1 : That I think is an unreasonable demand for an AM in that specific wording, and I'm sitting on some pretty good stockpiles. The AM does not have to be a bank where others can exhange anything at will. I know you said 'reasonable' but that's up to everyone's interpretation.As I reflect on my two years as an archmage and search for a replacement, I decided to put up my list of my top 10 things that make a good archmage. Perhaps other good archmages can add to it or improve on it, so that newer people who suddenly find themselves with fellowships can have a good resource here, for tips and advice from the "old pros." Please jump in and add to my list, whatever you think would benefit new archmages.
1. Always take your fellowship member's trades, especially if you know those items are scarce and they'll have a hard time acquiring them. Take as many as you can reasonably afford. That's going to vary on how much of a stockpile you have, but anyone who is sitting on 3 or 4 million in rare goods but won't take a 50K, two-star trade simply because they don't need it or want to keep their stockpile is, in my opinion, doing a grave disservice to their member and the fellowship.
4. Never let a member bully you into submission. This is your group, not his or hers. If someone says you're being unfair, ask 4 or 5 of your best members in private if you're wrong. Make sure they know you won't be mad no matter their answer (and mean it!) If they think you're right, then you're right… the bully must go.
9. Make the spire more fun by offering kp incentives to climb the spire. Not every week, but maybe once a month or once a season. Have spire parties, spire stories (a thread where you start a group adventure theme and everyone adds a line while climbing the spire). Just do whatever you can to promote it and make it fun. Likewise, make the chat more fun by drawing people into chat with quizzes, games or challenges. I know that the only prize available is kp, but people don't get tired of winning kp. It's not so much the prize that counts, anyway; it's the fun of feeling part of a good group. We have our Freaky Friday challenges once a week.
1. I did mention a 2-star trade ... and I meant 2 star trades. No, I don't think any AM should have to take 1 or 0 star trades. We have a rule against them unless they are needed for tourney or spire, and then only if prearranged. So I wasn't thinking of those. I'll go ahead and clarify ... thanks for giving me that opportunity.1 : That I think is an unreasonable demand for an AM in that specific wording, and I'm sitting on some pretty good stockpiles. The AM does not have to be a bank where others can exhange anything at will. I know you said 'reasonable' but that's up to everyone's interpretation.
I have no issue at all taking trades from any of my members, but trading is something I see as a normal part of the game. Any member who needs any kind of specific goods for either an upgrade, tourney, Spire, or quest can shoot me a PM and/or post in the chat and I'll be happy to take any of their 1-star trades to help them out. But that does not mean I'm taking every FS trade I see all the time. Not to mention that would be a day-job by itself
Now I was the 'bank' before I took over the AM spot, so it's not a big deal, but in general I just feel the AM is not the one who needs to take all the trades.
4 : I only agree in part; an AM should not be bullied into submission. Nor should anyone.
But I do not agree it is MY group, it is OUR group. So though I may have the final word, I will consult the mages. One has them for a reason and they can give different points of view. And some of them have been with this group way longer than I have, so I value their opinion.
9 (and 8) : I do encourage my members to climb the Spire and we have several players who will help others out with goods if that is needed. But the Spire is harder for a lot of players than the tourney, so I use tourney incentives instead, since doing better in the tourney will help them do better in the Spire in the end. Bonus goods or KPs for everyone each time they break either their own high-score since they joined and more if they break their own highest score ever.
1. I did mention a 2-star trade ... and I meant 2 star trades. No, I don't think any AM should have to take 1 or 0 star trades. We have a rule against them unless they are needed for tourney or spire, and then only if prearranged. So I wasn't thinking of those. I'll go ahead and clarify ... thanks for giving me that opportunity.
Good list. I am good at 1,2, 4, & 5. In fact I solicit and accept 0 star trades for those in early chapters as a matter of policy. I'd add that being understanding and sympathetic about the curves that life throws us is a requirement to be Human, not just an AM. It is more important as an AM. Real life is always more important, but you are running a gaming group. Sometimes the group is not a fit for a particular person. Any temporary issue is acceptable. If it is continuing, the player ideally should remove themselves. Putting that in your fellowship description, helps one deal with those situations with maximum empathy.As I reflect on my two years as an archmage and search for a replacement, I decided to put up my list of my top 10 things that make a good archmage. Perhaps other good archmages can add to it or improve on it, so that newer people who suddenly find themselves with fellowships can have a good resource here, for tips and advice from the "old pros." Please jump in and add to my list, whatever you think would benefit new archmages.
1. Always take your fellowship member's two or three star trades, especially if you know those items are scarce and they'll have a hard time acquiring them. Take as many as you can reasonably afford. That's going to vary on how much of a stockpile you have, but anyone who is sitting on 3 or 4 million in rare goods but won't take a 50K, two-star trade simply because they don't need it or want to keep their stockpile is, in my opinion, doing a grave disservice to their member and the fellowship.
2. Never call out a member by name for non-disruptive offenses in public, such as in chat or in a message others can read. For example, if you have a rule that says 2 or 3 star trades only, but someone puts up a one-star trade, remind them in private of the rule. Or you can say something general in chat, such as, "Remember, everyone, only 2 or 3 star trades are allowed." Don't say, "Hal, you put up a one-star trade. That's not allowed." Now, if they're causing a riot in chat, that's very different.
3. Multiple offenders, especially those that disrupt or cause resentment in the group, should be removed with a friendly note. Say something like, "I'm sorry things didn't work out with us. I hope you find a group with rules you can live with. Best of luck to you." And whatever you do, don't keep warning them if they repeatedly break the same rule over and over. Either keep the rule or the person, but not both, no matter how much you need the tourney or spire points.
4. Never let a member bully you into submission. You are leading the group, not him or her. If someone says you're being unfair, ask 4 or 5 of your best members in private if you're wrong. Make sure they know you won't be mad no matter their answer (and mean it!) If they think you're right, then you're right… the bully must go.
5. Always post a positive message each day, even if it's just, "Good morning, everyone!" You may not have an active chat, but people like knowing that their archmage is engaged and active.
6. Seek out members for empty slots, and try to keep your fellowship as full as possible with ACTIVE members. Check Elvenstats regularly, and if a player is gone for a month or two without explanation, remove them and recruit for their slot. The worst thing you can do is to keep more than a few members with "black triangles" beside their names on Elvenstats. That makes your fellowship a target for recruiters. If you have 20 players but 10 of them have black triangles, you can almost guarantee that your active players will be wooed by other fellowships.
7. When you are recruiting from other fellowships, maintain a reputation for kindness. Don't recruit from small fellowships or from new ones where the archmage is active. Whether they're as good an AM as you are is irrelevant … if they're trying, leave them alone and wish them well. Focus on those where the AM is absent or sporadic in tourney scores (you can see that on Elvenstats) and where a large number of black triangles dominate a full or nearly full fellowship. If an archmage doesn't care about the fellowship, don't feel guilty about whisking the best player away. I have found, in 2 years as an archmage and a year as a recruiting mage, most players in that situation are about to quit anyway. You're rescuing them, not poaching them.
8. Find good ways to reward your players for their loyalty to your fellowship. Check Elvenstats (can you tell I love that place?) to make a list of the dates that all of your members joined your group. Announce their Fellowship anniversaries and make a fuss in a message. Give them an anniversary gift of KP, and encourage (but not decree) everyone else to do the same. Also, keep an eye on their scores as they rise through the ranks. We reward players at every 100K level from 100K to a million. It's like the anniversary, but we call it a Milestone Day. You can free up your time as an AM and ask other mages to share the load. We currently have an Anniversary Mage and are looking for a Milestone Mage.
9. Make the spire more fun by offering kp incentives to climb the spire. Not every week, but maybe once a month or once a season. Have spire parties, spire stories (a thread where you start a group adventure theme and everyone adds a line while climbing the spire). Just do whatever you can to promote it and make it fun. Likewise, make the chat more fun by drawing people into chat with quizzes, games or challenges. I know that the only prize available is kp, but people don't get tired of winning kp. It's not so much the prize that counts, anyway; it's the fun of feeling part of a good group. We have our Freaky Friday challenges once a week.
10. If you're going to be away, even for one day, make sure you let people know and leave someone you trust in charge. People like to know that their archmage is consistent and concerned with their game experience. Don't drop off the planet unless you've been hit by a Mack truck. Let people know you consider them first, when you're planning absences or vacations.
If I think of more I'll add them, but that's all I can come up with at the moment. We have a great deal of talent here, so I'm sure you guys can come up with good ones.
March 6: Two things were edited for clarification.
I accept every 0 star trade from the bottom of my fellowship and encourage them. If you add up tourney points, you'd understand why. My production is about 2.4M/1.6M/1M standard goods for each of the three goods on the three tiers every day. What I give away amounts to nothing, but the goods generated by lower level players contributing to the tourney generates superior tourney rewards and adds up quite nicely.No, I don't think any AM should have to take 1 or 0 star trades. We have a rule against them unless they are needed for tourney or spire, and then only if prearranged. So I wasn't thinking of those. I'll go ahead and clarify ... thanks for giving me that opportunity.
Finally, I very rarely recruit - I find it doesn't usually work. You are poaching other fellowships which is distasteful and rarely works in my experience.
An AM might prefer not to accept one star or zero star trades without a reason. Encouraging them for tourney and spire is fine, and I do ... but encouraging them for any other reason sometimes creates a dependent player who believes they should be given an unfair advantage whenever they want it. Some of them don't stop expecting such privileges even after they have quarter million or half million score. (And I'm not talking for spire and tourney here ... I mean just to stockpile.) They wind up being the detested players in the trader, the ones that cause headaches for people who have to carefully pick their way through the trader minefield and make sure they don't accidentally click anything. So yeah ... I agree that the tourney and spire are important for everyone and we help all our players get to the top. Last week we had 17 chests in the tourney and of course gold in spire. But no, I won't encourage "every" zero trade from players. But neither will I say that it's "wrong" to do so ... I think it's just different AMs have different mindsets.I accept every 0 star trade from the bottom of my fellowship and encourage them. If you add up tourney points, you'd understand why. My production is about 2.4M/1.6M/1M standard goods for each of the three goods on the three tiers every day. What I give away amounts to nothing, but the goods generated by lower level players contributing to the tourney generates superior tourney rewards and adds up quite nicely.
Do I "have to accept them" no, but I do. In fact, it is only a few 2 star trades by the highest level players that I do not accept. Although at close of tourney, I may decline one or two trades.
An AM might prefer not to accept one star or zero star trades without a reason. Encouraging them for tourney and spire is fine, and I do ... but encouraging them for any other reason sometimes creates a dependent player who believes they should be given an unfair advantage whenever they want it. Some of them don't stop expecting such privileges even after they have quarter million or half million score. (And I'm not talking for spire and tourney here ... I mean just to stockpile.) They wind up being the detested players in the trader, the ones that cause headaches for people who have to carefully pick their way through the trader minefield and make sure they don't accidentally click anything. So yeah ... I agree that the tourney and spire are important for everyone and we help all our players get to the top. Last week we had 17 chests in the tourney and of course gold in spire. But no, I won't encourage "every" zero trade from players. But neither will I say that it's "wrong" to do so ... I think it's just different AMs have different mindsets.
That's what I like ... zero and one star trades with a specific purpose that will help the whole team instead of just one person. When they are only meant to enrich one person, I find them unfair. When they are meant to help the team, they are of benefit to the game and a great strategy.I remember posting several 1 star trades just shy of the two star mark for fellowships adventures (when 100 goods were required in addition to the enchantments). When I posted 2 star trades of the low quantities, they quickly evaporated getting taken by players who were not even making badges with them.
The only challenge I find to the strategy is that I have to monitor the player to make sure that they are creating and updating the manufacturies they need. Also at some point, I cut them off as they have a high enough score that they should be self-sufficient. But I also have a player with a score of only 200k that gains the fellowship 10,000 points in the tourney each week. If I could add 5 more players that would do that, we'd be getting 19 chests every week not 15.An AM might prefer not to accept one star or zero star trades without a reason. Encouraging them for tourney and spire is fine, and I do ... but encouraging them for any other reason sometimes creates a dependent player who believes they should be given an unfair advantage whenever they want it. Some of them don't stop expecting such privileges even after they have quarter million or half million score. (And I'm not talking for spire and tourney here ... I mean just to stockpile.) They wind up being the detested players in the trader, the ones that cause headaches for people who have to carefully pick their way through the trader minefield and make sure they don't accidentally click anything. So yeah ... I agree that the tourney and spire are important for everyone and we help all our players get to the top. Last week we had 17 chests in the tourney and of course gold in spire. But no, I won't encourage "every" zero trade from players. But neither will I say that it's "wrong" to do so ... I think it's just different AMs have different mindsets.
You are a good recruiter. I found the work to find that class of player daunting. I would look for a team with most player inactive and a player that was still kicking it in tourney. I found a few, but more often than not they were playing with family or were really tight with a few players. My fellowship has been strong for a while. Early on I was successful with a couple mergers to bring a fellowship from 10 to 20+ players. Most of the players from the mergers did not want to play as often as my fellowship does so we might keep 2 or 3 of the 6 that joined. But that did sort of work.Rescuing players is a good thing ... not a bad one.
There are five major stages to growing performance focused fellowship.
Most players and fellowships are not hard core. So many of my approaches were to low key players that were having fun in their fellowship even if half the players were no longer playing. Performance oriented players may come to your fellowship, in stages 2-4, but they also leave chasing better performance. Humor and support matter to grow a fellowship and that counts once they are on board. But it is hard to find daily players seeking high performance. I was successful with a few neighbors. Developing a repour through trading can help. Unfortunately, I never found a magic formula. Most of my blind approaches were ignored or rejected out of hand. I got 10x more offers for me to join their fellowship from players I approached blindly than I received acceptances.
- Going from 10 players to 20 that play regularly
- Convincing players to increase participation in the Tourney to get 10 chests (plans)
- Getting a majority of your 20+ players to climb the spire and perhaps earn gold the first time.
- Recruiting Spire climbers so you can get gold regularly (once every 2-5 weeks)
- Transitioning to a full Gold spire fellowship
Recruiting a player was often a 6 month process of making friends more than an appeal to be rescued In my experience.
That's the challenge ... dealing with players who get disheartened too quickly. But the ones who stay and contribute make it all worthwhile, and eventually, you get to be at the top of your game ... whatever your fellowship considers to be the "top," since that varies. Still, it all comes together in the end. I know my first month as an archmage was pretty rocky, with a couple of people leaving who felt they should have gotten the job, and me scrambling to figure out what I was doing (and not doing it very well). In the end, it really worked, and if I hadn't taken a really demanding job, I'd still be doing it. But Answered Sea is fantastic ... I could not have picked a better successor if I'd tried. It all works out in the end.If you are an archmage grinding for points and standings, then you would welcome 24 more players with your style of play. I am more interested in having a group of motivated players who approach things in their own way and still find success. I find that the challenge of finding ways to help them in their journey is very satisfying. My original fellowship is very supportive of one another and have bonded. My second one is coming along nicely in that way too. IF I COULD JUST CONVINCE THEM TO HANG ON A BIT LONGER.