Hello there everyone!

We are about to start a new deployment, this Thurdsay (August 4th), and while that is exciting in and of itself, we have made some pretty significant mechanical changes for the deployment. Take this time to read through the mechanical changes and get a basic understanding of them before we kick off on Thursday.

Long Range Recon Patrol

This is essentially a mission framework, initially concepted and developed by Fritz. It involves long marches on foot, identifying targets, and engaging them on our terms. As we're not being inserted into the Area of Operation (AO) by means of air or ground vehicle, we need to effectively carry all of our equipment with us, and as we cannot reinforce by means of vehicle insertion, we also need to be able to reinsert in a relatively immersive manner. To do this, we have introduced a few new mechanics, specifically built for the LRRP deployment.

Deployment Tents

Both types of tents can be deployed from your self interaction, a personal tent is given to you when you first grab your loadout (note you will only be given one across your loadouts), the command tent is singular and has to be picked up before it can be deployed again.

The Command Tent

The command tent is the nexus for managing player respawns and equipment. When the mission starts, we will be automatically moved to the up-to-date location of the command tent (which will be persisted across each deployment session). We can retrieve our kit from this tent, and also return our Bergens to the tent prior to mission completion (more on this later). This tent can (and must) be moved by players, but can only be carried if the player is carrying a Bergen (or Carryall).

Loadouts and Attachments

Loadouts and Attachments can be retrieved from the command tent similarly to how they can be retrieved from the gear table in one of our regular deployments. Attachments are now added to your backpack by default. The main difference is how we will be managing the kits you select. To start this deployment, there will be sixty Bergens (or Carryalls) available, when those Bergens run out, we run out of kits to select.

You will automatically grab a Bergen when you select your kit, but do also have the option to return the Bergen, which should be done at the end of the mission so as to avoid losing them unnecessarily.

As mentioned before, if we run out of Bergens, kit selection will no longer work. Make sure you bring them home, and if you die with one on, you'll need to co-ordinate with your Squad Leader and/or command to organise a way to get it back. Don't be afraid to leave them behind if it's too risky... but remember, there's a finite amount, don't want to be running out if we can avoid it.

The Personal Tent

The personal tent provides a rally point for you as an individual (which is just a fancy way of saying that it handles where you respawn). If you do not have a personal tent deployed, you will be respawned at the command tent... if that isn't currently deployed - then good luck! This can be deployed from the self-interaction menu, once deployed you need to pitch the tent and once it is pitched it will become your respawn point (it will also be marked on the map for your convenience). Remember to break it down and bring it with you once you've shifted objectives, it would be really embarrassing if you were to die and have to hoof it all the way to the new RV point because you forgot to bring it with...

The Bergen

(...or Carryall for those who don't have Apex)

The Bergen, aside from carrying a ridiculous amount of stuff, has been augmented with additional carry space. While we cannot visually display it, the principal is that you would (in addition to being able to pack stuff inside the Bergen) be able to strap additional equipment to your pack. In order to access that equipment, you need to set the pack down and unpack that gear. Which means that in order to effectively engage a target you will need to spend the time to prepare for that engagement, as you will not be pre-equipped with your heavy hitting gear.

That's it for the introduction of brand new mechanics, the staples of deployment will also be there, but expect to be doing a lot of walking. Will be a good time to catch up with some of the members you haven't spoken to in a while :) If you're planning on grabbing the Zeus role, please read through some information down below. Everybody else, thanks for reading, and I hope you all have a good time in the new deployment!

Cheers,
Angus.

For Zeus Users

There's nothing too fancy you need to do, you'll just need to make sure you end the mission using the admin tools. This is so that the persistence mechanism fires, if you don't it's not the end of the world, but we'll have to do some manual updates for the next deployment.

That's all from me, happy Zeus-ing!
Angus.