The Presidential Briefing #20: Darkodor (Netherlands)

Mr. President, thank you for joining us. Could you introduce yourself to the WarEra community and explain your path to the Dutch presidency?

Thank you for having me. I am https://app.warera.io/user/68796073314bd5bcd33ddc6bthe president of the https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d446e731854c7ac7a0, which is currently the number one in active population (although https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d546e731854c7ac858 will probably overtake us soon).

I have been president for 7 consecutive terms now, since the first weeks I joined the game. At first we had only 2-3 people active, but now we almost have 400 active Dutchies.

To see our country grow from one of the smallest into one of the biggest ever was truly wonderful to see as president. Soon it is time for me to pass the torch now that we have many competent people amongst us.

The https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d446e731854c7ac7a0 is now the most populous country in WarEra. What do you believe made your recruitment and retention efforts so successful?

After https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d446e731854c7ac7a4's baby boom, we had to take action or we would stay an irrelevant factor in Europe. We got a small baby boom going from 3 to 15 people. One of the people who joined was https://app.warera.io/user/692ee8d8d930f58a92c19dd3. He is truly the greatest thing to happen to us, because he is a master at advertising and recruiting new people.

Soon he will be #1 in the referrals ranking.

Aside from the recruiting, we have had some great success with retaining players. This is mostly due to how we have setup our community in Discord. I thank my admins, my ministers, my congress and anyone else who actively participates in the community for making it so lively. We try to incorporate role-play and mimic a lot of real-life political structures to keep things interesting.

Many countries experience short-lived baby booms, but the https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d446e731854c7ac7a0 managed to keep new players active. What systems or community practices helped turn growth into long-term stability?

It is necessary to have something like a Discord where you can talk to your community, help them with guides and keep them entertained. For new players this game can be very confusing and if they have to learn everything on their own it is very likely they will leave soon.

We also continuously recruit people. We have our own subreddit and post almost everyday. Some people come and leave, but more people seem to stay and play.

How has this population surge changed the country internally in terms of coordination, leadership, and decision-making?

For the better. We are still developing and improving all these points, but I have noticed that with more people joining the game, you also get really active players who can help a lot.

Our congress is huge, but we manage to vote on laws in-game and in Discord very quickly. The coordination is impressive and I think better than a lot of other countries.

An example is our ambassador policy implemented by https://app.warera.io/user/6956e01b27ffa6262388b8b3, our Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d446e731854c7ac7a0 recently launched a major offensive against the https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d446e731854c7ac79e and successfully conquered most of its territory. What were the key factors behind this campaign?

Preparation. At first we took the diplomatic route and offered the https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d446e731854c7ac79e a very good deal, which they unfortunately declined.

After that we had to go the military route and our planning and strategy seems to have been successful (although we also have a gigantic population difference between the https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d446e731854c7ac79e and us, so that is definitely a huge factor).

Of course many things also happen behind closed doors that we can't talk about here.

How has the victory over the https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d446e731854c7ac79e affected Dutch morale and the country’s perception on the global stage?

The Dutch morale is very high right now!

More and more people seem to be joining the game.

I suppose that you would have to ask other countries about how they perceive us on the global stage.

Large populations bring strength but also challenges. How do you prevent internal fragmentation, burnout, or political divisions in such a large community?

Good question. So far we haven't really stumbled upon these issues.

Sure, there are people with different opinions, but it seems a big majority has trust in the leadership and the direction we are headed right now.

Do you believe the https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d446e731854c7ac7a0 now has a responsibility to play a larger role in shaping the balance of power in WarEra?

In terms of in-game power we are still growing, but we have the potential to be enormous . So the answer is yes.

Aside from that, I think we should also have an important voice in how the game should develop, not necessarily directly, but our opinion should weigh heavier when it comes to balancing.

For example, I think we need a navy update as the next update to balance out our detrimental geographical situation. To retain more population, the game needs to balance things out for all countries, instead of favoring some.

With most of the https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d446e731854c7ac79e now under Dutch control, many players are wondering whether https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d446e731854c7ac7fe could become the next target. How do you respond to that speculation?

No need to answer this anymore.

Finally, what message would you like to send to Dutch players, your allies, and nations watching the rapid rise of the https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d446e731854c7ac7a0?

To my Dutch players: Lekker bezig allemaal! We hebben echt een fantastische community met zijn allen!

To our allies: We appreciate all of you and we have a simple principle: If you help us, we will never forget it!

To all the nations of WarEra: Keep playing and making the game fun! If you want to focus on having a big population, my number one tip is to create and maintain a lively community (on Discord).

We thank the President of the https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d446e731854c7ac7a0 for sharing insight into the country’s rapid rise and recent victories.

Since this interview was conducted, the global demographic race has already taken another turn, with https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d546e731854c7ac858's population surging at remarkable speed.

Whether the https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d446e731854c7ac7a0 can hold its position at the top or faces a new challenger may soon become the next chapter of WarEra’s shifting balance of power.

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