Thanks for the feedback. I'll stick some of those advanced attacking strategies into the guide since many people don't know about ledge-jumping over the walls (I've always wondered if that was left intentionally). I did cover some usage of CC, but mostly when on the offensive. After thinking some more about E/W and L/R, I've decided to just stick with L/R. Not just because I'm lazy, but because it would be different for Imperials. Either way, it's arbitrary because the map is mirrored. Someone else mentioned not liking 2-4-2. I will admit that it requires a good team to execute properly. I like sending the faster players Right so they can interrupt the enemy's cap. A lot of times, the enemy will panic and call for help even though there are just two people. This should ease pressure on the two other turrets such that if Right falls under enemy control, the other two turrets should easily fall under my own team's control. I will keep working on this guide and will try to add a section with some thoughts for more advanced players. I will also try to keep it concise and well-trimmed

Haha, truth ^ Indulge me for a second because I'm curious, but whenever I queue up with people and the scoreboard comes up, those that were in my original party will be indicated by system chat that they left queue. If all those 4 original party members simply stay in queue after the war zone, will they be queued together or is it just random information that the system is giving? It doesn't mention that for any of the other players, but it would be nice to have clarity from BW themselves. If the above is NOT the case, then this is one of the biggest priorities to streamline the whole PvP process.

This is a difficult problem to solve. It's not that the devs are letting 4 players play against 8. It's that 4 of the players that were supposed to join the WZ flaked out or disconnected. Starting short a few players isn't a death sentence. It sucks, but if you are patient and wait for the team to fill out, you can still win a WZ. Last night, it was 5 on 8 in Alderaan and we managed to fill up about 5 or 6 minutes into the match. We were able to capture a turret before the crucial "3-cap to win" point. We ended up winning 20-0 so it was close. I wish there was a way to fix this issue but it's really difficult. I wouldn't mind waiting in the spawn lobby an extra minute to wait for people to fill up, but that might actually cause more people to quit. Once they start 'punishing' people for quitting WZs (like I thought they would do in 1.2), you'll really start to see people complaining.

I've heard this one before... I call this the "Homeless Guy Excuse" Can't be bothered with making money to buy the gear, but they will continue to join PvP WZs. As an analogy, you wouldn't want to show up to a Hard More flashpoint or OP undergeared; why would you want to show up to PvP undergeared? Is it really hard to get 200-300k for most of the recruit gear? You don't even need the full set since after a few games, you'll be able to get some BM gear. Also, I think the 15k HP is arbitrary. The OP is just getting at the fact that loads of people are PvP'ing without the proper gear.

I thought you already knew our secrets? Don't worry, I'm keeping the best tricks up my sleeve just for you <3<3<3

OK, that's a fair point. Incidentally, Civil War and Huttball are the only warzones where I will use L/R, but I will take your advice and change it just to keep everything consistent and as clear as possible. Thanks for the feedback!

I agree with the sentiment, but people get REALLY defensive when you mention that they are under-geared. They find every excuse they can for why they aren't geared up. I WANT to help new players. They just want to play the game the way they want to because they're selfish brats. I am going to keep calling them out until rated WZs come out.

I realize I'm not very tactful and am better off just getting to the point: if your expertise is less than 500, I will call you out. I used to try whispers but people are like 'fu, you're mean', basically doing anything to change the subject without acknowledging that ultimately I'm right, even if it makes me a dick. What I've noticed is if that player has any aspirations of being a good player, they realize that not being properly geared drags their team down. These players that want to be helped will make it easy for me to give them some tips and directions. Those who only think about themselves will get defensive and upset at the fact that I've pointed out their weakness. Ultimately, this is offensive to anyone on the team that actually tries because these types of players tend to be deadweight anyway and must be carried by the rest of the team.

Hello all. I haven't posted much on these forums but I wanted to share my strategies and thoughts on the Alderaan Civil War Warzone. UPDATE: I am refreshing this guide (August 2, 2013) Here is a crude layout of the map: THEM v---------vv---------v ============== L--------M--------R ============== ^---------^^---------^ YOU OBJECTIVE The most basic element to understand about this WZ is that there are three turrets, and each turret that your team owns will reduce your enemy's points. The points start at 600 for each team and a team will lose once they reach 0 points. The object of the warzone is to own at least two turrets (if both teams are evenly balanced, taking three turrets is extremely difficult). When the warzone first starts, there are two speeders that both will take you to mid. If your team owns a side node, a speeder will appear in the spawn area that will take you there directly (this is subject to change) THE PLAN Without a plan, your team will probably be doomed to failure. It really is that simple. However, what's more important than a plan is being adaptable. For all intents and purposes of this guide, I will assume that your team consists of objective-minded players. MACRO STRATEGY Some argue that the opening is the most important part of the game. This is certainly the case in ranked matches since whichever team can cap their side-node generally has the advantage. What is important is to have a plan and to be able to react to what you see the enemy executing. For example, I like going with a balanced 2-4-2 attack as an opener in regular matches. As everyone hops on the speeders and flies in, I am keeping my eye on the enemy players across the map to see which way they are going. If I see them flooding left, I will announce this and divert the 2 left players since they won't be able to overpower the 4 going left. This also means the enemy is spread thin in other places. Communication is key here since Knowledge is Power™! What you must try to figure out is how many the enemy team is sending to each node so you can better understand how many of your own team will be needed. However, I have seen this scenario play out far too often: Our team pushes 2-4-2 and eventually we capture both sides. Mid is still contested, respawns are told to go to either side to defend. The enemy caps mid, then start pushing for Left with 3 players. One of the four players there will call out for help and then 1-2 of your teammates leave Right to bolster Left. 4 of the enemy players hit the 2-3 remaining players at Right. They then call out for help but by the time your teammates arrive, the enemy have already capped Right and are now sitting in Mid and Right. I'm sure many of you have seen similar situations. This is why it's incredibly important for the team to know where as many of the enemy players are at a given time. Educated guesses have to be made about stealthers. Knowing their positions will give you the initiative in repelling an attack or preparing for their counter-attack. The team in that scenario did the correct thing by calling out, but they should also indicate how many enemies are attacking them and whether they are likely to need help. Furthermore, when I'm on the losing side I often see players trying to capture nodes by themselves, trickling in 1 or 2 at a time to attack 3-4 enemy players who are fully prepared to take them on. Group up first, use an operative/scoundrel's infiltrate ability to stealth a group of players to a side to not give away which direction you're hitting. MICRO STRATEGY Attacking Left or Right Node: In the opening, the best way to capture the node is to have at least two people go to the turret. One will be the 'capper' and the other will be the 'interceptor'. The capper needs to use the node to deny LoS on any enemies trying to stop your cap. As long as they're hidden behind the node, the enemy will have to take those precious extra steps to reach you. The interceptor's job is to interfere with any incoming enemies to allow the capper enough time to take the node. If you suspect there is a stealther on the way, use AoE abilities to try to flush him/her out. Middle Node: This one's a bit more straightforward, but the same principles apply. Depending on which node your team capped will determine which direction you should be watching for the enemy to be streaming in from. CC and snares are a must. I've seen all too often three enemies trying to capture my team's node at the same time while I just throw a grenade to stop them all from capping. They only need one person to cap while the other two should have been busy knocking me back, snaring and stunning me to give the capper enough time. Be aware that the middle has two tiers. The upper level is great for ranged classes to just rain damage down from above. There's also plenty of columns for you to lose LoS against enemies if they start to notice you picking them off. You can also heal from the top, but I run into LoS/range issues when trying to get my casts off. Defending Not the most glamorous job in the world, defending is important nonetheless. Depending on the scenario, you might be alone or your team might be making a last stand to fend off the enemy's push. As mentioned earlier, when you see an enemy, it's vital to call out where the enemy is (L, M, R) and how many are incoming. Try to keep updating that number since your teammates will hopefully be making decisions about how many people should be reinforcing you. Do not stand too close to the node as it will allow a stealther to mez-cap you very easily. If you're defending in stealth, this is extremely important not to get found out first by an enemy stealther. Another very basic rule is to always keep your eye on the node in case someone tries to ninja a turret from you. On the flip side, this tactic should be used against a stubborn enemy who might be spending a few seconds on Facebook instead of watching the node. Everyone should also try to stay on the platforms or on the ridges to the side, but spread out enough to not all get smashed at once. If you die, try to use the appropriate speeder to get you to the most contested node as quickly as possible. When your team has the advantage and is holding at least two turrets (with your points more than double the enemy's), the initiative is on the enemy to make the next move so as long as your team can smoothly shift defending between different points, you should eventually be victorious. CLOSING I've gone back and made some changes to the guide since I wrote it a long time ago. I hope this is still useful to new players. Feedback is always appreciated

Agreed 100%. This might come as a surprise to some of you, but there is actually a lot of skill involved in RESTRAINT. What do I mean by this? I will use attacking the Voidstar as an example: 1) Attacking team sneaks a plant on a door. Enemy starts pouring out of their spawn to try to defuse. 2) Bomb goes off, doors open and attackers rush through. ---At this point, there are two options: a) Kill the defenders so you can lower the bridge b) CC/snare the defenders in the tunnels leading up to the bridge so one or two can lower the bridge Option 'b' will get you a win in under 3 minutes. Option 'a' may not guarantee the win, but it will pad up your numbers. Furthermore, by using CC and snares and NOT killing the defenders, they won't be able to respawn to defend the doors. Simples.

In what instance do you get a share of the lottery if you're off by one number? Have you even thought of how that would be implemented? Actually, a lot of the War Hero gear that I'm getting is on par with the Rakata gear I own. It's easily better than the Columi gear, although the set bonuses do not work in PvE from what I have heard. Anyway, it's not just that I everytime I see a player in a WZ with 0-100 expertise. Even with no gear, I'm sure there is some way for that player to make him or herself useful. What is often the case is that these players are fresh PvP recruits who are only starting to play WZs and if you try to tell them that they're undergeared, they'll snap at you and act like you ran over their dog. Conversely, there are loads of fully-geared players that are still playing like newbs so even all the best gear in the world won't guarantee you'll stomp everything in your way. It's just an easy scapegoat for poor players.

I think BW needs to make the passing more robust for sure. This would probably be too difficult, but if your allies could see the 'throw huttball' targeting reticle, they could anticipate the pass a little bit better. Another possibility would be to send an audio signal to the intended receiver as the ball is thrown so they know to stop running and wait for the pass.

So it wasn't the passing that won you the game, but the plan that involved passing? Seems to me like it was both. That statement just makes you seem like you're trying to artificially mitigate the advantages of passing. That 'good route' was only made possible because of passing. There are loads of reasons why people SHOULD pass: 1) When you have the ball and that giant column of light is emanating from your position, the other team's players will notice. And then they will hit you. If you've got a tank and healer supporting you, I would still advocate passing because... 2) You're slow. With the exception of the speedboost classes like Sages/Sorcs, running with the ball is like walking knee-deep in molasses. 3) Passing may throw the enemy team into disarray, especially when passing between vertical tiers. A common strategy is for someone to pass the ball to another player in the catwalks over the enemy team's pit, and the receiver will then drop down into the pit below them. The enemy team will then follow said player into the pit, and then he force leaps/pulls him or herself up/passes to someone at the endzone ledge and scores. 4) If you're about to die, DON'T let the enemy team have it. Huttball is about keeping possession and if you're team is playing correctly, there should be people open all around you at midfield. Even if you have to pass backwards, the most important thing is to keep possession. By letting them have the ball will allow them to counter-attack and utilize passing against you. The best teams in Huttball tend to take control of midfield and will set up a chain of players from the ball spawn to the enemy's endzone. Just keep the ball moving along the chain with some quick passes that the enemy won't be able to counter and you'll have 6 touchdowns in no time. Finally, I concede that passing in PUGs is difficult because I can't expect anyone to stand in a certain spot. I've also thrown the ball at one of the four posts on the corners of the fire pits accidentally. When throwing to a tier above you, it takes a little bit of practice to get the ball to the edge and I think they need to tweak it so the passes don't end up on the side of the floor instead of the floor itself. If I'm open, I try to specify my location when asking for a pass (e.g. I'm on the left ramp, pass up!)

Hates the game but still trolls the forums. Nice!

I think the take-away here is that brats don't want to be told what to do no matter how much they suck and how much guidance they need. As I mentioned earlier, these types of people can be rather good at dueling but know nothing when it comes to actually winning a match. ^Don't be THAT guy Take some initiative Work as a team Win

I skimmed through the posts and didn't find anything about Ops Leaders. Basically, if I'm the ops leader and don't recognize a lot of names on my team (or recognize that there are loads of undependable players), I will give instructions. Not really much prose involved, just something like "2-4-2, remember to call out" etc. If someone else is ops leader and silent, I sometimes will take it upon myself to give some basic strategy. If the team is stacked with the server's most experienced PvP'ers, I KNOW that they won't listen, but I also KNOW that they can do the job without any input, so I won't say anything. ======================================================= Basically, there are two types of PvP'ers out there: the ones that matter and the ones that don't. The ones that matter: these players understand each WZ's mechanics and know how to be useful to their team, even if they're not exceptionally skillful. At the very least, they're wearing recruit gear, know when to call out and understand that a little hard work can turn the tide of a battle. They don't think in terms of killing the enemy; rather, they're objective-focused and know when to stay near the nodes. They might not necessarily understand in which direction the battle may be flowing, but they keep their eyes on the chat panel to see what they can expect. The ones that don't matter: these are the players whose names I dread seeing in my ops frame. A small percentage of them can actually be decent duelers that are more than capable of holding their own in a fight. Generally, these players don't care to read the chat or will only post something negative. They never call out and seem to always let people cap nodes under their noses. In Huttball, they're generally off on killing expeditions. They scoff at the notion that they should be wearing PvP armor while PvPing. All the while, they have the expectation that they should be carried by the better players. This expectation is reinforced by the fact that the better players have no choice but to carry those players (I have wanted to lose a game out of spite, though). When the going gets rough, they turn tail and leave the WZ, making the job that much more difficult for the rest of the team. Don't be THIS guy. At the very least, if the chatty flight attendant before each match floods your chat, you can ignore him. On the flip-side, there is no way to mitigate the damage of a player that doesn't matter. They're just liabilities.

I'm definitely having this problem. Just sent in a /bug report. I've been stuck at 9050 (9100/50) for who knows how long. I've done loads of flashpoints and quests post-50 and my alignment has remained at that same number for months now.