Solid guide to all clan war games, 'build and progress' type gaming where invasion occurs etc.

Author: RationalMadman

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All Clan War games run on the fundamentally same game theory, it isn't what you may think (resource gathering is a necessary but overrated aspect of it, as is raw offense, being in a strong clan is worth 100x as much as saving up for a massive boon in power later, always play to overrate yourself early, so as to appeal to the good clans ASAP, this is true whether you're a significantly paying player or not. It would only be slightly unnecessary if you're either the leader of or buddy of a leader of a strong clan.)
quoted from my profile.

I won't say too much here, maybe I'll want to reveal more later on and this guide won't be that unique, if you dig hard enough someone else has said these concepts at some point regarding certain games in the genre but I am going to summarize things that may or may not be obvious and that I have found all clan war games are based on:

  1. Do not start a clan war game if you can't no-life the game for 3 solid days. You need to be able to dedicate 3 solid real life days where you spend at least half of your waking hours towards this game. I am not kidding, this matters so much more than you think. If you're skilled enough, you'd be able to slack off the middle day of the three due to how bursts of bonuses work in these games but to do that you need to be willing to spend 5-7 dollars to cover it and then it will basically put you exactly where you need to be. If you had worked hard all three days at it, you usually only need to pay 1-2 dollars on a small package boost thing.
  2. You need to be mentally and financially ready to spend around 15 dollars on the game. This is a minimum, trust me. If you are not willing to spend that money on a game, especially a mobile game, that's fair enough but quit while you're ahead. You won't excel at 90% of the games out there if you're 100% aiming to be free-to-play because the time and energy required to pull of hyper-farming to compensate for the lack of payment still means next to nothing once we analyse significantly premium buys like high-tier vigilantes in Mafia City, high-tier Commanders (or maxing out the good Commanders you already own) in Rise of Kingdoms, so on and so forth. You really will need to spend money on these games as you progress, you will hit 'paywalls' that are not at all things where skill and dedication truly can overcome the complete pay-only stepping block you need to climb over said wall in progress. It's up to you to prove me wrong on this, I am certain this is true, in fact it unfortunately is more like double that amount; 30 dollars, if you really want to be close to genuinely dominant in a server.
  3. If points 1 and 2 are fully embraced by you and you're ready to proceed, spend day 1 doing everything the game tells you to do. Do not think you are smarter than the game is, it is built to guide you to do basic things very well, so do them all as it tells you to do. However, the one exception to this rule is if you have the opportunity to upgrade a resource tile/production-zone in your city/turf/town whatever it's called (your place/base where you produce things in) then do this regardless of the game telling you it's wise or not. Just do it, it's always worth it in all of these game formats before they make it obvious that it's worth it. 
  4. On day 2, you need to start using your brain, at the end of day 1 when you had to work or sleep or whatever, you should have left 1-2 troops gathering resources depending what the game let you do. Day 2 should begin with you ignoring the missions/quests the game assigns you and putting on whatever kind of gathering boost the game gives you, even a production boost if you find yourself short of something. Use it all, ramp up the buildings do everything you can do as fast as possible and gather, gather, gather. Dedicate entirely to your main account, you shouldn't have a farm account yet. Just go ham and be a resource-hungry blind player. Even if your 'team' clan/alliance/whatever-name-team tells you to help them, ignore them, you shouldn't be in an amazing team, you should be in a bad team for beginners. Once you're done and all your buildings and training are decent, you ditch that team for a recruiting team that isn't pro and very high-tier but is decent. It is important even if you havethe power to hit a better team's minimum, you stick to a medium team where you are above the minimum. I will explain why in the next step.
  5. You are now in your 'floating team', this team will become your brethren and friends for the next 2 weeks of your clan war game life. Do not piss them off but don't be entirely quiet so they would sooner kick you than another. Be friendly, keen and active. They build an alliance building and need help? Help out if you can. They are under attack because they stupidly annoyed another clan? Consider joining the other clan or help them out but if you join the other be sure you'll want to and be able to last there. You are a floating boat in an ocean, let the mediocre team carry you. For all you know you hit the jackpot and this is that one mediocre team that actually becomes one of the big players later on, if not it doesn't matter. It's better to aim for a team that's your language and able to interact socially well with you. You'll learn ins and outs of the game by the tryhards within the mediocre team (there's always 2-3) and you'll be able to have a good reputation as a loyal member. Ignore the invites you may get from the 'big boy' teams, that's not your job yet. Stick with this team, help, do everything that is required to be seen as a good team member and don't worry about power-increase, let it naturally come, perhaps pay a small package to help you on your way if you get busy IRL. Keep your ear close to 'da street' and get a sense of which clan is a big power player. This is 100% essential to your success in the city/kingdom/empire (server's) long-run. DURING THIS STEP YOU SHOULD BUILD YOUR FARM ACCOUNTS
  6. The moment you're comfortable on your farm account(s), start to look for the big-player clan that's looking for you (some games only require 1, others 2-3, don't worry about being a hyperfarmer, keep your farms decent, that's all that matters). You should be at least 2 full weeks into the game past the time you joined the previous clan. Trust me on this 2-week rule, it's not just about power gain pace, it's about streetsmart pace, you need to see who rises and falls and has a bad vs good reputation. Aim to join the clan who has the best reputation and has done the least sins to other clans, value that over power if the two aren't clear. Within the top four clans of a typical clan war game server, the one who is consistently obeying the 'street code' and has very consistent etiquette is most likely run by players who have deep knowledge and respect for the game, regardless of how particularly powerful they are at that moment. If worse comes to worst and you find they were more toxic than you thought, you will at least have not gotten peer-pressured to break rules and be too much of a troublemaker when you beg another big clan to let you in. This is about risk aversion and being in the clan that will last in the long-run. Nobody likes the clan that abuses its power too soon into a server, they never ever last and if they 'last' the server becomes dead as the weaker just leave meaning they are kings of an empty wasteland in the long run with a terrible reputation if the once who ditched it spread the word about them. This is why it's paramount to be a keen, active player of a rule-obeying clan. Your reputation can get wrecked with one dirty move you get pressured into. You need to be part of the 'hero clan' not the 'villain' clan, servers always ultimately form this dynamic. It is very important to understand how and why the villain clan always loses int he long run but sometimes there's a three or four-way dynamic with 2-and-2 type alliances. Be part of the kindest clan even if they are allied to the dirtiest-playing clan, only value the reputation of your own clan, ignore the other chaos that shifts and changes but the core leadership of the big clans rarely ever truly changes.
  7. As things progress, you will find that almost all clan war games unfairly benefit from the short-range units being invested into. There's always two types of short-range units; the type that tank the damage and defend and the type that attack hard and fast and aim for the backline. It is possible I am wrong, there may be one of these games where it's optimal to focus on your long-range damagers, heck one may even favour the 'tanky damagers' (the vehicular fourth type that mainly is useful for gathering resources and destroying structures) but if you ask me, based on what I've seen in these games, it's objectively best to either be a tanky focuser or the speedy-short-range focuser. In some games the tanky type are called bulkers, in others infantry etc, in some games the speedy are called bikers, in others cavalry etc. It doesn't matter, all of these games run on the same four fundamental types of crew, you should always dedicate to either the tanky or the speedy, do not be mistaken to think there's long-term benefit in focusing on the long-range because you see, the long-range damagers are great if you pay a ton of money and have such high tier stuff to pull it off but the tanky types are insanely OP as they're both defensive and offensive at once when invested fully into while the short-range speedy are so OP because they're just so utterly versatile (they hit the entire backline meaning both the damagers and the vehicle types) and they help your operation-speed be slightly reduced usually as they're faster units in the first place, helping you ambush opponents and even retreat faster than the other specialists can. Once you decide which of the two you're investing in, stick at it, don't change your mind later or overly try to 'even things out' there is a tiny bit of value in that,  yes, but fundamentally know your specialty and in all other ways you can assist a type, stick to a singular specialty of the tanky or speedy type.
  8. Even if you are an introvert IRL, friendships and loyalties matter. Don't be the quiet guy in the corner, get to know your clanmates, chat now and again, help and ask for help. It's both fun for you and them to feel this interaction. If it ends up going toxic and bad, it's likely you chose the wrong clan or even game. Bear it in mind, consider changing.
  9. These rules will all help you but never underestimate the importance of being a nerdy type in these games. Ultimately, those rules are what they all have in common. Now, get to know the games specifics. Don't be the sucker who didn't know enough when it really counts.

Mesmer
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Imagine spending any time on this garbage lol.
RationalMadman
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Sorry, we all know you have a superior use of your spare time. 
Mesmer
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For once, we agree :)
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So, what exactly is this subforum for then? Just shitting on anyone who actually participates in it?
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I wouldn't classify all videogames as worthy to be shat on. I like games where I can have fun. I like GTA wherein I can shoot rocket launchers, pilot planes or drive a car super fast through a busy street, something I can't and don't want to do irl. I like Gw2 wherein I can dress my characters up in pretty outfits and be involved in the stories (and avoid the grinding). I like Fallout wherein I can make interesting, meaningful decisions in the game's story, or just shoot the high-powered weapons at random things to see if they vaporize (and not care too much about the levelling). These are fun things I like doing in videogames. 

I do however take exception to these predatory, instant-gratification, pay-walled skinner-boxes much like the one you've listed here.

You see the issue here is that you're hardly playing a game to have fun. You're grinding away to make the numbers go higher. You're stating that someone MUST "no-life" the game for several days, in order to have any chance at winning. You're stating that you HAVE TO "farm" in order to get some numbers up. You're stating that you NEED to spend "15 dollars" on the game and that's the "minimum". So you're paying to grind/farm better in order to make numbers go higher. Does that sound like fun to you? Or does that sound like someone torturing themselves and paying to torture themselves less in order to make number go higher? This is garbage. You're basically a drug addicted pay-piggy to these people. They're the only ones allowed to sell you your dopamine hit.
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Sounds like I'm having fun grinding and you're playing a game that inspires violence and reckless driving.

That said there's an element of violence in clan war games, just much less significant.
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How much strategic thinking do you learn or train our brain with in GTA? It conditions you to indeed get instant gratification... I'm failing to see your point.
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You're basically a drug addicted pay-piggy to these people. They're the only ones allowed to sell you your dopamine hit.
Let's wait until the next GTA release. Then we'll see who the addicted pay-piggy is.
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Farming in these games is an alternative to paying for resources at later stages in the game btw they don't tend to go hand in hand, however the work involved is indeed effort-demanding. Not all games are meant to be easy. I'm not sure what your overall case is but instant gratification is infinitely more there in GTA than clan war games. 
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Also the numbers going higher is only part of the game. The way you use said stats in the wars is the real skill (though the grind is very much a skill as well).

You form friendships amd really dominate servers as a united clan. It's more fun than you'd think but of course not everyone's style. 
Mesmer
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If you're looking for a game that is about strategy (nothing wrong with that), go and play one that doesn't involve grinding and gated pay-walls. If you're looking for to form friendships and be united in something, you can do that without doing mind-numbing grinding and paying lol. You don't have to grind and lock yourself in a pay-gated garden to get these things.

As for GTA, it's just fun playing it. You can be a Karen and say it "inspires violence" or whatever (that's another debate), but I'm having fun and you're not when you grind -- that's my point. It's fun to try and flip cars. It's fun to shoot rocket launchers at helicopters and see them explode mid-air. It's fun to see how long you can drive safely without breaking the law in a game designed for you to break the law. I have my own fun with the game doing things I can't do irl. When I get bored of that, I turn it off and do something else. When you get bored of your pay-piggy grind-fest, you keep grinding because the numbers aren't high enough and it's more efficient to suffer now than later. I don't have to pay for boosts to get better exp. I don't have to pay for extra slots or bigger bank space. I just play until I stop having fun. You don't.
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Try and play and you will see it's not just dumb paying or entirely boring grinding. Some are, I don't deny that.

Dumb payers can dominate in bursts but in the long-run there's extremely intricate strategy and tactics to the game. The events are fun if you picked the right game. You can say whatever, I don't care.
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I don't tell you guys all the games I tried. I told this because this subforum never has anything in it worth reading and I wanted to start a discussion about a game genre I'd gotten into.
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Build and Progress type gaming? Sounds just like 2b2t.
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@Intelligence_06
that is just the foundation and beginning phase of the game. If you think that is all there is to this clan-war RTS genre then you simply don't have a clue about it.
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You can say whatever, I don't care.
Yeah so I give you good reasons to not play this garbage games, and you end with this.

What's the point of posting this on a debate website? If you're not interested in doing things logically or correctly, then why even bother posting any of this on here? The whole point of a debate website's forum is to get to the bottom of things, not to totally concede everything and just do what you were doing anyway LOL.
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I notice Wylted and Lunatic do this too, it's as if they think that because the website happens to be called 'debate art' that I 24/7 need to want to debate every single forum thread and post to some bitter end.

These are the forums, not the debate section. There are forums on many websites of varying themes and not everything in the forums needs to be 100% dedicated to that website.

I didn't make this thread to debate whether I'm entitled to enjoy and be an enthusiast of clan war games, I made to at most 'debate' about strategies and approaches.

One argument against my strategy is in servers where a huge amount of big players 'jump in' (some games allow that very leniently, Rise of Kingdoms is one of them). In these servers, your 'floating phase' is in fact projected to last longer than 2 weeks and your original may well be vanquished. My advice there is similar though, stick to a clan that isn't part of the 'big destroyers', build yourself up gradually and if your clan gets big-time hit, again switch outside the big alliances. Wait and see what happens, then when no other choice is viable if you seriously want to participate, join the big clans once your power allows it. 
Mesmer
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Sounds like a bunch of excuses for your videogame addiction. It can't stand against reason and logic, so you resort to Ad hom and the classic 'I don't care'.

But keep playing your skinner-box videogame. Keep getting milked by predatory developers that are monetizing your addiction and suffering. Keep telling yourself that you don't have to justify any of it to anyone. You're such a good lil pay-piggy.
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that was something
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@rm

do you know how dopamine works?
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@drlebronski
Sure, it's what you get released while participating in these forums for instance, or else you would quit the site. So, go ahead and preach to me about how harmful it is.
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@Mesmer

Will do. Cheers.

Keep buying your shooter, violent games and funding those developers.
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Keep telling yourself that you don't have to justify any of it to anyone. 
It's amusing to me that you think that you're on the reasonable side of this discussion.

People don't owe the world justifications for their hobbies.
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so you resort to Ad hom
Where? LOL!

Do you know what Ad hom is? Calling me an addicted pay-piggy to fortify your 'stance', whatever that stance even is.
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For the record, if you're skilled enough, especially with Rise of Kingdoms, you can be free to play and genuinely be a force to be reckoned with (but you'd require pregame knowledge of how server jumping works to pull this equality off).

It's down to dedication and skill. It's just unrealistic that in your time and effort playing there'll never be a dip, it's that dip that the paying covers. It's up to you how much it matters to you. If you want to be the best at a game that will last for years to come and you can play constantly and enjoy, then paying will be worth it. If you absolutely don't care, that's fine, don't pay a cent.

Unlike GTA, these games don't blackmail you to pay before testing if it's worth paying to.