END OF AGE 91: AGE REVIEW w/ ATLAS (HONOR CROWN)

Welcome today our special guests, ATLAS, winners of the Honor Crown for Age 91!

See what they had to say about the age below.

Kingdom and Position?

Atlas, 8:11, Honor crown winners

How would you rate you overall experience this age?

Given the circumstances of how we came back together for this age and the unique challenges as well as having the chance to play a bit of a tutor role this age I think this this was a great age especially for our players new who are almost completely green to the game. Despite the changes being a bit uninspiring I think it was an enjoyable age.


What impacted your experience the most?

Going into this age we were not sure how it would be. We had a quite a few of or returning members (15), 7 new joining members from SWEA, and 3 completely new players (2 of which was their 2nd age of utopia having played with a few of us in a merger from last age on an age off that we decided were people we really wanted to cultivate as players). So it took awhile to get everyone on the same page. (pre age was a lot of disagreement on setup and concept). But as usual we went with the atlas “pick whatever the hell you want and we'll make it work” mentality, with about half of our members in the senior leadership picking a solid foundation that would fit in with anything that was picked.


What was your strategy for your attackers?

The same as usual with some minor twists and turns depending on the situation, But the general jist is sacrifice your body protect our pillars and make theirs crumble (I.E. drop enemy Tms early, fast, and hard)


What was your strategy for your TMs/Hybrids?

I don't like separating out “TMs” from “Hybrids” as we rarely run dedicated pure tm style as we deem it too vulnerable, so I'll kind of answer this one as a combination. Our general playstyle is very aggressive in peon control with opportunistic instant damage ops like nightmare on select targets who put themselves in an awkward spot. We pushed our elves to be int the best positions possible throughout the age to ensure they ended up reaping the rewards of the honor bonus often purposely making our fae mystics vulnerable to bait the enemy into pressing them knowing it would make little difference to our strategy with the fae which was primarily duration ops controlling enemy core and hybs. Our hera actually spent a lot of time destroying massed out enemy mystics reaping the rewards of their honor and positioning themselves to be able to abuse whatever target we wanted in the opening of any war. By the end of the age prior to the final war a large majority of our hera were pressing 26-32 mwpa some even slightly higher


What was your favorite ritual and dragon combination for war?

This was completely dependent on match ups and point of the age. Usually we tailored our dragons to punish the enemy setup and its flaws there was no “fixed” strategy with rits/dragons it was always fluid based on enemy setup and positioning. But since you asked for my “favorite” not so much 'what/when we did' then my answer is amethyst/havoc.

How many wars did you have and how did your setup work well for you?

We had 6 wars of which we won all. We were hoping to get 7 or 8 but there were a few times where we had some wars lineup up that got either messed up by dragon waves into us or into our intended target which cost us time and forced us to pivot after we had built for the specific conflict that was planned. As far as setup goes as I said before our war plans are always based on match-ups and enemy weaknesses/holes in their match ups to our provinces. Going in with a fixed strategy is never advised, you can have a concept but always be ready to pivot based on what is given to you. The beautiful thing about not forcing yourself into a fixed kingdom setup (race/perso uniformity) is that you have a lot more flexibility on what tactics are available to you as well as giving your enemy “analysis paralysis”.

How does it feel to take the Honor crown, was that your plan all age?

Our mindset going into every age we play is if you aren't going in every age with the expectation of winning from the outset then you're aren't really in it to win. It doesn't matter if you're playing for size, wars, hr etc. that's always our intent from the outset even if things are bumpy along the way.

Is there something you would change about UTOPIA?

A lot of people will probably whine about this but I think our community as a whole is incredibly toxic (and not just to new players, although I think this is probably the most painful issue). I have introduced a number of players into the game over the past 3-4 years from different walks of life, some who want to play competitively at a higher level and other who are just looking to casually play and compete at a lower level, and the ones that stay are the ones that get into a group of people who are looking to improve as a whole through positive and constructive encouragement, even if they aren't the best players or improving at breakneck speed. Its important to know that no one wants to be a robot or micro managed. Let your new players make mistakes and coach them on what happened and some alternative paths that could have affected the outcome. Let them come to the decisions on what went sideways. 9 times out of 10 they will figure it out on their own with a little insight and will become better players for it. Exert a modicum of patience. Be willing to expend some effort on your end not expect them to make all the sacrifices on their end alone. And most importantly LEARN FROM THEM AS WELL and I don't mean skills in game. I mean, understand what is the driving force and lifeblood that has the potential to keep this game running. Here's a hint: its not your elitism.

Fun fact: You can still compete with non “elite” players and win fairly consistently, its actually not that difficult if you know how to manage yourself in a way that lets you effectively manage your team.


Would you like to say something to your kingdom?

I am glad I get the chance you play with all you oddballs age after age. I appreciate the laughter, frustration, and memes we all share over our own blunders and successes. Each of you has your own set of quirks that make playing and working with each of you enjoyable.

Do you have any advice for the community?

See -“is there something you would change about Utopia”


Any Final Thoughts?

Dare to be different and think for yourself, There is no single path to success, and contrary to popular belief you do not need to be a robot to be successful at this game.

Thank you so much for joining us today Atlas!

Enjoy Age 92!