With community warfare starting next month I think it behoves us to do a role call on the units that will be working to protect house Liao.
Many of the well known groups such as WoL, CC, 4TCR, TCAF and of course the Gatekeepers.
What I'd like to do here it to invite the mercs as well as the regular companies to post a brief synopsis of what type of game style they promote. Who the contact for their unit is etc.
We'll want to keep this list updated so as changes are made please edit your post. In the beginning I assume the information will be modified quite a bit. Just message me with information that should be in the format and I'll edit the current formatting here in this post.
I've left off time zones, number of active members specifically as unit leadership can discuss that privately in order to coordinate attacks and defense without giving too much information to the Davion scum enemies.
Current information:
Unit Name
Unit Contact
Language
Recruiting (Y/N/by invitation/etc)
Unit Name Liao Gatekeepers Battalion
Unit Contact Zvolimir
Language English, smattering of Chinese and Russian speakers in unit
Recruiting : Yes Contact Zvolimer or check the gatekeepters homepage http://houseliao.blo...atekeepers.html
Play style: Mil sim We play as a military unit and aim to be competitive. We restrict the mechs that our pilots fly in team drops and we expect training attendance. Objections are noted, but members are expected to follow orders even if they personally disagree with them. Unit is modeled on Russian ancestry and military tactics though certain members trace the linage to China.
Yours is a worthy initiative that will afford House Liao a hefty return on time and effort expended.
As a Mercenary responsible to a small coterie of Unit Commanders, I am in the process of evaluating House preparations in anticipation of Community Warfare. Contract decisions loom for all Mercenary Units. It has already been stated that all initial contracts will be identical regardless of the faction supported. So the only distinctions that matter during the initial contract will be just how prepared a House is for Community Warfare. These preparations may include...
- House rolls of loyalist Unit Commanders ("Know yourself" is at least as important as knowing the Enemy.)
- Designation of a Command TeamSpeak Server, for which to parse out trained Unit and PUG 12-man Teams.
- TeamSpeak House, Unit and Supporting Mercenary Leadership Meet and Greets
- Determination of Unit proficiencies with regard to Defensive and Offensive Mission requirements (it is the rare Unit that is equally accomplished in both sets of tactics, when that 6th Sector just MUST be secured or defended, it will be valuable to a House to already know just which Units excel in what)
- As Units are willing, private 12 on 12 Matches (with House rules) that sharpen both sets of tactics, Attack and Defend. Aggregate House Leadership can determine internal recognitions for demonstrated proficiency. (Tactics sharpened in private, will be that much more lethal in public.)
- House Leadership (Council of Unit Commanders?) agreement-in-principle on how best to direct any surge of available House Units during the closing hours of a Planet's Window of Conflict. Given a finite number of gamers, choosing to commit a preponderance of available Teams "to the attack" for that crucial 6th sector on one World, just may require accepting risk in the Defense of a less valuable Liao possession. If left to "market forces" / a disjointed, individual Unit Commander effort, both Worlds may slip through Liao fingers as units accept combat on both fronts equally.
- Monitoring all 52 Worlds in Conflict, and there constituent 572 Sectors. (a minimum of 13 inter-House, inter-Clan and House/Clan borders with 2 Worlds on each side of those borders being contested for, at any one time. Each world has 11 sectors. 13x2x2=52, 52x11=572) while a House may be most interested in its own borders, if an adversary (Davion, for example) suffers crushing defeats against Kurita, any organized Davion Leadership may look to orchestrate a large scale incursion into Liao space against the very next set of Liao Worlds vulnerable to invasion.
These and better preparations are possible. Some Houses will be better prepared / positioned than others once Community Warfare kicks off. Number of MWO gamers will be a critical House variable. Preparation can either mitigate a rival's advantage over you or serve to more easily allow you to better overwhelm a less prepared and at least, locally outnumbered enemy.
As is appropriate I would look to following Liao efforts in anticipation of CW, so as to make the best recommendation back to our Mercenary Commanders. Pardon my interruption of House efforts to marshal their ranks and assemble loyalist rolls.
Edited by Prussian Havoc, 17 November 2014 - 01:26 PM.
Unit Name:4th Tau Ceti Rangers - Orkdung's Hussars Unit Contact: Orkdung Language:English (Orkdung speaks a smattering of Russian;конечно! ) Recruiting :Yes Contact: Orkdung/ Ace Kaller Website: 4tcr.com
Play style: Casual Lore unit built to play community. We have no restrictions on mechs or builds, but we try to outfit our lances with ECM / BAP and Liao type mechs, and, naturally, the proper modules for the long campaign (We rarely, if ever, meta)
We are loose with lance command; I say free-flowing, outsiders may say chaotic; there is chatter on comms.
We are a Reliable unit/ Veteran skilled.
There is a Brevet period of up to 3 months; you must prove yourself on the field of battle and within the garrison.
I expect the right 'fit' within this motley crew.
If you enjoy cigars, scotch and sexy Bronze and Gold mechs and a merc unit with 300 years devoted to the Chancellor, this might be your unit...
...we do expect a kick ass bio at some point too.
Unit Name: the Word of Lowtax Unit Contact: We suggest using smoke signals Language Tateteain. Recruiting (Y/N/by invitation/etc) Merely pay a recruiter 400,000 isk and we will be happy to let you in.
Play style: Hella drunk, using robots that were good about a year ago. Honourabu
Unit Name: Zhizhu Mercenary Corporation
Unit Contact: Koniving (primary), Lordred, WolfP, WaybadMojo, virtually any member of [ZZ].
Language: English (in-character a Russian to Chinese combination).
Recruiting: By invitation / request.
Play style: Adaptive (Zhizhu's players have a mix of playstyles).
Information: A fluff/lore-based group of hardcore to casual players of several games (typically using the same name in multiple places). The fluff/lore is based on a story developed through a tabletop group, in which the group started small as a militia and later became mercs after their planet pretty much destroyed. With a few hundred years of service, yada yada, they enjoyed a period of harbor by the Capellan Confederation during their refugee days which thus brought forth some affinity.
We've done ambushes, 'draw out' missions (where the enemy is on the hill in Alpine and we draw them off the hill and far out into the open to a very advantageous position for us), some incredible base defenses in days before and after turrets (many famous videos of that; "Warhawk Awesome", "13 minute base defense" "most epic base defense" to just name a few). We're also known for some crazy antics to include Flamer (everything) and sporting chances (Grey Poupon, "When I start back up I'll kill you" and Praise for Liao Pilot Koniving).
Spoiler
We also keep a tally of groups we've fought in full group, and in most cases have won. Due to their notoriety, its worth noting we've won two out of three matches against the Skye Rangers.
The first time with two mediums (Hunchbacks) and two heavies (Catapult and Dragon) up against 6 Atlases, one Awesome and one Raven 3L; that's 7 ECM during ECM god-mode days in the middle of a 7 assault mech deathball and we won. (I myself died very quickly 'cause assault mech before our recon lance could return).
The second time was in a much more tactical match in River City with one LRM boat, a few designated brawlers and sharp shooters. Though the LRM boat died from a coordinated attack (in which it continued to attack a designated target right up until the end even though relief was sent a bit late), Zhizhu won again with relatively low casualties.
Every group we've fought as a full unit we have had victories as well as losses against with the exception of the Blazing Aces. Though we're looking forward to the day when we can change that.
Memorable lines and/or antics:
"For every person there is a cause for which they would gladly die for. Today is your day to die; what is your cause?"
*Opens cockpit door and calls out.* "Hey, do you have any Grey Poupon?"
*Stands beside enemy, shoots other enemy forces in front of enemy. Gets looked at, waves to enemy. "Hi there."*
"I'm sorry, we don't have any interest in fighting over there. Could you come over here?"
"ZOMG look, noob in a Raven everyone come get me!" (...it's scary that this actually works).
Cicada / Locust / Commando invasions.
The Gauss Spider.
*Four mechs power up as a pair of scouts run by.* BAM! *Four mechs relocate and shut down.*
Flamer-anything; flamer packs, almost always victorious despite this.
(Theme: Use an image of the player's favorite mech; emblem was Chinese symbols + a circle).
Newer MWO emblems (trying to decide on them. Some background; Zhi-Zhu is meant to represent pillars of strength as the word means Pillars; to support. The word, however, also means spider).
Hoping to see one of these, possibly slightly modified, on a mech someday.
Unit Name: LLAO
Unit Contact: Me
Language: English (I know we have many non English speakers.)
Recruiting: Open to anyone who wants to fight under the green banner.
Teamspeak: houseliaovoice.com (I take refuge in their bar.)
Play style:
Weekend Warrior.
No politics and less on the RP. Just a free and easy unit for persons who want to fight under the green banner.
*Let's see how PGI fixes CW.
Edited by ShinVector, 30 December 2014 - 08:01 AM.