don't worry. i'll be gone soon enough.
This is my last world which I'm sure many will be happy about. Everyone has different formulas to win. We've always tried to use all aspects of the game. Some of that is tribe levels. Yes, there are perks but it also just helps morale which is one reason why we do it. Some players need to believe they can win in order to get the best out of them. We try to inspire people the best we can. We also try to use the ebbs and flows of diplomacy to position ourselves each world for a chance to win. Nana/Deez do a great job with that. Diesel also does a great job recruiting and managing member activity. We have some good fighters too that can step up when needed.
Are we the best fighting/skilled tribe in a heads-up match? Probably not. We have some good players but pound-for-pound THC is the better more skilled and heavily active tribe. There is no shame in admitting that. In fact, in the very first update from LULRAWR I admitted that. Unfortunately, sometimes very skilled players are also jerks and sometimes the best players don't end up on the winning tribe.
I can turn it up when I need to but I rarely have the time and availability in my life to dedicate the way others do. I also know that I can't win alone so I spend a lot of time helping others. I'll prenoble, use my troops to clear for them, send my defense, and even step in to save villages when needed. It probably hurts my game a little but it helps the tribe. I've never claimed to be the best player but as one of the co-founders of RND my job is to help our tribe win.
I still think this world is neck-and-neck. THC has some really good players. Becky and I butt heads sometimes but she can flat out play. OSK is not dead. There is a lot of fight in them.
Pant, Zbird, Cokky, Starr - they can be beasts. No one can dispute that. Even Pluto, I've actually had some good conversations with this world and I know she is good to it just sounds sometimes like you are justifly why you do it, but when you do it. it contridictso. Salesman is a complete A-hole... lol But he is skilled, no doubt. Slaughter/Bubbles can play too - despite the confidence. I'm not sure why game can't recognize game. It is always a D-measuring contest.
To Cokky's point, maybe you can't win them all. Maybe it is ok for great players to go head-to-head and sometimes you win and sometimes you don't. The problem is that in such a small community of players in TW2, that idealistic view doesn't work because most people are always trying to one-up the other person. There is a general lack of respect and decorum here. It isn't just trash talking. It goes much further (as moderators have to constantly step in to warn everyone). It is actually destructive because THAT is what creates the grudges and the "win at all cost" mentality.
But when this world is finally over this game will change. Maybe for the better, I don't know. I'll retire so maybe it will just be "ND". Maybe you wont have to worry about our style of play anymore.
Best of luck to everyone finishing this world. It has been fun.
Cheers to all (friends and foes),
RIP