Rules Update Major Faction, Invasion & Mandate Update

[Valiens Nantaris]

Staff have been considering for a long while some changes to the way major factions and invasions work, specifically about factions with only a single hex and so on.

The following changes have been made.

These changes will take effect on August 1st to allow factions time to adjust. It does also not include any currently announced or running invasions etc.


Regarding Major faction applications:
" 3. A Major Faction's starting influence cloud is dependent on the number of people it has during it's Major Faction Application. For every 5 unique writers, the Major Faction will start with an extra hex, at a maximum of 3 starting hexes. "

Has become:
" 3. A Major Faction receives three starting adjacent hexes of their choice for their starting influence cloud."

Regarding major faction capitals:

MAJOR FACTION CAPITALS

Faction Capitals are represented as planet icons on the Galaxy Map.

1. Each faction, upon creation, will name one planet as it's "Capital". Factions may not invade the hex containing the capital planet unless they have occupied a neighboring hex or the Major Faction has only its capital hex remaining.

2. Major Faction Capitals may only be gained by another Faction by being declared the target of an Invasion.

3. If a Major Faction successfully defends their Capital they may take any non-capital adjacent hex from the attacker. Alternatively they may render any non-capital hex from the attacker as neutral as though they had successfully invaded it.

4. The Major Faction Capital Hex may not be the target of Rebellions.

5. If a faction with more than one hex loses its capital due to an invasion it must choose a replacement capital from the hexes it currently controls. That hex then becomes the faction's capital.

6. In the event a one hex Major Faction loses an invasion targeting their Capital, that Major Faction will automatically be reduced to Minor Faction status. This faction must then wait a minimum of 60 days before they can resubmit an application for Major Faction status.

Regarding Invasion Timing:
"A Major Faction may only start one Invasion at a time and may not serve notice to start another until the original invasion is completed and judged. "

Regarding Galactic Nomads mandate:

"Galactic Nomads
Strength: Once a month, this Major Faction may abandon their current Influence Cloud & Capital Planet and relocate elsewhere on the map as if they were a creating a new Major Faction. The size of the new cloud is three hexes.
Weakness: The Major Faction may not use this Mandate's strength if the Major Faction is currently engaged in an incomplete Invasion, Rebellion, or Dominion."

These changes will take effect on August 1st to allow factions time to adjust. It does also not include any currently announced or running invasions etc.

 

[Republic Engineering]

3. If a Major Faction successfully defends their Capital they may take any non-capital adjacent hex from the attacker. Alternatively they may render any non-capital hex from the attacker as neutral as they they had successfully invaded it.

Valiens Nantaris - Just wanted to let you know that you've got an error here. The doubled they they.

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

Republic Engineering
Well spotted, corrected to 'as though they'.

 

[Enlil]

60 days instead of thirty seems like absolute overkill. What's the impetus for doubling the penalty?

 

[Zahara Myneto]

​

 

[Irveric Tavlar]

So...why would anyone invade a Capital Hex?

Seems like as is it exists as a hard point to shaft the attacker and provides nothing else but a risk. I assume it'd just be bragging rights then?

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

Irveric Tavlar
It had rules previously to make it harder, but they were no longer applicable with the removal of allies.
Thus, it's a hard point to attack, as it should be.

Enlil
No faction has ever been eliminated or even come close to it. If you get to that point it's pretty devastating, you'd have suffered many, many defeats. I feel it is justified that the faction be driven off.

As always these rules will be examined and edited if and as needed.

 

[Judah Lesan]

Irveric Tavlar

It’s happened twice in the six and a half years I’ve been here. It was one of the keys to the previous GA defeating the One Sith.

Though they took Coruscant and the curse of the Core caught up to them.

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

K Kaine Australis
In that case the faction was not reduced to 0 planets/hexes. This has never happened.

In all cases, a major faction has left the map either due to activity recall, voluntary recall or merging (back when those rules were available).

 

[Bernard]

Thus, it's a hard point to attack, as it should be.

It's not so much a hard point to invade as it is playing Russian roulette to shoot yourself in the foot now, honestly. Risking losing your own hexes just to have the defender move their capital skews the risk vs reward way too heavily into the territory of risk. Giving the defenders advantages is absolutely a good thing, but there has to be a boon that doesn't make attacking a capital hex unjustifiably dangerous for a faction when compared to the potential gains (which are currently entirely story-based and I think most everyone would agree that over the history of chaos that's not an incentive on the map game).

So I'd personally propose either making it more appealing to invade a capital hex, suggestions for this would be: The defenders lose 2 or maybe even 3 Hexes if they lose a capital hex invasion (+1 with Contagious Assault). Or make the risk of invading less severe for the attacker, for example: give them an invasion cooldown if they lose or 1/2 fewer dominions they can submit during that month, maybe even just keep the 200 post requirement for a capital hex invasion, because I think the fact it's a capital hex, so the defenders will put in everything they have, should be a deterrent in and of itself, rather than a major rules-based one, based on what an attacker gains currently.

Valiens Nantaris

 

[Ellie Mors]

Maybe just keep the losing the adjacent hex to the capital planet upon losing the invasion with a cooldown of 14 days from receiving any other invasions on the capital hex?

You know, and remove the whole "alternatively any other non capital hex" thing? It sounds appealing to someone who is looking at the potential prospect of being invaded at a capital hex, but I'd rather have the freedom from another invasion on the capital hex for 14 more days than just redoing the same invasion until we lose.

Edit: For clarity, I mean a cooldown to replace the non-capital hex neutral thing as an alternative option to the adjacent hex bonus for a defender win.
i.e;

• 3. If a Major Faction successfully defends their Capital they may take any non-capital adjacent hex from the attacker. Alternatively they may have a cooldown of 14 days before their capital hex can be invaded again.

Valiens Nantaris

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

Ellie Mors
I'll consider adding a cooldown to a successful capital defence.

They come up so, so rarely though that I'm not sure it warrants it.

Remember you can change your capital through the map update thread.

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

You forgot the part where y'all pretend this is not against the Agents of Chaos in any way shape or form.

This is some damn nice punishment for being creative within the existing rule set, for picking up the mantle and doing something site staff has been recommending people do for years, and for being so damn good at it. I guess what this board needs more of is even more factions that fall into the same old boring mold that people can complain about. LeTs Do MoRe DoMiNiOnS.

 

[Adhira Chandra]

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

Scherezade deWinter
As I have said numerous times the rules were created a long time ago when long range invasions weren't even a thing, when the only expected means of invading a capital was if you were right adjacent. It was never expected that someone would be a one hex faction on the edge of the map and be immune to counterattack forever. The alternative of snaking across the map, at any stage being liable to a break or the other faction using a mandate to move makes it unworkable. It is not fair to have one faction immune to attack, and it's an oversight with 7 year old rules which were never changed.

Therefore, this is the decision the admins came to. So yes, it is about the Agents of Chaos only because that faction was the one which made this necessary. We've made many such changes before when an issue comes up. Simply sticking our head in the sand is no remedy for the fact that it is not fair and not working as intended.

However, you will note you have almost a month to make any dominions you want, or you can Nomad Fleet to get 3 hexes. Further, if come August 1st someone does declare an invasion if you win you have an opportunity to punish the attacker.

I try in all things to fix exploits and issues as I see them in a way which is not too damaging to either side. We shall see what happens and if necessary we will adjust again.

 

[Bernard]

Whoa dudes let's calm down and take a step back, please. There's enough salt going around in the world that we don't have to turn on each other here too.

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Valiens Nantaris

It was never expected that someone would be a one hex faction on the edge of the map and be immune to counterattack ever. The alternative of snaking across the map, at any stage being liable to a break or the other faction using a mandate to move makes it unworkable. It is not fair to have one faction immune to attack, and it's an oversight with 7 year old rules which were never changed.

No one's immune to being attacked. Anyone is welcome to dominion their way towards us (hey did you know that the EE is only two hexes from doing that if they so wished?) or to nomad to our place and attack. If you'd have ever bothered asking me, I have no intention of nomadding away to run away. We're not immune, it's just that the people who want to invade us are too lazy to come up with a way to do so and just wanna continue doing what they've always been doing. This whole narrative of "buhhh AoC can't be invaded right now" is old, is dumb, and is exactly what you said you don't want to be doing - sticking your head in the sand.

However, if your entire concern was about being attacked, you could've just opened capital hexes for invasions. But you didn't. You went and edited a rule set that would be specifically against my faction instead. This isn't about levering anything, this is using the rules to try to destroy something that's been working fine thus and to throw a big ol' middle finger in AoC and mine's face.

 

[Ellie Mors]

Gonna echo Bernard here, bring your concerns to a feedback thread or suggest changes in a way that isn't inflammatory.

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

Scherezade deWinter
I have explained my reasons, you are free to disagree, which you are doing.

We will evaluate these rules and see if they are working as intended in due time.

On another note, I have removed several posts from this thread for going off topic and attacking others personally. That will not be tolerated. PM the other person or site staff if you have an issue.
If you wish to suggest a replacement or rule change, use the forum for that task.

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Valiens Nantaris Here's what's going to happen - even before the change in rules, no one wanted to make a single hex major faction. All those concerns about copy cats in light of AoC's success were unfounded. After these changes? You're not going to change anything because no one is going to complain other than AoC peeps because now whatever odds there were of people wanting to go single hex have just been trampled so you can pretend that this is fine. 60 days to bounce back, when everything else is limited by 30 days at most side for mandate changes? You're not trying to even anything out, you're out right changing the rules to try to hurt us, directly.

These changes pander to exactly one thing - the will of a specific other major faction, who's already celebrating these changes.

As Khonsu and Gil have already mentioned, optics are a lot, and this doesn't look good, and this doesn't smell good.