From First to Last: The Small Mistake Everyone Overlooked

It's Sunday again, and with it comes probably my favorite event in the game: Arena of Honor. We had a great match last time, and today, we're hoping for another good game to help us climb the rankings. Will the matchmaking gods be in our favor? Let's see!

As we prepare, everything looks great. Interest in this time slot is so high that our team fills up almost immediately after "signups" open. Good thing I'm one of the regulards, so my spot is somewhat reserved. This time, we don’t just have rally leads for each troop type; we have multiple accounts for each. Now that's somethign I don't see every game.

Our strategy is the same: Trade Posts and at least 3 Altars of the Maiden. It’s worked well so far, so why fix it if isn’t broken?

There is one big change hoever. And it's something I’m actually looking forward to. This time we'll ahve a different account in the House! Holding our House has been a challenge in past matches. When other factions go for Troop Camps, their stats can become a problem, and with everyone focused on objectives, we’ve ignored the House and lost it consistently for the past 3 matches. This time, we’re putting a more powerful account in the House from the start. Even better, it’s an alt account, so it doesn’t impact our game at all. The only thing we need to do is pay attention to the reports. And since I’m usually a small fish in this big AoH pond, I volunteer to keep an eye on the reports from the House.

We’re at the bottom. I don’t know why, but I love this spot. Probably because of the map’s symmetry from this angle. Looking at the teams, though, it seems like a very hard match for us. There are some heavy hitters on the map, and it’s safe to say we’re waving goodbye to first place even before the battle begins.

What a pleasant surprise to start the game. A nicely timed capture from the elimination screen reveals I’m 2nd in points!😂I decided to keep this for my hall of fame since I probably won’t see it ever again. To put things into perspective, this is from the first few minutes of the game after I took two strongholds. Since only a few people can take two strongholds at this time... I'm guaranteed a spot in the top 5😏

We’re moving fast in the first line, but that’s usually the case. The real challenge comes in the second line, where we tend to fall behind.

The House to our left, Targaryen, the ones attacking us, are focusing on Trade Posts, which means we should not have problems defending our House. And the new House holder looks rock solid. This "alt" is at least as strong as my main... quite possibly stronger? Looks like we won’t have the House problem anymore. Yeey! I’m relieved that I won’t have to stress about the reports during the game.

Only one House is going for camps. So we’ll have a lot of competition for the Altars of the Maiden this game. The second row of strongholds is slow to capture, but I’m used to it by now. We finish the first line and race to secure the second as quickly as possible.

At least we’re sending plenty of reinforcements, so nobody is slacking off.😀Despite the slow second line, we’re still in first place, so I guess we’re doing well compared to the others.

Trading Posts for the win! We’re still in first place, which is a great start for a game we expected to be problematic. At least we’re off to a good start.

When the Sept opens, nobody is free to dedicate a Lord march. When I catch a break, I take it for the team. Since I can’t compete with many of the top accounts on this map, I have to find other ways to be useful.

Look at me taking the Sept! Remember this lineup🙂. With the anniversary event ending these days and several great events currently running as well, I’m about to make some serious improvemets to my account next month. I'm just waiting for another Hero Decree in the Recruitment Pack and I should be set.

And remember not even ten minutes ago when my team was in first place? Well, as the Dragonpits open, we’re now close to last😭

Halfway through the game, something doesn't add up. We’re continously dropping in rank, and I can’t figure out why.

We have full Trade Posts, just like everyone else.

We hold three Maidens, just like the teams above us. There’s no reason we should be second to last.

Then I see it!😱

One of our Trade Posts never reached level three. It’s been sitting at level two this entire time.

A tiny, overlooked detail. A trickle of lost points, accumulating bit by bit, silently dragging us down the rankings.

I send troops immediately, but the frustration hits hard. How did nobody notice this for half the game? How did I not notice?

We weren’t expecting a win, but this? If we lose Fame Points over a mistake this small, we're going to be really dissapointed.

Ten people missed it? Ten people! All experienced veterans, and yet this kind of thing happens!

Before I can even finish the upgrade, we drop again. Now we’re dead last. Unbelievable!

Holding three Maidens, a strong team, a good start, yet here we are, at the bottom of the list.

Not because we were outplayed. Not because we were outmatched. Because we let a single, stupid oversight snowball into disaster.

But the score is close. The fight isn’t over. We’re not winning this, but we can get back up there and at least finish on fourth place.

That’s our new, refined objective for the second half of the game.

Barrathion takes the Ciry of Glory, as expected and after upgrading the Trade Post we're slowling gaining more points per minute and raising in rank. The "big mine" opens and everyone is busy again so I decide to try my luck with it, knowing I'm still not strong enough to take it.

Just as I expected, my troops get massacred. The mine still has better stats than my main. Shameful, but hopefully not for long. Maybe next AoH, if not, definitely the one after that, I’ll be able to take it and wipe away the shame of these failed attempts. I’ve got my eyes on you, "big mine"! I’m coming for you!

Slowly, we’re climbing back in overall points. By the time the small mines open, we’re in fourth place. As everyone is making plans to take the mines, I already know I won’t be able to hold one. The best I can do is reinforce my leads, so I do what any respectable filler should and try to snipe altars.

This is a great time to snipe as everyone is planning for the mines. I launch attacks on 4 altars enemy houses have claimed in our immediate proximity and hope they will go unnoticed for 2 min.

Alas, I only manage to take one altar, while another gets flipped by a different house. I see the new wannabe owner is camping it, and I might just have a shot at kicking their army out. I send my troops charging in, ready for glory.

But no glory was waiting for them😒

It’s an incredibly close fight, but I lose by the skin of my teeth. Sad, but I know this won’t be the case for much longer. One game, maybe two, and I’ll have the edge in encounters like this one.

On the bright side, I somehow manage to score a win… against a RoD player, of all people. That was probably not their main army and probably not even their lord march, otherwise, I wouldn’t have stood a chance. But a win is a win and I'm happy I'm seeing "Win" in my personal reports.

Just before the game ends, I manage to claim another altar. This was funny. Someone noticed I was stealing it and tried to contest. But they forgot to speed in and missed the timer by a full 12 seconds 😂. Oh well, guess they were trying to scare me out of it? Too bad I can’t see what army was in there, because they bounced off the bubble. Would have been curious to see what I missed.

At this stage, we can already predict our final placement based on the buildings we hold and what’s still flipping. With two minutes needed to take a building, it’s a done deal by now. Our race for fourth place is tight. About 300 points are between us and House Targaryen in fifth.

As the game finally ends, we’re happy to see we're on fourth place, mainly because this means we've avoided losing Fame Points.

Our point “tick” must have registered just before Targaryen’s, keeping us ahead right until the curtain dropped.

The closing map paints a clear picture of just how cornered we were throughout the match and how much the other Houses expanded by the end.

This match was brutal, but my team still managed a respectable fourth place. Even though I ranked near the bottom in eliminations, three of our members made it into the top ten. It all comes down to each teams strategy I guess. If you're defending buildings to lock them, you're stuck in place and don’t score many eliminations. In the end, it’s a choice between solo rewards and team play. And I’m proud to be part of a group that puts the team above personal glory😘I don't want anyone to see it, but our new House holder ranked higher in eliminations. Guess those "free" NPC points add up over an entire game, lol.

Even if the matchmaking Gods weren’t on our side this time, we still made a solid effort. I can’t wait for my account upgrades next month to be able to help my team out more. Until then, enjoy the final days of the anniversary event, and I’ll see you on the fields of Westeros!