DeletedUser
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Introduction
I've not written a guide for some time now, and I wanted to share some of my own (successful) experiences for others to potentially benefit or learn from. The topic this time? Premades.
Brief History
Personally, I have only ever created 2 premades. One was Agency, the other is DSy4. At the point of writing this guide, DSy4 is still in existence on W70 .net (with different leadership) - the last remaining premade. Agency merged at end-game with its ally and I carried on leading the teams to win the world together.
What is a Premade?
A premade is very simple: a tribe pre-made for a world before it opens.There are a number of different types of premades that tend to exist:
- The 'fun' ones. They play purely for their own entertainment without the real intent to last. Sometimes they do last, but more often than not they kill themselves off internally.
- The 'in it to win it' ones. They play, as is their way, to win. These tend to be very diplomacy-focused, with the players just wanting to get a quick win. They can last, but again it isn't common to see them go the whole distance or even make it until end game.
- The 'in it to deserve it' ones. They tend to take a lack of diplomacy approach, and try to earn a world win by out-playing the other tribes with a bit more dignity than the 'in it to win it' type tribes.
It is the third category that I am discussing; if you aren't interested in playing the game honourably, this will likely be of next to no use to you as it isn't written for a style that I see as worth playing the game for.
Should I lead a premade?
Have you ever led a tribe ingame before? Not baron, not council. Duke. And for a substantial time too.
If the answer is no, you need some ingame experience in that field first. If you lack the experience, you will not have the trust of your tribe members in the same way you can do through ingame recruitment and slowly establishing your reputation. And in games like this, trust is everything.
If the answer is yes, if you were somewhat successful (by this I mean that the tribe achieved things that you are proud of), then so long as others believe you are or could be a good leader then a premade is something you may like to consider. This does not mean you will be a good leader for a premade; you will likely only find out through experience.
How should it be structured?
There is no 'right' way to lead a tribe. See my leadership for beginners guide - it is the same as any other tribe. You have to find your style; if you try to copy others when it doesn't suit your personality or flair then the tribe will fall flat on its face.
The only advice I would give is to not select your leadership team until you have most of the players brought in for the premade. You can tell from personalities and relations between members as to who will be worth having in a leadership. Sometimes players who led well from a past world can be atrocious on another - making a decision based on past experience of leadership is not the way to go.
Who should I recruit, and how?
The way I have always done recruitment is first and foremost by approaching everybody I trust to gauge interest. If there is not much interest, then there is no point attempting to make one. You need to build a core group that will form the foundation of the tribe.
Don't go for the early-game players - they tend to cause drama, problems and are almost always where the internal leaks come from. Go for the ones who have nice personalities, don't cause constant problems due to their ego, and most of all go for the ones who you will be able to trust if things begin to go downhill.
If anybody contacts you who you do not know personally, see if anybody you do know does know them and get a background check. Do research via forum posts of the accounts they own. Building up a picture will let you know what you are likely in for.
How do I choose a name/tag?
Be playful. Think about your goals through making this premade. If you want a particular image, focus the name around that. If you intend to follow a specific strategy, focus the name around that. If you really don't care, you will have a number of people thinking 'will this guy act like he doesn't care ingame and leave us all in the sewers'?
Should I make a thread?
There is no yes or no answer. Ask yourself these questions.
1. What will it achieve?
2. Do I want attention?
3. Will I receive abuse for making this thread?
4. Will it impact on my reputation before I even begin?
Think carefully; most successful long-term premades don't make a thread. The odd ones that do (such as the ones I have made in the past) don't give anything away, announcing cryptically and under alias so that people don't know:
Who is leading.
Who is in the tribe.
The tribe tag.
The tribe name.
Whilst this maintains a lot of secrecy, this can bring in more interest from a particular type of player, who often end up making a very valuable asset to your team.
Is it really worth it?
That depends on what you want to achieve, and how much of a headache you are prepared to deal with - every premade has issues simply because of the expectations set by the public for premades. If you can see past that and keep your cool...sometimes it can be worth it.
Hope this helps,
~Googly~
I've not written a guide for some time now, and I wanted to share some of my own (successful) experiences for others to potentially benefit or learn from. The topic this time? Premades.
Brief History
Personally, I have only ever created 2 premades. One was Agency, the other is DSy4. At the point of writing this guide, DSy4 is still in existence on W70 .net (with different leadership) - the last remaining premade. Agency merged at end-game with its ally and I carried on leading the teams to win the world together.
What is a Premade?
A premade is very simple: a tribe pre-made for a world before it opens.There are a number of different types of premades that tend to exist:
- The 'fun' ones. They play purely for their own entertainment without the real intent to last. Sometimes they do last, but more often than not they kill themselves off internally.
- The 'in it to win it' ones. They play, as is their way, to win. These tend to be very diplomacy-focused, with the players just wanting to get a quick win. They can last, but again it isn't common to see them go the whole distance or even make it until end game.
- The 'in it to deserve it' ones. They tend to take a lack of diplomacy approach, and try to earn a world win by out-playing the other tribes with a bit more dignity than the 'in it to win it' type tribes.
It is the third category that I am discussing; if you aren't interested in playing the game honourably, this will likely be of next to no use to you as it isn't written for a style that I see as worth playing the game for.
Should I lead a premade?
Have you ever led a tribe ingame before? Not baron, not council. Duke. And for a substantial time too.
If the answer is no, you need some ingame experience in that field first. If you lack the experience, you will not have the trust of your tribe members in the same way you can do through ingame recruitment and slowly establishing your reputation. And in games like this, trust is everything.
If the answer is yes, if you were somewhat successful (by this I mean that the tribe achieved things that you are proud of), then so long as others believe you are or could be a good leader then a premade is something you may like to consider. This does not mean you will be a good leader for a premade; you will likely only find out through experience.
How should it be structured?
There is no 'right' way to lead a tribe. See my leadership for beginners guide - it is the same as any other tribe. You have to find your style; if you try to copy others when it doesn't suit your personality or flair then the tribe will fall flat on its face.
The only advice I would give is to not select your leadership team until you have most of the players brought in for the premade. You can tell from personalities and relations between members as to who will be worth having in a leadership. Sometimes players who led well from a past world can be atrocious on another - making a decision based on past experience of leadership is not the way to go.
Who should I recruit, and how?
The way I have always done recruitment is first and foremost by approaching everybody I trust to gauge interest. If there is not much interest, then there is no point attempting to make one. You need to build a core group that will form the foundation of the tribe.
Don't go for the early-game players - they tend to cause drama, problems and are almost always where the internal leaks come from. Go for the ones who have nice personalities, don't cause constant problems due to their ego, and most of all go for the ones who you will be able to trust if things begin to go downhill.
If anybody contacts you who you do not know personally, see if anybody you do know does know them and get a background check. Do research via forum posts of the accounts they own. Building up a picture will let you know what you are likely in for.
How do I choose a name/tag?
Be playful. Think about your goals through making this premade. If you want a particular image, focus the name around that. If you intend to follow a specific strategy, focus the name around that. If you really don't care, you will have a number of people thinking 'will this guy act like he doesn't care ingame and leave us all in the sewers'?
Should I make a thread?
There is no yes or no answer. Ask yourself these questions.
1. What will it achieve?
2. Do I want attention?
3. Will I receive abuse for making this thread?
4. Will it impact on my reputation before I even begin?
Think carefully; most successful long-term premades don't make a thread. The odd ones that do (such as the ones I have made in the past) don't give anything away, announcing cryptically and under alias so that people don't know:
Who is leading.
Who is in the tribe.
The tribe tag.
The tribe name.
Whilst this maintains a lot of secrecy, this can bring in more interest from a particular type of player, who often end up making a very valuable asset to your team.
Is it really worth it?
That depends on what you want to achieve, and how much of a headache you are prepared to deal with - every premade has issues simply because of the expectations set by the public for premades. If you can see past that and keep your cool...sometimes it can be worth it.
Hope this helps,
~Googly~
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