[NEWS] Erudite Observer

[Feux]

... What? Seems pretty straightforward to me.

The refoundation is more short term. Long term plans would include a new regional government, or using it as a base of operations, etc.

I would be surprised if any of that happened. Typically conquests and refounds are held more as trophies. I don't think Cerian would set up a new regional government etc. But "The Creed" is a cool region name, never know.

[Erudite Observer]

Interview with General Halcones, Overlord of The Black Riders
"Upon this a question arises: whether it be better to be loved than feared or feared than loved? It may be answered that one should wish to be both, but, because it is difficult to unite them in one person, it is much safer to be feared than loved" -Niccolo Machiavelli

After following the invasions of the past week with interest, I contacted General Halcones about the possibility of an interview. Personally I've found the raiders of NationStates more of an enigma. Many nations are quick to paint raiders in a negative light and cast moral judgement, but that snap judgement only deepened my intrigue. I suspected that any group that receives so much instant judgement must be poorly understood. In my interview with General Halcones, I found like any other nation, raiders are very human, with the dynamics and wants and desires as other groups in NationStates. Painting them all as alike does a great disservice. Without further embellishment, here are the contents of the interview:

Erudite Observer: What made you originally decide to found The Black Riders in 2009? Were you frustrated by other raider groups, or did you just prefer to strike out on your own?

General Halcones: Neither do I feel frustration, nor would I act on the back of it. I have always preferred to be in the commanding position, in charge of my own army. This explains why I founded a raider group, The Black Hawks, so early on in my raiding career.

Erudite Observer: Without giving away any secrets, how do you choose which regions to raid? Are only weak regions targeted, or are there particular qualities that make certain regions superior targets?

General Halcones: In terms of tag raiding[1], our targets are almost completely random. We do not plan beforehand which regions to raid. Tag raiding often only targets weak regions, though that is merely down to the number of troops, defining our target range. As has been seen, with more troops in a tag raiding session, we do target bigger regions. As for long-term stealth raids, the key qualities of a decent target are: Longstanding delegate, good level of regional activity - active natives etc., defender associations, and a large number of embassies.

Erudite Observer: You've mentioned in the past you were at one point attending a university? Out of curiosity, which major were (are) you studying?

General Halcones: Indeed. In the United Kingdom, we don't use the term "major". I was studying Biochemistry, and got a First Class Honours degree.

Erudite Observer: What keeps you coming back to NationStates? Do you feel that The Black Riders job is unfinished (if it ever can be finished), or is there another reason?

General Halcones: Fun, I guess. It's enjoyable to work alongside other members of The Black Riders, and bring tears to the defenders' faces. I came back to pick the momentum up again, in The Black Riders. I quickly achieved that.

Erudite Observer: How important is the camaraderie between other members of The Black Riders, and even other members of other raiding groups? Do you know members outside of the NationStates setting?

General Halcones: It's always important to have a friendly atmosphere, and that really exists in the raider world, and within The Black Riders itself. People have to be friendly and enjoy working together to be effective as a group. I know no NationStates players outside of the game, though I guess it would be exciting to bump into one of them in RL[2].

Erudite Observer: What part of The Black Riders do you think is most misunderstood?

General Halcones: Some people (whiny defenders) see us as just pointless tag raiders. In truth, we participate in all styles of raiding. Tag raiding is seen the most because this is the most active form of raiding. It is important that we engage in it to maintain high levels of activity. It is very useful in quickly introducing new players to raiding. The Black Riders initiate stealth raids and long-term operations as well, just like any other raiding group. Some see us as "region destroyers". Rarely do we take a region to complete destruction, but we do, sometimes, particularly when there is an incentive. I accept we do it more than others, but it is a necessary force in the game. All regions should be aware of the dangers, and the need to protect themselves. It's part of the game. Plus, we like to establish the image of "fear", so when natives see The Black Riders roll into a region, they become terrified. That's just who we are.

Erudite Observer: What is your overall opinion of Defender groups? If the FRA[3], TITO[4], and UDL[5] all went inactive, Do you think that encourage or discourage your activity?

General Halcones: I dislike TITO the most. They are the most whiny of them all, the least willing to adapt, and I generally have very low respect for them. As for the UDL and FRA, I respect their attempts to tackle our tag raids (although lately, their efforts have been shocking). Out of the two, I consider UDL to have a pretty weak and chaotic structure (no offence, Unibot). I hold FRA in higher regard, being down to their better structure, and generally, more professional image. Lately though, the FRA has not been a very effective defender group. That said, all defenders are currently a joke. They have experienced considerable failure, and raiders are thrashing them.

Erudite Observer: What question did I forget to ask?

General Halcones: I'm not doing your job for you.

---

I would like to thank General Halcones for taking the time to answer all my questions and being a part of this interview.

Footnotes:
[1]Tag Raiding is a type of raiding that involves only a few (sometimes as few as 2) nations who switch between joining and resigning in the WA to quickly become delegate in multiple regions during one update. Nations that attain the delegacy and resign from the WA are still considered the delegate by the game until the next update (typically in 12 hours), and can make administrative changes. This allows raiders to only have a few nations but capture dozens of regions.
[2]RL is short for Real Life.
[3]The FRA is the Founderless Region Alliance.
[4]TITO is the ten Thousand Islands Treaty Organization
[5]UDL is the United Defender League.

[Tano]

Nice interview. I may not like the copious amount of tags that TBR does, but he made some valid points as to why they do so many tags. Also, I *for the most part* agree with his assessment of defender groups and defenders in general.

[Charax]

I would have asked why he felt the need to found TBR after TBH proved to be such a success.

[Erudite Observer]

I would have asked why he felt the need to found TBR after TBH proved to be such a success.

Don't let me stop you, you still can.

[Ambroscus Koth]

I would have asked why he felt the need to found TBR after TBH proved to be such a success.

He already answered that question. TBH had a solid leadership core and Halcones did not feel like he needed to be in control anymore. He has founded countless groups that he is the sole leader of. TBH is the only project of his that he is no longer a leader of yet still standing.

Might be a bit misguided but I'm pretty sure I'm right.

[Mallorea and Riva]

I would have asked why he felt the need to found TBR after TBH proved to be such a success.

He already answered that question. TBH had a solid leadership core and Halcones did not feel like he needed to be in control anymore. He has founded countless groups that he is the sole leader of. TBH is the only project of his that he is no longer a leader of yet still standing.

Might be a bit misguided but I'm pretty sure I'm right.

Blades of conquest is the only other project of his that I am familiar with.

[Ambroscus Koth]

He already answered that question. TBH had a solid leadership core and Halcones did not feel like he needed to be in control anymore. He has founded countless groups that he is the sole leader of. TBH is the only project of his that he is no longer a leader of yet still standing.

Might be a bit misguided but I'm pretty sure I'm right.

Blades of conquest is the only other project of his that I am familiar with.

You don't remember when he started a defender org? Duuuude

[Mallorea and Riva]

Blades of conquest is the only other project of his that I am familiar with.

You don't remember when he started a defender org? Duuuude

Couldn't remember the name of the damn thing...

[Ambroscus Koth]

The Royal Defense Network!

[Tancerlo]

United Defender League has pledged to defend the region and liberate it from Tancerlo and The United Imperial Armed Forces reign of terror.

As a follow up, I'm still waiting for this liberation. You know, you really shouldn't make promises you cannot keep.

[Cerian Quilor]

The refoundation is more short term. Long term plans would include a new regional government, or using it as a base of operations, etc.

I would be surprised if any of that happened. Typically conquests and refounds are held more as trophies. I don't think Cerian would set up a new regional government etc. But "The Creed" is a cool region name, never know.

Suggestion: Don't presume you know what goes through my head.

[Erudite Observer]

Australia Occupation Ends!
"All courses of action are risky, so prudence is not in avoiding danger (it's impossible), but calculating risk and acting decisively. Make mistakes of ambition and not mistakes of sloth." -Machiavelli

The United Imperial Armed Forces, Australia,

Invaders, lead by The United Imperial Armed Forces, withdrew today, leaving Australia to soon become a free region after a week-long occupation of the region. The occupation was notable for closing hundreds of embassies with other regions throughout NationStates, as well as a harsh policy of suppressing regional message board posts of any kind. No official reason for the end of the occupation was given, but residents were jokingly advised to send comments & complaints about the invasion to Unibot III. While a jest, the joke highlights the problems The United Defender League had in attempting to dislodge Tancerlo from his delegacy. This news agency wonders if perhaps The United Defender League should be retitled "The United Janitor League", as it seems today's defenders are only capable of mopping up after the invasion forces have abandoned the region.

No reason's for the end of the occupation were given, but speculation is that the region's glut of embassies made it a particular target of note, and once that had been destroyed, no further desire to occupy the region existed. Also possible is that changes regarding the temporary password rule changes for the Zombie Halloween event made other targets more attractive, prompting a strategic withdrawal from Australia.

[Feux]

I would be surprised if any of that happened. Typically conquests and refounds are held more as trophies. I don't think Cerian would set up a new regional government etc. But "The Creed" is a cool region name, never know.

Suggestion: Don't presume you know what goes through my head.

I'm going to do it anyway and try to fit in the crowd.

[Solorni]

UDLs always been second class when it came to the largest raids and such.

[Consular]

This news agency wonders if perhaps The United Defender League should be retitled "The United Janitor League", as it seems today's defenders are only capable of mopping up after the invasion forces have abandoned the region.

You know what, I'm liking this reporter more and more.

[Christopher Bishop]

If we told you how we picked targets we might as well telegram UDL ahead of time. Not like it would make a difference.

[Cerian Quilor]

Suggestion: Don't presume you know what goes through my head.

I'm going to do it anyway and try to fit in the crowd.

I didn't know getting inside my head was popular in Defender circles.

[Solorni]

If we told you how we picked targets we might as well telegram UDL ahead of time. Not like it would make a difference.

I don't think this is fair. The UDL lets raiders know when it's going to try to liberate a region, like when Feux moved into that one occupied region recently way ahead of schedule providing yet another boon to the occupiers

Shouldn't you guys extend the same favour?

[McMasterdonia]

About time that the imperialists were driven from the motherland.

Also glad that Australia doesn't have a kiwi in charge any more

[Afforess]

This news agency wonders if perhaps The United Defender League should be retitled "The United Janitor League", as it seems today's defenders are only capable of mopping up after the invasion forces have abandoned the region.

You know what, I'm liking this reporter more and more.

I guess the only thing that's left is for Unibot to announce he ran this paper too, as some sort of false flag operation.

[Feux]

I'm going to do it anyway and try to fit in the crowd.

I didn't know getting inside my head was popular in Defender circles.

No, just assuming things in the general gameplay community, Cerian.

[Silver Seas]

Touche, Feux.

[Consular]

About time that the imperialists were driven from the motherland.

Also glad that Australia doesn't have a kiwi in charge any more

I think Australia benefitted from the guidance of its benevolent Kiwi overlord. I might have to visit again soon.

[Unibot III]

This news agency wonders if perhaps The United Defender League should be retitled "The United Janitor League", as it seems today's defenders are only capable of mopping up after the invasion forces have abandoned the region.

This commentator wonders if perhaps the "Erudite Observer" should be re-titled the "Ex-parte Observer".