Wednesday, September 30, 2015

ScumFlash: How to act like Scum in Fortress mode

So we all saw the Fortress finally hitting the game (only over 6 months later than they promised, but who is counting...). Most of you will probably have figured out most of the new features, but it never hurts to read up and see if you missed something.



The release had a couple of new things:
  • New dungeon (you need to get the key by mining the gem mine in Fortress mode, PRO TIP: don't level your mine beyond level one until you found the key)
  • video Lucky coins replacing foxes (wich replaced shrooms...) You can spend them at the Spinning wheel in the center of the village. Even if you don't get vids, you get one spin a day for free, so go visit it every day.
  • Fortress mode,with a couple different kind of buildings: Basic/money (fortress, quarry, woodcutter's hut), Defense (wall, archery field, mage's tower), Attack (barracks), usefull inside Fortress mode (Smithy,  Laborers'Quarters)
  • Fortress buildings useful outside Fortress mode (Gem Mine gives gems for enhancing gear, Acadamy gives free xp, Treeasury gives extra slots
Seeing the Fortress mode seems to be a completely different thing altogether, I asked Son of Dog, (togehter with Veriz probably the most active in this new mode and both always answering questions about it in guildchat) to give us some small guideline how to approach. And below my ramblings you can find jsut that.

if you have any questions or something to add, please dont hesitate to leave a comment. It might help us all.

Grtz.
Ghettoforce


The Dog's-eye View: Marking your Fortress's Territory


Woof! Simply speaking, you're either doing well already and looking for some tips, or you're hopelessly behind. This little article will focus on how to help people who are hopelessly behind ... so if you're doing well, you might pick up a tip or two, but don't expect too much.

So you slapped your name on a cabin in the woods! What's the game about? Basically, you have two key resources: Wood and Stone. Some things give you more Wood and Stone; these are your Income. They include Woodcutter levels, Quarry levels, and raiding nearby Fortresses. The new Wheel of Fortune in town can also give you bonus Stone and Wood. (If you don't know the Wheel, then click on your Dungeon button, click the shiny golden "Back" portal in the lower-left, and look for the Gypsy Wagon near the middle of town.)

The more you invest in your Income, the bigger your Income gets, and the faster you grow. Anything you invest in something besides your Income will slow down your growth. That sounds obvious, but you'd be surprised how many people just think about how to fight better, or get distracted by the Gem mine. Invest in your Income first! This means using most of your Wood and Stone to level up your Fortress, Woodcutter and Quarry.

Your best Defense is collecting resources often. If someone raids you, the most they can get is 10% of what you have stored inside your Fortress. If you have 4000 saved up, then you'll still have 3600 after someone raids you ... so be patient, and keep your eye on the prize.

Every time someone raids you, it costs them resources to do it. Every Soldier sent on a Raid is lost; the Soldier is used up, and has to be rebuilt. Rebuilding soldiers takes time (25 minutes per Soldier) and resources (71 Stone for a level 50 Soldier). So, your best Defense is to be a "waste of time" to attack. If you only have 1500 Stone saved up, then the raider will only get 150 stone; he's going to spend 71 of that rebuilding a level 50 Soldier, and 25 minutes. Is 25 minutes of his time worth 80 stone of profit? Sometimes it is; but the higher level he is, the less likely it is to be worth his time.
Your Wall ("Fortifications") is almost useless. You will need one level in it to unlock some other things, but investing your Wood and Stone into a Wall is basically the same as losing it to someone else attacking you. Don't throw away stone and wood on a big Wall. Even a level 45 Wall is useless against someone with level 55 Soldiers. It might be useful after you've played for a month, but check back here before building more than one level.

The real defense is in Archers and Mages. 2 Archers can defend a single Soldier one rank (5 levels) above them. The problem is, your Archers are stuck at level 25, and The Other Guy is using level 50 Soldiers! This makes your Archers useless ... so how do you get level 45 Archers?

>>> DO NOT level your Archery field! <<<

The only way to make your units level up is to use the Smithy. You can't get a Smithy until you have a Mage Tower, and you can't get a Mage Tower until you have a level 7 Fortress ... so what's your first step? That's right: invest in your Income.

So, in summary:

1. Until you get a Smithy, the best defense you can have is collecting your resources often (once per hour is best, and waking up early to collect on the first few days is a good plan if you can do it).

2. Do not get distracted by the shiny buildings. Everything you invest in those will slow down your Income. You will probably find you have some "idle" time at Fortress level 3 or 4; you can use that to build 1 level of each building, maybe recruit a couple Archers, maybe look for some gems. You can even recruit a single level 25 Soldier to do some scouting.

3. The Worker's Quarters is a tricky call. The math is hard, so if you feel like you want to build up the Worker's Quarters, then do it; if you feel like you don't want to build it up until after you have a Defense, then that's also fine. I built mine up to level 4 and stopped, then built it to level 5 after I had a few levels in my Smithy.

4. When you hit level 7 Fortress, your next building should be the Mage Tower, and the one after that should be the Smithy. From there, build up your Archer levels to defend yourself. But REMEMBER: you are not trying to stop the other guy from winning. You can't do that. You are trying to make it cost him more Soldiers to attack you, so that the small amount of resources he can get from the raid is not enough to make it worth spending all those Soldiers on attacking you. Collecting resources often is still a big part of this.

5. If you want to build up Soldiers to get some extra Income, spend a day "scouting". As soon as you train a level 25 Soldiers (maybe at Fortress level 4) you can start using the "Attack on the Fortress" button (lower right side of your screen) to look at other players. The "Different Opponent" button is free after 5 minutes, so you can check a lot of people before you ever make a single attack. This will give you an idea how big your Soldiers have to be, and how many of them you need, and how much you can win from a successful raid. Think about the Soldiers you have to keep replacing, the profit from the raid, and how much you need to invest in levelling up your Soldiers through the Smithy. The decision is yours to make, because your own situation is unique.

Most of all: BE PATIENT. You'll have tons more fun if you take your time and build it right!

Son of Dog

Friday, September 25, 2015

ScumFlash: Even in Fortress We are #1

Very nicely done Veriz. And Dog isn't doing bad either. Alister is also nicely placed in top 10.

Well done scum!

Sunday, August 30, 2015

FreshScumfFlash: We Think Bad Thoughts!

Time to welcome some new members. If you have a cat, you also need a dog. Welcome to Son of Dog, lovingly called SoD. Our newest member of the pet brigade is a level 308 guitarwielding, dragon riding mage. check that badass beard. He is supposed to be the quiet silent type, But apparently that flies right out of the window if Veriz starts chatting... We like, do that more often ;) Welcome SoD.


So now we got a Cat AND a Dog. All we need now is a penquin. Oh wait...



Another new face is Dzen. Although new... I could swear we met him somewhere before... but no idea where. So if you have an idea, please share. Dzen is a level 309, dragonriding Clown Fun Killer weilding mage with a serious potion problem at the moment (go fix that dude). If you have a good nickname for him, please let me know too ;) Welcome Dzen. Hope you will have fun here.


both of these new faces are below our guild average. So knock yourelf out backstabbing the hell out of them. Just to say hi ofcourse... we don't mutilate our fellow lowlives without good reason ofcourse.

And there we have it. new members to herass and torture. Yay! But what about a good new guild anthem? Old time members will remember that Vodka by Korpiklaani (especially loved by 3po when he was on one of his binges) has been featured on our guildtext for quite some time. Time for something new with even more fitting lyrics.


We Think Bad Thoughts!
By Danko Jones




I admit it, I've done a few things that I shouldn't be proud of
I got no remorse, no regrets,
never happy endings, only downsets
And if you wanna get down
I can go down as low as you wanna get
I wouldn't try to push me
It'll (It will) only leave you with regret

Don't test me!

I can rip you off, and steal all your cash (Quilp)
suckerpunch you in the face, stand back and laugh (Betty)
Leave you stranded as fast as a heart-attack (AAylia)
All day, I think bad thoughts (All of you)
I can break your heart at the drop of a hat (Ciziz)
Stab you in the back, in two minutes flat (Miss Hilton)
Screw your girl in the back of my Cadillac (Forgot who had a Cadillac...)
I think bad thoughts (All of you)

Take this to the streets, finish it
Flush it down the toilet like you're taking a piss
It should be good, to see, for a change
just a day, how the other half lives
And when I take you out, I'll stare you down
Make sure you're getting nervous
You won't understand
That's how it is as a knight in Scumlords service

I can rip you off, and steal all your cash (Quilp)
suckerpunch you in the face, stand back and laugh (Betty)
Leave you stranded as fast as a heart-attack (AAylia)
All day, I think bad thoughts (All of you)
I can break your heart at the drop of a hat (Ciziz)
Stab you in the back, in two minutes flat (Miss Hilton)
Screw your girl in the back of my Cadillac (Forgot who had a Cadillac...)
I think bad thoughts (All of you)

I think bad thoughts
All day and all night long
I think bad thoughts
Don't care what you think is wrong

If you wanna judge my lifestyle
I'd love to see how you live
Feel free to cast your stones
Don't cry when you're found bleeding

In a heartbeat, I'll turn you white as a sheet
Begging for mercy on your goddamn knees
It'll be hard to keep from laughing
Watching you cry will make my way
Just test me, please test me
Push the button, pull a lever, trick or treat
I'm asking, do you have the stuff
To find out if I can fuck you up

I can rip you off, and steal all your cash (Quilp)
suckerpunch you in the face, stand back and laugh (Betty)
Leave you stranded as fast as a heart-attack (AAylia)
I think bad thoughts (All of you)
All day and all night long
I think bad thoughts
Don't care what you think's wrong

I can tell you lies, 'till your left in disgrace
Kick you when you're down, and spit in your face
Lead you on 'till you're lost without a trace
I think bad thoughts
All day and all night long
I think bad thoughts
Don't care what you think's wrong

I can break your heart at the drop of a hat (Ciziz)
Stab you in the back, in two minutes flat (Miss Hilton)
Screw your girl in the back of my Cadillac (I really can't remember...)
I think bad thoughts

Monday, July 06, 2015

FreshScumFlash: Veriz and Alister88 join the Scumside


We all know it is just a matter of time before the Chinese take over the world. And what does Scum do when the going gets tough? We either take over or become part of the movement! And what better way to get your foot between the door then with your own Chinese spy?
 
 

So there we have it. Welcome to Veriz. A Level 309, swordwielding, dragon riding warrior. Long lost sister of Ciciz. (Keep away Narc, one is enough. And keep away Betty, we need this one at least until we can get ourselves a good spot in the new world order). Since she is here she already managed a couple more spots on the HoF and is currently on place 34. With level 309 that is quite impressive.

Not only will we have our own Chinese spy to keep at as the good side of the Red Army, but it will also counterbalance the influence of our own NSA… And that was really really needed, because ever since the failed assassination attempt during our last dungeon party (<= link), miss NSA has been a bit cranky.

Some more inside info? Well, she’ll be checking up on AA on a more than regular basis (you know, spy and all...). Is a cookie monster AND a coffee junk. And seeing she is originally from the land of Confucius, she might get confused by your barbaric use of the English language. Hope you have fun here Veriz.

But that is not all. In the right Corner we have Alister88. A level 309 heartspreading dragonriding mage that does very well for herself too. Apart from demanding to get a spot in TST too when she heard Veriz was joining the Scumside, we don’t know much about her. So I suspect another spy… question is just from where… Well, we will cross burn that bridge when we get to it. Welcome Alister88 hope you will have fun here too.
 
 

Dungeon Party: Lost Angels (long overdue)

So, we went on a dungeon party a couple of weeks ago at Lost Angels and I didn't even post the pictures yet... I guess I was too surprised by the assasination attempt from NSA on Veriz. Especially the part where NSA failed...

Anyway... the dungeon party went really well. 


D45 we let Veriz herself do the the honors on Fat Elke. Just because... yeah... sometimes you have to play nice...


D46: we always suspected WTFmybeer having a crush on his Mother-in-law. So we send them on a blind date. Can you feel the love?


D47: the moment Hym took over the party completely, Reaper man didn't stand a chance In the words of Veriz: "OMG, I didn't even expected we can win this one with 1st try"

and then at D48 it got crazy...


Hym kills one Scorpion


 Hym kills two Scorpions


D48: And apparently that wasn't enough for Hym so he beat the bloody Debugger's Doom too. Damnit Hym.. I can remember that freaking Debugger being so much trouble when we had to do it...

So as you can see, we managed to beat 4 dungeons and a demon portal. But that is not all. Someone wasn't paying attention when they hit the attack button.



WTFmybeer gets to kick Bad Muthas ass


And the Endless ass. Apparently  Endless likes to sit on Lost Angels on a daily basis. And why not? the guild is only 10 spots below them on the HoF. Now they lost 180 honors which equals for 9 bullies of 20 honor.. Endless, thou have fallen low...

To the partysquad: AAylia, Silverlance, Pick, Dolgan Elfbane, Reredrum, acgm, WTFmybeer, Nic1080 and Hym thank you. Hope you guys all had fun