Factions. Why some last longer then others

#36300132045 01/02/2007 16:48:30 Factions. Why some last longer then others

I was thinking about this for some time now. Why do some factions, such as ones that have been around sence beta and launch, continue to exist and thrive, while others simply wither and die shortly after or a few months after their creation?

I mean, factions are not like countires. There is nothing holding someone to a particular faction, IE no phisical location, no great advantage like a unstopable army or military force, no real affect on really anything.

Factions like Children of the Code, The Devils Advocates, The Trust, all been around for as long as the game has been live for the very least, thats about a year and nine months now. Why are these factions able to thrive while others do not? Is it the leadership, the people that are in the faction to begin with, the idea that the faction follows? And what about factions that dont last. Are the things mentioned above lacking that cause those factions to lose members?

#36300132071 01/02/2007 17:39:45 Re:Factions. Why some last longer then others

"Why are these factions able to thrive while others do not?"

With this game? By complete chance that it had players that wanted to keep playing the game, and/or by complete stubbornness on the part of the leader to not disband even with only a handful of players. Nothing more.

In the beginning of this game, and in other games, it's usually good leadership, good players, good coordination, a good website always helps, creative players, etc...

/cry

#36300132094 01/02/2007 18:45:21 Re:Factions. Why some last longer then others

Experience.

#36300132109 01/02/2007 19:34:42 Re:Factions. Why some last longer then others

I was just asked this question tonight about FH.
There are many factors that decide if a Faction survives or not.
In my opinion its the following.

1. Respect to one another
2. Good attitude
3. Similar beliefs
4. Team work
5. Weeding out people who do not follow any of the above.

FH has been around since early beta and has never disbanded I think its because of the quality players we are lucky to get and the word of mouth.
Oh and the sense of humor we have in faction chat, thats enough to rival any soap opera.. Just ask Voltaire.

Thanks for the Memories MXO!

#36300132113 01/02/2007 19:45:40 Re:Factions. Why some last longer then others

Good question. For me, it's a formula.

1. A theme - Picking a theme for the faction that sticks, and devoting that entire faction to it no matter what.

2. Constant progression - Yes, there's always going to be slow times... recruiting will come to a stop, people will go inactive, and so on... but the key is to let the members you do have know that there's always progression happening... website changes, policy changes, procedural changes, enhancements, in-faction events, and the like. As long as you're leading, they tend to follow.

3. Open door policy - When you're at the helm of a faction, never be too stuck-up to sit down and chat with or help out even a Level 2 recruit. There'll be times when people will quit the faction because of a problem they have, but they won't want to bring it to you... never be afraid to approach them and let them know that their choice in faction/org affiliation is their choice and that you have no right to pressure them, but that if there is a problem within your faction, you'd like to know so that you can work on repairing it.

Now, there's always other issues that can help a faction's "staying power," whether it be positive or negative... for example...

Positive: Having a dominating faction, whether it be in terms of Live Events, RP, or PvP, gives the members a sense of victory that they get a "high" of sorts from. People like to feel like they're a success, and when they do it, they stick around.

Negative: Having a faction that feels prosecuted whether it be IC or OOC tends to give the members a feeling of "Well, we're all we've got." That causes solidity, unity, and makes people ten times more loyal.

More or less, there's a lot of extrensic and intrensic factors involved in whether a faction will last or not, and what I've posted is just a few of the variables. But bleh, it's just the view from my eyes.

#36300132218 01/03/2007 03:00:08 Re:Factions. Why some last longer then others

Foxxdie wrote:

"Why are these factions able to thrive while others do not?"

With this game? By complete chance that it had players that wanted to keep playing the game, and/or by complete stubbornness on the part of the leader to not disband even with only a handful of players. Nothing more.

In the beginning of this game, and in other games, it's usually good leadership, good players, good coordination, a good website always helps, creative players, etc...

/cry

Quoted for truth

I'd love to say all the other wonderful stuff, but most of the time it's not true (there are exceptions)

There are some truly dreadful factions still around, and some truly excellent factions that disappeared off the face of the earth because the leaders/members got fed up of the game.

#36300132220 01/03/2007 03:22:33 Re:Factions. Why some last longer then others

[CoZ wrote:

LostProphet]Foxxdie wrote:
"Why are these factions able to thrive while others do not?"

With this game? By complete chance that it had players that wanted to keep playing the game, and/or by complete stubbornness on the part of the leader to not disband even with only a handful of players. Nothing more.

In the beginning of this game, and in other games, it's usually good leadership, good players, good coordination, a good website always helps, creative players, etc...

/cry

Quoted for truth

I'd love to say all the other wonderful stuff, but most of the time it's not true (there are exceptions)

There are some truly dreadful factions still around, and some truly excellent factions that disappeared off the face of the earth because the leaders/members got fed up of the game.

#36300132288 01/03/2007 06:49:17 Re:Factions. Why some last longer then others

A: The players that make up a faction are the ones who make it last. Every other reason is incidental.

#36300132289 01/03/2007 06:49:54 Re:Factions. Why some last longer then others

Respect, just a little bit~

#36300132366 01/03/2007 08:19:39 Re:Factions. Why some last longer then others

I'd say it's not so much the faction, rather the people who are in it.

Sometimes you get a few players who write a million stories, log in for 200 days, and contribute to everything. It's those people who keep it going, not the faction itself.

Besides keeping it alive in mxo, just at least having private forums to post on. Maybe having a few high ranking, well known people behind it. Sometimes that's all it takes.

Take the DA for example, I see active players all the time, new stories from the members all the time. It just seems to be a faction with people in it who enjoy story telling and such.

If the DA was called... El *CENSORED*' I'm sure it would be just as effective given the people who are in it.

Like an organization, a faction is worthless without its operatives.

#36300132404 01/03/2007 10:15:04 Re:Factions. Why some last longer then others

Unity, operatives. Tearing down the walls between us to realize that we are one.

~V

#36300132453 01/03/2007 11:48:57 Booze

Free beer.

Get yours today!

#36300132508 01/03/2007 13:35:56 Re:Factions. Why some last longer then others

I have seen alot of factions come and go since I have been here. I happen to be a leader in the oldest faction in the game. There are only a few factions that are still around from the old days.

I would think that the obvious observable answer as to why TC is here is because the leadership core is exactly the same as in the very beginning. We do not have just one leader so instead of building the faction around a leader we built it around a system. In our system it makes the leaders interchangeable and replaceable if need be.

We also made our clan very diverse. We appeal to all types of playing styles, whether you roleplay or PvP or both.

Now what is not seen by the common eye is something that I cannot really explain. We have created a bond with each other. We made The Collective to be conducive for gamers who want to be in a friendly, non threatening or stressful environment. The fact that we were all we had and other machinists were far in between we had to stick together. We have a bond, respect, and loyalty to our faction that cannot be described or explained.

Now that doesn't meen everything is all roses. Leadership has disagreements at times and members fight all the time. We had our darkest moment when half the clan abandoned us for WoW. However since we had a system already in place we were able to rebuild. The Collective you see today is not the same as it was 2 years ago. But we still have the same beliefs, same structure, and same bond. Alot of us have never been in another clan before. This is my very first MMO and my very first faction.

There are other clans that also have had the sticking power and that is clans like Fallen Horizon, and the second oldest clan in the game the Furious Angels. I mention those two clans because like The Collective they are still dominant, have a large member base, and a large presence in the game other than seeing one or two guys running around with a tag on. *Shrug*

#36300132515 01/03/2007 13:45:10 Re:Factions. Why some last longer then others

Satta wrote:

...clans like Fallen Horizon, and the second oldest clan in the game the Furious Angels...

Who?! SMILEY

I kid, I kid. SMILEY /respect

#36300132519 01/03/2007 13:49:43 Re:Factions. Why some last longer then others

Step One: Get a bunch of *CENSORED*holes together.

Step Two: Put them all in the faction "Mega City Dept of Energy"

Step Three: Because of step one we're to stubbern to die.