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This guide isn't exactly finished. It's more of me wanting opinions and others asking questions. If you think something should be answered in the guide, please ask. Decided to use spoilers so it doesn't look like a wall of text. Enjoy!
I can't say I know how to lead perfect, but in my 3+ years of playing I have picked up knowledge from the now famed leaders and from leading top tribes myself. My experiences has lengthened my knowledge of leading over time, and I believe I have insight that may help other leaders and those aspiring to lead. In this guide I will discuss the role of a leader, leading your tribe, recruiting and diplomacy, and so on.
What is a Leader?
There isn't an exact answer. A leader is many things. A leader can be a role model, and even a mentor. But generally, a leader is someone who leads of course. Although, there's more to it than giving orders. Your tribe is your family. You should be their friend, their brother or sister. To truly get your members to follow you, you must get their trust and respect.
Type of Government:
How to Lead:
How Others See You:
The Aspects of a Tribe:
Activity:
Now that we got a few principles out the way, I'd like to talk about leadership structure and the delegation of power. This is important, especially if you're not a sole dictator/leader. It's important to have an efficient leadership structure. But to have that, you need to know how to delegate power.
What this means is, you need to understand who and what will do what and when. So in simple terms, you delegate recruitment power to one guy, diplomacy power to another, and so on. This creates a system of neat and tidy leadership.
Why do this? Delegating power allows you, the duke, to keep a busy and functional tribal leadership. You'll have all the moving parts, without doing it yourself, and an active leadership. And in most cases, a leader can't be on 18-24 hours a day. So, you give each member of the leadership a role to perform.
One of the easiest leadership structures is what I call the step structure. It looks basically like this.
-Duke
--Baron (Diplomacy)
--Baron (Coordination)
---Recruiter
----So on...
Power falls from the top and goes down. Another similar form is the pyramid structure. It looks a bit like this:
Now, it doesn't exactly look like a pyramid, but you get the idea. The point is to command the level below you which command the level below them and so on. This way, power goes down and the tribe is lead by you, but indirectly. This makes is easy to have more time to focus on the tribe as a leader while still having a very active leadership.
Thanks for reading!
I can't say I know how to lead perfect, but in my 3+ years of playing I have picked up knowledge from the now famed leaders and from leading top tribes myself. My experiences has lengthened my knowledge of leading over time, and I believe I have insight that may help other leaders and those aspiring to lead. In this guide I will discuss the role of a leader, leading your tribe, recruiting and diplomacy, and so on.
What is a Leader?
There isn't an exact answer. A leader is many things. A leader can be a role model, and even a mentor. But generally, a leader is someone who leads of course. Although, there's more to it than giving orders. Your tribe is your family. You should be their friend, their brother or sister. To truly get your members to follow you, you must get their trust and respect.
Type of Government:
You may be wondering what kind of goverment your tribe should have. Well, that would depend on how well you work in each system. There are a few types of systems in my mind, and you should use which one you work best with. Take into account your members also.
Dictatorship: No, I don't mean dictatorship in a real world sense. But in TW, it is similar. This type is for leaders who are intelligent, and know the ins and outs. It also relies on members who will follow their leader without question. This system uses a sole duke, who will make all the decisions for the tribe.
Republic: This system is better for leaders who may need help in leading their tribe. It fits bigger tribes, and allows leadership to cover more work and time. This is commonly known as council tribes. There is a duke or co-dukes with a council of barons. The duke discusses matters with the barons, and the barons give opinions and exact the choice upon the tribe.
Direct Democracy: This system is for leaders who want their tribe to be a central part in making choices. Commonly, you have a main duke who will makes polls, and give choices to your tribe. In this system, you want to make sure your tribe is experienced and are intelligent. If your tribe chooses the wrong decision, it could end badly.
Dictatorship: No, I don't mean dictatorship in a real world sense. But in TW, it is similar. This type is for leaders who are intelligent, and know the ins and outs. It also relies on members who will follow their leader without question. This system uses a sole duke, who will make all the decisions for the tribe.
Republic: This system is better for leaders who may need help in leading their tribe. It fits bigger tribes, and allows leadership to cover more work and time. This is commonly known as council tribes. There is a duke or co-dukes with a council of barons. The duke discusses matters with the barons, and the barons give opinions and exact the choice upon the tribe.
Direct Democracy: This system is for leaders who want their tribe to be a central part in making choices. Commonly, you have a main duke who will makes polls, and give choices to your tribe. In this system, you want to make sure your tribe is experienced and are intelligent. If your tribe chooses the wrong decision, it could end badly.
How to Lead:
First, let's think of the overall definition of leading. Leading is the ability to motivate and influence others to accomplish a task in the desired manner. So, what does this mean? Well, it means you must give motivation, you must influence your tribe to push hard and accomplish the goal. I believe in three ideas of leading, motivation, direction, and purpose.
Motivation: This is in my opinion, the hardest part of leading. It's easy to give the orders, but you need to motivate your tribe to accomplish those orders. So how do you motivate your tribe? There are actually a few ways.
When someone works hard, they generally want a reward. Giving an incentive, or purpose (purpose can be tied in with motivation) will give a reason to work toward the objective. Although, not everyone is the same. You must understand that different things motivate different people. Other ways to motivate your tribe is through challenges, competition, and cooperation. If you can apply all of these aspects, you can successfully motivate your tribe.
Direction: Direction is basically the "how to" of leading. Giving direction is simply instructing your tribe, and guiding them to the objective. In TribalWars, this includes giving targets, an attack time and so on. Directions should be clear, simple, and crisp. Don't talk long about the subject, get the point across and move on. You want your members to understand, not to get confused in reading and responding.
Purpose: As I said, this can tie in with motivation. Purpose is the "why" to leading. It's the incentive, the goal, the reason behind all of it. This is important because you want your members to feel they control their destiny, and they are a vital part to it. When giving purpose, you want to set goals, and explain why.
Motivation: This is in my opinion, the hardest part of leading. It's easy to give the orders, but you need to motivate your tribe to accomplish those orders. So how do you motivate your tribe? There are actually a few ways.
When someone works hard, they generally want a reward. Giving an incentive, or purpose (purpose can be tied in with motivation) will give a reason to work toward the objective. Although, not everyone is the same. You must understand that different things motivate different people. Other ways to motivate your tribe is through challenges, competition, and cooperation. If you can apply all of these aspects, you can successfully motivate your tribe.
Direction: Direction is basically the "how to" of leading. Giving direction is simply instructing your tribe, and guiding them to the objective. In TribalWars, this includes giving targets, an attack time and so on. Directions should be clear, simple, and crisp. Don't talk long about the subject, get the point across and move on. You want your members to understand, not to get confused in reading and responding.
Purpose: As I said, this can tie in with motivation. Purpose is the "why" to leading. It's the incentive, the goal, the reason behind all of it. This is important because you want your members to feel they control their destiny, and they are a vital part to it. When giving purpose, you want to set goals, and explain why.
How Others See You:
How others see you is just as important as important as how to play the game. Basically, how others respect, view, and acknowledge you. It can affect many parts of the game such as diplomacy, recruiting, and even how your tribe follows you. I will address aspects that affect how others view you.
Grammar: It's not necessarily the most important aspect of a leader, but it's important. Grammar affects two things, the way the TW world sees you, and the way your members see you. A lot about you is measured by the way you carry yourself. Grammar is a good way to show you're intelligent and you put thoughts in your post. It doesn't mean someone who doesn't use perfect grammar isn't intelligent, but he doesn't show himself to be.
In tribalwars and in real life reputation matters a lot. It affects how other tribes thing of your tribe, and how they will act toward you. In your tribe, if you're not close to your members, I really doubt they will follow your thoroughly if you don't type/speak correctly. When you type using good grammar, you give off a sort of aura of confidence and intelligence. Members will respond to this, and act on it. I've seen many times where members call out a leader being unable to lead due to the way he/she types.
Attitude: Different leaders have different styles and attitudes. Some people are respectful, some are plain blunt. So, what kind of attitude should you have as a leader? Well, your attitude should reflect how your tribe acts. If you want to show your tribe is aggressive, you may want to be a little more aggressive on the forums. Although, you must be careful. Being too blunt, or insulting can lead to disrespect and a sort of "hate" against you and your tribe.
In my opinion, it's best to mix how your attitude reflects your tribe. Be respectful but blunt, be aggressive but not insulting. Show your tribe is the best, not by negativity, but by a positive attitude.
Playing the Game: Being a great leader doesn't mean you're a great player and vice versa. Although, being great at both is a big plus. If you can play the game well, and I mean well, others will value your opinions more and consider you to know what you're talking about.
Before you lead, learn to play the game. You need to be alive for your tribe, you need to know how to make it. Through your progress as a player, you'll pick up experience that is invaluable, such as friends and even teaching from a good leader.
Propaganda: Some people are good at it, some aren't. It's an important aspect of getting your tribe out there, creating fear, and causing disruption with your enemies. It can tie in with your attitude, and how your tribe presents itself and affects war and essentially, other tribes.
If you want to learn more about propaganda, I suggest taking a look at Tik Tok's Guide.
Grammar: It's not necessarily the most important aspect of a leader, but it's important. Grammar affects two things, the way the TW world sees you, and the way your members see you. A lot about you is measured by the way you carry yourself. Grammar is a good way to show you're intelligent and you put thoughts in your post. It doesn't mean someone who doesn't use perfect grammar isn't intelligent, but he doesn't show himself to be.
In tribalwars and in real life reputation matters a lot. It affects how other tribes thing of your tribe, and how they will act toward you. In your tribe, if you're not close to your members, I really doubt they will follow your thoroughly if you don't type/speak correctly. When you type using good grammar, you give off a sort of aura of confidence and intelligence. Members will respond to this, and act on it. I've seen many times where members call out a leader being unable to lead due to the way he/she types.
Attitude: Different leaders have different styles and attitudes. Some people are respectful, some are plain blunt. So, what kind of attitude should you have as a leader? Well, your attitude should reflect how your tribe acts. If you want to show your tribe is aggressive, you may want to be a little more aggressive on the forums. Although, you must be careful. Being too blunt, or insulting can lead to disrespect and a sort of "hate" against you and your tribe.
In my opinion, it's best to mix how your attitude reflects your tribe. Be respectful but blunt, be aggressive but not insulting. Show your tribe is the best, not by negativity, but by a positive attitude.
Playing the Game: Being a great leader doesn't mean you're a great player and vice versa. Although, being great at both is a big plus. If you can play the game well, and I mean well, others will value your opinions more and consider you to know what you're talking about.
Before you lead, learn to play the game. You need to be alive for your tribe, you need to know how to make it. Through your progress as a player, you'll pick up experience that is invaluable, such as friends and even teaching from a good leader.
Propaganda: Some people are good at it, some aren't. It's an important aspect of getting your tribe out there, creating fear, and causing disruption with your enemies. It can tie in with your attitude, and how your tribe presents itself and affects war and essentially, other tribes.
If you want to learn more about propaganda, I suggest taking a look at Tik Tok's Guide.
The Aspects of a Tribe:
Leading a tribe is again, (tired of hearing it?) more than giving orders. You need to know how to recruit, how to handle diplomacy, and when/why to war. It's important to know these things because it will be the foundation of your tribe's future.
Recruiting: First and foremost, recruiting. For some, this is the hardest part of making a tribe. You want a solid member base, but you don't know where to start. A good way to start a tribe is to get your friends to join. If you've been playing the game, you'll pick up friends along the way. Get them to join, and commit to the tribe. Ask them to bring friends along if you want. A good thing about recruiting friends is, there is already respect and friendship built between you.
Now people are wanting in, so who do you recruit. How do you know if they're good players? A good way to determine if a player should be in your tribe is to ask questions. Ask, ask, and ask more. This allows a few things to be determined: intelligence (in some aspects), past experience, how much they want to join, and how well they respond to questions/situations. I advise making a questionnaire, or even talking personally in skype. Interview them, make sure they are right for the tribe.
Location and Numbers:
Location: Location is very important. You need to know who will be where, and where you want your tribe will be as well. This allows your tribe to be prepared and ready. Although, some may want to choose an area with less competition to increase chances of survival. I advise this for new tribes, with newer members.
Numbers: How big should your tribe be? Well that is only a question you can answer and only the world's setting can limit. A good idea is to base in on a possible count. Around 60-80 to me, is the sweet spot. This allows a good amount of members and since some may quit or end up cleared, it provides room to live with.
One thing to mention is, how many in an area. It's good to note, depending on skill to have 15-30 players per continent. But! You have more members than that. Well, there are options should as splitting directions, and getting your members to join at time intervals, to allow space.
Diplomacy: Diplomacy may be, the most affecting strategy in the game. What I mean by that is, it primarily affects your tribe. It's a direct way to gain advantage, and in some cases, defend your tribe.
Allies: The center of your diplomacy is, who are you allied with. There are many things to take into account when forming an alliance. Is that tribe good? Does it give your tribe a good advantage? Does it give room for your tribe to grow? Those are central questions when forming an alliance.
Many inexperienced leaders may form alliances early in the world. This is a big NO. By early, I mean the first few weeks. You must first assess how active a tribe is, and how "good" they are. Early on, this is a near impossible tasks. Things happen, you can't guess every situation. Let time pass, and see how the tribes you're looking at progress.
It's important to understand, diplomacy is all about getting an advantage. Do not ally with a tribe because they are highly ranked or considered good. You want to ally with a tribe that may give an advantage in war, or to secure your border. An example, you are at war with a tribe. On the other side of the tribe you're warring with is another. This provides a good reason to ally. It provides two fronts for your enemies, separates support, and causes a good bit of problems.
NAP's: I want to get a point across here. NAP's have one focus imo, to give security. What I mean is, when you're at war, it doesn't mean you can only be attacked by the tribe you're at war with. There are other tribes around you. An NAP can be used as a tactic to ensure you can focus on your enemy and give security to your borders and your tribe.
NAP's can also be used to end wars. Sometimes wars seem to not progress, maybe you've met your match. Sometimes it is ok to sit back, and stop the war. Although I wouldn't suggest this in every case, but sometimes it may be needed. There a things to take into account, such as chances of survival.
Choking: What you must understand when making an alliance or NAP is, your tribe needs to grow. You don't want to limit your tribe's growth by diplomacy. Only use diplomacy for positives, not negatives.
Nobling: I will address two parts of nobling. Inter-tribal nobling, and expansion.
Inter-tribal Nobling: This may be on of the most controversial subjects. There are many opinions on it, but when it comes down to, it's about being positive. What I mean is, losing players/villages to inactivity and quitting is a lose. It's negative. Now, when you noble those players, you don't lose villages. There is an idea that you don't gain anything by this. Although you don't actually gain villages as a tribe, you ensure the villages aren't lost and are in your tribe's hands.
The more important question is when to noble you inactive/quitters. If you're in war, it's a no. If your tribe isn't in a situation where attention is needed elsewhere, right away. Reason is, in war, your objective is to get rid of the enemy. Nobling your own players takes away noblemen and time. Although, on a regular occasion, it's best to noble your players before they become inactive aka barbarian.
Expansion: This is a tricky part to any tribe. You want to ensure your tribe is growing in the right direction. There are many ways to do this. Such ways are your border players nobling outwards, and your inside players to noble the inside. Overall, you want your tribe to noble in ways that allow future growth, and provide a secure border.
Secure your continent by nobling, and secure your borders by increasing front line villages. Make it harder for tribes to penetrate your border, while your inside members get rid of competition on the inside.
Recruiting: First and foremost, recruiting. For some, this is the hardest part of making a tribe. You want a solid member base, but you don't know where to start. A good way to start a tribe is to get your friends to join. If you've been playing the game, you'll pick up friends along the way. Get them to join, and commit to the tribe. Ask them to bring friends along if you want. A good thing about recruiting friends is, there is already respect and friendship built between you.
Now people are wanting in, so who do you recruit. How do you know if they're good players? A good way to determine if a player should be in your tribe is to ask questions. Ask, ask, and ask more. This allows a few things to be determined: intelligence (in some aspects), past experience, how much they want to join, and how well they respond to questions/situations. I advise making a questionnaire, or even talking personally in skype. Interview them, make sure they are right for the tribe.
Location and Numbers:
Location: Location is very important. You need to know who will be where, and where you want your tribe will be as well. This allows your tribe to be prepared and ready. Although, some may want to choose an area with less competition to increase chances of survival. I advise this for new tribes, with newer members.
Numbers: How big should your tribe be? Well that is only a question you can answer and only the world's setting can limit. A good idea is to base in on a possible count. Around 60-80 to me, is the sweet spot. This allows a good amount of members and since some may quit or end up cleared, it provides room to live with.
One thing to mention is, how many in an area. It's good to note, depending on skill to have 15-30 players per continent. But! You have more members than that. Well, there are options should as splitting directions, and getting your members to join at time intervals, to allow space.
Diplomacy: Diplomacy may be, the most affecting strategy in the game. What I mean by that is, it primarily affects your tribe. It's a direct way to gain advantage, and in some cases, defend your tribe.
Allies: The center of your diplomacy is, who are you allied with. There are many things to take into account when forming an alliance. Is that tribe good? Does it give your tribe a good advantage? Does it give room for your tribe to grow? Those are central questions when forming an alliance.
Many inexperienced leaders may form alliances early in the world. This is a big NO. By early, I mean the first few weeks. You must first assess how active a tribe is, and how "good" they are. Early on, this is a near impossible tasks. Things happen, you can't guess every situation. Let time pass, and see how the tribes you're looking at progress.
It's important to understand, diplomacy is all about getting an advantage. Do not ally with a tribe because they are highly ranked or considered good. You want to ally with a tribe that may give an advantage in war, or to secure your border. An example, you are at war with a tribe. On the other side of the tribe you're warring with is another. This provides a good reason to ally. It provides two fronts for your enemies, separates support, and causes a good bit of problems.
NAP's: I want to get a point across here. NAP's have one focus imo, to give security. What I mean is, when you're at war, it doesn't mean you can only be attacked by the tribe you're at war with. There are other tribes around you. An NAP can be used as a tactic to ensure you can focus on your enemy and give security to your borders and your tribe.
NAP's can also be used to end wars. Sometimes wars seem to not progress, maybe you've met your match. Sometimes it is ok to sit back, and stop the war. Although I wouldn't suggest this in every case, but sometimes it may be needed. There a things to take into account, such as chances of survival.
Choking: What you must understand when making an alliance or NAP is, your tribe needs to grow. You don't want to limit your tribe's growth by diplomacy. Only use diplomacy for positives, not negatives.
Nobling: I will address two parts of nobling. Inter-tribal nobling, and expansion.
Inter-tribal Nobling: This may be on of the most controversial subjects. There are many opinions on it, but when it comes down to, it's about being positive. What I mean is, losing players/villages to inactivity and quitting is a lose. It's negative. Now, when you noble those players, you don't lose villages. There is an idea that you don't gain anything by this. Although you don't actually gain villages as a tribe, you ensure the villages aren't lost and are in your tribe's hands.
The more important question is when to noble you inactive/quitters. If you're in war, it's a no. If your tribe isn't in a situation where attention is needed elsewhere, right away. Reason is, in war, your objective is to get rid of the enemy. Nobling your own players takes away noblemen and time. Although, on a regular occasion, it's best to noble your players before they become inactive aka barbarian.
Expansion: This is a tricky part to any tribe. You want to ensure your tribe is growing in the right direction. There are many ways to do this. Such ways are your border players nobling outwards, and your inside players to noble the inside. Overall, you want your tribe to noble in ways that allow future growth, and provide a secure border.
Secure your continent by nobling, and secure your borders by increasing front line villages. Make it harder for tribes to penetrate your border, while your inside members get rid of competition on the inside.
Activity:
This is what can kill a tribe, or make one. You want your members to be active, and last throughout the game. Sometimes this is hard as your members may get bored, face real life situations, or just don't like the game anymore. So, how do you keep your members active? Well, it comes down to one word. That word is FUN.
I believe in a simple equation: Fun + Team Work = Activity. How? When you have fun, work with tribe members you have a reason to come back. You want to come back. This is a game, not a chore. You should have fun, work as a team. So, how do you have fun? I mean, it is a game.
Exactly right. TribalWars is a game. Here you are allowed to risk things without real life consequences. Shed your conservative side and live a little. You can have fun in many ways. Propaganda, war, games in your forum, allowing your tribe to take part in vital decisions; these are all ways to have fun.
I believe in a simple equation: Fun + Team Work = Activity. How? When you have fun, work with tribe members you have a reason to come back. You want to come back. This is a game, not a chore. You should have fun, work as a team. So, how do you have fun? I mean, it is a game.
Exactly right. TribalWars is a game. Here you are allowed to risk things without real life consequences. Shed your conservative side and live a little. You can have fun in many ways. Propaganda, war, games in your forum, allowing your tribe to take part in vital decisions; these are all ways to have fun.
Now that we got a few principles out the way, I'd like to talk about leadership structure and the delegation of power. This is important, especially if you're not a sole dictator/leader. It's important to have an efficient leadership structure. But to have that, you need to know how to delegate power.
What this means is, you need to understand who and what will do what and when. So in simple terms, you delegate recruitment power to one guy, diplomacy power to another, and so on. This creates a system of neat and tidy leadership.
Why do this? Delegating power allows you, the duke, to keep a busy and functional tribal leadership. You'll have all the moving parts, without doing it yourself, and an active leadership. And in most cases, a leader can't be on 18-24 hours a day. So, you give each member of the leadership a role to perform.
One of the easiest leadership structures is what I call the step structure. It looks basically like this.
-Duke
--Baron (Diplomacy)
--Baron (Coordination)
---Recruiter
----So on...
Power falls from the top and goes down. Another similar form is the pyramid structure. It looks a bit like this:
Now, it doesn't exactly look like a pyramid, but you get the idea. The point is to command the level below you which command the level below them and so on. This way, power goes down and the tribe is lead by you, but indirectly. This makes is easy to have more time to focus on the tribe as a leader while still having a very active leadership.
Thanks for reading!
Last edited by a moderator:
hope it helps out anyone who decides to lead a tribe