Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Play Tank Type Accordingly

Tank Play Styles

Each tank has its own play style, but many tanks can be similar. In general, the tank type is the commonality throughout most (some exclusions like the AMX 40). It is good to keep a phrase in mind when playing them. The reason is simple, tanks are powerful.
You forget you are up against even more powerful tanks that are good at what they are designed to do. If you stray from your roll to much you are likely to die. So keep these phrases in your mind and maybe you will live through the battle.

Heavy

Stick with the heard, we are in this together so I need them alive to protect me.

Medium

A side position attack will help the main assault so long as I can quickly get back.

Light

We need to see it all and can not let anything out flank us and I am hear to be sure it is seen.

Tank Destroyers

Position yourself properly and they will come to you.

Artilery

The easiest shot is not the most strategic, but hitting is the most important.

Free XP For Clan


August 27th 1 Hour +8% Free XP Bonus

With all of the successful skirmishes the DRPSD now has a Level II Command Center which also allowed the upgrade of a Military School to level II. For a reward we will all have an hour of +8% Free XP bonus this Saturday.
In the future we will have more of this and more regular. We will also be activating earnings bonuses at set times. The time for this is not specific but will be targeting 8PM CST August 27th. The bonus will go for one hour allowing you to earn an addition 8% Free XP to your total. If at the time there are not that many online (less than 10) the bonus will be delayed until another time.

Please leave a comment bellow as to what type of bonuses you hope to see. If you are interested in what bonuses are available take a look at the Stronghold. This can be done from both the game client and the web interface.

The tentative plan is to to have weekly Earnings Rush where the most popular time slots get activation of the most popular clan reserves.

Monday, August 15, 2016

Prepping for Skirmishes

Friends love Team battles

That is what they are for right? It is crucial for a clan to have its members actively manage their friend's list. There is a 300 Wargaming limit and that may seem like a lot, but with out strict and regular management you will run out of room and this will hinder your skirmish battles. This guide will teach you how to build medium size clan from a small one through the usage of in game friend's list  and also guide the building up of the clan's stronghold with skirmishes.

Make Friends

Adding people to your friend's list is simple, just right lick on a person's name from anywhere in the game. In this case however we will want to control our friends we add because we will be using the friend's list for a very special purpose. Finding good team players that meet the clan's requirements.

Any time you see someone that is not affiliated with a clan, after battle you can look at their service record, query them on WOT Labs for WN8 or any specific information the clan may require (e.g. specific Tank availability). Each clan has it's own specifications and should be understood by the Recruitment Officer. If you follow this practice regular enough you can get really good at it and do it really quick. To focus the selection we will use teammates and more specifically those that accept a dynamic platoon.


Dynamic Platoon

Dynamic platoons were introduces shortly after the campaign series but are a great recruitment tool.
Rather than spamming the public airwaves with recruitment messages a more personal approach can be made, which in general improves the quality of the recruits. To start a dynamic platoon just press Ctrl and mouse over to the left of the teammate you want to platoon with (for that battle and potentially more). You will see a small icon with a "+" and pressing it will send a platoon request to the teammate turning the symbol into an envelope.

If you send requests to tanks of the same tier you will earn additional XP, but if you also platoon with non clan members you will increase in chance of just having people that can actually join the clan. At this point you do not know much about the person. It is easy (but not reliant) to do a Mic check, and just say "Hi" or something clever. This does not however guarantee anything and may prove to not be reliable anyways. In stead, as stated earlier use player record and a source whether purely in game or using something like wotlabs. With that said, if a person does speak to you it can't hurt to add them to your friend's list right away from battle. A person at least having coms ready in a dynamic toon alone is worthy of consideration for the clan regardless of statistics.

Good players make good teammates

Since you have a limited amount of friend's you can add, it is a good idea to check out a tankers service record before you let them use up one of those slots. This is easy to do right after the match as you can right click the player and look at their service record very fast and some people will just drop the platoon right after (if) they die.


If the tanker fits the bill then right click to send a message. Opening up this window will ensure the player is "tagged" for you to talk to or send an invite. Try and do this real quick after the battle if the player looks like a good recruit. If the player fit's the clan needs send a recruitment message. Keep it simple and a small personal touch helps. For example:

"Thanks for the toon. Interested in joining the DRPSD? We need officers in order to join clan wars and they can earn monthly gold stipends. Find out more @ www.derpside.com"

This phrase starts out by connecting with the player and building a relationship. If nothing else it is polite and does not cause provoktion such as that caused by in game spamming. After the message is sent there is no reason not to extend the player an immediate clan invitation, however they are not likely to accept at this point. If they even message back it is a good sign though.

Friends make great teammates

Regardless of weather or not the toon player from weeks ago accepted your clan invitation it is possible they accepted your friend request and are still not in a clan. The recruitment was polite, friendly and they have no reason to not accept a Team request (team or skirmish) if they enjoy team play. After doing this for a couple weeks you will eventually have a fair amount of clanless friends that can come to your rescue to save a dieing skirmish. It is even possible to get a skirmish going with mostly your friends as you are limited to 5 legionaries meaning you only need 1 clansmen online!
If your friends are good you can further try and recruit them and it is an easy sales pitch at that point since you are winning resources. Another option is to start a Unranked Team battle. This can pull in your friends and you can even publicly list and gain the assistance of other clan players. Assistance how you ask? Recruitment.
By having a good solid team, more players will stay and want to play. Use the same tactic as you did for dynamic platoons and friend's list your Teammates that have no clan. At a later date, you will likely be able to get them to help you and your clanmates in a skirmish. 

Friday, August 12, 2016

Hidden Gem

Hidden Gem Crew XP x10 Conversion rate


They always have many discounts, but often the ones you care about are hidden in options.



This weekend has a 1:10 XP exchange instead of 1:5 XP for crew enhancement! This is fantastic and the best way to level your crew to get the much needed perk. You can also retrain your crew at a 50% discount meaning only 100 Gold for a retrain, yet another way to get that skill.

Thursday, August 4, 2016

August Recruitment Competition

Earn Gold for your Recruitment Efforts

For the month of August the DRPSD wants our Recruitment Officers to find the best of the best. The Officer with the highest qualifying recruits will earn 3000 Gold and also secure a permanent officer position as the Personal Officer.
As a Personal Officer you will be in charge of clan recruitment efforts and ensuring we have the finest tankers out there. Details will be provided at time of promotion through officer communications.

To earn the gold and lock in your officer position start recruiting now! A qualifying recruit must meet the listed requirements to count towards the recruiters total.

Qualifying Recruit:

  • Active* player
  • In game coms active (must be able to hear)
  • Player Rating greater than 3000*
  • At least 1000 battles played

Qualifying Recruiter:

  • Recruit at least 10 players that meet the recruit qualifications

While there is no resource requirement, the payout will occur on October 1st. The reason is to ensure the recruits are active and maintain their active status and will contribute to DRPSD growth. The idea is to ensure our recruiters are actively trying to reduce member churn. To grow we need to not only recruit, but keep our recruits.

Good luck!

*An active player is tanker that plays an average of 5 battles a day. This does not mean they must play everyday, but rather they must be consistent in their activity and have more than 30 battles per week.
*If the player has a lower PR, but large battle count and a good WN8 (higher than 1000) they are accepted as well. In such a case be sure to PM the commander so they check the Wn8 of the player.

August Recruitment Competition

Earn Gold for your Recruitment Efforts

For the month of August the DRPSD wants our Recruitment Officers to find the best of the best. The Officer with the highest qualifying recruits will earn 3000 Gold and also secure a permanent officer position as the Personal Officer.
As a Personal Officer you will be in charge of clan recruitment efforts and ensuring we have the finest tankers out there. Details will be provided at time of promotion through officer communications.

To earn the gold and lock in your officer position start recruiting now! A qualifying recruit must meet the listed requirements to count towards the recruiters total.

Qualifying Recruit:

  • Active* player
  • In game coms active (must be able to hear)
  • Player Rating greater than 3000*
  • At least 1000 battles played

Qualifying Recruiter:

  • Must recruit at least 10 players that meet the recruit qualifications

While there is no resource requirement, the payout will occur on October 1st. The reason is to ensure the recruits are active and maintain their active status and will contribute to DRPSD growth. The idea is to ensure our recruiters are actively trying to reduce member churn. To grow we need to not only recruit, but keep our recruits.

Good luck!
*An active player is tanker that plays an average of 5 battles a day. This does not mean they must play everyday, but rather they must be consistent in their activity and have more than 30 battles per week.
*If the player has a lower PR, but large battle count and a good WN8 (higher than 1000) they are accepted as well. In such a case be sure to PM the commander so they check the Wn8 of the player.

Turn in your tickets

Tickets for great Prizes

Remember to turn in your tickets by the end of August for great prizes. Depending on how many you earned during July, you could even earn a premium tank. Claim your prizes at Tank Rewards now so you don't miss out!

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Training

Train for Better Results

As a clan we need to help each other learn the best tactics. Each tank handles differently and each map should be played differently. It is expected that all clan members master their tanks, but first we must master the basic skills.
We have quite a few new players and need to guide them into being the lean mean tankers that the DRPSD needs. The DRPSD needs the experienced players to coach their skirmish teams on side scraping and other common tactics. This will ensure the best results in skirmishes and will help each individual clan member earn the most XP and silver through successful battles.
In the following weeks and even months expect to see training invites and please accept them. We need all members on the same page understanding what the DRPSD views as basic tactics and to understand what the field commander is requesting of his team. 
For those that are motivated and want to truly grow the DRPSD encourages you, yourself to lead a group of players into team training. This will not only help your clan mates but also prove your role as a leader in the DRPSD and potentially lead to an permanent officer position.