read this if you want to be Commander in Warfare

[MaxRiga]

I’m mostly playing arma only because of Warfare missions. Thx Benny that he has brought it back into arma2 so I enjoy playing it now.
But the most annoying thing in Warfare is when noob commanders are doing absolutely stupid and illogical things. Well, it’s because they r noobs, but damn, sometimes it’s very annoying.

Well, I’ve decided to let them know some basic knowledge. Here it goes.

THE MAIN RULE NUMBER ONE - Do not play commander in multiplayer if u’ve never played it before. Please, respect those players who play with you in multi. Download Warfare mission from internet and try it in single player mode first. There is AI that will play with you, so, you will study basic options of commander without pressure from other human players.

1- The first what you have to do is to build your base. But you must not rush to build it right away when the game starts. The first base position is 80-90% chances you win in Warfare. We don’t speak now about amount of players and their experience. Even if your team is full of noobs you still can defeat your experienced enemies if you let your noob players capture what YOU need. So, first of all you have to find the spot for your base. There are five 120 sup points cities in Chernarus. So, it’s very logical to deploy your base somewhere close to one of it. Or it’s even better if you build it close to both of it. Remember, as faster you capture it as more supplies you receive. Unfortunately, sometimes even experienced players start their bases somewhere far and deep forest and happy about that their base is hard to find. This is wrong logic! The most important is to rush for cities as fast as possible, but not to hide and be happy about it. This is not “hide and seek” game, this is fast “rush for cities mission” first of all. And those who rush for cities faster will succeed.

2- The fact is that one time your base will be spotted anyway. And it’s gonna be under arty or air fire right away if your enemy have air or arty. So, when you start your base deploying try to place your structures far one from another, so, your enemy will not destroy all together at once with a single arty or air strike.

3- Do not build you base between mountains! Usually noobs think it’s harder to be spotted or it’s safer if you are covered by mountains. This is wrong, because if a single enemy AT or Tank unit will be on the top of the mountain then he can destroy ur HQ or the whole base easily. So, your base in secure place when it’s ON THE TOP of any hill. In this case it’s harder to hit base from the ground. Another thing is that it’s easier to make protection for your up hill base by placing AT or AA ubits around it. If you ask me for air, then it’s also easier to hit enemy air from hill ( for human and specially if you build AI AA protection around ). If you build AI AA between mountains they never be able to hit enemy air.

4- Another big mistake is when noobs build A ( air structure ) , L ( light factory ) or H ( heavy factory ) in forest or between buildings in cities. And, unfortunately, even experienced players do the same mistake. If you want fully operational base never do it. The logic of players who is doing this is that it’s more covered and less chances to be spotted. Well, yeah, but the main idea of Warfare, as I said before, is “rush for cities mission” but not “hide and seek” and if you build L or H in trees then AI is gonna stuck around it and will not be able to move properly. So, if you buy one tank for your self and another btr90 for your AI then be sure that your btr90 will not be able ever to get out of this damn forest.
Building A in forest is also common mistake of noobs. I can’t understand what are they thinking about when they want their choppers and planes be respawned in forest ..

5- Same mistake for those RTS gamers who enjoy those self building walls all around their base. All I can say for them is that AI in arma2 cannot really find it’s path to get out of your base, so, your base in not fully operational in the case you have walls around it. Simply – do not build walls at all or you will find your base full of cars, armors and soldiers that doesn’t know where to go. Same rule for those, who enjoy build their base inside of castles and cities.

6- Also, remember, that Ai and human go more slowly up the hill then down the hill. So, if your main base in Chernogorsk area and you need to go north it will be damn slowly. Don’t build main base in this area! Otherwise you will not be able to follow “rush for cities mission” fast up north.

7- Let you base be connected with Chernorus with any road. It’s not just because it’s easier for human to move but it’s also the only way how you can let AI moves for cities faster.

8- Now I want to speak about Airports more punctual. First of all airports are for Air, not for tanks, cars etc. I’ve seen many times the situations when player wants to take off or land his plane and hit some kinda AI in uaz or m1 that occasionally crossing his way. Well, it’s definitely commander fault, because you have to build A way too far from other structures so AI will never cross take off line. Another mistake that usually noobs do is placing A or S in wrong positions ( S is just MUST BE thing on airport to rearm and repair your planes ). For example, noobs like to place A or S ( or other structures ) right in the middle of take off line! I can’t understand why they doing it. Well, may be in their cities they have bus stops, little stores, posts and signs in the middle of streets too? I donno. It’s also very important to place S in the beginning or end of take off line ( I donno where is beginning or the end, it depends, I guess, but the idea is to have S not somewhere in the middle of take off line ). Many players prefer to build in it the middle, so, it this case the airport is less functional because pilots must land their planes then return their planes to the middle of airport, then to return back to the beginning of take off line and then they free to go. It’s much better to place S somewhere at the end of airport, so when pilot lands all he needs is just rearm and free to go. Especially at Krasno and Cherno airport where take off line is short and small.

9- Commander has to communicate. Organization is most important thing in armies. To organize your team you have to communicate with your guys. If you see that 6 players went for nearest town together with your Ai it’s gonna be more productive if you ask 3 of 6 guys to go for another town. Always keep in your mind that Warfare is “rush for cities mission”, so, if you can capture two cities in 15 minutes instead of one then DO IT!

10 – Commander must move his base sometimes, at least once, closer to the battlefield. Many of noobs think it’s too risky but if you not moving it you have big chance to loose, because if your enemy move their base closer to you that means your enemy finally get more cities that you and your team will loose. Yes, there is some risk but, once again, you have to organize your team to help you. For example you build your first base near Zelenogorsk or Berezino. Your guys now rush for Stary Sobor in the center of the map. It’s damn too long way for them to drive from your base to Stary Sobor. And if someone got shot he needs to go all the way again. Well, you have to move your base there so the area will be dominated with amount of your team players and it’s gonna be much faster for them to operate in the area. The enemy just will not get a chance to take this area after you place your second base somewhere around.

The things above are some default rules for those, who want to be successful commanders. Now I want to share my advises, that not necessarily to follow.

1- Always upgrade Light Factory first. Then you can go for supplies but Air at the end. Some noobs are trying to build A and upgrade it as soon as possible and this is deadly mistake because in the beginning of the game players don’t have money for good air anyway. To capture towns faster your teammates need something fast moving and powerful enough. This why if you upgrade Light you give your teammate the light armor they so needed in capturing your first towns.

2 – Try do not build A if your team haven’t get a half of the map. Usually when you build A then everybody stops fighting for cities and go for flying. Well, yeah, air is good for base hunting and killing tanks but if your enemy will even ride their bikes and go for cities while your team enjoy their flying you can loose. Because, as you know, Warfare is “rush for cities mission” but not “rush for skies”.

[Helo]

You re truely speaking directly out of my heart.

[Murklor]

Funniest base build I've seen:

A narrow canyon. Inside a deep forrest. On a steep incline. Filled with tunguskas that couldnt get out. Everytime an enemy aircraft came close, the tunguska literally pelted the canyon sides killing everything and everyone that was trying to get out of the canyon.

FFS people build your bases by roads! Its CRITICAL to AI movement! IMO its better to loose an open position than never have any use of it because the AI is lost in the forest.

Personally I have a preference to well defended outposts (ie 1 factory and several defenses) rather than just plopping down 3-4 factories in the middle of the woods with no defences or anything.

But I've never really been a commander online. Maybe its time to start

[Inkompetent]

Very nice post, MaxRiga!

[Mickd]

FFS people build your bases by roads!

Sorry couldn't resist. (pic 80kb, please dont shoot!)

[Yuka]

Sadly, the people that need to read this, never will.

Good points, though. I don't really command in warfare much but if I ever find myself in the commander's chair, I'll be sure to take these tips to heart.

[Beagle23]

You don't have to build completely in the open just because you want to be near cities for your 'rush the cities' strategy. Chernarus has a lot of diverse terrain and its very difficult to build a base that is not near any cities at all, unless you're on the map's flanks proper. If you still want to 'RUSH THE CITIES' so much that you need a spawn within 500m, you can then remobilize your HQ and park it outside towns as a spawn point.

I try not to die when I play, so needing a spawn kind of becomes a lesser concern compared to making your entire base incredibly easy to see, but hey, that's just me.

Like you said, your base will come under artillery fire as soon as it is spotted, which is why bothering to build any defenses above a few MGs to keep out saboutuers is useless. Your only defense is to not be seen in the first place. Building in the open is asking for your base to be easily spotted in demolished.

The same with roads, you're practically asking to be found.

I actually prefer to play with Artillery off, which makes things different - I like how you actually have to assault bases instead of just pressing a few buttons and watching them turn to dust. This means that easily discoverable bases are fine as long as they're well defended. Not so with artillery on, so again, the rule I live by is if this base is found, its going to be pounded.

Build factories on the edges of forests with their spawning sides facing out so AI don't get stuck. Build them inside hangars. Build them in cities, build them in at the bottom of big valleys, and most importantly, don't build them near points of interest.

Defenses are irrelevant, just don't get spotted.

Walls are fine, just leave big gaps for the AI.

You have a map, use it when taking off to check for vehicles crossing the strip. Really easy thing to do.

[Flightster]

I agree to a certain extent, but Beagle as a better point of view on it (in my opinion)..

You see, as soon as I have access to a chopper I will make it my mission to find the enemy base. If you were to place your base next to a road, close to towns, on top of a hill, etc you wouldn't last 30minutes if you faced an organised group of players.

[droogs]

I agree with Beagle and Fightster.
The main mission is to destroy the enemy mhq and then his bases. On my squads server the mission types are usually anihilation or assination. this means that you must think tactically if you are the Cdr. for instance if you are building an AAR then it must be put in a forest to hide the mast or placed near towns with big chimmenys so as to blend in and not be seen by air elements. I also spend a lot of time building decoys that look convincing from the air so that the enemy will what resources on that. Towns Warfare is not meant as a rush for towns"" it is meant as a strategic and tactical semi simulation wear you as a commander must think about what resources you have to hand to complete the task. The main task of the commander in Warfare is to ensure that the best possible resources are available to His forces and the least to the other side. therefore you must protect what you have by disabling the enemies C3 facilities. and in warfare this equates to his ability to gain resources, build equipment and upgrade that equipment.
So building out in the open so the AI cn spawn nicely is not a consideration at all. Yes you must take the limits of the game into consideration but at the same time you can build in clear areas big enough for 1 building and a unit to create and move away without having to be next to a road. Also thi idea of base building is anathema to any Cdr worth his salt as all that does is provide a a flashing beacon of equipment on someones veh radar. Spread the factories out so that if you lose 1 thing, you dont lose it all.
thats my penneth worth

[KilKenny]

Hi all,

I'm not a very experienced commmander, just curious : do you think it is better to spread the builldings within the HQ's limited radius when deployed, or do you mobilize the HQ every time you build a new building, so you can spread everything at least 100m apart ? the second solution solution sure sounds more secure, but is a real pain to do in game.

The initial placement near one or two 120 pts towns is not a good idea in my opinion. It mostly depends whether you have enough money and points to start upgrading while players and AIs take the first towns. If not, its better to take any town, the smaller the better, as the small ones have less Resistance in them.

I also disagree with the mountain-top placement for base. If enemy has arty and half-decent recon, you'll get wiped out quickly...

In the first stages of the game, my strategy so far : in most cases I prefer to build the base asap in nearest cover, and run for nearest towns to quickly get resources. Then after a while I make a second backup base far from the first, nearer to front line, and then move the MHQ in a calm area not too far from the center of the front line, and move it while the front line advances.

In as second phase, when the front line stabilizes on contact with enemy, i build a few buildings (barracks, light and heavy factory) near the front line in a calm area so players can reinforce easily. In all the losing games i've been in, the nearest base was too far away to send efficient reinforcements.

In my opinion building bases on sea shore is near suicidal (except for air... and i love your idea of using shore road for landing strip, swiss/swedish AF style ) , its really better to build in hilly/forest area for cover, but with quick access to flat land for fast rolling of tanks. Crossing the map through mountainous areas in tanks takes hours for AI...

For you, whats the role of the commander besides moving the MHQ and making bases ? whats typically in his squad ? does he own arty, put men in static defences, build AA squad ?


Thanks
kilKenny.