Art of War: Legions — How to start and build a clan

by clp3333

I’ve wanted to write something about how to start and build clans in AOW for awhile now. While my main focus has always been to build Vector, I recognize that clans and community are the lifeblood of the game. It’s for that reason I’ve built up and helped other clans, set up servers, you name it. Here’s what you need to know about clan building from someone who took a 2K clan into the top 25.

You can start your own clan.

The first thing you need to do is not be in a clan. You’ll see a button that reads, “Create Clan.” You need to come up with a name and pay the 1,000 gem cost. Starting a clan from zero can be a steep uphill climb. You’ll want to make an alt or two on a separate account to use them to float your rank and also pay that gem cost for starting it. Mine talk to each other and tell each other how handsome they are.

Because people join the highest ranking clan they see on the list, they tend to go for clans that are more full. This path will take weeks. I’ve done it when adding Vector family clans, but I had people move there early season to attract new players until it filled. It took a lot of time and planning.

You can take over a clan.

This is the more common path and the one that worked for me. This works in low rank clans. No one is going to let you take over CASA. Be active in chat, help people with forms and post helpful information and you’ll grow and build rank where you’re at. Offer to take over, but have a plan. Tell people what you’re going to do to build the clan. Build a discord server or Facebook group.

You need to make a Discord server.

You need some way to get everyone in your group connected. Some clans do Facebook groups, but in my opinion nothing is better than Discord. The game chat has come a long way, but it’s still limited in comparison to being able to DM players, post formations in multiple channels, and generate invite links.

You also need to get people on the server. You can’t help people grow if they aren’t connected. Post the link in game chat — as a separate message for copy/paste — everyday and anytime a new player joins.

You’ll need to recruit.

A great place to snag people looking to make a move is the #clan-recruitment channel on the AOW server. You can only post every six hours, so making sure to have a solid message you and your clan leaders can copy and paste is really important. The recruiting channel should give you 1–2 players a season if you post regularly.

You can also recruit to The AOW Facebook group for players. You’ll want to establish roles and limit access to your players if you post the discord link there, as many people will join just to check it out.

The Subreddit is closed to recruiting, but sometimes people ask for a clan or formation help and those are good people to message and see if they’re interested in joining.

Another way I recruit is by sending alt accounts into very dead clans. I chat it up and offer advice. Sometimes I make a connection, sometimes I don’t. But either way, people know how to play better when I switch clans. But, what I don’t do is recruit active communities that are growing. I don’t post our discord link and bail. Don’t be that person.

You need to know what the settings can do.

There’s a lot you can do just by knowing how the settings work. A clan ranked #520 recently reached out to me and asked to “merge.” They wanted me to send them the 11–12 guys they were missing and they would change their name to have “Vector” in it, so they could crack the top 500. That’s not really how we do things, so I declined, but I told them to change the requirements to let anyone in with no verification. They filled up within three days and finished #478.

If you looks at these settings, we’re set to level 3000 as a minimum because we aren’t depending on new players for this group or worried about filling up to 50. But, if you have spots open, you don’t want that. You want people to come right in. You can also post your discord link in the description or announcements.

Here’s an example. Why is there verification? You have 19 spots. Let them come in!

It’s better to encourage than mandate.

I see a lot of clans that push players to do things. My alt was recently called out in clan chat and asked why I didn’t challenge the Manticore the day before. I immediately left that clan. They didn’t get it. There is a world of difference between:

• Make sure to hit the Manticore each day for coins and better rewards!
• Doing your Manticore hits everyday is mandatory. Anyone who doesn’t do it will be booted.

One of these builds the idea of community, one sounds like a job. When asking people to join the Discord server, try: “Make sure to join our Discord where you can ask questions, get help on your formation and grow with the team.”

You have to kick inactive players.

If you have someone who scored 1900 trophies last season, and they have a zero score two days into this season, they aren’t coming back. Kick them. I try to keep a balance between kicking and appearing full. I kicked in pairs to always have 47–48 players and when I filled back up to 49–50, I’d boot the next lowest. You have to give players a chance to grow, but zeroes and low scores hold active players out of those spots. They also make your clan appear inactive.

This is a good example. 24/50 players, The have no verification, which is correct, but I need to have passed level 1000? Also half of that 24 players have no score. This general should set the entry requirement to 0. After it fills a bit, start kicking the no scores.

You need help.

If I had to run the Discord, we wouldn’t have even cracked the top 200. I didn’t build Vector alone. We have a guy who tracks player progress. We have people who keep track of movements between clans. We have someone who runs the prospect channel and tracks Trading Hall prices, and on and on. Our clan leaders posted to #clan-recruitment, made YouTube videos, helped write articles. If you’re doing everything, you’re doing way too much. Let everyone find their thing and let them run those things for you.

You should be having fun.

A good clan is a place to play a game you enjoy with friends. If it’s not that or there’s too much drama, you don’t have time, whatever, maybe running a clan isn’t for you. That’s okay. You can always join my clan. Check out our discord today. Either way, I hope this was helpful to someone. Cheers.