Neighborhood players don't change

[frrrosty]

I was under the impression that every three weeks the neighborhood changes up, yet for the past 4 cycles I have the same rat bstrd plundering me. I thought the game prevented this constant harassment by moving players around, but it doesn't seem to be happening. Do I need to quit this game, and never spend another penny on it? 'cuz that's the only way to get away from this a-hole. I've kept my city shield up for many weeks now, but he keeps winding up in my hood. Screw you, Inno.
I will NEVER spend another dime on this trash as long as this situation continues.

 

[Emberguard]

I was under the impression that every three weeks the neighborhood changes up,

*two weeks

yet for the past 4 cycles I have the same rat bstrd plundering me

You will have some neighbours remain the same between neighbourhood cycles, it simply updates.

Your placement is based on progress on the technology tree. If other players change their progress, then you position is adjusted. If no one makes progress, then there's nothing to change other than shuffling those with the exact same amount of progress.

'cuz that's the only way to get away from this a-hole. I've kept my city shield up for many weeks now

Everything Motivated is 100% immune to plunder

Your best asset will simply be getting things immune to plunder and ignoring whether you're attacked.

Also anything that's a Random Production building should be immune to plunder (without needing Aid). This would be things like Crows Nest, Pirate's Hideout, Druids Temple etc.

The Guild Battlegrounds buildings are also immune.

Buildings that automatically age up (they appear as "All Ages" prior to being placed in your city) are also immune.


You'll want to limit any Supply Production buildings to a 24-hr production to limit the amount of Aid needed. Residential Housing you can limit yourself to only collecting once per 24-hrs if you need to reduce the amount of Aid needed for your city.

You'll also want to work on having a active friends list, and only using your Self-Aid kits when you're not getting enough Aid.


Chain-Link buildings. These usually don't need Aid to produce. This puts them way down in the Aid priority list. Make sure the main building is your current Age, and any attachments remain in the Age you obtained them in. This will redirect the Aid to the Main Building.


Alternative methods to obtaining resources: If you're unable to reliably collect your unaidable buildings at a set time each day, I would suggest you focus on transitioning to anything that provides the same resources that can't be plundered.

So instead of Goods Buildings (these can't be Aided, and are able to be Plundered), you may want to focus on Quests for your main source of goods in conjunction with any Special / Event buildings that can be Aided.

With this in mind, your Supply Production buildings put on a 24-hr cycle can be used with the Recurring Quests to generate goods. And they can be Aided to protect them

 

[frrrosty]

My main source of SAM goods is my terrace farms, which only give goods when put in an 8 hour cycle. I depend on them.
FOUR cycles, and this twit is still in my hood.
This is unacceptable. I ABSOLUTELY WILL NOT spend another penny on this abomination of a game as long as this continues.
I will use up my tavern silver, and what diamonds I have, and then, I will start deleting buildings, let the 30 days run out, and Inno can keep the city and I'll keep my money. Inno seems to forget who pays their paychecks every week. I WON'T be me.

 

[Pericles the Lion]

I will NEVER spend another dime on this trash as long as this situation continues.

The bad news is that plundering neighbors is a facet of the game that will continue. The good news (besides the great advice offered by @Emberguard) is that the impact of plundering becomes negligible as you advance through the Ages. I'm in SAJM, if someone manages to plunder me for a few trinkets it's no big deal because I have plenty to spare (and you will too).

 

[Emberguard]

Inno seems to forget who pays their paychecks every week.

It's a game. They designed the game around playing. There's even a Great Building with a chance to repel plunders (Galata Tower). They haven't forgotten who pays the paychecks. They've provided options to help protect your city productions in your absence if you want to be away from the game for any length of time, you just need to use those tools available.

My main source of SAM goods is my terrace farms, which only give goods when put in an 8 hour cycle. I depend on them.

Is there any reason your main source of SAM goods isn't the Colony which is 100% immune to plunder?

If you're in the age above SAM (Space Age Asteroid Belt), you could replace those Terrace Farms with anything that produces previous age goods. Such as Stage of Ages. It's come up quite a few times since its introduction, so is likely to keep popping up every couple of Events. That would provide 15 goods in a 4x4 space and be plunderproof.

 

[Ironrooster]

Is there any reason your main source of SAM goods isn't the Colony which is 100% immune to plunder?

They require Mars Ore which is also needed for the tech tree.
Also you only have boosts for 2 goods while the Terrace Farm produces all 5 goods.

I built some goods buildings in SAM, but found that they used up too much of the Mars Ore. For me it was faster to save all my Mars Ore and let event/special buildings produce regular goods,

 

[Johnny B. Goode]

My main source of SAM goods is my terrace farms, which only give goods when put in an 8 hour cycle. I depend on them.

Here's your problem right here. You should be getting your goods from plunder-proof event/special buildings, especially if you're all the way in SAM. Hard to believe that you got all the way there without figuring this out. Your "nemesis" probably can't believe his luck, finding someone who uses Terrace Farms in SAM and having you in his hood repeatedly. You're lucky it's just one plunderer, it could be worse. Imagine if he started spreading the news that there are Terrace Farms in the hood.

 

[xivarmy]

Here's your problem right here. You should be getting your goods from plunder-proof event/special buildings, especially if you're all the way in SAM. Hard to believe that you got all the way there without figuring this out. Your "nemesis" probably can't believe his luck, finding someone who uses Terrace Farms in SAM and having you in his hood repeatedly. You're lucky it's just one plunderer, it could be worse. Imagine if he started spreading the news that there are Terrace Farms in the hood.

Most would still be too lazy to take them SAJM players are often done caring about FP or goods from plunder.

I was under the impression that every three weeks the neighborhood changes up, yet for the past 4 cycles I have the same rat bstrd plundering me. I thought the game prevented this constant harassment by moving players around, but it doesn't seem to be happening. Do I need to quit this game, and never spend another penny on it? 'cuz that's the only way to get away from this a-hole. I've kept my city shield up for many weeks now, but he keeps winding up in my hood. Screw you, Inno.
I will NEVER spend another dime on this trash as long as this situation continues.

Some ages don't have very many players to switch around with so hoods get quite static. In a high, but not last, age like Mars, I rather expect there's not much more than 2 hoods worth of players, and thus maybe ~50% chance you wind up with your rival of the same age. Most players will never make it to Mars. And most players who do make it to Mars will not stop there (even though it's a semi-popular age).

 

[Xenosaur]

@frrrosty Gotta agree with the very scholarly members here trying to help you.

Building a strong economic infrastructure well before SAM era is essential. It actually starts in the Iron Age. Don't quit the game, though. You'll be mad for a long time after the quitting event that someone "beat" you, Don't give them a double win (your goods and your game death...) They don't have to have either.

Using your tavern silver pool to repeatedly block this guys ends badly too. I feel your frustration, so start today to change your city and tend to it's needs so you can prevail at what you want to do here and minimize the risk and mistakes you've made.

There is advice already given on some things to try, or ideas to explore. You can't turn your city into a relatively impregnable fortress overnight. Not much in FOE is allowed to move fast - including strategy changes that involve 90 degree turns in your city buildings makeup.

Alternately and very short term, you COULD put the city into hibernation via a road disconnection, while you gather your energy and plan a strategy to win at this. Check back weekly if this pest is gone, enjoy your family and friends around this holiday and come back refreshed to tackle this by reading and studying, asking questions and building your resolve.

Bear in mind, that in your situation, your pest today is going to replaced by a pest tomorrow. People are OPPORTUNISTIC in this game, and your city design is a FREE LUNCH as it's built.

So fix it - study, ask, try. You can do it.

 

[Mor-Rioghain]

I was under the impression that every three weeks the neighborhood changes up, yet for the past 4 cycles I have the same ***

As @Emberguard stated, it's every two weeks and as @xivarmy stated, some ages don't have very many players to switch against. I'd only add that in those eras, known as deplete eras, you may encounter the same neighbors for even more rotations than only three due to their ranking points and page they are on, depending on where you fall within that very limited number of players in that specific era during the neighborhood recalc. I know it seems that i'm just rehashing what Emberguard had to say but from my own current experience in TE (a depleted era) for the last 19-20 months of camping on one of my worlds, I've had rotations that generated only 20-30% actual switches leaving me with as much as 70% of my hood unchanged for as much as 3 straight months. As xivarmy stated, this also happens in the higher(est) eras due to fewer players advancing. I'd be thinking the same thing when someone new pops up in TE -- TFs!? Yummy! And CITY SHIELDS! Now I'm going back for seconds! (and thirds, and fourths, and so on....) Shields are to a Hoodie what a Red Cloth is to a Bull!! <I always come to their beckoning...>

I will NEVER spend another dime on this trash as long as this situation continues.

And this is hardly the first time Inno (or any other gaming company with in-game purchases) has heard this. Sorry that you feel this way but you are not being cheated. If you've advanced to either SAM or SAJM to have your TFs producing SAM goods, then surely you've played long enough to know that neighborhood streamlining happened at least 4 years ago and that unless you've just leveled up eras or someone at the bottom of your hood has recently moved into your era, that everyone in your hood is in the same era as you and also have played long enough to have accumulated enough of your previous era's goods to forgo the all-so-tempting, highly-plunderable TFs, haven't you? Surely you didn't rush through the eras and are making what are tantamount to novice-player mistakes such as spending silver on shields and keeping huge TFs around waiting for the first hoodie to grab up? Sorry, to each his own, but as many a fine FoE-Teacher has taught me: Collect on time and plundering is a moot point.

After all, Inno provides us with two options to collect quickly to aid us in avoiding plundering - the daily 'collect all' and the monthly Collector's Package where our goodies are collected all at once for 28 days. My guess is that they feel like they've already addressed the issue and you've made a choice to not avail yourself of the options they've already provided you.

 

[Baltar]

Don't get mad get even.

 

[Moonlight Queen]

I was under the impression that every three weeks the neighborhood changes up, yet for the past 4 cycles I have the same rat bstrd plundering me. I thought the game prevented this constant harassment by moving players around, but it doesn't seem to be happening. Do I need to quit this game, and never spend another penny on it? 'cuz that's the only way to get away from this a-hole. I've kept my city shield up for many weeks now, but he keeps winding up in my hood. Screw you, Inno.
I will NEVER spend another dime on this trash as long as this situation continues.

Collect on time! Get a galatta. And...what can they get? We have all had a hood where we were attacked and plundering. I do it regularly, lol. At my level, it is about catching someone who is late collecting. I understand for younger/newer players it can be an ouch. Collect your city on time! Change up your collection time so the person plundering doesn't know when you are collecting. Hoods change anywhere from every other week to once a month depending on what Inno is doing. During long events, they usually don't change the hood. I had a hood change this week.

 

[Emberguard]

During long events, they usually don't change the hood.

That‘s only true if the Event has a mechanic involving the neighbourhood. This hasn’t been the case for years outside of the Summer Event, which I’m fairly certain still shuffled the last time it came around

 

[Mor-Rioghain]

Hoods change anywhere from every other week to once a month depending on what Inno is doing.

The scounts find new civilizations every other Monday.

During long events, they usually don't change the hood. I had a hood change this week.

You may not realize that a neighborhood switch has occurred but it has. There are sometimes fewer neighbors to choose from so there may be some 'repeat customers' in there but the odds of actually repeating the same 74 neighbors are so astromically high they are not only improbable but mathmatically impossible.

If you want to be sure that you are seeing a new neighborhood, try actually logging out of the game every other Sunday, clearing your cache, and logging back in after the recalc and you should see the "Found New Civilazations" pop-up or just try refreshing your browser. You needn't go to all of that trouble since a cursory glance at your neighborhood bar will probably illustrate that most if not all of your neighbors are in fact different each cycle. (Sometimes you'll see the same ones at the top and at the bottom of the neighborhood and that's really just due to the limited number of people in a given era).

The rest of your advice is perfectly sound and has stood the test of time! Timely collections are a must. Another thing to consider is to remove all plunderable items from your city uness you are certain you can be online for your timed collecting. If you are unsure of your ability to come online to collect your Event Items requiring motivation to be plunder-proof, use a mass- or self-aid kit on the items at any time to render them unplunderable and then reschudle your collection times without worry as now they are 'plunder-proof' until the timer on the kit runs out, allowing you to reset your collections virtually without risk.

 

[Johnny B. Goode]

If you want to be sure that you are seeing a new neighborhood, try actually logging out of the game every other Sunday, clearing your cache, and logging back in after the recalc and you should see the "Found New Civilazations" pop-up or just try refreshing your browser. You needn't go to all of that trouble since a cursory glance at your neighborhood bar will probably illustrate that most if not all of your neighbors are in fact different each cycle. (Sometimes you'll see the same ones at the top and at the bottom of the neighborhood and that's really just due to the limited number of people in a given era).

Actually, the easiest way is to check your Event History on Monday morning. Filter for Social Interactions to make it easier. (But leave it at "All Players". If you filter for Neighbors, the ones who were removed won't show up at all.) Look at players that aided you anytime before about 7:00AM on Monday. If any say "Aid" but it's grayed out, that means that player is no longer in your hood, and therefore the hoods were shuffled.

 

[Emberguard]

Actually, the easiest way is to check your Event History on Monday morning. Filter for Social Interactions to make it easier. (But leave it at "All Players". If you filter for Neighbors, the ones who were removed won't show up at all.) Look at players that aided you anytime before about 7:00AM on Monday. If any say "Aid" but it's grayed out, that means that player is no longer in your hood, and therefore the hoods were shuffled.

Aid All tab would be even faster. If you're aiding everyone regularly, and it isn't yet time to Aid them again, then you'll have a exact number of who's new and who isn't

 

[Johnny B. Goode]

Aid All tab would be even faster. If you're aiding everyone regularly, and it isn't yet time to Aid them again, then you'll have a exact number of who's new and who isn't

That only works if you aid your neighbors...I don't.

 

[Emberguard]

That only works if you aid your neighbors...I don't.

Or if you attack them ;D

 

[Mor-Rioghain]

....and I'm still used to not having an 'aid all' tab. Good point. Either way there are multiple ways to 'prove to yourself' that you have in fact gone through a neighborhood change. Different mechanics to suit different players. Not exercising any of them and only focusing on the ones who attacked and plundered just stresses players out for no real reason. This game can be stressful enough without the added histrionics. Seems to me like Inno's developers have already gone to a lot of trouble to make it easier with a multitude of methods to provide you with the info you need to be more successful in your game and you've chosen to ignore them (the players who just want to blame the company for everything, not the OP or commenters, necessarily--it's a general comment based on years of listening to/reading such posts). Bottom line: your best defense to plundering is to remove the highly desirable items or remove all plunderable items OR collect on time. Honestly, folks, it used to be that the producing items in your city were ALL plunderable! The developers are always listening to and trying to improve the product accordingly. There are plenty of perfectly viable options to procure same-era or previous-era goods without having to put down factories or plunderable specialty items like the TF. If a player chooses to put one down then they just have to learn to rearrange their schedules to be able to collect them.

(Note & a question: Didn't the TFs used to not have so many production options? (I'm not an afficiondo as I listened to the advice before I even procured any TFs and in 5 years of play, I have never actually used one in any city. Seemed like too much trouble for all of that space). I seem to remember the vet players when I was new saying that the production options had increased from their original number/choices. I ask because using one of it's other timed options can reset your collections on your TFs, Sleighbuilders, etc. to not only be more convenient to your new "collection schedule" but also produce a less desirable product to the plunderers, i.e, supplies in small quantities). I've used this option on my sleighbuilders plenty of times, often producing the 4 hour Crowns. My thinking is that if someone breaks through my defenses (and they ultimately will), their Guild will get the crowns (no personal reward). It's a nice 'touch' inho, satisfying my innate need/desire for fair play. Once they realize there's no 'reward' in plundering me, they'll refocus their attention on something more rewarding elsewhere. Yeah, I also get the satisfaction of foiling their attempts! Losing a day's production of goods is a small price to pay to obtain a little peace and quiet in my city for the next X days of the rotation not to mention that my guild's prestige is happier at my occasional donation of extra crowns when they're not plundered!

 

[Emberguard]

Honestly, folks, it used to be that the producing items in your city were ALL plunderable!

Worse, it used to be if you didn't collect the Supplies from Production Buildings they'd just expire and then no one would get them

(Note & a question: Didn't the TFs used to not have so many production options

No idea. I've only ever known them to have 6 production options. But they were already in the game by the time I started playing