For sometime I've been thinking about the "WWII Online Moment." This is something that we all hold very closely to us if you've been captivated by the game, because you know this is what we all continuously aim to re-create. It's what sets our game apart from everything else... all of the hard work of setting up an attack, guiding your forces through the challenges of war, and bearing witness to the breathtaking moment of combined arms clashes. However the knowledge on how to create this moment, seems to be a fading art form that I think is vital for all of us to get refreshed on. If you want to experience the game at its best and have the maximum fun / return for your time spent, keep reading.

THE WWII ONLINE MOMENT

Mobile spawns are deployed, anti-tank and anti-aircraft guns are rolling on both sides, defenders are at the depots, there's hundreds of rounds being fired all around you, air planes roaring over head engaging the enemy and bombs flying down crashing into buildings, troops or vehicles.

THIS, is the WWII Online moment.

Since reading the advertisement about what the game is to be, this is was the expectation. If you've watched the news reels from the war you'll find organized combat and engagements throughout the entire World War. Here at WWII Online we are capable of creating outstanding experiences that never get old and always has us coming back for more.

My goal in writing this article is to "shake and wake up" the proverbial tree and regain your attention on an art form that seems to be inconsistent, or worse, fading away. The lack of repetition and honing in the skillset on how to perform the creation of fun for all is starting to show. The good news is it can change and it's not code dependent.

In other words... this is within YOUR control as a leader and as a whole community to make this come to life, WITHOUT CODE CHANGES! Please continue to read, because it is my opinion, there's nothing more important than to take this in and begin practicing it right away.

LEADERSHIP - CREATING FUN

Historically leadership in WWII Online was about being in the field, generating fun and battles for all. To be a leader in the game and generate this fun, it is not required that you become a HC officer. So here's some points on what it takes to be a good in-game leader:

• Initiative: You're the one who steps up and says, "We're going to do this."
• Communication: You can effectively communicate and inspire others to accomplish more.
• Endurance: You'll have the ability to endure some struggle and stay positive throughout.
• Foresight: You can see the situation developing ahead of you and make course corrections to avoid issues.
• Knowledge: You'll need some basic understanding of how to create the fun... see below.

Most players, veteran and new, really desire to be led. People will flock to others who are motivated and desire team structure. All it takes is a few easy steps for you to start making a name for yourself and inspire your side.

GENERATING A PLAY AREA

There's a simple recipe to follow that can generate fun within the game. My version may not be perfect but it does work. It may take a little time to get people to start joining your mission, but if you advertise it enough and stay patient, they will come.

1. Find a place, determine the mission requirements
   1. First steps could be to find an existing AO / DO
      1. AO = Attack Objective
      2. DO = Defense Objective
   2. Or it can be in support of an AO / DO
      1. Take out a Forward Base (FB)
      2. Bring in supply / assets from a linking FB
         1. Your own mission
         2. Your own mobile spawn
         3. Towing guns (AT/AA)
         4. Organizing a tank column
      3. Drop paratroopers on the target
      4. Grabbing a truck and infantry to liberate a bigger town
      5. Organize a fighter or bomber raid
2. Once you determine what your mission parameters and requirements are, you'll need to create a mission.
3. Then you want to type .orders <mission orders here> so that people will know what you want them to spawn.
4. Once that is done, you need to let people know how to get to your mission.
   1. If you're High Command, you have the best tool: .allied or .axis command
      1. This is a side global command that gets everyone's attention
   2. You can type command $miss which will display: Division/Brigade/Mission information automatically (it's a syntax). This will let people know where / how to navigate the UI.
   3. Even easier now, you can tell someone to join your mission via the .join command. This will enable a user on your side to cut through ALL of the user interface complexity and join your missions "read room," which is where you can select the type of unit you want to spawn.
      1. Example usage is:
         1. .join xoom
         2. .j xoom

Okay, so this covers the very basic starting point to select where you're going, create your mission, and start acquiring people onto your mission to participate with you. Now we need to cover best practices in terms of what you should be doing during all of that.

PUTTING THIS INTO PRACTICE

If you're setting up on a town for an attack, it's usually best to get some people on Discord to participate with you in advance, preferably your Squad. If you have voice comms, your organization will be superior by comparison to those who do not have it.

Here's an example of how I would normally approach it:

1. Determine mission.
2. Make sure you coordinate with High Command to have an AO ready for your mission. If approved, proceed.
3. Rally up some troops on comms.
4. Assign people instructions to maximize organization and increase your victory outcome probability substantially:
   1. Troop A: Create a mission at Town X, set target for Town Y. Drive a truck and deploy an FMS right away. (FMS = fortified mobile spawn)
   2. Troop B: Do the same but create your own mission.
   3. Troop C-D: Grab light anti-tank guns and hop on my truck.
5. Each person will have instructions on where to setup, and what linking town to come from.
   1. You should have FMS's spread around town, not all in one direction.
6. Make sure everyone has .orders filled out and ready to go.
   1. This also includes marking significant way points with R1 / A1.
   2. Customizing the names of these, like A1 saying "SpawnCP" helps people know where to go.
   3. Having GOOD mission leaders is critical to directing troops.
7. Once all FMS's are deployed and guns are up, you're ready to start bringing in troops!
8. Spam the hell out of your missions, instruct your other mission leaders to do the same.
   1. Use your .allied or .axis commands if you have them.
   2. Place it on side channel (F3), ops channel (F5) and your squad channel (F4).
   3. You should be routinely posting compelling and interesting messages to generate a result, which is someone joining and participating on your mission.
      1. This continues throughout the duration of the mission.
9. If you do the above correctly, you should start to see people showing up. Be patient, it may take sometime. But if you're motivated, they are motivated.
10. Use your foresight to see how the battle moves, make important tactical decisions and don't forget to DELEGATE! You need to direct people as well.
11. Continuously use the TARGET channel once the battle is live to motivate and inspire / show your presence on the field.

You as a commander, along with your mission leaders, should not be on the frontlines pulling the triggers. You're not there to kick a door down, you're there to facilitate the fun and logistics of the operation.

THE ROLE OF A VETERAN PLAYER

It is of paramount importance that veteran players use their own experience and foresight to take the initiative and avoid the mission resulting into a failure due to laziness. Yes I said it, flat out laziness. We all have our moments (I get it), but if we stay on target, take the initiative and do the unsung hero stuff, the game will be much healthier and our newcomers / other vets will have a great time.

Here are some examples of taking the initiative to avoid all of your effort in setting things up, falling apart:

• Guard a forward base.
• Guard a fortified mobile spawn.
• Always make sure your mission has a mobile spawn.
  • If it doesn't, MAKE IT HAPPEN! Anyone can setup an FMS on anyone's mission.
• Guard a spawn depot.
• Guard a bunker.
• Grab a truck, and drop ammunition cache's, while resupplying guns and tanks.
• Grab a hauler, and make a call for heavy guns if you need them. THEN, tow them forward / deploy and support them.

These are the most common things that can be done, in every single battle that we have, which are commonly ignored. The typical outcome is other players blaming one another for how lazy they've become. While there is some truth to that, it can be changed and it is not productive to go after one another.

Rather, educating people and pointing them to this post, and helping them hone in the skills of what to do and how to go about doing it, may be a more productive route.

CHALLENGE: EDUCATE OTHERS AROUND YOU

So my challenge to all of you, is to take these basics, which most of you veterans know or may have seen in the past, is to take this as a guideline on how to educate our newer players. More importantly, it is for you to step up and remember your role in the war effort, it is significant. As it is said, "act like the whole war depends on you, the individual. Because it does."

ALL IT TAKES IS "YOU" TO CREATE FUN

Our community really would like to help you. We should be calling for and growing natural leaders, or those capable of learning how to become a leader, up to the plate and supporting them as best as we can. This is a call to action, our dormant leaders need awakening. Use our Squads for maximum effect, support the people who are stepping up, and make the game a lot of fun. This is a human effort and while we're working on things to improve the game more long-term, we're going to still need a human effort to make the WWII Online Moment possible. No amount of code will be able to provide it.

I hope you found this article valuable. I'd love to be able to teach some others on this stuff, and I am making a personal commitment right now via this post, that if you're interested and would like to learn and practice, I'll help by getting you on Discord and working out this program that I've outlined. The game depends on this.

I used this outline yesterday and generated an overall in-game population boost by a factor of 20%, that's for both sides. That is the power that this has to generate a huge force of good.

ARE YOU READY TO STEP UP? 

I'd love to hear your thoughts by responding to this article, and I'll open up my e-mail to you if you want the training. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Thanks for reading, and please, put this to work / let other people know what it takes to make the WWII Online Moment possible.