Nov 29th 2014, 5:44:11
Lets state the obvious, if you're playing a mathematical strategy mmo there is something a little weird about you. You are probly a slight nerd. Try describing this game to a normal human being and they will probly respond with, "WTF are you doing with your life." There are plenty of good war games out there that are way way more dynamic than Earth could ever be. Netting is the basis of the game. The top ranked player wins the set. The alliance that wins a war wins nothing accept rep, respect, and fear(depending on the credibility of the war), which then in turn allows their netters to net in peace since other alliances know that if they fluff around with one of those player's sets they are going to have to war you. There are some great warring alliances here that are able to provide an environment for their few good netters to win a set. For example, an SOL guy just won a set that they warred in. Sorry SOL if labeling you a warring alliance offends you(although I don't really think it does), you are obv good at warring though. There are obviously some alliances that like to war and are good at it, and playing a small part in a greater whole, that allows youre best players to have a shot at winning a set is pretty legit, I think. But your best players are still your best netters, a good netter can usually war, the reverse is not always true. Hopefully you get to spend time learning to both net and war, or you can try to just enjoy playing that support role allowing the people in your alliance that would like to actually win a set one day(or top 10 whatever a reasonable netting goal is for you) to have a shot at doing so.
This game will always be based upon finishing at the highest NW possible. Everything else involved is just a way to make that possible, from wars and politics to retal policies and kill-teams, it's all designed to allow players to net better. That being said, if your alliance didn't have anyone who liked to war or could war(which I don't think there is one, just hypothetical) your netters would have no shot at netting in todays EE environment. Being able to war, allows you the ability to net.
Now the ways in which people net, Landtrading, DR camping, winning a war + farming, etc will always be topic for debate. We'll further see where these opinions land one day I expect.