Folk ARPS

Keeping The Peace

Map:
Stratis

Type:
Cooperative, up to 66 (recommended 25+)

Description:
NATO heli-bourne infantry insert into central Stratis, penetrate CSAT ridge-line defences, destroy CSAT artillery in the valley, and then hopefully extract.

Known Issues:
(Very Minor) TH1 and TH2 starting positions should be swapped.



Feel free to share below your thoughts, recommendations, criticisms of the mission.

Some questions:

- Is the initial helo layout suitable. The idea is to provide a choice of CH-67 and UH-80 for pilots so the DLC does not become a barrier.

- How did people feel about the strength and responsiveness of enemy opposition (ignoring the non-mission helicopters and mortars at the end)?
Despite our initial attempt being an overall failure, I think we did reasonably well at eliminating enemies. I could make the enemies less responsive at reinforcing attacked positions though.

- I am worried somewhat that an MAT team could take out the Artillery at long range from a hill-top and avoid a lot of the mission.

I found that our time was severely hampered by the very small patrols (1-2 men) that kept attacking us from various hills. Not to say that is a bad thing, but it might be better if the patrols were bigger but less frequent. The enemy was just a little too diffuse.

I quite enjoyed our first run. Stratis is a bit under-utilized (given it's size) but it def. has a few missions in it!

• I'm not sure how much the helicopters actually add, given the size of and distance to the AO. Maybe a HALO approach might be preferable? It would not remove the dynamic element but there wouldn't be a need for pilots (and a short flight) and less risk of getting shot down right at the start. Extraction could be done with the Helo-extract support module or some scripting & my taskLand function.
• Having a dedicated ZEUS slot could help in supporting the dynamic side of the mission as by design players will usually be involved with only one side of the AO. ZEUS could make hostile AI more responsive or take pressure off of players if things get too hairy.
• Due to the PCML's capabilities the artillery will probably be killed once it is spotted by any RAT/MAT with spare ammo. Camo netting and/or artillery forts might be helpful here to break LOS and thus lock-on.
• With the many statics around, a AI off-map support element could be added to BLUFOR with the support module. Maybe a mortar battery for each squad leader or a number of them for the CO.

Comms confusion aside, it really didn't feel like we had enough manpower for the job.
And I was almost ready (I said almost, comrade!) to frag my FTL for his binoculars at one point...

What brought down TH2?

We took light small arms fire and then got battered by something very nasty. Did the enemy help open un on us?

We very quickly got bogged down by several HMGs that were dotted around the hillsides. It's good to have them be an obstacle to overcome, however I feel it'd be impossible to engage them without having to show ourselves to them. Maybe some opportunities to sneak around behind them?

It was fun though, the extraction was quick exhilarating.