AOs and DOs - Concepts of Both

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AOs and DOs - Concepts of Both

TOAD at War HC Manual

I could give you some simple advice on what to do. I could just say, “setup ATGs early over looking the AB” or “Always attack with numbers.” The noobs would think I was a genius and the vets would think I was stating the obvious.


But that is not my personal style. I’m going to tell you what works and WHY it works. Once you know the why, you’ll understand the game. Once you understand the game, you can learn to dominate your opponent. Many think they understand the game, your probably one of them. You have lots of words of wisdom that are true 95% of the time. But knowing when the situation reverses that other 5% of the time is the difference between good and great.


This is the core concepts of AOs and DOs.


Both the Attacker and Defender have advantages. The side that uses their advantages better usually ends up winning. In this Chapter we will explore some of the concepts that you need to know to continue the conversation about AOs and DOs.

Contents

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Boiling down Attack and Defense to its Basic Elements

For an Attack to be successful, the following must occurr in order.


  1. Attacker places an Attack Objective (AO) and waits for the building radios to appear
  2. Attacker must now move Infantry from the FB or AB and into town
  3. Attacker must now have an Infantry capture a building
  4. Attacker must keep the town continually contested for at least 10 minutes
  5. Attacker must now move Infantry into the AB bunker and capture it


Notice that the all the requirements are from the Attackers perspective. It is up to the Attacker to accomplish those tasks to win. Of course the Defender is going to do their best stop the Attacker from achieving his objectives. While the Attacker must accomplish tasks 1-5 in order, the Defender need only prevent the Attacker from accomplishing one of them.


This is the first lesson on the art of Attack and Defense: Attacking is difficult, Defending is easy.


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4 Key Elements that Decide Success or Failure

There are 4 Key Elements that determine


  • Player Numbers - Number of players either side has on the front lines in battle at any moment


  • Position - Control of specific terrain features around the target town that can be used to control a much larger area.


  • Supply - The numbers and quality of equipment in your spawn list compared to the equipment in the enemies spawn list


  • Organization - Getting players to do what needs to be done in a timely manner
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Advantage - Defense (Why Attacking is so Difficult)



Player Numbers - Number of players either side has on the front lines in battle at any moment

  • Travel Time - Players moving, pushing, or driving to the front lines are not fighting. Only players that are currently fighting matter.
    • Attacker spawns into a battle and must first travel to the battle, then fight
    • Defender spawns into a battle and begins fighting
ADVANTAGE - DEFENDER


Position - Control of specific terrain features around the target town that can be used to control a much larger area.

  • Almost all Key Terrain positions are withing 1500m of the target town
    • The Key Terrain positions are closer to the Defender spawn (AB) than the Attacker spawn (FB)
    • It takes infrastructure for the Attacker to hold key positions, while the Defender needs none
  • K/D Ratio - Proababilty that a friendly player will kill the enemy player first
    • Attacker must move out of cover and push into the town
    • Defender can hide in buildings and snipe all day
ADVANTAGE - DEFENDER


Supply - The numbers and quality of equipment in your spawn list compared to the equipment in the enemies spawn list

  • Ammount of supply availble to be used in the battle varies depending on the specific situation each sides faces
    • Starting BDE spawn list levels
    • Nearby BDE spawn list levels
    • Ability to shift flags around so that BDEs can be shifted in and out for fresh supply
  • K/D Ratio - Attacker ussually takes higher casulties than the defender, especially in Tanks
    • The attacker losing twice as many tanks as the Defender is common and should be expected.
ADVANTAGE - DEFENDER


Organization - Getting players to do what needs to be done in a timely manner

  • Infrastructure - MSs and heavy haulers that tow AA and ATG
    • Attacker needs MSs and Heavy Haulers for ATG / AA
    • Defender needs no infrastucture
  • Player Focus - Organizational abiltiy to get enough players focused on specific missions to have success (Guard tanks from Sappers, AA, Guard duty, hauling ATG, MSs)
    • Attacker needs lots of Player Focus to capture buildings, setup attack vectors, and push into town
    • Defender needs little Player Focus to guard buildings or setup defense
ADVANTAGE - DEFENDER



As you can see, the Defender has advantages in all 4 Key Elements of battle.


All of the above advantages are caused by game design. Like in real life, the Attacker must leap over the hurdles caused by distance and the advantages given to a prepared and fortified defense. It will be up to the Attacker to find creative ways to overcome or nullify these advantages.

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Player Numbers – Your initial guess is probably wrong


Every vet in WWII OL believes in a statement that is close to one of the following: “Player numbers move the map” “Organized player numbers move the map” “You can’t win without lots of players”


Some might change the above statements a little bit. However, the core concept remains the same, the number of players logged on to each side directly relates to the outcome on the battle field. The question is, is that statement correct?


The quick answer – Most of the time, but not always.


The number of players logged into to each side is actually meaningless. It is a good substitute for the number that actually matters, but it by itself doesn’t matter at all. What player number actually matters?


The number of players that are currently in a specific COMBAT ZONE at any given time.


A Combat Zone is defined as an area where friendly and enemy units can engage each other in battle. Most Combat Zones surround towns under attack, 1km in every direction. Sometimes Combat Zones occur at FBs. There are very few instances where Combat Zones occurr away from towns and FBs. Boiled down, there are two activities that move the map, Cappers who capture radios, and Shooters, who shoot enemy units. The current number of players doing those two activities at a specific target determine who has a player advantage. Players who are driving from a friendly controled FB who have not entered the town Combat Zone don't count. Players who are resupplying don't count. Those players may matter in the future when they arrive at the battle, but for this instant, they are not effecting the outcome of the battle.


Example:

  • Side A is attacking Side B
  • Side A has 50 players on the ground attacking and 100 Paratrooper players in a transport plane 30 minutes away
  • Side B has 100 players defending

Analysis:

  • For the next 30 minutes, Side B will use its 2:1 player ratio to dominate Side A.
  • In 30 minutes (when the Paras arrive) Side A will have the player advantage. Unfortunetly, Side B will likely have such a strong defensive position by then, that the extra player numbers will not help Side A.


This is just the first example on how the number of players in a Combat Zone matters and how to use that knowledge to your advantage.


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Travel Time

Have you noticed that when a side becomes overpopulated that side goes on the offensive? This section explains why overpop ussually means offense and you can make a difference in the outcome.


It takes time for players to spawn in and reach the battlefield. While each player is traveling to the front lines, they are not actually participating in the combat. If they are not in a Combat Zone, they are not helping your side win. Travel Time reduces your player numbers, but effects the Attacker and Defender in different ways.


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Defender and Travel Time

Travel time rarely effects the Defender. When a Defender spawns in, they are usually with 100m of where they need to be. So while an attacker may lose a good percentage of their forces to Travel Time, the Defender should always remain near 100% of their player numbers in the combat zone.


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Attacker and Travel Time

The Attacker always has a smaller percentage of players on the front line as the defender. Any attacker must spawn from a FB or MS and begin to travel to the Combat Zone (Either by running or driving). Now the time you actually enter Combat Zone varies. Sometimes you might spawn onto a MS and be instantly in combat, other times you may have to walk 1+ Km to reach the combat zone.

For the Attacker, every player death means that player must spend more time traveling from the FB or MS to the Combat Zone. The faster the Attacker's players die, the more time they collectively spend traveling. While rate of deaths differ because of skill and playing style, you can assume that there is an "average player" rating.


Example:

  • The Attacker has 100 players attacking, All Infantry.
  • The only MS is 1KM away from the Combat Zone. It takes players 1 Minute to travel from the MS to the front.
  • Once an Attacking Infantry player arrives at the front, on average, the player fights for 3 minutes.

Analysis:

  • Players spend 1 minute of their time Travelling and 3 Minutes fighting.
  • That means that the Attackers are only spending 75% of the time in the Combat Zone
  • At any given time, only 75 of the 100 attacking Infantry are in battle, the other 25 are traveling from MS to town.


The Answer to "Why does the overpop side always seem to be on offense?"

Even though the Attacker has 100 players spawned in, only 75 are actually fighting at any given time. This is why the overpopulated side goes on the offensive. If the underpopulated side tries to attack with all its players, the already lower player numbers coupled with the Travel Time player penalty would mean that the lowpop side would be at a HUGE player disadvantage. Those lowpop AOs would quickly fail due to swarms of overpop defenders. Eventually all the lowpop AOs would be canceled and the overpop players would get bored and be foreced to attack due to lack of action in game.


Infantry players take the hardest penalty for travel time. Infantry usually die much quicker than other units, and therefore spend alot of time traveling from a MS to town. It is not uncommon for Attacking Infantry to spend 1/3 to 1/2 of their game time traveling from MS to the Combat Zone.

Travel Time effects Tank and ATG players less harshly. While Tank and ATG players spend considerable amount of initial time driving from the FB to get into position, their missions last many times longer than the average INF players missions. The average Tank and ATG spends more time in the Combat Zone so the total game time spent traveling is low.


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Travel Time - Infantry amd MSs

Transit time doesn’t affect anything as much as attacking INF. Attacking INF usually have quick deaths. It is not uncommon for attacking INF to die ever few minutes.

Because attacking INF die so often, their travel time greatly effects their numbers and effectiveness. If your MS is located 1000m from town, it could take 1 minute or more for the INF to reach the front and actually start to fight. With front line battle time measured in a few minutes, a MS that is far from the battle could make 30% - 50% of the INF spawning from that MS ineffective due to travel times. It is this fact that makes having a close MS important for the Attackers. A MS that is within 300m of the target can DOUBLE the amount of INF actually fighting in the battle, while the total player numbers on the mission would remain the same. This is also why the spawnable depots are so important. They reduce the Attacker’s Travel Time to zero, allowing any player advantages to be used full force.


A close MS is vital for an AO. It can dramatically increase the number of players in the Combat Zone, greatly increasing the Attacker’s chances of winning.


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Travel Time – Fighters and Bombers

The easiest to example to demonstrate Travel Time is all air units. Fighters and bombers have to travel long distances to arrive at their targets. Unlike Tanks and ATGs, fighters and bombers use their ammunition quickly and therefore must RTB to home regularly. At any given time, 50% or more of all airborne aircraft may be in transit from an airfield to a target.

Securing a close AF therefore becomes critical to the strategic air warfare game. As flight times increase, the total number of planes you can have over any target begins to dramatically reduce due to Travel Time. Too long a flight, and your planes will be greatly outnumbered, even if you have more planes in the air.


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Transit Time - Paratroopers

Paratroopers for me is a love / hate relationship. When used correctly they are a fantastic tool. But all too often, they are used incorrectly and seriously decrease the number of players you have in the Combat Zones.


Para Troopers are great for the following uses:

  • Deploying troops to areas that are difficult to reach (Faraway softcaps, or across rivers)
  • Bringing needed supply to areas that need sapper charges (FBs, Bridges, ETs)
  • Delivering a great many troops to a target at one time (Initial attacks)


Unfortunately, Paratroopers are often misused with disastrous consequences. The misuse occurs when an AO has been up for awhile and the primary Infantry player used in battle becomes the Paratrooper. Dozens of players will spawn in as paratroopers to be dropped on target. But every player that spawns Paratrooper is a player that doesn’t spawn as a normal INF at the MS. This can cause a huge crash in player numbers at the Combat Zone, dooming many AOs.


Example: INF using MSs vs PARAs using Transports Planes

  • Lets assume an "average" Infantry players spawns for into a MS, travels for 1 minute, fights for 3 minutes, then dies.
  • Lets assume an "average" Paratrooper player spawn in, waits for the transport to take off for 2 minutes, has a flight time of 2 mintues, and fights for 3 minutes.

Analysis:

  • The Infantry player spends 75% of their time in the Combat Zone
(1min travel) + 3min CZ = 4 Mins Total Time --- 3/4 = 75%
  • The Paratrooper player spends 43% of their time in the Combat Zone
(2min on the ground + 2min in the air) + 3min in the CZ = 7mins Total Time -- 3/7 = 43%
  • If you were using 100 Infantry only - On average there would be 75 in the Combat Zone
  • If you were using 100 Paratroopers only - On average there would be 43 in the Combat Zone

You would need 174 Paras to have the same number of players in the Combat zone as 100 Infantry


You can argue different numbers to get different results. Flight times can vary widely (though the one in the example is fairly short) and survival times can change (it has been my experience that as a PARA, to die half the time before or just after I reach the ground). Whatever numbers you are likely to use, the results will be uniform. Relying on Paratroopers to attack a town is a very inefficent way to use players.

Paratroopers have many applications, just know that you do pay a price in player numbers for the benefits that Paratroopers provide.


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Spawn Delays

Spawn Delays have a similar effect to Travel Time. Spawn delays add time for the Overpopulated Side’s players to get to the front lines. Because the delay only effects those that are trying to spawn in, the effects are mostly felt by players that choose to spawn units that have high casualty rates (Infantry). Durring times of extreme spawn delay, the overpopulated attacker will sometimes have almost all Tanks with only a few Infantry. That is because players who spawn tanks are only hit with the spawn delay once, while players that play Infantry are hit with the spawn delay over and over and over again.


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Position - Terrain and Key Locations

In every battle, Terrain is very important. Controlling or using good terrain significantly helps your players be successful. Losing control of critical terrain features can make any battle difficult to win.

There are key Terrain positions around every town or FB that the Attacker and Defender must beware of. Certain Terrain features help the Defender, others help the Attacker. The following is a list of key features and associated advice that any player or OIC needs to be looking for in the terrain around a target town.


  • The only terrain that matters is 1.5 KM from town or the FB – In-game, no gun has an effective range longer than 1500m (Some ground based guns can fire farther than 1500m, but the inaccuracy at these ranges and loss of hitting power quickly make these guns ineffective). Because terrain farther than 1500m away can't be used to support operations at the target, controlling terrain features farther away than 1500m is probably not worth the effort.
  • Hills overlooking town are almost always good ATG and Tank locations, but certain spots on surrounding hills look directly into the AB, which is ideal – Many of the towns in game are located in valleys. There are Key Locations on the surrounding hills that have views into the AB by looking in between buildings and trees. These spots are usually small strips of land less than 20x30m in size. They are perfect locations for the Attackers ATGs, and are areas the defender must keep secure if they don’t want their Tanks destroyed moments after spawning in. The best way to find these key spots is to spawn into the AB and stand infront of the vehicle spawn. Look in every direction and see if you see patches of hillside. Those spots you see on the hill have Line of Sight into the AB area. (For instant results, you can spawn into the training server to check for Line of Sight locations that look into the AB, then use that info in the Live Server)
  • Vectors for Attacking Infantry - Some terrain is good for Infantry, some terrain is extremely bad. Attacking infantry ussually must run in from a MS located within 1 KM of town. The terrain that they use to gain access to the town can either increase or decrease the Infantry's chances of surving the run in.
    • The best terrain for Infantry is many berms, bushes, and the fields of high grass. Infantry can use those terrain features to zig zag their way into town, avoiding enemy LMG and Sniper fire.
    • The worst terrain for Infantry is open fields that have only a few hedge row bush lines. When there is only one route for the Infantry to travel to get into town or when there is a open field, attacking infantry almost always get killed before they reach town. A single LMG or veteran Rifle can cover large areas of territory, all from the safety and concealment of a small window.
  • Vectors for Attacking Tanks - The vectors chosen for attacking tanks is complex. All the terrain features that help infantry are deficits to tanks, but tanks need the infantry to keep them safe from ATGs and EI Sappers.
    • Ideal Tank terrain is open fields with many trees and the occaisional berm for the tanks to go hull down behind.
    • The deadliest tank terrain is areas where there is plenty of cover for EI Sappers and ATGs. This would include areas where there are many berms, hedge row bushes that can give enemy sappers cover as the try to flank the tanks, and especially fields of tall grass.
  • Bridges - Bridges are ussual focal points for AOs and DOs. Controlling access across the river is a big decision for both sides. We'll discuss more about bridges later. For now, know that either trying to cross bridges or keeping the enemy from crossing is a major focal point of all river towns.


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Supply - Quality and Quantity

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Equipment Tiers - Quality

An Equipment Tier is the level of technological advancement of a side. As each side reaches a new tier the get new technological advancements (better types of tanks or ATGs). Each succssive Tier also sees the phasing out of older early Tier equipement in favor of late Tier more capable equipment.

There is a wide discrepancy of capability between the different Tiers of equipment. Early tier equipment is inferior when fighting against late tier equipment. If you need convincing, I invite you to check out the CRS stats pages and compare the K/D ratios among Axis and Allied Tanks according to tier. The K/D ratios can easily become 10:1 or 15:1 if tier 0 equipment faces tier 2-3 equipment. Here are some examples:


  • Tier 2 - PZ 4G versus Tier 2 - French Sherman
    • 1.08 K/D Ratio
  • Tier 2 - PZ 4G versus Tier 1 - French Stuart
    • 2.30 K/D Ratio
  • Tier 2 - PZ 4G versus Tier 0 - French S35
    • 7.93 K/D Ratio


  • Tier 3 - Churchill 7 versus Tier 2 - PZ 4G
    • 2.22 K/D Ratio
  • Tier 3 - Churchill 7 versus Tier 1 - PZ 3H
    • 10.86 K/D Ratio
  • Tier 3 - Churchill 7 versus Tier 0 - PZ 4D
    • 17.20 K/D Ratio


As you can see, the K/D ratios can get very lopsided when a late Tier Tank faces off against an early Tier Tank. But even in the same Tier, you can find lopsided K/D ratios. For Example:


  • Tier 0 - Matilda versus Tier 0 - PZ 38T
    • 6.66 K/D Ratio
  • Tier 0 - Matilda versus Tier 0 - PZ 3F
    • 6.72 K/D Ratio
  • Tier 0 - Matilda versus Tier 0 - PZ 4D
    • 6.83 K/D Ratio

As you can see, the Tier 0 Matilda dominates all the Tier 0 Axis PZs.


The lesson to be learned by all of this is that it is not the numbers of supply alone that count, it is the numbers and quality of the supply that matter. We will learn how to use these lopsided Tier based K/D ratios in the AO and DO sections.


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Supply Counting – Quanity (and not cheating to do it)

Monitoring the supply is the most critical thing that a HC can do in AOs or DOs. While any player can guard depots, setup MS, and lead other players, ONLY HC can get the supply to where it is needed. Therefore, your number one job as a OIC of a AO or DO is to ensure your player base has the supplies they need to defeat the enemy.


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Counting your own supply: Not numbers, but capabilities

As we have learned from the Equipment Tiers section, it is a combination of equipment capablities and equipment numbers that determine your sides firepower. The example given being late Tier tanks being many times more valuable than early Tier tanks. An easy way for you to understand your own supply lists firepower is to use a counting method that I use.

When looking at your equipment lists, seperate the different types of equipment into Tiers. Then add equipment in the same Tier together. For example:


  • 1 Tiger, 3 4Gs, 2 Stug Gs, 7 PZ 3Hs
    • 1 Tier 3
    • 5 Tier 2
    • 7 Tier 1


Grouping equipment with similiar capabilities is a stream lined way to figure out what you can actually do. It aslo makes comparing the strength of your spawn list to that of the enemies easier.

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Counting the enemies supply and NOT cheating to do it:

Counting the enemies supply can be fairly easy. It is human nature to spawn in the best equipment that is availble. Therefore all the late Tier equipment is spawned in first, then mid Tier, and finnally early Tier. Therefore, by keeping an eye on what spawns in at the AB or what types of equipment the enemy has deployed against you, you can accurately guess where the enemy is in their supply list.

Lets assume both sides are in Tier 3. Your an AHC that has been monitoring the Axis supply on an AO that has been up for 30 minutes. The first few tanks spawned will be the any Tigers and PZ 4Gs. After some more time, Stug 3Gs and PZ 3Hs begin to spawn in. Later on, you see 2 PZ 3Hs spawn in together. At this point you know that the Axis are running low on PZ supply. That original Tiger tank may still be alive and causing many casulties, but you know that if you can kill the PZs already spawned in, you won't have to worry about other Tigers or 4Gs later on.

While you may not know exactly how many PZ 3Hs the Axis still have, you do know that they are out of Tier 2 and Tier 3 Equipment. This gives you a good guess on what they have left in the spawnlists.


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Comparing Supply Lists

Once you have added up your supply by using the Tier method and have observed what Tier of equipment the enemy is spawning, you can now compare who has a stronger supply situation.

Because both sides use their latest Tier equipment first and their earliest Tier equipment last, you only need to compare what tier of supply your using to what tier the enemy is using. Because a later Tier dominates an earlier Tier, it is not neccessary to know exactly how many Tanks the enemy has left, you only need to know what Tier those tanks are in and what Tier your tanks are in.

  • If both sides are using the same Tier
    • If your the Defender, your doing great
    • If your the Attacker, you will need to find new supply because the Attacker almost always takes higher casulties
  • If your a Tier or more AHEAD
    • You should be able to beat you enemy, unless the enemy finds new supply
  • If your a Tier or more BEHIND
    • You can accept that you will likely lose OR
    • You can find a new source of supply


Wearing your opponent down and then brining in FRESH supply can instantly change a battle. A good position held by Early Tier equipment can be easily pushed aside if you bring in fresh Later Tier Equipment. We will disscuss more about this tactic in the AO and DO Sections.



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Organization - Getting Players to do what needs to be done

Organization means different things to different people. For some, being organized is getting alot of players to be in the same place at the same time. For others, being organized means lengthy plans where every individual plays a small but key part in a much larger operation. For our purposes, we will give our own definition to Organization.


Organization - The abiltiy to observe, make good plans based on the observations, and the getting players to carry out those plans in a timely fashion.

In other words - Organization is the ability to Observe, Decide, React.


We will disscuss in detail about many different ways an Attacker's and Defender's Organization can help bring success on the battlefield. For this chapter, we will discuss the single most important part of a battle - The Initial Setup.


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Initial Setup - When and Where of Battle

As we have learned, the Defender has advantages in all 4 Key Elements of a Battle. Well, this isn't true all the time. The Attacker has one trump card to play. The Attacker can decide When and Where to Attack. This is the great equalizer between Attacker and Defender.


The When and Where of Battle can temporarily change the 4 Key Elements of Battle in favor of the Attacker. Notice I said temporarily. The Defender's advantages comes from the game design itself. There are certain times, however, when that is not always the case. Like is says in the introduction on the main page:

"This manual breaks down the WHY the truism is correct 95% of the time and wrong 5%. Once you know the why, you’ll understand the game at its most basic levels. Once you understand the game, you can learn to dominate your opponent. Many have wisdom that is true 95% of the time. Knowing when the situation reverses that other 5% is the difference between good and great."


Here is the 4 Elements of Battle again, but this time, with the conditions of the temporary reversal.


Player Numbers
  • When of Battle - The Attacker gets to move first. This means they can organize ALL of their players to spawn onto a target town at once. The Defender must observe the player shift, decide on what to do, and then shift their players to the target town. The time between the Attacker's players spawning in untill when the Defender's players spawn in can give a temporary Attacking player advantage at the target town.
Position
  • When of Battle - When the Attacker has the intial temporary player number advantage, they can easily take Key Positions around the target town.
Supply
  • Where or Battle - The Attacker chooses the targets. If the Attacker chooses a target where many of their flags can attack a town, yet only a few Defender flags can be swapped in and out, the Attacker can create a tempory supply advantage.
Organization
  • When of Battle - The Attacker has the opportunity to plan out battles hours in advance, while the defender must wait to be attacked. Propper planning can nullify many of the problems associated with infrastructure. Furthermore, temporary player numbers coupled with strong intial position reduces increases the likelyhood that MSs and ATG/AA placements will survive longer.


Player Numbers and Position both require the Attacker to have many more players than the Defender in the starting stages of a battle. If the Defender has players already spawned in and in good positions, both of these advantages are difficult for the Attacker to obtain.


Supply and Organization are directly under the control of HC. Both can be planned hours or days in advance.

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Defender Response Time - The one Timer that Matters Most

Imagine a timer that starts as soon as the Attacker gives the first indication that an AO is immeninent. That timer measures the time from the first indication of an AO untill the defender gets enough players spawned in to put up a credible defense. That imaginary timer does not keep a constant pace. Ingame decisions from both sides effect how quickly or slowly the timer runs.


Because the Attacker can only temporarily reverse 2 Key Elements of Battles (Player numbers and Position) if they can attack with surprise, it becomes vital for the Attacker to control the Defense Response Timer. To understand how to control it, you must first understand what it is and how it works.


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Typical Defender Responses

There are different stages of Defender Responses to every attack.

  • STAGE 1 - First indication that an attack is about to happen
    • EWS
    • AO Placement
    • Attacker announcements on public channels
    • Obvious next targets
    • FB Busts
    • Flag Shifts
  • STAGE 2 - First set of Defenders arrive to check out the situation
    • First defensive player is ussually a HC, they spawn SMG or LMG (Almost always LMG if Axis), and check Bunker and spawnable tables
    • Ussually, the first Tank spawned in heads out of town in the direction AWAY from the percieved direction of attack to setup an ambush position.
  • STAGE 3 - After first HC arrives and the HC has had time to figure out what is needed to be done, Defender chat is spammed that players are needed for defense, players then begin to arrive
    • It takes about 3 Minutes for players to begin to arrive after a Spam of "players needed"
    • As enemy players log in or become board at other towns, those players will gradually begin spawning in at the target town
    • Enemy Air is rerouted to target, arrival time depends on the boredom of the enemy pilots and closeness of an enemy AF
  • STAGE 4 - Defender is full strength with plenty of players to guard bunkers, setup ATG, ect..

Image:Defender_Graph.JPG

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How the Defense Response Time can be Manipulated

It is imperative that the Attacker attempt to keep the Defender Response Timer as long as possible. The slower the Defender reaction time, the longer the Attacker will have superior player numbers. With those higer player numbers, the Attacker can capture Key Positions, Setup MSs, and have INF infiltrate town.


It is also imperative that the Defender attempt to shorten the Defender Response Timer. The faster the oncoming attack is reconized and the quicker players begin to switch to face the new threat, the better off the Defender will be.




Stage 1 - First signs of the AO

Attacker
Not all first indications trigger the same effect. Flag shifts and FB busts are common and only attract a small ammount of attention. Light INF EWS is common and can fly under the radar. Heavy INF EWS will attract some attention eventually. Tank EWS light or heavy, especially when coupled with Heavy INF EWS will attract attention immedietly. All the mentioned indicators require someone on the Defender side to be observing the map. If no one is looking at the map, then there will be no defender response.
AO placement is a dead give away that an attack is occurring. The System announces to every Defender player that an AO has just been issued. Many Defender players and HC will automatically check their maps and begin to ask questions about the defense status. AO placement immediately moves the Defender Response Timer to Stage 3.
Defender
Besides AO Placement, all the attack indicators are map related. If the Defender dosn't have someone looking at the map when EWS goes off, there is a good chance that many minutes go by before the Defender is even aware they are under attack. The best practice is to have many eyes scanning the map at all times. When flags shift, look for potential targets. When a FB is blown, either blow it back or get a trusted player to hang out at the town for awhile. Early detection is the key to success.


Stage 2 - First Defenders begin to spawn in

Attacker
Because the AO hasn't been placed yet, having players in the spawnable depot is not a good idea. It only makes the Defender checking out the spawnable flag buildings more nervous and more likely to spam chat for help. It is also a good idea to have a ATG or sapper ready for the lone tank that will try to flee and setup an ambush position. Not only does killing that tanker keep your forces safe, but the defense will likely not try to leave town again.
Once a Defender HC has spawned in, the Attacker cannot control when the HC calls for help in chat. The Attacker can attempt to control the urgency of that chat call.
  • If the HC only gets a report of one MS, sees no EI, and only hears only a single tank on the road
    • "Defenders needed at town XYZ"
  • If the HC spawns in and sees 2 tanks camping the spawnable depot, EI in the AB VEH spawn, and ATGs blasting anything they see on a nearby hill
    • "911 emergency, Defenders needed ASAP at town XYZ" - Repeated 50 times.
Defender
This is a difficult stage for the Defender. They know they need players to spawn in, but how many? If they put too urgent a call, they will get many defenders, but will uneccessarily weaken other battles. (Every player that spawns in is a player that spawned out of somewhere else.) Not enough players, and the Defender can quickly be overrun. Judging how many players you need and the type of Chat request that will get the desired response is an art form learned over a long time.

Stage 3 - Defender HC spams chat and defenders begin to spawn in

Attacker
If the Attacker hansn't set the AO yet, this is the time to do it. The Defender HC has called for reinforcements and the players will be arriving soon. The Defender player response is no longer tied to the setting of the AO, the Defender response has already been activated. The decision to not set the AO has no effect on the hoards of Defenders that will soon be spawning in and only prevents the Attacker's INF from capturing depots.
Defender
As new players spawn in, it is important to repeatedly tell them the placements of enemy forces. You may have spammed that there are 2 ATGs North of town a minute ago, but how many newly arriving players just spawned Tanks in the last 60 seconds? Getting the newly arriving players with full battlefield awarness is a top priority.


Stage 4 - Both sides are at full player strength

Attacker
The true battle begins


Defender
The true battle begins
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