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Increase in wars expected after changes announced to wall-joining, guesting, and faction permissions system. Impact of proxies, burner and sub-factions to be significantly reduced.
Chedburn has announced a significant set of alterations will be made to the Faction Permissions and Territorial Warring systems on Tuesday the 21st of July. Chedburn’s full announcement can be read here, with the most impactful changes being the new five energy cost for joining an empty territory wall slot, and the introduction of the Faction Rank system, both of which are geared towards increasing the number of genuine wars in Torn City.

Pictured: The first of many Brass Eye gifs in this article.
ENERGY COSTS
First, let’s look at the new energy costs. To clarify, players who take the wall slot of a defeated opponent will not be charged energy, and nor will those who automatically join the wall at the start of a war. However, those who join an existing wall’s empty slot will now be charged five energy, and we hope this will increase real warring activity in a number of ways.
Under the old system, territory war farming between two non-hostile opponents was too beneficial for many factions to resist, as not only were there statistical advantages to be gained from fake-fighting a friendly faction, it also proved a way for factions to pass the time between actual wars. But you shouldn’t be “passing the time” in Torn City at all, you should be engaged in actual fights with people you hate who have things you want, so the 5 energy wall-joining cost will now reduce the net-respect advantage for farming from 33% to roughly 11%.
It is hoped that this energy cost will increase the number of genuine wars by also reducing the need for excessive revives, as we believe the cost of reviving has become prohibitive for most factions to even consider a light weekend skirmish. Presently, players can be revived and rejoin a wall instantly after defeat, and repeat this process until their maximum medical cooldown is reached. With the new energy cost in place, players will run out of energy long before they hit their medical cooldown, thus reducing the need for fighting factions to hire revive factions in order to remain competitive.
By reducing everyone’s revive bills, the results of territory wars will now be more determined by a faction’s strength, energy and activity than its bank balance, which should encourage more factions to take up arms. The elimination of free wall farming is also intended to prevent the use of scripts which could theoretically be used to place players on territory walls instantly. And finally, this change removes some substantial roadblocks in the on-going development of the Ranked Warring system.

Pictured: Ranked Warring, Coming Soon...
FACTION POSITIONS
The Faction Positions system is also intended to increase the number of wars being fought, while working to help faction leaders coordinate their troops easier than before. Faction Positions will entirely replace the Faction Permissions system, allowing leaders to name assign customised ranks to their members and attribute each one with its own specific permissions. For example, a Treasurer may have vault permissions, a Quartermaster might be assigned control over the faction armory, and a Faction Gimp might be given the right to be used as a punching bag by anyone who’s having a bad day.

Pictured: The new Positions system. You can use the colour red to identify members of your faction who are w*nk*rs, if you wish.
Aside from the leader and co-leader, all faction members will automatically receive the Member position when the system is rolled out on the 21st. Once it's up and running, leaders can assign the same Faction Position to multiple players if they wish, and also use colour coding to indicate whether it is a low, mid, or high-level position.
The only position which cannot be customised is the Recruit position, which is assigned to all players for the duration of their first 72-hours in the faction. This position cannot be given any permissions, and furthermore, Recruits will be unable to participate in chains, cause respect damage in raids, or join territory walls, among other things. Here is a full list of the Recruit position’s restrictions:
- Cannot be changed to any other position / given permissons
- Cannot benefit from any of the faction's tree specials
- Cannot participate in chains (their attacks will not contribute)
- Cannot participate in organised crimes (can't be selected during planning)
- Cannot join territory walls
- Cannot cause respect damage in raids ( can receive damage as normal)
- Cannot contribute towards your score in upcoming ranked warfare system
- Recruits cannot achieve War Bonus or the Default x3 Fair Fight bonus
The impact of this change will be positive for the vast majority of Torn’s factions, as many major factions rely on the swift movement of players between allies and sub-factions in order to wield greater power and influence than they actually possess or deserve. It is for this reason that the Faction Positions system was created, with the intention being to force factions to fight toe-to-toe using their actual members, rather than being able to draft in mercenaries and reinforcements at the drop of a hat.

Pictured: How racket extorters are feeling right now.
Earlier this year, I personally conducted an investigation into the impact of extortion upon the Territorial Racket system. After interviewing and researching hundreds of factions, I discovered that roughly 75% of those who owned a racket territory were paying out some or all of their proceeds to someone else, with many being extorted by a handful of top-level factions. Additional research conducted by a committee member backed up my findings and further revealed that a disproportionate level of extortion had been occurring for some time.
This situation was untenable, as while extortion and protection rackets are objectively interesting methods of gameplay, their impact upon the wider population of Torn was too great to sit by and do nothing. Many factions simply gave up their rackets willingly to avoid the drama associated with them, knowing that they stood no chance of fighting back against faraway foes who could land an army on their doorstep at a moment’s notice with little effort.
The introduction of the Recruit rank doesn’t stop players from moving factions, it just means they have more to think about when they do. Factions who ship their members off en masse to defend or attack on behalf of their allies and proxies will do so knowing they are useless for three days when they arrive. Additionally, it will take them another three days to become active upon their return, leaving their home faction shorthanded if trouble comes-a-knocking.

Pictured: What might happen if your troops leave for Sector 6.
The practice of using Burner Factions will also become harder under the new system. Previously, players could buy up a faction with 5,000 respect for a few million, load it up with players, and attack an enemy with no risk to their home faction. They could then repeat this process when the burner faction was destroyed, all the while leaving a solitary, self-hosped player back at their main faction to protect their respect. Burner Factions can still be used, but this tactic will become less effective given that the aggressor will have to wait 72 hours minimum between each wave of attacks.
The Recruit position will also limit excessive guesters, as players must now be more considerate as to when they leave their main faction. Guesting is a core part of the faction experience, but when we observed some players moving as often as 100 times a year, we felt we had to restore some integrity to the faction system. This new mechanic will stop players guesting excessively and reactively, but it will continue to allow factions to make use of outside help with sufficient preparation, and with specific permissions and position names now able to be assigned to your mercenaries.
THOUGHTS
The forum will no doubt be flooded with everyone’s opinions on these new changes now that they have been announced, and we welcome that feedback with arms as open as social distancing permits. Rest assured, these amendments have been made with your increased enjoyment as the main goal, and our solutions were the result of a great deal of research and committee discussion.

Pictured: How we debate things in the Committee.
Further changes can and will be made in response to any unforeseen issues, with roll-backs available if necessary. We hope that at the very least, these changes will remove some of the barriers that prevent genuine wars, and encourage more factions to fight against each other for the magnificent spoils of war.
tl;dr: The fact that it costs 5 energy to join walls and guests are restricted for 72 hours means warring is fairer.

Pictured: The first of many Brass Eye gifs in this article.
ENERGY COSTS
First, let’s look at the new energy costs. To clarify, players who take the wall slot of a defeated opponent will not be charged energy, and nor will those who automatically join the wall at the start of a war. However, those who join an existing wall’s empty slot will now be charged five energy, and we hope this will increase real warring activity in a number of ways.
Under the old system, territory war farming between two non-hostile opponents was too beneficial for many factions to resist, as not only were there statistical advantages to be gained from fake-fighting a friendly faction, it also proved a way for factions to pass the time between actual wars. But you shouldn’t be “passing the time” in Torn City at all, you should be engaged in actual fights with people you hate who have things you want, so the 5 energy wall-joining cost will now reduce the net-respect advantage for farming from 33% to roughly 11%.
It is hoped that this energy cost will increase the number of genuine wars by also reducing the need for excessive revives, as we believe the cost of reviving has become prohibitive for most factions to even consider a light weekend skirmish. Presently, players can be revived and rejoin a wall instantly after defeat, and repeat this process until their maximum medical cooldown is reached. With the new energy cost in place, players will run out of energy long before they hit their medical cooldown, thus reducing the need for fighting factions to hire revive factions in order to remain competitive.
By reducing everyone’s revive bills, the results of territory wars will now be more determined by a faction’s strength, energy and activity than its bank balance, which should encourage more factions to take up arms. The elimination of free wall farming is also intended to prevent the use of scripts which could theoretically be used to place players on territory walls instantly. And finally, this change removes some substantial roadblocks in the on-going development of the Ranked Warring system.

Pictured: Ranked Warring, Coming Soon...
FACTION POSITIONS
The Faction Positions system is also intended to increase the number of wars being fought, while working to help faction leaders coordinate their troops easier than before. Faction Positions will entirely replace the Faction Permissions system, allowing leaders to name assign customised ranks to their members and attribute each one with its own specific permissions. For example, a Treasurer may have vault permissions, a Quartermaster might be assigned control over the faction armory, and a Faction Gimp might be given the right to be used as a punching bag by anyone who’s having a bad day.

Pictured: The new Positions system. You can use the colour red to identify members of your faction who are w*nk*rs, if you wish.
Aside from the leader and co-leader, all faction members will automatically receive the Member position when the system is rolled out on the 21st. Once it's up and running, leaders can assign the same Faction Position to multiple players if they wish, and also use colour coding to indicate whether it is a low, mid, or high-level position.
The only position which cannot be customised is the Recruit position, which is assigned to all players for the duration of their first 72-hours in the faction. This position cannot be given any permissions, and furthermore, Recruits will be unable to participate in chains, cause respect damage in raids, or join territory walls, among other things. Here is a full list of the Recruit position’s restrictions:
- Cannot be changed to any other position / given permissons
- Cannot benefit from any of the faction's tree specials
- Cannot participate in chains (their attacks will not contribute)
- Cannot participate in organised crimes (can't be selected during planning)
- Cannot join territory walls
- Cannot cause respect damage in raids ( can receive damage as normal)
- Cannot contribute towards your score in upcoming ranked warfare system
- Recruits cannot achieve War Bonus or the Default x3 Fair Fight bonus
The impact of this change will be positive for the vast majority of Torn’s factions, as many major factions rely on the swift movement of players between allies and sub-factions in order to wield greater power and influence than they actually possess or deserve. It is for this reason that the Faction Positions system was created, with the intention being to force factions to fight toe-to-toe using their actual members, rather than being able to draft in mercenaries and reinforcements at the drop of a hat.

Pictured: How racket extorters are feeling right now.
Earlier this year, I personally conducted an investigation into the impact of extortion upon the Territorial Racket system. After interviewing and researching hundreds of factions, I discovered that roughly 75% of those who owned a racket territory were paying out some or all of their proceeds to someone else, with many being extorted by a handful of top-level factions. Additional research conducted by a committee member backed up my findings and further revealed that a disproportionate level of extortion had been occurring for some time.
This situation was untenable, as while extortion and protection rackets are objectively interesting methods of gameplay, their impact upon the wider population of Torn was too great to sit by and do nothing. Many factions simply gave up their rackets willingly to avoid the drama associated with them, knowing that they stood no chance of fighting back against faraway foes who could land an army on their doorstep at a moment’s notice with little effort.
The introduction of the Recruit rank doesn’t stop players from moving factions, it just means they have more to think about when they do. Factions who ship their members off en masse to defend or attack on behalf of their allies and proxies will do so knowing they are useless for three days when they arrive. Additionally, it will take them another three days to become active upon their return, leaving their home faction shorthanded if trouble comes-a-knocking.

Pictured: What might happen if your troops leave for Sector 6.
The practice of using Burner Factions will also become harder under the new system. Previously, players could buy up a faction with 5,000 respect for a few million, load it up with players, and attack an enemy with no risk to their home faction. They could then repeat this process when the burner faction was destroyed, all the while leaving a solitary, self-hosped player back at their main faction to protect their respect. Burner Factions can still be used, but this tactic will become less effective given that the aggressor will have to wait 72 hours minimum between each wave of attacks.
The Recruit position will also limit excessive guesters, as players must now be more considerate as to when they leave their main faction. Guesting is a core part of the faction experience, but when we observed some players moving as often as 100 times a year, we felt we had to restore some integrity to the faction system. This new mechanic will stop players guesting excessively and reactively, but it will continue to allow factions to make use of outside help with sufficient preparation, and with specific permissions and position names now able to be assigned to your mercenaries.
THOUGHTS
The forum will no doubt be flooded with everyone’s opinions on these new changes now that they have been announced, and we welcome that feedback with arms as open as social distancing permits. Rest assured, these amendments have been made with your increased enjoyment as the main goal, and our solutions were the result of a great deal of research and committee discussion.

Pictured: How we debate things in the Committee.
Further changes can and will be made in response to any unforeseen issues, with roll-backs available if necessary. We hope that at the very least, these changes will remove some of the barriers that prevent genuine wars, and encourage more factions to fight against each other for the magnificent spoils of war.
tl;dr: The fact that it costs 5 energy to join walls and guests are restricted for 72 hours means warring is fairer.
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