By Nephmir
Introduction
I have composed this guide to provide basic training to all that may receive it. Each part contains a different element needed to begin constructing your military and/or train yourself. Each part must be followed in order before proceeding to the next one.
I have published this guide to the public for any region or organization to use, in hopes that this will be the first, practical guide to shift the balance of power away from the old, and towards the newer powers. Feel free to post or display the dispatch version located here
Please note that this is no substitute for experience; do not expect powerful results immediately. Practice is needed to improve over time, as well as high levels of patience.
Usage of this guide in your region is encouraged. The region that improves the most from using this guide will receive 5000 Telegram Stamps to get started in expanding their military. See this thread for more details or to comment on this guide.
I wish you the best of luck! If you find this guide helpful, please “like” it (by clicking the up arrow above the small number in the top right hand corner) so that I may improve it. I will update it regularly, extending it and editing any parts that may be confusing.
Part 1: Basic Knowledge
To understand the advanced concepts in this guide, you must first create a strong foundation of basic fundamentals. The best source for establishing this is this thread. If you are new to Raiding/Defending, you may want to read the entire thread. However, if you know how delegates are elected, how regional influence works, etc., please skip to "Part V, Tactics".
Please read the thread carefully before proceeding.
Part II: General Concepts
You have now been enlightened to basic military combat. It may sound easy to do, but it is a very difficult task that requires knowledge and experience, so you're not ready yet!
If you are confused about anything, please go back to Part I.
Moving into combat with a World Assembly nation at any given time is one of the most inefficient and unreliable methods of combat. In response to being told this, many regions say, “we’re not really interested in those methods…besides, isn’t having multiple World Assembly puppets cheating?”
Let me say this straight out, to all readers of this guide: these methods are used by the most famous and powerful organizations in NationStates, The Black Riders, the Founderless Regions Alliance, the United Defenders League, Ten Thousand Islands Treaty Organization, etc. Obviously, they work. Whether you want to be a Defender or a Raider, this guide is designed to help you learn how. How you use it is completely up to you, if you even choose to use it.
Also, if you ever have more than one World Assembly nation while reading this guide, then you’re doing something wrong. Really wrong. Read with care.
The first method you must learn is Switching. Switching is a very advanced method that is easy to learn, but difficult to master. The most experienced can use this to seize up to or more than 50 regions in an hour (or one update)! Using this method allows you to gain access to several regions' World Factbook Entries, Embassies, Welcome Telegram, flag, and other features. A major disadvantage, however, is that you cannot gain regional influence, and access Border Controls to eject nations or password protect the region. If you do not know any of the following terms, go back to Part I:
-Switching
-Jump Point
-Instant Jump Point
-Forward Operations Base
Part III: Setup and preparations
It's important to get prepared hours before the update begins, especially the first time, or you'll be rushed into the update and miss several targets, if not all of them, and be swept away in the chaos of the battlefield. Setting up can be a pain, but the rewards are worth it. I personally recommend setting up for the first time an entire day before you begin, to avoid the stress of rushing before the next update begins.
Preparations:
I. If you are a Founder or Delegate, create a regional puppet storage. If you are a member of a region, locate your puppet storage facility.
II. Create 10 puppets, with your main nation's flag (for high ranking officials), or the region's flag (for lower ranking members). All 10 puppets should have the same email address (a new, throwaway email address is suggested). It is also recommended that you block recruitment telegrams and all issues on these puppets, but this does not affect results in any way.
III. Place all 10 puppet nations in your region's puppet storage. It is recommended that you add the puppet storage region to your dossier, for easy access when resetting your puppets after the update ends, but again, this is not required. As you place the puppets in the region, apply to join the WA with each one. Do not open the emails yet. This is not against the rules, as long as you don't open the emails.
VI. If you do not have it already, you will need NationStates++. If you cannot install this, you can still fight, it will just be 3x as difficult. As long as the one leading the attacks has NS++, you should be fine.
VII. Create/join an IRC Chat or Skype, or a similar program. That way, it can be used to communicate during the update.
VIII. Gather a list of 10 regions to attack. These regions should be, at the moment, founderless and delegateless (to start of easy). You should never invade a region with an active Founder.
These are your basic preparations. Once you have done this, you can move onto the next part.
Part IV: Before the update.
You're about 70% of the way there!
Now, arrange an update that at least 2-3 players can make (including an officer of some sort to lead the attack). Ie- "Can everyone make the Minor Update this Saturday?"
Do not discuss battle plans of any sort on a Regional Message Board or Forum! This can make you fail before you even begin! Other nations, and militaries, can see your plans if you post then there. You wouldn't want anyone foiling your plans, would you? Communication should take place through telegram or on an offline instant chatroom of some sort. If someone posts the plans on a publicly accessible area, try a new target/targets (and excluding that player that revealed it, if needed or possible. This is why it is helpful to have a secret back-up channel, in case of spies).
Now, before the next update that you will actively participate in, you must begin the Final Preparations stage:
I. Take your list of 10 regions compiled before and quickly attach update times with each.
II. Move all of your puppets to your jump point. This will be where you reset the puppets from now on.
III. Have all that will participate move all their puppets to that region, applying to join the WA with each (if they failed to do so already in the first round of preparations).
IV. Make sure you have no nations in the WA, and close out of NationStates completely.
V. At this point, you should have 2 windows pulled up: your email (logged into the email address you used for all the puppets, on the page where all the emails went), and the instant chat (Skype recommended).
Yes, you should not have NationStates up at all 5 minutes before the update.
When the update begins, as seen by a clock, since you cannot have NationStates up and running, open your first WA application email, and click the link inside. Wow! You're automatically in the World Assembly and logged in! In the future, you may want to start with this step.
Immediately scroll to the "regional happenings" page and proceed to endorse the leader's first nation that became a WA member. Once you have done this, prepare to jump to the target region (the leader announces the region name on the instant chat), and have your mouse hovering over "Move [nation] to [region]".
When the leader says "now!" Everyone clicks on it and joins the region, seconds before it updates.
Immediately scroll down to the "regional happenings" page and watch to see when the leader becomes delegate of that region. The second he/she becomes delegate, all players resign from the WA, including the leader. Quickly close the window and click on the next email, and begin the process again for the next target.
Forgetting to resign from the WA before closing the window will waste time, since you have to open your browser, find NationStates, log in, and then resign. During an update, you should never have to:
I. Apply to join the WA.
II. Type in a password.
Doing so wastes time, and can make you miss targets. Missing one target oftentimes leads to missing more.
Try this. This is a recommended practice schedule, designed to help increase the amount of targets you can attack over time and skill level. Following this schedule exactly will give you enough training and practice to gain the experience necessary to become an experienced Raider or Defender:
Attack #1-3: 2 regions
Attack #4-7: 3 regions
Attack #9-15: 5 regions
Attack #16-20: 7 regions
Attack #21-25: 10 regions
Attack #26-35: 15 regions
Attack #36-40: 20 regions
Attack #41-45: 25 regions
Attack #46-50: 30 regions
After this, you are free to target as many as you can fit in an update. Try to set a new record!
Part V: Stealth vs. Speed; using advanced tactics to ensure victory.
Switching, although the most common and fastest method, is most certainly not the only one available.
Triggering is an advanced method used by Defenders (and some Raiders) to attack a single region in an update with great stealth and deadly precision. The goal is to out number and out power an enemy delegate without giving them any time to react.
Here's how it works.
Each player creates a new nation, disguised as a native, and inserts it into any random region that updates after the target region before the update begins, and is already in the WA with that nation (since switching is not necessary).
Then, they all prepare to jump to the jump point region by going to the region's main page, and hovering the mouse over the "move [nation] to [region]" button.
Then, 1 minute before the target region updates, all nations move to the jump point, and endorse the leader, then prepare to jump to the target region by hovering over that region's join button again. When the leader says "now!" (with anywhere from 5-7 seconds remaining on the clock), all nation join the region, giving the delegate in power almost no time to react.
This is not as simple as using NS++ to find an update time. The update window must be as concise and accurate as possible, and therefore must be calculated carefully, using the following links:
http://youtu.be/CGgOr4SUS60
Tutorial to advanced tools links below. Please watch first!
http://pipes.yahoo.com/redfleet/nutcracker2
(explained in video)
http://moruna.comoj.com/delegate14.html
(explained in video)
While there are other methods, these two are the most common and successful.
The Eternal Knights also use a third method, designed by me myself, called "stealth switching". This is a difficult but powerful technique that combines elements of both of the above methods, as well as weeks of preparation, into one powerful method that can be used to fully seize several regions in an update, regardless of size, and gain access to Border Controls at the same time. We plan on using it to destroy regions permanently, but have not perfected it yet to standardize it and record it in this document, and is therefore currently classified.
Part VI: Building your military.
Militaries are a luxury that only strong regions can afford. Create one too early, and you may damage your region in the process.
The best way to recruit for a military is to simply recruit as if you were recruiting for the rest of your region, but with one difference: you must clearly define each rank, role, and function, including military divisions, branches, officers, etc. (For an example, see The Eternal Knights Military Divisions page).
For a guide on recruiting (written by an experienced and successful recruiter), look no further then here:
http://textuploader.com/1rqd
Useful guide to recruiting for an organization, region, division, or any other system/network.
This will explain, in great detail, the best possible ways to recruit for a region, including who to send it to, how to compose a successful telegram, etc.
It is recommended that, before recruiting, you create a formal document of some sort, whether long or short, explaining how your military system, of whatever level that may be, works. This way, everyone can see their clearly defined roles and what to accomplish. (For an example, see The Eternal Knights Military Structure guide).
You should also have a clearly defined purpose or goal, one that is both realistic and interesting. Remember, you don't have to Raid or Defend; you could do both! You should also outline a general short term goal plan under that, explaining the basics (without revealing any key information or military secrets/classified information), just to show people that you have a realistic plan and get their interest. Military awards are also a good idea, as it gives people something a little extra to strive for (awards for achievements and experience, such as medals, stars (★) for Officers (to show experience), and a few Shields for those really ambitious ones). Also see The Eternal Knights Military Awards page.
It's all about initial impression. The first impression new members get can determine the strength of their loyalty and unity. If you get them exited at the beginning when they first join, they'll want to keep logging in. Also, you've got to sound like you know what you’re talking about at all times, even when you don't, which is why leaders should constantly be open minded to new ideas. Displaying a sign of weakness, or breaking under pressure could create doubt, and doubt is a poison when it comes to military forces. Encouraging activity early on is important; you have to give them a reason to keep logging in! Making them feel important, but still letting them know where their place is is crucial, especially in the early stages. Start out firm and assertive, and you can relax just a little bit later on. Reward those who are active and loyal, and discipline those act out of line or orders. Enforce all policies to all members at all times!
Sometimes, adding a little Role Playing flare can help keep interest, in all players, including the regional leaders and officers. For example, The Eternal Knights are a monarchy, and the structure is designed on Role Play. However, too much role play may result in a waste of efforts and a loss of interest (ie- creating a court to try nations in, etc.). Also, as a final word, if your region is military based, Democracies are not the most efficient way to run the region; it is too slow and distracting. If your military is just something on the side, however, and not your main function, then democracies are okay, as long as the military is run separately and independently, and not on a democracy of any type (this includes the appointment of nations to ranks and rank ups).
Part VII: Taking it a step further (Advanced Concepts)
Now that you know how to carry out your own attacks/liberations, you are ready to learn some advanced concepts.
- I. Reinforcement Missions- once a region has been seized through triggering, instead of resigning from the World Assembly all nations stay there, and call upon their region to place WA puppets in the region seized and endorse the delegate. The more endorsements a delegate gets, the faster they gain influence in that region. Note: during reinforcement missions, no other nation should be endorsed. This will slow down the rate at which the delegate gains influence. This is why endorsement capacities (“endocaps”) were originally set, to let the delegate get all the influence to defend the region from attack at and between updates and to password protect the region. Also note that if another force wants the region you are occupying, you’ll need to stay alert; you won’t have long to banject them!
II. Defense Mission- if overwhelming evidence suggests that a founderless region is going to be attacked, reinforce the current delegate of that region! Simply follow the rules of reinforcement. Note that if there is a founder present in the region, you do not need to protect the delegate position, since the founder has control over the entire region.
Sleepers are an essential part of military combat. A sleeper is a puppet designed to look like a native (a resident of a region) that resides in a region to gather influence. This process, depending on the age and size of the region usually takes 20-30 days. The newer a region, and the smaller it is, the easier it is to gather influence.
Once the sleeper has “ripened”, then all members should trigger, but with enough time to endorse the sleeper nation, who should be in the World Assembly at least 2 hours before update. This will make you delegate and give you surplus influence to eject WA nations not endorsing you. Remember, influence drains quickly; don’t use it all up on a native unless you really have to.
You can also take the stealth approach, and have a group of people infiltrate a region, each with their own sleeper, slowly over the course of a month, and disguise yourselves as natives, to endorse the leader once he/she has enough influence. The leader should get a head start on gaining influence. Infiltrating makes it harder for all friendly nations to be ejected, allowing back-up nations to endorse if the leader is ejected. Triggering is recommended in a recapture, followed by reinforcing.
Keep in mind that reinforcing takes a lot of resources; holding a region long enough to password protect it requires a strong and experienced military force.
To keep track of all your sleepers, it is recommended that you use this application (third party-use at your own expense), although having a designated non-WA puppet to add your sleepers to its dossier also works. Don’t let your sleepers Cease TO Exist (CTE)! Nations cease to exist after 28 days, or 60 in vacation mode (suggested). Keep in mind that the links in WA applications also become invalid after 28 days, regardless of which mode your nation is in.
You can also share this nation with other high-ranking people you trust, so that every commander can coordinate their sleeper efforts together, so that commanders aren’t trying to gain influence in the same region.
This concludes my complete guide on Military Gameplay. I hope that the information provided within is helpful and inspiring, and hope that we may one day see the rise of a new military power!
The Feared King Nephmir
[hr]Please do not distribute this without direct consent from Nephmir. Written January 25th, 2014.
