Disclaimer: I founded 7dd, but do not currently lead it and do not speak for current leaders. This is about the journey from nothing to #1, a couple years ago, and how we made it happen. 7d and 7dd are currently led by Aquaginera.
https://7ddgaming.com/2020/04/19/how-7dd-went-from-nothing-to-1/
Intro
A few years ago, Seven Days Departed was born and rose to prominence. I led it at the time and would like to help Alliance Leaders find success in the game with everything I have learned and applied. While you may get lucky acquiring some great players â strategy, persistence, and vision, remain key factors. Here is how we did it:
Alliance Name
You would be surprised how much a catchy and attractive alliance name MATTERS. Make it catchy and unique to attract new players. The thought that goes into a name speaks to players who take the game seriously. Donât pigeon-hole. For example: naming your alliance The Kansas Killers is going to seriously diminish your reach beyond Kansas.
Know What Youâre Getting Into
People on the internet can be mean. Leading an alliance requires strength and mental fortitude. Your feelings will be hurt sometimes. You will get stressed out. But, you will also be rewarded, considerably. Respond, donât react. Enforce policy. Talk to players, first, and see what theyâre up against. Be a reasonable and kind leader and try to work with them for a week. If things donât improve, it may be time to let them go. Kicking is a last resort, but must be done sometimes. If you allow players to not play at a high level for an extended period of time, the top players will leave.
Be a Good Player
As the leader, you are setting the bar for all aspects of the game. Itâs important not to be a hypocrite with your standards and apply them to yourself, as well. However, it is okay to have someone that is performing better than you. In fact, that is a good thing. Just make sure you give them credit and prevent your ego from getting jealous. Competition is valuable, as long as it doesnât turn into pointless conflict all the time â which can and does happen.
Discord/Line Communication
I prefer Discord. It is extremely robust and offers everything you need to run an alliance, and then some. LINE was too rigid for me, although both serve its own purpose. I had already envisioned a multi-game alliance, though it turned into a multi-alliance game and family. Every alliance has its own set of channels they can customize at any time and each alliance is run autonomously under the 7d umbrella. We recruit and discuss the game with public chat channels in Discord. While LINE is great for a single alliance, Discord is far superior in handling multiple alliances and a strong community. LINE is better at handling videos.
Create a Vacation/Resting Plan and Alliance
7d has a variety of alliances. Know what else they have? 3 Casual/Resting/Vacation alliances to prevent player burnout. Listen, you canât force people to play through burnout. If you try, they likely wonât stick around. I didnât get this at first and learned this much later. Create a policy that is fair to both the player, and the alliance. Having a Resting alliance and a one-week notice, is a reasonable accommodation. Many 7d alliances require players to finish out Alliance War and/or Titan, before transferring to a Resting alliance.
Create Clear Policy
I struggled with this because Iâm wildly improvisational. I pieced this together as we went. In hindsight, and from watching other brilliant minds in 7d, I learned how important this is. Improvisation is an extremely valuable skill, but having policy down on paper with the flexibility to change it at any time , is vital.
For Example:
Seven Days Departed is a competitive alliance that also values kindness and a family-atmosphere.
- Minimum Team Score: 2500
- Minimum Trophies: 2000
- Minimum Titan Hits: 5 & Damage per Energy: 10,000
- Must use all war flags â please coordinate with War Chief
- Must be an active player
- Must self-improve
- Must be respectful
- Must give 1-week notice & finish War and/or Titan before transfer to Resting alliance
- Inactivity (2-3 days max) may result in kick.
- Noticeable effort is required.
Having specific and tangible numbers to look at is helpful for everyone. Having general rules that have flexibility, is also important. This list is not super friendly. I recommend buttering up the language to be more kind and user-friendly.
Enforce Policy
This is where being a Leader can quickly lose its appeal, but itâs necessary. Listen, kindness goes a long way â a really long way, but if youâre too nice, youâre going to lose the battle of climbing to #1. You must kick inactives. We had a 2-3 day inactive policy, no questions asked. People will leave if you donât kick inactives.
Effort is another massive problem early on and there isnât an easy solution. You have to monitor players efforts, individually. Missing Titan hits and War flags are generally good indicators, but you canât always monitor a players effort this way. Do this incognito at first. Monitoring how much time players spend offline or how little their team grows, are also indicators.
Talk with them first. Donât accuse. Ask how they are doing and try to figure out if theyâre busy or truly arenât taking the game seriously. If theyâre too busy, ask them to join the Resting alliance. The top players will be watching the Leaders decisions to address players who are inactive or complacent. While Kicking someone may seem harsh at first, you will find that enforcing policy and kicking those who arenât taking the game seriously, will be key to reaching the top and it will show your best players that you, as the Leader , are taking your job seriously.
Slowly Increase or Add Requirements
Top players will have no problem with this, as they enjoy a challenge. If a player is pushing back against raising the bar (within reason), that can also be indicative of a struggling player. Sometimes players need help. Provide it or designate someone who wants to help train. However, players should be able to self-improve and learn on their own, if you want the best team to get to #1.
Delegate
You donât have to do everything. And no, youâre not the best at everything. Evaluate your team. Find their strengths. 7d alliances are extremely good at matching jobs with players strengths. Allowing players to do what theyâre good at will also make them feel like part of the team, valued, and increase their self-esteem. There is nothing negative about this.
Conflict
Itâs inevitable. You will have it because we are human. Set an example as the Leader by solving conflict, amicably and helping others do the same. I ask players to talk directly with the person they are conflicting with, first. If it canât be solved that way, I got involved. Sometimes people like drama and conflict. I donât let those players stick around long.
Know Your Limits
Little known fact â I only led 7dd to #10, before electing aibretty , who played in Departed for a long time, to become Leader, and who easily took the alliance from #10 to #1. I went on to form Seven Days Reborn, our second competitive alliance.
The point is, I was getting tired and players were surpassing me on a game level. I felt it was in our best interest to understand I was reaching my limit, and to surrender the position to someone who would do better, and had leadership skills. Be careful of your ego. Your ego will always be better when you learn to do whatâs right and whatâs best for the team.
Editors Note: Avicious is an Empires and Players player since launch and Founder of the Seven Days Gaming community and family of alliances. He is currently on hiatus. Aquaginera currently leads both 7dd and the 7d community. For more information or to join a 7d alliance, please visit our Discord at https://discord.7ddgaming.com or our website at https://www.7ddgaming.com
Thanks for the compliment
Nice post! 
Tho he visited us recently.