Defender Deep Dive: A Report on Five Perspectives
An interview with one Independent and four Defender military officers on the how and why of military gameplay
Written by Maowi and Vor
Interviews conducted by John Laurens, Kuramia, Skygreen, Vor
Interviewees: Comfed, Concrete Slab, Makasta, Walrus, Westinor
Summarising of Interviews by Josi and Vor
Over one hundred people are gathered together from all over the world, some waking up in the early morning, some attending from their phone during a road trip, some on spotty airport wifi before a flight, all banding together in one discord server for the same noble purpose: saving a NationStates region with a handful of active natives and a whole lot of military puppets from permanent lockdown. Of all the many and varied forms of entertainment the internet offers, NationStates military gameplay does not sound particularly enthralling on a first description; so why do so many players choose it?
The ERN correspondent team set out to answer that question and more, as we interviewed five different military commanders on how and why so many people are drawn into military activity.
Attendance
A hundred people don’t come from nowhere, and while Defending of course has a long legacy to attract people with, that does not automatically bring sufficient attendance for military success. One might wonder, however, what the benefit even is of having such high attendance numbers.
“You could have some of the most skilled defenders in the world, but if they're short one endorsement, it won't mean much.” - Concrete Slab, SPSF
Having more people available than the opposing side is an obvious win condition, with the winning margins often being incredibly small. Unlike real-life voting or other community activities in which it is broad participation that makes the difference, a handful of people or sometimes even just one person frequently represent the difference between failing and succeeding at an operation. Concrete Slab, an officer in The South Pacific’s military, South Pacific Special Forces, recounts such an experience during update: “I remember one time Kotoha, Walrus, and I were doing a chasing run. It was a 3v2, so we were winning every battle.” In between the larger events, everyday military gameplay can see extremely small forces on both sides competing against each other. A simple one person advantage can completely turn the tide in such situations. Given that military activity occurs twice daily during a time window of an hour or longer, it is possible for several dozens of regions to be struck by raiders in a single day. Just one additional person showing up turns a potential full series of losses into a clean sweep victory.
That doesn’t necessarily tell the whole story, though, because there’s more to attendance than just quantity.
“The difference between defenderdom and raiderdom is the average defender knows what they’re doing.” - Walrus, RRA
Raiders are typically the instigators in a typical military engagement, which means they are granted the advantage of the initiative, with Defenders having to adapt to their movements on the go. A certain baseline of knowledge is therefore common for most Defenders which makes for generally more capable and knowledgeable soldiers. When asked about the relation between quantity and quality we found that both can be crucial to victory. As Walrus, former officer of The Rejected Realms, puts it:
“While liberations may be more difficult if raiders have more sheer numbers (since only a few of them need any game knowledge), pretty much every other operation greatly benefits from how defenders are trained. Sure, there will be some defender noobs, but for the most part our faction is equipped to handle more situations and be more flexible because of training, which is a major factor behind smooth operations.” - Walrus, RRA
While attendance numbers are important across the board, they require a healthy balance with individual skill for the best chances at success. As Walrus points out, it is the liberations that tend to rely more heavily on the numbers game.
“In 12 hours, our liberating force overcame 108 raiders - amassing nearly 120 liberators and getting 113 safely into the region to claim the delegacy. That's a gap of five - well within the range of error.” - Westinor, TGW
The above quote by Westinor, Warden-Commander of The Grey Wardens, is referring to the famous Defender success at the South Pacific liberation this July. As she notes, this great success could have turned into a failure at the drop of a hat. Five out of 120 people could have looked away for a few seconds right before the jump, and South Pacific might’ve been considered a massive raider victory in that timeline.
A clean victory like that is rare these days, but the importance of attendance doesn’t end at having more people than the other side.
“Magna Aurea in particular [required] every single person to keep the region alive until the Liberation and Injunction proposals in the Security Council passed. Without the turnout we had for the entirety of a week, the region would have burned on raiders' terms before we could've done anything about it.” - Westinor, TGW
It seems that even when outnumbered, the fight is far from over. When raiders capture a region and remain there to occupy it, they are typically seeking to establish permanent control over the region, so that they can move their forces elsewhere while their mark on the region remains there forever as a prize. The only way to stop this when outnumbered is through World Assembly (WA) proposals limiting administrative controls over the region. The WA, however, can be slow, and since raiders are powered by their massive piler forces sometimes counting up to over 200 endorsements, they would be able to capture the region forever through either refound or transition if unhindered.
For this reason, regardless of numerical disadvantages, Defenders will stage sieging operations on the occupied region. Banning nations that have updated uses the resource known as influence, which is also used to set passwords and enact refounds. Forcing the occupying forces to use their resources to ban constant incoming waves of siegers sets them back in fully capturing the region. “Without the turnout we had for the entirety of a week, the region would have burned on raiders' terms before we could've done anything about it.” This is exactly what Westinor is referring to, meaning that even when having significantly fewer available forces than the opponent, strong attendance numbers still make the difference between losing a region forever, and drawing out the eventual victory.
Motivations
When we asked about motivations for Defending, we found that there is a large and diverse array of them. Let’s dive into the many things that inspire people to participate in military activity in the current day.
“I find military gameplay to be fun, and supposedly updating is a pretty important part of it.” - Comfed, NPA
“The biggest thing for me is my competitive spirit. I love working towards a win, and as sweet as victory often is, working towards a win is the most adrenaline and euphoria one can feel, like, ever.” - Westinor, TGW
For some, it’s rather simple: the activities of military gameplay itself excite them. The conflict between the two sides of military ideology results in much emotional attachment to the outcome of bigger operations. If you joined a successful liberation effort for your first time in Libcord, you might be surprised at how ecstatic people are when a significant victory is booked. From many sides, much time, effort, and brainpower gets put into large operations, and when those efforts finally pay off, the feeling of accomplishment is notable.
Motivations to participate extend far beyond the inherent joys of military success, however.
“Since joining, I've been able to get involved with a robust community and make myself better known on the international stage.” - Concrete Slab, SPSF
“It's a community-driven activity for a cause that we all believe in, that is practical and helpful to us in so many scales, from foreign policy [...] to civilian diversity, integration, and operationality” - Westinor, TGW
While making friends is great for social growth and cohesion, many find that their participation in military activity has boosted their global notoriety and has given them a stronger reputation and network of connections to work with. In addition, it provides another avenue for generating activity in the region. We’ve seen domestically that former Grand Admirals have the strongest relation with a successful bid on becoming President, and it seems likely that such relations exist abroad as well, especially in more militarised regions.
Even in less militarised regions like The North Pacific, military activity is promoted as an important method of supporting the region, contributing especially to its foreign standing.
The most common answer, however, was the sense of community and friendship that joint military ventures bring.
“I come to every update to have fun, meet new people and genuinely enjoy the game. Yes I do fight for natives and regional sovereignty, but when it's a nightly chasing run and it's me and some other buddies in [voice chat] we are [bantering] to the max, very rarely even talking about the update outside of the usual "go" after a gcr break.” - Makasta, LDF
“To answer the question [of what motivates me] though, it's definitely the people and the community.” - Concrete Slab, SPSF
The answers that Concrete Slab and Makasta, an officer in The League's Defense Forces, give resonate well across the interviewees, with almost all of them mentioning the social element of military activity as a large motivator for their continued contributions. Even those who have benefited from the increased standing their military success has given them often put the sense of community first on the list.
With a decent grasp on how these military officers and commanders are motivated, we move on to how they spread that motivation to others, and what the average soldier and newcomer could expect to get from involving themselves in military activity.
“You'll see many people [...] who said they would never have given military gameplay a try if it wasn't me that asked them. That's because of the relationship I had already built up with them” - Concrete Slab, SPSF
As is abundantly clear by now, military commanders and officers are no strangers to having to concoct ways to recruit participants. The South Pacific Special Forces consistently bring numbers and activity to defender activities; Concrete Slab secured this success using his many pre-existing personal connections from several social spheres within the South Pacific to entice people towards military gameplay.
“You can motivate them through a sense of patriotic support for the region (i.e. ‘updating is important and this is why.’)” - Comfed, NPA
“Sometimes I/we promise to play a game we both enjoy afterwards, such as Raft. Because usually we don’t demand *too* much of their time for updating, and the request becomes fairly reasonable when coupled with a fun game afterwards.” - Walrus, RRA
Military activity is often coupled with external group activities, broader community incentives, and a sense of responsibility. This is done to further promote the feeling of community and friendship associated with operations. Whether it’s playing a game together, watching a show or a movie, or moving somewhere else to chat after the operation is over, fun social activities are a common follow-up to especially the bigger Defender operations.
“Since Drew Durrnil joined, he's done a really incredible job [organising] card lotteries based on participation in major [operations]. There are, of course, other rewards than just cards! Some that come to mind are me and HS letting updaters choose our profile pictures on discord or holding a karaoke event after the England operation.” - Concrete Slab, SPSF
External rewards such as cards or choosing people’s Discord profile pictures are commonly used as incentives in Europeian ministries, and it’s no surprise to find their inclusion also among foreign military organisations.
Defenders are always seeking out new people to join their ranks. They do this to gather the necessary numbers to ensure their military success in preventing regional destruction and hostile takeovers, to build up their communities including the non-military aspects, to bond with others and create a network of connections and friendships, to further their careers at home and gain notoriety abroad, to build up their skills and experience the adrenaline rushes and joys of military activity itself, and to enjoy the social and reward-based activities that are hosted after military operations. The motivations are diverse, and so is the group of people engaged in military activity.
If any of the above motivations appeal to you, or if you’re simply curious and want to give the military community a try, be sure to check out our Naval Recruitment Office!
Drawn by @Maowi
Full Interview Answers:
How important are attendance numbers to the success of most operations?
Attendance numbers are definitely one of the most critical factors when it comes to successful operations. You could have some of the most skilled defenders in the world, but if they're short one endorsement, it won't mean much. That being said, if we have a ton of people that don't really know what they're doing, that's just as bad. There has to be a happy medium or both having the skill to execute with triggers and know what you're doing. This is especially true since most defender operations are reliant on triggers. During chasing you need more people than your opponents, but you also need to make it in before the region updates. For liberating, not only do you need to make it in before the region updates, you need enough people so you can take some bans and still get the W.
Can you give an example of an operation where that (number of updaters) was especially crucial?
I remember one time Kotoha, Walrus, and I were doing a chasing run. It was a 3v2, so we were winning every battle. Another operation I can think of was the England liberation effort. We had a beachhead that lasted for a week, so we needed all hands on deck. The SPSF really showed out and broke the record for single update turnout with 23 during that operation. Lots of people consistently showing up was the main reason why we were able to hold out for the SC resolutions and take back the region.
What motivates you to update?
I may have been in the game for over five and a half years, but I only started updating in 2023. In the beginning, I wanted a change of pace. I had always known about military gameplay, but never had the time or desire to participate. Since joining, I've been able to get involved with a robust community and make myself better known on the international stage. I've made so many friends and developed my skills, and nothing feels better than getting a win while chasing or finally getting the victory in a long siege. To answer the question though, it's definitely the people and the community.
How would you motivate people in your community who are or have become relatively averse to military activity to participate anyways?
When I was elected as Minister of Defense earlier this year, I had almost no techincal skill when it came to military gameplay. However, what I did have was connections with TSPers on all platforms, whether that was the rmb, discord, or the forums. I made it my mission to recruit as many people as I could to the SPSF, and we saw unprecedented growth (hence the record during England). Here are a few of the factors that allowed my recruitment to be so fruitful: 1.) I had already established personal connections with plenty of people who were not involved in military gameplay. You'll see many people, Konsa comes to mind, who said they would never have given military gameplay a try if it wasn't me that asked them. That's because of the relationship I had already built up with them. 2.) Being personal. I got my foot in the door every time by personally training everyone I recruited. I made it very clear being in the SPSF was not a time-consuming job, rather one where you put in what you can when you can. I would follow up with personal training over discord dms, answering any questions as they came up. This one on one training gave people a wider knowledge base then they would get from just reading a guide and also motivated them to participate more. 3.) Rewards! People love tangible rewards. In the beginning I let every new recruit choose a card from my personal collection if they particpated in an update. Since Drew Durrnil joined, he's done a really incredible job organizing card lotteries based on participation in major operation. There are, of course, other rewards than just cards! Some that come to mind are me and HS letting updaters choose our profile pictures on discord or holding a karaoke event after the England operation. All in all, just encourage people to give it a try! Be personal with them for the entire process and let them form their own opinions.
Attendance numbers are definitely one of the most critical factors when it comes to successful operations. You could have some of the most skilled defenders in the world, but if they're short one endorsement, it won't mean much. That being said, if we have a ton of people that don't really know what they're doing, that's just as bad. There has to be a happy medium or both having the skill to execute with triggers and know what you're doing. This is especially true since most defender operations are reliant on triggers. During chasing you need more people than your opponents, but you also need to make it in before the region updates. For liberating, not only do you need to make it in before the region updates, you need enough people so you can take some bans and still get the W.
Can you give an example of an operation where that (number of updaters) was especially crucial?
I remember one time Kotoha, Walrus, and I were doing a chasing run. It was a 3v2, so we were winning every battle. Another operation I can think of was the England liberation effort. We had a beachhead that lasted for a week, so we needed all hands on deck. The SPSF really showed out and broke the record for single update turnout with 23 during that operation. Lots of people consistently showing up was the main reason why we were able to hold out for the SC resolutions and take back the region.
What motivates you to update?
I may have been in the game for over five and a half years, but I only started updating in 2023. In the beginning, I wanted a change of pace. I had always known about military gameplay, but never had the time or desire to participate. Since joining, I've been able to get involved with a robust community and make myself better known on the international stage. I've made so many friends and developed my skills, and nothing feels better than getting a win while chasing or finally getting the victory in a long siege. To answer the question though, it's definitely the people and the community.
How would you motivate people in your community who are or have become relatively averse to military activity to participate anyways?
When I was elected as Minister of Defense earlier this year, I had almost no techincal skill when it came to military gameplay. However, what I did have was connections with TSPers on all platforms, whether that was the rmb, discord, or the forums. I made it my mission to recruit as many people as I could to the SPSF, and we saw unprecedented growth (hence the record during England). Here are a few of the factors that allowed my recruitment to be so fruitful: 1.) I had already established personal connections with plenty of people who were not involved in military gameplay. You'll see many people, Konsa comes to mind, who said they would never have given military gameplay a try if it wasn't me that asked them. That's because of the relationship I had already built up with them. 2.) Being personal. I got my foot in the door every time by personally training everyone I recruited. I made it very clear being in the SPSF was not a time-consuming job, rather one where you put in what you can when you can. I would follow up with personal training over discord dms, answering any questions as they came up. This one on one training gave people a wider knowledge base then they would get from just reading a guide and also motivated them to participate more. 3.) Rewards! People love tangible rewards. In the beginning I let every new recruit choose a card from my personal collection if they particpated in an update. Since Drew Durrnil joined, he's done a really incredible job organizing card lotteries based on participation in major operation. There are, of course, other rewards than just cards! Some that come to mind are me and HS letting updaters choose our profile pictures on discord or holding a karaoke event after the England operation. All in all, just encourage people to give it a try! Be personal with them for the entire process and let them form their own opinions.
How important are attendance numbers to the success of most operations?
Incredibly important. When I or anyone else in Update Command is organizing an operation, the number 1 thing is always how many people we have. No matter how brilliant your strategy, you need 1 more person than the other side. The most important type of operation is the Liberation - this is when the existence of a region is on the line, and where numbers matter most. Nowadays, we see raider piles crest 100 endorsements in under 12 hours, and they often soar to 200 endorsements at their peak. That makes every single endorsement we can [get] important, so that we can get over that line before it becomes impossible to stop raiders. There is nothing more important than showing up to an operation with a mindset of being ready to help out. We can help you out with the rest
Can you give an example of an operation where that (number of updaters) was especially crucial?
Ooh, yes - historically, there are a lot, but let's talk about recently. A contestant for the biggest liberation of this year, if not in recent times, is July's liberation of the South Pacific. In 12 hours, our liberating force overcame 108 raiders - amassing nearly 120 liberators and getting 113 safely into the region to claim the delegacy. That's a gap of five - well within the range of error. Similarly, the recent liberations of The International UN and Magna Aurea came down to close numbers, with Magna Aurea in particular requiring every single person to keep the region alive until the Liberation and Injunction proposals in the Security Council passed. Without the turnout we had for the entirety of a week, the region would have burned on raiders' terms before we could've done anything about it.
What motivates you to update?
Wow, this is a question xD the biggest thing for me is my competitive spirit. I love working towards a win, and as sweet as victory often is, working towards a win is the most adrenaline and euphoria one can feel, like, ever. An interesting facet of my NS career has been that I've never really been on the "winning side" of r/d operationally - my first venture into gameplay was in the NPA, where I largely led tag runs against (as some Europeians may remember ) incredibly tough odds. Today, raiders undoubtedly have the advantage in the biggest operations, with their incredible piling numbers and stealth operationality. Trying to make that climb against insurmountable odds is a big reason I update. Of course, that means nothing without the community I update for and with - there's quite possibly nothing as fun as the incredible stakes, high energy and fast pace of a liberation chat!
How would you motivate people in your community who are or have become relatively averse to military activity to participate anyways?
This is a tough one, because it's a challenge I've faced every time I've taken a command position in r/d, and I'm not sure I've ever overcome it. I don't have a good answer, to be honest. But what I try to do is just present what military activity really is - it's not polarized, segmented gaming against an opponent, it's a community-driven activity for a cause that we all believe in, that is practical and helpful to us in so many scales, from foreign policy (the most concrete way to support your hard influence in gameplay is through a strong military) to civilian diversity, integration, and operationality (a thriving military is a healthy part of any regional community, brings in new people and harnesses different skills than most other segments of a region) to partnerships and having fun with friends (from the Indie Dream Team to Team A, there is no better fun than working through trial, hardship, and challenge with those you can trust and have fun with :>). I try to remind people about that, to tell stories about the amazing times we have, and really just appeal to a civilian in whatever manner possible. When you really think about it, military gameplay has something for anyone because it's a little microcosm of the NS community. If you want to make an impact on history, flex your mechanical muscles or strategic skills, or just plain have fun, you can do it best there! And it takes like, no time at all if you want it to
Incredibly important. When I or anyone else in Update Command is organizing an operation, the number 1 thing is always how many people we have. No matter how brilliant your strategy, you need 1 more person than the other side. The most important type of operation is the Liberation - this is when the existence of a region is on the line, and where numbers matter most. Nowadays, we see raider piles crest 100 endorsements in under 12 hours, and they often soar to 200 endorsements at their peak. That makes every single endorsement we can [get] important, so that we can get over that line before it becomes impossible to stop raiders. There is nothing more important than showing up to an operation with a mindset of being ready to help out. We can help you out with the rest
Can you give an example of an operation where that (number of updaters) was especially crucial?
Ooh, yes - historically, there are a lot, but let's talk about recently. A contestant for the biggest liberation of this year, if not in recent times, is July's liberation of the South Pacific. In 12 hours, our liberating force overcame 108 raiders - amassing nearly 120 liberators and getting 113 safely into the region to claim the delegacy. That's a gap of five - well within the range of error. Similarly, the recent liberations of The International UN and Magna Aurea came down to close numbers, with Magna Aurea in particular requiring every single person to keep the region alive until the Liberation and Injunction proposals in the Security Council passed. Without the turnout we had for the entirety of a week, the region would have burned on raiders' terms before we could've done anything about it.
What motivates you to update?
Wow, this is a question xD the biggest thing for me is my competitive spirit. I love working towards a win, and as sweet as victory often is, working towards a win is the most adrenaline and euphoria one can feel, like, ever. An interesting facet of my NS career has been that I've never really been on the "winning side" of r/d operationally - my first venture into gameplay was in the NPA, where I largely led tag runs against (as some Europeians may remember ) incredibly tough odds. Today, raiders undoubtedly have the advantage in the biggest operations, with their incredible piling numbers and stealth operationality. Trying to make that climb against insurmountable odds is a big reason I update. Of course, that means nothing without the community I update for and with - there's quite possibly nothing as fun as the incredible stakes, high energy and fast pace of a liberation chat!
How would you motivate people in your community who are or have become relatively averse to military activity to participate anyways?
This is a tough one, because it's a challenge I've faced every time I've taken a command position in r/d, and I'm not sure I've ever overcome it. I don't have a good answer, to be honest. But what I try to do is just present what military activity really is - it's not polarized, segmented gaming against an opponent, it's a community-driven activity for a cause that we all believe in, that is practical and helpful to us in so many scales, from foreign policy (the most concrete way to support your hard influence in gameplay is through a strong military) to civilian diversity, integration, and operationality (a thriving military is a healthy part of any regional community, brings in new people and harnesses different skills than most other segments of a region) to partnerships and having fun with friends (from the Indie Dream Team to Team A, there is no better fun than working through trial, hardship, and challenge with those you can trust and have fun with :>). I try to remind people about that, to tell stories about the amazing times we have, and really just appeal to a civilian in whatever manner possible. When you really think about it, military gameplay has something for anyone because it's a little microcosm of the NS community. If you want to make an impact on history, flex your mechanical muscles or strategic skills, or just plain have fun, you can do it best there! And it takes like, no time at all if you want it to
How important are attendance numbers to the success of most operations?
Attendance numbers are a critical factor whether you are talking about small operations like tag raids to bigger ops such as occupations and liberations. The people in attendance at an operation are endorsements on the point nation, which obviously need to outnumber those of other point nations (such as chasers) and the incumbent delegate (if the goal of the operation is to seize the region). In short, sufficient attendance numbers are essential for operations to succeed.
Can you give an example of an operation where that (number of updaters) was especially crucial?
Sure. I would point to the recent-ish liberation of South Pacific. That region was liberated one update after being raided despite a large raider pile because prior to and over the course of the update, enough people showed up that, come the time for the jump, the raiders were outnumbered and defeated. That was not a foregone conclusion and only happened because of attendance.
What motivates you to update?
I find military gameplay to be fun, and supposedly updating is a pretty important part of it.
How would you motivate people in your community who are or have become relatively averse to military activity to participate anyways?
You can motivate them through a sense of patriotic support for the region (i.e. "updating is important and this is why.") Alternatively/additionally, you can give them a lower-commitment alternative to regular active service.
Attendance numbers are a critical factor whether you are talking about small operations like tag raids to bigger ops such as occupations and liberations. The people in attendance at an operation are endorsements on the point nation, which obviously need to outnumber those of other point nations (such as chasers) and the incumbent delegate (if the goal of the operation is to seize the region). In short, sufficient attendance numbers are essential for operations to succeed.
Can you give an example of an operation where that (number of updaters) was especially crucial?
Sure. I would point to the recent-ish liberation of South Pacific. That region was liberated one update after being raided despite a large raider pile because prior to and over the course of the update, enough people showed up that, come the time for the jump, the raiders were outnumbered and defeated. That was not a foregone conclusion and only happened because of attendance.
What motivates you to update?
I find military gameplay to be fun, and supposedly updating is a pretty important part of it.
How would you motivate people in your community who are or have become relatively averse to military activity to participate anyways?
You can motivate them through a sense of patriotic support for the region (i.e. "updating is important and this is why.") Alternatively/additionally, you can give them a lower-commitment alternative to regular active service.
How important are attendance numbers to the success of most operations?
very, basically the more people we can rally from across the spectrum the more likely it is to succeed. And the less our opponents rally the better for us. Just recently in SP, defenders managed to rally a huge stack and throw it in with needle thin odds to win it. Numbers are everything when it comes to the success of an operation.
Can you give an example of an operation where that (number of updaters) was especially crucial?
south pacific for one, the operation basically had me worried that we were gonna take a giga L in terms of defender morale. but we managed to pull through and amassed a gigantic force of jumpers and raised morale for the whole faction.
What motivates you to update?
Everyone has their different reasons, I could claim mine is some high ideal, but it's really not. I come to every update to have fun, meet new people and genuinely enjoy the game. Yes I do fight for natives and regional sovereignty, but when it's a nightly chasing run and it's me and some other buddies in VC we are shitposting to the max, very rarely even talking about the update outside of the usual "go" after a gcr break.
How would you motivate people in your community who are or have become relatively averse to military activity to participate anyways?
Often with just rewards. Everytime the LDF needs to dig into our larger civilian pool of rpers for a critical op we run raffles of things like legendary cards or special roles for those who come. But the probably the best talking points are the tried and true ones of "if it can happen there it can happen here" and that normally gets people pretty revved up.
very, basically the more people we can rally from across the spectrum the more likely it is to succeed. And the less our opponents rally the better for us. Just recently in SP, defenders managed to rally a huge stack and throw it in with needle thin odds to win it. Numbers are everything when it comes to the success of an operation.
Can you give an example of an operation where that (number of updaters) was especially crucial?
south pacific for one, the operation basically had me worried that we were gonna take a giga L in terms of defender morale. but we managed to pull through and amassed a gigantic force of jumpers and raised morale for the whole faction.
What motivates you to update?
Everyone has their different reasons, I could claim mine is some high ideal, but it's really not. I come to every update to have fun, meet new people and genuinely enjoy the game. Yes I do fight for natives and regional sovereignty, but when it's a nightly chasing run and it's me and some other buddies in VC we are shitposting to the max, very rarely even talking about the update outside of the usual "go" after a gcr break.
How would you motivate people in your community who are or have become relatively averse to military activity to participate anyways?
Often with just rewards. Everytime the LDF needs to dig into our larger civilian pool of rpers for a critical op we run raffles of things like legendary cards or special roles for those who come. But the probably the best talking points are the tried and true ones of "if it can happen there it can happen here" and that normally gets people pretty revved up.
How important are attendance numbers to the success of most operations?
Then it’s important but honestly training is equally useful
The difference between defenderdom and raiderdom is the average defender knows what they’re doing. So while liberations may be more difficult if raiders have more sheer numbers (since only a few of them need any game knowledge), pretty much every other operation greatly benefits from how defenders are trained. Sure, there will be some defender noobs, but for the most part our faction is equipped to handle more situations and more flexible because of training, which is a major factor behind smooth operations.
But obviously both are useful. Without numbers we can’t win much.
And then strategy/setup are more the specific details that can provide advantages but simply supplement the core strength of the turnout: the number of updaters and how reliable they are.
Can you give an example of an operation where that (number of updaters) was especially crucial?
Like most liberations
What motivates you to update?
The community, for sure. I enjoy chasing and occasionally the rush from liberations but it’s really nice to talk and have fun with dozens of people you share a mutual interest with. There’s just not much else like it on NS, and certainly can’t be found with piling.
How would you motivate people in your community who are or have become relatively averse to military activity to participate anyways?
Sometimes I/we promise to play a game we both enjoy afterwards, such as Raft. Because usually we don’t demand *too* much of their time for updating, and the request becomes fairly reasonable when coupled with a fun game afterwards.
Then it’s important but honestly training is equally useful
The difference between defenderdom and raiderdom is the average defender knows what they’re doing. So while liberations may be more difficult if raiders have more sheer numbers (since only a few of them need any game knowledge), pretty much every other operation greatly benefits from how defenders are trained. Sure, there will be some defender noobs, but for the most part our faction is equipped to handle more situations and more flexible because of training, which is a major factor behind smooth operations.
But obviously both are useful. Without numbers we can’t win much.
And then strategy/setup are more the specific details that can provide advantages but simply supplement the core strength of the turnout: the number of updaters and how reliable they are.
Can you give an example of an operation where that (number of updaters) was especially crucial?
Like most liberations
What motivates you to update?
The community, for sure. I enjoy chasing and occasionally the rush from liberations but it’s really nice to talk and have fun with dozens of people you share a mutual interest with. There’s just not much else like it on NS, and certainly can’t be found with piling.
How would you motivate people in your community who are or have become relatively averse to military activity to participate anyways?
Sometimes I/we promise to play a game we both enjoy afterwards, such as Raft. Because usually we don’t demand *too* much of their time for updating, and the request becomes fairly reasonable when coupled with a fun game afterwards.
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