jex

By this I'm refering to those maps where you need to hold three AAS points before you can capture the next base. Last night we played a game of ping pong whereby the pubbies would hold two points and we'd have one. This wasn't always the case, there were times when we had two or none of the three bases, but these were limited.

At times I did notice the enemy count in the bases were very small, sometimes none existant. With us holding one base it just needed four guys to go grab the other two and we could have had it. Of course those windows were open for very limited times and it would have needed an assault force waiting, just outside the zone, to strike at the right time. I was thinking how this could be achieved last night and came up with the following.

Spawn Base & Defending
We need at least four players defending one spawn point. At least two of these should be medics. This is how we were defending yesterday and it was working well. We all chose a sector to cover and then reported enemy movements as they came in. During the latter stages of the game, once a contact report went out, all bodies moved to that location to assist in taking down the enemy and this worked really well. [as a side note, if an apc comes charging in and you only have a rifle, shoot at it from behind cover anyway as those inside still hear the bullets hitting and it's a distraction whilst your RPG man sets up his shot]. When an apc did come in, we had Riyker with AT hitting them and the rest of us were waiting to shoot the guys as they bailed. Very effective tactic

However all being said, we did loose bases when the enemy assaulted en force. Maybe some clays (4 clays can be set per man, you can then go and re-arm as a different class). More defenders would also help here but I would recommend at least 50% of the defenders are medics.

If your spawn base is lost, all combatants should move directly to the least defended base and capture it. It is vital that at least one base is held at all times. Only if circumstances permit should you ignore this.

I also noticed that people were having problems calling out directions. I have terrible trouble at times and sometimes go " contact East, no west... NO EAST!!" and yesterday a few people were getting muddled. 2 tips I used which sorted me out were to look at the map and get my bearings there. I then struck an imaginary line down the middle and then had a left and a right side (E & W). The other being to name points of reference around me like West Island, NW bridge, flat plain north, etc - this way you can be as simple or complicated as you like.

Assaulting
Here things get a little more complicated. We hold one base but we need three others. The third base of course being the one needed to nullify the 3 that you hold and bring the vital AAS to one point on the map. Being outnumbered by pubbies means the only advantage we have is teamwork, tactics and communication. With regards to comms, there are threads out there you should read about minimising TeamSpeak use and maximising the message macro's.

So with one base secure the assault force needs to engage the other bases. This should be done by looking at the map and ascertaining which bases are best to take. Do you use one big force, take a base, leave a few behind and push on to the next, or do you split up and attack? However you do this it needs to be done extremely swiftly because you have 1 or two guys holding just outside of the 4th point, or the key point.

When the 3 bases are taken, you know that the next spawn point is going to be hard to take. Once you have all 3, how do you get all your guys there to attack? If you all leave you risk loosing all that you have gained. But if you have had 2 guys waiting to move in the moment you have the 3 bases, it is unlikely that any enemy will be there. The two move in and start to bring down the flag. They hide, prone, in the zone and do nothing except defend themselves if engaged. If they get killed, it will all have been for nought. Remember that if the base is empty and the flag is going down, the enemy cannot spawn there.

Once the flag is going down, now is the time that every other player (and it has to be every player) moves as quickly as possible to the base. There's no reason for any other player to be doing anything else at this time. This is the crucial point to be taken and every person who is not helping means less chance of success. Once that base has been captured, defence needs to be the key issue.

For 5 minutes at least, all players should be defending this point. This is because the oppostion will be accutley aware that they are close to loosing the game and will hurl everything they have to try and regain the lost ground. Remember, this is not a typical AAS map. Yes you could have guys shooting off to try and get another spawn point but what if you loose what you have just gained? The possibility of having to fight for those 3 bases again isn't worth it and moral drops severely once that happens. So defend against the counter attack. For a few minutes the attacks will probably be concentrated. Knowing defeat is near usally brings players closer and they will now start to team up. Now as everyone is defending we will be killing there numbers. At first it won't make much difference but as the minutes go by, you'll gradually see the numbers moving out together dwindle, until you get the steady drip, drip, drip of lone gunners or a team of two comming at you instead of a chopper/jeep loaded full of soldiers.

It is at this point that the assaulters can move out as the attackers have lost co-ordination and are much less of a threat. Still, extra defenders should now be assigned and the attacking force won't need to be as strong as there is only one spawn to take now, rather than 3.

Of course if the this is the last spawn point you've won the game.

This gametype does rely on one thing and that's numbers. 5 players on the server cannot win against 15 pubbies. In this situation all you can do is try for a stalemate. Everyone defends until you have better odds.

Thanks,

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Jex