DominicV [2289277] —
Original article
City shaken by faction warring. JFK, SA, R and NS all involved. Racket extortion blamed for upturn in aggression. Main factions primed for involvement in proxy wars.
Torn City has once again erupted into war after several months of relative tranquillity. While last Autumn's Tornobyl incident involved the dropping of a few nukes and comparatively little fighting on the ground, this time some of the city’s most powerful criminal organizations are going toe to toe in a series of violent territorial battles.
At the time of writing Subversive Alliance and JFK are presently engaged in a conflict in the southwest part of the city. Meanwhile, sub-factions of Relentless and Natural Selection have been warring in Sectors 6 and 7. And all of this comes after the most violent weekend in Torn City's history, with 1.2 million attacking hits made on the 14th and 15th of February, and a decade high of 35,000 active users registered on those days too.
With regards to the first conflict, JFK, which is number 26 in the respect rankings, is currently taking on second-ranked Subversive Alliance. SA’s leader, Midknight, claims that JFK started the war, stating that “JFK assaulted us to add wall targets for their chain. We figured if they wanted wall targets so bad we’d give them some and assaulted back.”
JFK’s leader Z_junior did not deny this accusation, telling the Times that JFK’s “warring season” has begun, adding that JFK likes, “to open with a bang. And what better bang than the #1 faction in all of Torn which is SA.” But according to Midknight, “No one's winning” at the moment, with this quote suggesting that a stalemate is in place between these two goliaths of the Torn City faction scene.
This doesn’t seem quite right. SA is defending its territory well and they slowly but surely overcame JFK’s sector 4 plot VFB. At the time of writing, SA was defending against a counterattack mounted by JFK against CEB. The deck appears slightly stacked in Subversive Alliance's favour.
Z_Junior admitted that SA is winning the war and that they are presently stronger than JFK, but he made it clear that his side has a longer-term goal in mind than a mere territorial victory. Having been dethroned as Torn's top faction by Insurgency last year, JFK is reportedly carving out a new role for itself in Torn City after several months of rebuilding.
"What we did choose was to go back to our roots and what our name stands for: Just Fer Killin. The original JFK wasn't a top faction but it was a faction that didn't fear anyone and that didn't shy away from anyone. Its main drive and purpose was to challenge those better than us, find a way to break through obstacles and cause plenty of damage and wreak havoc in the process."
On the surface, this fight between SA and JFK doesn't seem to have gotten going just yet, so let's hope Z_junior's promise of damage and havoc comes to pass. Midknight told us that he expected the fight to get serious only if JFK 2.1 were unleashed onto the battlefield to join their main faction. However, during our interview with Z_junior, he appeared to reject this possibility.
"JFK 2.1 faction is our pride and joy and it has been a leader in the transformation JFK as a whole is going through. We don't plan to actively use them in our current war for the simplest reason that SA hasn't engaged any guests on their side or additional resources that they have. And we have the utmost respect for that. This has truly been as close to 1 on 1 as any war in Torn can be and we will try to keep it that way."
Whether this 1 on 1 war will remain as such depends on how threatened Midknight feels SA's rackets are, as there remains the possibility that he will deploy his sub-factions and allies if SA's income starts to become affected. Midknight told the Times they would only call upon their friends "if we felt above all else we could not handle the situation."
With regards to the purpose of the war, Z_junior feels that “rackets for now are not a major player in this”. Midknight suggested otherwise, and hinted that JFK's attack on his side may have been motivated by their recent habit of using racket extortion tactics to shake down weaker factions.
"It's definitely a possibility. Can never put anything past JFK and Co."
Pictured: Is the tide finally turning against extortion tactics?
As we watch with hope that the war between JFK and SA will slowly gather steam, another serious battle has already taken place in sectors 2 and 3 just east of Big Al’s Gun Shop. Here, a fight broke out between affiliates of Torn's number one faction Relentless and number 7 ranked Natural Selection, when Waste Management, who are linked to NS, attacked Relentless Bomb Factory's holdings.
This incident lead to players from both main factions meeting on the respective territorial walls of their affiliates. There is no fighting going on at present, with a stretch of occupied territory currently separating WM and RBF. Stretch, TC Officer and leader of NS, revealed that his side started the war, admitting that “we went for some rackets,” owned by proxies of Relentless.
Two of the proxies are known to be The Tree and The 2nd Tree. These and two other factions, V.V.V. and SPECTRE, set up fake wars with Relentless to block NS’ advance on the rackets - rackets which gave Relentless over $40 million in Xanax and pure cash every day.
Despite Relentless’ defensive actions, NS has now taken hold of the rackets on territories VWD and ROE. However, as you can see from the image above, Waste Management's territories are directly bordered by V.V.V., The Tree and The 2nd Tree, so fighting could break out again if either side calls for reinforcements in an effort to assert dominance over the area.
Stretch implied that he would call for extra troops if Relentless sent Unrelenting into the area to put down Waste Management, and he went on to reveal that the motive for NS' initial assault was Relentless' involvement in racket extortion. A survey conducted by the Torn City Times in late January revealed that 58% of racket owners were paying their proceeds to Relentless or Subversive Alliance. And it appears that Stretch has had enough.
"I would be most happy if the rackets were spread among all factions, and that there was none of the proxy/extortion nonsense that is prevalent in the game. Our intention is to take rackets by force for NS while avoiding extortion and the use of proxies. At some point, we can only watch other factions rake in billions while we let it go."
Natural Selection's ambition of a racket system without extortion is a desirable one, but that doesn't mean that their current actions are geared towards achieving such a goal. If NS manage to put a dent in Relentless' racket hegemony, and if JFK does the same to SA, does anyone really think they'll give up those hard-earned rackets to weaker factions?
Pictured: Wish in one hand and s**t in the other, see which one fills up first.
Of course they won't give up their rackets or the proceeds. And why should they? if NS and JFK manage to triumph, they will have earned their rewards, and all that will change is a broadening of the extortion and protection scheme which is already in place. One cannot imagine Relentless or Subversive Alliance taking this lying down, though, as this fight is about much more than the ownership of one or two rackets.
As Stretch intimated, Relentless and Subversive Alliance have run roughshod over smaller factions for months now, repeatedly extorting racket proceeds from weaker sides - often doing so through the use of threats or under the guise of protection. However, if these two are defeated, it could be they will inevitably lose some of their influence over other factions. This may be an optimistic view, but you have to imagine that at least a few more factions may try their luck in the face of threats - whether or not they will succeed is another matter entirely.
Either way, it appears Relentless are taking their time to reassess their strategy at present. Stretch says that he is proud of what his members have achieved so far, but he admits he needs them to “keep vigilant, stay persistent, do not give an inch and take what you can.” It may look like NS has won for the time being, but it would be strange indeed if Relentless didn’t counterpunch. And when they do, the whole of Torn will feel it.
Unfortunately, none of Relentless’ leaders would speak to us, and _TB, leader of The Tree, even told us to “f**k off.” If you are a member of Relentless or one of their affiliates and you would like to speak to us anonymously, please contact Sugarvalves today - you will be rewarded handsomely for your insights.
In lieu of any comments by the Relentless side, I will leave the final word to JFK leader Z_junior, who had the following comments to make on how the 2019 Insurgency war led to the situation we have today.
"As far as rackets go... The island war last year reshaped the Torn landscape. It was decided by 1,400 people who have decided to actively support Relentless in their quest to rule Torn and overthrow the old guard. So, the people of Torn got what they wanted - JFK is no longer in charge, they have new factions on top who set the rules, and if those rulers decide to extort you, then either raise a voice and do something about it, or accept the fate you have picked for yourself when you supported them last year."
At the time of writing Subversive Alliance and JFK are presently engaged in a conflict in the southwest part of the city. Meanwhile, sub-factions of Relentless and Natural Selection have been warring in Sectors 6 and 7. And all of this comes after the most violent weekend in Torn City's history, with 1.2 million attacking hits made on the 14th and 15th of February, and a decade high of 35,000 active users registered on those days too.
With regards to the first conflict, JFK, which is number 26 in the respect rankings, is currently taking on second-ranked Subversive Alliance. SA’s leader, Midknight, claims that JFK started the war, stating that “JFK assaulted us to add wall targets for their chain. We figured if they wanted wall targets so bad we’d give them some and assaulted back.”
JFK’s leader Z_junior did not deny this accusation, telling the Times that JFK’s “warring season” has begun, adding that JFK likes, “to open with a bang. And what better bang than the #1 faction in all of Torn which is SA.” But according to Midknight, “No one's winning” at the moment, with this quote suggesting that a stalemate is in place between these two goliaths of the Torn City faction scene.
This doesn’t seem quite right. SA is defending its territory well and they slowly but surely overcame JFK’s sector 4 plot VFB. At the time of writing, SA was defending against a counterattack mounted by JFK against CEB. The deck appears slightly stacked in Subversive Alliance's favour.
Z_Junior admitted that SA is winning the war and that they are presently stronger than JFK, but he made it clear that his side has a longer-term goal in mind than a mere territorial victory. Having been dethroned as Torn's top faction by Insurgency last year, JFK is reportedly carving out a new role for itself in Torn City after several months of rebuilding.
"What we did choose was to go back to our roots and what our name stands for: Just Fer Killin. The original JFK wasn't a top faction but it was a faction that didn't fear anyone and that didn't shy away from anyone. Its main drive and purpose was to challenge those better than us, find a way to break through obstacles and cause plenty of damage and wreak havoc in the process."
On the surface, this fight between SA and JFK doesn't seem to have gotten going just yet, so let's hope Z_junior's promise of damage and havoc comes to pass. Midknight told us that he expected the fight to get serious only if JFK 2.1 were unleashed onto the battlefield to join their main faction. However, during our interview with Z_junior, he appeared to reject this possibility.
"JFK 2.1 faction is our pride and joy and it has been a leader in the transformation JFK as a whole is going through. We don't plan to actively use them in our current war for the simplest reason that SA hasn't engaged any guests on their side or additional resources that they have. And we have the utmost respect for that. This has truly been as close to 1 on 1 as any war in Torn can be and we will try to keep it that way."
Whether this 1 on 1 war will remain as such depends on how threatened Midknight feels SA's rackets are, as there remains the possibility that he will deploy his sub-factions and allies if SA's income starts to become affected. Midknight told the Times they would only call upon their friends "if we felt above all else we could not handle the situation."
With regards to the purpose of the war, Z_junior feels that “rackets for now are not a major player in this”. Midknight suggested otherwise, and hinted that JFK's attack on his side may have been motivated by their recent habit of using racket extortion tactics to shake down weaker factions.
"It's definitely a possibility. Can never put anything past JFK and Co."
Pictured: Is the tide finally turning against extortion tactics?
As we watch with hope that the war between JFK and SA will slowly gather steam, another serious battle has already taken place in sectors 2 and 3 just east of Big Al’s Gun Shop. Here, a fight broke out between affiliates of Torn's number one faction Relentless and number 7 ranked Natural Selection, when Waste Management, who are linked to NS, attacked Relentless Bomb Factory's holdings.
This incident lead to players from both main factions meeting on the respective territorial walls of their affiliates. There is no fighting going on at present, with a stretch of occupied territory currently separating WM and RBF. Stretch, TC Officer and leader of NS, revealed that his side started the war, admitting that “we went for some rackets,” owned by proxies of Relentless.
Two of the proxies are known to be The Tree and The 2nd Tree. These and two other factions, V.V.V. and SPECTRE, set up fake wars with Relentless to block NS’ advance on the rackets - rackets which gave Relentless over $40 million in Xanax and pure cash every day.
Despite Relentless’ defensive actions, NS has now taken hold of the rackets on territories VWD and ROE. However, as you can see from the image above, Waste Management's territories are directly bordered by V.V.V., The Tree and The 2nd Tree, so fighting could break out again if either side calls for reinforcements in an effort to assert dominance over the area.
Stretch implied that he would call for extra troops if Relentless sent Unrelenting into the area to put down Waste Management, and he went on to reveal that the motive for NS' initial assault was Relentless' involvement in racket extortion. A survey conducted by the Torn City Times in late January revealed that 58% of racket owners were paying their proceeds to Relentless or Subversive Alliance. And it appears that Stretch has had enough.
"I would be most happy if the rackets were spread among all factions, and that there was none of the proxy/extortion nonsense that is prevalent in the game. Our intention is to take rackets by force for NS while avoiding extortion and the use of proxies. At some point, we can only watch other factions rake in billions while we let it go."
Natural Selection's ambition of a racket system without extortion is a desirable one, but that doesn't mean that their current actions are geared towards achieving such a goal. If NS manage to put a dent in Relentless' racket hegemony, and if JFK does the same to SA, does anyone really think they'll give up those hard-earned rackets to weaker factions?
Pictured: Wish in one hand and s**t in the other, see which one fills up first.
Of course they won't give up their rackets or the proceeds. And why should they? if NS and JFK manage to triumph, they will have earned their rewards, and all that will change is a broadening of the extortion and protection scheme which is already in place. One cannot imagine Relentless or Subversive Alliance taking this lying down, though, as this fight is about much more than the ownership of one or two rackets.
As Stretch intimated, Relentless and Subversive Alliance have run roughshod over smaller factions for months now, repeatedly extorting racket proceeds from weaker sides - often doing so through the use of threats or under the guise of protection. However, if these two are defeated, it could be they will inevitably lose some of their influence over other factions. This may be an optimistic view, but you have to imagine that at least a few more factions may try their luck in the face of threats - whether or not they will succeed is another matter entirely.
Either way, it appears Relentless are taking their time to reassess their strategy at present. Stretch says that he is proud of what his members have achieved so far, but he admits he needs them to “keep vigilant, stay persistent, do not give an inch and take what you can.” It may look like NS has won for the time being, but it would be strange indeed if Relentless didn’t counterpunch. And when they do, the whole of Torn will feel it.
Unfortunately, none of Relentless’ leaders would speak to us, and _TB, leader of The Tree, even told us to “f**k off.” If you are a member of Relentless or one of their affiliates and you would like to speak to us anonymously, please contact Sugarvalves today - you will be rewarded handsomely for your insights.
In lieu of any comments by the Relentless side, I will leave the final word to JFK leader Z_junior, who had the following comments to make on how the 2019 Insurgency war led to the situation we have today.
"As far as rackets go... The island war last year reshaped the Torn landscape. It was decided by 1,400 people who have decided to actively support Relentless in their quest to rule Torn and overthrow the old guard. So, the people of Torn got what they wanted - JFK is no longer in charge, they have new factions on top who set the rules, and if those rulers decide to extort you, then either raise a voice and do something about it, or accept the fate you have picked for yourself when you supported them last year."
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