1. Where does the name Masterclass come from?
The name comes from the company (unpaid advertisement, psst!) that offers courses to learn stuff from the best in their business, be it Movie Directors, Chefs, IT Specialists or Gamers.
Spectre: "When I saw the name of MasterClass, the first thing I thought of was a Realms, where there would be teachers (Master-Elders) and students (less experienced players) and as a class, the former would finally teach the latter to perfect their game and learn new stuff; and I said to myself "I want to be part of that Class".
2. About your team, how did it form, how much of it was formed before the round started? How was it composed?
The idea behind MasterClass was to create a teaching realm, that offers new players and players who already know the game but want to take their experience to the next level a shot in the competitive world that Arkheim has to offer.
We gathered some teachers (read: quite experienced players willing to dedicate some time.) and started advertisement on Arkheim-Discord. Before Server start we had 12 accounts (?) and around 15 (?) players ready to go.
Important to note is that we only had 2 true beginners, who turned out to be some truly quick learners and super valuable assets, just like everyone else.
3. How did you organize communications and coordination within the Realm?
As most realms who like to do more than just ingame communication, we used Discord. Channel structure looks like:
#Shotcalling, #general #reminder #questions #war-shotcalling #war-discussion #reports and then a whole lot of "Knowledgebase" section that we put together over several servers.
4. Did you have clear habits or principles all your Realm members stick to?
Pinging every player should happen in emergencies only, to not make it a shrug-event.
When refilling, having to build a tower, move stuff away - that's when you ping specific players (unless close to 15 players have to refill, then you simply ping them all.)
One of the things Arkheim does, is that is values availability and routine more than activity, which means that everyone can put in as much time as they want, but as long as 1-2 players truly check the map and are super aware, a realm can strive and be successfull if most others react to Shotcalling.
5. Did you have "less experienced players" and how did you educate them?
Sirona: "As one of the inexperienced players, I found my time with MasterClass fascinating. I have played several rounds as a casual player but always felt there was something missing. A rising tide lifts all boats. This old time phrase describes MasterClass. Information about good play was shared from the first day. Expectations for team play was clear and well explained. Standards were given and followed by leaders as examples. Advice and encouragement was given at the village level. Questions were encouraged and answered. Now perhaps this sounds familiar to many realms, the key difference with MasterClass is that I never felt dismissed, talked down to, or ordered around. I didn't have to do something "because the leaders said so." It was clear how this action or that would help me and help the realms. Team play came first, individual account came second. The freedom the ask, to make mistakes without fear of ridicule, to learn while feeling like part of the team and not just a pawn is what stood apart for me. Not only did I get the experience of winning the server, I achieved the best account of my Arkheim career. I am leaving with new knowledge that will help me continue to play at a higher level. If we could do more of this teaching/learning in more realms, we would improve the competition and challenge for all realms. I truly thank the leaders and all of my team-mates for an amazing experience."
6. Were there unexpected events or surprises this round?
Turns out Jiav has a good hand for Diplomacy.
7. What was your biggest challenge of the round?
We did have a war on i2 when our portal has been heavily under fire by Velko, assisted by Sami Swoi and/or Toutatis - we managed to activate around 12 accounts at 3AM European - and yes, those were all the real account owners being logged in, don't you worry about that -
we put in some solid overhours that night - and got rewarded for it by never requiring heavy-duty night-shifts again after that.
Not only was that challenge a activity-check & a counter-challenge, but also if there was one more wave, we would have been solidly depleted and open to be declared on - and most likely've fallen behind massively.
8. When did you know you were going to win this round?
When the enemies stopped trying as hard as they did on i2 - Sami Swoi / Toutatis / Velko didn't team up to beat OG and us - and well, OG didn't bother backstabbing us, fortunately.
9. Did you notice any special tactics or moves your competitors used against you?
The tactic of not teaming up against the biggest threat, in this case being MasterClass.
10. Who are the heroes of your Realm, any special mentions?
Every.Single.One - special mention would be first and foremost Jiav who basically lead, supported by the Grab & Sim account -
but truthfully, scanning through the #shotcalling and #war-shotcalling channels you'll find most of our names appearing eventually, meaning everyone stepped it up when the time came and was curious what leadership-air would smell like.
11. Will there be Masterclass realm next round? Will the Realm members stick together and continue playing/chatting together?
Discord still exists, increasing the amount of people you know in the community always helps to identify slackers & good players - and we shall see what the future holds, overall has been a fun experience!
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