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A tribe is a group of players allied together under a single name, title or banner. Although the alliance is non-binding and you are under no obligation to help fellow members, most tribes will kick you out if you do not act honourably towards fellow members, and many will even noble and farm you, which means that the majority of tribes do not commit traitorous acts and work well in unison.

Tribes create completely new aspects to the game of Tribalwars, such as large-scale wars and gigantic family-tribes. Tribes can also provide great entertainment and let players meet each other and chat in the easy-to-use tribal forum.

A typical logo for a tribe (this one is for PKs)

Joining a tribe

Joining a tribe has a large number of advantages if you are a loyal and active player. However, before you take the step, you might want to carefully consider the pros and cons of joining a tribe. Overall, it is vital for success to be in a tribe, but there are still a few important aspects which you need to consider.

• Joining a tribe can get you into war situations with powerful neighbors - always check that the tribe you wish to join is active and well established in your area. It is no use to be in a weak, inactive tribe established on the other side of the map!
• Make sure that there's nobody in the tribe that you might want to noble/farm! It may sound stupid, but there are regularly situations where people join a tribe and discover that they want to noble a member/ally!
• Be certain not to offend or harm your tribe or their reputation - if you get booted from the tribe, for whatever reason, things are going to get tough!
• Check if the tribe appears mature and sensible! If the tribe you join makes rushed decisions which aren't at all clever and could damage members, then think again about whose tribe you want to join!

1. A good way to check for this is looking through their tribal profile and, sometimes, their leader's profile.
2. Also, take a look at the members list to see if they seem to have sensible ranks and a good system for leadership - once you join a tribe, there's often no going back!

Why to join a tribe

The Coat of Arms for Aten Crimson Jedi

Joining a tribe is vital to succeeding in TribalWars, and has many upsides to balance out the negative points outlined above. These include:

• Joining a tribe makes people think twice before attacking you: they will realize that attacking you could result in your tribe attacking them, or even declaring a war on their tribe! You will gain a huge amount of protection through joining a tribe, and will also be sure that less people will attack you in the first place.
• Another up-point to joining a tribe is the community. Not only can the tribal forums allow you to make friends and entertain you throughout those long upgrades, but the other members will be more than willing to give you advice on how to develop effectively and sensibly which you might never learn otherwise.
• You gain a large amount of trading opportunities through joining a tribe based around your area, members will be willing to help you out and may give you better offers than you could imagine finding on the market, with less of a trade time if you are a close-knit tribe! Some members may even give you gifts - this includes support troops.
• Along with all of this, you gain even more through your tribe's allies and NAPs which can give you even greater amounts of support and trading opportunities. Some allies are as willing to help you as your own tribe!

As you can see, if you don't join a powerful tribe reasonably early in the game, other players are going to see you as weak and snatch you up as their noble or farm target! However, joining a tribe will give you the protection that'll help you stay safe.

How to join a tribe

There are two methods of joining a tribe, both of which are useful for different situations and have various methods of going about. However, as a guideline, always ask politely and never show any anger if a refusal is met, as it won't solve anything and will make you a more likely enemy.

Establishing a new tribe

It is recommended not to attempt this unless you know several players around you well or unless you world/continent is very undeveloped, or you will probably not succeed.

Establishing your own tribe is quite simple, and can be done through a few basic steps:

1. Firstly, press the 'tribe' button located at the top right-hand corner of your screen, sat beside 'reports'.
2. Carefully choose a name for your tribe and enter it into the 'name' box.
3. Choose an abbreviation for your tribe and enter it into the box below. This should be easy to remember and not overly complex, as there is a six character limit to it and it will be used regularly in the future to link to your tribe. Also, it should in some way relate to your Tribe's name.
4. Press 'establish' and you're away! Begin inviting members and start to form your tribal forum!

Joining an existing tribe

This is by far the easiest method to joining a tribe, and you will be much more susceptible to discovering a successful tribe this way, even if the success comes later on.

However, being invited into an existing tribe is harder than establishing your own for a number of reasons. To join an existing tribe, you need to:

1. Be given an invite!
   • If nobody invites you, then look into some local tribes that are suited to you and if you find a suitable looking tribe, glance through their members list to find someone with a suitable title (such as 'recruitment officer', 'leader', or 'duke') and politely message them to request an invitation. Be sure to use good grammar and specify why you wish to join them and what you could offer them!
2. You will receive a report as soon as you get an invitation. If you receive one of these, take a deep breath and make sure you want to join the tribe! If you are absolutely certain that it is the tribe for you, click the aforementioned 'tribe' button and there will be a list of your invitations. Simply click 'accept' to accept and you'll be away! To decline an invitation, follow the same process except press 'decline' instead of 'accept'.

So, that's it: you're in a tribe - congratulations!

Tribal features

Tribes contain many useful features, ranging from basic format and setup to external forums and web sites. To a new member, they can be complicated and confusing, but they become useful and simple as one adapts, and are well worth knowing about.

Tribal Structure

A typical tribal profile which contains policy.

Tribes are structured differently depending on which tribe you look at. However, many have a similar system as to how they function and, although very few tribes have specific policies written out, most have a standard way of doing things. For example, many tribes may have something in their profile to discourage refugees: this is an instance of the way tribes are structured and, in a small way, a policy.

The majority of tribes do not have a single player in control. There is commonly a council in charge: this is a group of players chosen/elected to make important decisions for the tribe. It is common for these players to act as formal leaders, but the average members in most tribes get the choice as to what is done. A council member is usually chosen for experience, activity and being sensible. They should definately have extra privileges.

However, this council will often have one or two players (typically the founder/s) as 'leaders', who have absolute control and the final say about the tribe, and full privileges. This system works extremely well and is recommended for all tribes.

In any tribe, you can have custom member titles. These can be set by dukes and barons. They appear in brackets beside members' names on the members list for a tribe, and are often used as inter-tribal ranks. These ranks are unofficial and usually have requirements which are set by the tribe or its leaders.

As you move up the ranks, barons and dukes can alter your privileges. The privileges are:

• Duke
• Baron
• Invite
• Diplomacy
• Circular mail
• Moderator in tribal forum
• Hidden forums

NOTE: Ranks are not official, nor automatic: tribal leaders have to update member titles and privileges.

Privileges

Privileges, as mentioned above, change what features members can access in their tribe. Privileges are binding: they are set in stone unless a duke or baron decides to change them. Which privileges players are set often depends on trust, experience, sense and power ingame; immature players will not usually be given many privileges.

Privilege	Description	Qualities looked for to gain privilege
Hidden forums	This allows members to view forums which a moderator has decided to hide from normal members.	The hidden forum/s can be used for many purposes: if a tribe has a council leading it, they can use the hidden forum for private discussion, as an example.
Moderator in tribal forum	The sets members as a moderator, which means that, in the tribal forum, they can: Lock and unlock threads (this allows threads to be viewed but not posted on) Delete threads Mark threads important (also known as stickying, this 'sticks' a thread to the top of a page) Delete and edit others' posts Create new sections and set forums as 'hidden' to some members.	Responsibility is the main quality needed to be chosen as a forum moderator: maturity and people skills are also important. You need to be active and sensible to be a good moderator, and need to work well as a team.
Circular Mail	Circular mail gives members to ability to automatically forward a single message to every member of the tribe in one click.	This should be given to trustworthy members who won't abuse it, and members who need it: for example, a member who deals with the tribal rankings might need this to send all members an update. Leaders and council members should definitely have this to easily notify members of anything at all important.
Diplomacy	Diplomacy gives a player the ability to set alliances, NAPs and enemies in the diplomacy tab; it also allows players to edit the tribal description. This also colours villages on the map accordingly.	Although diplomacy is non-binding, players with this privilege should still be trustworthy, again to prevent abuse. For a player to have this ability, they should also be a level-headed player as they will most likely end up discussing wars and alliances.
Invite	Invite privilege allows members to offer a formal invitation to any player.	Sensible players who understand the tribe's needs should be given this privilege. If abused, wars could be started through inviting people from other tribes; if a player does not know the tribe's wants/targets, they could invite a player who is not wanted in the tribe. This privilege may sound small, but it should be handed out wisely.
Baron	A baron has all aforementioned privileges and can also edit member's privileges and titles (apart from a Duke's), along with the tribe's internal description. Baron's can also dismiss members.	Baron privileges should not be given out to players who are not completely trustworthy, sensible and mature. Huge damage can be done with baron status, and players need to be able to be 100% serious whilst handling it.
Duke	A duke can control everything that happens in a tribe. They can change the tribal forums and web-page, they can disband the entire tribe, edit the description... they can do everything. The first member of any tribe is automatically given duke status.	Dukes should be exceptionally trustworthy, as misuse of their privileges can destroy a tribe.

Tribal toolbar

From the tribal toolbar, one can navigate around a tribe simply and easily: it is where everything starts from, and is henceforth very important. Details about it can be discovered in this section.

Toolbar overview

Nearly all of the features available when one joins are tribe can be accessed through the tribal toolbar, which looks similar to this:

The tribal toolbar can be accessed by clicking the tribe button on the main toolbar. The tribal toolbar will then appear at below the main toolbars. Please note that the above image will only appear if the player is a member of a tribe and has full privileges. Some of the labels may be missing depending on a player's rank in the tribe.

An example of villages coloured on the map due to diplomacy.

• Overview is the section where one can view recent updates and the tribe's internal description.
• Profile is the section where one can view facts and figures for the tribe as well as their public description.
• Members is the section where one can easily see who's in the tribe and how many points they have. Barons and dukes can view and alter members' titles and privileges here.
• Diplomacy is the section where one can view the tribe's alliances, NAPs and enemies. Members with the right privilege can edit the list. Villages on the map will be coloured accordingly to this.
• Invitations can only be viewed by some members. It is the section where one can view current invitations to players and create invitations (with the invite privilege).
• Welcome is the section which is only viewable to dukes and is the section where the auto-message which is mailed to new members can be altered.
• Properties is only viewable to dukes. It is the section where tribal leaders can change the tribe's settings, description and coat of arms.
• Tribal forum is the section where one can chat with other members through a commonly used chatroom format known as a forum.

Advanced toolbar

Although the toolbar's basic functions have been outlined above, there are many more details regarding tactics which have been left out, and plenty more information to include about certain areas which will be included below. In the What is shown section, bold words are shown as links.

Overview

The overview section is extremely useful for members. Not only does it show the internal announcement, but there is also a useful list of news items shown to keep members updated.

At the left hand side, the recent events are formatted in a table-style, with the date and times at the left, and the information regarding the news at the right. It is worth noting that if a player's account has been deleted, they will have (deleted) beside their name. The events are shown below and explained (note that bold capitals indicate a link in the what is shown section):

This section of the toolbar also contains the internal announcement screen. Barons and dukes can edit this; the remainder of the tribe can only view it. It is worth using it to alert tribe members to things which are not automatically shown on the recent events section, such as:

• Recent alliances.
• Recent NAPs.
• Recent enemies.
• Updates on war.
  • Some tribes have a war status section, which will have a word such as vital or none beneath, followed by a link to the topic regarding it in the tribal forums.
• Specific updates to ranks (promotions).
  • Use this to show details instead of just 'the privileges and titles of PLAYER have been changed'.
• Updates on policy.
  • For example, announcements like 'if you discover a spy/refugee, please contact...'
• Merges or joining family tribes.
• Any important details which should be posted both on the internal announcement and tribal forums to get more attention.

Profile

The profile shows all information which outsiders from the tribe can view; this means:

1. Name
2. Shortened name (abbreviation/tag)
3. Number of members
4. Points
   1. Points of the 40 best members.
   2. Total points
   3. Average points (per player)
   4. Rank in the tribe rankings, based on total points
5. Homepage (if one has been set)
6. Link to members list
7. Description (written by a diplomat, baron or duke)

All of this information is useful and will be used by other tribe's to judge the strength of yours. Make sure that you have a decent amount of members, and none too low in points or they'll take your average points down.

You description should include:

• Information regarding refugees. Refugees are players who join your tribe in fear of being attacked by one of your own members - most tribes have a message warning any potential refugees that they will be dealt with severely if discovered.
• Information regarding spies. Similar to refugees, spies join your tribe to view your diplomacy and learn more about how the tribe works to decide whether to declare war or not. Tribes often include a warning that if a player joins and leaves within 24 hours they will be dealt with severely and spies will be nobled.
• Information regarding recruitment. Many tribes have a recruitment status, where they highlight whether recruitment is on, limited or off. They also usually have recruitment criteria and names of players to contact if interested in joining.
• Information regarding diplomacy. Ally criteria and NAP criteria should be included, as well as whether diplomacy is on, off or limited. Usually, lists of allies and NAPs are kept private for security, but some tribes choose to show their enemies and the most powerful allies.
• A tribe motto. This could be anything, ranging from we r da best to We believe in equality and justice. Choose something that you think sums up your tribe nicely, and make sure that your entire tribe agrees.

Members

In this section, a list of all members is displayed. The majority of members can only see a small amount of information: name, rank, points and villages. The name shows a link to the player's stats page and can also have a custom member title beside it in brackets. This can be set by a baron or duke, and it is optional whether non-tribe members can view these. They are used to denote rank or position; for example, diplomacy manager.

However, barons and dukes can view more interesting information from this screen. They can view players' privileges and alter them and their custom member title. They can also dismiss members using this screen, and see how active they are (or, more to the point, aren't).

All of this information about members can help leaders greatly in making decisions regarding dismissals and promotions, and should always be taken into account and reviewed carefully.

Diplomacy

As one clicks the diplomacy tab, one is greeted by the following message:

On this page your relations with other tribes are administered. The settings are non-binding within the game, but villages will be coloured accordingly on the map. The status is visible only to tribe members and may be changed by tribal diplomats only.

This explains it quite nicely: it is simply where players with the diplomacy privilege can add/remove allies, NAPs and enemies.

Tactically, this page should change a lot as the tribe develops and the area it is based in ages. To begin with, tribes usually start by collecting up a bundle of allies, a few NAPs and no enemies. This is to prepare themselves for later in the game: it is useful to gain a web of alliances. However, too many allies and tribes start to hit problems: you get things like two of your allies at war, or one of your member's noble target being an ally! So, for ideal expansion and preparation, it is useful to have a reasonable amount of allies. NAPs at this stage should be made to settle any disputes, as in the earlier stages of the game, being diplomatic is the way forward and wars will not settle anything.

However, as the game progresses, more players can begin using tactics as they have more villages and resources available to them, and for expansion to happen, there are going to have to be some wars, and it is then that your earlier choices of allies either pays off as they support you, or doesn't as they become traitorous and attack!

Always be careful to keep your diplomacy sensible. If in any doubt at all, discuss it with the other tribes and your own tribe: more often than not, other people can think of the answers that you need to hear.

Invitations

Depending on whether players have the invite privilege or not, invitations can be proposed and removed on this tab. If players do not have the privilege, then they can still view the current invites.

It is worth noting that players should be careful with who they invite: some tribes see inviting their members as an act of war, and some players cause more disruption when invited than they are worth. In most cases, it is worth messaging the person who may be invited and judge them from their response.

Welcome

This is only available to dukes and barons.

Here they can customize the standard mail message that is automatically sent out to members as they join. This message should contains:

• A friendly welcome!
• A bit of information about what is different now you've joined their tribe.
• A polite yet fierce warning for spies and refugees.
• A reminder to contribute to the tribal forum.
• Anything else to make members feel welcome and protected.

Properties

This section is only accessible to members with diplomacy, baron or duke privileges, and is where all of the basic information regarding the tribe can be edited.

This is is where diplomatic members can edit the description of the tribe, and where dukes can rename the tribe, disband the tribe, add a tribal logo (with a premium account), change where the tribal forums are based and add a chat channel for the tribe along with a homepage.

To edit the description of the tribe, members with the privilege should scroll down the bottom of the current description box and press edit, then type the new version into the box that appears. For information regarding what to place in this box, please click here. With a premium account, a tribal coat of army can also be uploaded.

For you to be able to edit anything else, you need duke status. If that is the case, then you can change your tribe's name and tag (which should not be done without good reason), create a homepage for your tribe (a link to it will be shown on your profile), create an IRC-Channel for your tribe, create an external tribal forum for your tribe (often done for larger, more dedicated tribes: Invisionfree is usually a good option) or disband the tribe.

Tribal Forum

The tribal forum is a forum which all of the tribe have access to. As mentioned just above, duke's can move it to become external for bigger tribes who want more features, but the majority of tribes find the built-in forum fine.

The tribal forum is a chat-room based on the popular forum style. This works, fundamentally, by users all having an account and leaving messages which become viewable to all users.

However, to keep it more organised, these messages are placed into various categories. Firstly, there are main sections, which can be navigated around using the buttons at the very top of the forum page. Inside that, there are threads, which are places to discuss in with a specific topic: for example, cookies could a thread title (albeit a stupid one). This is where players can create posts. The best way, by far, to understand the forums is to use them! One quickly becomes accustomed to it and usually understands it well within a few days.

The tribal forum setup depends entirely on the tribe: however, as a general guide, there should be a few of these common sections included, although not always with the same title:

• General - a section where discussion which doesn't fit elsewhere should be held.
• Off-topic - a section where members can chat about stuff unrelated to TribalWars.
• Advice - a section where more experienced members can post guides and tips for newer members to improve development: questions about how to improve in-game should also be asked here.
• Announcements - where important news regarding the tribe should be posted.
• War - where anything regarding war should be discussed.
• Diplomacy - where potential allies and NAPs should be suggested.
• Incoming/outgoing attacks- where members can post for any support regarding their incoming and outgoing attacks (for example, if someone has an incoming they can request support here).
• Nobling requests - where members can claim players to noble or declare that help is needed to noble a player.
• Leadership - a forum which is hidden to normal members in which the leaders can chat privately.

Players with the forum moderator privilege can create new sections and set them to hidden status. This means that only members with the hidden forum privilege will be able to view it. Forums moderators can also tidy up the forum using the following features:

Feature title	Description	Usage
Thread locking	Using this button, moderators can stop a thread from having any non-moderators posting on it, but old messages will still be visible. This can be reversed.	This should be used for official threads which need no comments, threads which are moving to another section, threads which have been outdated/have been made irrelevant (for example, a war thread where the war has ended) and threads which have got out of hand and need conversation to be stopped. In this instance, it should be locked for a day until all concerned have read and acknowledged the final post, which should describe why the thread has been locked, and then it should be deleted to keep the forum uncluttered.
Stickying	This is a small box which can be ticked upon thread creation or via the 'edit' button, and when moderators tick it it sticks the thread to the top of the page and gives it the namespace IMPORTANT:. If there are multiple stickies (the term used for threads which have been stuck to the top of the forum), the one with the most recent post is displayed at the top. This can be reversed.	This should be used for important threads (like informative threads which tell members how to use the forum section, or vital war threads) and for the most popular threads (for example, an introductions thread could be stickied).
Post deletion	Whereas the majority of members only have the option to delete their own posts, moderators have the delete option beside all posts: their own and others. It is worth noting that the first post in a thread cannot be deleted.	Posts which are blatantly offensive should be deleted, as should posts which are irrelevant on important threads (for example, posts about cheese on a war thread). However, post deletion is not usually used that often.
Thread deletion	Using a small button, moderators can completely remove any trace a thread. This is not reversible.	This should only be used very rarely when a thread becomes entirely outdated or is moving from section to section. Moderators should not often delete entire threads because it isn't often necessary and doesn't please members.
Forum administration	Moderators can click some text labelled 'administrate forum' to access a menu which allows them to easily add and remove sections, as well as rename them and give them hidden status. All of these changes are reversible, except for deleting sections.	These should be applied as common sense and need suggests: with hidden forums, keep it to a minimum as members do not always see it as fair, and deleting forums is to be avoiding unless there is an extreme situation.