Posted 27 February 2015 - 09:06 AM
To answer a couple points about fighting the Clams I've seen in this thread.
1. Just Defend a Northern House: That's a very simple answer but it has hollow results. First, you really get nothing for doing that (from a faction standpoint). You "may" get a tag on the planet, but for faction loyalists (for the most part) a tag is meaningless, we want the dots. Green (or Purple) just looks better than pale blue, or red or blue. Also, it's a frustrating affair, because no matter how well you do, your gains are instantly washed away by the Pugzapper. The Call To Arms brings the unorganized soloists in to face comp groups, and they just lose faster than you can win. So for the most part, your evening is wasted.
2. Just join a Northern House: Non-starter. Faction loyalists are just that, loyal. We joined our respective factions for a reason (Lore, friends, geographical identity, etc) and want to fight for THAT faction. We don't care if the Northern Houses succeed, we want OUR house to succeed.
What a lot of people don't seem to get is that having more fronts against the Clans is a GOOD THING. If Liao and Marik and even Davion had fronts with the Clans, it dilutes the number of attackers the Clans can bring to bear on a single front. It also dilutes the side effect of the Pugzapper by spreading out the disorganized solos even more and allowing organized defenders efforts a greater chance of being successful.
Having said all that, for the bulk of 2015 Marik has been trying to manipulate the algo along our fronts in an effort to either connect to the island, surround Terra or move the Island northward. It's a very frustrating affair and requires great coordination between houses. Please be ready to work with us in a very proactive manner before moving forward with this plan.