Welcome to the 11th Edition of Alpha Commanders
ACP has come and gone yet again, and we have two talented teams that talked with me about their exciting trials and tribulations as they emerged victorious as the new Alpha Control Point Commanders!
Congratulations to Cpl HaryB, first time Alpha Commander with multi ACP winning alliance O+G, and Tank 813, the brand new Alpha Commander for the first time winning alliance 2Shy!
O+G Wins The Alpha Control Point Again!
Although this was not O+Gs first rodeo, this was the first time that the brand new Alpha Commander, Cpl HarryB was at the helm. He and his ACP team sat down with me in an exclusive phone interview about the preparation, battle, and aftermath that ensued, making his team ranked as number one this month in ACP!
“Aimee, Sun and Helf are the brains, anything that went wrong, blame 1bom.” – Cpl HaryB
Preparing for the Battle
Harry begins by telling me how the team prepared for ACP with his team. It began with Helfarch, Aimee, and likethesun initiating conversations about what we planned on doing for the event. He tells me the team discussed a variety of topics to prepare for such as trying to get into ACP first, battle strategies, and other things they needed to plan out carefully
DebDestroyer speaks up and tells me, “Aimee also had the spreadsheets she worked on for us.” The spreadsheets, I am told, were an important tool to organize all of the information the team would need to compete such as player mercenary troop counts, as an example.
Aimee speaks up and tells me the team realized the importance of maxed merc troops. At one point she recalls the team assuming they would be able to use t9 merc meat, then realizing they would need to adjust.
Luckily the team was able to adjust and spent a lot of time practicing in Control Points before the event, Deb Destroyer says. She tells me they could have practiced more, but the team realized the merc loss practicing was not necessary when strategic plans were already being formulated.
While the team was excited about the new events that introduce more availability of mercenary troops into the game economy, they tell me that resources were still an extremely limiting factor.
Because O+G began to prepare as soon as the blog came out, there were no last-minute preparations that needed to be performed. They were ready to go!
The Battles, the Glory
I was excited to hear about the battles and O+G did not disappoint. Hary tells me that the start was interesting. He tried to port in and couldn’t get a spot right away! He had to settle for a spot a few rows back while Misso from the MSW alliance took ACP with a similar setup to the one the team planned to use.
This did not detour the team, though! Hary rallied MSW twice attempting to get in. The battles occurring were intense as Marco took ACP from Misso!
The next battle was all it took. Cpl HarryB set a rally on Marco from @War in the Alpha Control Point.
The team carefully filled. The Rally began and the team anxiously awaited the hit. Annnnnd… BOOOOM!!
ACP was his! From that point forward, O+G held until the time clock showed they had been in long enough to win. Hary tells me there was only one legitimate attempt on ACP after that and it was by Anti from TMK.
I asked the team which was their favorite battles:
Hary- The Battle with Anti
Deb- THe Battle with Anti
Axeman- The first time we took The Alpha Control Point when Marco held
Aimee- When we took ACP the first time
I also asked the team which troops they felt made the most impact during the event. Hary and Aimee felt Airborne Brigades did the trick while Axeman and likethesun really liked what Phantoms brought to the battlefield.
The team tells me that while not as many mercs may have been lost in overall numbers, the tiers that were lost still were costly, but it seems it was very much worth the incredible victory!
In Addition
The team did mention to me that the token boosts from the Raid bosses did not seem to be working. In contrast, they really enjoyed the boosts that the Garrison’s gave. Deb tells me that many of their team recognized the need for the extra boosts and were on hand to take as many Garrisons as they could to assist in the effort. She tells me Master took the Enemy Health Reduction Garrison that seemed to make the most difference to the team. In addition, Rocco, Murph, and Furman all helped attack Garrisons for even more boosts to help the Alpha Control Point effort.
“We couldn’t have done it without every member of our team. After a couple of not so great ACPs, we’ve bounced back and are stronger than ever. A special thank you to Sunny, for keeping me calm in the build-up to this ACP, he was amazing. Four ACP’s down, many more to go.” – Aimee
Thank you so much to Cpl HaryB and his team for speaking with me so that I could share their adventures in ACP with all of you! Congratulations again Cpl HaryB and the rest of O+G!
Congratulations to First Time Winner, Tank 813 from 2Shy!
Brand new to the ACP scene is Tank with the 2Shy alliance! His first exciting win, and hopefully not his last, Tank and the rest of his ACP team shared with me their experiences during their epic ACP win. Although 2Shy was unable to have a sit-down phone interview with me this time around, they shared the event with me through Line.
Eriu: How far in advance did you know you would be competing for the Alpha Control Point this month?
Maximus1256: I feel like we are last-minute type planners but we knew we wanted it after we came in second on the first ACP.
A55hat: I strongly agree with Max, we knew the event was coming and it was an option to compete. It wasn’t until a few hours before it opened that Tank agreed to give it a run and spent the next few hours making his set up solid and dedicated to the need to dominate.
Eriu: What steps did you take to prepare?
Tank 813: Preparing, that’s a difficult task, figuring out who’s available to make the 24-hour commitment. Then you have to figure out whose base is the most adequately prepared. Or in our case, getting one adequately prepared rather quickly. We had to figure out our desired troop composition for attacking and then defending if we got it. Lots of last-minute research was needed, causing us to trade, and collect RSS from each other. Lots of coordination amongst our whole team to plan on ACP coin collecting from the raid bosses.
All and all our preparations came to gather rather well, and the huge effort was highly rewarded with our victory.
Maximus1256: As much research as possible followed by making sure your defense is ready if you’re attacked while sitting there. Also getting the right mercs prepared. Little pre-planning as an alliance as well as figuring out who’s able to stay up all night (I fell asleep ????).
Hakoshi: I feel like Tank hit the nail on the head here. We kinda scrambled around trying to figure out who could help with mercs as well as the overnight commitment. If we couldn’t keep it overnight, we risked losing the event. We definitely had a lot of last-minute preparations but the combination of teamwork and persistence with the prep we did manage made a massive difference. We chose to hit the raid boss to max out token boosts first this time and it worked out well.
A55hat: We organized troop counts, ensured we had an action plan (who would swap squads/ troop type) other than that ensured we were available for the time needed or knew who would be.
It’s Time to Take The Alpha Control Point
Eriu: Tell me a bit about when you first took ACP. Did you make it in first? Did you take it from someone? If so, who and how?
A55hat: We took a few low-level setups to see what the “least” loss in money to gain control would be. once we had a few hits not quiet there we said, “fuck it,” and sent a tactical attack that was either a “make it or break it”. after taking it the switch out was fast and direct to get a different setup to ensure holding it.
Hakoshi: We actually decided for this ACP to not rush in. We spent some time grinding at the raid bosses to collect ACP tokens to send to Tank. HC Dragon was holding solid by the time we actually went for it around 4-5 hours into the event. Nobody could seem to even come close to winning and a few people even got their heroes captured before we made our go. (As Asshat stated above, we did a few probing hits before sending a real attack which was our only real shot).
Demon empire: We took it from someone… it wasn’t easy but after a few tries we came together with a game plan and success took it. We had a reinforcement player ready to swap as soon as we took over it.
Eriu: What is the main way your team communicated during the event? (Game only, Line Call, etc)?
Maximus1256: We used line more for pre-planning the rest was in-game.
A55hat: Mostly in-game once the event started, to be honest, it was less organized than we had hoped for but having such a communal team that all want to contribute made it fairly easy to keep the focus on what was needed.
Hakoshi: The fact that 2Shy is so used to being active in CP made it fairly easy to only communicate during the event in-game. We did not have any LINE calls before or during the event.
Demon empire: We had an in-game chat. We told each other what was going to be our rolls and we stayed with them.
ACP Rages On
Eriu: Tell me about your favorite battles.
Maximus1256: We all work very hard to have gotten our bases to where they are now. But I always love to see big tanks base in action! Always fun.
A55hat: There is nothing better than willingly letting others hold the ACP near the end of the event to allow other alliances/players to gain event rewards. That’s why I love the crew we have- we play a hard badass game, but try to help everyone enjoy the gameplay when possible.
Hakoshi: I think my favorite battle was when after we broke HC Dragon’s defense when he tried to take it back multiple times with hero solos that ended in Tank eliminating his hero. I had fun watching the player nobody except us could beat helpless against our defense.
Demon empire: Bouncing bases that were supporting rallies were my favorite battles.
Eriu: Which factor did you find most important to beat out other players? (Squad type, troop types, vehicle, gear, etc)
Maximus1256: Having the right troop composition is extremely important.
A55hat: Personally, I think the effort put into the event was more important than the actual set up. Knowing a few setups was obviously a great advantage l, but it really came down to flexibility when switching setups as needed.
Hakoshi: I honestly think the one factor that helped us beat others was a combination of knowledge and persistence. Nobody could beat HC Dragon and by 4 hours in, nobody was trying anymore. We didn’t give up until we won and even then we continued to keep fighting when a few people came around to try to take it. Knowing how to arrange troops on defense definitely helped but without the persistence to keep trying even when it seemed hopeless, we could not have gotten the CP in the first place.
Demon empire: I try to help out with a few tips but together as a team we figure it out. We like to test different set up from time to time to see what works and what doesn’t.
Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
Eriu: How important is teamwork to the success of the Alpha Control Point?
Maximus1256: Teamwork is the key to this game. You can’t do it on your own. Everybody brings their own key ingredient to the table and that’s what makes a good alliance.
A55hat: Teamwork was key in this event, without our solid team eager and readily available, we couldn’t have done it. We are lucky to keep a strong, family-like value system among ourselves. Each one of our members is willing to put it all on the line to help another. We couldn’t ever ask for anything more.
Hakoshi: Honestly, we were the “weakest” team present as far as cc levels and power goes across the board, but the thing that made this event work was our teamwork and coordination. We couldn’t have taken the ACP without everyone’s token contribution or mercs. 2Shy is like a family that supports each other so I do believe that played a major role in our win.
Demon empire: Very important, one wrong squad can ruin the whole set up. Here is where the community comes and we tell our team what to send I’m different scenes.
The Future for 2Shy
Eriu: What are some things you may like the developers to include in future ACP events?
Maximus1256: I personally think some loaded up packs may make things more intense and maybe have a week of events leading up ACP giving the players that don’t spend money a better chance at getting more merc tokens, squad commendations, and hero XP, etc. I think that would get players that feel like they can’t compete more likely to show up and try!
Hakoshi: I feel packs with more mercenaries and free ACP teleports should be offered for players of all spending ranges. We had a few helpers that as a result of not being able to spend couldn’t stay to help with refilling the CP and had to pull at a point due to their time running out and having no more teleports. Even though ACP is a “spender’s sport” I feel like teams like ours who don’t spend as much as the other competitors should have more access to come to the event region since it is such a big deal.
Demon empire: I would like them to give a team a reward not just the person holding … ACP is a team event, not a solo.
Other Good Times with 2Shy
Quotes, comments, good times…
Hakoshi: Teamwork makes the dreamwork. It takes more than money to win.
Demon empire: Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn.
Maximus1256: Did I mention we have a tank? ????
What’s Next
Winning the Alpha Control Point is the highest of game achievements, and one of these teams can certainly be proud of. Let’s take a look below at some more ACP related topics to help get you on your way to your own Commander Title!
Past Alpha Control Point Winners
Be sure to read about previous ACP Adventures:
And The Alpha Control Point Winner Is: Badtexan!
The First Female ACP Champion! Congratulations Northerngirl!
The Sefi Alliance Has Won ACP Again!
DarthVader 00 and MadMong0 are our Newest ACP Commanders!
Congratulations Sheriii, The She Nez, Our Newest ACP Victor
Alpha Commanders August 2020- Artz81, Professor LJ, XXX MASV XXX
TheRealMatt and ~Ink Walk Away with ACP for September!
The Winners: ZForce and Professor LJ! ACP Champs
Meet WWR’s Newest Alpha Commanders: xl Mayhem lx, Best, and 5forfighting!
Where do I Start? What do I need to do to take the Control Point?
Brush Up On Control Point Strategies:
Understanding the Control Point
Control Point 101: Preparing for Battle
Control Point 101: Taking the Control Point
Other Avenues of Power
What other items do I need to conquer CP?
Create Some Concoctions in the Science Academy
Comprehensive Equipment Encyclopedia
Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
You need an amazing team to be Alpha Commander. What to look for in an Alliance:
The Alliance: A Mini Society Within Itself
Keep a Sense of Humor
A Day in the Life of a WWR General
Other Topics to Brush up On
Understanding Blogs is CRUCIAL
Safety First
No matter what is occurring, be sure safety is always first!
Gaming Safety for Female Gamers
Conclusion
This month’s interviews were an absolute pleasure! It was so exciting to see this event from the inside! I look forward to hearing from (and being a part of) these teams again in the future! I would like to thank all those involved.
Join the Conversation!
To speak with the new Champions, their team, and other ACP winners, join us on Discord, Line, and Facebook to have more in-depth conversations about their adventures and strategies. We’ll be there!
