Sunday, June 21st, 2009
Issue: 131   Editor: MikaMania


Ally, a thing of the past? IShallPersevere
Through time many things change, and this can certainly be said for the development of crews and their allies. When Bootleggers began and the first crews hit the stats, a list of allied crews would be a common site in a crew’s profile. However, as time has progressed and things have changed, this is no longer so ordinary, with secrecy being the key in many aspects of the game, including who you are allied with. However how important are alliances between crews these days? And are they still as common as they once were?

After speaking to a few crew bosses, it soon became clear that alliances between crews and other crews or individuals are still very much alive and kicking. However the motivation for making an ally may be far from that of round one. Crews are usually seen as the main threat to other crews, therefore it appears to make sense to be friendly and possibly build up alliances with other crews around you on the stats, particularly if you are a weaker crew. It is the view of one Boss, that the crews that choose to display their alliances on their profiles are the ones who are weakest, and try to hide behind names of other crews to make themselves look stronger. However others may look at such crews and feel they are in a strong position, with many people ready to back them up in hard times.

It was however the unanimous opinion of the crew bosses the Buzz spoke to that alliances still play a key role in Bootleggers, and can be very important if a crew is to be successful. Some of the people we spoke to also felt that it was not possible to be a successful crew at the moment without having sufficient alliances to cement a place on the statistics page. Others did not share this opinion, viewing alliances as a risk, believing that if possible dealings must be kept within a crew to prevent any altercations.

We then began to wonder, what do you look for when searching for an ally? Is it power, divine loyalty, trust, history, respect or possibly all of these things? When asked, the bosses delivered a mixed response with various factors, but included all these things. Some look specifically for the rich and famous to both provide strong protection for their crew and also give them security in their position. Whereas others look for dedication and loyalty to the cause, not allowing any billionaire to associate with them or their members.

It does then appear, that different crews have completely different grounds for having their allies and specifications for approving them. However it can certainly be said that all people who we spoke to felt that a crew is a better and more secure place to be with allies to support and sometimes defend you. Although alliances have evolved from the ones we saw when Bootleggers began, there is no denying that they still exist. How long it will be till this too moves on with the flow of the game, only time will tell! Happy gaming.

-IShallPersevere