a lot of new players enter Illyriad and within their first few hours in the world, ask how they can join an alliance, and which would be best to join....

   a few tips.... alliances can differ in style and their approach to Illyriad, aggressive or peaceful, territorial or open and happy to share territory (within reason, of course)

   it's best not to join the first alliance that comes along, just because you want to be in an alliance, take care and time, find the alliance that suits you best, that will feel right... my own belief is that Illyriad has the best community in gaming, and a good alliance should be like a family, within the community... 

   take your time, some people wait 2-3 months before choosing an alliance (remember, you're choosing an alliance, not them choosing you  )    check alliance profiles of those chatting in global chat, and on the alliance list...

   think about what you want from an alliance... if you want a busy alliance chat, joining a group with 8 members might not be for you, or if you're looking for help with resources and advice, an alliance with 30 members, all with populations under 1000, that help might not be there....

   joining a new, or small alliance can be good though, you would be in at the start of what might become a great alliance in the future, and you would be 1 of those helping that allance become great... 1 of the founding fathers... or mothers  a small alliance can also be a closer unit, more like a team, stronger bonds between members.... so it's good to think about what you want from an alliance, and what you might want to give back

   if an alliance interests you, contact 2 or 3 of their members and ask what it's like being in that alliance... if it still sounds good, then contact the leadership, ask questions, find out about them, what they believe in, if they have any expectations of members, and what the alliance could offer you, if everything you hear makes you think you've found the right alliance, you might have done just that, no guarantee, but you will be much more likely to feel at home if joining such an alliance...

New players might also want to consider a training alliance. There is a partial list here: https://sites.google.com/site/theillypedia/newbie-central/training-alliances

(To everyone: If you would like your training listed there, mail Fluffeh)

Thanks again Twist!

~Vanerin

it can be more challenging, it has more of a permanent feel to it, knowing that you can settle into that alliance and stay there, learning the game in a training alliance would be great of course, from veterans who have gained a lot of experience over time.... on the other hand, an alliance that learns the game together, top rank to new members, that can form a special bond that can't be replicated in any other way...

as I said initially, it all depends on what a player wants from an alliance, and what they want to contribute

like a lot of things in Illyriad, joining an alliance should involve a little, or a lot, of research.... and not all research in the game is done through the library and research tree 

I just dont see it fully, unless you have no idea about the game and a little slow maybe ;)

Joining a training alliance that prepares you for a specific alliance (like TOR for TOR-U or WET for WE... - See the link above) might be a step to combine the benefits? I am not entirely sure about the quality of ALL the training alliances that do not have a sister alliance, as motivation is not to gain new active players for a particular alliance (though I must admit I cannot say much about the other training alliances neither but did have some shocking conversations with ex-training alliance members that  have not learned much or the right things about this game - wich again is not necessarily the fault of the training alliance). I think basically all (training) alliances alow to leave the alliance again although if you consider it you should not settle in the hub of such an alliance). The settlement part is the most difficult for new players and in order to know where to settle, it does make sense to join an alliance. Newbies need to get help with settlement decisions and you should choose another alliance if that help is not provided, I think.

Usually, I would say I am not a player that would feel atracted by training alliances. But since I start to know this game much better, I would reconsider and now do recomend to join such a group. Joining a training alliance, you can expect that there is a particular effort to teach the game (usually much more compared to "normal" alliances). And I think for the absolute majority, if not all players, it is not possible to avoide bad mistakes that cost you ages to correct, if you do not get help at the begining.