Welcome to the beginning of the political system in TERA!

Starting today, TERA players who meet certain requirements can register as candidates for vanarch. It's not always easy to convince everyone to vote for you instead of your esteemed opponents, though, so we'd like to provide you with a place to discuss your plans, make campaign promises, and show that you are the best-suited character to become a vanarch.

Think of this thread as a televised debate. Everyone's eyes are on you and they're eager to hear what you have to say. They're all waiting for you to assure them you are their champion, and that you will work to make their lives better in TERA!

So if you are a vanarch candidate on Freeholds, give a short introduction of yourself and your vanarchy platform. Heck, start an actual debate if you like. Has another candidate said that good vanarchs should look after their guild first? State why you think that's a bad idea! Do you think declaring war against a smaller guild is great way to promote PvP? Make a stance! The people deserve to know what you believe in. If you aren't running this time, this is an excellent opportunity to find out about the candidate to make an informed choice!

Better yet, challenge the other candidates with your own questions! This is a public debate! Here are some sample questions you can use as a starting point for political discussion:

• What are your priorities for using policy points? Skill trainers? Specialty stores? Raise or lower tax rates first?
  
• What would be your agenda as a vanarch? How do you plan to enact this agenda? With force? With rewards? Will your guild members help with enforcement?
  
• How do you plan to receive feedback or questions on your rule?
  
• If a conflict arises between what's best for the province and what's best for your guild, what will you do?
  
• What makes you the best candidate?

This thread is for vanarch candidates to discuss their stances on various political items. Feel free to address other candidates directly and answer their questions, but please remember to follow the official TERA forum rules. We want a healthy and courteous debate, so be respectful to the other candidates. Remember, the public is watching you!

(Please do not reserve a post spot.)

Will Put more of Lethality's Stuff here soon

1. We have the Most 60's and will be able to provide Full Specialty Store Support.

GM Cecil, representing Tempest and our alliance, Caprica and Fairy Tail.

Tempest was founded by small group of US Military soldiers from Army, Navy and Air Force. I started out with 7 members on May 1 and gradually grew into a massive guild of 200 that became Tempest. I'm proud to say we have some of the greatest men and women from the military as well as civilians within our ranks, and we are doing our best everyday to create a better Freeholds.

As a Non Commissioned Officer of US Army, I have a very distinct opinion on what leadership should be all about. I believe a leader should work for the benefits of his subordinates, not the other way around, and strive for welfare of his peers. I will not be running for Vanarch to obtain profits and power for our guild, but to simply help create an environment which everyone can thrive. I wish to bring some of my discipline and dedication from my experiences to help as much people as possible.

I will do everything in my power to create a Province with maximum access to shops and trainers, as well as lowest tax rate possible while still being able to maintain our operations to support our goals. I put my reputation and integrity on the line to let you know that greed is not an option for Tempest, and we will give it all we got to make good on this promise.

I am Gax, GM of Viral.

With the support of my fellow players I will do everything I can to keep taxes low, activate specialty shops and skill trainers.

Caprica formed from scratch during the Open Beta Test on Freeholds, and has grown rapidly since. We are now one of the only capped guilds, and we only have mains in Caprica, with our alts in our alt guild of Aerilon.

We grew as fast as we did for a number of reasons, which are relevant to the upcoming Vanarch elections.
1) Quality people. Many of our members joined because of great experiences they have had in groups with members of Caprica. If you haven't had the opportunity to run with us yet, hopefully you soon will.
2) Leadership for the good of the group, not the glory of the leader. Like our allies in Tempest, my background is military, as a Commissioned Officer. As such, I strongly believe that leaders exist to ensure the best outcomes for the group as a whole, the group does not exist for the personal benefit of the leadership.
3) Reputation. Those who have run with us, those who joined and moved on for various reasons, those who have just talked with us...we strive to ensure everyone walks away from us with a positive experience. Our reputation is the product of the combined actions of all the members of Caprica, and we are proud to have built such a strong one.

After we win a Vanarchy in Northern Shara, we will use our numbers to generate the necessary Policy Points to maximize the value of our territory. Where possible we will assist other Vanarchies in optimizing their own territories, and we will assist non-Vanarch guilds in hosting events within our borders. We are firmly committed to creating the best experience possible for all the players of Freeholds, regardless of affiliation.

Join us in this goal by voting for Caprica and our political allies in the upcoming elections.

Northern Shara: Caprica
Southern Shara: Fairy Tail
Arun: Tempest

My name is Syrania and I am the leader of Burning Rose, seeking Vanarchy within the borders of Arun. I do not believe that I would be anyone without the people within my guild to support me. When I run for Vanarch, it is not just me who runs but my entire guild behind me. They work hard to sustain our guild and have been the backbone that has made this guild what it is today. I can promise you they will continue to be that backbone if we are elected Vanarch.
To tell you a bit about myself, I am a single mother and an ex-military spouse, so I know what it takes to be a strong leader capable of getting things done. I am a strong and confident person who believes she has what it takes to run Ostgarath, the territory in which we seek. As anyone should know, military spouses can be just as fierce as the men and women serving their country- sans the weapons.
My guild was initially formed the same day that the game launched- May 1st. We began as a small guild of only a few low-level people wandering about Velika but over a short amount of time we grew. Our theme of treating guild members like they were our family and doing our best to avoid drama within and outside our group has attracted many wonderful and dedicated players to our ranks, all who help each other and those not within our guild. We work together for our goals, and believe whole-heartedly that anything is possible. Impossible only takes longer to accomplish.
Many people who have run with members of Burning Rose have had nothing but good things to say about it's members, which only fills me with pride as the leader of this guild. It prides me to know that I have such wonderful people within Burning Rose who will go out of their way to help others. That is the foundation to a well-respected guild.



We might not be the largest, most populated guild on the server or have the most members at level cap. What we do have is an awesome, committed group of people who work hard together to get our goals accomplished. We believe in listening to what the people want. If you decide you want taxes to be lowered, then that is exactly what we will do. If you want certain laws enforced, then they will be.
My promise to you, Tereans of FreeHolds, is I will maintain a territory that you will want to come back to again and again. Because we are a family. We are a unit. Vote Burning Rose for Vanarch!



Allies:

Non-Vanarch candidate: Rebellion

Southern Shara: Radiance

Northern Shara: Origins

If elected how often will you stand at the pegasus FP in Velika on your super fast vanarch only guild mount?

How many of you lolrecruited your members out of area to win the elections?

Why do you all care so much about helping the other vanarchs? If they can't run their province wouldn't you want them to get replaced next term?

Why are any of you even posting in this thread? There are only like 6 guilds on Freeholds that qualify to run for Vanarch. In other words there's enough land for everyone and then some.

Quote: Amrethir on 05/21/2012, 01:00 PM - view

I would say never. There is simply too much to do to keep a province in best condition as possible to stand around looking pretty.

As I said before, we have some of the finest men and women from the military and civilian within our ranks. I focused on building a close knit family first, since without solid foundation, things can fall apart rather easily.

I believe in helping others regardless of their affiliation, but as I stated in my previous post, my main goal is to create a province where everyone can thrive, so that will always take priority over other issues.

I believe any problem can be resolved through dialogue and mutual respect. If any issue arises between guilds, I would personally sit down and have a discussion with them, and create a way to resolve the issue in professional manner.

Quote: Amrethir on 05/21/2012, 01:00 PM - view

1. Never, too much to do as a Vanarch to stand around for Aesthetic purposes (spelling might be messed up there). While getting the mount is cool and all, it is not my reason for running.

2. Like most, if not all guilds, the 'lolrecruiting' you mentioned in area chat was only what got my guild started. We screened our members to ensure they were friendly, active people and not just any old Jane or John Doe. Once we reached about 30+ members we started getting a steady flow of members from there and we just kept growing.

3. Because helping your neighbor is the right thing to do. Its a matter of principle and both Vanarchs receive Policy Points for their territories by working together. This isn't a 'all about me' game, though many people like to make it out to be that way. But in doing so, you make yourself out to be just like every other @sshat on the server that people eventually find are not fun to play with. I enjoy helping other people when I can, because you never know when you'll need their help in return.

4. Actually there are a good deal more than just 6 guilds running because the minimum number of members you need is 20 and the GL needs to be level 50. Many guilds have already achieved what is necessary to run for Vanarch and I have spoken to quite a few in game, and I have wished them all luck in their perspective territories. Its not about myself as the player, it is about enjoying the game and doing my part to make the experience that much more enjoyable.

If you want to know why all of the guilds are generally campaigning on a platform of shiny happy helpfulness, look at the nature of the system. It highly incentivizes working together once elected, and it incentivizes having two allies for the election itself, plus a network of non-running affiliated guilds.

During the election, you can only run in one region, but you can vote in 3. Having an ally running in the other two, with agreements to exchange votes, maximizes internal electoral power. Caprica and Fairy Tail were looking for a smaller guild that shared some of our ideals to support in Arun, and found Tempest, though they have grown rapidly since those negotiations started and are now with Caprica and Fairy Tail in the top 5 (as of last night).

After the election, there are multiple incentives to cooperate. Completing Policy Point quests together gives everyone working on it the PP for their guild, so 5 Vanarchs working together is the most efficient mechanism. Anti-social or hostile Vanarchs will soon find themselves doing content on their own, and falling behind in what services they can provide.

Many people like alts, so even once most of our guild is at or near the cap, there will always be incentive to keep the lower level regions well maintained with trainers, specialty vendors, etc. As such, it is in the best interest of my guild to help the Vanarch of those territories to keep the services flowing.

Contrast that with the incentives for competing between guilds....which are none. The competition is to get elected, after that all of the incentives are in support of cooperation. Some of us are just naturally helpful people, but even the most self-centered will be working together, because that is where all of the rewards are.