Whiskeyjack Analysis 2

[Whiskeyjack]

My critique of a quad based analysis is that there's not enough movement in ranks unless you ranked them relative to other quads. The NE has plenty of strong alliances that won't get ranked due to the current analysis. Look for that to change. I'm also dabbling with numbers and my include them with my next analysis. UIA, The Co.'s and Nemesis have looked sharp this week, suggesting a kind of coordination with these large alliances. Needless to say, the good alliances have remained good, damage or not, and the bad alliances are starting to show their colors.

So here you go you ungrateful curs.

NW
1. UIA-Things have never been better for UIA. They take the occasional lump, but they are locking down their quad. They seem to have gotten past whatever internal hiccups plagued their alliance while Trinity was still around. They received a nice gift by receiving some defectors from CD. The downside: Their reputation as a whole is almost as bad as CD, deserved or not. They have to be careful not to get gangbanged by multiple alliances as the global threat of their biggest endgame rival diminishes. PA:1

2. SHG-Still the number 2 alliance. Their growth has not impressed me. They still have some small members in their alliance ranks that should be replaced with better performers. On the bright side, they seem to be sticking to their clusters on SW border and may be hard to dislodge. Defending against one side will help their survival. Still a little bit on the green side for an alliance. PA:2

3. ANV-Biting off a little more than they can chew engaging UIA. They are still a good unit, just woefully undermanned. I envision they could do better with a full complement of players, but that seems to be against their strategy. Their growth strategy is going to hurt them without more membership. Your report card just came in. Individual play:B, overall alliance strategy. Get your grades up if you don’t want a parent teacher conference. PA:4

4. FG-On the list because of the sheer amount of membership. Your average just above noobie alliance they seem to be learning as they go. Their alliance page still sings out “Kumbaya”, but it seems to have helped their survival thus far. Somebody instituted a strategy for once in that alliance and they are building a smart cluster for their relatively newbie player base. If they continue to learn and limit their confederacies, I wouldn’t mind rooting for this group. PA:5(tie)

5. Celt-As stated previously they have a great cluster location but with their wide disparity in membership size, they will be nothing more than table setters in someone else’s 5 star restaurant. I don’t think they take winning seriously, since their alliance gets walked on by the baddies at UIA on occasion. I’m convinced they are here to sim., nothing more. Getting absorbed by another alliance will be their best strategy in the long run. PA:5(tie)

Dropping off: Trinity-Last seen shopping at the flea market.

[Whiskeyjack]

NE

1. Fox, Easy Co.-They shopped at the same supermarket as UIA and were able to pick up some former CD members at bargain basement prices. They had sucess recently in regards to their battle plans which has spurred their pop to the top of the rankings. If they eventually beat CD back, how many of their secret confeds will they keep with no common enemy. PA:2

2. CD-The loss of Fovere and the recent defectors has hit them hard. Combine that with the constant fighting and the mighty giant has fallen a notch. They haven’t fallen far. Per player, this is probably the strongest wing of any alliance. Will other players defect? I’m leaning towards a yes, but the core membership should remain. PA:1

3. MosTLy-Stalwart ally of the Co.’s. They are growing well in the shadow of their bigger confederate. With some breathing room, it’s time for them to assert their own independence. Playing second fiddle to someone else’s battles will only teach you so much. Time to get aggressive and strengthen your own alliance. No need to become Charlie Co. PA:3

4. KOF-They are in a safe position for end game. They seem to be simming like madmen while everyone else is distracted with real fighting. I think they lack the talent and membership to be a dominant force come WW time. They played to their strength, simming. I have heard of no contributions they have made to the NE effort to fight the war against CD. They will no doubt remain a permanent fixture on the analysis. I think they duped allies and enemies alike. PA:5

5. EIDB-Solid cluster, in the middle of some fighting. They are built very much like Celt, with an advantage in overall size. I expect them to be aggressive on the recruiting front, to strengthen their membership. I think they have a backbone, but they don’t yet have the skill among their membership to perform ably. I see them bullying smaller alliances sooner rather than later. PA:4

This quad has the strongest midsize alliances. It’s be interesting to see a few of them get together and create a better alliance.

[Whiskeyjack]

SE

1. CD-Not much has changed here, they still perform better with less players than their counterparts. If they gain more support in this quad, and they might with a lot of disenfranchised players around, they can end these conflicts and be the real victors in the SE. CD made a smart choice in recruiting an alliance from this quad. PA:1

2. MBTS-Out of all the large alliances, this one has peformed the worst. Outnumbering their opponents they have failed to make a significant dent. The other alliances in the other quads have had an easier time fighting with less players. Quick and decisive? I say slow and deceiving. They have not effectively used their size. I believe you will see this alliance shrink in size. They do have some very good individual players, but they have stagnated under the weight of this alliance. PA:2

3. TW-They have been quiet as of late. Having their confed diminished was probably the best thing that could have happened to them. They have veen growing quickly. Hopefully their leader can keep them out of trouble because he has a reputation as a hothead. I see escalating conflict in their future. PA:3

4. Nuke-They have been working hard to turn themselves around and it shows. They are not an elite alliance. They made a couple shrewd recruiting choices, and have kept their cities intact. This alliance bears watching if they continue to make solid choices and prevent further farming of their members. PA:4

5. AFO-Still farms, still not impressive, only viable choice for number 5 alliance in the SE. It was either that or listening to an ABBA’s greatest hits CD. I made my choice, now I have to live with my mistake. PA:5

Nothing good comes from the SE, but they sure do have good firework displays every night.

[Adonis]

Jeez, would you let the guy finish before interrupting the analysis RIGHT in the middle??

Good work though, Whiskey, it looks dead on. But who is #5 in the NW supposed to be? There's currently a lack of name...

[Whiskeyjack]

SW

1. CD-Got their butt handed to them in a small offensive. It happens, can’t win every battle. The players from that quad are resilient and should bounce back rather quickly. They need to develop a plan of attack to prevent further situations like this from happening. Could this be a glaring weakness for CD, or were they the recipient of a well planned attack? PA:1

2. Nemesis-They have done well this past week, they have taken strides to show they want to dominate rather than play defense. Well executed attacks. I was impressed with your alliance this week. Still I wouldn’t get too cocky just yet, since it was this alliance that did some of the bleeding in previous weeks. Expect more of the same formula, joining with confeds to overwhelm, hide hammers PA:2

3. Dark/Scourge/Orphans-I’m not convinced they are not all still one alliance since they all shared the same name previously. Until they clarify otherwise they will be grouped together. I think an alliance this size should have one identity, not three. They have skill and size, but they are nothing more than Nemesis lite to me, twice the players, half the skill. Still they have a presence and should dominate any midlevel alliance. They need to stop being shifty otherwise this alliance won't have the cohesion to be a dominant force. PA:3

4. Shadow-Another alliance that looks like they changed wing names to hide numbers.A solid alliance, still need a bit of seasoning. They handled themselves adequately, but not perfectly in a recent string of battles. Will get stronger as they learn, an underrated alliance, but definitely newbish. PA:4

5. EOL-Solid alliance, not flashy, but they are too spread out with such a low amount of membership. Even so, they should thrive with no focus on them. They will be a feeder alliance for perhaps Nemesis/Scourge in a month or two if their current strategy continues. PA:5

After the SE, I think this region is in for some major changes. The current landscape looks teetered on a precipice and I imagine most of the smaller alliances with decent members will be gone in short order.

[Whiskeyjack]

Originally Posted by mmmm wheat Did you write the NE analysis before or after the birth of the M&M alliance?

Before. Four players will not make a dent in CD unless they go to one of their main rivals. CD is still very strong in the NE.

Originally Posted by Adonis Jeez, would you let the guy finish before interrupting the analysis RIGHT in the middle?? Good work though, Whiskey, it looks dead on. But who is #5 in the NW supposed to be? There's currently a lack of name...

Thanks for the edit. Sometimes, copy and paste jobs don't go perfectly, lol.

[Unleashed]

Looking good. Thanks for the input!

[Sly53]

The analysis of the NW is fairly accurate.

But, even though CD's presence there is smaller than in other quads, they still exert a lot of influence and should be listed above Celt, at least.

Regarding ANV, we were hoping to stay under the radar a bit longer, but the dissolution of Trinity gave us the opportunity to add some good people, so we grew a little faster than we planned. This also drew more attention from UIA, as they hoped to get some of the people who chose ANV instead.

Our growth strategy is simple, we only recruit quality people. We don't add members for the sake of numbers or ranking. Maybe that will hurt us in the long run, or maybe not, we'll see...

[Baron D'Holbach]

Christmas is back. Thanks! Worth the wait. You should move your SW post up past the impatients for continuity.

[Adonis]

Originally Posted by Sly53 The analysis of the NW is fairly accurate. But, even though CD's presence there is smaller than in other quads, they still exert a lot of influence and should be listed above Celt, at least. Regarding ANV, we were hoping to stay under the radar a bit longer, but the dissolution of Trinity gave us the opportunity to add some good people, so we grew a little faster than we planned. This also drew more attention from UIA, as they hoped to get some of the people who chose ANV instead.

I would have to agree with that.