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Player Interview   Table of Contents   Anniversary Trivia

From the looks of what the TTA clan scene has evolved, or devolved as the case may be, it certainly seems like I have nothing to even write about this comment. But I can always put a historical perspective on things and with this being the anniversary issue for TTA, let’s do just that.

I’ve read all the many arguments that were put forward on the thread related to how to improve the clan scene on TTA. Some of them were good, some of them weren’t. But that’s not the point. With the declining amount of players, that inevitably means that there are fewer players to join clans and that’s really what this community is coming to, right?

Let’s look at this from the historical standpoint and see just how valid all of these arguments are.

We should make a 1 or 2-clan rule!

Disagree. And that means a lot coming from me being a person who was only in one clan at a time with the exception being when I was in both clans I created. I see the rationale that people have come up with in regards to this argument, and it’s pretty good. But the best means don’t always lead to the best results. With this kind of rule, the rationale of fewer and more competitive clans would be the ultimate result, but does that really help the community? The labeled “clan whore” time period was an extremely lively time for the clan scene even if people didn’t agree with the reasoning for being in a half dozen clans. Clans had activity and that’s what thrives this community and the clan scene in general. Sure, it was difficult for players to make a decision once Clan Wars started as to what clan players were going to represent. But how is what is being proposed any different? Ultimately, it requires a player to make a final decision as to what clan they wish to represent forever. Unless a player decided to try a revolving door technique and quit and join a new clan every year, they were stuck with their decision. In closing, this idea, while well-thought out and has the best intention in mind, will unlikely lead to the best results because it is not solving any actual problem. It is simply condensing it.

Let’s have a continuous league for all players!

Wait, that failed already. Several times. Elysian what?

Those are probably the two biggest arguments made to improve the clan scene. Remember that historical perspective thing that I talked about earlier in this article. And remember that whole “TTA gets along now” diatribe that I went on in an earlier article? This article will get a number of people to immediately jump to their guns, but do read the reasoning first.

Conflict brings out the true heart in people.

So, we should start clan hating again? Not exactly. But let’s take a look back in history and see just how big of a role conflict has had and you’ll see where I’m going. Here are the most contemporary conflicts amongst players that have had that have been most public. The players and their corresponding clans that were affected are shown below. Also, a brief description of what transpired is below.

Mark vs. Samson (Avl vs. BoS)

You need to have a sharp memory here to remember this. Careful not to get thrown out of a clan.

Sora and Seif vs. Crescent vs. Kaus Debonair (KH/TK vs. WS vs. Zodiac Braves)

Started and ended with players defining whether a great clan was defined by activity, skill, or a composite. These three groups represented the three different types.

Seif vs. Kaus Debonair (TK vs. Zodiac Braves)

Activity vs. Skill + Validity of TTAwards Argument = Mess. Big Mess.

Kamikaze vs. Kaus Debonair (Zodiac Braves vs. Devas)

Who really rules the skill clans?

Vergil and Ganon vs. The World (Triforce vs. everybody)

If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.

What the heck do these conflicts have to do with the clan scene? All the players mentioned above have had an extreme amount of charisma, good and bad, in their tenures within TTA. Charisma leads to other people supporting these leaders which leads to people caring about something together. BoS, Avl, WS, KH, TK, .zb, Devas, Triforce all had conflicts spill into their clan as a result of just a few different members. But because of things like this, rivalries were formed between the clans and that brought out the heart in the players wanting to prove who was better. The clans thrived all having long periods of success. Is that the only way to have a successful clan? Of course not. But it certainly lit a fire in these circumstances. Yes, it got very very ugly at times and I don’t feel that an extreme argument like this is necessary, but you see where I’m going with this now. The TTA clan scene has no heart. Nobody is there anymore to drive the action which allows the players to really get involved in their clans to strive towards a common goal. The TTAwards are going on right now. Who even cares about the clan awards? I would venture to guess that even some of the people nominated don’t care about them. Once people start to care about their clans, they will start caring about the TTAwards again.

But back to the discussion. In chat about a week ago, Seif commented to me that him and I were the sole players that were keeping the clan scene alive? Whether he was right or wrong, it’s hard to argue with the success that TK and Zodiac Braves had during the time when the two were conflicting with each other. I’m assuming that’s what he based his judgment on. Right now, there are not any known major conflicts between clans. You want a solution to this clan problem? Get two or three players that are so dedicated to their clan that they form a huge rivalry like any of the ones listed above. If nothing else, it sure will be fun to watch. :)