howyadoin [2031433] —
Original article
In the first in a new series of articles, Faction Focus takes a closer look at 39th Street Killers, the holders of the oldest active faction ID in Torn City.
Hello and welcome to the first in a new series of articles focusing on the exploits and histories of Torn's most famous factions. In each edition, Faction focus will investigate one faction to find out what it's been up to, where it's heading and what makes it different to everyone else. The subject of our first Faction Focus is 39th Street Killers, who are currently led by Tyler.
"I am 39th's Most High, Most Mighty, the Thunderbolt, the Empyreal Lover, Ched's gift to the people, way sexier than Theo, and illustrious Supreme Leader of all 39th Factions."
At the time of writing, 39th Street Killers are ranked No. 3 in the Hall of Fame for respect with a total of 6,041,534. They sit just two places above their family faction 39th Street Killers X, who are currently ranked in fifth, with this dual presence in the top ten matched only by one other family, Natural Selection. The other two 39th Street factions, 39th Haka and 39th Street Healers, are ranked 42nd and 68th respectively.
39th main's faction ID of 19 betrays the fact that they are the oldest existing faction in Torn City today, and their leader Tyler attributes their longevity and success to the unity fostered within their ranks.
"39th is a Family. You'll see me refer to that fact in my many posts. When I think of 39th, it's never as just a single faction. We're all in this together. None of what we've accomplished would be possible without the great set of guys and gals we have in each Faction's leadership spots."
Tyler believes that faction families are better than solitary outfits, with the most important reason being that there is always strength in numbers. However, 39th's leader also mentions the ability to use friendly walls for respect farming as a reason to form a family, as well as the ability to jump over to other factions to make use of certain specials - the latter being especially useful for keeping members happy and attracting new players.
"A faction is at its core, just a group of players," Tyler said. "Those players work together attacking others to build up respect that allows the faction to upgrade certain parts of Torn for the benefit of everyone in the faction. The more upgrades you want, the more expensive they become and thus the more chaining you have to do."
"Large HoF factions regularly knock out several 10ks and even 25k chains every month. Chains are hard work, but if everyone pulls their own weight the pros (upgrades) start to outweigh the cons (time and money), and you also will start to become closer to your faction mates as you chain together and grow as a group. A faction full of people who don't talk to each other or help each other (and the faction) grow, is useless and will fail."
At this point, new players may be wondering if 39th Street is the kind of faction family they might want to join. To help newcomers judge for themselves, we asked Tyler to describe 39th Street Killers as an ice cream flavor. Tyler suggested they'd be a "frozen margarita with a sugared rim... We're all extra sweet and spend too much time around us, and you'll end up naked and having a good time. I also realize frozen margaritas aren't ice cream, but ask yourself if you had to choose between the two, which would you [be] enjoying right now ..."
Pictured: 39th Street Killers, slaying conventions in every food group.
The topic of margaritas led to a discussion about the weekend, and Tyler said his idea of the perfect lazy Sunday is "two tall, long-legged, 10/10 blonde and redhead both with big boobs ... Oh wait, does this need to be PG-13?". We'll have to forgive Tyler for his chauvinistic comments, as remember, he is a very old man. In terms of game age, he is the oldest faction leader in the HoF top ten, and his experience means he rarely comes into contact with the next generation of Torn citizens.
"It's been a long time since I was new... 39th has a great team over in HAKA who specialize in helping new players. I'm not sure how Indent, Divalicious, Kayla and Fin handle the constant cycle of new players, but they are all amazing at what they do. New players will have lots of questions, and those four (and others) are always willing to answer any questions, not only in faction chat but in the question forums for the benefit of everyone. They have a largely thankless job, but I hope they all know how much I appreciate them."
Tyler was once a new player himself, of course, and he says that if he could travel back in time to advise his younger self, he'd teach him how to train properly. He swears by the three Xanax + refill daily ritual today, and he wishes he'd taken up this strategy earlier. Other tips Tyler would give his younger self include finding a faction with full toleration to keep the rehab bills down, and to train all stats equally, as "dex isn't sex, but it sure helps in the right balance."
Tyler's tone shifted somewhat when he was asked what he'd say to 39th Street's members if he could travel back to the past. After splitting from SUN around the year 2,000, 39th Street was founded by a long-departed player called Ace-t, who named the faction after the street on which he lived. Tyler admits errors have been made over the years, but he would seemingly repeat them all if given a chance.
"Hindsight is 20/20. There's been plenty of mistakes made in the past, but the combined experiences from those make us who we are today. We try not to dwell too much into the past, instead, we learn from what we can and focus on our future ..."
Pictured: Chaining memories.
Tyler said the greatest achievement of 39th Street Killers is their age. As the oldest faction in Torn in terms of their faction ID, they've gone through everything, from multiple dirty bombs to infamous vault scams; and when 39th needed to expand after reaching the 100 player limit, they encountered trouble once more.
"There were some issues after buying X and before HAKA. Born Fighting was wrongfully stolen by Woolis [1568593], and Dirty Bombed out of existence by our beloved rapid_riser [262223]. We picked up HAKA after and recently recognized wars are won through revives so bought a 1m respect faction and unlocked the 25E revives our self."
And yet every time they face a new challenge, 39th somehow manages to come back stronger than before. The four 39th factions are nearly full to the brim, and their allies have been moved closer to their territories to allow them to assist in wall chains. 39th also has an active leadership channel, with Tyler quoted as saying that "Much like a good marriage, communication is key, and we've gotten a lot better at that lately."
Indeed, Tyler says that 39th's faction upgrades were originally set by a democratic group vote, and have remained the same for a long time. These days, he only alters upgrades for special events and wars, with this task representing just one of the many responsibilities which come with leading a top HoF faction.
Money aside, Tyler grants faction permissions to everyone, with the exception being for cash, with only the leader or co-leader permitted to handle those sweet Torn City Dollars. But when it comes to coordinating the faction's goals across the whole family, Tyler says this task is made much easier through the use of administrative tools.
"We have an active discord, a calendar system that shows chaining dates, and a section on TornData where you can view the current specials of each faction in case you're looking for something special for a book or whatever. I'm also blessed to have a great set of people co-leading all of the 39th Family."
39th has been on a training and book break recently, but they've still managed to knock out a few 10k chains to push them over the 6 million respect total. This has allowed the faction to fill five special branches, including two nerve busts and a full rehab reduction. They are also close to +15 steadfast in several stats and plan on acquiring the necessary respect to fill them up as soon as possible.
Aside from that, 39th doesn't have any major plans for the future. Tyler says his troops will keep grinding away and building respect until new faction ranks and warring features are added. But if respect is their sole goal, you have to wonder why 39th decided against entering the recent Insurgency vs TUN war. Their potential participation in the conflict was a source of continuous speculation on the forums and in this very newspaper. So why did 39th avoid one of the biggest battles in recent history?
"We have friends on both sides coupled with past drama too... Choosing a side would have divided us. The only real option then, without starting an internal civil war, was to stay out of it. We allowed members to leave and join other factions during it and our revive faction did revives for both sides."
But if anyone believes that 39th Street is unwilling or incapable of fighting a war, think again. In his final quote, Tyler made it abundantly clear that 39th will become embroiled in conflict at some point in the future. And when this takes place, Tyler has a personal ambition of his he'd like to see fulfilled.
"I haven't yet dropped a dirty bomb. It's one of my long-term goals on Torn. No target, in particular, will probably drop one during a war to benefit 39th if I ever do it."
Drop a Dime
Are you a faction leader who would like your faction to be the subject of our next faction focus? If so, contact Howyadoin via chat, email or discord today. Alternatively, feel free to message Sugarvalves or use the Tell Your Story link via the newspaper.
"I am 39th's Most High, Most Mighty, the Thunderbolt, the Empyreal Lover, Ched's gift to the people, way sexier than Theo, and illustrious Supreme Leader of all 39th Factions."
At the time of writing, 39th Street Killers are ranked No. 3 in the Hall of Fame for respect with a total of 6,041,534. They sit just two places above their family faction 39th Street Killers X, who are currently ranked in fifth, with this dual presence in the top ten matched only by one other family, Natural Selection. The other two 39th Street factions, 39th Haka and 39th Street Healers, are ranked 42nd and 68th respectively.
39th main's faction ID of 19 betrays the fact that they are the oldest existing faction in Torn City today, and their leader Tyler attributes their longevity and success to the unity fostered within their ranks.
"39th is a Family. You'll see me refer to that fact in my many posts. When I think of 39th, it's never as just a single faction. We're all in this together. None of what we've accomplished would be possible without the great set of guys and gals we have in each Faction's leadership spots."
Tyler believes that faction families are better than solitary outfits, with the most important reason being that there is always strength in numbers. However, 39th's leader also mentions the ability to use friendly walls for respect farming as a reason to form a family, as well as the ability to jump over to other factions to make use of certain specials - the latter being especially useful for keeping members happy and attracting new players.
"A faction is at its core, just a group of players," Tyler said. "Those players work together attacking others to build up respect that allows the faction to upgrade certain parts of Torn for the benefit of everyone in the faction. The more upgrades you want, the more expensive they become and thus the more chaining you have to do."
"Large HoF factions regularly knock out several 10ks and even 25k chains every month. Chains are hard work, but if everyone pulls their own weight the pros (upgrades) start to outweigh the cons (time and money), and you also will start to become closer to your faction mates as you chain together and grow as a group. A faction full of people who don't talk to each other or help each other (and the faction) grow, is useless and will fail."
At this point, new players may be wondering if 39th Street is the kind of faction family they might want to join. To help newcomers judge for themselves, we asked Tyler to describe 39th Street Killers as an ice cream flavor. Tyler suggested they'd be a "frozen margarita with a sugared rim... We're all extra sweet and spend too much time around us, and you'll end up naked and having a good time. I also realize frozen margaritas aren't ice cream, but ask yourself if you had to choose between the two, which would you [be] enjoying right now ..."
Pictured: 39th Street Killers, slaying conventions in every food group.
The topic of margaritas led to a discussion about the weekend, and Tyler said his idea of the perfect lazy Sunday is "two tall, long-legged, 10/10 blonde and redhead both with big boobs ... Oh wait, does this need to be PG-13?". We'll have to forgive Tyler for his chauvinistic comments, as remember, he is a very old man. In terms of game age, he is the oldest faction leader in the HoF top ten, and his experience means he rarely comes into contact with the next generation of Torn citizens.
"It's been a long time since I was new... 39th has a great team over in HAKA who specialize in helping new players. I'm not sure how Indent, Divalicious, Kayla and Fin handle the constant cycle of new players, but they are all amazing at what they do. New players will have lots of questions, and those four (and others) are always willing to answer any questions, not only in faction chat but in the question forums for the benefit of everyone. They have a largely thankless job, but I hope they all know how much I appreciate them."
Tyler was once a new player himself, of course, and he says that if he could travel back in time to advise his younger self, he'd teach him how to train properly. He swears by the three Xanax + refill daily ritual today, and he wishes he'd taken up this strategy earlier. Other tips Tyler would give his younger self include finding a faction with full toleration to keep the rehab bills down, and to train all stats equally, as "dex isn't sex, but it sure helps in the right balance."
Tyler's tone shifted somewhat when he was asked what he'd say to 39th Street's members if he could travel back to the past. After splitting from SUN around the year 2,000, 39th Street was founded by a long-departed player called Ace-t, who named the faction after the street on which he lived. Tyler admits errors have been made over the years, but he would seemingly repeat them all if given a chance.
"Hindsight is 20/20. There's been plenty of mistakes made in the past, but the combined experiences from those make us who we are today. We try not to dwell too much into the past, instead, we learn from what we can and focus on our future ..."
Pictured: Chaining memories.
Tyler said the greatest achievement of 39th Street Killers is their age. As the oldest faction in Torn in terms of their faction ID, they've gone through everything, from multiple dirty bombs to infamous vault scams; and when 39th needed to expand after reaching the 100 player limit, they encountered trouble once more.
"There were some issues after buying X and before HAKA. Born Fighting was wrongfully stolen by Woolis [1568593], and Dirty Bombed out of existence by our beloved rapid_riser [262223]. We picked up HAKA after and recently recognized wars are won through revives so bought a 1m respect faction and unlocked the 25E revives our self."
And yet every time they face a new challenge, 39th somehow manages to come back stronger than before. The four 39th factions are nearly full to the brim, and their allies have been moved closer to their territories to allow them to assist in wall chains. 39th also has an active leadership channel, with Tyler quoted as saying that "Much like a good marriage, communication is key, and we've gotten a lot better at that lately."
Indeed, Tyler says that 39th's faction upgrades were originally set by a democratic group vote, and have remained the same for a long time. These days, he only alters upgrades for special events and wars, with this task representing just one of the many responsibilities which come with leading a top HoF faction.
Money aside, Tyler grants faction permissions to everyone, with the exception being for cash, with only the leader or co-leader permitted to handle those sweet Torn City Dollars. But when it comes to coordinating the faction's goals across the whole family, Tyler says this task is made much easier through the use of administrative tools.
"We have an active discord, a calendar system that shows chaining dates, and a section on TornData where you can view the current specials of each faction in case you're looking for something special for a book or whatever. I'm also blessed to have a great set of people co-leading all of the 39th Family."
39th has been on a training and book break recently, but they've still managed to knock out a few 10k chains to push them over the 6 million respect total. This has allowed the faction to fill five special branches, including two nerve busts and a full rehab reduction. They are also close to +15 steadfast in several stats and plan on acquiring the necessary respect to fill them up as soon as possible.
Aside from that, 39th doesn't have any major plans for the future. Tyler says his troops will keep grinding away and building respect until new faction ranks and warring features are added. But if respect is their sole goal, you have to wonder why 39th decided against entering the recent Insurgency vs TUN war. Their potential participation in the conflict was a source of continuous speculation on the forums and in this very newspaper. So why did 39th avoid one of the biggest battles in recent history?
"We have friends on both sides coupled with past drama too... Choosing a side would have divided us. The only real option then, without starting an internal civil war, was to stay out of it. We allowed members to leave and join other factions during it and our revive faction did revives for both sides."
But if anyone believes that 39th Street is unwilling or incapable of fighting a war, think again. In his final quote, Tyler made it abundantly clear that 39th will become embroiled in conflict at some point in the future. And when this takes place, Tyler has a personal ambition of his he'd like to see fulfilled.
"I haven't yet dropped a dirty bomb. It's one of my long-term goals on Torn. No target, in particular, will probably drop one during a war to benefit 39th if I ever do it."
Drop a Dime
Are you a faction leader who would like your faction to be the subject of our next faction focus? If so, contact Howyadoin via chat, email or discord today. Alternatively, feel free to message Sugarvalves or use the Tell Your Story link via the newspaper.
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