I guess my issue is just that I'd like to be able to make a difference without spending 8 hours a day in Lusternia. I've put in those hours when I could, but lately it just feels like I shouldn't even bother, because I can't match the effort other people put in. And when more than a few people feel like that, I think you get Serenwilde. People are going to say "You don't deserve to win if you're not willing to put in that kind of effort," and maybe they're right. You guys put more work in, you win. And the whole time you're winning, I'm thinking "Why bother putting that work in when I know there are people working round the clock to undermine what I've just done? I have better things to do." Battles are fun, sure, but the constant prep work is mind numbing. So enjoy your wins, I'll be playing other games and enjoying myself there, and when I feel like playing Lusternia I'll pop by and totally ignore all the conflict because I can't make a difference.

EDIT: And I'm not really trying to make any sort of argument here, just saying how I personally feel about it all.

Corrected! What would you do without me?

What Sylphas said.

Thirded to what Sylphas said, although in this case it's how I feel about the Seren atmosphere in general as opposed to just combat.

The combined bitter and smug in this thread is reaching critical mass. (also wtf, Malicia?)

I'm not overly convinced that your individual efforts don't go unrewarded, after all, if that were true, why would people blame/laud individual players for x org's success/failures.

At the same token, it does take a village to raise a child, so I think if a large enough group of people try, then results will come.

Also, it was a bit rough when the trinity first started because both Celest and Hallifax crutched heavily on Glom.

Then Celest built itself up and now stands as its own org and does pretty damn well for itself, which only increased mutual respect and stamped down on the bitter feelings.

And Hallifax got big enough to make its own decisions at least!

I have officially reached zen.

What Sojiro said. And from an OOC view? I think getting away from Glomdoring was a great move for Hallifax in the sense that the "crutch" mindset gets shattered. Just look at the efforts Hallifax has been making already in comparison to when in Trinity. People want to assist more, which is a big thing.

Personally I'm glad to see Hallifax in a more aggressive stance than it once was. I'm glad to see raids, I'm glad to see shrines defiled, I'm glad to see conflict stirring. I remember five months ago when the (active) military consisted of maybe two people, and everyone else didn't really know what the hell they were doing. I used to secretly appreciate Malarious raids on Air for making us get up and move, heh. Sure, Hallifax has a long way to go: it's a new organization, we haven't had as established a playerbase, but the fact that people are getting involved is great. Prav and Ridley stand out as people willing to help out newer members with combat if they ask, and we have several aetherpilots who have been leading the city in hunts that get us more demigods.

Are we badasses yet? No. Will we be anytime soon? Probably not. Are we going in the right direction? I think so.

I guess the thing is you want to be able to motivate your org members into being willing to work together and put forth that effort, but if no one is willing, you're stuck. And so you get attacked over and over and just look up at the ceiling thinking "god why do I even try." There's more to orgs than combat, though. There's more than domoths, raids, etc, and letting one very complex facet of the gameplay overshadow the rest is going to frustrate you. I realize I'm no expert, and I have no idea what that kind of situation is like from a first person view, but if your org feels like it's succeeding in some way, its members will be more willing to step out of their comfort zones and help in other places. Constantly berating someone for their lack of contributions just makes people want to work even less.

This is just my impression, anyway.

CULTURE never ceases to amaze me, too.

Not what I meant but ok.

No, I meant Serenwilde's cultural activity score.

I don't really understand why people think they have to spend eight hours a day in the game to get anywhere personally or as an org. Hardly any Glom or Celestian will spend all or even nearly all of their online time being 'constructive' towards a common goal, even if they should be online that long. Alot is idling, sitting around and talking, waiting for things to happen, or, sometimes, making things happen.

And that includes raids and defiling, or trying for a domoth. Mostly for fun, because clearing places of shrines is seldom done purely for strategic purposes and is really boring if you encounter no resistance at all, as is killing ladies and upgrading a domoth.

Most of Celest seems to be super bitter about us dropping out of that alliance.

Though for how useless we were, I have no idea why. I think because they would show up to defend Continuum/Air? But most people in Hallifax, it seems, don't really care if those planes get raided. It's about winning villages/flares/domoths/ascension events/etc for us. Hallifax is all about business.

I think it's more that Hallifax has latched much more firmly onto the c*$k of Mag where it never even offered even a tease to Glom/Celest

Wrong. I didn't mean to sound snippy, heh. It's more that, Hallifax didn't do much for the alliance. They probably felt they weren't getting much out of it either. It was Glom and Celest for the most part.

Eh, I think it's just Mali and I think she's mostly joking. It's quite possible most of Celest doesn't even know Hallifax left the alliance (It's also quite possible that there are people in Celest who were never aware Hallifax was in the alliance to begin with). I'm pretty happy about it as a player! That's the sentiment I get from most of those in Celest that care as well.

The bitterness comes from the fact that Hallifax's contributions were far smaller than what it demanded from the other Trinity organizations, I think.

Maybe because it's easier to motivate the citizens to do the former than the latter. Willingness is everything.

Give them nothing but take from them...everything? /nerdgirl

Rewarded? I can't really think of anybody getting 'rewarded' with anything outside of commune favours. Or Ascendance for me for that small handful. Though personally I've always thought of Vernal Ascendance as more of a putting a responsibility on somebody then rewarding them. Maybe I'm misunderstanding you there?