State Ruler
Reading Time: 6 minutes Author’s Note: If you’re one of the powerhouses playing at the highest levels of SRz, PHK, EsN and other top alliances, this blog isn’t intended to teach you to anything new; it’s intended to help the rest of us learn how to support you better. If you have feedback or critiques, please put them into context for that purpose. Thank you.
What is State Ruler?
State Ruler is the biggest contest in all of Last Z and provides the greatest rewards. Put simply, it arranges four servers (which the game calls “states”) in a small tournament bracket setup that lasts two full weeks.
In the first week, the semi-finalists battle for control of each other’s capital, and in the second week the finalists battle. The battles are epic in scope and involve almost every active player on both servers. So mark your calendars!
Chain of Command
Follow instructions from the following personnel, in the following order:
- Server President.
- The President’s Team.
- Leaders from the alliance attacking the Capital.
- Leaders from the alliance attacking the Turret nearest to you.
- Your own alliance’s leaders.
State Ruler is a highly coordinated multi-alliance event. Unlike chess, where you control the pieces easily, in Last Z getting the right people into the right place at the right time can be a challenge. Help our leaders by being compliant with their instructions.
If you’re asked to move your headquarters, move it. If you’re asked to send reinforcements to a fighter, then send reinforcements. If you’re asked to sit shielded in a strategic location, do so.
Deep Thoughts
If you have a question, ask. If you don’t understand an instruction, somebody will help you. But do not argue or refuse to follow an instruction. If you have a grievance or complaint, raise it after State Ruler finishes, not before.
Weekly Progress and Capital Clash
There are two gaming modes for each round of State Ruler. The first mode lasts five days and is called “Weekly Progress”. The second mode lasts one hour, and is called “Capital Clash.”
Weekly Progress is all about activity.
Monday – Friday, everybody’s score in Alliance Duel (VS), Full Preparedness, Arena, Trucks, and Furylord get added up. And everybody really does mean everybody. From the server’s president all the way down to the newest user1kr2d2, all activity each server gets added together.
And the server with the most total points wins a great prize: invasion rights. More on this later.
Deep Thoughts
If you ever wondered why the server’s top players are sometimes cranky and give you a hard time, here’s the reason: Last Z is a team sport. And when you under-perform during the week, it makes everybody else have to work harder to carry your weight.
Capital Clash is all about strategy.
For one hour, starting Saturday at 12:00 Apocalypse Time, players from both servers fight. We fight for points (for rewards). We fight for control of turrets (for extra firepower). And we fight for control of the capital (for even more rewards — and the pride of our server).
The map is divided into two primary zones. The grass (or the lawn) and the mud.
The mud is a special hexagon-shaped zone that’s reserved only for combat players. Nobody can raise a shield in the mud, and everybody is vulnerable. For this reason, the mud zone is reserved for the strongest players on the server (level 28+ with excellent structure, tech, heroes, and troops).
Deep Thoughts
There are different degrees of strength. If you’re on the weaker side of strong, place your headquarters closer to the edge (near the grass) so that the powerhouse players can get closer to the capital.
The grass refers to the area surrounding the mud. It’s typically filled with developing players who are lower than level 28 (or above with weak stats), whose primary jobs are A – reinforcing combat players, and B – taking up space.
Reinforcing combat players means sending tanks to their HQs. When combat players send their own tanks out to fight, their headquarters become vulnerable to attack. Your tanks and troops add the strength they need to survive attacks.
If you’re not online or active during Capital Clash, then simply being shielded in the grass helps. By taking space, you make our opponent travel farther to reinforce their own combatants.
Here’s how to reinforce:
- Tap on a combat player’s HQ.
- Then tap on the “Reinforce” icon”
- Tap on March to send your tank.
- When the green shield appears, it means you’ve done it right.
Fight in the Grass
If you’re feeling confident enough to lower your shield, but you’re not ready to fight in the mud, you can fight in the grass.
- Target and attack enemy tanks on their way to the mud
- Join up with other players while they’re attacking unshielded enemy headquarters
- Join rallies that other people have started to take down more powerful enemies
- Scout around into the nearby cities (only when we’re winning!) to score easy points against unattended headquarters.
Pay Attention To Chat (PATC)
This should go without saying, but pay attention to the Alliance Chat. Leaders will be giving instructions and offering advice. Combat players in the mud will be calling for reinforcements or for help with fire control.
The players perform the best work together as team. And the first step to working together is to communicate, to listen, and to PATC!
Why Invasion Rights are Desirable
Invading means that 175 attacks our opponent’s capital. Even if we lose the contest, we won’t have to suffer the indignity of having lost our capital. But there’s more to it than mere vanity.
For the growing player, invading means it’s easier to score points during the Capital Clash hour.
Similar to the Alliance Duel, State Ruler grants rewards in nine boxes based on the number of points earned, up to 2.25M. After our powerhouses secure the Capital, you can teleport anywhere on the enemy map to attack unshielded bases.
Getting to 2.25M is very easy when invading, which is why it’s a highly desirable outcome.
Deep Thoughts
Unless otherwise instructed, do not leave the combat zone early when 175 is fighting a close match (or a losing match). It’s much more important for everybody to help our server win than it is for any individual to open their boxes.
What to know about Points
There are two kinds of rewards in State Ruler: a group reward, and an individual reward.
The group reward is easy to earn. It’s just 50,000 points. Everybody who applies even minimal effort (like sending a few tanks into the mud to be destroyed) can score this much and walk away from State Ruler with some loot.
As mentioned in the previous section, the individual rewards come in nine boxes. It’s for these rewards that points become much more important, and much harder to get. Simply put, you earn by fighting. See the table below for a breakdown of activities and points:
| Item | Points |
|---|---|
| Kill Lv.9 enemy State units in Capital or Turret | +90 |
| Kill 1 Lv.9 enemy State unit within the Capital area | 45 |
| Lose 1 Lv.9 unit when fighting enemy State survivors in the Capital area | +84 |
| Kill 1 Lv.9 enemy State unit | +10 |
| Decrease enemy State survivor HQ durability by 1 | +10 |
| Knock out enemy State survivor's headquarters within Capital or Lv.6 City area | +50,000 |
| Troops stationed at the capital or turrets will earn points based on the duration of their deployment upon return. | +25 |
| While stationed at the turret, each Lv.9 unit killed by the turret | +2 |
Boxes open in various intervals up to 2.25M in total. But don’t stop there because every point over 2.25M earns you respect — which is the greatest reward of all in this game.
Acknowledgements
In addition to my entire Academia Venatorum faculty and cadets, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the following people for their direct contributions to this blog post:
- [SRz] The Icy Cobra
- [EsN] ABBA-Cadabra
- [A175] Hunahuna
- [A175] JimboTheDon