COALITIONS AND YOU
COALTIONS CAN BE VERY VALUABLE
A good, strong coalition makes everything easier. Some nations are a powerhouse all on their own. Some players prefer to play it solo most of the time. In the majority of cases, though, on most 64-player and 128-player maps, you're going to want to be a part of an effective coalition at some point. Even if you’re going for a solo win, if you’re playing on a map that allows coalitions, it may often increase your chances for success if you participate in a coalition at prudent points in that game. However,... it’s not always as simple as just joining a coalition and cruising to victory. Below is a little advice for navigating the sometimes complex waters of coalition play.
GAME DAY 1: PICKING TEAMS IN GYM CLASS
The beginning of the game is the period of the most frenzied coalition creating, forming, and joining activity. Keep in mind, though, that, more often than not, coalitions don’t make it from beginning to end intact. Players go inactive; countries get defeated; personalities/philosophies sometimes clash; and geographic focuses change. Don’t assume that your fate is decided by the coalition you do or don’t get into on Game Day 1.
Sometimes, you’ll find yourself in an early position in which you feel like you got “left out in the cold.” Maybe you didn’t get into a coalition to which you applied, but all of your neighboring countries did. Maybe you created a coalition and nobody that you wanted applied to it. This probably happens most often to players showing a lower Rank and players playing nations that don’t start the game inherently strong, Unfortunately, these are the situations in which we sometimes feel the most desperate to get into a strong coalition.
THE STRONGEST COALITIONS ARE MADE OF STRONG INDIVIDUAL PLAYERS - BE ONE
So what’s a player in a situation like that to do? It’s easy - play. Just play. The truth is that higher ranking players are not always better players. They’re not always more active players. Larger, stronger nations aren’t always played well either. If you don’t get into a solid coalition right away because some other players made some assumptions about you, just play your nation and set aside being a part of a strong coalition for now. As the Game Days pass, there’s nothing more attractive to a coalition who has lost a member than an active country who has been racking up successes on their own. Once the game gets past the point of close regionality, coalitions looking for new members begin looking at the diplomacy list and the game map to see what available countries have been making some impressive progress. If you’re one of them, you’re going to start getting messages asking you to join some already established coalitions.
"ANY PORT IN A STORM" IS A BAD PHILOSOPHY
What you don’t want to do if you fail to get into a strong coalition early in the game is to get desperate and join or create an ineffective group of misfits who don’t really know what they’re doing. A single country doing very well for themselves looks a lot less like a target to a strong coalition than an obviously struggling coalition does. There is not always safety in numbers. Sometimes, once a strong nation or coalition latches onto a weak nation in a weak coalition they don’t let go until the entire coalition is gone. That’s right - being a member of a weak coalition can actually invite strong nations and coalitions to attack you.
OFFER MUTUAL BENEFIT
In general, don’t be afraid to play your own game. By that, I mean, try not to be totally reliant on other players and nations for your own success. Being a contributing member of a strong team is not the same as being completely protected by your coalition mates; you want to be the first one. A player who does an impressive job playing their own nation is much more attractive to a strong coalition than a struggling player who is looking for four other players to protect them and keep them in the game.
COALTIONS CAN BE VERY VALUABLE
A good, strong coalition makes everything easier. Some nations are a powerhouse all on their own. Some players prefer to play it solo most of the time. In the majority of cases, though, on most 64-player and 128-player maps, you're going to want to be a part of an effective coalition at some point. Even if you’re going for a solo win, if you’re playing on a map that allows coalitions, it may often increase your chances for success if you participate in a coalition at prudent points in that game. However,... it’s not always as simple as just joining a coalition and cruising to victory. Below is a little advice for navigating the sometimes complex waters of coalition play.
GAME DAY 1: PICKING TEAMS IN GYM CLASS
The beginning of the game is the period of the most frenzied coalition creating, forming, and joining activity. Keep in mind, though, that, more often than not, coalitions don’t make it from beginning to end intact. Players go inactive; countries get defeated; personalities/philosophies sometimes clash; and geographic focuses change. Don’t assume that your fate is decided by the coalition you do or don’t get into on Game Day 1.
Sometimes, you’ll find yourself in an early position in which you feel like you got “left out in the cold.” Maybe you didn’t get into a coalition to which you applied, but all of your neighboring countries did. Maybe you created a coalition and nobody that you wanted applied to it. This probably happens most often to players showing a lower Rank and players playing nations that don’t start the game inherently strong, Unfortunately, these are the situations in which we sometimes feel the most desperate to get into a strong coalition.
THE STRONGEST COALITIONS ARE MADE OF STRONG INDIVIDUAL PLAYERS - BE ONE
So what’s a player in a situation like that to do? It’s easy - play. Just play. The truth is that higher ranking players are not always better players. They’re not always more active players. Larger, stronger nations aren’t always played well either. If you don’t get into a solid coalition right away because some other players made some assumptions about you, just play your nation and set aside being a part of a strong coalition for now. As the Game Days pass, there’s nothing more attractive to a coalition who has lost a member than an active country who has been racking up successes on their own. Once the game gets past the point of close regionality, coalitions looking for new members begin looking at the diplomacy list and the game map to see what available countries have been making some impressive progress. If you’re one of them, you’re going to start getting messages asking you to join some already established coalitions.
"ANY PORT IN A STORM" IS A BAD PHILOSOPHY
What you don’t want to do if you fail to get into a strong coalition early in the game is to get desperate and join or create an ineffective group of misfits who don’t really know what they’re doing. A single country doing very well for themselves looks a lot less like a target to a strong coalition than an obviously struggling coalition does. There is not always safety in numbers. Sometimes, once a strong nation or coalition latches onto a weak nation in a weak coalition they don’t let go until the entire coalition is gone. That’s right - being a member of a weak coalition can actually invite strong nations and coalitions to attack you.
OFFER MUTUAL BENEFIT
In general, don’t be afraid to play your own game. By that, I mean, try not to be totally reliant on other players and nations for your own success. Being a contributing member of a strong team is not the same as being completely protected by your coalition mates; you want to be the first one. A player who does an impressive job playing their own nation is much more attractive to a strong coalition than a struggling player who is looking for four other players to protect them and keep them in the game.