We just can't stop chatting here at the Buzz, and this week saw us stealing the time of Boss of The Sacred Empire, Kleisthenes. More commonly known as AbuRagheb or Abu for short, he is a veteran of the game and has seen pretty much all of what there is to see. We took the time to interview him, with a focus on crews, recent events, power and mentality. Not one to mince his words, Abu did not hold back in his answers during the interview.
Mentality, a word that continually crops up in the hot topic of Bootleggers psychology that has been highlighted numerous times in differing circumstances this round. Everyone's opinion on this subject differs in some way, with some viewpoints gaining more thumbs up than others. But what is Abu's view on this matter? Does he view it as an issue at all? He told us, "I believe power has it's influence on the BL community as a whole. While these influential groups are represented by individuals with far more potential to control a rather significant chunk of the the game, I feel there is more of a complication surrounding power and control." Continuing, "BL has developed over the years. The human interactive part that makes it the exciting game that it is now is very much the reason of it's obvious downfall. Players are torn apart between taking this game too seriously and not at all. And while BL remains a virtual game that's not linked to our real lives, we find real life characteristics that describe people (such as morals, respect and loyalty) more and more defining to the course of the game. Thus, it is logical to say that a certain mentality surrounding an influential group such as Asura is present." It is difficult to decipher such an answer to draw generalizations from it. But perhaps a lack of people who take the game 'seriously' as seen in rounds of the past, is contributing to groups who still play with such a desire being able to go about their goals unchallenged by many. Is this due also to a reflection of our own traits that we show in general life, those of acceptance and lack of aggression or reaction to things we do not like? Possibly, but that is obviously only valid on a case by case basis. Everyone is different, but it can certainly be seen that the lack of resistance to dominant forces is in decline in comparison to times gone by.
This lead on to our follow-up question for Abu, which asked if this mentality was the main contributing factor in crews such as Asura's dominance? Plus, were it to change, would it change the course of the game as we see it going? He was honest as always in his answer, telling us, "I personally think that it is, but not on the wide scale of the general public. I have come to a conclusion that BL is full of blatant, stupid and short sighted players that lack self confidence. It is no wonder that an intelligent group such as Asura can exploit on it and dominate. Does the "general public" actually expect to simply beat players as experienced and dedicated as Asura without a fight? Moaning to the moderators for a simple and easy way out isn't the answer. You can still hide, rank, bank and stock on very cheap bullets and cause damage. It is harder with the significant limitation and reach that is covered by them, but far from impossible." So as much as there may of been recent shifts in users attitudes across rounds, the cause of easy dominance focuses more on key aspects of this than a general move. We have seen increasing resistance groups fight the likes of Asura and The Family, doing so in the way Abu depicts in his answer. This proves that he is indeed right and that it is more than possible to fight the likes of Asura. But these groups have failed to provide the catalyst effect for users to also take up arms, and this may reflect on their lack of belief in themselves to achieve such feats.
We moved away from this subject, to ask Abu his opinion on the crews of late who have appeared to not care enough or indeed been fearful too, avenge the deaths of their members. He was once again straight to the point in his answer, telling us, "I'm going to go ahead and assume you are speaking about La Onda and Padrinos Palace who were recently shot by The Family. If their reasons for not avenging are because they don't seem to care, then I feel sorry for their members who are a part of a failure of a crew. As for being too fearful to condemn themselves to a war that they fear, then do they really expect to get anywhere anytime soon? Asura and co. have clearly stated that they are after complete domination, and when they start popping crews for no real good reason (or atleast as far as I know. Do correct me if I'm mistaken), do they really expect to be a part of their domination plans other than dust to be brushed off? Not only were their members and leaders humiliated, but they now get to look forward to yet another public humiliation." Continuing by summing up the general communities views, saying, "What's even more ironic is that not many really expected them to actually do anything about it. Perhaps things would be different for them if they had a spine to back them up. There you go, two perfect examples of the general public that I described earlier." It was indeed the case that many predicted a lack of retaliation from such crews. However with their lengthy stay on the stats any obvious opportunity to stockpile a huge amount of resources, many would ask why we have seen so little in the way of aggression in response to their wipes or attacks. The long-term goals and motivations of crews must be questioned when they appear as nothing more than punch bags who return when they get hit hard by the big-hitting boxers of the round, such as The Family.
But what does Abu expect to see of crews such a Padrinos Palace now, and what about The Family? He left nothing to the imagination, saying, "From what I've seen from PP over the past few months, I expect them to just sit tight and hope for a miracle. As for TF and co. , it'll depend on their domination progress. But they seem to be progressing quite well with better options to have around than PP." So, will Padrinos Palace get the miracle that Abu believes they are hoping for? As far as miracles go, they are few and far between on Bootleggers and often unless you are the perpetrator of one yourself, it will not benefit you. However questions must still be asked of what resources Padrinos Palace have in waiting to be used after there very long stay on the Statistics last time around. Surely there is something? Will they go about attempting to seek The Family's underground shooters? Who knows, other than the Bosses of the crew, which sit currently in a poor public light it has to be said.
Out final point sought Abu's opinion on this most recent shooting of The Family. With their quest for dominance appearing to now extend to taking out Crews which may pose threats or are indeed just in the way, is an extra threat levied to those on the Statistics? How safe does Abu feel that his own Crew, The Sacred Empire, sit in this current time? He was confident of his crews future longevity, saying, "Being on stats has always had it's risks and pressures involved, especially with our history. However, we still feel that we have a long way ahead us in terms of staying." Whether this proves to be the case only time will tell. Do you agree with the opinions of Abu? If not, why not? We close by thanking Abu for his time. Who knows, next week, you could be the subject of a chit-chat.
