From Muloch

Note: After my brother got them up to level and they started winning Wazaaa like crazy, that's when internally the officers started getting arrogant and started doing silly stuff. After a significant internal drama, a lot of people left Diablo and most have joined NM bringing the tactics along with them. Which I why I guess NM is suddenly back alive...

Ingame Char Name: Muloch
Posts: 27
Join date: 2010-06-12


PostSubject: The Hard Facts Mon Jun 21, 2010 12:22 pm
Assuming that the Spy in the Guild has been weeded out and does not have access to this thread, here's my take on our War with Wazaaa.

Upfront: I'm not going to paint a nice picture. That's not what I'm here for. I'm here to poke at that fracture in that wall and turn a pimple into a volcano. I wasn't asked to join Diablo to feed you rubbish like positive thinking, lets hold hands and watch the sunset together. I kid you not, I'm here for one purpose only - Win the war.

I'm not the one who will say "Good Job" after a loss, since that doesn't really make sense to me. Effort is effort and we all worked hard during the war, no doubt. But call it wat it is- a defeat. Are there people to blame for the loss? Probably. But the blame game is as useful as taking a popsicle to a war and expecting to win with it (not discounting the assumption that a poisoned popsicle might actually work).

Are you Disillusioned and want a miracle to be performed by a stroke of luck?

There's no such thing as getting a break in delivering results. In RL as in PW, there's little consolation in statements like "We should have", "We Nearly Won", " We were so close" and etc. If you ran a 50km race and only completed 49.9km and said, "Man that was a Hard Run! I'm so glad I did it and I nearly completed it!" - you might be better off telling the world that you could have farted and reached the moon and plated your flag there. There's little point in doing something if you're not going to do it the whole way though.

If you feel guilty about the loss for whatever reason, then you owe it to youself to do better in the NEXT war. And you certainly don't do this by jumping straight into the next war feeling all fired up with no idea what you're going to do. The other option is to wallow in your own self pity and ask for sympathy but lets face it, its not going to do you any good and I would probably much prefer to have you use that energy on creative solutions to the problems you faced in the last War.

Either we realize our defeat, internalize it, make adjustments and focus on solutions AS A GUILD or we keep doing what we do best in the last 5 TWs. If there's no change in the equation of what we are doing, it would be foolhardy to think that we can achieve different results. Its a hard pill to swallow but you're all mature enough to handle it. Self pity will get you no where. Self Realization can help you get bragging rights when you win the war.

First off, STOP working HARD. Working hard is only good if you're doing the right thing to begin with. Working hard with a Shovel to dig your way to China can work, but that same effort is much better spent working your ass off to buy a plane ticket there. What I need from you is to start thinking VERY VERY DIFFERNTLY from what you would normally do.

Instead of working hard, here's what I want you to do - Work on what makes sense to you. Your task is to find likeminded people within the guild who share the same thoughts as you for the next War party. Its no use being in a War Party like England is in the world cup - Great individual players who are internationally worshipped and recognized but with only a handful of people within the team to actually have chemistry with each other. I've seen you guys in GuildChat on normal days and you are all a friendly bunch, no doubt about that. But I want you to be selfish in this moment. If there's an ideal 6 pax party you could form, Who Would Be In It?

TASK 1: Send me an email / pm me, Its an easy enough task you should be doing NOW. Leave me your in game name since RL names will only confuse me.

Task 2: Pt Leaders, please let me know what you and your teams were doing in the War. Also let me know what you thought about the commands beinig relayed to you from the War commanders and me.

Task 3: DO NOT going to fight Wazaaa this week. So please don't bid for the land. Why?
1. Maximize your efforts in one single blow = "Only fight the fights you can win" - Gengis Khan
2. If we are going to achive #1, we need to practice, go though the map, understand our tasks, walk through the terrain, learn skills we were not utilizing well enough, Maximise the efforts of TEAMwork (Together Everybody Achieves More).

Task 4: Establish allies in the System. No man is an Island. Learn to leverage on equal size, equal minded guilds to achieve more. GM and VGM, lets address this topic privately.

Task 5: Arrange with Immortal to let us bid on their land (for the lease cost possible) purely for terrain familliarization, tactics and timing. We will not attack their Crystal and will leave them after 3 hours are up. I'll leave this task to GM/ VGM to arrange/ delegate within the guild who as connections to Immo. If need be, talk to RiZZah.

If you've read this far, Here's a Pop Quiz for you: What's the difference between a Plan, Strategy and Tactics?
-A PLAN is the Goal which sets the tone of what we intend to do.
In this case, Whopp Wazaa's ass, get bragging rights, get the gold from the land, steal more land from them if they don't shut up. So the plan is to damage their crystal as fast as possible while making sure we are defended at all times.

- STRATEGY is HOW to achieve the plan.
Eg: to have a Atk and Def commander to position troops and to decide which lanes to attack from. to have Pt leaders which are capable and dependable. to leave GC communication only to give orders. to have scouts and buffers. to have Spies. to go to toilet before you enter the war so you won't be afk. to have WR's in front to stun enemies while the EA's pick them off. to kill EP's first. to ambush a known route of attack.

- TACTICS are impromtu seizing of opportunities when they present themselves. These are individual decisions made at the spur of the moment or premeditated based on timing. Although impromptu in execution, the thought process behind it is still well worked though and the team/ individual is aware on what to do when the opportunity presents itself.
Eg: you notice that the left flank is left unguarded and instead of attacking from the front, you flank them and attack them from the back. or a bunny run. or a suicidal cata runner. or using the largest Pet you have (WF) to block the view of our base crystal. Or Cata Drivers sitting inside the cata and having a pet bird to make targeting harder for the enemy.


5 Tasks - Dateline Thursday 24/6/2010.


If you think you can do a better job then your Party leader, War Commander or War Monger, let me know. I'll assess the points you present objectively and make a decision on the matter. Likewise, if you think my being here is detrimental to the unity of the Guild, let me know as well be it your personal view or collective view. I might pout for a while but then I'll get over it.
The important thing is I know what you think and you're communicating with me instead of a one sided discussion.

Dateline Thursday 24/6/2010. Non negotiable. The earlier the better.

*****************************************************************
Oh and I forgot to add something quite important...
I have to win you guys lands in another 2 more wars. If I don't manage to do that then I will have to Leave EL DIABLO* and cannot see you all anymore cause I'm a low level 70 EP with 1400hp only .
*this is the condition I personally set when Evver(Hampa) brought me into Guild and its a condition I plan to honour.
Its not an issue of talking to G.M or V.G.M to solve- since that won't help me keep my promise anyways...

*****************************************************************

Well.... that is a possibility, attacking weaker guilds... I'm certainly not above that. A win is a win in any case.

Ok Guys,
Here's what a few of your own guildies have been doing.
1. Officers have been trying to invite more Guildies to join Diablo. A few members also have recommended to the officers whenever they see people passing without guilds. Please continue doing this. Today is the last day of recruitment possible to be in time for the upcoming TW. (about 4.5 days transaction time)

2. KB is assiting to work in the shadows for something Major in terms of recruitment. This will take time and more importantly, is in a way dependant on whether we deliver results in the TW. This high level guildies injection into Diablo is much needed in the event we want to further our campaign beyond that of just owning one land. Needless to say, with the influx of high level characters who've got experiece in the game, there will be a transfer of knowledge and skill as well. Along with this will be expectations of professionalizm from our officers to run the guild properly as well. I suggest an early discussion on setting expectations on both sides to smoothen the process.

KB is already in talks with a few of the old Oracle crew and as luck would have it, I used to play with KB at one point in time - As ENEMIES on tw. He was WarLord, I was Allied.

3. I'm working on Sanct and F/\te to assits in a minimum 3 sided attack on Wazaaa and have just been informed that things between Immo and Wazaaa are not too cheery as well so there's a possibility we can count on Immo to make life hard for Wazaaa for a week or so. Will try to work on Zen and Elegion this week for the bidding as well.

Now comes my question.
What have you been doing?

***************************************************************

Offence is the best defence.
But its not entirely fair to lay it on the Defence team and asking them to be stronger. For one, its an offensive map which means that even the Defensive teams need to be offensive.

To me the fulcrum point is the Attack. If there's constant attack on their base, then the likelyhood of an attack on our base will be much much less. How do we do this?

Option 1:
A Spearhead manouver where DD are way ahead and break through WITHOUT STOPPING breaking through as far as possible. The problem with this is the Mid section of the DD team needs to be the main DD area to be able to kill the enemy fast... or else you get yourself into a bottle neck with attackers on both sides. To counter this, we need strong Flanking teams that attack from the side to that concentration of attacks is only on one flank.

Option 2:
Split the Cata team and have one cata solo while the other 3 move in formation. the solo cata will move on the opposite lane from the main cata team as both a distraction as well as a potential one man army. He will be supported by very minimal EP, EA and WR. His task, to spread misinformation for the enemy scouts if he attacks first, or if the main team is attacking first, to capture the lane and to destroy the towers in that lane.
The other option is if in the event Base defence is needed, a sacrificial suicide run into the enemy base as a distraction is needed. The idea is not to attackt their crystal as opposed to running around and gathering as much of the enemies to follow in a wild goose chase.

Both of this options are risky but any offensive maneuver risks the defence of the base. This is something we have to contend with to breach the enemy's defence, keep on the offensive (in which timing is everything) to maintain pressure off the Defensive teams.

In the TW vs Wazaaa, there was no grouping of the attacking waves and after the initial big ones, attacking forces thinned out due to lack of regrouping.

In the last TW vs Peace, there was very good regrouping... but a little too much communication resulting in lack of clarity of orders.

If we can find a middle ground on this, then we are in a very very good position to win the next war. The thing is this. WHO do you think is capable to lead the Attacking DD team? It needs to be somebody who is able to make decision rather then Aggressive, control a crowd and able to assess the situation at hand.
PM me your opinions if you prefer to remain anon.

Ingame Char Name: Muloch
Posts: 27
Join date: 2010-06-12


PostSubject: One for the Road Mon Jul 19, 2010 6:42 pm Reply with quote
Sunshine Smiles to everyone!

Post Mortem against Wazaaa Sunday War 18/7.

You know what that means... Essay time!

I think its amazing how you guys have changed dramatically over the last 5 weeks and you are well on your way to be a streamline lean fighting machine.

When I first entered, there was a lot of clutter from different strategies, noise on GC when TW is on, not knowing when to push and when to regroup, flanking issues, poor communication between atk and def, Class specific roles, People Afk after deciding that we are going to lose half way through the war and a myriad of other issues.

Flash Forward to Yesterday's war:

Defence ABC:
Defence was Impeccable with Maffy giving concise and timely orders for Def A, B, C to follow. Pt leaders of these teams were very clear that they were Offensive Defenders and for more then 4 times, were seen chasing the enemy OUT OF OUR BASE, regrouping outside the gate, and PUSHING THE DEFENCE TO THE CENTRE OF THE MAP! This gave so much advantage for the atk teams and cata teams to move unobstructed to the midway point without being molested along the way.
Even when the emeny was in our base and attacking the tower/ crystal, the defence team DID NOT PANIC. They were Quick and Pricise, dismantling the cata Driver, taking out their EP before the MG casters attacked the drivers. There was No BB in our Base, a very different situation compared to the last few TWs. There was one particular MG I would like to commend on AOE for about 3 times outside and inside base and the EP that was healing him/ her. Name fails me now... but if anyone remembers... please highlight both the EP and MG name. That was Super!
In previous wars, Timsquad normally makes us crap our pants when he enters the base or is about to. We know he's a WB with lots of HP and pretty decent gear and is a bitch to kill. In this war... he and the other main WB were pussycats that got a nice spanking when they arrived. I saw a team of 8 defenders on lane C rip him apart while he was trying to break into Base. I would like that defence team to acknowledge yourseves here because you
did an outstanding job. I later assigned them to lane B to help Maf def the centre map with one scout checking lane.
I distinctively remember seeing one EP charge solo into the enemy even after the rest of the def team were taken down... and she killed one enemy before she died... What I like is not that she charged crazily into the group (which was very exciting I must say) but wat I like is the way she thinks. She targeted an EA, kicked his ass till he died and made her kill count.

Scouts:
Scouts were very effective in this TW but I seem to only recall getting info from one scout Sxxx2946 (Sorry I suck at names). The early detection and inteligent updates greatly assisted in the overall strategy on which lanes to push and which lanes to send the defence.

Buffers:
Buffers were a little bit of overkill with 2 level 100EP's buffing... but this also goes to show that you are never too high to do what some deem as Menial Jobs. In future however, I would recommend for a limited time offer for 3 a level 60-70 EP to be recruited for this job. Its a full time job for long wars and EP's should be given MP pots/ Crated MP recovery pots and potentially Heiros to help in this.

DF
DF teams by Kazu also was another key area which moved the masses forward. The Flanking manouver of the respective EA on the right side of lane B was powerful. How powerful? Its actually pretty hillarious when the entire Right flank was attacking so far forward that there was nobody on the left flank and the enemy cata went straight past the lane cause there was nobody on it! It was hillarious! In this, please be mindful that the security of the lane is paramount to controlling the tide of the war.
I would also like to propose that Kazu at times move some forces to the Left Flank to reinforce power disparity. Also make sure there's people on the lane we are pushing at.

Cata:
Cata Team lead by Chip really gave it their all and burned through more then 5 Heiros. Thanks Chip for the sponsoring of the Heiros (I'll address the topic of Heiros and preparation after this). They pushed with conviction and with a set goal... but also tend to be ahead of the DD pack at times... something which I do not advise. Cata teams need to last the final push for the tower or the crystal. Always bear in mind that the DD teams are the ones that need to break though and pave the way. If you're so far ahead of the DDs, then you make them redundant and you end up burning your resources before you reach your goal... the Crystal or the Tower.
Khim pointed out that there was one situation when the cata retreated into our base and brought a whole lot of Enemy defenders into our base as well. This is a very valid point. WHY? Because visually and Psychologically, when you see the armour tank turning and running in a completely different direction, the tendency for the reinforcement to think that there's something bad ahead is there. IN such cases, I would advise to HOLD IN ONE POSITION and CALL FOR SUPPORT. Our DD and defence team WILL come to support. If you take a beating and cata is destroyed, it is a risk I am willilng to deal with because you are not giving up land to the enemy. Always remember - the team that controls more land, contols the war. The only time you can retreat into the base again is when the enemy does not notice you or a split change of decision by the Cata leader after consulting with the Atk Commander. [to be clear, cata leader responds to Atk commander and not the other way around]

Attack DD
DD and the Attacking teams lead by KB_Bow in my opinion were very very good but I unfortunately have much higher expectations from them. I know this is tough but I believe that the attacking teams have yet to find their footing and be comfortable to create that very very sharp spearhead to penetrate the enemy's wall. The beginning of the war was slightly to Wazaaa's advantage taking down out tower first. Shortly followed by us taking down their tower. I would like the reverse to happen in future. With Kazu and DF teams supporting the flanks up to the Middle of the map, the Attackers must be able to claw their way to the entrance of the Enemy base and secure possession of it by half way through the TW. Its a tall order... yes I admit... But I do not ask for what you are not able to deliver. I believe you can and I also believe that KB will be able to pull it off in time when there is clarity in the Atk teams to mimic the Wall of our Defence teams. Remember - YOU CAN DO IT.

Heiros and Preparations:
Preparations were very orderly and a vast majority turned up half hour before War. I would like for you to turn up at least 40 mins before TW next time. I think that's a suitable compromize. Turning up LATE for war should be frowned upon but if you tried your best, that is all I ask for.

Heiros.
I am very F*cking Sore about this issue. Hades was shouting 30 mins and 10 mins before tw for people to get Heiros. And what happens? There's a lack of people with heiros on during the TW! Heiros = life = more you can last in TW. Sure they are expensive. I understand. But A Silver heiro? A Bronze Heiro? Dig 2 Thorougate Wood and you get one Bronze heiro. Dig 7 WOOD and you get a Silver. There are means to get heiros if you want them. If you're not sure about wasting Heiros and have the "I'll wait and see how the war turn's out first" attitude, then at least keep it in your inventory to be ready to equip mid way through the fight!
There needs to be collective effort for us to have bragging rights of a win. And the fact of the matter is if we win the TW vs Wazaaa at any point of time, Do you think they are going to let us be the following week? Strategy dictated that we need to both Attack as well as defend. You know this. Everyone Know's this. But WTF are we going to do when something that is within our power of control is not being maximised to our advantage? On one side, we have generous people like Chip willing to sponsor heiros and not even looking for credit or acknoledgement for it. And on the other side, there's a slack in individuals who know it can be done but are not doing it. THERE ARE ALWAYS WAYS TO GET HEIROS SO DON'T GIVE ME EXCUSES. If Maffy can fork out money to BID on lands for the last 5 freaking weeks without bitching about it, I expect you to pull your weight. Mango, experienced in TW has also debriefed this same bloody point so suck it up and deal with it if you really want to win.

Instead of bitching more about the one topic that irks the shits out of me. I'm going to provide you with solutions to the problem.

To start: First Set aside a target - Either a time limit (I'm going to spend one hour digging mats) or Goal Specific (Complete HH run/ FW run/ Mold Run). Whatever is achieved during this period will be set aside for your Heiro and NOT your normal needs of Progressing in PW. This is important to demarcate the spoils you will be looking for BEFORE you hit your target or the temptation to keep gaining stuff for your character EQ or personal needs will overule you own effort. SO.... SET YOUR GOALS FROM THE START!

1. HH runs. HH mats can be sold for Cash. Bear in mind there is a cost to it as well - the wood to open the HH, the EP's heiro for BB/ MP pots used. My suggestion is for high levels (this means 90% of you all) to go for easy mat runs in lower HHs.

2. Mold Runs. Same thing, different activity.

3. DIG MID MATS/ PLANTS. Plants like tulips are valuable to craft high level potions and stuff. Dig and sell. This can be done Individually.

4. DQ mats. Kill Mobs and sell whatever you get. Be it NPC or stalling, you get gold. This also can be done individually.

5. World Boss. Ideally Officers in Diablo will need to do this. I know IC of Elegion does WB on a Daily basis to assist his officers in Silver heiros for TW. I would suggest giving them NOT to officers, but to reward the top player contribution in each TW campaign. This will motivate the lower levels to level up and the Higher levels to refine their equipment.

6. Continually set up new characters, level them up for the "Perfect Arnament" Box. BY level 40 you will have 2 bronze heiros. One from Elder and one from Box.


So what next?
You are all already on the path of Victory. Whether you stay on it is entirely up to your commitment to GROWTH within El Diablo. Do I realize I'm shooting myself in the foot by saying this statement? Yes, for then I am a Hypocryte for talking about growth and leaving based on the terms of my agreement. But Agreements are very important to me. I do NOT take on agreements lightly because I expect other people to honour their own agreements. For what is a Man if his word is worth but to be throdden on?

I am a staunch believer that if you say you're going to do something, you do it. I have not compromised with how I operated as a WarMonger in Diablo and some of my points are hard to swallow and step on various people in Diablo. Some listen and think I'm just a punk trying to do things my way and some have faith in my promises. There's no nice way to do things if you want to please everybody. We all know dia and Maffy are really sweet girls with the best interest in mind for the guild and that sometimes is a problem as well. That's why sometimes hard hitters like me come in to make the ugly judgement calls. I do not profess to be nice as per my very first post, but I do deliver results. And if I don't, then I keep to my end of the bargain. That is the respect I have for El Diablo since I expected as much from your officers to take a gamble on me and my ideas.

There's still a lot to learn and things get even more interesting when we have to Attack and Defend lands at the same time to protect lands and acquire new lands.
Will we be able to get 80 people for BOTH wars that go on simultaniously?
Who will take control of the Attacking Land and the Defending land?
Is the Number 2 for each of the positions ready to take over responsibilities?
Is the Number 1 able to work without a Number 2?
Is there sufficient resources for us to own more then one land?
Are the tactics for Defensive war strategy going to be the same as the offensive war strategies we are so used to? Will Bunny run Strategies still work?


On a more personal question, I think its time to ask the Question at the tip of my tongue.

Does Muloch want to come back to El Diablo?
Yes, but with conditions.

Do you want Muloch to come back to El Diablo?
This is a question I think the guild needs to look at in the most honest way. I think all guildies need to take a stand on this, not just the officers. Because you have to realize this; If you take me back into Diablo, it will be on my terms and I expect the best efforts from every one of you. I assure you that my conditions will be fair BUT much more demanding. So think very carefully what you wish for. Get a total of 100 votes on this for it to be valid.
Why 100 votes?
Cause that's the minimum amount we need to both attack and defend the land.

Regardless of the decision, I humbly would like to thank you all for the care you have shown me over the last 5 weeks. I had tremendous amounts of fun, thoroughly enjoyed myself and made new friends which I treasure deeply.

Let me know when you have made your decision. If I don't hear from you all on this by the month end, then I will make arrangements of my own.

Hugs and Kisses,
Muloch