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Unread 3 May 2009, 09:19   #35
lokken
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Re: Anti Asc Allstars?

People talk about JBG being amazing and he is amazing but the ascendancy model is based on the fact that anyone can step up to replace him. We spent last round not using JBG at weekends, meaning he was refreshed (in more than just the rest sense) and we were getting used to the idea of him not being around. The only heart I'd guess our opponents can take from this is that whoever steps up for him is in all probability (given that I rate JBG as one of the top 5 players of all time) not as good.

While JBG is not taking a leading role in Ascendancy this round, we still have the benefit of his opinions and tactical input which are obviously very important. The key point I'd make is that Ascendancy's strength is that it's not reliant on any one man and when people do put in effort, it pretty much runs itself. This round is very much a missed opportunity for our enemies if they don't appear to want to challenge us (I'm assuming from this thread that a lot of you have given up) as obviously we're in a bit of transition and quite honestly these stats are a piece of shit that reward swamping your opponent with FI/CO more than using any genuine strategic insight with different ship classes.

With all due respect, the problems our opponents face are massive, particularly if they rely on a traditional alliance model. When you become reliant on certain people, they become targets and we're more than content to go through the mind numbing activity of wearing down an opponent then overrunning them. We've become very much a slow burner of an alliance in wars, pretty much equivalent to a football team that sits back, hits on the counter attack then goes out to blitz their opponent once their lead is comfortable. One thing that we can guarantee, win or lose for our enemies is that if you war with us, you won't enjoy playing the game. As Wishmaster will testify from last round, attacking Ascendancy is no tea party and long may it remain so. And obviously, we have 20 to 30 players, possibly more who couldn't give a toss if you attacked them and pretty much don't get discouraged. This is simply down to experience.

The other (staggering) barrier is quite simply the level of cooperation in ascendancy. This is not because we are good friends or great players or anything like that (although some of us certainly are). It lies down to the fact that when you join Ascendancy, you sign up to a way of playing and know what is expected of you in addition to the massive benefits and freedoms that Ascendancy membership brings. If you start being shit, you'll be openly called out, but it's that level of honesty that I think helps us quite a lot.

So what is the solution? Zeyi suggested building an alliance over time, which was an interesting suggestion. To suggest that people would be willing to let us rack up say, maybe five or six in a row while building an institution sounds very level headed. But I think it does not work that way. The best alliances in PA have always hit the ground running, established a big reputation and taken it to their opponents. From Fury proper to Xanadu to Deus Ex Machina to Titans (although it took them a round before they won) to 1up to exilition to Ascendancy (for both our first win and the golden period we're having now). The key for me is to fundamentally establish a good alliance with a plan and whatever happens, the person behind it sticks to that plan. On top of that, I'd probably tell that person to be willing to do whatever necessary politically. As without that, most alliances are doomed to fail.

Obviously, all this may be moot: Ascendancy might get tired of playing like this at some stage and go back to low activity showboating like it used to. I am more than happy playing either way, but people did ask for us to play properly and not waste our talent, so that's exactly what we've done over the last five rounds. Obviously, Membrivio has made it clear that getting Ascendancy out of the way in this fashion is exactly what he would like. If he wants to win a lower quality game where winning is far less of an achievement, that's entirely up to him. I probably thought this way in round 3 or 4, but in the end the best solution was to be part of an organisation that went out to better and outfox the incumbents.

Some people might argue that I'm either being very arrogant or very fatalist in the sense of the cliff face I've presented. But not really. Smart HC'ing always reaps rewards - if someone takes the time to think about winning and breaking us (I don't really put too much effort in as I don't have to) they can probably succeed. I think we are beatable, we just have a very good formula that will sustain us for some time and no one's gone away to find a decent one for themselves.
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