War #3 - Voices of the Fallen

[RavingRabbid]

I'll be more prepared general next time.

Yep, I think you're right.

[Sevs]

I'll be more prepared general next time.

Yep, I think you're right.

lol

 I should probably say Kael has done a great job managing this war. I can only imagine the time it takes to audit 13 vaults. It as hard enough fixing our own. I dont think anyone should say he is at fault at all.

On another note, the editing after the deadline. When I went to copy the forum code from the previous deck thread i accidentally clicked modify instead of quote and was pissed at the mistake but if you click back or exit out the time stamp wont change. But after after accidentally modifying a couple people posts in the discussion, and not noticing till later because the screens look the same, I can see how Wizel could have accidentally edit the page 7 days later. Although an innocent mistake, if you let it slide it could possibly ruin fair play.

[deuce22]

I should probably say Kael has done a great job managing this war. I can only imagine the time it takes to audit 13 vaults. It as hard enough fixing our own. I dont think anyone should say he is at fault at all.

^^This

[EvaRia]

I'll be more prepared general next time.

Yep, I think you're right.

lol

 I should probably say Kael has done a great job managing this war. I can only imagine the time it takes to audit 13 vaults. It as hard enough fixing our own. I dont think anyone should say he is at fault at all.

On another note, the editing after the deadline. When I went to copy the forum code from the previous deck thread i accidentally clicked modify instead of quote and was pissed at the mistake but if you click back or exit out the time stamp wont change. But after after accidentally modifying a couple people posts in the discussion, and not noticing till later because the screens look the same, I can see how Wizel could have accidentally edit the page 7 days later. Although an innocent mistake, if you let it slide it could possibly ruin fair play.

Oooohhh, that makes sense.
It didn't make sense to me why you would edit a post a week after before, but it does now.

I hit modify too in order to copy the code from last round...
I completely forgot that it leaves an edit timestamp, but that makes no difference to us for various reasons that you will find out about after our section opens .

[deuce22]

Oooohhh, that makes sense.
It didn't make sense to me why you would edit a post a week after before, but it does now.

I hit modify too in order to copy the code from last round...
I completely forgot that it leaves an edit timestamp, but that makes no difference to us for various reasons that you will find out about after our section opens .

You mean we aren't going to delete all our threads so that no one can copy us next war? Blasphemy!

jk, even if you have a great system in place (like Eva's), it requires a lot of activity from all (or most) team members in order for everything to be successful.

[ralouf]

Anywya kael is doing an awesome work and yes we are disapointing to loose due to a penalty but anyhow we'll have lost this war even if the edit doesn't count..

Otherwise it's obvious that we won't change our deck one week after the deadline cuz that mean that the round is finished at this time and that is totally useless to edit anything.

So we can stop this discussion here IMHO

[Bootsza]

Apologies, but I would like to change the tone here a little with a recount of my War experience.  Being a giant word nerd, it is a long(ish) read but hopefully has some useful information or insights to any other 'newbies' considering something like War.

Spoiler for really long version:
 Introduction

This was my first War and one of my first serious PvP experiences.  Having been introduced to Elements a long time ago (the old forums were still around and SG's original FG Rainbow still worked with OP sundials) I had messed about and collected a bunch of decks and cards without ever getting involved in the community and community events. 

I had played a couple of the weekly tournaments previously and in anticipation of maybe getting into a War team.  I had hoped it would give me some insight into what was expected and while it did to a certain extent, it really does not capture the enormity of War.  A good comparison would be the difference between hitting golf balls randomly at a driving range and playing a 4 round - 72 hole, competitive golf tournament.  Sure the driving range helps you get ready but it is a different ball game altogether!

My Application

I knew that it was unlikely for an unknown player to get into War - especially now that the rookie role had been removed.  I was sorry to see that role disappear but I understand why it did (too many rookies just abandoned their teams).  I still think that more ways of introducing newer players to community events need to be found but I now realise why War is the wrong place to do that: as pretty much the ultimate community event, it makes unknowns a high risk.

So, I did a couple of things to improve my chances of being chosen:

I went on the grind.  For 250 000 points or more.  AI3, T50, FG's.  Endlessly.I bought all the cards I did not have.  Seriously, I went out and bought them all.   6 of each and 12 of pillars / pendulums.  I didn't know at the time how vaults worked and suspected I would be found out for misleading information!  Be honest in your application, sure, but have some electrum on hand to buy what you need from the bazaar.I madly abused the T50 and the kind farmers for all the rares.  Last to collect were titans and shards of readiness but I got them all.I took the application form seriously.  There was a bit of controversy about players deliberately filling out incomplete or 'joke' forms in order to affect the auction process.  Not a great advert for the game IMHO and definitely not for a newb like me.  I also went Slave for obvious reasons but mostly to increase my chances of being chosen.I started to pop into main chat and just get a feel for the community

A link to my application is here:
http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,22415.msg303945#msg303945

As an additional note: I did not understand the roles (nothing but participating will really bring understanding) but it was necessary to indicate your preferred roles on your application, so I read SG's summary on knowing your roles in order to try and make an informed choice:

http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,14512.0.html

The Auction

Wow!  What a great part of War!  I understand that some changes are necessary but please, please, please don't ever do away with the Auction.  It is fascinating, exhilarating and generally wonderful - one of my favourite parts of the whole experience.  I don't envy the Generals and the work they do here but just watching it unfold is a lesson in strategy, human nature, self promotion and karma!

Brilliant stuff!  The Desperate Housewives of Elements!

Also, it is a complete rush to see you got a bid.  I was lucky enough to attract bids from two elements and it was awesome to log in and see interest.  I was expecting to go through the Underworld process this time around to get some experience (you normally have to submit an application to qualify for Underworld) so to be chosen for a team was very gratifying.

My Team

I was extremely fortunate to be part of Team Water.  What a great bunch of guys!  We had no major personality conflicts and I was pleased to be a part of a group who shared my outlook on ethics, sportsmanship and behaviour with regards to competition.  They were mostly European, which meant we had few time zone issues and a healthy IRC channel.  I was at school all the time.  The stuff they knew about Elements is amazing.  I learned a tremendous amount from them all for which I am pathetically grateful.  Thank you.

Special Shout-outs (sorry... have to be done):

Tiko! The skill and commitment he brought to the event were unbelievable.  Nobody worked harder, nobody did more for the Water effort.  An exceptional person and player.  Please don't blame yourself for anything matey!  I still want to send him some fine South African red wines to say thanks.
Jappert!  Another skilled player and thinker about the game.  His humour takes a bit of getting used to but we could not have done without it.  I suspect he kept Tiko sane throughout the event.
TheDictator!  Another guy not afraid to put in the hard yards.  His efforts were noticed and appreciated but his innovation really stood out for me.
RavingRabbid! Our fearless leader!  I appreciated not only his hard work but also his management style in crisis moments.  He stood up for me, specifically, on a couple of occasions and was relentlessly positive.
VinVick! Our American!  I didn't get to spend too much time with him because of time zones but he added a huge amount with his skills and maturity.  He also added a music edge: classic with a touch of martial overtones!
Patch!  Our Asian influence.  Time zones played their role here too but I have no doubts about his skills.  He has tremendous energy levels when he is focussed!
Nilsieboy!  Again, not a lot of time spent together but his knowledge of the game is immense.  He also knows how to win.  A lot.  I suspect he had some IRL stuff going on which is a pity... our team was better and stronger when he was there.

A lot of people here who I would happily hang out with IRL.  Let's do it in Africa!  Safari reunion IMO! 

The War Itself

WAR!  Nerves hey?  Playing your first War Match is a heart thumping exercise in trying to keep it together!  Nothing else you will do in Elements will compare to this.  I highly recommend it

I can't say too much towards helpful hints here other than to stress how important it is for the team to all contribute and how time is your enemy.  Mistakes get made because of pressure and chief among pressures is time.

Get involved from early on.  Study your opponents.  Help out with deck building.  Help with deck testing, strategy, research, everything you can lay your hands on.  The more you do, the more you will know, the better prepared you will be and the better you will be as a War Player.  Do it early and GET INVOLVED! This is the best advice I can give anyone looking to get the most out of War.  I wish I had done more of it.

A special shout out to my opponents here.  I had no bad experiences and this has a lot to do with how sporting they all were.  Those who lost to me did so with style and those who beat me were super lucky sons of ... kidding!!!  They were class acts all round and I am appreciative of it as they all contributed to my War experience.  Many thanks to you all as I saw many nasty instances in War but was never touched by them directly.

Conclusions

War is not something to be undertaken lightly.  You should do it aware of how demanding it can be in terms of time and energy but you should definitely do it.  It requires discipline and hard work but it is completely worth it.  I highly recommend doing it but I would also seriously recommend taking a sober moment to consider if you can commit to it.  As much as I enjoyed War, I am not sure I will sign up again without giving it a lot of thought first.

I should also mention here that some elements are better suited to War than others.  I would not like to make a big deal of it but I think it is obvious and might merit some thought when it comes to making adjustments or adding cards to elements in the future.  It is not definitive by any means but should, hopefully, be kept in mind.

Lastly, to the Warmasters - KaelHate and team... you have my enduring respect for what you do for the community here.  Knwoing the work it takes just to be a participant, I shudder to think what you guys are having to do in terms of work.  A heartfelt thank you from me.  I loved my time within War and the organisers made it happen.  It is genuinely appreciated.

Team Water is dead!  Long live Team Wadurrr!
TL;DR version:

War is cool but hard work.  Do it, but do it properly.  Team Water rocks.

[Essence]

Umm...  +rep.

[The_Mormegil]

Umm...  +rep.

[ZephyrPhantom]

"'Brevity is the soul of wit,' as the saying goes."

- johannhowitzer

EDIT: I should clarify - I'm not offended - I was trying to be witty about the length of the post. Sorry if I caused a misunderstanding, because it was really well written.

[Bootsza]

Apologies... it is really long but I was going for comprehensive rather than witty and this seemed like the right corner of the forums for it.

Spoiler in place now to avoid wall of text offence.

[SteppingStone81]

Apologies... it is really long but I was going for comprehensive rather than witty and this seemed like the right corner of the forums for it.

Spoiler in place now to avoid wall of text offence.

Your post was well-written and cogent, well worth a "wall of text".  It would be a shame if the post got less views because it was in spoilers.  Just my two .