We’re coming up on our first anniversary in First Clan and we’re quickly closing ground on the Top 200 US leader board. It’s time to look at how we run things around here and consider some changes. These apply primarily to First Clan, since leaders in the other clans are free to set their own guidelines.  However, those leaders should have similar priorities in the way they choose to run their clans. 

Clan Chests

Clan chests are still fairly new. We watched them for a couple of cycles and then set a minimum of 5 for First and Second clans. We chose 5 because it seemed like a number that would motivate some of the lesser active players without putting a LOT of clan members at risk of being kicked. After looking at that policy for a few more cycles, I feel that 5 is pretty much the same as 1. If everyone was doing their part, they would put in 32 so 5 is a very low level of participation.

Some players are more active in challenges or tournaments so they don’t put in a lot of crowns  but everyone needs to understand that progress on the ladder is what moves our clan up the leaderboard.

I propose that we not have a minimum requirement for clan  chest crowns. Not participating in the clan chest comes with it’s own consequence, no clan chest for you. Instead, I would treat inactivity in the clan chest as the same as not donating. That leads us to the next policy change…

Kicking “Inactive” Players

For most of this year, I’ve judged inactivity by donations and changes (positive or negative) in trophy count. A player would not get kicked unless both of those numbers remained unchanged for more than a week. Everyone takes some time off, so one week of complete inactivity would be overlooked. Any change in either of those numbers would reset the clock. We very rarely kick a player because of inactivity anymore. We now have a clan where everyone maintains some level of activity every week.

Some churn is good. We have had players open the game just to make a few donations and keep their account active. That’s not good for the clan. If a player is losing interest in the game and are keeping very low level of activity, we need them to drop back to a lower clan. It is totally okay to park your account in one of the other clans but we need room for fresh, active players at the top.

I propose that not participating in the clan chest and no donations are both considerations for demotion and kicks. If you participate in the clan chest, your trophy count will change too. Those are connected. However, you could miss the clan chest and still play later in the week to show some activity in your trophy count. Therefore, Clan Chest contribution is a much more useful measure. A zero in EITHER donations or Clan Chest crowns for two weeks in a row would result in a kick or demotion. This is a significant change. Technically, you could be active and still get kicked. If you miss the Clan Chest one week and have zero donations the next, you could be demoted or kicked for that.

This is a significantly higher bar compared to our current policy but it still shouldn’t affect even minimally active players.

Easier Promotions

Our current promotion system involves calculating a clan average for a combined score of donations and trophies. Players performing at 20% above the clan average are eligible for promotion after 4 weeks. This is a lot of data entry for me every week but I think it’s fair, impartial and has worked very well.

However, First Clan is really great and I think we need to consider that an “average” player in First Clan is actually a very good player in general and worthy of promotion. I also think that players who are doing their part to get that clan chest open deserve a little credit. Here’s what I think the new formula should look like.

(player donation average / clan donation average)
+
(player trophy average / clan trophy average)
+
(player clan chest crowns / 32)
/ 3
* 100

The clan average for clan chest crowns will always be 32 if we’re opening a 10/10 chest every week.  This adjusted formula puts Clan Chest participation on the same level as donating and grinding out trophies on the ladder.

I propose that we use this new formula for promotion to Elder and promote those who maintain a score of 100 (clan average) for four weeks.

North Carolina FIRST

The vast majority of our players are from North Carolina or have some connection to the state. When a clan is called “North Carolina” it is going to naturally attract players that are from North Carolina. This geographic identity is part of what makes our clans fun and interesting. We have a lot of different ages and backgrounds but most of us have this one thing in common. When First Clan starts to show up on the game’s leader boards I expect that we will get a lot more interest from players who have no connection to the state of North Carolina.

Geographic requirements for membership are tough ones to enforce. I frequently ask new players where they are from and it’s really easy for them to name a North Carolina city whether or not they actually live there. We’ve been fairly relaxed in this regard and it hasn’t been a problem. In fact, we have a few really great players who aren’t from NC and I don’t think we should try to purge them.

I propose that we all try to make sure NEW players are from North Carolina. Elders should know that when they accept a join request, they should immediately welcome the player and ask where they are from. If they indicate that they are not from North Carolina, you should ask why they requested to join a North Carolina clan. I don’t want to be rude, but we risk losing our identity if we don’t try to fill our open spots with players who are from NC.

As we begin to plan meet-ups this year, it will be even more important that our players are geographically close.

New Leadership for Second Clan

I’m currently active on three Clash Royale accounts. My main account is the one in First Clan. My second account is in Second Clan and I use my third account for live streaming and making contact with other North Carolina clans. This is too much.

My third account has to be active. No clan will let me stay if I’m not contributing to their success (rightly so). My second account has all the same data entry requirements of my first account and really no requirement for game activity other than a personal need to set a good example for the clan. I’d like to hand that responsibility off to another player. Giving up leadership in Second Clan will allow me to be a better leader in First Clan but I need to to find the right candidate.

1. They should be in it for the long haul. The leader needs to be a person who has been very active in the game for a long time and enjoys it enough to remain active for a long time to come.
2. They should be mature, level-headed and fair. You get a certain perspective on things when you get into adulthood. Little things don’t bother you as much and you’re more likely to address the big issues in a thoughtful, rational way.
3. They should be a good player whose advice is respected in the clan.
4. They should be on our Slack team and able to get notifications from the app. It’s very important to me that I can ping leaders when stuff comes up.
5. They should be from North Carolina, for all of the reasons above.

Second Clan will become the new leader’s clan. He or she will have complete control to run it however they see fit. That means they don’t have to keep up the same type of data collection that we use in First Clan if they don’t want to. I will expect them to keep up the same standards that we ask of all of our clans. They will also have to maintain it’s status as first feeder for First Clan and help high achieving players move over.

What Next?

We’re now in a group discussion phase. Join us on our Slack team to talk this through with members from all of our clans. This draft may be updated based on player feedback.