[New Military Module] How the battle goes on (I)

Day 868, 07:37 • Published in • by Plato
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Dear Citizens,

In this Insider we will shed some light on how battles and Player-versus-Player (PvP) fights will actually work in the new military module. Let's start with the big picture: battles and how to win them.

All kinds of battles share the same victory conditions, be it an attack on a region by another country or a resistance war. Once a battle has started it rages on for an initial 24 hours. In order to win the battle either the attackers or the defenders have to meet the following victory conditions: capture a certain percentage of all tiles of a battlefield map and capture the tile with the capital city. If both conditions have been accomplished after 24 hours the battle ends and we have a winner; if not it the battle will continue in sudden-death-mode until one side achieves the victory conditions. The battle must end with a draw after 72 hours if neither the attackers nor the defenders managed to win.

Battles will not continue forever because we introduced the so called Battle Queue. At the moment multiple countries can attack one region. This will change with the new military module: only one country can attack a region at a time. If another country wants to attack a region in which a battle is already raging, it has to wait until the current battle has ended.

A battle is going and you want to enter the battlefield. What do you have to do? First of all, you will need to go to the battlefield just as you do it right now. Once there you can scroll around the map, have a look at the mini map or the Battle Info window to get an overview what's going on, who is winning, and who are the most powerful soldiers on the battlefield.

After a quick look you will see where your fellow comrades and allies are already fighting on the battlefield. It is always a good idea to join the battle where other friendly units have already been deployed. Simply choose the weapon you want to fight with (tank, rifle, anti-air artillery, or helicopter) and select the tile you want to deploy on. You can easily see where the enemy troops are located on the map as well. Move your unit to a tile next to the enemy and attack that tile. You can now pick one opponent from a list of five. Additionally you can select a Booster (e.g. Frag Grenades, Rocket Launchers, etc.) that will give you an advantage over your opponent. You can also select if you only want to fight against one enemy or if you want to continue fighting in case you win the fight (=going Berserk).

So you have deployed, moved, and picked an opponent; the only thing left now is to wait until your turn ends and the PvP fight will start. During the fight you and your opponent will shoot at each other one after another. Each shot can hit or miss the other player. The hit chance depends on the attack and defense values of your weapon and the one of your opponent. The rule of thumb is: The higher your attack value is compared to the defense value of your opponent, the higher the chance that your shot will hit the target. Boosters can influence those values as well. For example, a Telescopic Sight Booster will increase the chance to hit the other player, while a Smoke Grenade will increase your chance to dodge a bullet. There is always a free Booster you can use, others you can use for Gold.While you increase your weapon skills and your military rank you will unlock more powerful Boosters.

While fighting you also have the chance to deal critical damage to your opponent. The higher your military rank, the higher your chance to land a critical hit. Your weapon skill on the other hand (=your career as a tank driver, infantrist, artillery gunner, and helicopter pilot) directly influences the damage your weapon deals. The higher your skill, the higher the damage output.

You can follow the actual fights in a story-like format that tells you how much damage you deal and how much damage you take from the opponent. In the end there can only be one winner in the PvP fight. If you got defeated you can redeploy when it will be your turn again. If you won the fight you stay on the battlefield. But now it is the turn of your enemies first, while you can prepare for a possible attack by restoring your health and selecting a Booster. If you are in the area of effect (AoE) of a hospital your health will recover with each turn.

The road to victory is made of tiles your country and its allies have to capture. In order to capture a tile that is under control of the enemies, you can simply move on it if it doesn't contain any enemy units. Once the next turn starts it will be yours. If there are enemies on a tile your side has to defeat all hostile units on that tile in order to move onto it and to capture it. This will lead to heated battles especially around choking points on the battlefield like bridges and mountain passes. And here the strategy comes into play! Powerful and wise generals will emerge from the ranks of soldiers to lead them to victory. Maybe you will be one of those soldiers whose name will enter the history books and will forever be connected to epic battles.

Stay tuned!
The eRepublik team