[Interview] SG of Asteria

Day 3,196, 20:42 • Published in Norway Denmark • by Joshua Morriseau


1. Greetings vladb and thank you for agreeing to an interview. First off, can you tell our readers a little bit more about you and your history in eRepublik?
My name is Vlad and currently living in Bucharest,Romania.I was playing Hattrick (an online football manager) and some friends from Hattrick kept bugging about this new game called eRepublik and at some point I decided to give it a try.At first did not believe that I would play the game for more than a month but well...8 years later and still here (my friends have given up on the game long time ago).When I joined the game there were no battles (weird to imagine that now) and the game looked pretty complex and hard to understand for a newbie.The economy and having a newspaper where you could write articles with analisys about the economy and that article could be voted by more than 50 people (I mean 50 people really appreciated what I had wrote..wow) is what kept me into the game in the beggining.As the economy went to a downward spiral I have moved to watching media from other countries and how decisions taken by countries impact other countries, started to wrote about that, then expanded to more complex analisys about alliances, scenarios for possible alliances,etc. Unfortunatelly now the media module is mostly dying, so I think it is hard for new players to find motivation and something wow to keep them in the game.

2. Currently you are SG of Asteria. Can you explain a little bit more about your role and why you think your role is essential to the HQ of Asteria?
Asteria had and still has a great HQ team and the results of the alliance prove that.We work very well as a team and also have fun (it’s not always work). Asteria is an old alliance and whenever we pick new members we make sure they fit, that makes the HQ work a lot easier.Every role in HQ is important, the Foreign Affairs team makes great work in making sure we keep old friends and make new ones, in fact the Foreign Affairs team is the first line of defense.The Military Team is essential in planning military actions when we decide to attack and have provided us clear and swift victories.The Secretary team 🙂 keeps it all together.

3. Asteria recently wiped Croatia and kept them from having Congress for the very first time in their history. What does this prove for Asteria?
The purpose of the action was not really to make it an historical event, it’s hard to imagine that you can accomplish something that has not been accomplished these days but we are glad we could make it.It was a well planned and coordinated campaign and it proved once again Asteria’s power.There were some questioning Asteria’s power before the campaign, taking into account alliance changes, but I think we have answered to those questions.



4. Many people have been calling for the end to Asteria for a long time saying that it had even made the game obsolete during certain times. Do you think Asteria’s refusal to fold in had made the game boring and not worth playing at times?
These ideas are not new.Every time an alliance manages to have the upperhand over another alliance the “let’s keep the balance” motto appears.I believe that if you are in a weaker position it is your job to make your position stronger, not expect from the other ones to get weaker.Usually the strategy used is to make the stronger alliance just a little bit weaker.Asteria’s purpose is to be strong and provide our communities fun, influence and the resources necessary to have the upperhand also in the future.It’s the other alliances job to provide the same for their communities but they have to work for it.

5. Earlier this year Asteria lost some key members of the alliance. What kind of impact did it have on the alliance as a whole?
As mentioned previously one strategy is to make the dominant alliance weaker.One tactic to achieve that is getting high profile players on your side (although the majority of the community does not agree to that change), maybe use Dictatorship, switch sides and hope the rest of the target community will adapt over time.It’s a tactic that has been tested in the past.

It wasn’t the perfect outcome for Asteria but we have recovered well.If those communities have reached their goals (I would say not) is for them to asses and their leaders to provide the answers.

6. New alliances began breathing life for the first time over the past year or so. How does Asteria move forward in a world where your membership slowly dwindles while other alliances continue rise?
Alliance reshaping is part of the game and Asteria couldn’t have survived this long if it couldn’t predict the reshapes and play a role in them.Asteria is a major player in the alliance world, we will keep monitoring alliance reshaping and act accordingly.The world of mega alliances seems to be over and it is now a world of more players in the alliance world that need to adapt and move quickly.In order to do that you need to have good relations inside your own alliance and I think this is where Asteria does a better job than the rest.


7. Some seem to think that ‘Pacifica’ is the new Asteria. Do you think that statement holds any truth to it?
Both alliances are strong but I think their goals and style of play are different.I think each alliance should find the best style for them and not copy others.

8. Norway has long being a supporter of Asteria since our Asgard days. What does Asteria do for smaller allied nations who are not large enough to join the alliance, but still pledge loyalty and fight for you?
We do work with a lot of communities and not only those that are members of Asteria. Asteria has recently provided assistance to Norway in defending against an AirStrike.

9. Asteria has three different levels of membership, one of those being a ‘Partner Country.’ What do you think would be the reaction of Asteria members if Norway applied to be a ‘Partner Country’ to the alliance?
For each request we make an assessment, see how it fits with our goals and then decide.

10. I usually like to wrap up my interviews by asking this question. What nation do you think eRepublik should add next, if any?
If eRepublik wants to add new countries it needs careful consideration.They could assess statistics regarding number of online players for a specific kind of game or use the statistics they have from the other games the company has developed, employ some kind of marketing campaign to attract players from that country.Just adding new countries without a plan does not seem right to me.Looking at the Resources War and how many resources of each type were allocated I would say that eRepublik does not plan to add new countries very soon.

Most of the communities in eRepublik are based on RL national identity at the same time there are few communities inside eRepublik that are multinationals and are having fun and getting along well, there are also groups with the same national identity that have moved to a different country.I think there are enough countries right now in eRepublik to suit all kinds of style of play.



Thank you to everyone who is still reading after all of that! This concludes my interview. I must thank Co-Secrataries of Foreign Affairs for Asteria vladb for agreeing and taking the time to do this interview. I didn't think I would be able to get anyone in a major alliance HQ to sit down with me, but ask and you shall receive. Lets try and make this the first in a series. Your next Pacifica!

As always don't forget to Vote, Subscribe, Shout & Endorse!

Kind Regards,