What makes a good leader in pk?

[kaiden]

I thought it might be interesting to talk about which players have been strong leaders in pk. In an attempt to keep it civil, positive and consistent, please could you respond using the below format. Please also avoid theory if you can the intention is to share stories rather than theoretical ideas.

Name a player: Mangler

What made them good: He was extremely good at setting up traps, particularly of the door kind. Would take care to keep his group safe particularly if you lacked zone knowledge. Would risk his life to save the group. In pk he also felt he mastered the art of tempo. He understood how to set a certain tempo of pk and would get you used to a slower chase speed build your confidence and when you got low would increase the tempo catching you off guard.

Best pk memory of the leader: Myself and a friend had ventured for the first time down caemy road Mangler runs into us and kills my friend. Leaving me without a lantern and lost in the dark. We waited for daylight to loot only to notice he had taken all my friends light sources. We laughed about that for a while.

[Kiltwich]

"good" is very subjective. I generally prefer an evil leader when I'm on DS, least some lightfriend fade DT's the group in the ways.

I would recommend a few categories to better explain what separates good leaders from great:
1 - judgement: the ability to gauge which group has the advantage
2 - communication and action: regroups, rescuing stragglers or the one person who gets multiple bad flees and gets stuck somwhere, calling out, but not fleeing immediately when the dodger gets bashed right after the call, etc.
3 - latency, chasing, and picking off stragglers: getting the kill is important, and one side losing a person or two quickly will change the dynamics of the fight very, very fast
4 - assertiveness: seizing the initiative, and pushing things forward, and taking the calculated risks
5 - fun to FIGHT AGAINST
6 - taking care of the fallen and equitable splitting of spoils from winning.

There are a number of good and great leaders around, though experience plays a huge role, and the meritocracy aspect really punishes folks for trying to step up without said experience (especially when the other side has some of the best).

There's also a lot to be said for good followers. Folks who COMMUNICATE WITH YOU when they are stuck/trapped, or run to mob support different from what was called, go to block, or leave pk. There's a time and a place to solo chase (it's more situational than many would be lead to believe), turning on notice when standing still in case of surprise rogue stabbing somebody typing out a narr, etc.

[Ragyn]

For me Lykan and Rhys stand out. Lykan because he was just that much better and seemed to always be able to turn a losing situation around with his zone knowledge, fast chasing and decision making.

Rhys because every time you see him you know the PK is going to be a lot of fun, regardless of which side you're on.

So I think to me the most important thing as a leader is taking risks and understanding this is a game, steamrolling someone or taking the "tempo" out of a fight by not taking any risks waiting for the opponent to take the risks tends to fizzle out the enjoyment. Granted if you're new to leading or not entirely sure of yourself as a leader taking risks becomes harder - so I think the risk taking is mainly aimed at the established leaders who've been here for ages. So I guess Kiltwich point 5 is the most important aspect of leading in my book. If everyone is having fun, the PK continues, if only one side is having fun, it dies as the other side will go do something else.

[Gretchen]

the main thing is situational awareness and knowing who you are fighting and what they are capable of

when leading you have to be aware of not just your situation but everyone in your groups the more people the harder this gets

I always struggled leading bigger groups but tended to do ok with small stuff

[Mhaliah]

Sometimes the escape is a big deal.

I remember one time we were fighting a solo trolloc south and that tricky bastard used a portal stone to get us all stronghold where a bigger group of DS were waiting. I thought for sure I was going to die and a gaidan got all of us out alive.

[gok]

I think I remember that event. If I recall Stronk pulled you guys in and Draz managed to work the trolloc group. I believe he gathered you all up and ran south. Was a really good example of leadership.

[Revescaal]

Six foot tall or taller, six figure income, full head of hair, owns their own home by 25 (gift from parents), dimples, sly little smile when they make a mistake (their whole group died), drops link with rare loot, turns in six scalps right after boot before anyone else has logged on.

[Mhaliah]

I think I remember that event. If I recall Stronk pulled you guys in and Draz managed to work the trolloc group. I believe he gathered you all up and ran south. Was a really good example of leadership.

Thats the one!

[isabel]

It is very simple.

Did you have fun?

If yes, then you had a good leader.

Some might say - but, Isabel, what if the leader is good but YOU were in a jaded headspace?

To them, I say:

A good leader will give
- a jaded player hope
- a burnt out player inspiration
- an inactive player nostalgia
- a bored player entertainment

...and so on.

Some might say - but, Isabel, where can we possibly find such a leader?

To them, I say:

Look in the mirror and see your own future.

(P.S - am I in an overly long work meeting? Yes, yes I am)

[Venum]

Lykan, because you just always won, especially if there was a door nearby