Rulers of the North, we got the unique opportunity to interview a very interesting player!

Meet Artyom Babashkin from Skallergalv Kingdom 331! He was among the first players to collect and systematize all the necessary information for the detailed tables that help Jarls to conquer the northern lands.

You can find Artyom’s work here:

Set table — http://bit.ly/2tVAUVO

Equipment and bonuses table — http://bit.ly/2uvRb5M

Invaders’ gems and materials table — http://bit.ly/2eJBoNb

V — Vikings: War of Clans

A — Artyom Babashkin

V.: Artyom, thank you for taking part in the interview. How long have you been playing Vikings: War of Clans?   

A.: Hello! Thank you for inviting me. I used to play Vikings: War of Clans, but then I quit. Just a little while ago, half a year or so, I started playing again, but this time I was bearing in mind my previous experience and the mistakes I made.

V.: Tell us about yourself. What do you do? Was your choice of job influenced by your love for numbers and analytics?   

A.: Unfortunately, nowadays you have to work where you’re well paid. I cannot tell you exactly where I work, as it is a personal matter, all I can say is that I work with a huge amount of information.

When you try to bring it home to someone or make an extract from a bulk of eclectic data, you start to have a better understanding of what you do and organize your activity in a more effective way.

Vikings: War of Clans displays what I do for a living perfectly, the only difference being that the game is more colorful. You will not believe me, but I’ve always had a hard time with numbers — in some cases I’m an absolute knucklehead! I feel blessed that in my Clan there are smart people who sometimes spell out the simplest things to me.

V.: What else do you do for fun? Do you have a hobby or a lifelong project?   

A.: I love fishing and reading books. Not long ago I purchased some audio hardware and now I’m venturing into the art of reciting. My dream for this year is to finish the recording and shaping of my very first audiobook by Robert Salvatore. It all depends on finding some spare time.

I used to edit and record videos for another game community. But I will probably leave that activity in the past: I believe video guides to be an outdated and less informative medium.

V.: Let’s talk about your Clan “Вне Закона [VZK]”. Is it international or is it made up of only Russian players? Have you ever met your clansmen IRL?   

A.: Our Clan is Russian-speaking. It has been this way ever since the beginning, besides, it’s far more convenient to converse and coordinate members’ actions.

I haven’t met my clansmen in real life. We talk almost non-stop every day, and that’s enough — we have to catch a break from each other sometimes! 😂

V.: You’ve completed a truly huge project. What are these tables for? How did you come up with the idea for them?   

A.: Initially, I did the tables for myself just to figure everything out and create the most effective growth strategy. As my materials were just a bunch of paper with scribbles, I decided to arrange them in as compact and graphic a way as possible. Then I had an idea to send the tables to newbies to spare us from explaining the same things several times over and to stop arguments about which are the best solutions to certain problems. In the end, this guide (or call it a crib sheet) was created.

V.: Did you collect the data all by yourself, or did your clansmen and other players help you?   

A.: I wouldn’t have managed it alone. A big thank-you goes to my clansmen who explained the formulas to me and pointed out my mistakes, to Karl Frodi and his fan group, as well as to people from this community for sharing information.

V.: Creating tables must be a long and laborious process. How much time did it take you to make the Set table, for example?   

A.: Making tables is more of a creative process. It’s not about time, it’s about clarity, completeness, and compactness. It doesn’t take much time to fill in the info, but structuring it is more complex. That’s why I always ask people to share their ideas about cool new things, and I’ll be the one to put it into shape.

As far as the Set (Hero’s Skills) table is concerned, it was created quickly. The only difficulty was the troop training Set, as at that time no one in the Kingdom had such a level to increase the trained troop number to 30%, and we had to search for that information for a long time.

Making the equipment table took us about a month. There was a great deal of problems: from the equipment selection (each purpose required detailed analysis of all equipment and bonuses granted in order to provide the best choices and alternative options) to an attempt to present this information clearly. By the way, I still haven’t finished this table: errors are being found here and there, and I thank people, fix it and post it again.

V.: What information or, perhaps, statistics are you interested in as a player?   

A.: This question could catch me out — but you wouldn't tell, would you? =) I wonder how exactly random works in the game. Like, is there some connection with online, time, place or something else. This knowledge would give me a certain advantage (rubbing my sweaty, sticky fingers with a cunning smirk). But being serious, newbies should probably have a big interactive “fitting space” with an ability to view and “try on” all the available content. I’ve had difficulties with that in the beginning of the game.

It would also be nice to have the mechanics of calculating some time-related parameters. Using that, you can greatly plan your account development (however, it takes iron discipline to keep on track). What interests me, in particular, is the battle calculation mechanics. In our clan, we used to argue a lot about the top-priority characteristic and wonder why a battle went the way it went. We see the factors, but we have no idea how they are calculated =)

V.: Would you mind doing a little quickfire quiz? Answer without thinking: Stronghold or Bank?   

A.: Bank.

V.: Invader or Uber Invader?   

A.: Invader.

V.: Relocating to the opponent Kingdom or staying at home?   

A.: Relocating to the opponent Kingdom.

V.: Kingdoms Battle or Clans Battle?   

A.: Clans Battle.

V.: Upgrading a building or helping out a clansman with a plundered Town?   

A.: Upgrading a building.

V.: Thank you very much for answering! We wish you new victories in the Vikings: War of Clans universe!   

А.: Thank you for the interview. We’re hoping for some new goodies and interesting events from you! =)

Vikings, if you have interesting ideas, good advice, or maybe even useful guides for other players, feel free to share them in the comments.