Today’s
interview is with a very special (code for old) person. The First Legendary
Pilot, the Co-Leader of the Division One Gold Clan, Mr. Don Davis.
K: So Don, first off let me congratulate you and your
clan mates on a really great win this Clan War.
D: Thanks!
K:
Traditionally, PhoenixStorm and Fusion have had some really close battles as of
late, but this year you really had their number.
What were some of the things you could contribute such
a dominating win to?
D: Apparently, they have suffered from a spike in
attrition. We can't help but notice that
the closest they got - and one of the better examples of leadership and field
tactics we've seen - came from a guy who has now seemingly gone inactive. Meanwhile, we have focused our efforts on
getting stronger - and have managed to groom a new member, just about every
cycle.
K: So good recruitment on your end and loss of
leadership on theirs? Yeah, that does sound like a devastating combination.
Fusion has been sort of a benchmark for excellence
recently. What are some of the things that have helped your clan reach this
status of play?
D: Well, we have what some might call the best
triumvirate of leadership and team effort in the game:
Gary Alsop is one of the best technical guys in the
game. Kris is just a master with rosters
and score projection - also a good recruiter.
I also do pretty well with recruiting and my military experience comes
into play, but I was always tenacious with gamesmanship as much as anything
else, and this is what has served us when, at times, it might look like we
should lose, on paper.
K: Did you get a chance to see German's spoof score
post put up on the Player's Page about half way through your third Battle?
D: Yes, we saw that, LOL
K: I think part of what made the joke was the fact
everyone has come to expect a nail biting point for point match between you
two, but this year the crazy close fight was Division Three.
Part of being a tactician is to be able to foresee
projections. Are there any Clans that you see that might be making a rise to
try and challenge you?
D: We think Zeon has enormous potential. The AFF has
the contacts and resources, as well.
Most of this has to do with establishing a collective
priority within the clan. Don't ask me
how I know, LOL - but this was really the only way FUSION could work at
all. If one element had been off, it
would have been a non-starter.
K: Zeon has definitely had a long track record of
being one of the greats as well as the AFF which showed this year that they can
still pull out some surprises. What were your feelings on the Bunny's and HF
this time around?
D: Kris watched that a lot closer than I, and is still
analyzing, so I hesitate to draw any advanced conclusions, but the Bunnies have
that tenacity I mentioned earlier, if that's a clue to my own initial
impression.
K: Absolutely.
So, are there any clans-mates that you feel deserve
props for this war for either much improvement or great play?
D: Wow, that's a tough one. Everyone in FUSION brings something very
important to our success, and a good bit of it is the effort they put in
between wars. We track stats, so you don't
ever see many throwaway battles from us, regardless of how obvious the outcome
of the round might be. This is because
we all focus on personal victories and improvement, and help each other with
mech builds, formations and tactics along the way.
K: And finally, what is something that you would like
to comment on. Game play, game mechanics, story line, clan or faction war,
sky's the limit on this one.
D: Well, when Kris and Gary and I first talked about
forming a new clan - as you may recall from our first GG interview - we made
some predictions that came through like a tidal wave - beyond our wildest
dreams actually. Even when we helped
form Northwind Fusiliers, way back in Clan Wars VII, we have always taken the
fight to the enemy.
We wanted to
facilitate competitive parity in Div 1, for the good of the game; we could see
the effects trickle down to the other divisions, and there has been a shake-up
over the last 7 wars, but now it's time to throw out some more encouragement
and point out that FUSION is proof in itself that no Clan, no challenge, is
invincible.
We'd like to see the right
group of people come on up and take a run at it the same way we did. Some people think losing by a point is worse
than losing by 20 points; it's not. The
truth is these 1-point outcomes could go either way, and that's far less of a
reason to throw in the towel than to stick with it.
So here's to everyone who's ever had a
1-point loss. I have, as the Clan Leader
of Northwind Highlanders - and vindication was just around the corner, even though
it came about in a way I could never have expected.
K: I want to thank you for your time today, and for
the inspiration to always improve, get stronger, and reach higher.
D: On behalf of FUSION and myself, thank you as
well. Galaxy Gathering remains as my
exclusive press outlet!
