Fleet Setup and Roles (Vito Tanzini)

Fleet Commander - FC

The Fleet Commander is just that, he commands the fleet. The FC decides what the purpose of the gang is (including destination), what ships are allowed in the gang and generally gives orders (when to jump, who is primary and when to fire on them etc.)

Executive Officer - XO

The XO (eXecutive Officer) acts as the right hand of the gang leader, taking off some necessary logistics from his back. The primary purpose of the XO is to make the gang leader’s task simpler, every action that the XO takes should be made with this in mind. The gang lead should be free to concentrate on maneuvering the gang, confident that all subsidiary tasks are in hand, and that the gang is operating according to Agony methods and standards. In addition if the gang leader goes down the XO may assume command and keep carrying the flag forward.

XO responsibilities

(note actual responsibilities assumed may vary according to gang size and the capabilities/wishes of the gang lead)

Gang invites, pilot allocation to Wings/Squads, leadership roles
Gang discipline and guidance (managing Vent chatter, communication of Intel, Tactics and behavior)
Role Assignment (see below)
EWAR-O (EWAR Groups management and EWAR target calling)
In gang Pilot tuition and guidance

Role Assignment

The XO is responsible for assigning pilots to the 4 basic gang roles:

EWAR Officer
360 Scan
Local Watch
Trail Guard

The XO should make it clear that a confirmation of role assignment is given in gang chat. i.e. 'rgr, pilotB on Local'. Where replacing a pilot in a given role, the pilot currently in role should wait for confirmation then type: ‘rgr, PilotA Standing down’ – ensuring that roles are not duplicated. - EWAR Officer should be assigned to an experienced pilot. It requires a similar level of knowledge as a target caller.

360 Scan is the most difficult and important of the three remaining roles. Pilot should be proficient at use of scanner, have a good set of PvP Overview settings, and be knowledgeable about Probe use and when to look for them.

Local Watch, all pilots should be capable of this role

Trail Guard, pilot in a fast ship, also an experienced pilot where possible

Rotating Roles

Roles 2-4 should be rotated every half hour, this time varies with gang size and composition. Format is: 'PlayerB, Stand down, PlayerC, you're on local'.

Electronic Warfare Officer - EWO

The EWO (EWar Officer) is responsible for organizing and calling EWAR groups. EWAR are organized into numbered groups and assigned a default behavior.

Default behaviors:

Primary, Secondary, Tertiary: Group Applies EWAR to gang lead’s called targets
Reserve: Group applies EWAR as directed by EWAR-O target calling
Discretionary: Group applies EWAR using their best judgment
Call/Don’t Call: Determines whether the EWAR group calls its EWAR on Vent.

Note, that if a pilot loses their EWAR, by voluntary removal to conserve Cap, or due to warping out/ship destruction, then its removal should always be called.

Planning EWAR

EWAR should be set-up before the Operation begins, through use of the Fleet Management tool. When setting up a 'Hydra' pack the EWAR-O should be doing so with a view to his EWAR Groups.

EWAR Groups

EWAR ships are assigned to Groups. Group 1 will usually be assigned to primary, Group 2 to secondary, and so on. Where possible the EWAR-O should keep a reserve group to deal with unexpected targets, and or to back-up assigned Groups. To reduce Vent chatter, and keep target calling simple, single ships are assigned to the same group across EWAR classes. For Example a Tackler (with a damp) assigned to Tackle Group 1 should also be assigned to Damp group 1.

EWAR Groups should be established using the Gang chat channel, though where possible the EWAR-O can use Vent to make adjustments, he should confirm changes in Gang chat ASAP.

EWAR Adjustment

As the Operation develops, and Intel changes, the EWAR officer should be fine tuning his groups and their behaviors.

For example: You have a damp group on primary, a damp group in reserve, and one Tackle group with 3 points on primary. the Gang is waiting for a scout to scan out to Battleships believed to be ratting in a belt. The EWAR Officer removes all but one damp from his reserve group and assigns them to secondary. Then removes one point from the Tackle group and assigns it to secondary.

Standard EWAR Groups

Tacklers: 1-2 points/group. No limit on Webs*
Damps: 3-4 Damps / group
Jammers: 1 Ship / group**
Tracks: na***

Webs are either applied against fast targets, in which case it is up to pilot discretion, or against a target heading to a gate/dock or escaping a bubble in which case you cannot have too many.
- Jamming ships need to be able to jam at least one target most of the time, therefore they are assigned individually.
  - Tracks are usually applied at pilot's discretion, this is to avoid overloading Vent - therefore they are usually restricted to pilots with a thorough knowledge of ship classes and likely fittings. However, a group can be formed and called by the EWARO or GL.

The EWAR-O should consider the roles pilots are likely to fulfill as well as their shiptype. He should also be aware of Cap issues, a fast tackling Frig pilot carrying three Points is unlikely to be able to maintain Cap. The EWAR-O should plan for them to take points off during a fight and have reserves available. EWAR mods should be fitted to compliment each other's range and the range of a ship's weapons. Snipers don't need webs.

EWAR superiority

When calling targets and assigning EWAR it is vital that EWAR superiority is rapidly achieved and maintained. Therefore hostile EWAR ships should be neutralized as a priority (Blackbirds for example). If the Primary/Secondary etc are covered, and the EWAR-O has a reserve group available he can use this group as his EWAR superiority group. Where DPS is required on opposition EWAR, it is the EWAR-O’s responsibility to ensure the gang lead is aware of this requirement.

Ventrilo and Support Officer Roles

Both XO and EWO must keep Vent chatter to a minimum, and be aware when is a good time to break silence. Vent hierarchy is:

Gang lead
Recon
EWAR-O
XO

In general the best time to talk is during long warps, or quiet moments when you are confident that the gang is safe. If a Recon report is pending, or the gang lead is reorganizing things, keep quiet.

Old Tech

I find it useful to maintain a table of assigned Roles and EWAR groups – I do this using a pencil and paper. For roles this should note time, role and pilot name. For EWAR Groups it should include Group type, EWAR strength, default orders, Call/non-call and pilot names in group.

Gang Preparatory Check List

Whats the purpose of operation? Examples: station camping, bubble camp, light roaming fleet, dual logistics gang, etc.
Who is the XO for the fleet? If FC goes down, who will be calling targets for the fleet?
Do we need additional fleet leader positions, such as EWO?
Who has highest leaderships skills to be squad boosters?
Does the fleet have enough squads so that if new people want to join in there is space?
What is the current fleet capabilities? Create a fleet instance to estimate this.
Is the fleet balanced in light of the proposed course of action? What capabilities are still needed in fleet?
What's the most likely enemy course of action? And how might we counter it?
Who has local, 360, probeduty, scout, skirmisher and rearguard duties? Make gang members post in fleet chat that they have these roles once they have been distributed.
Do members of the gang, especially scouts/skirmishers have maps open for regions where fleet plans to travel?

Gang Member Roles

Being Appointed to Duty

When allocated a role, confirm by typing in Fleet channel: “Confirm <NAME> on <DUTY>“.

Skirmisher

This combat role stays a jump or two ahead of the gang, locates, aggresses, and holds target in place until the gang arrives. See Skirmishing and Scouting.

Speed tanked ship with point, relying on high speed and staying outside of web range to stay alive, usually an interceptor, interdictor, electronic assault frigate, speed fitted heavy assault ship, or force recon ship.
Locate target through scanner, then warp to location and engage.
Remember to avoid saying the 'J' word i.e. instead of saying "jumping into the next system" say "entering next system".

Scout

This role locates targets but does not engage. See Skirmishing and Scouting.

Commonly a covert–ops ship.
Locate target through scanner, eventually using probes to scan out the enemy. Warp to location cloaked, gang warp close to scout (beware not to warp at 0 because you might decloak your Covops) and engage.

Local

This role alerts the FC to any changes in the local situation, essential for managing both targets and the safety of the gang.

Watch and report ANY changes on local. (NB. This is a judgement call. For instance, when there are 30 people in local, an increase of 1 doesn't matter so much, but an increase of 8 ships does; however, if you're in a system where there is 1 in local, then you should report every change).
If possible, report name & alliance of new addition to local.
Report any non-notified (i.e. “friendly in”) gate activation whilst gang is at a gate.

Scanning/360

Watch and report anything that is on 360 scan and is potentially an active enemy ship. Click on ‘scan’ every few seconds, as the situation can change any second. Do this only when you can reasonably assume ships to appear on your scanner. When you do have ships on scan, try to narrow the scan down so you can see if the ship is at any celestial object or at a POS.
TIP - make mental notes (but NOT report) ships on scan that are at a POS and are presumably not piloted. This way when more pilots enter local, you know which ships they most probably do not pilot and thus are able to ID the new pilots.

Probe Duty

Is a supplement to the 360 role, although in some cases the FC might ask an additional person to perform dedicated probe duty.
Remove “show overview settings” tick from scanner.
Repeatedly scan system at maximum range and report any probes that are detected.
For alphabetical sorting: Scan probes will appear on the scanner in the "Type" column with their name (e.g. Fathom), and in the "Name" column under S as "scan...".
TIP – most commonly used when at safe spot and there is a risk that the enemy might probe you out..

Rearguard

This role enables the FC to move the gang at maximum speed whilst keeping the gang together.

Watch local until all gang pilots have left system.
Immediately jump through gate.
When your ship appears cloaked on screen in new system, say “all through”.
This way the FC knows when he can gang warp everyone.
TIP - make a mental note of the total number of pilots in gang. This way you can account for everyone in local, which is mostly gang members minus 1 (the skirmisher)

Drone Duty

This combat role ensures that drones are targeted during an engagement.

When entering combat, apply E-war to the primary target (or as directed by your FC or XO)
Apply a web and all DPS to enemy drones to decrease targets overall damage.
This can be important, especially in a gang consisting of frigates and destroyers.

Being Relieved Of Duty

When allocated a role, or relieved of a role – confirm by typing in Fleet channel:
“Confirm <NAME> on <DUTY>“, or
“Confirm <NAME> relieved of <DUTY>”.

Always make sure there is cover. If you have been asked to stand down from a role, make sure the other guys confirms his/her role before you stand down.