Guide:World Winning Alliance
.png) | Please Note This is a guide written by nodcrush for the .EN forums. Introduction from the Author: |
Making the decision:
So you want to take the steps into leading and expect to be successful? Well here's somethings you need to accept right off the bat an alliance leader commits huge chunks of time to making his/her alliance good over their own game progression. It also means listening to your member's needs over your own and understanding you are responsible for everyone under your flag be it just one player or one hundred. Anything less than this level of commitment and time will certainly lead to disaster.
Creating The Alliance:
So you want to make an alliance on a new world and get a fresh start? Well here's some must dos.
Premades:
Premades are a huge help you should ALWAYS look to use the Acropolis section of this forum to try to make one before setting out in a world. Why? Because its a stronger membership base before you hit the ground. If you picked up 12 players from the forums then that's 12 players you didn't have before and that's going to make recruiting a little easier once you actually get to the world. But be sure to join in a close area where they can help each other. Make a Skype and organize the time and direction before hand. *Note* if you don't have tons of forum cred then your premade might not go as far but you should still go for it someone is bound to join.
Making a statement:
Before we get to recruitment its important to make a statement before BP even ends. Make an interesting alliance name and to the point profile. An interesting name will draw eyes and a organized and to the point profile will make those eyes look to you to join in. Do not name your alliance "Spartans" Not 300 Spartans, not Michigan State Spartans, not meet the Spartans. No Spartans or anything like that.
Recruitment:
There's two types of recruitment Premade and In game. Know them both because they're both important.
Premades:
Remember that if someone is trying to sign up in the forums then they are forum active so check their rep power and title. This sounds silly but if you see a guy/gal ranked as "Chiliarch" and often switching between green, grey, and red then that means not only is that guy forum active he/she is relatively unpopular. That is hurtful right away because if you let him/her join then they could go on the externals and give you a bad name before BP even ends. Lots of people check your worlds externals. Especially initially, so if they see a player making a jack wagon out of themselves then chances are they'll look the player up and see your alliance. Early on that may as well be a death sentence before BP ends. Don't be over cautious some guy in the grey/first green bar with maybe 10-20 posts is always worth trying out. Also remember names don't always mean everything I've joined several alliances where the highly rated popular guys bailed or failed. Its kind of like the NFL draft you might get Andrew Luck or you might get Ryan Leaf (biggest bust known to NFL). Just because someone's forum status is high doesn't mean they're always good in either leading or playing.
In Game:
Before we even start have a base line for recruitment set up and always be adjusting it. Remember it's just a baseline think of it as college admissions. Not every college will reject you because a test score is too low or a GPA is missed by a little bit. But you should have one or the other if not both if you're applying right? The same goes for Grepolis if someone started awhile back and hasn't grown and isn't known as a power house leader then don't pick them up. If someone just joined but has a great set of stats under them then maybe they're worth trying out.
However when recruiting players remember to send a message and an invite if you think they are worth it. You may as well copy the message and save it in your note pad. Explain who you are and bb code your name and your alliance name. Explain why you are a good pick and be to the point. Also keep in mind that you may have to get down and dirty to recruit this means poaching. Poaching is A okay if they aren't green. If someone starts a war over poaching what they're really trying to tell you is 1. They are probably bad leaders and 2.They probably have relationship/abandonment issues. But getting back don't expect the members to come to you. You have to go to the members. Actively message them and always be polite and respectful even if they say no.
NEVER USE FEAR OR INTIMIDATION AS A MEANS OF RECRUITING IT WILL KICK YOU IN THE BUTT!
Training Your Alliance:
You should spent your whole BP and pre-conquest time training inexperienced players for combat and fighting. Face it if you're reading this guide you probably don't have the top play maker in the world in your alliance. But that doesn't mean you can't create some top play makers and have them backed by other play makers. First thing is first grab all the grepowiki guides and commit and entire forum tab to them and other guides. You will have noobs and you need to ensure that they know how to play.
Drill Aggression Into Their Heads:
One thing you need to get going right from the get go is to drill the need for offense and troops into every players heads. Private message friendly pointers, make sure they have a good set of troops, and be ready for some fights. Once BP comes off its going to be a toss up for some alliances after all its a moment of truth. Its not about if you can hold the strong hold islands it's that one or two man on another alliance's stronghold island you need to be prepared for. Those guys will have to accept they're probably going to the grind and fighting hard in their first few weeks which could set them back but it will create tons of farms if done right and gain you some team credit which is important. By the end of the week you want to be top 12 ABP and everyone in your alliance should have some kind of fighting experience and team work experience.
Encourage Active Alliance Forum Use:
A alive forum is an alive alliance you should have tabs devoted to general discussion and news, offense, defense, conquests, a hidden council tab, a chat, and a market tab at least. All of these will play a key role in your alliance staying active. You should mass mail encouraging active forum use and keep inventing new ways to keep everyone active in the forum and game. Personally I loved to create mini contests like "bragging rights" which was a contest to see who could get the biggest kills out of bp. This made sure that the alliance was fighting, communicating, and if they made a mistake like attacked with archers or swords I could point it out. It's very useful to use these types of contests. Anyone not taking part in the forums doesn't exactly need to be booted I've had plenty of silent lookers who responded on every siege/revolt.
Get on Skype!
Skype will be very important it kicks the living daylights out of the alliance chat and is FREE to use. It allows instant communication and private conversations which will reduce the chance of a forwarded message for sensitive material as some players have no idea how to screen shot. It will also get a player more involved and make him/her feel like they're part of something which means they're more likely to be in it for the long haul.
Boot when necessary:
Remember sometimes you'll get idiotic or just plain rude members. If you've tried to explain to them what's up and they won't hear it or ignore and continue doing their thing and not the team thing kick them out and let them be some other alliance's problem.
Picking Your First Targets:
Remember everyone is a target so nobody is safe out of BP. But some tips for finding good targets are looking to the MRA's if an alliance has multiple alliances or high amounts of players it's considered a "Mass Recruiting Alliance" these guys are disorganized, will pact with anyone, but still think they're the best for being in the top 12 based off sheer membership. Hitting them is the PERFECT way to get easy farms many of them are one hit wonders so if you clear them once they'll quit. That means they just fed your alliance AND got your team important ABP. The resources will replace troops, fuel construction, and drive players to conquest. You should always pick MRA's as your first targets for war and farming. It'll get you easy quick combat experience against a flailing alliance and allows you to fight on multiple fronts without getting tied down.