I personally will ensure that my city is bastioned before my vault.

I feel one of the most important things that is overlooked on Devoted is the development of human capital. The development of human capital means developing citizens from newfriends into, well, friends. Comrades. Fellow Pirates! Active people you can trust and relate to. On a server this small, friendship/trust is the most important thing for the vitality of your city and/or you (assuming your goal is to be an influential developer of civilization).

You do that by providing long term incentives for newfriends to stay active. This can take the form of providing public factories, playing other video games with them, helping them learn the various mods of Civ servers... the list goes on and on! BUT NO ONE BASTIONS THEIR CITIES.

Isn't this a huge oversight? Cities are the longterm lifeline of Devoted. They're infinitely valuable, in terms of infrastructure and as I've said human capital. To not prioritize the protection of cities... well, that kills the server right there.

CoolPvP groups like the Pirates will always be there. And to be honest I welcome them. As the wise /u/Bonkill said, utilize the PvPers, don't fight them! Human capital transcends servers... there may be a time when you need these people. Do not burn bridges so easily! I understand many bridges have been burned, perhaps all of them. However, I believe even burned bridges can be rebuilt.

Develop your human capital first. This is a long term process. Stick with it. A rash choice to pit your current human capital against a foe's may force you back to square one with many more hardships than when you first started.

Thank you for your time.