Your leadership style very much affects the quality of your players. Whether you use a militaristic approach or encouragement plays a difference in the co-operation you will receive.
This guide is not about winning friends and influencing people, but having leadership qualities such as charisma, charm and integrity helps a lot. Travian is played as a team and its very much about people.
Don’t use a militaristic approach and threaten your members. Don’t try to force them that if you don’t do this and this, then you will be kicked. Although your intentions are good, but it only spoils the game for them. When they find the game is no longer fun, they will quit. And this adversely affects you.
The old school of ruling by the cane is no longer effective.
Instead, use encouragement, team building and understanding to influence others to lend their co-operation. You will receive much better co-operation this way.
But I want to qualify myself that there is no magic formula. No matter how well managed, there will be some players who just can’t or won’t follow instructions. Just take heart that this is a prevailing problem faced by all alliances.
Alliance Spies
Spies are a real problem for any alliance. And it is a fact of the game that cannot be avoided. Every alliance will have spies and chances are good your members too will know someone belonging in a rival alliance who is willing to spy for you.
Although I personally dislike the use of spies, but it has become a necessary evil. Do not hesitate to use spies at every given opportunity. Its a dog eat dog world in Travian too.
The problem of spies can be so severe that some even plant spies right from the beginning of the server. Remember what was mentioned about organized alliances in the previous chapter? Some organized alliances are so organized that they even plan and plant players in other quadrants from the early game so they can be spies for the end game.
Here are some steps that can help you contain the problem with spies, but not eliminate it:-
- Use an external forum. Spies can be from sitters, or they are friends of sitters. Sometimes spies gain access through password leaks. Sitters will have access to the internal forum, but not the external forum.
- Do not ask for, and do not share passwords. NEVER send an igm to another player to reveal your password. Your message can be intercepted by sitters and they will know your password. If you need to reveal your password to someone else, use email (never igm). If you have a co-player and need to communicate a change of password, use email.
- Do not post sensitive information on the forum. Its okay to post them after the event has occurred, but not before. Sensitive information can be posted in the leaders section only.
- Do not trust your wing leaders or leaders in lesser positions. This is so very difficult to do, but I have seen, over and over again, spies who make it to the leadership circle. Wing leaders, attack coordinators, etc, have finally revealed they are spying for the enemy. They are the most dangerous types of spies.
- Leadership positions should be appointed by merit. It is too easy for a spy to raise his hand and says he wants to be the attack coordinator and given access to troop counts. Such appointments and privileges to sensitive information must be based on merit.
- You can also play the spy game. Send out false or misleading info about a major event to attack a certain player. Then organize a small covert force to attack someone else instead.