Cadet II/Squad games

Squads and Squadgames

Congratulations Cadet. By now you have learned not to fly straight into a rock, as well how to shoot your guns without killing yourself. As your cadet training draws to a close, it is time to step back and decide what kind of future you want to have in Allegiance.

You can just relax and join pickup games (PUGs), or you can put in more effort and join a squad. Now, there are several things you need to know about squads and squad games (SGs). PUGs and SGs have often been compared to playing a pickup football game at the park and a pro-football game. And that comparison holds water. SGs are nothing like PUGs. The level of coordination and response speed is totally different, as is the skill of the players involved. If in PUGs you have the chance to see the worst Allegiance has to offer, then in SGs you certainly have the chance to experience the best.

But what is a squad?

Squads are just loose groups of players who like to play together. If you are in a squad you have only one real obligation.. to play one or more SGs (which can be official league games, or just friendly matches) every weekend, sharing victory or defeat with your team mates. Some squads organize training before those games as well. Obligation might be too strong of a word.. the average age in Allegiance is pretty high and we all have RL stuff to attend to, so if you happen to miss one or several SGs, nobody is going to complain.. in fact showing 50% of the squads rooster in a game is considered a pretty good turnout.

How do you enter a squad?

You have taken the first step by going trough CDT training. We have talent scouts watching for new recruits and if you do well enough you'll probably be approached by one of them. You can also contact the squads recruiting officer.. but be aware that some squads are less inclined to let new players in than others. Allegiance might be just a game but we take SGs seriously.. if you don't plan to play hard, trying to improve your skills or can't handle a defeat, then don't join.

I didn't get an invite, now what?

You're not good enough. By now you should have the basics down, but that is not enough. You can compare Allegiance to a game of chess. It's easy enough to learn what each piece is and does, but an expert can still checkmate you in three moves. There are pilots that have been playing for years.. and they ARE good.

How do I improve my gameplay to be 'good enough'?

By using your head. We need good players, but more than that, we need SMART players. Your flying and aim will get better with time.. up to a point. There will always be somebody with better aim, reflexes, ping or just more dumb luck than you. What you can really work on at this stage, is your understanding on how a game of Allegiance flows. You learned how to probe, now learn where, when and why to probe. Learn to predict what the enemy commander will do and what can you do to counter it. And above all learn how to follow your commanders orders.. there is little room for solo play in squad games.

Remember: Allegiance is a small community with a low tolerance for jerks and douches. Squadded players might come trough as elitist and aloof, but most of them are good players that will be happy to give you some pointers or advanced training, if you just ASK.

To help you make the transition from PUGs style of play to SGs, here are some pointers. The squad that plays like this has a far better chance to win a game over a squad that doesn't.

1. "Pawn to d4."

There is no excuse for losing your opening constructor. You might have to plant it short or reroute it, but losing it practically means a lost squadgame. At least 80% of your team should be with your opening outpost, with fighters leading before the constructor and trying to camp the aleph on the enemy side, while con nans (and you should ALWAYS have those) escorting the constructor at a safe distance. Getting to the chokepoint is not all about skill.. sometimes the scouts just can't find the alephs fast enough or you're playing against a faction that is faster or has better starting ships than you. But in you should never lose your constructor due to poor planning. Remember: Getting there first helps! Having con nans (that can double as combat nans) helps! Having a wing leader calling targets in a furball helps as well. If your constructor plants without much trouble then don't lose time and go directly to point 6.. do not pass GO, do not collect 500$.

2. "Adapt or die."

Always, always be prepared to change your original plan, if the situation changes. For scout this means to always carry a nan (should go without saying) and 1 or 2 prox mines. You never know when you get to blockade an aleph, even if you're just out probing. For interceptors this means conserve your fuel to get home quickly. This is done by actually killing yourself on an asteroid while a single ship remains behind to pick up pods (ideally a scout that can ripcord home).

3. "The quick and the dead."

Good response time is essential. Every second counts when your miner is dying or you have to set up an attack uneyed before an enemy scout comes and ruins it for you. Work on your tactical awareness. Work on your chat reading. Work on your order following. If the commander says: 'We bomb in 1 minute.', at least half the team should be heading back to base that instant and the bomber should be out no more than 5 seconds (time to configure it) after it has been researched.

4. "Press B P to auto pilot to base."

Err.. no, please don't. Spending time in your pod is a WASTE OF TIME. KB means nothing, so pod ram miners, hit prox, hit constructors... do whatever it takes. Getting pilots back into ships and where you need them as fast as you can is paramount. Picking pods is a PRIMARY OBJECTIVE, if you let your teammates float for 5 minutes you deserve to lose.

5. "Team play wins games."

This is where most squads fail and it's one of the hardest things to learn in Allegiance, as it must be learned as a squad and not as an individual. We don't define team play as 'Let us all go and do that one thing.', we define it as: 'We go there, you go there, we'll trust you to do your job, while we do ours.". Most squads do just one thing at a time. And that single thing will probably succeed. However if the opponent does two or three at same time, like defending vs your attack and killing your miners while they are defenseless, they will win. Three ints working together to kill miners are a great thing.. especially if the enemy squad is busy camping for a bombing run the rest of your squad is on. Get the idea?

6. "The best way to win is to kill your opponents economy."

So simple, yet so difficult for most squads to wrap their heads around. No miners means no expansion and no tech. They are primary targets. Worth far more than a constructor or a base kill. In the early stage of the game (say 15 mins), every miner kill is worth at least 3 miners in the latter. Even only harassing enemy miners by chasing them from the rocks or not allowing them to dock is worth GOLD. The point of all this? Get out there and KILL THOSE $#@!ING MINERS!

7. "The best miner defense is NO miner defense."

Sounds stupid doesn't it. I guess you could call it passive miner defense. It takes two things: - a well probed route to your miners from an enemy sector - an attentive commander/miner herder that moves the miners to safety when an enemy fighter wing is sighted. Safety can mean a neigboring sector or just moving them offplane if the attack wing is blind-as-a-bat interceptors. This has several advantages.. not tying your team on miner d, while having the enemy pilots losing time looking for your miners being the main one. The best commanders use miners like chess pieces, moving them around as needed to get the least possible heat. Of course there comes a time when you have to actively defend your miners.. in those cases remember that having just 1 scout proxing the inbound aleph is better than 2 ints on defense. Also if you're down to your last miner and you're under constant attack by miner hunter wings, barely keeping it alive, do yourself a big favor and dock that miner so your team can go on the offensive. Being stuck on defense is a sure way to lose the game.

8. "Be paranoid, be VERY paranoid."

No miner is safe, no constructor is safe. All of your sectors are probed and every base you own has a bomber heading for it next door. Play accordingly. To elaborate.. if you are mining in a sector without direct access (no base, no tele), always have some miner d in the sector.. even if it is a single scout, it can keep the miner long enough for some help to arrive. Same goes for your constructors.. trying to send a constructor anywhere without at least 1 ship to escort it is just plain stupid. Be aware that even a basic scout can kill a small con, if the pilot is competent enough.. assume that the enemy has competent pilots.

9. "Good intel is priceless, for everything else you can pick up ca$hboxes."

First of all it's called a SCOUT, not a PROBE-DROPPER. Your job is to probe, DEPROBE, nan stuff, blockade alephs and SCOUT. Flying in circles to find that probe/hidden enemy scout that is eyeing your home is never a waste of time. Scouting trough already probed sectors is never a waste of time. Best case scenario you'll eye something the enemy doesn't want to you eye. Worst case you can deprobe a bit, pick up tech/cash or reprobe when needed. A squadgame is won by getting intel on the enemy so your commander can make the right decision, while denying the enemy the same.

10. "Perseverance is the key."

I fly a scout. I have a horrible kill/eject ratio. I'm very proud of it. If a sector needs probing I'll keep trying to do it no matter how many times I get killed. If a miner rush fails, go again. If a bomber run fails, go again. If you die 10 times trying to do it, SO $#@!ING BE IT. Allegiance is not real life. In Allegiance if you bang your head against a brick wall long enough, you'll ultimately get trough it.

To conclude.. always try to learn from your mistakes and defeats, both personal and the ones of your team. The best squads pat themselves on the back after every victory. In defeat they congratulate the opponent while discussing the mistakes made privately.