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    Your Elvenar Team

Hello Hi all

SparkleMunchica

New Member
Even though I have read through many posts I have not introduced myself. I have been playing for about 2 years and love this game. Being overzealous in the beginning started in many worlds then had to back track and decide what I had the time to play. So I chose my 2 best worlds Harandar and Elcysandir and my FS is Antediluvian in both. I also play a Beta game. I have just been made Archmage in Elcysandir and am struggling to find new recruits. I reach out daily but it's not easy. Recruiting is something I definately need help in if anyone has any pointers for me. Anyway Hello all !!! :)
 

ajqtrz

Chef - loquacious Old Dog
Welcome! Finding new recruits is, in my opinion, the hardest part of the game. If you want active and experienced players they are hard to find. It's not so bad if you are okay with new players or beginners. The advantages of the former type are obvious, but the advantage of taking in new and beginning players is that you can train them properly and help them not make mistakes. We've tried to have each player have an experienced mentor and that seems to help retain them. But I ramble a bit. Sorry.

In any case, good luck, and welcome to the forum.

AJ
 

crackie

Chef, Scroll-Keeper, Buddy's #1 Fan
Recruiting is something I definately need help in if anyone has any pointers for me.
Welcome to the Society of Archmages and pointing out the worst part of the job! :)

I take in new players bc it opens my recruiting scope by a lot. The new tech tree and early chap changes suck though and makes this option less viable bc now you have to train someone that may or may not be a good fit and you don’t know for a few chapters, which could take months. It’s a lot of investment on your part and little immediate return in terms of them being able to give back to the fellowship, which isn’t their fault since things are now all locked behind techs.
 

ajqtrz

Chef - loquacious Old Dog
I agree with @crackie that the new tech tree is a bit of a discouragement when it comes to taking in small players. We have a specific fellowship for that in our group on Khelonaar, Land of Shadows. The AM there likes to work with small players.

As for methods of recruiting the most important tip, after what I said above, is to look before you leap. Use elvenstats.com to be sure the player or players are active and of the desired "growth profile" before sending the invite. And, don't contact anybody in a fellowship about joining yours without getting permission from the AM of that fellowship first. It's considered "poaching" and most AM's are too respectful to do that.

Now here are a three techniques I've used.

1) Individual player. Here you go through the players list around the size of the player you wish and think you can get and look for ones without a fellowship. The larger the player the more likely they aren't active as large players are usually more prone to join fellowships and/or start one of their own to play solo. I'd look for someone near the size of your average player. Elvenstats.com gives you the "ideal" candidate for your fellowship.

2) Fellowship Watch. Here you pick a fellowship with players about your size. Not as hard to do as the fellowships are listed by size and all you have to do is divide the total by the number of players. Once you've spotted that fellowship you do the right thing and go to elvenstats.com and examine it. Say it's 15 players and you find, from elvenstats that 14 are active. Not a good target because that pretty much means they are a active group. On the other hand, if 6 to 8 or more are inactive you might consider them. BUT, again, look at the AM. If he/she is active (and often they are not), contact them for permission. If they aren't active, and a Mage is, contact them. If no Mage or AM is active it's pretty much okay to contact the players that meet your criteria.

3) Fellowship Merge. Here you look for the same basic characteristics as number 2. You then look to see if you can take in all of them or find a home for them in a "sister" or "affiliated" fellowship. If you can take in all of the active players and they all meet your criteria, you contact the AM (or Mage) and propose a merge. The details might mean you have to make somebody a Mage when they arrive or not, but that's just part of negotiating a merger.

Now for some observations. First, it takes a long time, sometimes, for people to respond. Be patient. I usually wait 3-4 days between messages. Second, it takes a long time, sometimes, for people to read the msg from their AM that they are merging. So you may have found 3 active players and when it was all said an done, only one "merged." Third, it takes a long time, sometimes, for the stragglers to come in AND they sometimes don't come to you but join other fellowships. Don't know why when it happens, but it does. The best way to prevent this, I think (and something I learned from an AM with whom we merged) is to send, the moment the merger is okayed, a msg to every perspective player coming into your fs, welcoming them and letting them know you are ready for them.

So those are my three "go to" ways to recruit. None of them are easy and it takes a lot of work, but it sure beats letting your fs shrink into the Mist of Lost Fellowships.

AJ
 

Darielle

Chef, Scroll-Keeper, and Buddy Fan Club Member
And, don't contact anybody in a fellowship about joining yours without getting permission from the AM of that fellowship first. It's considered "poaching" and most AM's are too respectful to do that.
There is one exception to that. If you find a fellowship where the archmage has been missing for at least a month or two and most of the players are gone, it's actually a kindness to ask the remaining one or two active players if they'd like to join your group. I've had players join who were on the verge of quitting Elvenar, because they never had a "good" fellowship and didn't realize what they were missing. I mentioned to them that their archmage was gone and most of the players were no longer active, and they didn't even realize why there was no interest among team members in getting more than one chest in the tourney. They just thought that was the way Elvenar is. One joined my fellowship, and about a month later he said, "I want to thank you for saving me. I just had no idea how it could be. I'm glad I stuck with Elvenar long enough for you to find me." That warms my heart, and it isn't poaching. It's rescuing. Why should we let these players languish just because we're afraid of the term "poaching"? That makes no sense. I often target fellowships where the archmage is no longer playing and most of the mages are gone, too.

Most of the time, though, I ask a mage if they'd like to rebuild their fellowship or if they'd like to join mine. If they want to rebuild, I help them with good advice on all the steps they need to take (first step, how to get a new archmage). I have one fellowship that I helped to rebuild while recruiting, and the AM is still one of my best friends ... met while I was so-called "poaching."

The only time a person is poaching, in my opinion, is if they target a fellowship where the archmage, however new or inexperienced, is trying to do his or her job, or if the archmage is absent the mages are trying to fill in for him or her. In other words, a fellowship where SOMEBODY cares about the team. You don't touch those. Others are fair game, in my humble opinion.

And by the way, welcome to the forum Sparkle! :)

Edit: By the way, AJ, I should have looked more thoroughly at your post and I would have realized you didn't consider an inactive AM "poaching." Sorry for the misinterpretation.
 
Last edited:

SparkleMunchica

New Member
I agree with @crackie that the new tech tree is a bit of a discouragement when it comes to taking in small players. We have a specific fellowship for that in our group on Khelonaar, Land of Shadows. The AM there likes to work with small players.

As for methods of recruiting the most important tip, after what I said above, is to look before you leap. Use elvenstats.com to be sure the player or players are active and of the desired "growth profile" before sending the invite. And, don't contact anybody in a fellowship about joining yours without getting permission from the AM of that fellowship first. It's considered "poaching" and most AM's are too respectful to do that.

Now here are a three techniques I've used.

1) Individual player. Here you go through the players list around the size of the player you wish and think you can get and look for ones without a fellowship. The larger the player the more likely they aren't active as large players are usually more prone to join fellowships and/or start one of their own to play solo. I'd look for someone near the size of your average player. Elvenstats.com gives you the "ideal" candidate for your fellowship.

2) Fellowship Watch. Here you pick a fellowship with players about your size. Not as hard to do as the fellowships are listed by size and all you have to do is divide the total by the number of players. Once you've spotted that fellowship you do the right thing and go to elvenstats.com and examine it. Say it's 15 players and you find, from elvenstats that 14 are active. Not a good target because that pretty much means they are a active group. On the other hand, if 6 to 8 or more are inactive you might consider them. BUT, again, look at the AM. If he/she is active (and often they are not), contact them for permission. If they aren't active, and a Mage is, contact them. If no Mage or AM is active it's pretty much okay to contact the players that meet your criteria.

3) Fellowship Merge. Here you look for the same basic characteristics as number 2. You then look to see if you can take in all of them or find a home for them in a "sister" or "affiliated" fellowship. If you can take in all of the active players and they all meet your criteria, you contact the AM (or Mage) and propose a merge. The details might mean you have to make somebody a Mage when they arrive or not, but that's just part of negotiating a merger.

Now for some observations. First, it takes a long time, sometimes, for people to respond. Be patient. I usually wait 3-4 days between messages. Second, it takes a long time, sometimes, for people to read the msg from their AM that they are merging. So you may have found 3 active players and when it was all said an done, only one "merged." Third, it takes a long time, sometimes, for the stragglers to come in AND they sometimes don't come to you but join other fellowships. Don't know why when it happens, but it does. The best way to prevent this, I think (and something I learned from an AM with whom we merged) is to send, the moment the merger is okayed, a msg to every perspective player coming into your fs, welcoming them and letting them know you are ready for them.

So those are my three "go to" ways to recruit. None of them are easy and it takes a lot of work, but it sure beats letting your fs shrink into the Mist of Lost Fellowships.

AJ
Thank you for the tips. I will start looking. Again I am very grateful for your help. :)
 
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