themselves.
They did this willingly for the sake of us all, but it was a sad day for me, my worst ever playing this game, if I'm honest.
Rather than split my tribe, as SAM had clearly hoped to do, we grew stronger and when the NAP was broken by them, they then formed FOME and most of the members who had left returned to White Wolfs, it just secured our unity even more.
That btw, was my happiest day on tribal wars! :O)
Our strength, has become our defense, which is strictly due, ironically, to that situation we were put in. Strange isn't it, how negative things have a way of becoming positive in the end. Just have to hang in there.
What are your goals with your tribe?
My goals are realistic.
We are not going to win World 27, although my offer to Shadow to merge into White Wolfs is still negotiable! lol ;O)
I am delighted we made the top ten in all honesty. I would like now to just strengthen our existing members, there are areas I want to expand on and when this world eventually does come to an end for us, be able to leave knowing we did the best we could do.
I am already very happy with what we have been able to achieve against the odds.
Do you have any wisdom that you have gained in your time here that you would wish to impart?
One thing I learnt, was to not bring your real life frame of mind, into this game. Things that I would not agree to do in my every day life, I found myself being forced to agree to here, for the sake of the tribe.
At the time, certain decisions, that I felt cornered into making, with hindsight, was the right thing for us, as we are still here, although we have had many casualties along the way. But that is the nature of the game.
What do you see for the future of your tribe?
Thats a tough question to answer. I want all my tribe to become proficient at this game so when the world inevitably comes to an end for White Wolfs, as it will for all of us, if my members choose to continue in other worlds, they will have a good knowledge of the game and will thrive elsewhere with fond memories of world 27 and White Wolfs.
Do you have any regrets in your tribe's decisions?
Yes, is the instant gut reaction to that question; however, if we hadn’t taken the unstable path we were forced to move down last year, we would not be here now, I realise that, so in answer to your question, regrets, no.
What did you think of the Coalition?
Coalitions I dont personally believe will ever truly work. You need a lot of trust, co-operation from all your members, grudges have to be dropped between players in different tribes.
Ceasefires come into play, but in the back of your mind there is always that uncertainty of trusting a tribe that only last week you were warring with.
What do you think of Shadow?
I have a lot of respect for Shadow. They deserve to be where they are. They work hard, show a lot of skill and tenacity.
I wasnt here in the early days of world 27, so my knowledge of the state of play then and the other tribes that were around then is limited I'm afraid.
Will you be leading tribes in the future?
I’m not sure lol as I said, I play heavily in world 21. I am learning a great deal constantly from there, the level and style of the game for me personally, is very different to here, but, I am able to bring my knowledge from there to this tribe now, which heightens my enthusiasm for good growth.
We will see; never say never.
[/spoil]
Thoughts For The Week
A few words on the vicissitudes of the week and TW in general
Why do we follow a leader?
Why do we choose to follow someone? Why do we follow orders in a game, in an online game, where we don’t owe anyone anything, where we have nothing real to lose?
Definition by Wikipedia:
Leadership has been described as the ‘
process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task…Leadership is ultimately about creating a way for people to contribute to making something extraordinary happen.’ [/I]
The beauty and indeed what is so addictive about an online game like TW is that it gives us the independence to accomplish what we are able to accomplish without the restraints of a structured society. Without our social status, education, financial concerns or anything like that in our way, we are able to play because it gives us the chance to be as good as we are able to be.
Not everyone is able to lead; leading is to enrapture a group of people about your vision. It is not an easy task as members of a group only accept leadership from the one who has the capacities to fulfil their needs. People follow a leader if he or she gives them what they wish or need and I am the first to admit it that I am not the ‘Leader’ type. Indeed, I am more a ‘manager’ type but this does beg the question: What do we actually wish or need?
In every case, we seek some kind of security; we want to be assured that we are walking the correct path, that we are doing the right thing and that there is a bigger picture that we understand where we fit into it
“What makes a person want to follow a leader? People want to be guided by those they respect and who have a clear sense of direction. To gain respect, they must be ethical. A sense of direction is achieved by conveying a strong vision of the future.” -
Kenneth Boulding
Effective groups have leaders who are able to translate their vision and the expectations of the group they lead into a strategy, to find the right people to translate the strategy into tactics and into plans that the group will understand and will want to follow.
The way the leader develops the targets and communicates decides if the group will accept them. If the targets are only described by the leader without group input or if the leader does not listen to the ideas of the group or punishes players who have difficulty reaching the goals, than the players will get the idea that the balance between ‘costs and profit’ is against them and they will feel exploited and as it is a game, they will, in the better case leave, and in the worst case stop playing as a part of the team.
This world is a wonderful case study, we had it all here:
No leadership: the tribe lock
The 3 months of the tribe lock created a social chaos and a situation of NO LEADERSHIP in most tribes. The few (very few) tribes that actually thrived in this chaotic world were led by the best of the best of leadership that this world had to offer; there was nothing harder in the history of TW than to lead and inspire people that didn’t have anything in common and didn’t want to be lead.
The most prominent tribes at the end of the lock were ATTACK and ABS (the other top tribes were there due to one or 2 top players and that can’t be called a tribe or any kind of leadership). ATTACK was number one and ABS ranked three (ABS merged into ATTACK on Feb 13th) .
Those 2 tribes showed something exceptional. ATTACK, lead by Ephette, was ranked 3 for a long time while the top positions were owned by Major.Disaster’s tribe (‘Quiet’) and ilovetherain’s tribe (sorry I don’t recall the name). The moment those players quit, the tribes collapsed as they were wonderful players but solo players and they didn’t have the patience and the drive to play this world; they looked for a challenge. This all happened around late December.
This is where ATTACK became number 1 with a healthy array of mid-sized active players, while at that time ABS was ranked somewhere around 27. ABS was lead by Atraxis and the leadership made a decision at that time to finish the race to Feb 13 at the top, and to make the best of that situation. The leadership put an effort into it and made the tribe active and finished the race at rank 3 within an inch of rank 2.
We have 3 examples shown. In all, the leadership was forced upon people; the difference is what they did with it:
Most of the tribes were made of solo players that, if the tribe were lucky, then they were a top tribe due to the good players that contributed to their points - nothing more (with the exception of ilovetherain who was a great person and admittedly did try to lead his tribe but failed). Those tribes dissolved on Feb 13.
ATTACK had a steady leader who kept the activity high and the tribe was solid and kept their rank and position; Ephette was aiming for the long run.
In ABS where the leadership was lost like in example one, they did turn around and do something that made ABS a
Tribe out of random players.
Claimed leadership – early tribes
(Arranged by rank at February 13th):
1) ATTACK – the only tribe survived the lock. Ephette claimed leadership and gathered a wide array of players around her. I will mention 2 of them: Oji and albrew who both were dukes of ATTACK at a time. They were 2 opposite players: Oji was a quiet manager type who was cool and led with a calm and level-headed attitude who tried to lead by example. Albrew was harsh; he swept people after him as he was a strong (but stubborn) leader. If I were to divide those 3 to the elements, then Eph is earth, Oji was water and albrew was fire.
2) PM – short lived, this is what the ‘claimed leadership’ was all about. orynto claimed it, created high expectations and crumbled under the pressure as people expected too much. It is a classic example of over advertizing a product that is good but can’t deliver all that was promised.
3) LA-G – 2 leaders that were leaders only because they stepped up to be such. The greatest failure of LA-G leadership was that they didn’t surround themselves with the right people.
4) Nstlk* - good leaders that really were good ‘leaders’ but poor managers.
5) Feb.13 – they had a “unique” leadership system; they hid behind their players…I think the greatest failure was that they didn’t earn the respect of the tribe (I will get to it).
6) YGI? – just an array of good players; there wasn’t a real leadership there.
7) LA – LA-G academy. Academy tribes, as a rule, have crap leadership as they can’t actually lead even if they want to.
This was the initial phase, but now came the test; the leadership needed to earn their position. It is nice to be called a duke but it is a hollow title if the tribe don’t follow you. I will concentrate on 3 tribes here: ATTACK, PM and Feb.13.
ATTACK : When Ephette contacted me for joining the tribe, I asked her about her vision. At first I got the answer that I expected (not the one I wanted
) in which she talked about world domination, war tribe etc (all the things that Shadow achieved) but I asked about
hervision, how she would lead, what her vision was of how a tribe should conduct itself, I received this answer:
“
My word is my honor. I have always played by this ruling. When I break my word I will step down as leader. The tribe’s reputation is extremely important to me. I expect my tribe members to keep their word. I will not have players who make allies then noble them. Unacceptable.
We will fight, but we fight with honor. We will show our enemies as much respect as we show our friends. There are, after all, real people behind these computers.”
And I replied “
…my kingdom is at your command”. I have never lived to regret it. Ephette stood behind her words and earned by it the respect of the tribe.
PM: It started as an area alliance before the lock ended; ornyto, being the largest player, claimed leadership but his manner and demanding tone, combined with internal disputes, tore the tribe apart and people started to flee the drowning ship. It was the same with LA-G; that leadership was there because they claimed it but their status was neither earned nor established and when ATTACK started to launch after poor diplomacy from LA-G, the players just ran for their lives as the leaders didn’t inspir any level of commitment to the tribe.
Feb.13: As I wrote in the beginning, in the words of Kenneth Boulding:
To gain respect, they must be ethical. Here, the Feb.13 leaders failed; they were organized, well managed and the tribe had a good leadership, but they didn’t gain the respect of the people and that is what instigated their downfall. They hid behind their players and didn’t act honorably (I wrote enough in the past about the importance of honor
).
Earned leadership:
I think that only Shadow qualifies for this section, as any other tribe/leader put to the test crumbled and didn’t earn the respect of the tribe. No other leaders gave their players what they needed and wished for which is that elusive sense of security in that members are confident that the leaders know what they are doing and that they are walking the right path.
Lord of bones
Stats
Top Ten Tribes
1 Shadow 110.232.201 127.301.945 69 1.844.956 12912 9.859
2 LIGHT 32.365.909 35.284.239 68 518.886 3780 9.334
3 *TKP* 10.698.830 10.771.800 48 224.413 1331 8.093
4 Dawn 7.201.750 8.089.917 89 90.898 1161 6.968
5 NOS 4.288.149 4.346.438 48 90.551 604 7.196
6 Purge 3.929.685 3.929.685 37 106.208 592 6.638
7 Bella 3.837.098 3.837.098 26 147.581 487 7.879
8 BIP 1.852.240 1.852.240 29 63.870 238 7.783
9 ALLIES 1.315.685 1.352.352 58 23.316 314 4.307
10 WOLFS 1.299.710 1.299.710 40 32.493 269 4.832
Top Ten Players
1 gerick6 Shadow 5.570.523 542 10278
2 Zarin Shadow 5.070.882 497 10203
3 mikestuntz Shadow 4.625.588 462 10012
4 filphillip Shadow 4.589.233 471 9744
5 sstarkey Shadow 4.464.974 453 9856
6 BrobFellshank Shadow 4.455.322 438 10172
7 Deciphered Shadow 4.389.084 430 10207
8 Mande1992 Shadow 4.295.496 431 9966
9 ftw97 Shadow 4.282.306 435 9844
10 stampcoin Shadow 3.695.624 369 10015
Well I do apologise for the lateness, but I am sure that you will agree that the submissions were worth waiting for. The maps seem to be rather unnecessary, so I think that I shall make those a monthly thing. Aside from that, have a good one folks and I hope that you enjoyed it.
[/spoil]
5456:swordsman: 27:axemen: 64
46:lightcavalry: 45:heavycavalry: 200
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