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Istros Newspaper Second Edition
Welcome to the Second Edition of the Istros newspaper. The purpose of the newspaper is to bring players up to speed on current server events. This edition will include a news section containing interviews with some of the leaders from some of the top alliances in Istros, followed by a SINK/SWIM top 10 (views are my own), an overview of the current map of the server, a war breakdown and also a breakdown of BP leaders within the server.
Settings:
Speed -3
Unit Speed - 3
Alliance Cap - 60
Beginners Protection: 7 Days
Revolt
Morale - Active
Table of contents
I. News
II. Interviews
III. Top 10 Sink/Swim
IV. Map
V. Wars
VI. BP Leaders
VII. Fun
I. NEWS
As you are all aware by now, or at least should be, the server's top two alliances have gone to war; VICTRIX/FERRATA and Thermopylae/Thermocouple.
With multiple wars being fought between many of the World's top alliances, I have decided to interview some of the leaders of the top alliances to get their views on how the world has progressed, and what their plans are going forward.
The questions asked to each leader were asked in a way that doesn't give away any vital information about their alliance's current ops/objectives. Only two questions will be asked to each leader.
II. INTERVIEWS
The first interview was carried out with Foo Fighter of VICTRIX/FERRATA.
Currently placed first in the server with over 6m ABP and over 15m points, you seem to be cruising along. A previous newspaper published predicted a Thermo vs. Victrix war, but what was the key factor in your alliance's decision to go to war?
"Well there were many factors for the Thermo war, both for and against and in the end the pros outweighed the cons. Due to WM collapsing as fast as they did, our players were getting bored and were pushing hard for a war with thermo. In the end who does the leadership work for if not the players, we're here to win and have fun, and we're always looking for a good fight."
What are your thoughts on the rest of the server?
As far as the rest of the server, the world is still young, lots of things can develop in the meantime. Hopefully with the big guns fighting each other, the smaller teams on the world will finally catch a break and rim alliances will flourish, which is great for every core alliance as they give a nice fun end game enemy.
That concludes the interview with VICTRIX. Next up, Nocturnos.
The interview was carried out with Ra-Ceren of the Nocturnos family.
You currently sit 4th in points and seem to be in full control of o34. How do you feel things are going so far?
"We got set back, early on this world with a nasty war with Thermopylae. It wasn't an unexpected thing nor, was it unplanned for. We originally began in Ocean 44 alongside about 50 other alliances. We knew from before the time we arrived on Istros that we would be moving to Ocean 34 to establish a core region rather than trying to slog it out in Ocean 44. Because in the end, "there can be only one" predominant alliance in Ocean 44 out of 50 or so alliances trying to be THAT predominant alliance. Moving to Ocean 34 early on, almost insured that we would dominate Ocean 34 and allowed us a heavy footprint in nearby oceans, as well.
This kind of planned migration is complicated and it is not easy on our members. But we have done it many times on previous worlds and it has always been successful despite, what our detractors might say. It is a long-term strategy with long-term results which, are just now beginning to be manifested. Overall, I am most pleased with the way things are going for us. Although, I am concerned about some of the recent developments on the world-stage and the chaotic implications they may have for us and ALL of the other alliance's on Istros. So too, it has been a bit frustrating that this particular world seems to be a real slow-grower when it comes to new players spawning in Ocean 33, Ocean 34, Ocean 43 and Ocean 35. In fact, it seems to be the slowest populating world that I can ever recall out of the more than 6 worlds that we have played upon (dating back to EN6). I might posit that while gobbling up "noobs" might be a sound strategy for established players and alliances, it has the negative reaction of driving potential new players away from this game due to frustration and lack of anyone taking the time to teach them how to play and enjoy themselves. And this may very well have something to do with Istros being such a slow populating game. After nearly a decade of playing Grepolis now, it seems to me that it has become a bit tiresome of almost always facing the same exact players, lead by mostly the same exact leaders in pretty much the same exact alliances, using the same exact tactics on every new world that is opened. I sure would like to see some new faces, alliances and leaders once in a while. I love my teammates, friends and allies and I respect my adversaries (well, MOST of them). I cherish them. But as far as how I feel things are going thus far goes, I think this world is symptomatic of a greater decline in new player participation that probably now spans all of the Grepolis Worlds. And that, is something that we should ALL be concerned about if we want this game to continue to be fun and challenging. Perhaps, we might all pause and show a bit of patience when we encounter teachable "noobs." Perhaps, we might bring them them in, teach them up and turn them loose before, we just eat their cities and cast their defeat upon our Trophy-Piles. Pooling most of the possible best players into just one or two alliances has become a real snoozer. It seems to me that too many players are more interested in "winning" and that, not enough players are playing this game for the fun of it. I have said it before and I will say it again: "Winning" is the icing on the cake. NOT the cake, itself."
What are your thoughts on the rest of the server?
"You know, I really loathe to comment on how I think other alliances are doing. And honestly, I do not impress easily. All of the alliances seem to be doing their usual (largely predictable) thing and doing their level best to survive and/or win this world. I haven't been particularly surprised by the decisions of any of the other alliances nor, have I witnessed any unexpected successes or defeats. Everything seems to be going just as the other alliances planned for them to. Yeah, I know.... not a very exciting answer but, it more or less goes hand in hand with my answers in your first question."
That concludes the interview with Nocturnos. Next up, Poltergeists.
The final interview was carried out with mattrulesyouall of Poltergeists.
You currently sit 4th in points and own the majority of cities in o53. How do you feel things are going so far?
"We have a good team getting better constantly and are racking up yet more cities in O53 through fighting Mercenaries. Hopefully we keep growing at a similar rate and are able to become the power in the north, we are getting better all the time and have the space to grow."
What are your thoughts on the rest of the server?
"The only war I can see well enough to comment on is VIC vs Thermo, although thermo look like picking fights with bloods and VIC isn't working out too well for them. They have lost a number of cities to VIC and need to work out where they will expand into if they can't get themselves on the front foot. Should be good to see as it unfolds and we'll keep trying fighting the right battles to grow while it's going on."
That concludes all the interviews. As Foo stated, the war going on between VIC and Thermo has allowed other alliances to progress and it will be interesting to see where the alliances are placed in a month's time. I would like to thank the leaders for taking the time to answer the questions I put forward. I would've liked to include more interviews, but some alliances never responded.
Welcome to the Second Edition of the Istros newspaper. The purpose of the newspaper is to bring players up to speed on current server events. This edition will include a news section containing interviews with some of the leaders from some of the top alliances in Istros, followed by a SINK/SWIM top 10 (views are my own), an overview of the current map of the server, a war breakdown and also a breakdown of BP leaders within the server.
Settings:
Speed -3
Unit Speed - 3
Alliance Cap - 60
Beginners Protection: 7 Days
Revolt
Morale - Active
Table of contents
I. News
II. Interviews
III. Top 10 Sink/Swim
IV. Map
V. Wars
VI. BP Leaders
VII. Fun
I. NEWS
As you are all aware by now, or at least should be, the server's top two alliances have gone to war; VICTRIX/FERRATA and Thermopylae/Thermocouple.
With multiple wars being fought between many of the World's top alliances, I have decided to interview some of the leaders of the top alliances to get their views on how the world has progressed, and what their plans are going forward.
The questions asked to each leader were asked in a way that doesn't give away any vital information about their alliance's current ops/objectives. Only two questions will be asked to each leader.
II. INTERVIEWS
The first interview was carried out with Foo Fighter of VICTRIX/FERRATA.
Currently placed first in the server with over 6m ABP and over 15m points, you seem to be cruising along. A previous newspaper published predicted a Thermo vs. Victrix war, but what was the key factor in your alliance's decision to go to war?
"Well there were many factors for the Thermo war, both for and against and in the end the pros outweighed the cons. Due to WM collapsing as fast as they did, our players were getting bored and were pushing hard for a war with thermo. In the end who does the leadership work for if not the players, we're here to win and have fun, and we're always looking for a good fight."
What are your thoughts on the rest of the server?
As far as the rest of the server, the world is still young, lots of things can develop in the meantime. Hopefully with the big guns fighting each other, the smaller teams on the world will finally catch a break and rim alliances will flourish, which is great for every core alliance as they give a nice fun end game enemy.
That concludes the interview with VICTRIX. Next up, Nocturnos.
The interview was carried out with Ra-Ceren of the Nocturnos family.
You currently sit 4th in points and seem to be in full control of o34. How do you feel things are going so far?
"We got set back, early on this world with a nasty war with Thermopylae. It wasn't an unexpected thing nor, was it unplanned for. We originally began in Ocean 44 alongside about 50 other alliances. We knew from before the time we arrived on Istros that we would be moving to Ocean 34 to establish a core region rather than trying to slog it out in Ocean 44. Because in the end, "there can be only one" predominant alliance in Ocean 44 out of 50 or so alliances trying to be THAT predominant alliance. Moving to Ocean 34 early on, almost insured that we would dominate Ocean 34 and allowed us a heavy footprint in nearby oceans, as well.
This kind of planned migration is complicated and it is not easy on our members. But we have done it many times on previous worlds and it has always been successful despite, what our detractors might say. It is a long-term strategy with long-term results which, are just now beginning to be manifested. Overall, I am most pleased with the way things are going for us. Although, I am concerned about some of the recent developments on the world-stage and the chaotic implications they may have for us and ALL of the other alliance's on Istros. So too, it has been a bit frustrating that this particular world seems to be a real slow-grower when it comes to new players spawning in Ocean 33, Ocean 34, Ocean 43 and Ocean 35. In fact, it seems to be the slowest populating world that I can ever recall out of the more than 6 worlds that we have played upon (dating back to EN6). I might posit that while gobbling up "noobs" might be a sound strategy for established players and alliances, it has the negative reaction of driving potential new players away from this game due to frustration and lack of anyone taking the time to teach them how to play and enjoy themselves. And this may very well have something to do with Istros being such a slow populating game. After nearly a decade of playing Grepolis now, it seems to me that it has become a bit tiresome of almost always facing the same exact players, lead by mostly the same exact leaders in pretty much the same exact alliances, using the same exact tactics on every new world that is opened. I sure would like to see some new faces, alliances and leaders once in a while. I love my teammates, friends and allies and I respect my adversaries (well, MOST of them). I cherish them. But as far as how I feel things are going thus far goes, I think this world is symptomatic of a greater decline in new player participation that probably now spans all of the Grepolis Worlds. And that, is something that we should ALL be concerned about if we want this game to continue to be fun and challenging. Perhaps, we might all pause and show a bit of patience when we encounter teachable "noobs." Perhaps, we might bring them them in, teach them up and turn them loose before, we just eat their cities and cast their defeat upon our Trophy-Piles. Pooling most of the possible best players into just one or two alliances has become a real snoozer. It seems to me that too many players are more interested in "winning" and that, not enough players are playing this game for the fun of it. I have said it before and I will say it again: "Winning" is the icing on the cake. NOT the cake, itself."
What are your thoughts on the rest of the server?
"You know, I really loathe to comment on how I think other alliances are doing. And honestly, I do not impress easily. All of the alliances seem to be doing their usual (largely predictable) thing and doing their level best to survive and/or win this world. I haven't been particularly surprised by the decisions of any of the other alliances nor, have I witnessed any unexpected successes or defeats. Everything seems to be going just as the other alliances planned for them to. Yeah, I know.... not a very exciting answer but, it more or less goes hand in hand with my answers in your first question."
That concludes the interview with Nocturnos. Next up, Poltergeists.
The final interview was carried out with mattrulesyouall of Poltergeists.
You currently sit 4th in points and own the majority of cities in o53. How do you feel things are going so far?
"We have a good team getting better constantly and are racking up yet more cities in O53 through fighting Mercenaries. Hopefully we keep growing at a similar rate and are able to become the power in the north, we are getting better all the time and have the space to grow."
What are your thoughts on the rest of the server?
"The only war I can see well enough to comment on is VIC vs Thermo, although thermo look like picking fights with bloods and VIC isn't working out too well for them. They have lost a number of cities to VIC and need to work out where they will expand into if they can't get themselves on the front foot. Should be good to see as it unfolds and we'll keep trying fighting the right battles to grow while it's going on."
That concludes all the interviews. As Foo stated, the war going on between VIC and Thermo has allowed other alliances to progress and it will be interesting to see where the alliances are placed in a month's time. I would like to thank the leaders for taking the time to answer the questions I put forward. I would've liked to include more interviews, but some alliances never responded.