Section II: Waging War

1. Sun Tzu said: In the operations of war, where there are in the field a thousand swift chariots, as many heavy chariots, and a hundred thousand mail-clad soldiers, with provisions enough to carry them a thousand mile, the expenditure at home and at the front, including entertainment of guests, small items such as glue and paint, and sums spent on chariots and armor, will reach the total of a thousand ounces of silver per day. Such is the cost of raising an army of 100,000 men.
2. When you engage in actual fighting, if victory is long in coming, then men's weapons will grow dull and their ardor will be damped. If you lay siege to a town, you will exhaust your strength.
3. Again, if the campaign is protracted, the resources of the State will not be equal to the strain.
4. Now, when your weapons are dulled, your ardor damped, your strength exhausted and your treasure spent, other chieftains will spring up to take advantage of your extremity. Then no man, however wise, will be able to avert the consequences that must ensue.
5. Thus, though we have heard of stupid haste in war, cleverness has never been seen associated with long delays.
6. There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare.
7. It is only one who is thoroughly acquainted with the evils of war that can thoroughly understand the profitable way of carrying it on.
8. The skillful soldier does not raise a second levy, neither are his supply-wagons loaded more than twice.
9. Bring war material with you from home, but forage on the enemy. Thus the army will have food enough for its needs.
10. Poverty of the State exchequer causes an army to be maintained by contributions from a distance. Contributing to maintain an army at a distance causes the people to be impoverished.
11. On the other hand, the proximity of an army causes prices to go up; and high prices cause the people's substance to be drained away.
12. When their substance is drained away, the peasantry will be afflicted by heavy exactions.
13. With this loss of substance and exhaustion of strength, the homes of the people will be stripped bare, and three-tenths of their income will be dissipated;
14. While government expenses for broken chariots, worn-out horses, breast-plates and helmets, bows and arrows, spears and shields, protective mantles, draught-oxen and heavy wagons, will amount to four-tenths of its total revenue.
15. Hence a wise general makes a point of foraging on the enemy. One cartload of the enemy's provisions is equivalent to twenty of one's own, and likewise a single picul of his provender is equivalent to twenty from one's own store.
16. Now in order to kill the enemy, our men must be roused to anger; that there may be advantage from defeating the enemy, they must have their rewards.
17. Therefore in chariot fighting, when ten or more chariots have been taken, those should be rewarded who took the first. Our own flags should be substituted for those of the enemy, and the chariots mingled and used in conjunction with ours. The captured soldiers should be kindly treated and kept.
18. This is called, using the conquered foe to augment one's own strength.
19. In war, then, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns.
20. Thus it may be known that the leader of armies is the arbiter of the people's fate, the man on whom it depends whether the nation shall be in peace or in peril.

MAG is a shooter like no other. While we have spent our years refining our skills for twitch-FPS skills, it is imperative that the leaders drive their soldiers to where they will be most effective. The greatest army is the one that strikes the enemy where he is vulnerable; it is only possible with precise and overwhelming force.

Sun Tzu said: In the operations of war, where there are in the field a thousand swift chariots, as many heavy chariots, and a hundred thousand mail-clad soldiers, with provisions enough to carry them a thousand mile, the expenditure at home and at the front, including entertainment of guests, small items such as glue and paint, and sums spent on chariots and armor, will reach the total of a thousand ounces of silver per day. Such is the cost of raising an army of 100,000 men.

All war has a cost.

1. When you engage in actual fighting, if victory is long in coming, then men's weapons will grow dull and their ardor will be damped. If you lay siege to a town, you will exhaust your strength.

1. Again, if the campaign is protracted, the resources of the State will not be equal to the strain.

Always mark the progression of time.

1. Now, when your weapons are dulled, your ardor damped, your strength exhausted and your treasure spent, other chieftains will spring up to take advantage of your extremity. Then no man, however wise, will be able to avert the consequences that must ensue.

1. Thus, though we have heard of stupid haste in war, cleverness has never been seen associated with long delays.

1. There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare.

The minds and hearts of men will continuously shift as the minutes tick by.

1. It is only one who is thoroughly acquainted with the evils of war that can thoroughly understand the profitable way of carrying it on.

MAG is a virtual battlefield. Infinite respawns and resources are the order of the day. What is not limitless is the morale of the men. You must fight strongly and swiftly. Your responsibilities as a leader call for an exerted strike. Your words should be "mark your targets" and "be aggressive". Your orders for the platoon is to attack "in overwhelming force". Should an attack falter for any given amount of time, your men will lose heart and will no longer fight for you.

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The skillful soldier does not raise a second levy, neither are his supply-wagons loaded more than twice.

Bring war material with you from home, but forage on the enemy. Thus the army will have food enough for its needs.

The single most important aspect of an effective fighting unit is their ability to spawn close to the objective. The closer a soldier can spawn to the fight, the greater the chance for success. Spawn points must be sustainable. No individual soldier is more important that his spawn point.

The following actions are very common. They yield unsustainable spawns and thus is an indication of a feeble-minded soldier:

In attack:

Sacrificing an APC hoping to break down a gate/roadblock - keep them safe yet close to the fight.

Destroying a AAA before at least two bunkers have fallen - helicopters and paratroopers are vulnerable.

In defence:

Pushing up to the red line leaving the bunker undefended.

Repairing fallen bunkers in a fallen front-line one-by-one - repair them partially so that you can swing back across the line and get all four of them up within 60 seconds.

A successful attack is completed only when a platoon can use the resupplies behind the bunkers without the risk of being shot or mortared.

A successful defence is only possible if the defenders can reliably resupply from the bunkers.

A successful counter-attack from the objectives back to the bunkers can only be achieved if the full platoon is able to push up in unison. It is a must that all bunkers are there waiting for them, and that the objectives are BLUE and SECURE.

Poverty of the State exchequer causes an army to be maintained by contributions from a distance. Contributing to maintain an army at a distance causes the people to be impoverished.

The message is clear. Break the enemy's ability to spawn and you break a platoon. But this only applies if, once again, it is sustainable. Destroying/repairing a lone AAA is pointless and futile.

On the other hand, the proximity of an army causes prices to go up; and high prices cause the people's substance to be drained away.

When their substance is drained away, the peasantry will be afflicted by heavy exactions.

The average soldier is a quitter: he has a weak emotional resilience to the scent of defeat.

With this loss of substance and exhaustion of strength, the homes of the people will be stripped bare, and three-tenths of their income will be dissipated;

As their leader, you must understand the mind of a soldier when he is under stress. Whereas a common soldier becomes weak, a warrior is to be a pillar of strength in service of his men.

While government expenses for broken chariots, worn-out horses, breast-plates and helmets, bows and arrows, spears and shields, protective mantles, draught-oxen and heavy wagons, will amount to four-tenths of its total revenue.

Being overrun by an enemy's forces is simply demoralising. Many of the more experienced shooters will spot a defeat and rage-quit. Remember, fighting cannot be effective without morale.

In MAG, destroying the enemy's spawn will destroy their morale. Victory shall soon follow.

Hence a wise general makes a point of foraging on the enemy. One cartload of the enemy's provisions is equivalent to twenty of one's own, and likewise a single picul of his provender is equivalent to twenty from one's own store.

The feeling of a crushing victory over your enemies....

Now in order to kill the enemy, our men must be roused to anger; that there may be advantage from defeating the enemy, they must have their rewards.

Your men must be aggressive for the win.

Therefore in chariot fighting, when ten or more chariots have been taken, those should be rewarded who took the first. Our own flags should be substituted for those of the enemy, and the chariots mingled and used in conjunction with ours. The captured soldiers should be kindly treated and kept.

This is called, using the conquered foe to augment one's own strength.

Remember, supplies and spawns win the day.

In war, then, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns.

Thus it may be known that the leader of armies is the arbiter of the people's fate, the man on whom it depends whether the nation shall be in peace or in peril.

Section I: Laying Plans

1. Sun Tzu said: The art of war is of vital importance to the State.
2. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.
3. The art of war, then, is governed by five constant factors, to be taken into account in one's deliberations, when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field.
4. These are:
   1. The Moral Law;
   2. Heaven;
   3. Earth;
   4. The Commander;
   5. Method and discipline.
5. The Moral Law causes the people to be in complete accord with their ruler, so that they will follow him regardless of their lives, undismayed by any danger.
6. Heaven signifies night and day, cold and heat, times and seasons.
7. Earth comprises distances, great and small; danger and security; open ground and narrow passes; the chances of life and death.
8. The Commander stands for the virtues of wisdom, sincerity, benevolence, courage and strictness.
9. By method and discipline are to be understood the marshaling of the army in its proper subdivisions, the graduations of rank among the officers, the maintenance of roads by which supplies may reach the army, and the control of military expenditure.
10. These five heads should be familiar to every general: he who knows them will be victorious; he who knows them not will fail.
11. Therefore, in your deliberations, when seeking to determine the military conditions, let them be made the basis of a comparison, in this wise:--
12. 1. Which of the two sovereigns is imbued with the Moral law?
    2. Which of the two generals has most ability?
    3. With whom lie the advantages derived from Heaven and Earth?
    4. On which side is discipline most rigorously enforced?
    5. Which army is stronger?
    6. On which side are officers and men more highly trained?
    7. In which army is there the greater constancy both in reward and punishment?
13. By means of these seven considerations I can forecast victory or defeat.
14. The general that hearkens to my counsel and acts upon it, will conquer: let such a one be retained in command! The general that hearkens not to my counsel nor acts upon it, will suffer defeat:--let such a one be dismissed!
15. While heeding the profit of my counsel, avail yourself also of any helpful circumstances over and beyond the ordinary rules.
16. According as circumstances are favorable, one should modify one's plans.
17. All warfare is based on deception.
18. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.
19. Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him.
20. If he is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him.
21. If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant.
22. If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them.
23. Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.
24. These military devices, leading to victory, must not be divulged beforehand.
25. Now the general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple ere the battle is fought. The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations beforehand. Thus do many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat: how much more no calculation at all! It is by attention to this point that I can foresee who is likely to win or lose.

This will be the why section. Why we fight.

Before a shot is fired, we have to ask ourselves, why do we play MAG? It is a team-based shooter. It depends on discipline, teamwork and communication. It has a leadership system. Let's say you are that leader. You are given the abilities to give out orders. In about 30 minutes, you have the most influence over your men. But why should the men follow your orders? You're just a stranger with a mic.

Sun Tzu said: The art of war is of vital importance to the State.

It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.

We play MAG to have fun. But why MAG? I believe we want something deeper than simply point-and-shoot. We want something epic. Huge. To get this we are willing to put up with inferior graphics, frustrating lag, weird knife mechanics and some broken balance issues. We want the feeling that we are part of something bigger than ourselves; 1up summarises it perfectly: "This is one of those rare shooters built around a dream -- some would say a pipe dream -- that players will voluntarily adhere to the sort of command structure you need in a military operation". Eight months down the road the MW f-tards are gone, kicked or verbally abused back into their 8v8 shell. We are left to build our own empire.

The art of war, then, is governed by five constant factors, to be taken into account in one's deliberations, when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field.

These are:

The Moral Law;

Heaven;

Earth;

The Commander;

Method and discipline.

Understanding these factors is the key to victory.

The Moral Law causes the people to be in complete accord with their ruler, so that they will follow him regardless of their lives, undismayed by any danger.

The Moral Laws means how inspiring an OIC is on his broadcast. How it is that the soldiers and their squad leaders will fight for the common cause. They will not be cowards and snipe, but rather will charge in, taking down bunkers and capturing objectives.

Heaven signifies night and day, cold and heat, times and seasons.

Earth comprises distances, great and small; danger and security; open ground and narrow passes; the chances of life and death.

In literal terms this denotes the relationship between the weather and the terrain. In esoteric terms, it is a balance of yin-yang. Balance is the key to smoothness. Smoothness is efficiency. Efficiency means victory.

The Commander stands for the virtues of wisdom, sincerity, benevolence, courage and strictness.

This in fact is not a call for you to think of yourself as a Great Commander. It is a call for humility. The virtues are listed as a call for potential leaders to look inside themselves and ask, "where do I lack these qualities?"

By method and discipline are to be understood the marshaling of the army in its proper subdivisions, the graduations of rank among the officers, the maintenance of roads by which supplies may reach the army, and the control of military expenditure.

In otherwords, the ability for squads to fight and traverse the map as a group.

These five heads should be familiar to every general: he who knows them will be victorious; he who knows them not will fail.

Therefore, in your deliberations, when seeking to determine the military conditions, let them be made the basis of a comparison, in this wise:--

Which of the two sovereigns is imbued with the Moral law?

Which of the two generals has most ability?

With whom lie the advantages derived from Heaven and Earth?

On which side is discipline most rigorously enforced?

Which army is stronger?

On which side are officers and men more highly trained?

In which army is there the greater constancy both in reward and punishment?

By means of these seven considerations I can forecast victory or defeat.

The OIC has control over:

Moral law, meaning how empassioned an OIC is for victory, and how well he displays this to his men.

Ability; the timing and efficacy of his command abilities.

Heaven and Earth, as in how well he uses his resources in terrain and tactics.

The OIC does not have control over:

Discipline - how many retards and rambos make up your army - the less the better

Strength - individual skill of your men - the greater the better.

Officers - SLs and PLs

Above, an OIC needs to define REWARD and PUNISHMENT.

Or, how well you keep up morale. Good rewards almost always means making the right comments with your company broadcast. Good punishment means kicking ineffective SLs and PLs, and declaring standing orders that snipers will be shot in the back. Bad punishment includes yelling at noobs and calling them retards for being noobs. This does not apply to cussing experienced players who do idiot things :)

The general that hearkens to my counsel and acts upon it, will conquer: let such a one be retained in command! The general that hearkens not to my counsel nor acts upon it, will suffer defeat:--let such a one be dismissed!

While heeding the profit of my counsel, avail yourself also of any helpful circumstances over and beyond the ordinary rules.

According as circumstances are favorable, one should modify one's plans.

Keep to the basics of attacking strategy and defending strategy. Learn from good SLs, PLs and OICs. Discard bad leaders. However, sometimes even a 10man bunker flank continuously fails. BE FLEXIBLE.

All warfare is based on deception.

I'm sorry. Did you miss that?

ALL WARFARE IS BASED ON DECEPTION.

Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.

Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him.

If he is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him.

If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant.

If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them.

Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.

The direct way is never the best way. Go indirectly to the direct way...

These military devices, leading to victory, must not be divulged beforehand.

...but don't make it too obvious what you're trying.

Now the general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple ere the battle is fought. The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations beforehand. Thus do many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat: how much more no calculation at all! It is by attention to this point that I can foresee who is likely to win or lose

Before you apply for leadership formulate a plan. Learn from the successes and mistakes of other leaders. Form plan A for unique situations, but also plans B, C and Y. It is then a matter of execution given the correct tactical situation.