 | AOT Clan LeagueSeason 32: Playoffs |
 | AOC Clan LeagueSeason 41: Playoffs |
 | AOR Clan LeagueSeason 1: Playoffs |
With Season 32 coming to its head this Sunday at 19:00 GMT with Finals between TheUnCrapAbles Lizowl and Deities of Death, let's set the tone with unfulfilled tasks from previous season - how did Deities of Death reach the Title of the best clan in the community in RTS League's Age of Mythology: The Titans Clan League, Season 31 they are defending now? How did TheUnCrapAbles fare? And who were the other successful clans?
Group Stage
Season 31 saw a healthy amount of clans and teams enter its competition as is lately usual due to everyone being quite eager for the games, and so besides the standard staples we again saw some newcomers like Rest in Peace Gamers, Game Changers or Pandoraboxx.
The progress wasn't too surprising, though of course we did have good games nonetheless, but curiously in each of the two divisions we saw some groundbreaking (or rather kind of ground-setting for later) results - in Division 1 Deities of Death struggling against TheUnCrapAbles Owls, and later also against Fade2, in Division 2 TheUnCrapAbles Lizards having a tough time with AllTimeBest, also thanks to a special map usage of Sudden Death (btw that was a very good effort to stave off the defeat by UCAs). From other clans maybe TheWalker Team with their strong line-up were expected to fare a bit better, though they did advance to the Playoffs, at the expense of another well-playing clan, Old Boys, filling the season with special maps (that was btw an overall theme of the season, we have really seen a lot of unusual maps played, so if you're into those and some uncommon play, do give a look to our streams or recs). Glad for the diversity in play experience!
Find the streamed games on our Twitch or YouTube and recs in our archive (Voobly Balance Patch 4.0 required)
Playoffs
With the usual suspects advancing, some with considerable worry, also regarding the seeding (hey DoD), the results right in the Quarterfinals meant an unusual, sometimes worrisome, intra-clan match between TheUnCrapAbles teams - will they play to their best? Will they not dally in scheduling? (As the easiest most straightforward things usually result in most delays because everyone has plenty of time, etc.) Will they give the other team no Quarters? The worry was dispelled when the games provided were of the expected variety, and with unexpected result - the Owls (B team, but they don't like it, though I have to clearly differentiate somehow :d) beat Lizards straight up 2:0 and very surprisingly took their spot in the Season 31 Semifinals. Who would've thought. Well played.
The other Quarterfinals featured a bit uncertain Deities of Death at the end of the Group Stage, and same could've been said for TheWalker Team A - this match could've ended up either way. However, DoDs were not about to be left behind out of the Banner fights, and took out the big guns - DoDs, after years of struggles on certain maps (we all know what we're talking about), made a 180°, and became the thing they feared all those years - special map (ab)users! :d Acropolis was their rage and it was not going to be the last stage of their plan.
Fade2, as the only undefeated clan in the Group Stage, awaited their Semifinal opponents with confidence, after all, they were the winners of Season 30, and right against TheUnCrapAbles - but was the non-expected team going to be a problem? Pre-set Borderlands offered a planned aggro-fest which can go either way, but the resulting home map of UCAs offered an excellent aggro play as well resulting into a draw (what a difference how this map is played lately in the meta as opposed to a few years back! And it's fun!). However, here is where F2 got into their groove and after clutching their favourite Mediterranean (though this was a really hard game and could've easily ended differently), finished the match on another pre-set Sea of Worms RTSL (the one with Towers) with quite intense Dock (yet not water) and border fighting.
In the other Semifinals waited AllTimeBest, a surprise of the Season (as in the first spot, they played well before), to meet their ever-Banner-hungry foes. First-game Borderlands saw a confirmation of the fun match we were going to get, as ATB began with a special triple-Heimdall and you can imagine what ensued, while their home map featured another specialty in kind of popular lately Vinlandsaga resulting into a very short game - the choice of triple Ora was really weird. The other home map then was a map familiar from before, and cementing we're going to get a set of non-usual battle settings - this time though it was a real tough struggle, seeing many of the same, in many regards - gods, Titans, Wonders, everything. Deities of Death liked triple of the same, and so following Sea of Worms was yet again of the same variety, resulting in Kronos shenanigans in all their beauty one can enjoy with Time Shifts and Implosions and the like.
Find the streamed games on our Twitch or YouTube and recs in our archive (Voobly Balance Patch 4.0 required)
Grand Finals
Finalists were then known, and all that remained was to see who gets the Title and who gets to succeed as second (though they sure wouldn't see it as success at the time :) ). We started again on a pre-set map as is custom, and this time it was Nile Delta that hasn't been seen around for a while - both clans approached it a bit differently, and while water struggles lasted a long time, the land approach was timed better for DoD, and so they took the lead towards their coveted Banner. Home maps were not surprising at all, yet the results were, as the exchange of them probably wasn't much expected by either side, but it happened, in an orderly manner in the Medit case, yet in the Acropolis case not so much, as that in the end due to technical difficulties required some admin assistance. Second pre-set Tundra Pools then would probably be expected to be DoD's closing map, but F2s came in well prepared and offered such a resistance that the longest game of the Finals yet forced a decider - and that was Alfheim, where, frankly, the dominance was clear, and so, after years and years of waiting, one of the most successful clans in the game's history came back to the Throne of RTS League's Age of Mythology: The Titans Clan League:
Second-placed, yet close to first:
Watch the Grand Finals commentated stream on the RTS League Channel
Download Grand Final recs (Voobly Balance Patch 4.0 required)
Bronze Banner Battle
Battle for the Bronze had the same settings as Finals, yet the progress differed quite a bit - Nile Delta was a confident affair, but the next Marsh was as well, though for the other side. Curiously enough for ATB's home map they got inspired by their previous opponents, and we saw another Acropolis, with wildly different approaches this time around - triple Ra vs. an assortment of different gods. The game was quite actively engaging with a bit of race for time element, but after its conclusion, and the cool Kronos start to the next one, UCA Owls were looking pretty good with their aggressive approach to the whole match - and it yielded benefits:
Watch the Bronze Banner Battle commentated stream on the RTS League Channel
Download Bronze Banner Battle recs - Game 1, Game 2, Game 3, Game 4 (Voobly Balance Patch 4.0 required)
League Cup
As always, we also had postseason bracket for the non-Playoff clans, which featured many a skilled clan and player, but hopefully also simply some fun games for everyone to enjoy further - through all the tribulations and efforts put into the whole season, TheWalker Team B and Gladiadores del Mythology + Organization of Natural Uppers made it into the Finals, and the lone Blood-Red Banner was through a confident performance (and tough matches behind them) conquered by a (co-)clan that deserves one for a long time - they always provide great games and performances and always put up good fights and trouble for any clan they meet:
Watch League Cup Finals commentated stream on the RTS League Channel
Download League Cup Finals recs - Game 1,Game 2
Fair Play Award
Signifying the most comfortable and fun clan to play with, Fair Play Rating determines per clans' experiences the embodiment of RTS League's spirit and what competing here means - having a good time if possible and maybe the success coming with it - as voted by the Clan Operators, Season 31's awardee is:
WKT 9.6
UCA Lizards 9.3
GCs 9.2
OB 8.9
PXx 8.9
DoD|B 8.8
DoD 8.4
GDM+ONU 8.2
ATB 8.0
F2 8.0
RPG 7.8
UCA Owls 7.8
TLP 7.2
TM 6.4
WKT|B 6.0
AoL 5.9
Congratulations to all the successful clans and thank you very much to all who participated - without you, we wouldn't be having the competition community, you, enjoys! Hope to see you all, and maybe some new (hopefully) clans in the next iterations that are sure to come, and continue coming! :)
Follow us: 
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Would You Like to Get Involved and Help Us and the Community?
We're always on the lookout for engaged players, new active staffers can help us run the competitions better, artistically gifted people would make things nicer, technical skillers could make our web and services to the community so much better, Twitch/YouTube operators would help us put vids up faster!
If you think you can help, give us a hit (don't forget to change the addressee nick to Black Adder, or contact us another way) and we can talk it through, we would especially be super-glad for assistance with the web, as we're sure you can see for yourself :)
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Support Us and Help Us Host More Competitions for You
If you enjoy what we do for the community and you, the players, and would like to assist us in moving things ahead more materiastically, we would be glad for any donation or patronage we could use to push RTS League forward - we would like to do more! :)
About us:
RTS League is the foremost and longest running "Age of" clan competition ever, with a history of hosting numerous other strategy games (like StarCraft II, Empire Earth, and Dawn of War) in the past. Fun and friendliness are the prominent aspects of RTS League, with the unquestionable prestige and fame the triumph brings to the top finishing clans following close behind.
After some time accommodating to other tournament hosts to allow the community to flourish with new content, here comes some old, ancient one again, with an appropriately rickety, yet always reliably coming back pace - RTS League's Age of Mythology: The Titans Clan League starts its already 32nd Season!
Much clamour has been had in the community for testing players', and clans', skills in team game warfare again, and since time has come to make things a reality, we are once more asking the community and you all - who is the best clan and who will fall?
Sign up, follow the streams, win games, post comments, avoid flames, whatever your role is to be in Season 32, let this be an experience you are hoping it to be, too - the whole community is an important part of what we do here, and so we hope it will provide as much fun to everyone as it should.
RTS League is always open to clans of all skill levels, all will find their fun and place here, and maybe you'll also find you're better than you thought - preparation is a powerful tool ;) Don't hesitate to ask questions and make sure you are a real clan and we have a deal - sign up below with all the info and if all checks out, we'll see you on the battlefield!
Don't forget you can sign up also as a co-clan, meaning if you are a small clan or a clan with a small amount of active players, you can join with another one in a similar situation to make a viable competitor - remember, this is to allow clans who could not otherwise compete to actually take part if you want to, not to create some shenanigans to circumvent the Rules.
We have a Discord that you should join as a complementary source of contact (compulsory for Clan Operators to be able to better contact your other counterparts more readily, or more so for us if something is going on), but otherwise everything stays the same - scheduling here, game uploading here. No one is interested in unruly chaos, we are just adding more avenues for connections.
Now to the actual thing:
How to Sign Up
To take part in Season 32 and have a chance at the fun (and possibly the Banners :) ), your clan will need to fit a few conditions to ensure you would be a positive contribution to the League.
First you will need a Clan Operator - the guy/gal representing you in the competition, scheduling your matches with the opponents and communicating with League staffers on your behalf. This person should be reliable, responsible and available regularly, every day if at all possible. Proper and timely communication is the key here. You can, of course, have more than 1 Clan Operator to cover for each other (it's actually recommended, or at least have a designated back-up within your clan) :)
Then you must have at least 6 active players ready to participate - this is to ensure you are able to complete your matches regularly even if some of your heroes happen to be temporarily unavailable. We are also a clan competition, not team competition, therefore the players need to be your true clan members, not random players you just asked a day before to play with you in RTSL.
Further you need to be familiar with the League rules. Read them carefully, and pay good attention.
And when you've checked all these points and you're ready to join, then again make sure that your clan meets the criteria listed above and within the rules and simply post the following sign-up form (if you're new and need an account first, follow the instructions up top under the menu and we'll get it done). Returning clans need just to confirm the participation, but still re-read the rules, too, to be sure you know everything - ignorance is no excuse. Really not, help save both you and us a headache of potential disputes. We are different from other competitions, for example in no vetoes.
Clan Tag:
Clan Name:
Clan Website:
Number of Active Members:
Clan Operator Nickname and Contact, including Discord ID:
Clan Leader Nickname and Contact:
Clan Operator has read the rules and agrees to them:
B(C, etc.)-teams need to supply their complete roster with the application as well to allow us to gauge their strength so that we know where to seed them. Please also pay special attention to the guidelines on Guest Players found in Rule 4 - you need to list them as well to allow us to properly seed the clans.
Please sign your clan up only if you seriously want to take part in the League, do not sign up inactive or fake clans or clans with too few players to actually meaningfully compete. Clans that drop out during the season will be excluded from the next one/s.
If you have a specific clan situation, e.g. you'd like to play as a joint clan since neither of you can form a proper sign-up, but together it would work, or anything else, let us know and talk to us about it so that we can figure it out - we're not in the business of denying participants if there's a good reason to let you play and have fun, without spoiling the fun for others (that's important).
Sign-ups will be tentatively closed on Sunday 21st March (prolonged to 28th) - we are looking to try this short period to see how things look, as clans are eager (and we'll contact them), and we are trying to coordinate with Voobly League, and knowing soon how many clans we'll have will help us gauge how to proceed - so please, try to sign up as soon as possible, so we can figure everything out for the community's best outcome, thanks.
If you have any further questions, feel free to contact me (Black Adder) or ChronoJJ.
Looking forward to having you in the League, and spread the word - the more clans, the more fun for everyone!
You can check the games played in RTS League at the RTS League's Replays Archive or in the dedicated forum at RTS-Sanctuary where you can also discuss them. Visit our YouTube channel for previously streamed League matches to enjoy the games with insightful commentary or see them through the eyes of players the likes of Spoeft and IKill_UDie or PLAYER, and be sure to follow our Twitch for regular live streaming of RTS League battles.
Follow us:
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Revisiting of Season 31 will follow.
--------------------
Would You Like to Get Involved and Help Us and the Community?
We're always on the lookout for engaged players, new active staffers can help us run the competitions better, artistically gifted people would make things nicer, technical skillers could make our web and services to the community so much better, Twitch/YouTube operators would help us put vids up faster!
If you think you can help, give us a hit (don't forget to change the addressee nick to Black Adder, or contact us another way) and we can talk it through, we would especially be super-glad for assistance with the web, as we're sure you can see for yourself :)
--------------------
Support Us and Help Us Host More Competitions for You
If you enjoy what we do for the community and you, the players, and would like to assist us in moving things ahead more materiastically, we would be glad for any donation or patronage we could use to push RTS League forward - we would like to do more! :)
About us:
RTS League is the foremost and longest running "Age of" clan competition ever, with a history of hosting numerous other strategy games (like StarCraft II, Empire Earth, and Dawn of War) in the past. Fun and friendliness are the prominent aspects of RTS League, with the unquestionable prestige and fame the triumph brings to the top finishing clans following close behind.
We are finished with the Group Stage in a rather orderly manner and now it's time to delve into the further brackets Season 31 of RTS League's Age of Mythology: The Titans Clan League brings - Playoffs and League Cup. Who will succeed? Who will prove superior? And who will have good fun? Let's find out in the few weeks to come.
6 teams of 5 clans made it into the fight for the top Banners:
ATB, DoD, F2, UCA Lizards, UCA Owls, WKT
Each of these has a great chance to succeed, so we're sure to have quite the tight battles on our hands, same as these clans in the League Cup will be hoping to reach the lone Blood-Red Banner through their sheer skill:
AoL, DoD|B, GCs, GDM+ONU, OB, PXx, RPG, TM, WKT|B
We have seen many excellent battles from these teams, so we're sure their further games will be as exciting and nail-biting as expected and will bring us, and them, many entertaining evenings (or other times of the day as has been the case this season :) ).
Follow us on our streams and community channels to learn the progress of the competition and cheer for your clans and friends!
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Info for the clans
Check out the Playoffs and League Cup info topics in the appropriate scheduling forums for more info on the postseason.
Timetable for Playoffs and League Cup:
Round of 16 & Quarterfinals: 14th-23rd August
Semifinals: 24-30th August
Grand Finals/Bronze Match: 31st August - 6th September
Playoff Scheduling Forum
League Cup Scheduling Forum
Gl&hf clans, and may the skill be with you!
--------------------
Would You Like to Get Involved and Help Us and the Community?
We're always on the lookout for engaged players, new active staffers can help us run the competitions better, artistically gifted people would make things nicer, technical skillers could make our web and services to the community so much better!
If you think you can help, give us a hit (don't forget to change the addressee nick to Black Adder, or contact us another way) and we can talk it through, we would especially be super-glad for assistance with the web, as we're sure you can see for yourself :)
--------------------
Support Us and Help Us Host More Competitions for You
If you enjoy what we do for the community and you, the players, and would like to assist us in moving things ahead more materiastically, we would be glad for any donation or patronage we could use to push RTS League forward - we would like to do more! :)
About us:
RTS League is the foremost and longest running "Age of" clan competition ever, with a history of hosting numerous other strategy games (like StarCraft II, Empire Earth, and Dawn of War) in the past. Fun and friendliness are the prominent aspects of RTS League, with the unquestionable prestige and fame the triumph brings to the top finishing clans following close behind.
Well, here we go - what we've been waiting for is here - Season 31 of RTS League's Age of Mythology: The Titans Clan League starts with the first round and we have yet again collated an assemblage of clans both old and new, mixing a brew promising quality games that will be fun to watch, and, most importantly, play!
In total 16 teams from 14 clans were distributed into two Divisions worthy of 7 Rounds of competing:
Division 1 - DoD, F2, GDM+ONU, RPG, TLP, TM, UCA - Owls, WKT|B
Division 2 - AoL, ATB, DoD|B, GCs, OB, PXx, UCA - Lizards, WKT
Fade2 are on their way to defend the Title, but Deities of Death are always on the prowl for the return of their famous past, but they both need to be looking also at the other clans, as there are many that can and will attempt to take down both of them - can AllTimeBest surprise? Can Old Boys or Albis Onis Lobias bring back some old-school skill? Or how about TheWalker Team? And let's not even talk about TheUnCrapAbles, both of them... Too many questions, even less answers - the Season's progress though will tell us all.
So follow us on our community channels and enjoy the live streams on twitch.tv/RTSLeague or discussions on Discord or RTS-Sanctuary, and hopefully enjoy your time playing, or following your clan to victories :)
If you want to help us stream the games on our channel, let us know, we would appreciate the assistance in providing the games for the community.
Follow us:
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Some technical info for the clans:
All games are to be played using the Voobly Balance Patch - currently version 4.0.
Here are some older, but relatively oft-repeated issues, especially meant for new clans:
- Play only on your main nickname, and under your clan's tag. Do NOT smurf.
- Come to matches in time (which means BEFORE the actual playtime) - we penalise late-coming AND late-starting.
- Do not forget to upload games and submit Fair Play Ratings as soon as possible after each match - more info is posted in the Guide in your division - read that fully - that goes even for established clans who tend to forget about things over time as well :)
- Do not wall-spam near Wonders - no 1x1 wall segments and similar. If you want to win through Wonders, do not do it by abuse. Also, clans can choose Conquest on their home map.
Now to the new Clan Operators amongst us - as you have been told in the sign-up topic, check your forum PMs for your Operator log-ins you will need in order to update your clan infos and rosters. New Clan Operators who haven't received the log-in yet, please message a staffer. In case of any questions regarding the League, do not hesitate to contact them either - it's better to ask beforehand than having to deal with problems later.
Clans should also make sure at least one active Clan Operator has joined the RTS League Discord to potentially facilitate communication with staff and also between you, the clans. Scheduling is still expected to happen here on the forums though for maximum clarity. Please visit the forum regularly, ideally daily, for everyone's sake, both yours and others'.
If you wish, we can make your clan a special channel there for you to use, just let us know.
Links you might want to keep are League standings and the schedule for your division (Division 1, Division 2). You can reach both of those also by selecting the appropriate competition in the Leagues menu, schedules are then available below the respective division's table.
Scheduling forums:
Division 1
Division 2
Round 1 is open until 28th June, each round after lasts the customary 1 week, Monday-Sunday - the concrete dates are stated in the Guide and will be added to the schedules themselves. Each Round is to be finished within its designated week, extensions are not automatic and you need to ask staff for them and they need to be supported with a sufficient reason - we want to keep the competition running smoothly, so no waiting for your best players - that's the purpose of this competition, long-term testing of your clan as a whole.
Gl&hf then and may the skill be with you!
--------------------
Would You Like to Get Involved and Help Us and the Community?
We're always on the lookout for engaged players, new active staffers can help us run the competitions better, artistically gifted people would make things nicer, technical skillers could make our web and services to the community so much better!
If you think you can help, give us a hit (don't forget to change the addressee nick to Black Adder, or contact us another way) and we can talk it through, we would especially be super-glad for assistance with the web, as we're sure you can see for yourself :)
--------------------
Support Us and Help Us Host More Competitions for You
If you enjoy what we do for the community and you, the players, and would like to assist us in moving things ahead more materiastically, we would be glad for any donation or patronage we could use to push RTS League forward - we would like to do more! :)
About us:
RTS League is the foremost and longest running "Age of" clan competition ever, with a history of hosting numerous other strategy games (like StarCraft II, Empire Earth, and Dawn of War) in the past. Fun and friendliness are the prominent aspects of RTS League, with the unquestionable prestige and fame the triumph brings to the top finishing clans following close behind.
Well, how about some clan team game fighting after all the 1v1 and 2v2 not only smurf tournaments? Seems like a good time to kick off yet another great season of RTS League's Age of Mythology: The Titans Clan League, with the number 31 already! Collect your friends from all the corners of the world and sign up for the next installment of the popular community competition where all that matters is to have good fun and some competitive games, and then, if you happen to be the best, hoist the prestigious Banners above your virtual heads! (Or real ones if you print them out to hang on your wall... :d)
Just want to also mention sorry for the delay in starting, we know you have been clamouring for the start for some time, we wanted to begin a lot earlier ourselves, but things happened, with the web mainly, but also others, for example in the world, and when we wanted to give it a go through our Discord, we were on the path to web fixing already, so yeah, here we are :) Sorry again, hopefully it won't affect your fun with the season, and on the plus side, you'll be able to enjoy everything you're used to from the past.
Because we know a lot of you are properly ready for the fights, the sign-ups will last only a week to get going asap, so careful with that, we'll try to contact clans as well if we see someone relevant missing.
Due to the world situation also, please, please make sure you can finish the whole season when you sign up - RTS League is usually up to a 3-month affair, so in case your home confinement is looking to be lifted, as has already started in some countries, or rather other sources of non-home, non-AoM entertainment are going to get more reachable, and maybe preferable for you, make sure you take this into consideration so that we don't have drop or other activity problem situations during the Season - thanks a lot and hope everything is going fine for you and your close ones. (This was also something of a concern for an earlier start, so hopefully now many of you have a clearer idea).
News for Season 31
1) Obviously we'll be using the latest Voobly Balance Patch 4.0.
2) New maps introduced in Bill Gregg Open Tournament are now available as free home map choices and will be joining our large roster of other maps - Arctic Craters, Borderlands, Drenched River, Fields of Punishment, Lumber Camp, Moat, Tropical Mirage. Be aware some of them may not be spawning up to the standard Balance Patch quality levels, at the same time they shouldn't be wildly different from the original, non-standard spawns like Megalopolis or Team Migration, etc., but since they were widely introduced to the community and they're fairly standard, why not use them as well to properly test them in competitive team game setting.
3) Co-clans become a thing - last season we already offered that option to solve a certain situation, so we thought immediately back then why not make it a thing for the next season from the beginning as it makes sense in the current climate.
What does this mean? It means that if there are two clans, neither of which could play in the League on its own due to lack of active players, they can sign up together as one entity if that would mean they would reach the requirement of activity then. This is meant to help with certain situations that happen in this old community when you have an old clan with just few players remaining active now, you would like to play, but you just cannot do it on your own and Guest Players per our Rules would not make it. If there is then another clan in a similar situation, you can join up, and play together in whatever player combinations you want as a normal clan would.
This is not meant to circumvent Guest Player Rules, we will keep an eye on that, so don't even try it, this is meant to help keep the clan spirit alive in the community, as even small clans are still clans, especially when they have history they cherish, and clans are the backbone of the community. Hope this helps.
If you want to use this option, please before you sign up, contact us with the explanation of the situation and why you want to do it, so that we can go through it if it makes sense and fits the purpose of this novelty to avoid some unpleasantness from misunderstandings, we know how this community can be.
4) Every clan's Clan Operator is required to join RTS League's Discord to be easier available for contact - scheduling is still expected to happen here on the forum because it's just better for organisation and following what's going on, but we'd like to give more reliable options for contact besides the elusive "let's talk on Voobly" for various cases you all know can happen.
If you have more than 1 Clan Operator, at least 1 needs to be available on the Discord, preferably the active one... :d
Rules changes will probably take some time to get reflected on the web, so this post, same as previous season ones, are taken as relevant for the purposes of running the League.
How to Sign Up
To take part in Season 31 and have a chance at the fun (and possibly the Banners :) ), your clan will need to fit a few conditions to ensure you would be a positive contribution to the League.
First you will need a Clan Operator - the guy/gal representing you in the competition, scheduling your matches with the opponents and communicating with League staffers on your behalf. This person should be reliable, responsible and available regularly, every day if at all possible. Proper and timely communication is the key here. You can, of course, have more than 1 Clan Operator to cover for each other (it's actually recommended, or at least have a designated back-up within your clan) :)
Then you must have at least 6 active players ready to participate - this is to ensure you are able to complete your matches regularly even if some of your heroes happen to be temporarily unavailable. We are also a clan competition, not team competition, therefore the players need to be your true clan members, not random players you just asked a day before to play with you in RTSL.
Further you need to be familiar with the League rules. Read them carefully, and pay good attention.
And when you've checked all these points and you're ready to join, then again make sure that your clan meets the criteria listed above and within the rules and simply post the following sign-up form (if you're new and need an account first, follow the instructions up top under the menu and we'll get it done). Returning clans need just to confirm the participation, but still re-read the rules, too, to be sure you know everything - ignorance is no excuse. Really not, help save both you and us a headache of potential disputes. We are different from other competitions, for example in no vetoes.
Clan Tag:
Clan Name:
Clan Website:
Number of Active Members:
Clan Operator Nickname and Contact, including Discord ID:
Clan Leader Nickname and Contact:
Clan Operator has read the rules and agrees to them:
B(C, etc.)-teams need to supply their complete roster with the application as well to allow us to gauge their strength so that we know where to seed them. Please also pay special attention to the guidelines on Guest Players found in Rule 4 - you need to list them as well to allow us to properly seed the clans.
Please sign your clan up only if you seriously want to take part in the League, do not sign up inactive or fake clans or clans with too few players to actually meaningfully compete. Clans that drop out during the season will be excluded from the next one/s.
If you have a specific clan situation, e.g. you'd like to play as a joint clan since neither of you can form a proper sign-up, but together it would work, or anything else, let us know and talk to us about it so that we can figure it out - we're not in the business of denying participants if there's a good reason to let you play and have fun, without spoiling the fun for others (that's important).
Sign-ups will be closed on Sunday 7th June, we'll do our best to start Season 31 on the following week, but sometimes it can take a bit as we need to ensure every participant is ready to play by the rules.
If you have any further questions, feel free to contact me (Black Adder) or ChronoJJ.
Looking forward to having you in the League, and spread the word - the more clans, the more fun for everyone!
You can check the games played in RTS League at the RTS League's Replays Archive or in the dedicated forum at RTS-Sanctuary where you can also discuss them. Visit our YouTube channel for previously streamed League matches to enjoy the games with insightful commentary or see them through the eyes of players the likes of Spoeft and IKill_UDie or PLAYER, and be sure to follow our Twitch for regular live streaming of RTS League battles.
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Look Back at Season 30 - How F2 Took the Win
At the dawn of Autumn, our anniversary 30th Season of RTS League's Age of Mythology: The Titans Clan League saw its final battle for the lords of the Age of Mythology community - if you're not sure how that came to be or want to reminisce on the progress or refresh your participation memories, read on, we have a short summary ready for you that will make it clear why the winners deserve their Title.
Group Stage
Dividing the clans and their teams into the Divisions was from the start a bit contentious, as there clearly were more favourites for Playoffs than planned spots. This also made the fight a lot more important and intense, and no one could really let off and risk worse advance position.
Both Divisions in the end had undisputed leaders managing to not lose a single game, however difficult and kind of "playoff-worthy" that was - Fade2 had to beat extremely strong TheUnCrapAbles - Lizards, the A team, stacked with known names from the community games that often show extraordinary performance, but they themselves are multiple-times RTS League Champions, so it's not entirely surprising they did manage, even with a deeper line-up - that was clearly their strong point this Season, allowing them to react to opponents' picks and use various gods' mains.
On the other hand, in Division 1, the result was probably a bit of a surprise, as not many exactly expected 2k for jesus to dominate the way they did after their strained line-up activity, and leave confident Deities of Death behind. Just speaks to their individual qualities that they can come so strong from their opponents' left field. Notable performance here certainly came also from the other TheUnCrapAbles team, the Owls, who even contended with DoD for the second spot after tying with them, which nobody really expected.
A high point of the group stage was certainly the presence of many EE players also lately playing on Voobly, joining the competitive community, whose clans have shown quite some promise and made the fights and results interesting - AllTimeBest and Straight Outta EE. It's quite nice to see the communities connect and enjoy their time in a common competition, as is becoming a standard.
And as has been said at the start, all the other clans made an impact on the Season as well with their skill, and pretty much every game mattered as far as getting points for advance - especially third spots were pretty close and certainly not clear, with Organization of Natural Uppers and Gladiadores del Mythology always having something to say to the other clans in these matters, now with TheWalker Team joining their ranks as well. Them, WKT, together with Team Mystic, could probably make even more of an impact if they could ensure more stable showings, which might be costing them a few points. Even DoD|B's game taken from ATB came dangerously close to actually decide the Playoff participants - literally every game mattered and matters, and everyone has a chance to affect the Season's outcome.
Find all the streamed games on our YouTube or Twitch and recs in our archive (Voobly Balance Patch 3.0 required)
Playoffs
When the dust settled, JSS and F2 sitting in the saddle of a pretty high horse called Semifinals, Quarterfinals featured curious clashes that could easily go wrong for the favourites - ONU are known to be able to play special maps and cause upsets, so Deities of Death had to be careful and prepared, and that they were - the games in the end proved to be rather straightforward and DoD looked determined to succeed this Season, more than in the previous ones. At the same time the other Quarterfinals, the duel between two animalistic teams of TheUnCrapAbles, was an open battle where not many dared to guess what exactly is going to happen. These inter-clan matches are always tricky from so many standpoints, and it didn't change here, as the games proved to be intensely fought and no one gave their clan mates any quarters (heh, pun not intended, but welcome :d) - the match was just a prelude to what was going to come between the best of the best.
In the Semifinals, known firms had another meet-up - with another epic conclusion. With pre-set Megalopolis starting it off, both clashes provided epics right at the start, and we knew the right clans got into the right positions. These games were also curiously similar between the matches, signaling players watch and learn from their competitors, exactly as it should be. From here on though, the similarities kind of ended, but we have still seen very unusual games - curious strat on Medit from UCA, then a close call on WH with brave push supported by line-up change from JSS, while in the other Semifinal, players fought literally to the death, playing on Deities of Death's River Styx snaking through the Underworld, showcasing one of the most special games in a long time, and then continuing with well-prepared strats on the following maps exchanging wins with decider needed.
Find all the streamed games on our YouTube or Twitch and recs in our archive (Voobly Balance Patch 3.0 required)
Grand Finals
This all led to a clash everyone was expecting and looking forward, between Fade2 and TheUnCrapAbles - Lizards, a re from the group stage where F2 won 2:0.
Start was appropriately fun on pre-set Team Migration, with both clans having different, yet fun ideas how to approach the map, while the next game also provided a fun moment, though not for the players in action - mistakes happen :d And they cost at such high stakes. When the home maps were done with yet another signature performance on Medit guess by whom, second pre-set Frozen Wastes tied the match with a close battle that was not too far away from going the other way - but at least we learnt/saw in action Mountain Giant the Tower Destroyer - they're really good at crushing buildings. This then required the Decider with capital D, which ended up on the same map which UCA chose before, and we had another open, aggressive game on our hands - with a bit early set pace as to its progress due to an early tactical decision. Every thing matters in top level play.
When the hooves quieted down, swords stopped singing and blood started to dry up, we had the honour of talking to the clan that prevailed through all the hardships of the Season and overcame every obstacle and other clan - the deserved Champions of RTS League's Age of Mythology: The Titans Clan League Season 30 are:
The Finalists, 1 game away from Triumph:
Watch the Grand Finals commentated stream on the RTS League Channel
Download Grand Final recs (Voobly Balance Patch 3.0 required)
Bronze Banner then goes to a clan that cannot get any more staple than they already are in the community, after yet another good season:
League Cup
But as always, that wasn't all - parallel with Playoffs, the competition for non-participants took place and clans and teams had another chance to leave their mark on the Season. All four clans gave it their all and we had another batch of quality games, with TheWalker Team and Gladiadores del Mythology meeting in the Finals - WKT had an intense battle in Semifinals against AllTimeBest, confirming both clans' strong position and potential, and maybe that gave them the edge and confidence to then also claim the lone Blood-Red Banner - though it still took a long battle to overcome GDM, their fierce opponents.
Download League Cup Finals recs - Game 1,Game 2
Fair Play
And what would a Season be without traditional Fair Play Awards for the most fun clan to play with - as awarded by the participating clans themselves, these are the final standings, with Fade2 taking the double prize:
F2 9.0
ATB 8.6
UCA Owls 8.6
UCA Lizards 8.2
DoD|B 8.0
GDM 8.0
SOEE 7.8
WKT|B 7.8
DoD 7.6
JSS 6.7
WKT 6.3
TM|B 5.9
ONU 5.7
TM 5.0
Congratulations to all successful clans and thank you very, very much to everyone participating - without you, we wouldn't have such a good competition going in the community! Hope to see you all, and maybe some new faces (hopefully) in the next one :)
Follow us:
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Would You Like to Get Involved and Help Us and the Community?
We're always on the lookout for engaged players, new active staffers can help us run the competitions better, artistically gifted people would make things nicer, technical skillers could make our web and services to the community so much better!
If you think you can help, give us a hit (don't forget to change the addressee nick to Black Adder, or contact us another way) and we can talk it through, we would especially be super-glad for assistance with the web, as we're sure you can see for yourself :)
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Support Us and Help Us Host More Competitions for You
If you enjoy what we do for the community and you, the players, and would like to assist us in moving things ahead more materiastically, we would be glad for any donation or patronage we could use to push RTS League forward - we would like to do more! :)
About us:
RTS League is the foremost and longest running "Age of" clan competition ever, with a history of hosting numerous other strategy games (like StarCraft II, Empire Earth, and Dawn of War) in the past. Fun and friendliness are the prominent aspects of RTS League, with the unquestionable prestige and fame the triumph brings to the top finishing clans following close behind.
After 7 rounds of Group Stage of our Age of Mythology: The Titans Clan League, we have the top 3 of each Division and therefore it's time to look at their mutual fights and see which clan will prove itself against all others. The Golden Banner is waiting for the victor, and we are waiting to see who proves worthy of being called the top clan in the whole of community - some classic names are in again with wealth of experience, but history is history, and now is now - who of these will it be?
DoD, F2, JSS, ONU, UCA, UCA|B
You see it right, TheUnCrapAbles have two horses in the run, but as gods would have it, they will fight straight in the first round, so we can be sure the top 3 Banners won't bear the same clan name on them - but otherwise it's a wild open race (with DoDs already overcoming ONU), so take your guesses and follow our live streams to learn the most important thing this season - who will win RTS League?
Follow us:
League Cup
For the posteason we also host a special competition for non-Playoff clans, this time these five clans will battle for the lone Banner:
ATB, DoD|B, GDM, SOEE, WKT
Based on the Group Stage we can certainly expect some quality games again, so stay tuned to our channels as we're going to give you these matches live as well :) Hard to pick the winner, especially since the League Cup is quite challenging due to random seeding and swift matches.
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Info for the clans
Check out the Playoffs and League Cup info topics in the appropriate scheduling forums for more info on the postseason.
Timetable for Playoffs and League Cup:
Quarterfinals: 13-18th August
Semifinals: 19-25th August
Grand Finals/Bronze Match: 26th August - 1st September
Playoff Scheduling Forum
League Cup Scheduling Forum
Gl&hf clans, and may the skill be with you!
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Would You Like to Get Involved and Help Us and the Community?
We're always on the lookout for engaged players, new active staffers can help us run the competitions better, artistically gifted people would make things nicer, technical skillers could make our web and services to the community so much better!
If you think you can help, give us a hit (don't forget to change the addressee nick to Black Adder, or contact us another way) and we can talk it through, we would especially be super-glad for assistance with the web, as we're sure you can see for yourself :)
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Support Us and Help Us Host More Competitions for You
If you enjoy what we do for the community and you, the players, and would like to assist us in moving things ahead more materiastically, we would be glad for any donation or patronage we could use to push RTS League forward - we would like to do more! :)
About us:
RTS League is the foremost and longest running "Age of" clan competition ever, with a history of hosting numerous other strategy games (like StarCraft II, Empire Earth, and Dawn of War) in the past. Fun and friendliness are the prominent aspects of RTS League, with the unquestionable prestige and fame the triumph brings to the top finishing clans following close behind.
Many have been impatiently waiting for the opportunity to yet again test their skills and mettle against others to determine who is better and who should be called the best clan in the community - the sign-ups have concluded, divisions are ready, so what's in store for all of us and mainly the participating clans? Weeks of quality clan wars followed by prestigious awards!
RTS League's Age of Mythology: The Titans Clan League has accepted 10 clans with 14 teams for the thirtieth edition of the longest running competition in the community, and this is how they are divided:
Division 1 - DoD, GDM, JSS, SOEE, TM|B, UCA|B, WKT
Division 2 - ATB, DoD|B, F2, ONU, TM, UCA, WKT|B
You can definitely see some favourites for top placements there already now, but if history has taught us anything, it's that there are always players eager to step up and RTS League is the perfect place for them to actualise their intentions - follow our community channels and streams (if you'd like to help us cast the games, let us know!) and newly even Discord to stay up to date with the happenings in the League or to just chat with us, the players and like-minded fans of the game!
Follow us:
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Some technical info for the clans:
All games are to be played using the Voobly Balance Patch - currently version 3.0.
Here are some older, but relatively oft-repeated issues, especially meant for new clans:
- Play only on your main nickname, and under your clan's tag. Do NOT smurf.
- Come to matches in time (which means BEFORE the actual playtime) - we penalise late-coming AND late-starting.
- Do not forget to upload games and submit Fair Play Ratings as soon as possible after each match - more info is posted in the Guide in your division - read that fully - that goes even for established clans who tend to forget about things over time as well :)
- Do not wall-spam near Wonders - no 1x1 wall segments and similar. If you want to win through Wonders, do not do it by abuse. Also, clans can choose Conquest on their home map.
Now to the new Clan Operators amongst us - as you have been told in the sign-up topic, check your forum PMs for your Operator log-ins you will need in order to update your clan infos and rosters. New Clan Operators who haven't received the log-in yet, please message a staffer. In case of any questions regarding the League, do not hesitate to contact them either - it's better to ask beforehand than having to deal with problems later.
Links you might want to keep are League standings and the schedule for your division (Division 1, Division 2). You can reach both of those also by selecting the appropriate competition in the Leagues menu, schedules are then available below the respective division's table.
Scheduling forums:
Division 1
Division 2
We have established Discord server for you Clan Operators to better communicate and find each other - forum scheduling is still the "official," proper way, so post your information there, but Discord should help you reach each other in case of some issues - please every clan (ideally the Clan Operator) join the RTS League Discord server and follow the Age of Mythology #season-30 channel.
If you wish, we can make your clan a special channel there for you to use, just let us know.
Round 1 is open until 16th June (we originally announced it for this week, but due to the development, we'll give the customary longer period for the initial round), each round after lasts the customary 1 week, Monday-Sunday - the concrete dates are stated in the Guide and will be added to the schedules themselves. Each Round is to be finished within its designated week, extensions are not automatic and you need to ask your staffer for them and they need to be supported with a sufficient reason - we want to keep the competition running smoothly.
Gl&hf and may the skill be with you!
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Would You Like to Get Involved and Help Us and the Community?
We're always on the lookout for engaged players, new active staffers can help us run the competitions better, artistically gifted people would make things nicer, technical skillers could make our web and services to the community so much better!
If you think you can help, give us a hit (don't forget to change the addressee nick to Black Adder, or contact us another way) and we can talk it through, we would especially be super-glad for assistance with the web, as we're sure you can see for yourself :)
--------------------
Support Us and Help Us Host More Competitions for You
If you enjoy what we do for the community and you, the players, and would like to assist us in moving things ahead more materiastically, we would be glad for any donation or patronage we could use to push RTS League forward - we would like to do more! :)
About us:
RTS League is the foremost and longest running "Age of" clan competition ever, with a history of hosting numerous other strategy games (like StarCraft II, Empire Earth, and Dawn of War) in the past. Fun and friendliness are the prominent aspects of RTS League, with the unquestionable prestige and fame the triumph brings to the top finishing clans following close behind.
After the successful Hybrid Clan Cup where we had fun in different environment than usual, time has come to test clans in the standard settings to see who has the best skill set to prevail against all others and claim the laurels. Time has moved on, and so after seasons with Voobly Balance Patch 2.0 we have 3 now on the board, and new meta is in town needing its ruler - will it be the good olds or someone altogether new? Will it be your clan?
But you don't have to right off fight for the Title, RTS League is as much about having just proper fun in a traditional competitive setting, welcoming and open to all real clans and levels of players - how do you think the powerhouses of today got where they are? They had to start somewhere. And that somewhere was RTS League.
So get your clan mates and friends together and sign up for anniversary Season 30 of RTS League's Age of Mythology: The Titans Clan League!
And follow us on our community channels to stay on board with what's going on - including, and especially, live streams! :)
How to Sign Up
To take part in Season 30 and have a chance at the fun (and possibly the Banners :) ), your clan will need to fit a few conditions to ensure you would be a positive contribution to the League.
First you will need a Clan Operator - the guy/gal representing you in the competition, scheduling your matches with the opponents and communicating with League staffers on your behalf. This person should be reliable, responsible and available regularly, every day if at all possible. Proper and timely communication is the key here. You can, of course, have more than 1 Clan Operator to cover for each other (it's actually recommended, or at least have a designated back-up within your clan) :)
Then you must have at least 6 active players ready to participate - this is to ensure you are able to complete your matches regularly even if some of your heroes happen to be temporarily unavailable. We are also a clan competition, not team competition, therefore the players need to be your true clan members, not random players you just asked a day before to play with you in RTSL.
Further you need to be familiar with the League rules. Read them carefully, and pay good attention.
And when you've checked all these points and you're ready to join, then again make sure that your clan meets the criteria listed above and within the rules and simply post the following sign-up form (if you're new and need an account first, follow the instructions up top under the menu and we'll get it done). Returning clans need just to confirm the participation, but still re-read the rules, too, to be sure you know everything - ignorance is no excuse. Really not, help save both you and us a headache of potential disputes. We are different from other competitions, for example in no vetoes.
Clan Tag:
Clan Name:
Clan Website:
Number of Active Members:
Clan Operator Nickname and Contact:
Clan Leader Nickname and Contact:
Clan Operator has read the rules and agrees to them:
B(C, etc.)-teams need to supply their complete roster with the application as well to allow us to gauge their strength so that we know where to seed them. Please also pay special attention to the guidelines on Guest Players found in Rule 4 - you need to list them as well to allow us to properly seed the clans.
Please sign your clan up only if you seriously want to take part in the League, do not sign up inactive or fake clans or clans with too few players to actually meaningfully compete. Clans that drop out during the season will be excluded from the next one/s.
Sign-ups will be closed on Friday 17th May, we'll do our best to start Season 30 on the following week, but sometimes it can take a bit as we need to ensure every participant is ready to play by the rules.
If you have any further questions, feel free to contact our AoT staff members or any other staffers.
Looking forward to having you in the League, and spread the word - the more clans, the more fun for everyone!
You can check the games played in RTS League at the RTS League's Replays Archive or in the dedicated forum at RTS-Sanctuary where you can also discuss them. Visit our YouTube channel for previously streamed League matches to enjoy the games with insightful commentary or see them through the eyes of players the likes of Spoeft and IKill_UDie or PLAYER, and be sure to follow our Twitch for regular live streaming of RTS League battles.
--------------------
Would You Like to Get Involved and Help Us and the Community?
We're always on the lookout for engaged players, new active staffers can help us run the competitions better, artistically gifted people would make things nicer, technical skillers could make our web and services to the community so much better!
If you think you can help, give us a hit (don't forget to change the addressee nick to Black Adder, or contact us another way) and we can talk it through, we would especially be super-glad for assistance with the web, as we're sure you can see for yourself :)
--------------------
Support Us and Help Us Host More Competitions for You
If you enjoy what we do for the community and you, the players, and would like to assist us in moving things ahead more materiastically, we would be glad for any donation or patronage we could use to push RTS League forward - we would like to do more! :)
About us:
RTS League is the foremost and longest running "Age of" clan competition ever, with a history of hosting numerous other strategy games (like StarCraft II, Empire Earth, and Dawn of War) in the past. Fun and friendliness are the prominent aspects of RTS League, with the unquestionable prestige and fame the triumph brings to the top finishing clans following close behind.
Seems the first Season of RTS League's Age of Empires II: Rise of the Rajas Clan League started on the right foot as we have seen top level gameplay all around with some real memorable matches along the way, including the very season premiere and also closing matches to the Group Stage (and plenty in-between, of course) - now it's time to crank it all up even more: Playoffs are here. The best clans of the best will fight for the prestigious Banners and it's really up in the air who will be successful in this 17th year of competing with RTS League - just take a look at all the names and guess which one could be making it all the way, we dare you:
Arg, ByT, CM', CZ, FOX, Gaucho, Heresy, nC, NHN, RBTV, RFR, RoR, Straya, VN, Weljet, WOTC
You may have your favourites, but rest assured, there are plenty of players ready to prove you wrong, and so you would do well to cheer your chosen clan all the way as they will need your support on their difficult path - you can do that right here in the comments, or of course during the numerous live streams we'll provide on our channel twitch.tv/RTSLeague and we're sure there are going to be some PoVs as well based on what players are playing - and if you're really into things, then you'll find more content to talk about and like on our Facebook and Twitter as clans get into the heat of battle - just follow us everywhere (also e.g. YouTube) and you won't miss a thing (or lurk and have fun anyway, either is good :d).
As the first games are getting scheduled and it seems Thursday is the first playing day, all that remains is to wish gl&hf everyone, and may the best clan win! :)
Important note to clans that haven't made it into the Playoffs - based on initial plans and positive feedback, we're thinking of hosting the premiere AoEII League Cup, i.e. a postseason competition for non-Playoff clans - please be vigilant as we might try to contact you, or give us a hoot right off if you're interested so that we don't dally around :)
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Info for the clans
First and foremost congrats on advancing forward in the tournament!
Concerning the format, it's the standard as usual, Round of 16 is Best of 3 (home map each clan, third on Blind Random), starting from Quarterfinals it changes into Best of 5 with two set maps - we'll let you know the pre-set maps soon in the info topic in the scheduling forum.
Timetable:
Round of 16: 22nd-28th October
Quarterfinals: 29th October - 4th November
Semifinals: 5-11th November
Grand Finals/Bronze Match: 12-18th November
If you're wondering how the Playoff seeding was decided, we follow a few simple rules: reached position in the Division, reached points total (taking into account different sizes of Divisions and their development if needed), results of match-ups within the division, first and second from one division can meet only in the Finals, diversity consideration to prevent same-division match-ups in the first round (we already know how clans played against each other in the division, Playoffs are about comparing with other divs! :)). All in all, the quality and skill level of this season was again really high and it keeps getting higher, so there really isn't any "easy" path to the Gold for anyone :) The lone advancing fourth spot was then pretty clear this time around.
Just going to leave this here again, we have again seen some questions - no restarts in RTS League unless a bad mapscrew like obstructed gold and such.
That's it then - you're already nicely scheduling, so no need to remind you of that, therefore let's "just" have some proper AoEII fun! :)
Gl&hf clans, may the skill be with you!
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Would You Like to Get Involved and Help Us and the Community?
We're always on the lookout for engaged players, new active staffers can help us run the competitions better, artistically gifted people would make things nicer, technical skillers could make our web and services to the community so much better!
If you think you can help, give us a hit (don't forget to change the addressee nick to Black Adder) and we can talk it through, we would especially be super-glad for assistance with the web, as we're sure you can see for yourself :)
Want to Help Us Do More for You and the Community? Sling Us! :)
Since we're continually receiving very positive feedback from players enjoying playing with us, we feel you'd welcome us to do more for you and the community - we feel the same and would like to help you have even more fun with competitions we host, and so have opened a few options how you could assist in hosting new tournaments or Leagues in the spirit of RTS League - your support will be the foundation of something good and fun for everyone :) If you decide to level up your team play and sling us, open the Diplomacy menu or use the on-stream options on our channel :) (If you have specific ideas, give us a message and we'll work something out.)
About us:
RTS League is the foremost and longest running "Age of" clan competition ever, with a history of hosting numerous other strategy games (like StarCraft II, Empire Earth, and Dawn of War) in the past. Fun and friendliness are the prominent aspects of RTS League, with the unquestionable prestige and fame the triumph brings to the top finishing clans following close behind.
Here we go then - step into a new direction. But is it really? It's still the same old game, played by the same (sometimes old) players and in the same, at this point pretty much ancient, community, of which we are an inseparable part since way back in 2001, just with a few new toys - can those make for a completely new experience and upend the status quo established after 41 seasons of RTS League's Age of Empires II: The Conquerors Clan League?
That's kind of what we're looking to find out here with the brand new Rise of the Rajas Clan League, so let's get down to it, as it's not going to resolve itself - it will take all the skills and effort the players from all across the Age of Empires community can muster to see the best clans climb the treacherous competition all the way to the coveted Banners designated for the tops - and the prestige of succeeding in the true Clan Championship coming with them!
This premiere season is going to be a bit different than the previous AoC seasons, as we have just a few clans with multiple teams, and a lot of new clans coming forward to become part of history - that's great to see, as it means more connected community and more engagement all around :)
We have seen 38 sign-ups in total, and even though we had to clear up a few things with some, resulting in the delay (we just really take care with checking the clans out and trying to make sure the spirit of the competition holds true), in the end we were able to work through the issues and didn't find a reason to disallow any applicant right from the start - we will though, as always, keep a vigilant eye on the proceedings to make sure things are working out. After a careful deliberation from many angles, we have seeded the clans into these five Divisions:
Division 1 - CZ, Gaucho, MeX, Rus_F, Straya, VLNS, Weljet (staffed by Andorin)
Division 2 - DaRs, Eycofcu, kLu, nC, RoR, SURU, VN (staffed by Abraxas)
Division 3 - Arg|B, CiD, CM', LoS, RFR, Straya|B, TK, VN|B (staffed by Poxo)
Division 4 - Arg, ByT, BzK, CHI, LAT, LyF, NHN|B, RBTV (staffed by Abraxas)
Division 5 - CoS, CRG, DaM, NHN, QlS, R'C, stsn, WOTC (staffed by Andorin)
The level is quite high, with many top skilled 1v1 and mainly team players participating, but with RTS League's specifics (well, pretty much being played as you play your standard games every day :d), surprises are often not too far away and time and again we see seeming favourites stumble and lose a game to the underdogs! The long-term format (we're a League, after all :)) is great at that, as it measures consistency over time, which is not something everyone can achieve, and so opportunities arise for those with deeper line-ups, or a solid plan. And in the end, just having good fun and playing with true experts of the game, that's also worth something, and not a common opportunity - that's how skill improvement is achieved :)
Well then, do you have your clan to root for already, or a tip who will win it all? Make sure to let us know on our Facebook and Twitter where we're preparing a continuous coverage of all the rounds and interesting things going on in the League (you could've noticed our clan introductions already) - and yeah, we'll stream a lot of it live on twitch.tv/RTSLeague and twitch.tv/RTSLeague2 as well, with uploads to YouTube after - follow all that to not miss a thing :) (We're also sure there will be plenty of PoV streams from the players themselves if that's your groove :), and if you'd like an opportunity to help us stream the games live, do message us, as we'd like to hear from you and see how to help you out.)
Gl&hf then everyone, and may the best clan win!
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Technical info for the clans
We're entering new waters, so yet again, really do read the Rules in full and especially, especially the changed parts - we have prepared an explanation post for you to help you with that. We have also put together a Mapguide showcasing all the new Random Maps coming with the expansions.
Here are some important new and also standard "old," yet relatively oft-forgotten topics, especially meant for new clans, but definitely not just, as yet again, we have novelties for everyone this time:
- Play only on your Main Nickname, and under your clan's tag. Do NOT smurf. Do NOT hide on some random secondary nick.
- Come to matches BEFORE the actual playtime. This is a common sense thing, but from this season, the actual rule has changed to really ram the point home, and you are to be match-ready, i.e. ready to launch, at the match time. Scheduled time is not the time when you suddenly remember you are to play. You remember that way before.
- Do not forget to upload games as soon as possible after each match - more info is posted in the Guide in your division - read that fully - that goes even for established clans who tend to forget about things over time as well :) We ask your patience with our uploader, it's not as advanced as at other places, but it tries its best :d Don't be mean to it and try to fill in the info diligently :)
- Multi-civving (playing a civ more than once in a team) is a real possibility, and always has been - if you feel you could have more fun by playing with varied civs, feel free to offer a gentlemanly agreement to your opponents to do so - after all, we're here to have fun, so why not give it a shot ;) Same goes for slinging if you'd prefer playing without it. Quite frankly, the atmosphere and matches here should be quite similar to your run-of-the-mill games :)
New Clan Operators amongst us, check your forum PMs if you haven't yet for your Clan Operator log-ins you will need in order to update your clan infos and rosters. Also make sure to read the Guide to Season 1 in your division's scheduling forum explaining both the basics and the advanced stuff that you need to know for proper participation (including the group stage timetable). In case of any questions regarding the League, do not hesitate to contact your division or any other staffer.
Links you might want to keep are League standings and the schedule for your division (Division 1, Division 2, Division 3, Division 4, Division 5). You can reach both of these also by selecting the appropriate competition in the Leagues menu, schedules are then available below the respective division's table.
Scheduling forums:
Division 1
Division 2
Division 3
Division 4
Division 5
Gl&hf and may the skill be with you!
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Would You Like to Get Involved and Help Us and the Community?
We're always on the lookout for engaged players, new active staffers can help us run the competitions better, artistically gifted people would make things nicer, technical skillers could make our web and services to the community so much better!
If you think you can help, give us a hit (don't forget to change the addressee nick to Black Adder) and we can talk it through, we would especially be super-glad for assistance with the web, as we're sure you can see for yourself :)
About us:
RTS League is the foremost and longest running "Age of" clan competition ever, with a history of hosting numerous other strategy games (like StarCraft II, Empire Earth, and Dawn of War) in the past. Fun and friendliness are the prominent aspects of RTS League, with the unquestionable prestige and fame the triumph brings to the top finishing clans following close behind.
