sugarvalves [1963573] —
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As yet another well-known faction falls into obscurity, we ask who is really to blame for the death of the Dropbears; their leader, their factionbase, or Chedburn.
The Dropbears faction was sold by its leader Shak last week to DeaLeR for a reported fee of $16.5billion, with the outfit now expected to become a subfaction to Nuclear Blast after the purchase was orchestrated by their leader Stockboy.
This means that within the space of a few weeks yet another famous Torn faction has changed hands, as Dropbears' sale took place not long after Tascon unloaded Memento Mori to Saitoma.

News of Dropbears' availability was first announced at the end of July via a forum post made by Shak advertising its sale. An opening price of $20billion proved a stumbling block at first, with the fee reduced to $18billion and eventually $16.5billion in an attempt to find a buyer.
This relatively low fee indicates that all was not well within the faction at the time of its sale. I was first alerted to this situation by an anonymous former member of DB who told me what went down during the final days of the Dropbears.
"Long story short Shak went into ego mode, set faction perks to 10% rehab and sacrificed lots of our essential specials for crimes and PA [political assassinations] - a setup we decided on almost 1.5y back. So he got something for himself and ****ed everyone for that move. People complained. Caladan told him to his face that was an ego move so he cancelled the PA and kicked him, then said to everyone 'this is my faction, you do what I want' and set up for sale."
Rumours suggest that Shak's threats to sell the Dropbears were initially a bluff in the face of rebellion. In response, Dropbears' active members slowly began to depart, and co-leader Lickdapoo was removed leaving Shak in sole charge. The nameless messenger believes Lickdapoo's removal was a signal of Shak's intentions, and at this point, many in the faction, Anon included, realised that faecal matter was about to descend in a most southerly direction.
"It came as a real shock to all of us in the end, with all actives left, territories crumbling away etc, he had no choice but to sell."
I contacted Shak to find out whether this version of events was true, and from the very first message, he immediately seemed to be on the defensive:
"I have the feeling there is going to be some bullshit so I'd like to see it first and have right of reply...I don't see how there is any more than one story. I owned it and decided to sell. What's there to tell."
I posed Shak some of the anonymous accusations I'd received, but he replied that he had no comment to make and that it'd be more fun if the article was one-sided. He then directed me towards Aime, one of the longest and most active members of Dropbears besides himself, as someone who could shed light on the Dropbears' extinction.

Pictured: Rest in peace lil fella
"The major disagreement is on which upgrades to use respect on. He wanted rehab cost while others wanted the criminality branch to stay at max...and he wants a change, it's not easy leading a faction for years. He did make changes (especially the faction upgrade tree) that is unpopular with some. But you can't please everyone."
Dropbears had been heavily crime-orientated for a long time, with a Political Assassination team their goal since 2014. This mindset meant the faction found it hard to attract new members since their lack of chaining made respect hard to come by. But when a new wave of crime-happy players boosted their ranks - including eventual co-leader Lickdapoo - things began to change, as Aime explains.
"He organised faction competition and helped quicken the process of PA by inviting Rosie (a PA monster) to help train our 60 members. Special shoutout to Rosie for coming over to help us. This year we had successfully ran 2 PA teams, built a few 10* faction firms (I ranked up 2 of them #pride), unlocked bust nerve II (which is quite a feat us)."
Clearly, Lickdapoo exerted considerable influence upon the faction's direction - a situation likely to cause friction in even the most well established groups - but their achievements would not have been possible without Shak's hard work in the first place.
A faction bearing the name Dropbears first emerged six years ago, however, the present incarnation of these fictional, tree-dwelling psycho-koalas came about more recently. Several years ago, Shak moved the entire Dropbears factionbase over to a more highly upgraded faction which he'd purchased for $15billion out of his own pocket.
"He lost his TV to secure this new home for us. In the year that followed we see many old veterans quitting and even most of the core group members went inactive BUT we also manage to recruit new players who are serious and hunger to improve and be the best."
Aime says there was always a desire to find common ground between Shak and the rest of the team during disputes. He thinks that Shak changed quite a lot over the years and that while his job was never easy, he had managed to improve lately by adopting a softer approach and listening more to the opinions of others.
My anonymous source says otherwise, believing that Shak's actions were driven by a desire to save face and avoid a mutiny at the same time. They felt that Shak knew he had done wrong but his tough form of leadership meant he was unable to backtrack, giving the active members no choice but to leave.
"We were doing extremely well...what pushed Shak to what he did was high rehab bills, with not enough activity and cash to sustain a Xanax habit...In the end, we had 2 pa teams - a feat not many thought possible, as we had very young members and no pre-nerf busters."
"We were a family like faction. At least our active members. Probably a group of about 10 people who made. They were always around doing whatever they could. They were also the ones who it hit the hardest so they left. If you give years of your life and gameplay to a faction just to have it destroyed overnight that's not something people can live with and go on as if nothing happened."

Pictured: A picture of Xanax to break up the text.
There are two sides to every story. Aime believes Shak was entitled to lead Dropbears however he saw fit having given up so much to help the faction - something Shak presumably agrees with. Conversely, my anonymous source believes Shak owed a debt to those who followed him over the years, as they too put considerable time and effort into the faction.
I'd wager a sizeable proportion of the Dropbears' former factionbase falls into both camps on this matter. However, in this case, there is a third party who may be to blame for all these faction shenanigans; Chedburn, as Aime explains:
"This [Dropbears demise] is worsened by the update where we now have more choices and is able to reset upgrades compared to the old system...The new faction update pushes competitive players to join bigger family and is becoming more hostile to mid-tier non-family factions."
Aime believes that since players can switch factions to enjoy different upgrades instead of waiting for respects to reset to a different branch, this makes PA team recruitment for mid-level factions much harder since their HoF rivals are also running Political Assassination outfits too. My anonymous source disagrees.
"Nope that's complete bs...if anything the current tree setup enables mid-tier factions to outperform. A lot can be achieved proper planning and execution. Sure things like huge stead and voracity take a while with only around 30 members and of them 10-12 highly competitive, but blaming it on setups and changes is just being lazy."
Having already been blamed for website outages, forum trolls, England's exit from the World Cup and the recent death of Aretha Franklin, Chedburn was understandably reluctant to admit liability for the end of the Dropbears:
"Well competitive players will likely make the move to competitive factions which have larger member numbers. I think that's expected and there's not much we can do about that - more members = more respect = more upgrades."
"I think there are still substantial incentives for smaller factions among the more casual players & newbies. During raiding, factions with members will be less vulnerable. During competitive warfare, factions of certain sizes will be matched together."

A cursory glance at the profiles of former Dropbears members indicates many have been accepted into stronger factions, with Aime having joined 39th Street, Lickdapoo pitching up at JUX HQ, and Shak having slipped into the Honey Badgers.
Aime predicted that the remaining Dropbears' factionbase will likely form a subfaction to Nuclear Blast, believing the current tree system makes this the way to go for mid-tier outfits. As a member of 39th, Aime can now choose between different specialities and upgrades while remaining part of the same community, simply by switching between 39th's affiliates. And in a short interview, DeaLeR confirmed that a similar option will be offered to those who remained in the faction formerly known as the Dropbears:
"Nuclear Blast was full, timing was good...With this new faction we can distribute the upgrades by two factions and have the advantage of providing a greater variety of upgrades to our members and they can jump between both factions to enjoy the upgrades that suit their needs better."
It seems that much of the drama which caused Dropbears' destruction could have been avoided had the deal with Nuclear Blast been arranged sooner. Sadly, by the time everything was agreed upon, many Dropbears members were long since departed; and so, it seems, was Shak's desire to lead them.
Criticism can be levelled at all parties in this situation. Shak could have given the faction to chance to keep going if he was intent on retiring, but he made a rash decision when his judgement was questioned. Likewise, the members of Dropbears could have stuck around a little longer until a buyer was found, as after so many years of hard work, it seems odd they would all jump ship before knowing their faction's fate.
Either way, it seems that the changes to the upgrade system have created a new landscape for factions in Torn City. Now more than ever, membership of a faction family is of utmost importance, and those who cannot offer intra-family movement and a broad range of upgrades to their members risk being torn apart when opinions over the faction's direction start to differ.
My anonymous source predicts this same scenario will play out within other factions across Torn City, and to conclude this article, he offers the following words of wisdom to those who lead them:
"Even after all this I don't hold a grudge and I don't want us to go our separate ways on bad terms. He [Shak] was always very helpful and put a lot of effort into making us a great team."
"I just believe db needs its song to be sung, even if it's a requiem. I wanted our story to be told as a warning to other faction leaders. Without your core members your faction means nothing. Without people who live and bleed for a common cause, you're just sitting in a fancy bank, and an empty one at that."
This means that within the space of a few weeks yet another famous Torn faction has changed hands, as Dropbears' sale took place not long after Tascon unloaded Memento Mori to Saitoma.

News of Dropbears' availability was first announced at the end of July via a forum post made by Shak advertising its sale. An opening price of $20billion proved a stumbling block at first, with the fee reduced to $18billion and eventually $16.5billion in an attempt to find a buyer.
This relatively low fee indicates that all was not well within the faction at the time of its sale. I was first alerted to this situation by an anonymous former member of DB who told me what went down during the final days of the Dropbears.
"Long story short Shak went into ego mode, set faction perks to 10% rehab and sacrificed lots of our essential specials for crimes and PA [political assassinations] - a setup we decided on almost 1.5y back. So he got something for himself and ****ed everyone for that move. People complained. Caladan told him to his face that was an ego move so he cancelled the PA and kicked him, then said to everyone 'this is my faction, you do what I want' and set up for sale."
Rumours suggest that Shak's threats to sell the Dropbears were initially a bluff in the face of rebellion. In response, Dropbears' active members slowly began to depart, and co-leader Lickdapoo was removed leaving Shak in sole charge. The nameless messenger believes Lickdapoo's removal was a signal of Shak's intentions, and at this point, many in the faction, Anon included, realised that faecal matter was about to descend in a most southerly direction.
"It came as a real shock to all of us in the end, with all actives left, territories crumbling away etc, he had no choice but to sell."
I contacted Shak to find out whether this version of events was true, and from the very first message, he immediately seemed to be on the defensive:
"I have the feeling there is going to be some bullshit so I'd like to see it first and have right of reply...I don't see how there is any more than one story. I owned it and decided to sell. What's there to tell."
I posed Shak some of the anonymous accusations I'd received, but he replied that he had no comment to make and that it'd be more fun if the article was one-sided. He then directed me towards Aime, one of the longest and most active members of Dropbears besides himself, as someone who could shed light on the Dropbears' extinction.

Pictured: Rest in peace lil fella
"The major disagreement is on which upgrades to use respect on. He wanted rehab cost while others wanted the criminality branch to stay at max...and he wants a change, it's not easy leading a faction for years. He did make changes (especially the faction upgrade tree) that is unpopular with some. But you can't please everyone."
Dropbears had been heavily crime-orientated for a long time, with a Political Assassination team their goal since 2014. This mindset meant the faction found it hard to attract new members since their lack of chaining made respect hard to come by. But when a new wave of crime-happy players boosted their ranks - including eventual co-leader Lickdapoo - things began to change, as Aime explains.
"He organised faction competition and helped quicken the process of PA by inviting Rosie (a PA monster) to help train our 60 members. Special shoutout to Rosie for coming over to help us. This year we had successfully ran 2 PA teams, built a few 10* faction firms (I ranked up 2 of them #pride), unlocked bust nerve II (which is quite a feat us)."
Clearly, Lickdapoo exerted considerable influence upon the faction's direction - a situation likely to cause friction in even the most well established groups - but their achievements would not have been possible without Shak's hard work in the first place.
A faction bearing the name Dropbears first emerged six years ago, however, the present incarnation of these fictional, tree-dwelling psycho-koalas came about more recently. Several years ago, Shak moved the entire Dropbears factionbase over to a more highly upgraded faction which he'd purchased for $15billion out of his own pocket.
"He lost his TV to secure this new home for us. In the year that followed we see many old veterans quitting and even most of the core group members went inactive BUT we also manage to recruit new players who are serious and hunger to improve and be the best."
Aime says there was always a desire to find common ground between Shak and the rest of the team during disputes. He thinks that Shak changed quite a lot over the years and that while his job was never easy, he had managed to improve lately by adopting a softer approach and listening more to the opinions of others.
My anonymous source says otherwise, believing that Shak's actions were driven by a desire to save face and avoid a mutiny at the same time. They felt that Shak knew he had done wrong but his tough form of leadership meant he was unable to backtrack, giving the active members no choice but to leave.
"We were doing extremely well...what pushed Shak to what he did was high rehab bills, with not enough activity and cash to sustain a Xanax habit...In the end, we had 2 pa teams - a feat not many thought possible, as we had very young members and no pre-nerf busters."
"We were a family like faction. At least our active members. Probably a group of about 10 people who made. They were always around doing whatever they could. They were also the ones who it hit the hardest so they left. If you give years of your life and gameplay to a faction just to have it destroyed overnight that's not something people can live with and go on as if nothing happened."

Pictured: A picture of Xanax to break up the text.
There are two sides to every story. Aime believes Shak was entitled to lead Dropbears however he saw fit having given up so much to help the faction - something Shak presumably agrees with. Conversely, my anonymous source believes Shak owed a debt to those who followed him over the years, as they too put considerable time and effort into the faction.
I'd wager a sizeable proportion of the Dropbears' former factionbase falls into both camps on this matter. However, in this case, there is a third party who may be to blame for all these faction shenanigans; Chedburn, as Aime explains:
"This [Dropbears demise] is worsened by the update where we now have more choices and is able to reset upgrades compared to the old system...The new faction update pushes competitive players to join bigger family and is becoming more hostile to mid-tier non-family factions."
Aime believes that since players can switch factions to enjoy different upgrades instead of waiting for respects to reset to a different branch, this makes PA team recruitment for mid-level factions much harder since their HoF rivals are also running Political Assassination outfits too. My anonymous source disagrees.
"Nope that's complete bs...if anything the current tree setup enables mid-tier factions to outperform. A lot can be achieved proper planning and execution. Sure things like huge stead and voracity take a while with only around 30 members and of them 10-12 highly competitive, but blaming it on setups and changes is just being lazy."
Having already been blamed for website outages, forum trolls, England's exit from the World Cup and the recent death of Aretha Franklin, Chedburn was understandably reluctant to admit liability for the end of the Dropbears:
"Well competitive players will likely make the move to competitive factions which have larger member numbers. I think that's expected and there's not much we can do about that - more members = more respect = more upgrades."
"I think there are still substantial incentives for smaller factions among the more casual players & newbies. During raiding, factions with members will be less vulnerable. During competitive warfare, factions of certain sizes will be matched together."

A cursory glance at the profiles of former Dropbears members indicates many have been accepted into stronger factions, with Aime having joined 39th Street, Lickdapoo pitching up at JUX HQ, and Shak having slipped into the Honey Badgers.
Aime predicted that the remaining Dropbears' factionbase will likely form a subfaction to Nuclear Blast, believing the current tree system makes this the way to go for mid-tier outfits. As a member of 39th, Aime can now choose between different specialities and upgrades while remaining part of the same community, simply by switching between 39th's affiliates. And in a short interview, DeaLeR confirmed that a similar option will be offered to those who remained in the faction formerly known as the Dropbears:
"Nuclear Blast was full, timing was good...With this new faction we can distribute the upgrades by two factions and have the advantage of providing a greater variety of upgrades to our members and they can jump between both factions to enjoy the upgrades that suit their needs better."
It seems that much of the drama which caused Dropbears' destruction could have been avoided had the deal with Nuclear Blast been arranged sooner. Sadly, by the time everything was agreed upon, many Dropbears members were long since departed; and so, it seems, was Shak's desire to lead them.
Criticism can be levelled at all parties in this situation. Shak could have given the faction to chance to keep going if he was intent on retiring, but he made a rash decision when his judgement was questioned. Likewise, the members of Dropbears could have stuck around a little longer until a buyer was found, as after so many years of hard work, it seems odd they would all jump ship before knowing their faction's fate.
Either way, it seems that the changes to the upgrade system have created a new landscape for factions in Torn City. Now more than ever, membership of a faction family is of utmost importance, and those who cannot offer intra-family movement and a broad range of upgrades to their members risk being torn apart when opinions over the faction's direction start to differ.
My anonymous source predicts this same scenario will play out within other factions across Torn City, and to conclude this article, he offers the following words of wisdom to those who lead them:
"Even after all this I don't hold a grudge and I don't want us to go our separate ways on bad terms. He [Shak] was always very helpful and put a lot of effort into making us a great team."
"I just believe db needs its song to be sung, even if it's a requiem. I wanted our story to be told as a warning to other faction leaders. Without your core members your faction means nothing. Without people who live and bleed for a common cause, you're just sitting in a fancy bank, and an empty one at that."
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