Could you give me some backround information on how this war started?

Perpetual Motion: There was tension immediately upon our arrival in the area as some sICK believed we were joining the SW simply to target them.  

As time progressed, sICK & HEAD shared territory in K63, K64 & K74. In K63 Risharks got an Academy and decided to make a member of HEAD his target. We responded preemptively, by clearing him and removing his Academy and some smithy levels.

Riiiz9 then attempted to retaliate against us and lost his Offense. After that, sICK began talking about HEAD, and things became inevitable.

Do you have any idea why sIck changed their name to HARD? Did it have anything to do with the war?

It is my understanding that the leadership has changed and how they conduct business will also change.

So will you still be at war with them? Or what are your plans in this regard?

Obviously I cannot divulge everything but simply put – we are still at war. Things have been started and there may be only one way to finish them.

What finally prompted your declaration of war?

We never actually declared war. After initial altercations and sICK’s public comments, we reached a stage where we simply decided it best to move.

So what is your plan going forward in this war? Do you plan on conducting any ops?

Yes, of course. We will continue like we started. Ops are part and parcel of any war and conducted by all decent tribes. Letting members for fend themselves by themselves essentially negates the point of being a tribe.

That is a very good point. Lastly, could you describe how you think this war will go in the next few days/weeks?

Well judging from how the members of HEAD have teamed up so far and the scale of the damage already done, I am confident.

Any closing comments?

Yes, I suppose I do. I would like to state that is has been fun so far. And no matter how many ill-informed posts there has been around the situation –

HEAD have no issues (other than the obvious) with ex-sICK/exTBV…/Now: HARD!.

It’s a war game. No more, no less. Our friends in sICK/TBV../HARD!

know as much. Respect given where respect is due.

Can you give me an overview of why the war/conflict began between your tribe and that of Head?

Giacmo: Basically as soon as startup began in this area we knew we’d have conflict. I mean, you don’t have a tribe like HEAD join right in your area without knowing they want you dead. As for what specifically happened to trigger it, HEAD got to a point where they were ready to noble and some of us were the best target. This is a conflict we’ve all been expecting for some time, but one side is more prepared right now than the other.

How does the current situation appear? Does one side have any clear advantages yet?

HEAD definitely has the advantage right now, although with renovation to siCK (some kickings and leadership changes) we should have a better chance at evening things out.

Any closing comments?

HARD! is a new tribe with new chances, and if I know HEAD this won’t be over til there’s nothing left.

In my opinion, being good offensively is actually much harder than being good defensively.

Its very easy to throw a lots of troops at a weak player, but outwitting and out smarting even a relatively half decent player is much, much more difficult. The game, apart from in the early stages of a world, is generally tilted in the favour of the defender.

The good news is that most players, aren’t half decent though and the biggest problem you face is simply taking all the defensive troops of a stacked turtle. A little aggression and taking a few risks can pay off more than you might think. Few players with incoming fight back.

Creativity and misleading the enemy are the biggest keys to unlocking the secrets of being a good player. This guide has been a lot harder to write as a result – unlike defensive strategies which are much more predictable and easy to put into a guide format. A good player will learn the basic principles of offense and then simply through away the rule book and break all the things they learnt!

THE BASICS

Lets start right back at the beginning. The number of players who have “played since world whatever” or have “a 6million point account on world whatever” who still attack without rams or insist on using swords never fails to amaze. As a result, pretty much any player who tries to impress me with that kind of information doesn’t. Its worth saying that the vast majority of players who try and intimidate with hot air should be ignored, and should be attacked! A good player lets his troops do the talking, not his mailbox!

Units to use

Step number one. Use the right troops!

Offensive units are:

Axes, Light Cavalry, Rams, Cats & Heavy Cavalry.

Also remember to use cats and rams for the right purpose. Cats are not for knocking down walls! Rams work by halving the defensive bonus that a wall provides before the rest of the attack score is calculated. If you use cats to attack a wall, the bonus remains at 100%.

The Perfect Nuke

This is another one of those questions where there really isn’t a right answer – but there are most definitely wrong answers. Many players will shout about what works best in the simulator, and what’s the most powerful. However this neglects two very important factors – how long the nuke takes to build and what defense you are most likely to encounter.

When you start building a nuke, in 90% of cases, you don’t know what you are going to throw it against – so a nuke which performs fairly well in most scenarios is generally the best option. Specialist nukes may perform great in the simulator against certain types of defense – but badly against others. The reality is, you don’t get to see your enemies forces until you are ready to hit nor much choice in which villages you hit. It is especially true if you are hitting villages without scouting them first, which at some point you will need to do, to keep the element of surprise. So flexible nukes, rather than nukes with power are what you should be looking at building most of the time.

Also you need to consider build and rebuild times – especially in a war. An all axe nuke may look great on paper, but if it takes twice as long to build as a normal one, then its pretty pointless beyond having novelty value – you just allow your enemy twice as long to build defenses.

A standard half decent all round nuke will look something like this:

6000 axes,

2700 lc

300 ma

220 rams

This is by no means the only build of nuke you should use – but its a good starting point. If you build nukes like this, you aren’t going too far wrong. The thing is to learn each units strengths and weaknesses and use them accordingly.

For example, try replacing some or all your LC for HC in a nuke.

They are slower to build and cost a lot more in resources, but they HC are good offensively and defensively. What you loose in power, farm space and build time, you make up for in flexibility and defense. It means you can have offensive villages which can also be used defensively in emergency situations to support villages, or to snipe incoming nobles. They also allow you to noble a village, and still have offensive power and have support instantly in a village when you take it – which can be useful tactic on a world where you can’t support outside the tribe. It potentially also allows you to build more offensive villages than you might otherwise as a result.

Some players, also make use of specialist cat villages, scout villages and HC support villages to assist with their offensive capabilities.

It is entirely up to you how you do it – stick with something standard so you can keep track of all your villages, or mix it up and experiment. But you need to have that basic understanding of units and the principles of build time and flexibility.

…to be continued in the next edition