Attack Objective
Attack Objectives (AO)
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An Attack Objective (AO) is an order issued by the High Command for forces to assault a Town. Without an Attack Objective (AO), a Capture Point cannot be contested or captured. AO's also serve to focus the action in the game, making it easier for players to find a battle. Once an Attack Objective is placed, the target will be vulnerable to capture after a short period of time. Initially, all Depot facilities are vulnerable. Ten minutes after any one of these facilities are captured the Army Base / Docks also become capturable. Only cities on the Frontline are candidates for an Attack Objective.
Holding the Forward Bases is imperative for the AO to continue, so prepare to have guards placed watching for the enemy. Destroying FBs make it almost in possible to stage an attack on the AO.
(Bridges can also be the target of Attack Objectives, which makes them destroyable, but also repairable by the defender).
Appearance
Map
Any town that has an AO placed on it will have it's name encased in a Red box:
Listing
A listing of all the current objectives can be found by typing ".objective l" in the chat bar. It will return something similar to this:
A Numerical list of all current objectives can be found by typing ".objective n" in the chat bar. This will provide in the text bar a listing of all Attack Objective, Defense Objectives, Bridge Attack/Defense Objectives. It will also state how many Objectives are "free" or available to be placed. It will return something similar to this:
Information about an Objective can be found by typing ".objective i". This will inform you of how long the objective has been active.
Note:.obj can be used as a shortcut for .objective
Mechanics
Number of AO's
Each side has a limited number of AO's at any given time. The number of AO's depends on the number of players currently logged into the game, increasing as more players log in to the game, and deceasing as they logoff. There will always be at least 1 AO available per side, regardless of game population.
Placing an AO
Only a member of the High Command or an OIC can place an AO. They do so by selecting the target Town on the Theater Map, and then right clicking and using the drop down menu to initiate the request for an attack.
Relation to Defense Objective
The mirror to the AO is the DO, or Defense Objective. These are instructions to a side that the enemy is going to attack a given CP, and to muster the defenses. A DO cannot be placed, they appear in conjunction with an AO.
Removing an AO
AO's may be removed for many reasons. They can either be automatically removed, due to a decrease in player numbers or the successful capture of a CP, or they can be manually removed by the HC because a battle is not going well. When the HC cancels the AO, it is not immediate. A warning message will got out to all side players (.allied or .axis), those in the field are given additional warnings by the system that the attack is being called off. The text warnings continue for 5 minutes at which point the AO is removed.
Timers
Once an AO has been placed on a town, a cp can not be captured for the first 10 minutes. Objective issued timers can be found by clicking on a town's name and typing .obj i on chat.
Automatic Placement
- AOs will be automatically placed when HC fails to place enough.
- Priority for placement will be adjacent cities with enemy brigades present.