Help: Ground Combat

Ground combat is a system for assaulting targets on a planetary surface.

INTRODUCTION

Various planets for various reasons will have ground combat missions available. Generally, as you complete missions on a planet, the available missions will become harder and have more of an effect on the planet, until you accomplish some overarching goal. For instance, freeing an occupied planet from the Outsiders.

Only one group of players may be fighting a mission at one time. However, multiple groups of players can be simultaneously operating on the same planet, all working toward the final goal.

Each group of players must possess an aerial fortress and deployment station (known more simply as an aerial fortress, or 'airfort'). This is the group's base of operations. Also, the group must have a ship capable of transporting the aerial fortress to the mission planet.

The group will fight in sets of powered armor known as battlesuits. These battlesuits are well-armed and can withstand some damage.

EQUIPPING YOUR BATTLESUIT

Each pilot owns and maintains their own battlesuit. You can find a battlesuit outfitter on your alliance's capital.

You will start with access to a basic battlesuit. As you do ground missions, you'll gradually gain access to better battlesuits that can equip more modules. More about modules below.

There are four main components to battlesuits. These are things you have to think about when equipping your battlesuit.

• Weapons: As you might surmise, weapons are what you use to do direct damage to enemy targets.
• Abilities: Special abilities can have a wide range of effects, from repairing allies, otherwise helping allies or hindering enemies, to simply doing damage. All abilities use your battlesuit's energy, which recharges over time.
• Armor: Having armor lets your battlesuit take less damage when hit, but also makes it harder to evade enemy fire.
• Modules: Modules don't do anything by themselves. Instead, they determine which weapons, abilities, and armor you can equip.

For instance, a pistol is a part of the Projectile module. If you want to use a pistol, your battlesuit must first be equipped with the Projectile module. Once this module is equipped, you can equip and use a pistol. All weapons, abilities, and armor work the same way. You have to equip the module, followed by whichever specific weapon, ability, or armor you want. The module by itself does nothing.

You can also buy or find certain items that can be added to your battlesuit and used to help you in battle.

When you purchase a battlesuit, it is not actually in your possession. Instead, it will be stored safely at the spaceport where you bought it. When you board a ship carrying an aerial fortress, your battlesuit will automatically be transferred to it. Similarly, your battlesuit will automatically return to the spaceport when you leave the ship. You can move your battlesuit from one spaceport to another this way.

EQUIPPING AN AERIAL FORTRESS

First of all, you do not need your own aerial fortress, particularly if you're just starting out. There are probably a handful of aerial fortresses already owned by people in your alliance, and early on you will just be joining other pilots on one of these.

When or if the time does come to purchase your own aerial fortress, you can do so at the same facility where you purchased your battlesuit. You must already own a fortress-transporting ship in order to purchase a fortress.

There are some things you must buy in order to prepare your aerial fortress for combat.

• Synthesis supplies: An aerial fortress will synthesize all battlesuit ammunition from this as needed, so make sure you have plenty on board.
• Ammunition: Your fortress will often have to fight off defenders as it approaches a mission site. Its weapons require ammunition.
• Vehicles: If you're going to be performing more dangerous missions, you will often want surface assault vehicles and fliers on your fortress. Don't forget the ammunition that goes with them.
• Other supplies: Other items, like demolition charges, are quite good to have on board.

One thing you do not have to supply are battlesuits. Pilots will all bring their own when they board your aerial fortress.

DESCENDING TO A PLANET

Once you have found a planet that can be attacked, you must move an aerial fortress to it with the help of a fortress-transporting ship (for instance, the Masterson Mule transport).

Once there, move into the aerial fortress's control room and type DESCEND.

On many planets, your fortress will be attacked as it descends! Fortunately, it has a starboard and port turret that can fend off attackers.

Weapons at each turret are:

• Lasers: For firing on targets alongside the fortress.
• Missile rear/forward: For firing on targets ahead of or behind the fortress.
• Grapeshot rear/forward: More of a passive defense that your target may fly into as it moves.

You must fight off your attackers by successfully keeping track of their position and firing weapons as appropriate from the correct turret.

As the aerial fortress takes damage, someone aboard should go into its engineering room and type REPAIR. Repairs will be ongoing as long as this room remains manned.

ARRIVING ON A PLANET

Once you are on a planet, the first thing you will probably want to do is type REMOTE. This will send your airfort transport off to an adjacent sector where it is hopefully less likely to be disturbed.

Next, type SCAN. Your fortress's computer will analyze the situation on the surface and provide you with a list of possible missions. Note once again that missions will become more complex as operations on the planet proceed. Once you have chosen a mission, your fortress will make its way there.

This is a good time to get your battlesuit deployed.

PREPARING FOR A MISSION

Your battlesuit should have automatically transferred to the aerial fortress when you boarded it. Go to the battlesuit deployment area at the rear of the fortress on Deck Two. Type DEPLOY and your battlesuit will be set before you and automatically rearmed from the fortress's stores. Type ENTER to climb into your battlesuit.

USING A BATTLESUIT

Battlesuit commands:

• LAUNCH: Launch to or from a mission area.
• DAMAGE: View your battlesuit's damage level.
• SQUAD: View the status of your entire squad.
• WEAPONS: View weapons, abilities, and ammunition.
• EQUIP/UNEQUIP: Manage modular equipment that you may find.
• ENTER: Transfer to an empty battlesuit or a vehicle.
• EXIT: Exit a battlesuit or a vehicle.
• CONTACT: Contact the aerial fortress for resupply and additional deployment. This is only possible at particular locations.
• COVER: Move into or out of cover.
• COMMANDS: Provides a list of these same commands, but MORE IMPORTANTLY allows you to define your own aliases for your weapons, abilities, and items.

There are no default commands for weapons, abilities, and items. To use these, you must type COMMANDS and set your own aliases.

BASIC BATTLE STRATEGY

A few major points:

• Use cover! Type COVER or just C. While under cover, you cannot be hit, and you can take time to assess your situation and even perform repairs.
• Support your allies! Each type of battlesuit has a specialty. League suits are good at taking damage, AEU suits are the best at repairing, Fringe suits have the most ability to deal out damage, EAOS suits are masters of plasma, and Mutuality suits do a little bit of everything. You and your allies must work together and make sure your skills complement each other!
• Not all weapons are appropriate in all situations! Some weapons, like missiles, are mainly anti-vehicle weapons and are difficult to aim at infantry.
• Be aware of splash damage! If multiple enemies are out of cover, considering using grenades or similar weapons to do damage to all of them.
• Use demolition charges to take down buildings!
• Vehicles might sound fun, but they're not usable in all missions.

IF YOUR BATTLESUIT IS DESTROYED

Your battlesuit is never actually lost, but may become heavily damaged and be automatically returned to the aerial fortress. If this happens, you must go into your fortress's battlesuit storage room, use the LIST command to select your suit, and use synthesis supplies to refurbish it.

FINISHING A MISSION

Once you have destroyed your mission's goal, your mission is complete! Type LAUNCH to return to the fortress.

Once all battlesuits are aboard, someone should type CLEAR to return them to storage. The fortress will also set about repairing them.

ONTO THE NEXT MISSION

Return to the fortress control room and type SCAN once again to pick another mission.

LEAVING THE PLANET

Once operations have concluded or you're done for the day, type REMOTE again to call back your fortress's transport. Once it has arrived, type ASCEND to return your fortress to the transport.