Post by General Kanabis on Sept 15, 2021 21:33:10 GMT
To Ellen.
I appreciate all of the good times, and all of the bad.
🔥🤳
The following is a concise examination of the nations and alliances I was at war with from 2015 to 2020.
_On Goons and troll warfare_
They were a broken remnant of what they used to be. Fighting them was a typical lose-lose scenario. They were the apex troll of their time and this was to their advantage.
Message exchange with your opponent is automatic with this sort of enemy and occurs early on. Typically, fighting back in any capacity will bring dialogue to your inbox and marks you down as a person of interest among your enemies. OWF tactics: If a situation is publicly exposed, this further attracts attention to yourself and your alliance. While these type of political catalysts can be useful in establishing a network of like minded individuals to further your goals, they are also potential battlegrounds. Especially when dealing with trolls. A troll will use any means available to destroy your image. This includes publishing screens of all those delightful exchanges I mentioned earlier (many of which are initiated beforehand for this very purpose). It then becomes a community service to entertain such displays of pettiness, and as the peanut gallery looks on, the powers that be will silently wage a war of their own, effectively turning your alliance into a proxy minefield.
Note; this happens more to smaller and younger alliances but it is not always the case. SNX, for example, was often the frontlines of such conflicts.
SA recruitment pool: The Goons originated from a site which was essentially a fortified base of operations. Unlike forums, IRC, or Discord; hailing from and utilizing a communal site is a by far, a more potent and reliable recruitment/propaganda tool. This served the Goons well, and it continued to serve the subsequent generations that had, by that time, gone rogue.
Side note; the Goons forum was a masterpiece of trolldom. I spent hours scrolling through old threads and this served as my biggest inspiration for COBRA's gulag.
This forum, and presumably their main site, was still in use for ingame purposes as late as 2015.
Wartime necromancy: A popular tactic used by bands of former Goons and their later copy cats was to call in retired nations with enormous warchests. Other groups known for this were Nusantara and Non Grata. With Goons however, many of their former associates had made their way into more respectable circles, allowing for them to bring back these relics for the sole purpose of waging permawar while maintaining secret political ties. Their silent partners had only to fabricate incidents that could indirectly allow them to take control of smaller satellites (specifically, any with ties to their ideological opponents) by publicly denouncing roguery while privately funding it to their advantage. This happened when COBRA aligned itself with the Libertarian Party of Cybernations during the Goons crisis. This led to an escalation of war, which our largely non nuclear forces avoided for the most part by staying in a lower NS or jumping into peace mode. Goons began to spawn old wonder heavy nations which quite shocked us to say the least, all the while we took severe damage from the likes of Jerkdotwad and BearRetrievalUnit.
Gunboat diplomacy:
Kashmir took an interest in COBRA and its growing noob army (now at around 50 members). When the rogue nation of Blackenberg attacked us, Kashmir guaranteed peace all around and in exchange, a protection treaty was established.
Loyalty is slavery: A coward can run from their fears, and remain forever a fugitive of them, but a loyalist will always be a slave to their convictions. From the perspective of COBRA, the treaty of Blackenberg was a righteous decision. I personally demanded guarantees to our right to vote for LPC bloc candidates, and Kashmir allowed us this small sense of autonomy because there is always a bigger picture. In this case, Blackenberg was actually a Kashmir ghost and many of their veteran members were former Goons themselves. Thus, Goons managed to successfully land a blow against Methrage while empowering their legitimate front in Kashmir by securing more territory and resources under the guise of protection. COBRA was a world stage for proxy wars from then on.
_On the LPCN and the spread of terrorism_
We began to bump heads with LPC heads of state almost as soon as we affiliated ourselves with Kash. Notably, with aNiMaLz, who were the main antagonist in our distant past. Given this already stale relationship, it was logical for Sir Kindle to view this step as a betrayal. Fighting broke out early on in the lower ranks. aNiMaLz were a different breed. Not trolls. And not exactly pubbies. Their preferred tactic was inbox flooding. No attempts to hide it, no deceit, just straight to the point old fashioned poaching. This was usually accompanied by some of the most vile and toxic stuff I've ever read. And that's me saying it. While most people will remember aNiMaLz as an undisciplined rabble, I recall the opposite. Their main support beam was Kindle and he inspired his troops quite unlike any other under similar circumstances. It was in morale where they made up for in foreign affairs.
Sidenote; this one attribute was key to aNiMaLz' demise itself, as relying heavily on a single person leaves the group vulnerable when left in the hands of lesser leaders.
On senate control:
In early 2016, Methrage was amassing strength within the Brown Team. This posed a threat to Kashmir, who was an ally of Doom. A power struggle for majority control over Brown ensued and ended with attacks against Limitless Nexus by Jack Layton, our chief military advisor amd mentor. Jack Layton was a spontaneous character and these attacks were cited as unauthorized by the Kashmir government. Methrage and his main followers were extremely religious, so to piss them off, I had Jack elevated to godhood within COBRA. Following COBRA's entry in support of JL, other LPC alliances attacked us directly. Blasphemy was often cited as a reason for war during the Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp and beyond.
Doom-Oculus proxy war breaks out in Kashmir:
Escalation of this war was seen by many as manipulated. In one instance, for example, we were declared on by Non Grata, who cited our attacks on Confederatio Aesir, but did not actually engage us in battle during the war. This was, instead, just a bureaucratic move made to justify Oculus joining the war in defense of Methrage. Not only did this outrage those who had quietly defended Oculus' neutral stance on LPC sponsored terrorism, but it proved skeptics right who had accused them of funding Methrage all along. This, again, for the sake of a bigger picture. In this case, Oculus sought to dismantle Doomsphere entirely and appropriate any potential assets, which is actually what ended up happening.
On fighting LPC and New Polar Order at the same time, good cop/bad cop:
We fought 2 fronts. Kashmir got rocked pretty hard too. Some other Doomsphere alliances joined after taking the time to carefully play the politics for the sake of mitigating any real damage. NpO was a traditional and competitive enemy to fight. They employed the use of PoW camps, which I recall at least 1 of our members finding his way to. I personally encouraged it as an alternative to the more drastic defections or desertions. All I can say about Polar beyond that is that they were very driven as enemies and we were rarely without dance partners, given their strict coordination.
LPC recieved a major boost from Oculus support as the war dragged on and they began to launch massive propaganda spam attacks. This wasn't a one time wave. These messages were ongoing throughout the war and definitely had a resounding psychological impact on our dwindling noob population. Several of our members actually defected as a direct result of these messages. This move by LPC forces (spearheaded mainly by aNiMaLz) would be a contributing factor to the outbreak of the COBRA Civil War in the midst of ongoing hostilities.
_The FCA and mutiny at sea_
When forged under mutinous conditions, an alliance should expect a coup at any moment. This applies doubly during times of war. The Three Strikes Rebellion led to the creation of the Free COBRA Army, a faction which sought to overthrow me personally because in their eyes, I had chained our fate to a deeply flawed sense of loyalty. Such was my reputation for hunting down traitors (even if I had to wait months for an opportunity to present itself!) that when left with only 2 choices, this group discovered a 3rd.
Micro cold war:
Even as the war came to a slow end, the FCA and COBRA rushed to undermine each other wherever they could. The opposition chose to adopt the aNiMaLz inbox flooding method and pursued other similar ploys to disrupt our growth. Spies were routinely filtered out. Parasitic poaching tendencies:
Another LPC tactic adopted by the FCA was poaching at the trenches. This happens when a rival alliance launches a raid and you send agents to either offer conditional advice or coax the leadership of these vulnerable groups into joining your side. The FCA was extremely active and always watchful at the border, so this went on for a long time and it successfully stunted our growth while fueling our paranoia.
The consequences of cold war:
Where we expected a huge climax in tensions and eventual reunification through fire, we had to finally accept the idea that the enemy had figured out a way to surpass us in strength, size, and possibly even prestige. After a series of successive rebranding attempts, the FCA decided to merge with another alliance.
Sidenote; Unsurprisingly, I went on to fight this same alliance 3 times, and they truly became the Rome to my Carthage! And so it happens that when a cold war simmers down, one of those two groups will be reduced to such a state that they will accept any deal if it means "winning" at the last minute.
_On ghosting and unconventional warfare against KoRT_
I befriended The Crimson Army at one point. They were a shadow group that employed the use of ghost tactics. Individually, they could belong to any in a list of alliances deemed friendly to the cause. This cause being the eventual destruction of Methrage and his Libertarian following. The TCA virtually infiltrated several alliances in this manner, but the core leadership in these affairs was the cult of Doom. The disbandment of Doomreich was a victory for Oculus, as they were able to subjugate a potential rival without directly engaging them. Yet in this loss, the Doom remnants managed to disperse into strategic pockets. This allowed them to coordinate with TCA agents still active post Bron-Yr-Aur, and wage a cold war of vengeance on the LPC. Funding for this type of warfare comes with a price, however.
Bones wills it:
On one such occasion, a Doombird called in his favor from the TCA. He wanted ghosts for a campaign against Knights of the Round Table. TCA provocateurs like Stonewall14 made contact with individuals such as myself until they had gathered a small army. I ghosted a splinter cell for this purpose and this tactic allowed main groups in the plot to deny direct involvement. I don't think this war went well for the rich Doombirds who orchestrated it. It was not my place to speculate or ask such questions at the time. I warred and went back home, that was my job. Whatever the case, this cemented my allegiance to the Doom clan for some time.
The Knights were decent fighters, and surprisingly active.
I say this because they are the type to give the impression of aloofness when the exact opposite is true.
Ever vigilant are they, and this is something to consider.
_Monsters under your bed, and how to get rid of them_
Not everyone who inherited the animosity between FCA and COBRA was satisfied with the merger.
This is to be expected. Just because the army is dissolved doesn't mean all the soldiers go home.
COBRA was dragged into the affairs of Monsters University when one such despot joined up with this radical group of heavy hitters.
MU was composed mainly of former MInc nations, who had sided with Methrage during the Stomp, and had been recruiting a wide variety of wonder heavy veterans for the purpose of nuclear roguery.
They were led by President Hardin who was suspected of actually being the rogue ATG.
Why rogue armies form:
Under Hardin's predecessor, Monsters had attempted to draw out several alliances to create global conflicts.
This was their go to move. Not so with Hardin, however, as his only goal seemed to involve grinding an axe against the cyberverse that had disowned him.
This doesn't mean he was entirely without strategic ambitions. Like those before him, he was fond of divide & conquer. By carefully examining the OWF discourse, he was able to pinpoint weak links within his enemy's camp and then directly messaged those individuals with bargains of an easy way out, pointing out (quite correctly, I might add) that they, MU, had absolutely nothing to lose.
By presenting themselves as benevolent tormentors, these type of individuals can plant the seed of doubt within nascent relationships.
Monster repellent:
They detest being starved of attention.
Their fighters respect duration in war, and endurance. They worship resilience.
That is the key to winning them over.
Fight them long enough and they will demonstrate that rare respect enemies can grow to feel for one another.
It is truly a thing of beauty, and if you remember the encounter, chances are they will too.
Example; I remember sharing with Hombre Sabio what was presumably his last good fight, and as is the case with most of my enemies, I learned a thing or two from him before the end.
Since Monsters are nomadic by nature, it never hurts to recognize a familiar face somewhere down the road when you are least expecting it.
I met EricSW123 in this war and we talked so much smack to one another in between battles that he ended up joining many later wars as a ghost, despite noticing that the odds were stacked against us almost exclusively. That man, by the way, is an absolute Legend.
_Maroon Dominance and war time tech farming_
The fall of Doom left that group with a perpetual need to ingratiate themselves with Oculus.
During a global conflict concentrated in Maroon, these warlords organized the participation of many micros on the side of Oculus.
I personally led forces into SUN and then Legion.
Exchanging messages with SUN members was a unique experience, I will never forget the donation my nation recieved post war from one of my combatants who appreciated the banter.
The fight from them is as much as can be expected from a mostly neutral faction, but it was a decent fight nonetheless.
Legion disappointed me in that respect.
Theirs was a fight neither remarkable, nor memorable. Though in their defense, it was a lower tier affair on our part and they had bigger fish to fry I suppose.
Note;
Calling the shots in the Doom camp was SLAP leadership, overseen by DBDC. They were experts at damage control. A tech program dubbed Bannedtech was developed whereby wartime tech production would go straight to those doing the heavy lifting, assuring that they would never see any major decrease in their precious tech levels.
Micro mercs were simultaneously funded to increase war wonder production such as MP and SDI. This is all done within a very short amount of time when there is a significant surplus to rely on, as was the case, and likely still is with the Doom kids.
This economic prowess gives such alliances a sophisticated edge than can only be matched by cunning and a solid PR objective, which the Monsters generally lacked.
_Behind every Pineapple... there's an ISX weeb_
Junka Tywin had been present for the Monster Mash. I got to see how he operated. He was a person full of dedication and he had many admirers because of it. Admirers can make excellent followers, but loyalty is not born of admiration, it is born of circumstance. What admiration does enable however, is the capacity of your followers to emulate your attitudes.
This is far more useful on the battlefield than it is as a political gesture.
When I ghosted Apocalypse Meow in order to make war on ISX, I had an idea of this tribe as soft and unprepared. This was an erroneous notion. ISX warriors fought as one, altogether presenting a systematic deluge of brotherhood. War was their profession and so convinced was I of this that it served as a major inspiration for the many poems I composed for my opponents throughout the war.
Selling up or down to get in/out range is a specialty I learned here. While sometimes used in avoiding war altogether, this tactic of slowly shedding your assets (mainly land and infra), or increasing them dramatically- is useful when trying to restock nukes, or preventing the other side from getting into peace mode to do the same.
A lower tier warrior must be willing to sell down substantially to secure another week of war for his enemy.
The fight on this occasion was meant to be fair. I had personally entered as a ghost, as had some of my proteges.
The other side, as I recall, had been given the same option and allowed an equal amount of time to slip in foreign participants.
War is often unexpected though, and this was such an instance.
_On MInc remnants and the obsession complex_
Note; the best type of ghosts are the ones who have nothing to lose!
I learned this the hard way when MInc remnants opportunistically moved in on our home base as we were away laying siege to Junka's lands.
This move had long term political motives no doubt, but the immediate effect was overwhelming for us. MInc had regained some lost membership via necromancy and they were no strangers to the concept of total war.
There are motives here that I would like to examine. Lord Hitchcock hoped to draw out Doom, which he understood would not likely defend COBRA in this affair, despite the obvious disparity of priorities.
At the very least, he would succeed in demoralizing AM's most eager ally and call Banned's bluff at a later time.
The second and primary source motive is of an entirely non political nature.
LH is a creature of habit and emotions. He does not play the game itself, but rather just participates in the crueler aspects of it, and in this manner, he is untouchable. His kind is motivated by the extinguishing of enthusiasm and being persecuted as a hobby.
I believe a healthy individual can be brushed off as a minor inconvenience and go on to pursue other ambitions.
I also believe it can mold the right candidate into a lingering nuisance, one driven solely by obsession.
_On Archangel1 and vendetta warfare_
The Three Strikes Rebellion was a real family feud. COBRA top brass was split right down the middle between two pairs of brothers who were all equally stubborn. The eventual departure of Severus left me speculating his return all throughout the cold war that followed. Indeed, I saw his shadow behind every rock and wrongly accused many noobs while lobbing missiles at them.
I searched in vain for a hiding rat, but was confronted by an angry lion:
Where better to hide from a rabid enemy such as myself who ever conceives of ways to settle scores. A secret collector of rusty hatchets.
Where else but in plain sight. Where else but right in front of me, disguised as a bandit. A brave bandit. One who engages me on the OWF and goes toe to toe, using my weapons of choice against me. I had a disagreement with one such individual and such was my distraction that I put old Severus out of my mind. His ruse had worked.
Archangel launched a series of attacks against us and if there's anything I respect, it's an individual who can smile with a noose around their neck.
I marked him as an equal from then on and was genuinely surprised to later discover he had been my former enemy all along.
_On micro combat and The Imperial Entente, reliance on 3rd parties_
When our alliance was hit with a series of covert spy ops, I thought very carefully of who it might be. If your alliance is rather fonder of making enemies than friends, you really have your work cut out for you when it comes to dealing with espionage.
I decided to put the question directly to my foes and observe their reactions. Most seemed unaware, yet clearly amused.
Lucius however, gave a different response and I knew then what I was dealing with. I had brought my brother into the game some time before that, and it was his nation specifically being targeted more so than any other, much to his fury.
That was another thing that gave away the real culprit for I understood it was vengeance for my actions against Lucius' own brother during the events following Bron Stomp.
It was such a personal tone that my instincts cooled and I was able to get in touch with my reasonable side. I talked to Lucius. We had it all out and I more or less convinced him to confirm his part in the whole affair. And then I secured a retaliation with my third party, as well as his own. At the time, both COBRA and TIE relied heavily on 3rd parties for defense, economic, and political purposes. I was expected to wait until his own protection was publicly cancelled but I was not about to lose the element of surprise.
The preemptive strike was devastating for the enemy. Doom mercs looking to both escape boredom and return a favor marched into COBRA and ghosted for the duration of hostilities.
TIE had acquired a new member who I understood to be a reroll PZI target of ours. Being one of the few alliances to still publicly acknowledge this practice, we were condemned for it while TIE gained plenty of sympathy from the peanut gallery, but not enough to oppose SLAP operatives directly.
That PZI target had been at the helm of FCA operations and there was no doubt TIE aimed to reignite the claims to COBRA heritage. Lucius was a master at persistence doctrine. His propaganda never strayed from his core beliefs. I learned to respect him for that.
This war gave COBRA a reputation for bloodlust. In reality, the ghosts had demonstrated that overkill is not in their vocabulary. Something I gratefully accepted at the time due to it being very much a personal matter.
As TIE forces were routed, I made use of Discord as an instrument of war for the first time. Intimidation is essential for fighting a smaller opponent.
This isn't something I developed independently. Credit where credit is due. I learned this from the same ghosts who assisted us in this.
In the end, TIE leadership held strong, though their alliance essentially crumbled due to 3rd party intervention.
The same can be said for COBRA, though in terms of realpolitik.
Note; any alliance that wins a war with the help of a superior will be seen as weak and malleable to external manipulation, the credit going to the actual victors (minus any atrocities or war crimes committed on their side!)
The big picture: There was little possibility that TIE's cancelled protection would come to their defense, so bait I think, can be ruled out. It is interesting however that the people who help you are generally not on good terms with the people who help, or once helped your enemy. And here I felt that a humiliating (but silent) blow had been struck beneath the roar of our war raging on the surface.
_On the full measure of roguery and aNiMaLz Guerrilla Family_
Sir Kindle's erratic behavior inevitably reached a boiling point that left him isolated. But such was his desperation that he soon had a following just as strong, if not stronger.
While some loyal aNiMaLz rejoined him at his new base of operations in aGF, his main source of rogue states was among the ruins of the Norwood Coalition. Here he found broken and disheveled warriors with no better place to go, their own homes razed by Pacifica and other Oculus imperialists. He smooth talked them into joining his lost cause, and they came.
One after the other, to the dismay of our own forces who were already fighting what had begun as a low intensity conflict.
Unlike the necromancer method, where an older player can likely be summoned to share intel on the zombies that may pop up on the other side, this guerrilla tactic relies on appealing to mainly strangers and doing so convincingly enough to ensure it comes as a surprise to your enemies.
Sidenote on pay to play; though not discovered until the final collapse of aNiMaLz, many of their elite members who still supported Kindle were amassing wealth by means of donation bonus deals. This is a little known type of transaction that is perfectly legal and still in use.
This war, as I recall, was far from easy and it was further complicated by the return of Methrage.
_On the Royal House of Aevrum and recycled gameplay theory_
Having served his purpose of drawing out DK, Methrage was disposed of by some of the same people who had once taken part in his rescue.
The LPCN was disabled from within and he was forced to return to the game in secret, under a different name.
Methrage was very sneaky, but his reroll method was sloppy and ultimately, ineffective. A pattern in theme emergence, communication, and overall affiliation gave him away more than the leak which likely came from his own inner circle.
This forced him to abandon a position of relative political comfort, and turn to the one person who would possibly follow him.
The merger between aGF into RHA was seen as illegal as well as an attempt to reanimate the LPC bloc.
If Kindle had been kicking our asses before, this move only emboldened his followers.
When the well runs dry:
We had relied on war aid from Doomsphere, but relying on another alliance for finance is to your own detriment, and an enemy will spot this as a sign of weakness.
RHA had people watching the aid screen constantly and ready to counter appropriately. They targetted those nations with longer aid delays and continued their grave digging recruitment.
After expanding their influence further, it became apparent that Methrage would win this war so we cut our losses and agreed to end hostilities.
No doubt, Methrage had bigger game in mind, yet his defensive war could just as easily have turned into a war of conquest had he pushed to continue.
Enemy of my enemy:
The best of friendships are those you establish during times of war and hardship. This means even your staunchest rival can eventually become a loyal ally. I learned this from Lucius Optimus in my time here and despite our huge differences, we made it work in our resistance of the now encroaching RHA hordes.
_On Maroon Rehabilitation and priority politics_
A rogue entity is only really a rogue entity if this idea is endorsed by the "right" group of people. This applied to the now legitimate RHA.
We had fought them until fighting them became an unreasonable burden. They went big and then bit off more than they could chew, no doubt emboldened by our frantic cessation of hostilities and the lack of support in our far off corner of the planet.
Note: An alliance is set to collapse the minute they start believing in their own power. Even the biggest dog in the yard needs to keep his head on a swivel.
Methrage ignored this doctrine of war and became greedy. Nordreich was not a merciful enemy and they hunted him and his posse down with the help of almost every active soul in the game.
Such was the priority.
His end and that of Kindle's, was met at the hands of the dreaded moderation drone strike.
A fate reserved for those who, both rotten and otherwise, spit at the gods and are remembered always for it.
We joined in the war of course. How could we not? It was, afterall, just a continuation of our previous grievances which we felt were left largely unrecognized and unsettled.
RHA racism and OOC warfare:
Methrage chose to draw from a variety of sources, the same tactic Kindle was using, and it drew the ire of many alliances who's fugitives were arriving at the gates of Aevrum seeking a place to restock.
RHA granted these nations safe haven and many of them turned out to be quite despicable. OOC attacks are illegal in game, yet they are widely used in other platforms where large parts of the CN experience takes place. This type of behavior leaks dilemmas directly into the gameplay and is the source of many wars.
Note; if you bring in a rogue, you are responsible for their rehabilitation, as well as accountable for any debts they may owe to society.
If you do not do this, society will do it for you.
_On Umbrella and cherry picking asymmetric warfare_
I never had the pleasure of fighting Umbrella in their prime, but here is another classic case of priority warring.
An alliance can choose to go rogue sometimes. Non Grata for example, once felt their time had come and though premature, they did the sensible thing and attacked what was arguably a long time sworn enemy. The definition of going out with a bang.
Umbrella did the opposite of this and in attacking largely independent or seemingly defunct alliances, they showed a real negligence towards proper self destruction.
That is, until they took it one step too far and attacked a group with enough muscle left in their contact list to mount a swift and heavy retribution.
Umbrella membership was well spoken and they knew their numbers.
Having elected to take a shameful way out, it is no wonder that what was left of their membership resorted to joining the Doombirds. They, knowing a thing or two about disproportional damage in war, adopted this tribe with relish.
_On defending Kashmir from FTW and relationship dynamics_
We had chosen to defend Kashmir against the LPC. We also did this against RIA on another occasion. When it came to FTW, I did not see the size or the friends behind them. I only saw red.
FTW had cherry picked our allies over a debacle involving Junka and his nemesis Terminator. The fighters of original FTW were an angry bunch. Injustice, more than anything, put them in this state. Their allies had been viciously attacked and frustration was mounting. Yet this went well beyond a matter if principle. FTW leadership was known for their mergers. And they had their eyes set on SNX from the moment Junka became a pariah.
On grooming candidates and fattening the cow: Not that the intention wasn't honorable, but there is a clear distinction between defending an ally out of pure loyalty, and defending an ally with self interest in mind. Most alliances still standing tend to belong to the latter classification and indeed they owe their longevity to this very correlation.
On little big brother:
A protectorate can surpass its protector state in prestige, strength, and ambition. This shift in dynamics is seen early on with a transition period called treaty upgrading. A begrudging acceptance of the new status quo follows but note; it will never feel natural for the older alliance to walk behind the young, no matter how reliant on them they may become.
_On Unaligned and sanction wars_
The fiercest opponent I ever faced was Hasansohel of Bangladesh By the Bay.
He was former MInc and was such a loose cannon that he even went renegade on his own kin. He single handedly kept me at war so long, and during such an inconvenient time that I began to do something I never directly did, and that is, I asked for assistance from people who called themselves friends.
On secret pacts and cross alliance organizations:
Due to my reputation for bloodlust and my stripes earned with Doom clan, I was invited to join a secret organization known as the Hit Brotherhood. There were many such shadow groups reminiscent of TCA. Jack Layton himself had led The Devil's Brigade. The Nuclear Jihad Pact was another. More than secretive, these groups aimed to set up rapid activation throughout those spheres deemed hostile. I approached this group who claimed to be my brothers and I explained the very personal matter that was preventing me from keeping the rogue Hasan from cratering my nation periodically, along with anyone else in range. I explained how Harry Yanwar had removed sanctions placed upon this nation, and that it impeded any preventive measures (limited though they were) which had been put in place to defend ourselves.
Priority in politics: it was bad enough to not have any support in such a time when RL takes precedence, but I was then harrassed for allowing an alliance such as Unaligned to get the best of me.
And this is the precise moment Doom became my enemy. I spit at their feet and walked away with my dignity, not at all surprised to see those same people who denied me assistance sycophantly rushing to assist when an identical issue arose closer to their inner circle.
Note: an ally who is made to choose between 2 friends will inexorably side with the one that has the deepest pockets. Especially, and almost exclusively if loyalty is out of the equation. This is done to secure an unwavering obedience in the days to come from what is now effectively, an indentured ally.
On how sanction wars always go down:
No matter what, the one responsible will end up on gray. Sometimes permanently.
Recklessness is not tolerated in the Senate and is a practice quick to receive unanimous condemnation.
In this case, Harry was condemned for removing them recklessly rather than the reverse.
Unaligned offered no real fight as a group. We poached some of them, but I found myself personally engaging Yanwar many times and grew to reluctantly respect his tenacity. By tracking his warchest I was able to present this data to my alliance. They had been ravaged by roguery and were now facing the prospect of dealing with a whole other rogue who unlike Hasan, seemed fixed in one place. The periodic news of a decrease in his funds provided a morale boost and it became common practice to count down the financial capability of all subsequent rogues.
Fixed in one place:
After every attack, he would rebuy to the same exact level as before. For some reason this really messed with my head!
_On the League of Micros and the pointless expeditions_
In an attempt to raise awareness to the fact the game was dying, a couple of us got together to try something new. We dreamed of a unified micro world where 2 rounds of war would become the standard. Where 200/9 tech deals would be abolished and where the big alliances would be forced to meet us halfway during negotiations.
The idea was to gather all micros in one place to settle scores and discuss day to day affairs. A matter of contention arose between the founders of this society when the question came to how we were going to deal with our respective "biggers".
Of course, those of us without a broader agenda to groom were of the opinion that autonomy ought not to be stifled for the sake of appeasement.
This was not an ideal shared by all and so the entire thing devolved into a circus.
It later became apparent that the worn out method of provoking global conflict was once again making the rounds, having done so under our very noses this time.
Of the alliances I remember fighting during this period:
CRAP took their lumps and we had fun with the theme. If your alliance has a fun theme, your opponent will take a kinder approach to kicking your ass or surrendering, depending on how it goes.
CCC used moles against us, but this is likely just due to timing. COBRA had suffered a coup attempt and they made good use of this. The Christian Coalition is also one of those alliances with a large following beyond its borders. And here I learned that the most dangerous enemy is the one with the capacity to call a crusade from a defensive position.
The Grand Confederation was a typical noob AA. They were initially taken under the wing of fellow micros, but soon fell victim to the antagonism which our pissing corner was by then, unintentionally sponsoring.
And here in this, the remotest recesses of my recollections, perhaps lies my greatest folly of all.
I failed to treat a noob with the respect I once demanded as one myself and I failed to foresee to what extent an enemy is willing to go to witness your humility.
For the sake of a spoof conflict dubbed the Walrus War, we proceeded to break our own 2 round rule and TGC was left in shambles. We harvested the few strong candidates for membership within our own alliances and those who stayed never aspired to participate in world affairs beyond securing protection status. And understandably so. But one individual lurked on in the shadows. He crawled back into the game and made it his mission to find an opportunity to draw me out for another to take the shot. I walked into this ambush the day I challenged Canik to a fight.
_On FTW Occupation and reroll sabotage_
The rivalry between FTW and COBRA was not then so pronounced, but it was enough to provide a certain reroll the platform on which to vent his long repressed anguish. Events that transpire outside of the actual game are what account for a large percentage of casus belli, especially in the modern age of inactivity. In this case, a larger alliance had taken on a protectorate they knew very little about.
On how to choose a protectorate, if at all:
They are cumbersome things and make for poor alternatives to pet rocks.
It goes without saying that the best of protectors are those that are capable of actually protecting themselves, let alone a whole other entity. In the event that the opposite is true, they must at the very least consider the type of crew they are dealing with in order to proceed with what one can only imagine is by this point just a wishful recruitment venture.
Quality of protector reflects strongly on what type of alliance you are to become. After an exchange of delightful banter, I became a target of the bigger picture once again.
After my falling out with Doom, I did what anyone does who breaks ties with a friend in so abrupt a manner. I reached out to their biggest enemy. In Cybernations this is a tricky thing to do. In some cases, an alliance's enemies might be casually tied to them and it can never be said out loud that such animosity exists. I only entertained the idea, however, but had no intentions of becoming anyone's puppet.
The possibility of an Optional Defense pact with a bigger alliance was floated around, but I considered this to be a sign of weakness. More importantly, I felt that it would make our allies look weak. Afterall, it says alot about your allies when you have to buy your way into a sense of security. As I had always considered these type of treaties between big and micro to be nothing more than a cheap purchase with hidden charges, I only kept the illusion of belonging to a specific sphere of influence. This, to keep the enemy at arms length.
How to start a fight:
Unbeknownst to Canik, he had walked in on a conversation between myself and the rogue saboteur posing as an FTW protectorate. Canik is a proud person. So naturally, that's where I hit him. I attacked his pride and he came at me with everything he had. It was the perfect excuse for his friends to do the same.
On baiting the enemy and purging undesirables:
FTW was a competent (at times, goofy) opponent. I even came to respect Canik's reaction. His allies played their part in that overkill to perfection, as they had done against TIE at our behest. Enter, once again, the big picture.
Here I understood immediately that my percieved affiliation with Polar was the real reason CLAWS and SNX jumped in so willingly. I also understood that this meant I had to fight this war alone.
Canik maintained that he ran the war, yet a pay grade above him or so I was offered unconditional peace in exchange for two heads in my camp. The heads, unsurprisingly, of my main connections to NpO. I had kept them, thus far and despite the warnings from my own inner circle, out of loyalty and it was loyalty too which provided me the strength to turn down the possibility of an easy way out.
It is something to consider that this same individual did indeed bring about a cease fire, after months of heavy fighting, and I suppose mainly out of guilt. The guilt is not speculative as it was expressed to me from many in that posse, who remembered my deeds fondly and genuinely regretted things had come to this.
On strategy when backed into a corner:
A symbolic move from Kashmir would only get the both of us rolled so we did the best we could with what we had.
I learned from this war, how to covertly gain support and establish an invisible resistance bloc by means of meme and propaganda blitzes. I made more friends during this war than in any other, and the beauty of it was that Canik would one day receive them all as enemies.
There are groups that cannot be bullied and will help, given that you know who and how to propose such a thing. A desperate plea for assistance to an underling will go unanswered. The invitation must be made according to relevance in leadership and with the tone befitting a warrior seeking to bestow a quest upon the right candidate.
It is in this way that I secured immediate solidarity with certain groups and individuals, and with others who would, no doubt, willingly follow in future events. All this depending on if, when, and how I managed to get out of this one.
Note; I met the honorable Kapleo in this manner under the enemy of my enemy principle and his raw bravery served to later inspire a renaissance of resistance within our coalition. Such dedication is a rare and I am proud to have shared the field of battle with him.
On long memories:
I knew that there was to be no parade at the end of it all. Instead, I'd use the entire affair as the motive for consolidation. I would harness the power of outrage and I would wait for an opportunity to strike out at my enemies as they had done.
A long memory is what separates a tyrant from the rest. I certainly never forgot the defeat I suffered at the hands of my former comrades, though I was at least able to grow fond of the battles I fought against FTW, then and in the days to come.
_On RFI and underdog revolutionary doctrine_
Though a certain Ice queen once told me that the purpose of RFI was to challenge Polar, I believe RFI was the culmination of a series of moves made by Doomsphere to both keep their subservience to Oculus, and maintain a position as "separate from".
This has very much to do with ego, and RFI megalomania made recurring appearances throughout this war.
On balancing the odds to your favor: a much larger army presents obstacles that can only be overcome by converting their leadership into the subject of smear campaigns and shaming. It debilitates the confidence they are sure to feel for their government and draws the right type of attention to your cause, that is, the type that can be brought over to your camp by sheer power of suggestion alone.
Motivation: your troops must understand this will be an uphill battle. They must be led with the idea that any victories will be gained in arenas beyond the actual battlefield. I bring this up because the interactions between a leader and their followers are not nearly as important during war time than they are during times of peace (or as I like to call it, the prep period). Communication should always be thorough, but since the threat of espionage is ever present, any specific details not essential to expressing your commitment should be kept only among your council of advisors. Yet enough of your plot should be revealed in order to maintain a consistent drive towards the objective.
When opportunity presents itself, knowing when to strike:
When war is favorable, you will be told multiple times that it is not. That is, of course, your cue to proceed.
If anyone needs a war it is the hesitant masses, the war hungry can wait as the waiting will only make them hungrier. In this manner, I kept silent reserves at the ready and sought to exhaust the enemy while conditioning main forces for the battles to come.
While many people wanted to prevent war from breaking out at any cost, the nation on which the entire ordeal revolved around expressed no such reservation. I made it a point to oblige him to such a degree that his cause became my cause, and therefore his enemy my own, though this was routinely the case anyhow.
On aggressive armies and predictability:
I knew Canik's army like the back of my hand at this point. I memorized their movements and their aid flow patterns. I knew the prowess of their champion Armpit, and I was personally familiar with the vigilance of the aNiMaL Kaznawim. I knew Smitty and Muddog would be chief opponents on the information front. I knew who was more likely to fight back and who had more money. I knew that by targetting the same core group that hit us almost a year before, we'd be preventing as many counters as possible. This much was true and we prevailed in that battle.
When you disrupt the potential of an enemy to fight back, however, they will be left with no choice but to call for support, and though this may have been the case regardless, the process is further accelerated as a result.
On why mega alliances conduct intervention warfare:
The saying goes- boss yells at dad, dad yells at mom, mom yells at the kid, and kid kicks dog, who in turn chases cat...
In our version, Oculus had yelled at Doom so they dressed up as mom to kick the cat.
The new military bloc, likely, had been waiting as eagerly as I was across the no man's land for the opportunity to strike. That there were contingencies in place for such eventualities, there is no doubt in my mind.
On how to appeal to the fighting class:
The game can be separated into the ruling class, the working class, and the fighting class. The ruling class, contrary to what the name suggests, does not necessarily mean immense wealth, though of course, megalithic nations fit the category with ease. A ruling class nation can find itself digitally emaciated, with nothing to show for themselves on a personal level. Such is the condescension that they don't feel the need to reduce themselves by actually participating. A paradoxically similar apathy is shared among those with literally too much wealth to care. These are your typical hoarders.
The working class are the dedicated and diligent who will fight, but not always.
By contrast, the fighting class is almost always willing to work and of course, they never shy from a fight.
Barring real life (and the odd stragglers who choose to play in their own fashion), this is as accurate a categorization I can make of the community at large.
To appeal to the working class, you need only present conditions favorable to their fondness for producing tech, and wartime is no such environment. Which is why the working class can generally be found sitting in peace mode during times of war, if they are fortunate enough.
Appealing to the fighting class is all about being one of them. If you are not, then you may perhaps be able to buy their services, but they will not be loyal to you or to your legacy.
My brand of justice happened to appeal to the casualty worshipping Non Grata, among others. These instances of intervention to help, rather than to destroy us, were able to test our enemies and their own ability to keep up with the bureaucratic miasma that they themselves created by cherry picking their targets. It was entertaining to watch them jump around nervously, uncertain of what to do about, for instance, the attacks I set up on a collapsing aNiMaLz with the help of an old Doombird.
For context, Korlath had been on the receiving end of harsh retaliation for doing the same thing (hence the war), yet no one was exactly eager to distribute equal punishment to the likes of Doomsphere.
On strategy and logistics: Knowing your troops is as important as knowing your nemesis. If you can place your forces precisely where you need them at the exact moment, then as a commander, half your job is now complete.
Rarely did I issue copy & paste orders for example- as I was careful to memorize my soldier's living habits, sleeping patterns, time zones, and even occupational vulnerabilities. A custom message goes a long way in keeping the barracks well organized and filled with a sense of unique contribution.
Expect the unexpected; sometimes help arrives when you least expect it. Regardless of size or impact, no contribution can be overlooked.
I learned this when Walsh the Beloved sent reinforcements in support of Kashmir and his experience in dealing with wiki edit warring allowed for us to salvage a situation which might have gotten out of hand had he not interfered in his capacity beyond in game assistance.
On RFI combatants:
FTW was forseeably hampered in their ability to immediately fight back, but when their forces began to counter, we felt their presence more than any of the others.
CLAWS is an opportunistic predator that prefers not to get their hands dirty. Their forces suffered some losses early on. These occurring well beyond their leadership's control. This reanimation of the Doom Kingdom is not a fighting alliance, but in effect, they are meant only for display. That being said, they are still capable of packing a punch, though the blows tend to land harder upon the vulnerable.
On GATO, Argent, and Legion: these alliances, as well as additional auxiliaries, faced us in battle with an eagerness perfectly befitting their congested sense of direction.
On rat kings and treaty chess for rookies:
(for a more detailed description of what RFI resembled at its peak, please contact MasterHakai)
INCOMPLETE
On making your enemies look so bad (not without their help of course!), that even their own members want to join you, the Johnny Apocalypse special:
INCOMPLETE
_On Furry/Pacifica and exporting the revolution_
The frog siren principle:
On the tactical use of extremism to counter the clone phenomenon:
On warrior ethos:
On asking your adversary for money from their own coffers (it works sometimes!)
On Oculus and order through chaos vs spreading mayhem as a means to promote (new) activity:
INCOMPLETE
_On CLAWS and intervention theory_
The evolution of ghost warfare into phantom roguery:
INCOMPLETE
_On dealing with moles and internal strife_
How to filter out suspicious nation IPs through forum authentication and vetting procedures:
The weaponization of soft power to maximize influence:
Ambiguity in foreign affairs and how formalizing relationships can lead to a period of banality and infighting- a slippery road ahead:
INCOMPLETE
_On KoRT and old guard politics_
The inevitable collapse of Cybernations:
INCOMPLETE
The Fart of War, 2021
Written in March.
Archived in September.
For whoever finds this- please show it to LO.
(If you have any questions about the following meme, ask Tankobite!)
I appreciate all of the good times, and all of the bad.
🔥🤳
The following is a concise examination of the nations and alliances I was at war with from 2015 to 2020.
_On Goons and troll warfare_
They were a broken remnant of what they used to be. Fighting them was a typical lose-lose scenario. They were the apex troll of their time and this was to their advantage.
Message exchange with your opponent is automatic with this sort of enemy and occurs early on. Typically, fighting back in any capacity will bring dialogue to your inbox and marks you down as a person of interest among your enemies. OWF tactics: If a situation is publicly exposed, this further attracts attention to yourself and your alliance. While these type of political catalysts can be useful in establishing a network of like minded individuals to further your goals, they are also potential battlegrounds. Especially when dealing with trolls. A troll will use any means available to destroy your image. This includes publishing screens of all those delightful exchanges I mentioned earlier (many of which are initiated beforehand for this very purpose). It then becomes a community service to entertain such displays of pettiness, and as the peanut gallery looks on, the powers that be will silently wage a war of their own, effectively turning your alliance into a proxy minefield.
Note; this happens more to smaller and younger alliances but it is not always the case. SNX, for example, was often the frontlines of such conflicts.
SA recruitment pool: The Goons originated from a site which was essentially a fortified base of operations. Unlike forums, IRC, or Discord; hailing from and utilizing a communal site is a by far, a more potent and reliable recruitment/propaganda tool. This served the Goons well, and it continued to serve the subsequent generations that had, by that time, gone rogue.
Side note; the Goons forum was a masterpiece of trolldom. I spent hours scrolling through old threads and this served as my biggest inspiration for COBRA's gulag.
This forum, and presumably their main site, was still in use for ingame purposes as late as 2015.
Wartime necromancy: A popular tactic used by bands of former Goons and their later copy cats was to call in retired nations with enormous warchests. Other groups known for this were Nusantara and Non Grata. With Goons however, many of their former associates had made their way into more respectable circles, allowing for them to bring back these relics for the sole purpose of waging permawar while maintaining secret political ties. Their silent partners had only to fabricate incidents that could indirectly allow them to take control of smaller satellites (specifically, any with ties to their ideological opponents) by publicly denouncing roguery while privately funding it to their advantage. This happened when COBRA aligned itself with the Libertarian Party of Cybernations during the Goons crisis. This led to an escalation of war, which our largely non nuclear forces avoided for the most part by staying in a lower NS or jumping into peace mode. Goons began to spawn old wonder heavy nations which quite shocked us to say the least, all the while we took severe damage from the likes of Jerkdotwad and BearRetrievalUnit.
Gunboat diplomacy:
Kashmir took an interest in COBRA and its growing noob army (now at around 50 members). When the rogue nation of Blackenberg attacked us, Kashmir guaranteed peace all around and in exchange, a protection treaty was established.
Loyalty is slavery: A coward can run from their fears, and remain forever a fugitive of them, but a loyalist will always be a slave to their convictions. From the perspective of COBRA, the treaty of Blackenberg was a righteous decision. I personally demanded guarantees to our right to vote for LPC bloc candidates, and Kashmir allowed us this small sense of autonomy because there is always a bigger picture. In this case, Blackenberg was actually a Kashmir ghost and many of their veteran members were former Goons themselves. Thus, Goons managed to successfully land a blow against Methrage while empowering their legitimate front in Kashmir by securing more territory and resources under the guise of protection. COBRA was a world stage for proxy wars from then on.
_On the LPCN and the spread of terrorism_
We began to bump heads with LPC heads of state almost as soon as we affiliated ourselves with Kash. Notably, with aNiMaLz, who were the main antagonist in our distant past. Given this already stale relationship, it was logical for Sir Kindle to view this step as a betrayal. Fighting broke out early on in the lower ranks. aNiMaLz were a different breed. Not trolls. And not exactly pubbies. Their preferred tactic was inbox flooding. No attempts to hide it, no deceit, just straight to the point old fashioned poaching. This was usually accompanied by some of the most vile and toxic stuff I've ever read. And that's me saying it. While most people will remember aNiMaLz as an undisciplined rabble, I recall the opposite. Their main support beam was Kindle and he inspired his troops quite unlike any other under similar circumstances. It was in morale where they made up for in foreign affairs.
Sidenote; this one attribute was key to aNiMaLz' demise itself, as relying heavily on a single person leaves the group vulnerable when left in the hands of lesser leaders.
On senate control:
In early 2016, Methrage was amassing strength within the Brown Team. This posed a threat to Kashmir, who was an ally of Doom. A power struggle for majority control over Brown ensued and ended with attacks against Limitless Nexus by Jack Layton, our chief military advisor amd mentor. Jack Layton was a spontaneous character and these attacks were cited as unauthorized by the Kashmir government. Methrage and his main followers were extremely religious, so to piss them off, I had Jack elevated to godhood within COBRA. Following COBRA's entry in support of JL, other LPC alliances attacked us directly. Blasphemy was often cited as a reason for war during the Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp and beyond.
Doom-Oculus proxy war breaks out in Kashmir:
Escalation of this war was seen by many as manipulated. In one instance, for example, we were declared on by Non Grata, who cited our attacks on Confederatio Aesir, but did not actually engage us in battle during the war. This was, instead, just a bureaucratic move made to justify Oculus joining the war in defense of Methrage. Not only did this outrage those who had quietly defended Oculus' neutral stance on LPC sponsored terrorism, but it proved skeptics right who had accused them of funding Methrage all along. This, again, for the sake of a bigger picture. In this case, Oculus sought to dismantle Doomsphere entirely and appropriate any potential assets, which is actually what ended up happening.
On fighting LPC and New Polar Order at the same time, good cop/bad cop:
We fought 2 fronts. Kashmir got rocked pretty hard too. Some other Doomsphere alliances joined after taking the time to carefully play the politics for the sake of mitigating any real damage. NpO was a traditional and competitive enemy to fight. They employed the use of PoW camps, which I recall at least 1 of our members finding his way to. I personally encouraged it as an alternative to the more drastic defections or desertions. All I can say about Polar beyond that is that they were very driven as enemies and we were rarely without dance partners, given their strict coordination.
LPC recieved a major boost from Oculus support as the war dragged on and they began to launch massive propaganda spam attacks. This wasn't a one time wave. These messages were ongoing throughout the war and definitely had a resounding psychological impact on our dwindling noob population. Several of our members actually defected as a direct result of these messages. This move by LPC forces (spearheaded mainly by aNiMaLz) would be a contributing factor to the outbreak of the COBRA Civil War in the midst of ongoing hostilities.
_The FCA and mutiny at sea_
When forged under mutinous conditions, an alliance should expect a coup at any moment. This applies doubly during times of war. The Three Strikes Rebellion led to the creation of the Free COBRA Army, a faction which sought to overthrow me personally because in their eyes, I had chained our fate to a deeply flawed sense of loyalty. Such was my reputation for hunting down traitors (even if I had to wait months for an opportunity to present itself!) that when left with only 2 choices, this group discovered a 3rd.
Micro cold war:
Even as the war came to a slow end, the FCA and COBRA rushed to undermine each other wherever they could. The opposition chose to adopt the aNiMaLz inbox flooding method and pursued other similar ploys to disrupt our growth. Spies were routinely filtered out. Parasitic poaching tendencies:
Another LPC tactic adopted by the FCA was poaching at the trenches. This happens when a rival alliance launches a raid and you send agents to either offer conditional advice or coax the leadership of these vulnerable groups into joining your side. The FCA was extremely active and always watchful at the border, so this went on for a long time and it successfully stunted our growth while fueling our paranoia.
The consequences of cold war:
Where we expected a huge climax in tensions and eventual reunification through fire, we had to finally accept the idea that the enemy had figured out a way to surpass us in strength, size, and possibly even prestige. After a series of successive rebranding attempts, the FCA decided to merge with another alliance.
Sidenote; Unsurprisingly, I went on to fight this same alliance 3 times, and they truly became the Rome to my Carthage! And so it happens that when a cold war simmers down, one of those two groups will be reduced to such a state that they will accept any deal if it means "winning" at the last minute.
_On ghosting and unconventional warfare against KoRT_
I befriended The Crimson Army at one point. They were a shadow group that employed the use of ghost tactics. Individually, they could belong to any in a list of alliances deemed friendly to the cause. This cause being the eventual destruction of Methrage and his Libertarian following. The TCA virtually infiltrated several alliances in this manner, but the core leadership in these affairs was the cult of Doom. The disbandment of Doomreich was a victory for Oculus, as they were able to subjugate a potential rival without directly engaging them. Yet in this loss, the Doom remnants managed to disperse into strategic pockets. This allowed them to coordinate with TCA agents still active post Bron-Yr-Aur, and wage a cold war of vengeance on the LPC. Funding for this type of warfare comes with a price, however.
Bones wills it:
On one such occasion, a Doombird called in his favor from the TCA. He wanted ghosts for a campaign against Knights of the Round Table. TCA provocateurs like Stonewall14 made contact with individuals such as myself until they had gathered a small army. I ghosted a splinter cell for this purpose and this tactic allowed main groups in the plot to deny direct involvement. I don't think this war went well for the rich Doombirds who orchestrated it. It was not my place to speculate or ask such questions at the time. I warred and went back home, that was my job. Whatever the case, this cemented my allegiance to the Doom clan for some time.
The Knights were decent fighters, and surprisingly active.
I say this because they are the type to give the impression of aloofness when the exact opposite is true.
Ever vigilant are they, and this is something to consider.
_Monsters under your bed, and how to get rid of them_
Not everyone who inherited the animosity between FCA and COBRA was satisfied with the merger.
This is to be expected. Just because the army is dissolved doesn't mean all the soldiers go home.
COBRA was dragged into the affairs of Monsters University when one such despot joined up with this radical group of heavy hitters.
MU was composed mainly of former MInc nations, who had sided with Methrage during the Stomp, and had been recruiting a wide variety of wonder heavy veterans for the purpose of nuclear roguery.
They were led by President Hardin who was suspected of actually being the rogue ATG.
Why rogue armies form:
Under Hardin's predecessor, Monsters had attempted to draw out several alliances to create global conflicts.
This was their go to move. Not so with Hardin, however, as his only goal seemed to involve grinding an axe against the cyberverse that had disowned him.
This doesn't mean he was entirely without strategic ambitions. Like those before him, he was fond of divide & conquer. By carefully examining the OWF discourse, he was able to pinpoint weak links within his enemy's camp and then directly messaged those individuals with bargains of an easy way out, pointing out (quite correctly, I might add) that they, MU, had absolutely nothing to lose.
By presenting themselves as benevolent tormentors, these type of individuals can plant the seed of doubt within nascent relationships.
Monster repellent:
They detest being starved of attention.
Their fighters respect duration in war, and endurance. They worship resilience.
That is the key to winning them over.
Fight them long enough and they will demonstrate that rare respect enemies can grow to feel for one another.
It is truly a thing of beauty, and if you remember the encounter, chances are they will too.
Example; I remember sharing with Hombre Sabio what was presumably his last good fight, and as is the case with most of my enemies, I learned a thing or two from him before the end.
Since Monsters are nomadic by nature, it never hurts to recognize a familiar face somewhere down the road when you are least expecting it.
I met EricSW123 in this war and we talked so much smack to one another in between battles that he ended up joining many later wars as a ghost, despite noticing that the odds were stacked against us almost exclusively. That man, by the way, is an absolute Legend.
_Maroon Dominance and war time tech farming_
The fall of Doom left that group with a perpetual need to ingratiate themselves with Oculus.
During a global conflict concentrated in Maroon, these warlords organized the participation of many micros on the side of Oculus.
I personally led forces into SUN and then Legion.
Exchanging messages with SUN members was a unique experience, I will never forget the donation my nation recieved post war from one of my combatants who appreciated the banter.
The fight from them is as much as can be expected from a mostly neutral faction, but it was a decent fight nonetheless.
Legion disappointed me in that respect.
Theirs was a fight neither remarkable, nor memorable. Though in their defense, it was a lower tier affair on our part and they had bigger fish to fry I suppose.
Note;
Calling the shots in the Doom camp was SLAP leadership, overseen by DBDC. They were experts at damage control. A tech program dubbed Bannedtech was developed whereby wartime tech production would go straight to those doing the heavy lifting, assuring that they would never see any major decrease in their precious tech levels.
Micro mercs were simultaneously funded to increase war wonder production such as MP and SDI. This is all done within a very short amount of time when there is a significant surplus to rely on, as was the case, and likely still is with the Doom kids.
This economic prowess gives such alliances a sophisticated edge than can only be matched by cunning and a solid PR objective, which the Monsters generally lacked.
_Behind every Pineapple... there's an ISX weeb_
Junka Tywin had been present for the Monster Mash. I got to see how he operated. He was a person full of dedication and he had many admirers because of it. Admirers can make excellent followers, but loyalty is not born of admiration, it is born of circumstance. What admiration does enable however, is the capacity of your followers to emulate your attitudes.
This is far more useful on the battlefield than it is as a political gesture.
When I ghosted Apocalypse Meow in order to make war on ISX, I had an idea of this tribe as soft and unprepared. This was an erroneous notion. ISX warriors fought as one, altogether presenting a systematic deluge of brotherhood. War was their profession and so convinced was I of this that it served as a major inspiration for the many poems I composed for my opponents throughout the war.
Selling up or down to get in/out range is a specialty I learned here. While sometimes used in avoiding war altogether, this tactic of slowly shedding your assets (mainly land and infra), or increasing them dramatically- is useful when trying to restock nukes, or preventing the other side from getting into peace mode to do the same.
A lower tier warrior must be willing to sell down substantially to secure another week of war for his enemy.
The fight on this occasion was meant to be fair. I had personally entered as a ghost, as had some of my proteges.
The other side, as I recall, had been given the same option and allowed an equal amount of time to slip in foreign participants.
War is often unexpected though, and this was such an instance.
_On MInc remnants and the obsession complex_
Note; the best type of ghosts are the ones who have nothing to lose!
I learned this the hard way when MInc remnants opportunistically moved in on our home base as we were away laying siege to Junka's lands.
This move had long term political motives no doubt, but the immediate effect was overwhelming for us. MInc had regained some lost membership via necromancy and they were no strangers to the concept of total war.
There are motives here that I would like to examine. Lord Hitchcock hoped to draw out Doom, which he understood would not likely defend COBRA in this affair, despite the obvious disparity of priorities.
At the very least, he would succeed in demoralizing AM's most eager ally and call Banned's bluff at a later time.
The second and primary source motive is of an entirely non political nature.
LH is a creature of habit and emotions. He does not play the game itself, but rather just participates in the crueler aspects of it, and in this manner, he is untouchable. His kind is motivated by the extinguishing of enthusiasm and being persecuted as a hobby.
I believe a healthy individual can be brushed off as a minor inconvenience and go on to pursue other ambitions.
I also believe it can mold the right candidate into a lingering nuisance, one driven solely by obsession.
_On Archangel1 and vendetta warfare_
The Three Strikes Rebellion was a real family feud. COBRA top brass was split right down the middle between two pairs of brothers who were all equally stubborn. The eventual departure of Severus left me speculating his return all throughout the cold war that followed. Indeed, I saw his shadow behind every rock and wrongly accused many noobs while lobbing missiles at them.
I searched in vain for a hiding rat, but was confronted by an angry lion:
Where better to hide from a rabid enemy such as myself who ever conceives of ways to settle scores. A secret collector of rusty hatchets.
Where else but in plain sight. Where else but right in front of me, disguised as a bandit. A brave bandit. One who engages me on the OWF and goes toe to toe, using my weapons of choice against me. I had a disagreement with one such individual and such was my distraction that I put old Severus out of my mind. His ruse had worked.
Archangel launched a series of attacks against us and if there's anything I respect, it's an individual who can smile with a noose around their neck.
I marked him as an equal from then on and was genuinely surprised to later discover he had been my former enemy all along.
_On micro combat and The Imperial Entente, reliance on 3rd parties_
When our alliance was hit with a series of covert spy ops, I thought very carefully of who it might be. If your alliance is rather fonder of making enemies than friends, you really have your work cut out for you when it comes to dealing with espionage.
I decided to put the question directly to my foes and observe their reactions. Most seemed unaware, yet clearly amused.
Lucius however, gave a different response and I knew then what I was dealing with. I had brought my brother into the game some time before that, and it was his nation specifically being targeted more so than any other, much to his fury.
That was another thing that gave away the real culprit for I understood it was vengeance for my actions against Lucius' own brother during the events following Bron Stomp.
It was such a personal tone that my instincts cooled and I was able to get in touch with my reasonable side. I talked to Lucius. We had it all out and I more or less convinced him to confirm his part in the whole affair. And then I secured a retaliation with my third party, as well as his own. At the time, both COBRA and TIE relied heavily on 3rd parties for defense, economic, and political purposes. I was expected to wait until his own protection was publicly cancelled but I was not about to lose the element of surprise.
The preemptive strike was devastating for the enemy. Doom mercs looking to both escape boredom and return a favor marched into COBRA and ghosted for the duration of hostilities.
TIE had acquired a new member who I understood to be a reroll PZI target of ours. Being one of the few alliances to still publicly acknowledge this practice, we were condemned for it while TIE gained plenty of sympathy from the peanut gallery, but not enough to oppose SLAP operatives directly.
That PZI target had been at the helm of FCA operations and there was no doubt TIE aimed to reignite the claims to COBRA heritage. Lucius was a master at persistence doctrine. His propaganda never strayed from his core beliefs. I learned to respect him for that.
This war gave COBRA a reputation for bloodlust. In reality, the ghosts had demonstrated that overkill is not in their vocabulary. Something I gratefully accepted at the time due to it being very much a personal matter.
As TIE forces were routed, I made use of Discord as an instrument of war for the first time. Intimidation is essential for fighting a smaller opponent.
This isn't something I developed independently. Credit where credit is due. I learned this from the same ghosts who assisted us in this.
In the end, TIE leadership held strong, though their alliance essentially crumbled due to 3rd party intervention.
The same can be said for COBRA, though in terms of realpolitik.
Note; any alliance that wins a war with the help of a superior will be seen as weak and malleable to external manipulation, the credit going to the actual victors (minus any atrocities or war crimes committed on their side!)
The big picture: There was little possibility that TIE's cancelled protection would come to their defense, so bait I think, can be ruled out. It is interesting however that the people who help you are generally not on good terms with the people who help, or once helped your enemy. And here I felt that a humiliating (but silent) blow had been struck beneath the roar of our war raging on the surface.
_On the full measure of roguery and aNiMaLz Guerrilla Family_
Sir Kindle's erratic behavior inevitably reached a boiling point that left him isolated. But such was his desperation that he soon had a following just as strong, if not stronger.
While some loyal aNiMaLz rejoined him at his new base of operations in aGF, his main source of rogue states was among the ruins of the Norwood Coalition. Here he found broken and disheveled warriors with no better place to go, their own homes razed by Pacifica and other Oculus imperialists. He smooth talked them into joining his lost cause, and they came.
One after the other, to the dismay of our own forces who were already fighting what had begun as a low intensity conflict.
Unlike the necromancer method, where an older player can likely be summoned to share intel on the zombies that may pop up on the other side, this guerrilla tactic relies on appealing to mainly strangers and doing so convincingly enough to ensure it comes as a surprise to your enemies.
Sidenote on pay to play; though not discovered until the final collapse of aNiMaLz, many of their elite members who still supported Kindle were amassing wealth by means of donation bonus deals. This is a little known type of transaction that is perfectly legal and still in use.
This war, as I recall, was far from easy and it was further complicated by the return of Methrage.
_On the Royal House of Aevrum and recycled gameplay theory_
Having served his purpose of drawing out DK, Methrage was disposed of by some of the same people who had once taken part in his rescue.
The LPCN was disabled from within and he was forced to return to the game in secret, under a different name.
Methrage was very sneaky, but his reroll method was sloppy and ultimately, ineffective. A pattern in theme emergence, communication, and overall affiliation gave him away more than the leak which likely came from his own inner circle.
This forced him to abandon a position of relative political comfort, and turn to the one person who would possibly follow him.
The merger between aGF into RHA was seen as illegal as well as an attempt to reanimate the LPC bloc.
If Kindle had been kicking our asses before, this move only emboldened his followers.
When the well runs dry:
We had relied on war aid from Doomsphere, but relying on another alliance for finance is to your own detriment, and an enemy will spot this as a sign of weakness.
RHA had people watching the aid screen constantly and ready to counter appropriately. They targetted those nations with longer aid delays and continued their grave digging recruitment.
After expanding their influence further, it became apparent that Methrage would win this war so we cut our losses and agreed to end hostilities.
No doubt, Methrage had bigger game in mind, yet his defensive war could just as easily have turned into a war of conquest had he pushed to continue.
Enemy of my enemy:
The best of friendships are those you establish during times of war and hardship. This means even your staunchest rival can eventually become a loyal ally. I learned this from Lucius Optimus in my time here and despite our huge differences, we made it work in our resistance of the now encroaching RHA hordes.
_On Maroon Rehabilitation and priority politics_
A rogue entity is only really a rogue entity if this idea is endorsed by the "right" group of people. This applied to the now legitimate RHA.
We had fought them until fighting them became an unreasonable burden. They went big and then bit off more than they could chew, no doubt emboldened by our frantic cessation of hostilities and the lack of support in our far off corner of the planet.
Note: An alliance is set to collapse the minute they start believing in their own power. Even the biggest dog in the yard needs to keep his head on a swivel.
Methrage ignored this doctrine of war and became greedy. Nordreich was not a merciful enemy and they hunted him and his posse down with the help of almost every active soul in the game.
Such was the priority.
His end and that of Kindle's, was met at the hands of the dreaded moderation drone strike.
A fate reserved for those who, both rotten and otherwise, spit at the gods and are remembered always for it.
We joined in the war of course. How could we not? It was, afterall, just a continuation of our previous grievances which we felt were left largely unrecognized and unsettled.
RHA racism and OOC warfare:
Methrage chose to draw from a variety of sources, the same tactic Kindle was using, and it drew the ire of many alliances who's fugitives were arriving at the gates of Aevrum seeking a place to restock.
RHA granted these nations safe haven and many of them turned out to be quite despicable. OOC attacks are illegal in game, yet they are widely used in other platforms where large parts of the CN experience takes place. This type of behavior leaks dilemmas directly into the gameplay and is the source of many wars.
Note; if you bring in a rogue, you are responsible for their rehabilitation, as well as accountable for any debts they may owe to society.
If you do not do this, society will do it for you.
_On Umbrella and cherry picking asymmetric warfare_
I never had the pleasure of fighting Umbrella in their prime, but here is another classic case of priority warring.
An alliance can choose to go rogue sometimes. Non Grata for example, once felt their time had come and though premature, they did the sensible thing and attacked what was arguably a long time sworn enemy. The definition of going out with a bang.
Umbrella did the opposite of this and in attacking largely independent or seemingly defunct alliances, they showed a real negligence towards proper self destruction.
That is, until they took it one step too far and attacked a group with enough muscle left in their contact list to mount a swift and heavy retribution.
Umbrella membership was well spoken and they knew their numbers.
Having elected to take a shameful way out, it is no wonder that what was left of their membership resorted to joining the Doombirds. They, knowing a thing or two about disproportional damage in war, adopted this tribe with relish.
_On defending Kashmir from FTW and relationship dynamics_
We had chosen to defend Kashmir against the LPC. We also did this against RIA on another occasion. When it came to FTW, I did not see the size or the friends behind them. I only saw red.
FTW had cherry picked our allies over a debacle involving Junka and his nemesis Terminator. The fighters of original FTW were an angry bunch. Injustice, more than anything, put them in this state. Their allies had been viciously attacked and frustration was mounting. Yet this went well beyond a matter if principle. FTW leadership was known for their mergers. And they had their eyes set on SNX from the moment Junka became a pariah.
On grooming candidates and fattening the cow: Not that the intention wasn't honorable, but there is a clear distinction between defending an ally out of pure loyalty, and defending an ally with self interest in mind. Most alliances still standing tend to belong to the latter classification and indeed they owe their longevity to this very correlation.
On little big brother:
A protectorate can surpass its protector state in prestige, strength, and ambition. This shift in dynamics is seen early on with a transition period called treaty upgrading. A begrudging acceptance of the new status quo follows but note; it will never feel natural for the older alliance to walk behind the young, no matter how reliant on them they may become.
_On Unaligned and sanction wars_
The fiercest opponent I ever faced was Hasansohel of Bangladesh By the Bay.
He was former MInc and was such a loose cannon that he even went renegade on his own kin. He single handedly kept me at war so long, and during such an inconvenient time that I began to do something I never directly did, and that is, I asked for assistance from people who called themselves friends.
On secret pacts and cross alliance organizations:
Due to my reputation for bloodlust and my stripes earned with Doom clan, I was invited to join a secret organization known as the Hit Brotherhood. There were many such shadow groups reminiscent of TCA. Jack Layton himself had led The Devil's Brigade. The Nuclear Jihad Pact was another. More than secretive, these groups aimed to set up rapid activation throughout those spheres deemed hostile. I approached this group who claimed to be my brothers and I explained the very personal matter that was preventing me from keeping the rogue Hasan from cratering my nation periodically, along with anyone else in range. I explained how Harry Yanwar had removed sanctions placed upon this nation, and that it impeded any preventive measures (limited though they were) which had been put in place to defend ourselves.
Priority in politics: it was bad enough to not have any support in such a time when RL takes precedence, but I was then harrassed for allowing an alliance such as Unaligned to get the best of me.
And this is the precise moment Doom became my enemy. I spit at their feet and walked away with my dignity, not at all surprised to see those same people who denied me assistance sycophantly rushing to assist when an identical issue arose closer to their inner circle.
Note: an ally who is made to choose between 2 friends will inexorably side with the one that has the deepest pockets. Especially, and almost exclusively if loyalty is out of the equation. This is done to secure an unwavering obedience in the days to come from what is now effectively, an indentured ally.
On how sanction wars always go down:
No matter what, the one responsible will end up on gray. Sometimes permanently.
Recklessness is not tolerated in the Senate and is a practice quick to receive unanimous condemnation.
In this case, Harry was condemned for removing them recklessly rather than the reverse.
Unaligned offered no real fight as a group. We poached some of them, but I found myself personally engaging Yanwar many times and grew to reluctantly respect his tenacity. By tracking his warchest I was able to present this data to my alliance. They had been ravaged by roguery and were now facing the prospect of dealing with a whole other rogue who unlike Hasan, seemed fixed in one place. The periodic news of a decrease in his funds provided a morale boost and it became common practice to count down the financial capability of all subsequent rogues.
Fixed in one place:
After every attack, he would rebuy to the same exact level as before. For some reason this really messed with my head!
_On the League of Micros and the pointless expeditions_
In an attempt to raise awareness to the fact the game was dying, a couple of us got together to try something new. We dreamed of a unified micro world where 2 rounds of war would become the standard. Where 200/9 tech deals would be abolished and where the big alliances would be forced to meet us halfway during negotiations.
The idea was to gather all micros in one place to settle scores and discuss day to day affairs. A matter of contention arose between the founders of this society when the question came to how we were going to deal with our respective "biggers".
Of course, those of us without a broader agenda to groom were of the opinion that autonomy ought not to be stifled for the sake of appeasement.
This was not an ideal shared by all and so the entire thing devolved into a circus.
It later became apparent that the worn out method of provoking global conflict was once again making the rounds, having done so under our very noses this time.
Of the alliances I remember fighting during this period:
CRAP took their lumps and we had fun with the theme. If your alliance has a fun theme, your opponent will take a kinder approach to kicking your ass or surrendering, depending on how it goes.
CCC used moles against us, but this is likely just due to timing. COBRA had suffered a coup attempt and they made good use of this. The Christian Coalition is also one of those alliances with a large following beyond its borders. And here I learned that the most dangerous enemy is the one with the capacity to call a crusade from a defensive position.
The Grand Confederation was a typical noob AA. They were initially taken under the wing of fellow micros, but soon fell victim to the antagonism which our pissing corner was by then, unintentionally sponsoring.
And here in this, the remotest recesses of my recollections, perhaps lies my greatest folly of all.
I failed to treat a noob with the respect I once demanded as one myself and I failed to foresee to what extent an enemy is willing to go to witness your humility.
For the sake of a spoof conflict dubbed the Walrus War, we proceeded to break our own 2 round rule and TGC was left in shambles. We harvested the few strong candidates for membership within our own alliances and those who stayed never aspired to participate in world affairs beyond securing protection status. And understandably so. But one individual lurked on in the shadows. He crawled back into the game and made it his mission to find an opportunity to draw me out for another to take the shot. I walked into this ambush the day I challenged Canik to a fight.
_On FTW Occupation and reroll sabotage_
The rivalry between FTW and COBRA was not then so pronounced, but it was enough to provide a certain reroll the platform on which to vent his long repressed anguish. Events that transpire outside of the actual game are what account for a large percentage of casus belli, especially in the modern age of inactivity. In this case, a larger alliance had taken on a protectorate they knew very little about.
On how to choose a protectorate, if at all:
They are cumbersome things and make for poor alternatives to pet rocks.
It goes without saying that the best of protectors are those that are capable of actually protecting themselves, let alone a whole other entity. In the event that the opposite is true, they must at the very least consider the type of crew they are dealing with in order to proceed with what one can only imagine is by this point just a wishful recruitment venture.
Quality of protector reflects strongly on what type of alliance you are to become. After an exchange of delightful banter, I became a target of the bigger picture once again.
After my falling out with Doom, I did what anyone does who breaks ties with a friend in so abrupt a manner. I reached out to their biggest enemy. In Cybernations this is a tricky thing to do. In some cases, an alliance's enemies might be casually tied to them and it can never be said out loud that such animosity exists. I only entertained the idea, however, but had no intentions of becoming anyone's puppet.
The possibility of an Optional Defense pact with a bigger alliance was floated around, but I considered this to be a sign of weakness. More importantly, I felt that it would make our allies look weak. Afterall, it says alot about your allies when you have to buy your way into a sense of security. As I had always considered these type of treaties between big and micro to be nothing more than a cheap purchase with hidden charges, I only kept the illusion of belonging to a specific sphere of influence. This, to keep the enemy at arms length.
How to start a fight:
Unbeknownst to Canik, he had walked in on a conversation between myself and the rogue saboteur posing as an FTW protectorate. Canik is a proud person. So naturally, that's where I hit him. I attacked his pride and he came at me with everything he had. It was the perfect excuse for his friends to do the same.
On baiting the enemy and purging undesirables:
FTW was a competent (at times, goofy) opponent. I even came to respect Canik's reaction. His allies played their part in that overkill to perfection, as they had done against TIE at our behest. Enter, once again, the big picture.
Here I understood immediately that my percieved affiliation with Polar was the real reason CLAWS and SNX jumped in so willingly. I also understood that this meant I had to fight this war alone.
Canik maintained that he ran the war, yet a pay grade above him or so I was offered unconditional peace in exchange for two heads in my camp. The heads, unsurprisingly, of my main connections to NpO. I had kept them, thus far and despite the warnings from my own inner circle, out of loyalty and it was loyalty too which provided me the strength to turn down the possibility of an easy way out.
It is something to consider that this same individual did indeed bring about a cease fire, after months of heavy fighting, and I suppose mainly out of guilt. The guilt is not speculative as it was expressed to me from many in that posse, who remembered my deeds fondly and genuinely regretted things had come to this.
On strategy when backed into a corner:
A symbolic move from Kashmir would only get the both of us rolled so we did the best we could with what we had.
I learned from this war, how to covertly gain support and establish an invisible resistance bloc by means of meme and propaganda blitzes. I made more friends during this war than in any other, and the beauty of it was that Canik would one day receive them all as enemies.
There are groups that cannot be bullied and will help, given that you know who and how to propose such a thing. A desperate plea for assistance to an underling will go unanswered. The invitation must be made according to relevance in leadership and with the tone befitting a warrior seeking to bestow a quest upon the right candidate.
It is in this way that I secured immediate solidarity with certain groups and individuals, and with others who would, no doubt, willingly follow in future events. All this depending on if, when, and how I managed to get out of this one.
Note; I met the honorable Kapleo in this manner under the enemy of my enemy principle and his raw bravery served to later inspire a renaissance of resistance within our coalition. Such dedication is a rare and I am proud to have shared the field of battle with him.
On long memories:
I knew that there was to be no parade at the end of it all. Instead, I'd use the entire affair as the motive for consolidation. I would harness the power of outrage and I would wait for an opportunity to strike out at my enemies as they had done.
A long memory is what separates a tyrant from the rest. I certainly never forgot the defeat I suffered at the hands of my former comrades, though I was at least able to grow fond of the battles I fought against FTW, then and in the days to come.
_On RFI and underdog revolutionary doctrine_
Though a certain Ice queen once told me that the purpose of RFI was to challenge Polar, I believe RFI was the culmination of a series of moves made by Doomsphere to both keep their subservience to Oculus, and maintain a position as "separate from".
This has very much to do with ego, and RFI megalomania made recurring appearances throughout this war.
On balancing the odds to your favor: a much larger army presents obstacles that can only be overcome by converting their leadership into the subject of smear campaigns and shaming. It debilitates the confidence they are sure to feel for their government and draws the right type of attention to your cause, that is, the type that can be brought over to your camp by sheer power of suggestion alone.
Motivation: your troops must understand this will be an uphill battle. They must be led with the idea that any victories will be gained in arenas beyond the actual battlefield. I bring this up because the interactions between a leader and their followers are not nearly as important during war time than they are during times of peace (or as I like to call it, the prep period). Communication should always be thorough, but since the threat of espionage is ever present, any specific details not essential to expressing your commitment should be kept only among your council of advisors. Yet enough of your plot should be revealed in order to maintain a consistent drive towards the objective.
When opportunity presents itself, knowing when to strike:
When war is favorable, you will be told multiple times that it is not. That is, of course, your cue to proceed.
If anyone needs a war it is the hesitant masses, the war hungry can wait as the waiting will only make them hungrier. In this manner, I kept silent reserves at the ready and sought to exhaust the enemy while conditioning main forces for the battles to come.
While many people wanted to prevent war from breaking out at any cost, the nation on which the entire ordeal revolved around expressed no such reservation. I made it a point to oblige him to such a degree that his cause became my cause, and therefore his enemy my own, though this was routinely the case anyhow.
On aggressive armies and predictability:
I knew Canik's army like the back of my hand at this point. I memorized their movements and their aid flow patterns. I knew the prowess of their champion Armpit, and I was personally familiar with the vigilance of the aNiMaL Kaznawim. I knew Smitty and Muddog would be chief opponents on the information front. I knew who was more likely to fight back and who had more money. I knew that by targetting the same core group that hit us almost a year before, we'd be preventing as many counters as possible. This much was true and we prevailed in that battle.
When you disrupt the potential of an enemy to fight back, however, they will be left with no choice but to call for support, and though this may have been the case regardless, the process is further accelerated as a result.
On why mega alliances conduct intervention warfare:
The saying goes- boss yells at dad, dad yells at mom, mom yells at the kid, and kid kicks dog, who in turn chases cat...
In our version, Oculus had yelled at Doom so they dressed up as mom to kick the cat.
The new military bloc, likely, had been waiting as eagerly as I was across the no man's land for the opportunity to strike. That there were contingencies in place for such eventualities, there is no doubt in my mind.
On how to appeal to the fighting class:
The game can be separated into the ruling class, the working class, and the fighting class. The ruling class, contrary to what the name suggests, does not necessarily mean immense wealth, though of course, megalithic nations fit the category with ease. A ruling class nation can find itself digitally emaciated, with nothing to show for themselves on a personal level. Such is the condescension that they don't feel the need to reduce themselves by actually participating. A paradoxically similar apathy is shared among those with literally too much wealth to care. These are your typical hoarders.
The working class are the dedicated and diligent who will fight, but not always.
By contrast, the fighting class is almost always willing to work and of course, they never shy from a fight.
Barring real life (and the odd stragglers who choose to play in their own fashion), this is as accurate a categorization I can make of the community at large.
To appeal to the working class, you need only present conditions favorable to their fondness for producing tech, and wartime is no such environment. Which is why the working class can generally be found sitting in peace mode during times of war, if they are fortunate enough.
Appealing to the fighting class is all about being one of them. If you are not, then you may perhaps be able to buy their services, but they will not be loyal to you or to your legacy.
My brand of justice happened to appeal to the casualty worshipping Non Grata, among others. These instances of intervention to help, rather than to destroy us, were able to test our enemies and their own ability to keep up with the bureaucratic miasma that they themselves created by cherry picking their targets. It was entertaining to watch them jump around nervously, uncertain of what to do about, for instance, the attacks I set up on a collapsing aNiMaLz with the help of an old Doombird.
For context, Korlath had been on the receiving end of harsh retaliation for doing the same thing (hence the war), yet no one was exactly eager to distribute equal punishment to the likes of Doomsphere.
On strategy and logistics: Knowing your troops is as important as knowing your nemesis. If you can place your forces precisely where you need them at the exact moment, then as a commander, half your job is now complete.
Rarely did I issue copy & paste orders for example- as I was careful to memorize my soldier's living habits, sleeping patterns, time zones, and even occupational vulnerabilities. A custom message goes a long way in keeping the barracks well organized and filled with a sense of unique contribution.
Expect the unexpected; sometimes help arrives when you least expect it. Regardless of size or impact, no contribution can be overlooked.
I learned this when Walsh the Beloved sent reinforcements in support of Kashmir and his experience in dealing with wiki edit warring allowed for us to salvage a situation which might have gotten out of hand had he not interfered in his capacity beyond in game assistance.
On RFI combatants:
FTW was forseeably hampered in their ability to immediately fight back, but when their forces began to counter, we felt their presence more than any of the others.
CLAWS is an opportunistic predator that prefers not to get their hands dirty. Their forces suffered some losses early on. These occurring well beyond their leadership's control. This reanimation of the Doom Kingdom is not a fighting alliance, but in effect, they are meant only for display. That being said, they are still capable of packing a punch, though the blows tend to land harder upon the vulnerable.
On rat kings and treaty chess for rookies:
(for a more detailed description of what RFI resembled at its peak, please contact MasterHakai)
INCOMPLETE
On making your enemies look so bad (not without their help of course!), that even their own members want to join you, the Johnny Apocalypse special:
The frog siren principle:
On the tactical use of extremism to counter the clone phenomenon:
On warrior ethos:
On asking your adversary for money from their own coffers (it works sometimes!)
On Oculus and order through chaos vs spreading mayhem as a means to promote (new) activity:
INCOMPLETE
_On CLAWS and intervention theory_
The evolution of ghost warfare into phantom roguery:
INCOMPLETE
_On dealing with moles and internal strife_
How to filter out suspicious nation IPs through forum authentication and vetting procedures:
The weaponization of soft power to maximize influence:
Ambiguity in foreign affairs and how formalizing relationships can lead to a period of banality and infighting- a slippery road ahead:
INCOMPLETE
The inevitable collapse of Cybernations:
INCOMPLETE
The Fart of War, 2021
Written in March.
Archived in September.
For whoever finds this- please show it to LO.
(If you have any questions about the following meme, ask Tankobite!)
