TUF’s ajqtrz2 Destroys Dlord Player’s City After Protracted Siege

WARLORD: ajqtrz gets his hands bloody in first raze against another person in Illyriad

ajqtrz2 has picked up his first raze against another person in Illyriad.  TUF officials have confirmed that Jhag’s city of Clan Dollogh Outpost was razed today at 12:51 by ajqtrz2. The siege began in the early morning, server time, of April 4th. The Times reported on three siege camps — two of which were commanded by ajqtrz — however, eyewitnesses reported that originally a fourth siege camp had been launched as well jy AJ but was destroyed within an our of landing.

In spite of having three active siege camps firing, the siege on Jhag languished for days beyond what a normal multi-siege operation would normally last. TUF officials note that the city was actively prestige built throughout the siege and many vans were captured by TUF blockades, ostensibly filled with basic resources.

TUF also appeared to struggle with keeping all of its first round of blockades up and running, as long range stalwart hits were were said to have been used on the blockades to clear them.

In a comment on the Times in a previous article, TUF co-leader viperone suggested that early indicators were that Jhag was an inactive account that appeared to come alive and prestige build once the siege arrived. “[viperone] ponders, to quote Belegar, how an ‘inactive’ account holds out and prestige builds. Certainly not a ‘sat account’ as sitters can’t spend prestige.” viperone went on to suggest that someone in Dlords may have been multi-accounting, which would be in violation of Illyriad ToS. “‘Shared password’ nahhhh…that would be against Illy Rules….shrugs and skips away merrily down the bunny trail…lalalala.”

Belegar responded saying, “Inactive as he has been mostly flat-lined for a month and only returned to increased activity at the start of the war. Sitters can’t exo cities otherwise it would have been done ages ago. A multi-accounter would have exo’d the city before the war started.”

The win for TUF is significant, as it keeps the embattled alliance in the lead in terms of razes, despite being the alliance that was declared on.

TUF’ING IT OUT: Jhag Holding Out As ajqtrz2’s Siege Languishes

TUF’s long-range siege on Dlords’ Jhag in the far-flung reaches of Coanhara is languishing, with only one of the the three-reported siege camps remaining active. The Herald’s siege section reports that only ajqtrz’s alt’s siege camp remains:

Jhag [Dlord]

Clan Dollogh Outpost

[-653|-2377] in Coanhara

ajqtrz2 [TUF]

Sun 03 Apr 21:28

Considering that the siege operation against Jhag included at least three siege camps and a contingent of blockades, and that the city is located in a nearly indefensible region for the Dlords’, the fact that the siege has gone on this long –more than three-and-a-half days — is surprising. With a current population of 3282, Clan Dollogh Outpost must be nearing raze population, but since the current state of AJ’s siege camp is unknown, the siege might be at this point disabled.

If the razing of Clan Dollogh Outpost is successful, it would be ajqtrz’s second successful siege operation in meta-war. His first completed siege was against himself in the HIGH/B|B war, AJ picked up the raze on his city of Doralia 5 by using his alt on August 9, 2015.

READ NEXT: EXCLUSIVE: Leaked Dlords War Prep Messages Reveal Motivations, Concerns

Ron Fay Initiates New Siege Against Unbow in Newlands

Ron Fay is hosting his first siege since joining the ranks of SIN, opening up a new operation in southern Newlands against Unbow using his Odoacer alt account. The Herald reported the landing of the siege this morning:

Vitruvius [Unbow]

Shiskabobo

[94|-2263] in Newlands

Odoacer [SIN]

Tue 05 Apr 05:00

The city of Shiskabobo is situated on relatively defensible terrain, with only one small hill aside a nearby lake. SIN has set up its siege on this hill, accompanied by several blockades.

Previous reports have indicated that Unbow was willing to exodus siege targets away from oncoming SIN sieges if they had adjacent small hills, but Unbow appears to be willing to contest this siege. At the time of this writing, the Times has already seen the siege camp possibly being hit by one army, with another possible army inbound — the trajectory suggests cav breaking launches from Unbow and not reinforcements by SIN.

SHOCK: TUF’s ajqtrz Leading Aggressive Siege on Dlords’ Jhag in Coanhara

Illyriad pundit and philosopher ajqtrz is the unlikely siege leader of an aggressive, triple-teaming siege one of Dlords’ few cities in the Broken Lands. The Herald’s siege section is reporting the three poorly-timed sieges, all of which have landed at haphazard times:

Jhag [Dlord]

Clan Dollogh Outpost

[-652|-2375] in Coanhara

ajqtrz [TUF]

Sat 02 Apr 05:04

Jhag [Dlord]

Clan Dollogh Outpost

[-653|-2377] in Coanhara

ajqtrz2 [TUF]

Sun 03 Apr 21:28

Jhag [Dlord]

Clan Dollogh Outpost

[-654|-2375] in Coanhara

Ppjotr [TUF]

Mon 04 Apr 07:47

As the first and second siege army on the scene, both ajqtrz and his alt ajqtrz2 are in line to storm the city first and second, assuming the city falls to raze population. In addition, TUF has established three blockades. All camps in the operation take advantage of mountainous terrain.

It is likely to come as a surprise to many on the server that ajqtrz, a player who has railed against the use of aggressive game mechanics to damage or destroy other players’ cities without their prior consent, would not only have joined the ranks of one of the bloodiest, most aggressive BL alliances in TUF, but also would partake in a siege operation designed to so quickly and comprehensively destroy a city that is completely isolated from its alliance hub and unable to adequately defend itself. ajqtrz has argued that when a city or army is attacked in Illyriad, that attack is a personal one against the player who controls that army or city, since it a “real person” who plays that account, and not simply an “avatar.” He has also argued that war activities should only be engaged in when both sides consent.

It is unknown at this time if Dlords’ Jhag consented to being triple-sieged or not.

HIGH Leader AJ Uses Alt To Raze Himself Ahead of B!B Siege, Doubles Down On Surrender Demands

The Times has confirmed that HIGH leader ajqtrz has razed his own city as part of a strategy to mitigate the damage inflicted by B!B in their ongoing war. Information and screen shots sent to us from SIN-turned-B!B player Ten Kulch showed before and after images of the AJ city Doralia 5, which was being targeted by Kulch to be sieged, as well as a System message that posted in GC.

AJ has confirmed that indeed he did siege and raze his own self.

Ten Kulch captured this shot of the city being struck by attacks, prior to the planned siege army arriving:

Later, AJ dropped his alt ajqtrz2 from HIGH and changed the name of his main’s city to “Abandoned Town” prior to his own siege landing. The siege posted in GC as follows:

[20:14]*System At 21:38:09: ajqtrz’s [HIGH] small town of Abandoned Town is now under siege by ajqtrz2’s large city of Elgoria 1

Ten Kulch explained to the Times that by the time his armies arrived, the city had already been razed: “As my mail shows, I had a blockade and a direct infantry attack. I never set up a siege. Didn’t screen capture his siege against himself though, all I have is the system notice, and the change in his population.”

This was the after screen shot taken of where the city once stood:

Early this morning, server time, the Times noted that AJ settled a new city in the exact same spot and named it “Doralia 5.” At the time of this posting, the city has a population of 9.

Kulch revealed that the blockade he sent to Doralia 5 that sparked AJ’s move to raze his own city was in fact a fake, with only 2 troops in it:

From: System
Subject: FW: Your army has begun a blockade at [43|-2522] in Almenly
Received: 09 Aug 2015 11:19
Original Message:
Units involved:

Type:	Unit:	Quantity:
Army: Coercion from Breath
Division: Bully
Troops:	Fists	1
Division: Bottle
Commander: Broken Bottle	Fang	1

Yesterday, our editorial team reached out to ajqtrz for a confirmation that he indeed had razed his own city, and if so, why he had made this unusual decision. AJ argued that the move was in fact not unusual and inspired by historically-established military best practices:

Yes.  I did siege my own city.  If you read military history you would know why.  When faced with overwhelming odds against you you can do one of three things: flee (move), defend (and allow the opponent to collect whatever resources and research you leave behind) or, destroy it.  I choose the third option and replaced the city immediately as it gives no city or space to my opponent.

In his statement to the Times, AJ went on to reiterate his position that B!B’s war against HIGH is completely unjustified, and that his alliance’s recent strategic moves are an act of desperation to deal with facing overwhelming odds and a lack of help from his allies or other concerned parties in the game:

Those who attacked me, and continue to attack me, do so not because of any military or diplomatic threat I posed or currently pose and not because I slandered them in any way in GC or the forums.  I was never a threat to them but when they attacked and HIGH attempted fight back, we found they had, according to Shogun no Yari, been preparing for war for “months.” . . . the moment I realized what we were up against I decided that if our 60k siege didn’t at least cause some damage we would take a different course.  That siege lasted around 24 hours before it was removed.

So I tried a different tactic.  I asked my alliance mates to all leave HIGH, I got rid of my troops (by killing a lot of NPC’s), I took down my sov, and even dismissed my diplos.  I figured that if I was absolutely no threat they would have no military reason to continue.  But they continued to attack and are continuing.  They’ve even brought in another player from SIN who has planted a city near my cluster.  At no point have they even told me what they want!

AJ went on to implicate the aggression he perceived against himself and his ideas of Illyriad being like a playground as a by-product of the influx of players from Lords of Ultima — another MMO game that was known to more militarily oriented than Illyriad. He believes that the generation of LoU players led to a change of culture within the game, and is fighting the same fight now in Illyriad that he once did in LoU:

One of the hardest thing for people to get is that a good deal of this attitude has been manifested by previous Lords of Ultima players.  Do not underestimate their goal.  They are used to a strategy game (with the same ability to play without going to war and the same insistence that “it’s a war game!”) where they had to dominate all other alliances. They often claimed entire continents (LoU has up to 50 continents per each server) and kicked others off those continents or made them fully subservient to them.  The players from LoU are smart, very organized, disciplined and tough fighters.  And ruthless and proud of it.  They will not, I suspect, stop until they are in complete control of the entire Illyriad map.  That was my experience with them on seven servers in Lords of Ultima and they are well on the road to turning Illyriad into a playground that is unfriendly and hostile to anyone who gets in their way or even suggests that what they are doing and how they are doing it is not good for the playground.

Of his enemies, ajqtrz vowed that “it is unlikely I’ll ever surrender because that would mean all I’ve lost I would have lost for nothing,” and followed by further increasing his surrender demands for B!B, stating: “I’ve sent them the terms and now add that all cities newly settled within 200 squares of my cities must be removed.”

HIGH/B!B “Peace Talks” Break Down in GC

While peace talks seem to be underway to some degree in the Han/Stark war, negotiations appeared to have broken down in Illyriad’s GC on Wednesday when HIGH leader ajqtrz on his ajqtrz2 alt account and B!B c-leader Rosie Blackeye traded barbs in what signaled the end to a brief respite in fighting. Based on a transcript from GC sent by a reader, the conversation was sparked by a comment AJ made about those in land claiming alliances, stating, “If you simply are vocal about your position they will declare war on you. Now it’s not just the land they are claiming, but your right to think and speak differently than they. Is that the Illy you want?”

B!B’s Rosie chimed in at this point, challenging AJ’s assertion: “AJ, that is blatantly not true. Plenty of people are against land claims. Yet we have declared only on you.” This led to an exchange on B!B’s motivation for starting the HIGH/B!B war:

[17:43]<ajqtrz2> Rosie, then why did B!B declare war on HIGH?
[17:44]<ajqtrz2> Rosie, I’m waiting for the reasons B!B declared war on HIGH. You did have some reasons, didn’t you?
[17:44]<Rosie Blackeye> disagreement with our position is one thing, persistently labeling a group of players as bullies is another.
[17:45]<Rosie Blackeye> we declared because of the latter
[17:45]<ajqtrz2> If the definition fits, it fits.
[17:45]<Rosie Blackeye> you are over-relying on your definition.
[17:45]<ajqtrz2> I took that definition form a dictionary.
[17:45]<ajqtrz2> I even quoted it.

T-O leader Pellinell, whose sister alliance and fellow DSD member T-SC enforces a land claim in the Broken Lands along with RE, another wing of DSD, interjected a somewhat ominous “for now” note into his quest for clarifcation:

[17:46]<Pellinell> so to get this straight all LC alliances are bullies because one declared on you ?

[17:46]<Pellinell> for now

From here, however, the stage was set for what would eventually lead to a withdrawal of B!B’s peace offering and terms to HIGH:

[17:46]<Rosie Blackeye> there is such a thing as context AJ
[17:46]<Rosie Blackeye> but I am not engaging in this lame debate, besides check your alliance’s diplo page AJ.
[17:46]<Rosie Blackeye> we have offered you peace.
[17:47]<ajqtrz2> You have taken without cause and make no offer to restore that which you took.
[17:47]<ajqtrz2> You made no effort to discuss before attacking
[17:47]<Rosie Blackeye> so I take it you are not accepting the peace offer?
[17:47]<ajqtrz2> I’ve already responded. I suggested you surrender

[17:47]<Rosie Blackeye> very well.
[17:47]<Rosie Blackeye> ;D
[17:48]<Rosie Blackeye> I withdraw my offer.
[17:49]<ajqtrz2> Your offer? I think the offer came from Shogun
[17:49]<ajqtrz2> Last I checked, he’s the leader
[17:50]<Rosie Blackeye> we are co-leaders.
[17:50]<ajqtrz2> So don’t you think you ought to speak to your co-leader before you make a decision?

After the apparent retraction of peace terms, additional barbs were traded between the two warring alliance leaders:

[17:51]<Rosie Blackeye> our conversation is concluded AJ
[17:51]<ajqtrz2> Okay. Nice talking to you for a change without you calling me “idiot”
[17:52]<ajqtrz2> actually, it was Shogun that called anti-land claimers “idiots” in GC.
[17:52]<Rosie Blackeye> I never called you an idiot AJ
[17:52]<ajqtrz2> I know, and I just said what the context was and who said it. Correcting myself.
[17:52]<Rosie Blackeye> I understand that being against land claims is a legitimate position
[17:52]<ajqtrz2> But of course you were there and made no correction of Shogun’s behavior so I suppose you think the same.
[17:53]<ajqtrz2> Good. I do to. LOL
[17:53]<ajqtrz2> Well, time for me to go.

In light of the acrimony that still exists between B!B and HIGH, as well as ajqtrz’s insistence that B!B surrender in spite of their currently lop-sided victories on the battlefield, it would appear that additional battles may yet be fought in this war before a peace agreement is reached.

B!B’s Rosie Breaks Another HIGH Siege

The Times has learned that the latest HIGH siege by AJ on B!B leader Shogun no Yari’s city of Renegade Mountain has been effectively broken by Rosie Blackeye. The reports were sent via a B!B source revealing that the siege had been virtually crippled by a series of assaults.

Currently, the siege appears to be completely broken.

The reports provided to the Times shows a massive assault force by Rosie that shattered ajqtrz2’s ranks and decimated his catapults. A follow-up hit finished off the remianing catapults.

This was the second HIGH siege attempt on Renegade Mountain. The first came on July 15th.

While this is yet another broken siege for HIGH, the reports provided to the Times reveal that this siege force may have been the most robust sent by AJ yet. Unlike other sieges sent at B!B, which featured few siege engines, this army featured substantial weaponry that could have effectively reduced Renegade Mountain.

For B!B, this is now their fourth documented siege break in the war.

AJ Sieges Back: Shogun’s City Targeted in New HIGH Op

Land claim opponent ajqtrz has countered BB’s recent siege with one of his own, and will hope for a similar outcome. After B!B successfully razed AJ’s city of Doralia 2, the prolific editorialist put down his writing pen and once again initiated a siege on B!B leader Shogun no Yari directly in his alliance’s land claim. The Herald reported the details as follows:

Player Under Siege: Shogun no Yari [B¦B] City: Renegade Mountain [263|-2732] in The Orken Coast Sieger: ajqtrz2 [HIGH] Date/Time: Sat 25 Jul 17:31

Due to poor terrain, AJ literally faces an uphill battle. Shogun’s city of Renegade Mountain lives up to its name, sitting atop a large mountain. In Illyriad, spears and ranged weapons benefit immensely in defending from the high ground, gaining 20% and 30% terrain bonuses, respectively.

ajqtrz, on the other hand, placed his siege on a small hill, a largely null-set terrain modifier. Once again, he has not set up an accompanying blockade.

HIGH has mounted several sieges in the ongoing HIGH/B!B war, however, of them have results in a successful raze or capture of a B!B. B!B has managed two razes on AJ.

AJ’s City Razed by B!B, TVM Triumphs Against Stomps in Northmarch

Lorcan pictured storming Valdorum’s city in Northmarch. Photo courtesy of Jasper Stonescrotum

Morning this day in Illyriad opened to the completion of two high profile sieges, marking the first blood drawn in the B!B/HIGH conflict as well as the sixth successful razing of a Stomps city in the Broken lands.

In the late hours, server time, B!B reportedly took down ajqtrz2’s city of Elgoria 2 BH-B2. As of last night, there had been fierce fighting in the dense Almenly forests at the site of the siege, with AJ and his compatriots mounting the best defense they could muster. The Times reported yesterday that the B!B blockade was successfully broken, which allowed HIGH to run much-needed basic resources into the city for prestige building. However, the dual B!B sieges, which landed at precisely the same time and were firing on the hour, must have proved insurmountable even to pres building as the catapults became increasingly accurate over time.

Over in Northmarch, however, it was the tale of two cities, as TVM’s successful raze of Valdorum proved to be a variable cakewalk compared to AJ’s tenacious defense.

The Shadow War: HIGH/B!B Conflict Puts ajqtrz, Land Claimers on the Same Battlefield

Siege engineers clear staging grounds for B!B siege engines. Photo courtesy of Felicity Rumplebrest.

Forum jabs, GC flame-ups and rumors have suggested an escalating conflict between ajqtrz’s alliance The Sanctuary [HIGH] and Broken Blades [B!B] — two alliances that, for whatever their reasons are for fighting, each embody the polemics of the current Stomp/claimers war. Arguably, ajqtrz is one of the architects of the anti-land claim movement — his epic posts in the Illy forums have sought to link the imposition of land claims as an affront on the very idea of Illyriad, all while frustrating his rhetorical opponents at times with his tautological approach to debate.

B!B, on the other hand, is a land claiming alliance that holds diplomatic relationships with a number of other BL claimers, including SIN. Led by their often confrontational leader Shogun no Yari, B!B has sparred with ajqtrz and the land claim issue in a number of venues, the newest of which being the Illy battlefield.

Today, in two perfectly-timed sieges, B!B made the Herald’s siege section on AJ’s alt account’s cryptically-named city of Elegoria 2 BH-B2:

ajqtrz2 [HIGH] Elegoria 2 BH-B2 [-4|-2552] in Almenly Rosie Blackeye [B¦B] Mon 13 Jul 04:00
ajqtrz2 [HIGH] Elegoria 2 BH-B2 [-5|-2552] in Almenly Shogun no Yari [B¦B] Mon 13 Jul 04:00

With AJ2’s city placed in the midst of the dense Almenly forest, B!B will likely take advantage of infantry in their two sieges, which receive a favorable 25% terrain bonus in large forests.

Neither HIGH nor B!B have made many headlines in the war thus far, perhaps because HIGH’s war declaration on B!B alone has kept it out of conflict with the other land claimer alliances. That being said, the HIGH/B!B conflict is inextricably linked to the Stomp/claimers war: HIGH maintains a NAP with Stomp, B!B with the likes of SIN. AJ has led the fierce criticism of land claims — bar none — and B!B’s Shogun has answered him in debate more than once.

Given ajqtrz’s role as thought leader in land claim opposition, it remains to be seen what the implications of his alt’s city being targeted in the war will be. Prior to establishing HIGH, AJ did a stint in WoT, and could potentially wield any strong ties he has with the top-10 alliance and leverage their BL presence to be a game-changer in his war with B!B.

In the meantime, B!B appears to be in a strong position to execute a raze, thus tying this conflict to the Stomp/claimers war.

[UPDATED 20:57 ST — HIGH has broken the blockade on ajqtrz2’s city. The two sieges are still in place.]