Battle Station
From AOWiki
The main objective of the Battle Station is to gain more points than the players of the opposite side. Points are gained through the capture of the four control points - one in the center and one at each tip of the playfield. Capturing and holding more control points gives more points over time with the round ending when a specified amount of time expires, or when one side reaches 500 points.
Participation in Battle Station is rewarded with Victory Points that can be used to buy items from the OFAB vendors in Tower Shops; the amount is dependent on level and whether the team lost or won. The Lost Eden expansion is NOT required to enter or participate in the Battle Station, and free players can add to their 'Number of Invaders killed' statistic with Battle Station kills, but the Tower Shop terminals, and the items they 'sell' are restricted to those with the expansion.
Teams are restricted to the normal six man teams, and players must wait for both sides to fill their team of six players before the match can begin. This (mostly) prevents under-manned teams from having the disadvantage common to many PvP games.
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[edit] Transport Location
With the addition of patch 17.2 the battle stations have been divided up into different transporters based on level range and placed at different locations.
- Levels 20-49 Borealis (Main gate). Coordinates:(685,506)
- Levels 50-74 Borealis (Rear gate). Coordinates:(599,687)
- Levels 75-99 Newland (Near Whompahs). Coordinates:(397,305)
- Levels 100-124 Newland (Near front gate). Coordinates:(247,292)
- Levels 125-149 Outside Newland. Coordinates:(1133,546)
- Levels 150-174 Outside Newland. Coordinates:(1137,517)
- Levels 175-199 ICC. Coordinates:(3254,904)
- Levels 200-209 Unicorn Landing pad. Coordinates:(3443,1235)
- Levels 210-220 Unicorn Landing pad. Coordinates:(3437,1235)
[edit] Loyalty System
A loyalty system was also introduced with patch 17.2 for the battlestations to discourage people from leaving the battle station if they didn't like the situation they were in. The loyalty system locks out people from the battlestation if they continually refuse invites or leave before the end of the battle. The system works like this:
- All players start with a loyalty score of 10.
- Receiving a battlestation invitation deducts your loyalty score by one.
- Completing a battlestation (win or lose) adds two to your loyalty score, up to a maximum of 10.
- If your loyalty score reaches 0 you will not be able to enter the battlestation queue.
- A duty mission will be available to increase your loyalty level again if it falls to 0. Rumors that it may involve picking up trash in Borealis may not be unfounded.
[edit] How it Works
In the BS there are 4 terminals spaced out in the center and the three arms of the area. The terminals located in the arms are secondary terminals and the one in the center is the primary terminal. To capture a terminal a character uses the terminal and then is rooted in location for around a minute to 'hack' the terminal. When the terminal is hacked you have 5 seconds to use it again to capture it.
Each side garners points for captured terminals every tick. A tick is ten seconds and a side will get 1 point for every secondary terminal captured and 2 for the primary terminal. If a side captures all the terminals the tick time decreases to around 2-3 seconds.
[edit] Victory Points
Both winning and losing a Battle Station battle will garner all combatants Victory Points that can be used to buy items from the OFAB vendors in Tower Shops. The amounts of these rewards are based on your level and the amount of points your side had at the end of the battle, though the winning rewards are much higher then the losing.
[edit] Strategy
Basic
- Power in Numbers Groups or teams give more firepower and support than running alone.
- Assisting Concentration of Fire means that everyone is attacking the same target, which outdamages healing and kills targets faster; when they are dead they cease to do damage to your team. Use assist macros such as /macro Assist /assist and designate a person to acquire targets, to ensure this.
- Crowd Control If it cannot attack, it is effectively out of the fight. Root, Snare, Calm and Blind Nano Programs threaten the enemy with the ability to concentrate on fewer targets. In practice, in PvP, opponents will use items that reduce the duration of these effects or eliminate them entirely, but they can still force opponents to lock their First Aid skills.
Battle-Station-Specific
- Take the Center Taking and holding the center is usually the key to winning, so having a large group of people rush the center early is generally a winning strategy even over capturing your own point first.
- Sliding/Suiciding - This strategy involves running into zones just long enough to capture a point, generally while under fire, and than running off to attempt to capture another. This strategy works for characters who have some sort of major protective abilities, (usually absorbs and reflects but not always) like Adventurers, Engineers, Keepers, and Soldiers. It also works well for characters with high dodge abilities like Keepers, Martial Artists, and Fixers.
- Defending Points - Important in any long term strategy for winning a battle station round. Generally, the back bone of any defense effort is made up by the Anti-Personal Turret. This more or less always needs to be backed up by other people though because the Turret does do well against evaders. The best combination seems to be a combination of an APT, Anti-Mech unit (Assualt Mech, Anti-Armor Turret, Rocket Launcher), and a non-meched support to help in fighting off evaders and recapturing points if they are taken.
[edit] Map
