New Players Should Avoid FB

This thread is not intended to be presented as whining about my personal situation, rather giving new players a real heads up before deciding to set up shop on FB. The idea of staying away from FB as a primary world for players has been echoed by game veterans.

FB is where the action is, there's no doubt about that, when it comes to military. But without a solid economic and military backing from a top federation on the server or your own off-world empire, your FB experience is not likely to be a positive one and especially for newer players getting a feel for the game, experiencing FB as your first empire could very well turn you off from the game.

My personal experience with the idea of sudden loss of a couple months of building and growing came in the form of a war declaration last night in what is sure to be a one-sided affair beginning today. I am fortunate enough to have made this empire with GC and FB isn't my primary world, so it isn't the end of the world. For newer players though, a similar situation would almost certainly turn you off from the game so again I urge you to avoid FB until you have a sizable empire on another world.

War protection on FB doesn't last as long as you'd think, and the amount of military that you can build up without bankrupting yourself is a drop in the bucket compared to what you will face with established countries. In my personal example, my country has all secrecy turned on, with full 100.00 War Situation Index. The empire declaring war has 5 countries totaling 10x my population, is the leader of a federation, and has an army asset value in their capital alone that's 3x my total assets, featuring multiple Mobile military units, navy, and nuclear weapons. In short, it's over before it begins.

The aggressor in my war experience attempts to sell countries on discord, which there's nothing at all wrong with, but it does reinforce the idea that this should not be your first world. I have never had an interaction with the player and he's on the other side of the world. Don't assume that because you're active and turn on your secrecy settings that you'll be safe if you are non-aggressive early on this planet. I will survive, but only because I'm not based on FB. Don't make the mistake of making this your starting planet if you want to play the game long term.

I would advise otherwise, get few friends, make federation of some 10-15 countries and even small defences will be good enough to detract potential attackers.

Making 5-7 countries per player is very easy and fast, especially on fb.

Fearless Blue can be unforgiving, but like Mdnz said, some (geo)political maneuvering can help mitigate a lot of the danger. If one is on FB, a focus on defense should be forefront. Defense can be very useful and will dissuade all but a determined enemy.

But the advice given by Unsthable isn't bad. Many players take advantage of the secured status of other worlds so they cannot be wiped if overwhelmed on one planet.

Last time I signed up on FB an old timer declared on me and I simply explained to them that I wasn't inactive, I had just arrived, and I'd like a chance to settle in. He was cool about it, no war, and I settled in. Matt probably remembers where many of my countries were (hehe).

Yessir! You had a nice little Empire. Are you back on FB by any chance? I've noticed less and less familiar faces. Mike C does bring up a good point. Good communication will usually offset (most) players and conflicts.

Majority of Vets aren't exactly looking to wipe newbies.

@Unsthable

Reaching out on the forums for help during times like this might be worth it. I think the FREEDOM Federation regularly protects players. (assuming they're not the ones attacking you)

Are Nukes no longer a deterrent?

Generally, nukes are fairly easily defended from.

Most players who might feel confident enough to attack you on Fearless Blue won't be concerned with whether or not you have nukes.

I was at work and someone came in and stole all 3 of my countries. I've played the game for years but after investing so much time and effort into my new empire, I think I'll be calling it quits sadly. Ive had fun..

somebody should have said this, out load, before now.

with federated air defense, (i.e. 3 countries clusters) with both interceptor and heli air wings. combined with ground defensives units, (spread out,) and some sort of nuke defense, modern sim-countries, are all but undefeatable.

for the ground units, what i've been doing is 500 of each the defensive set of batts (aamb,dmb,mib,) in a defense division. but i don't do a allot of PVP, their might be a better set up. and i don't know if adding nuke d to that would work.

targon is nice, but not necessary. haven't had a chance to really check, but i think the unit will still contribute, in addition to all else, even w/o actual targon batts. for an extra layer of defense.

a cruising speed of 10/10/10 interceptors/heli/ground, wings and units, with a plan to multiply that by 5 when war brakes out. assuming you have the trucks, supplies, and what not. you'll take out more from them, than they'd care to spend.

not saying that, out load, will only provoke the gm to creating stronger defenses. thats how we got here, in the first place!

I think basic defenses should absolutely be a must for players going over war level 3.

I don't think I'm being controversial by saying I think for players who venture onto Fearless Blue, military should be the primary focus. I'm not sure that was the case here, though I am not casting judgement. Populous, profitable countries without tons of defense or any allies are what warlords are most likely to target. Low risk, high reward.

I would refrain from giving numbers of units you might need because that varies based on who you're playing against. The goal though, should be deterrence. Allies are also a form of deterrence. Make them! Federate with them. Would *you* hesitate to attack a country like the one you have? Look at some of the top warlord countries. Do you think *they* will hesitate?

Keep in mind that deterrence is what your opponent understands about you. If you have secret allies or a weapons stash that's mostly deactivated, those are not forms of deterrence.

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I was at work and someone came in and stole all 3 of my countries.<!-/Quote-!>

I once dec'd a player, that turned out to be a brain surgeon. because of my actions, he had a hard time focusing on his job, and almost hurt a child.

i will not, and do not take responsibility for that. thats on him. but their is still a point to be made.

sim country is a long term game. a player in war, should feel sim-safe enough to go to work, and come back to having his countries still in his account. and given that this is a game it shouldn't be that difficult. the knowledge to do it, shouldn't be secret. their shouldn't be uber exploits

There is a 1.5 day lag time between wars starting and war declarations. If you have mostly undefended countries, no allies, no email notifications turned on, and don't log in most days, I'm not really sure Fearless Blue is a place to just expect continuing survival. It is labelled "The War World" after all. The issue of not being around for a war is a difficult one, but that's the case in every MMO like this.

I also don't feel the knowledge to keep yourself safe is a secret.

The bigger problem is almost no one asks and almost no one seeks out this information in the first place. You can lead a horse to water and all that. You could make 50 guides, and most players would never find them or use them. Back in the 'more aggressive' days, players would regularly get crushed for the exact same behavior. Assuming they could just play without defenses while having valuable, exposed assets. We now have war levels and players choose to play without protection.

Players who spend time testing things out in the game also don't owe everyone else in the community their full findings. You'll be hard-pressed to find any game where that's the case. Not everyone needs to be equal to have a successful game. Networking should be rewarded. Go talk to other good players. Most players who do not succeed in simcountry play solo and don't interact with others. Speaking of:

There currently is only a very small community at all of veteran players. Virtually everyone who interacts with them gets better. This is why I push the discord and why I respond to almost all questions I can on the forum.

Unfortunately, very little development time has gone into improving the multiplayer mechanics and elements of the game, and as such, players don't pursue it as much anymore. It's a weird conundrum.

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Back in the 'more aggressive' days, players would regularly get crushed for the exact same behavior.<!-/Quote-!>

And thats why we ended up with War Levels, and uber defense.

I agree with your basic points. But they are not exclusive points. It should be reasonably easy for a casual player to survive a surprise war.

WL3, is the minimum PVP war level, those folks stumbling around figuring out what to do, should be fighting other folks stumbling around. They shouldn't be victims of experienced players, unless they joined a fed, for the purpose of personal development. And of course that fed should be capable of defending such players.

I think you may be overstating how often this happens and overstating who it happens to. You attacked a non-federated veteran, all but helping wipe him from a planet at the time, did you not? I'm not blaming, but merely pointing out how the game goes. The bigger issue for him was he didn't have friends and your ally did.

How many *new* players have you seen get wiped in the last year? I've been back since August, and I've seen just this one, and it was on the war planet. This particular player played for about 6 months, so they weren't even that new.

In virtually every other MMO, there's huge emphasis on feds, guilds, teams. Playing without one is a huge disadvantage. The same is true here, but the game doesn't push it like it should.

Suggesting that no one is able to play almost at all, everyone is exactly the same, and nothing much can happen instead to humor new players is a direction I'm not sure helps us.

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You attacked a non-federated veteran, all but helping wipe him from a planet at the time, did you not?<!-/Quote-!>

I didn't start the war. I defended a new player, because he was actually trying to do something, and he specifically asked for offensive help. And I didn't take over the countries I defeated, thats why he wasn't wiped from LU.

That new player, that i stuck up for, has gone on to prove himself worth the effort... And is currently enriching the game.

The player who was the target, how ever, has received numerable threats from -you- even a declaration of never ending war! The guy is clearly incapable of defending himself. He is infact an autistic adult, who you could easily ignore, and never lose one ounce of prestige.

You could, and should, leave Lee for the next Prince Greg to come along.

I think we're getting a little sidetracked and losing track of the point here.

The player you're referencing has attacked me, and I have not attacked them since I found out their real life situation. He still has the country he attacked with, because like you, I just ended the war. This particular player is a known irritant and initiates the conflicts he loses. Regardless of his situation, he sets himself up for failure. Provoking others and bringing up subjects most people view inappropriate, or controversial at best is always going to make gameplay more challenging.

Prince Greg also is almost certainly not a new player. He already is Top 5 in the entire game in assets. You helped him when he was already War Level 10, in a war he started against this autistic player. He is attacking this same player again, right now, while federated with you. He also is the one who attacked the FB player who was just wiped out. For what it's worth, I have no issue with any of this. If players won't go to enough effort to help themselves, no one will. Playing solo is dangerous and not advisable when you could be attacked. This is my point almost entirely.

Regarding what we were talking about before:

Changes I'd support:
- I agree with you that we could use improved war endings. I have repeatedly been an advocate for adding things besides conquest to war ends.
- I wish we had more bonuses and prompting to join federations. There is no federation leaderboard, no federation bonuses, and nothing obvious enough to players suggesting that they really would benefit from having allies. Federated players improve more quickly, learn the political situation more quickly, and die less often.

I think suggesting everyone needs to share all they discovered with the community to save the new players who aren't dying and are instead focused on single-player is not really helpful.

What you say about the development of events regarding Lee, and Greg, and yourself, are true, and honest.

I will gladly drop this discussion, you are one of my favorite people. And I have mad respect for you.

Very few things in life, are straight forward. In order to have heroes, you must have villains. To have champions, you must have challenges.

Sharing everything isn't necessary. But I learned an awful lot just by reading Sam and Barney brag about their victories.

At this point, the uber defense, is only an exploit, because no one wants to talk about it, out load. With any kind of detail. Guides aren't necessary, basic outlines, things that promote discussion, on how things work. Avoiding that, makes it a secret.

Thanks for the kind response, and I'd echo the sentiments back at you. You've taught me as much about the game as anyone, and when you've been around as long as we have, I think that's saying a lot.

You and I have shared many tactics because we've been federated, and we spend time discussing the game and being social. I think your comments about Sam and Barney are sort of what I'm hoping we can focus on. You saw that conversation because you were federated with them, and because they were willing to spend time testing and trying new things. That was a major strength of LDI and why they could always claim to be "on the cutting edge" of the war game.

You are currently promoting teaching and multiplayer by helping grow a federation of players.

You say: "Very few things in life, are straight forward. In order to have heroes, you must have villains. To have champions, you must have challenges."

100%. Spot on. And some people won't enjoy losing while others are made champions and victors. I think what we both want is more engagement and for players to not leave after defeat.

LDI, in my opinion, was the best fed ever, Hydra can be that. But its about the players, what they do.

When I say i learned allot from reading them. Well, it was the forums, not the fed. Again, LDI was great, but I didn't fit in, and I had allot of life problems, at the time. I can not really be counted as a LDI member, i was only in it for short while. But Sam deserves serious respect.

Also, i'd like to throw out that we (Hydra) have specifically done and end of month build up, to make a good showing on the WG stats, I'd like to say, i greatly appreciate you doing that, and am looking forward to the next one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSKN0ZB9YDs