Community Clash #2 – TRG vs GOTR
On Wednesday, August 21st, Ghosts of the Revolution fought against The Republican Guard in what was one of the most exciting Planetside 2 eSport matches that I have had the pleasure to watch.
There was no doubt that Community Clash #2 was going to be a good one. Both GOTR and TRG are old Planetside 1 outfits that have held strong over 10 years and are still thriving today in Planetside 2. These two outfits have history together and with their history comes patience, passion for Planetside, and a competitive spirit that makes each of them stone pillars.
GOTR rolls on the Mattherson server for Vanu, and TRG plays on Connery as TR. They both played these factions in Planetside 1 so faction loyalty is major for them both. Deducing from their history, playstyles, calibre of players, leadership and strong core, one could see that this was going to be a close match, but no one could predict the end of this event and it was only in the final seconds of the Second Match that the Twitch stream went wild. We had good reason too as we were witness to a nail-biting, hair pulling, down to the wire match that had more back and forths than a basketball game.
TRG, led by Sardus , showed just how tough it can be to dislodge TR maxes with proper medic and engineer support. If I had to claim a MVP for the match it would definitely be TRG’s medic crew as they did an outstanding job of keeping TRG in the fight at every stage of the match. GOTR, led by robocpf1 (whose outstanding lamp was a highlight of the stream), were mobile, quick to respond and efficient. Their lead performer had to be Torokokill as I could only guess what his KDR was at the end of the game. With his sniping he was able to keep the TRG support system on their back heels as he moved to flank, push with a SMG, and kill every infantry he could find. He seemed to be everywhere at once and it is this kind of player that can define an outfit. Future Crew has TWF, NUC has Zoidbergenstein, GOTR has Torokokill and TRG has Sardus.
Aside from some early audio issues the Community Clash #2 was a much improved version of the first episode. The casters are improving and the observer camera angles were steadier, showing more action and being at the right place at the right time. Hamma led production while Jennyboo handled production and chat. The cast was lead by Torkz who controlled the timer and overall casting and was co-hosted by Deringer and Noxx who ran play-by-play. The casting was tighter and more focused.
The casters voices acted as a backdrop to the drama unfolding before our eyes on TwitchTV. Each round was intense in its own way and the later rounds were like waves crashing against rocks as both outfits flung themselves at each other over the three points at Bravata PMC Compound. These were no uncoordinated throwing of bodies with every push forward being a focused, coordinated infantry/max attack whose sole aim was to dislodge the enemy from their defensive positions. The timings, rotations, flank swings and crashes were some of the most exciting plays I’ve watched and it all made sense that such a battle would unfold itself from two great outfits. My hat is off to robo and Sardus for providing the following story.
Round 1 – Cairn Station
Attackers: The Republican Guard (TRG)
Defenders: Ghosts of the Revolution (GOTR)
Air and MBTs weren’t allowed as TRG and GOTR took their first steps in the swampy realm of Hossin. The moon had risen and it was difficult to see while the casters setup the match. There were some changes in the rules and they are as follows: defenders were allowed to start with a mobile Sunderer to contain the mobility of the attacking team. GOTR had to setup a hard spawn Sunderer beneath the tower because there were bugs with the tower spawn that didn’t allow GOTR to spawn inside of it. TRG was allowed to start with 2 mobile Sunderers while having 1 hard spawn Sunderer north of the base. Hard spawns are spawns that you can’t remove from a team during an engagement.
As the countdown started you could sense the excitement in chat which was almost palpable. People knew we were in for a good one but just how this adventure would twist and turn no one knew . One of TRG’s Sunderers drove to C and the other drove to B. Sardus split his troops in an attempt to find a weak spot in the GOTR defenses. GOTR answered with a defensive Lightning and Sunderer of their own, hunting and killing the TRG Sunderer at C. The TRG Sunderer at B survived the early defense and dislodged what is known as a standard squad loadout for 12 people fighting in close quarters combat – 3-4 Maxes, 2-3 Heavy Assaults, medics and one engineer.
The troops in the TRG Sunderer that went to C were able to get out and take the point with little trouble while their comrades over at B were struggling to get into the building. TR AI Maxes lit up the night, firing into B building in an attempt to suppress GOTR firing down on them. TRG made it into the building but suffered heavy casualties as GOTR responded with their own counter-attack.
One lonely TR max makes it to B only to be put down by numerous Vanu infantry. During the fight for B, the rest of GOTR had pulled back from C, choosing patience as the better part of valor in facing 4 TR maxes with proper support. Lone AI Maxes can scary. Four supported AI maxes are downright frightening to encounter unless you have your own Maxes to push with.
GOTR then deploys Lightnings to counter and slow down the TRG infantry push. This is an attempt to distract and draw attention away from infantry pushing on the points so that GOTR could get a firmer hold on what was happening inside the base. Somehow, TRG briefly cap A point but it’s reversed quickly and GOTR head on their way to B and C points. The TRG that were pushed out of B regroup at the hard spawn Sunderer and get ready to attack B again. GOTR drops 4 people onto C and retake it forcing those people back to the hard spawn to regroup with the other TRG squad. As TRG attracts the attention of the GOTR defenses at B-point, they take C with a Heavy Assault and an Infiltrator. With 5 minutes left and rock solid Max and Engineer play TRG have become entrenched in B and C.
GOTR is scrambling to find an answer for TRG’s excellent Max work. They find their answer, retake B with a six man push and force TRG to hold steady at C. The remaining TRG who died at B begin a run across the murky landscape towards the A tower when the match is called.
2 points to GOTR for defending the majority of the points and the hex.
Attackers: GOTR – 2
Defenders: TRG – 0
You could tell that these two outfits were confident in their abilities. In the first half of Round 1 we saw solid infantry play from both sides. There were a few push and pull moments with people firing rockets from corners, grenades being tossed and Maxes firing their responses down stairs and into doorways, but it was plain old guns that won the day. How many guns can you put on one point without risk of losing the other? That was the question facing TRG in their defense of Cairn Station.
As the round starts, Vanu drive one of their Sunderers straight to C, capping the point and destroying the TRG defensive Sunderer. TRG pulled two Lightnings to patrol the perimeter of Cairn Station, possibly taking a note out of GOTRS playbook. TRG respond with a heavy hand on C and wipe out the Vanu inside the building. GOTR then responds by pulling 4 Lightnings to ease the transition from outside to inside for their friendly troopers and to suppress any TR moving outside the buildings. A GOTR squad of 4-5 infantry drop on point A, taking the point and successfully distracting TRG enough that the Terran Republic troops are forced to respond to the move at A. This was an excellent distraction but unfortunately it didn’t buy GOTR enough time to do anything with it. There was some miscommunication on GOTR’s part as they deploy to Sunderers at B – North and South respectively. Even with that said, GOTR is able to take B and they siege A from the outside.
During this time Torokokill was running around with stealth killing TRG support crews and even Sardus with his sniper rifle. He landed many accurate shots and proved to be a thorn in TRG’s side during this time as their support struggled to keep up with the Maxes needing them at the points. The dense foliage, murky nature and dark atmosphere of the match aided Torokokill and he proved to be a worthy addition to the GOTR squads as he did more than his lion’s share of work to keep TRG at bay.
With 3 minutes left in the match TRG controlled all 3 points. As the window of opportunity for GOTR to make a move dwindled they decide to do a big timing push with 1 minute left on both B & C to go for the win. They used ZOE Maxes on B and mass drop pods on C for a last second victory over TRG. Robo from GOTR said they waited up to a minute in the map screen to get the timing for the drop down to mere seconds, giving TRG no wiggle room.
1 point to TRG for defending the hex and 1 point to GOTR for taking the majority of the cap points.
Round 2 – Bravata PMC Compound
Attackers: GOTR – 3
Defenders: TRG – 1
This round was a hectic tug-of-war for both halves as the teams went at it with renewed gusto. I’ll attempt to make it as coherent as possible and trace back the movements of each outfit in a round that lead to some of the most in your face fighting I’ve seen in a competition yet. Bravata PMC Compound is a small base with 3 points nearly touching each other and the only mobile component to the defense is a teleporter from the spawn room that leads to C. A change in the rules for this specific round allows any and all air.
As the shouts of, “Go go go!” from Torkz signalled the charge of both outfits, TRG streams from the spawn room with 8 maxes – fully a 1/3rd of their defending force. It’s a smart defensive move as TR maxes have some of the greatest versatility in their Fractures and Mercies. With proper support TRG would be able to setup a near impenetrable wall of defence on the close knit proximity points in Bravata. This truly is an Alamo for both sides as a potential victory for TRG on defense could lead to a Sudden Death.
In a surprise for the attackers GOTR has no one redeploy for aircraft to start the match. They stick to their two Sunderers and head for Bravata on the ground. One Sunderer pushes forward to deploy in the underbelly of Bravata and the other loops around to the North under fire from TRG. TRG focuses on the Northern Sunderer but drops one Fracture max to poke at the Sunderer deployed in the underbelly of the base.
GOTR quickly pick off that lone Fracture to allow their troops a quicker respawn location in the base. In their first charge GOTR takes C convincingly and begins to fire at TRG from within the walls of the C building. As this is happening TRG drops a Fracture and Light Assault with C4 to take out the underbelly GOTR Sunderer and successfully complete their mission. GOTR focuses their attack on C and sends one LA to B to harass the point and check for weakspots in the TRG defense. TRG coordinate a big push on C with Maxes and engineers, whilst at the same time expending effort to remove the GOTR Sunderer deployed by C. In an aggressive move TRG take out the C Sunderer, leaving GOTR stranded in the building.
GOTR pull a fresh Sunderer and deploy it once again into the underbelly of Bravata but this time TRG is quick to respond with a lone LA. The LA takes out the Sunderer with C4, sending GOTR back to the drawing board.
GOTR responds with another Sunderer to the C point, hiding it in a large tree trunk which again is quickly dispatched by TRG. These Sunderer respawns and kills show how coordinated attacks and defenses work like a game of chess, with each competitor responding and reacting to what’s thrown at them. My admiration for both GOTR and their quick Sunderer pulls and TRG for their even quicker responses in killing those Sunderers increases greatly. With 5 minutes left on the clock GOTR pulls out of Bravata completely and TRG is left guessing what the next move GOTR will try pull off in their attempt to capture points in Bravata. The answer: Galaxy drops!
GOTR pulls back to the Forward Garrison and loads up two Galaxies with a Scythe for escort. One Galaxy heads to B and the other heads to A. GOTR successfully take B through a combination of ZOE Max work and Medic chain revives. GOTR also holds A during this time as drop pods begin to scream down from the sky over B and an intense fight breaks out between the TRG & GOTR forces in the small building of B point. There are Maxes pounding on each other, grenades flying into doorways and medics doing their best to revive under fire. In the end, TRG takes B point back through a combined effort of Maxes and revive grenades. Revive grenades in this Round have proven to be a key tool behind pushing and holding a point. It says a lot for having a medic with a grenade bandolier and four revive grenades, in that whoever held the point was the outfit that had more access to clutch revives.
In a last ditch effort to take a point GOTR begin piling up the jump pads in the southern portion of Bravata. Unfortunately for them TRG is waiting in the wings and sends fire and fury down on to the deck of the landing zone and GOTR is wiped out every time they even peak their heads above the jump pad. With the TRG surrounding that area they are able to take the defense of Bravata.
2 points to TRG for defending the majority of the points and the Hex.
Attackers: TRG – 3
Defenders: GOTR – 3
It’s a tie. For TRG to continue and force the Sudden Death they must hold two points when the timer counts down. If they don’t hold the majority of the points, GOTR will be proclaimed the victor for defending the points and the hex. It’s down to Sardus and how he deploys his troops in their last chance to push for another match.
Sardus is no fool. He realizes that GOTR may deploy vehicles to slow down the attack on the perimeter of the base so he sends his Sunderers crashing into Bravata to bypass the vehicle defense of GOTR. The TRG Sunderers spit out eight maxes and with all 24 in tow, TRG takes the B point.
With 24 people defending B point GOTR is weakened by the six people they sent to deploy vehicles. It is now effectively a 24v18 and with TRG’s excellent Max and support crew GOTR is hard pressed to do anything about the TRG entrenched in B point. Sardus is patient on B and knows he has a lot of time to force caps on the other point. TRG send a small force to capture A, but they are quickly counter-attacked by GOTR and are forced to pull back to B.
The courtyard between A and B act as a swing mechanism for TRG’s attack. They setup a triage room in B where people can ressuply and get healed, and for the duration of the match bounce between A and B, using the courtyard and their troops at B as cover for their movements to A building. TRG has the advantage here through the close proximity of these points and the courtyard in between to field attacks against A whenever they wish. GOTR is still split and is forced to use the teleporter to spawn at C to attempt to flank the B building. All of TRG’s guns are pointed outward like some kind of angry, gnashing porcupine.
With 3:27 left on the clock TRG successfully capture all three points in Bravata and GOTR is sent back to the spawn room to coordinate another counter-attack. The hold on B has proven to be key to TRG’s attack on the Compound, while GOTR is forced into yet another fight or die situation. GOTR attempt a small attack on C with 4-5 infantry, die, then get picked up by a revive grenade but still fail to make a dent in the TRG Maxes.
TRG was split between three points and still holding strong. The cries of, “TRG TRG!” ring throughout the Twitch chat as GOTR comes barreling out of the C teleporter in a huge ZOE max crash that sends the TRG at C retreating or dying to the onslaught of lightning marked ZOE maxes.
The ZOE crash on C overwhelmes the defenders and with one minute left on the clock the crash rotates to B where a fight worthy of the thunder god breaks out between GOTR and TRG maxes. The points blink rapidly as infantry go back and forth between A and B to break the TRG lock. The medics for TRG are the stars of the moment here as they hold the line firm with their revives, and with 1:28 left on the clock they work in a frenzy to keep TRG up and in the fight.
Drop pods rain down from the sky and as the clock strikes 0 and Torkz calls the match TRG have control of both A and B. Sudden death! The ground is littered with bodies of friend and foe as the stream chat goes crazy with “Sudden Death!” exclamations. We spectators were treated to a TRG victory that was both hard fought for and earned.
1 point to TRG for controlling the majority of the points and 1 point to GOTR for controlling the hex.
Final score is 4-4 and both outfits are treated to a brief break as the casters get to organizing the final round in a journey that was littered with corpses, explosions, victory and defeat.
Sudden Death
Fogherty Damn bridge
No respawns, resupplies or drop pods. The only way back into the fight is by your own medics med-tool revives or revive grenades. The 24 from each outfit are lined at opposing ends of the bridge and the goal is simple: be the last man standing. You could almost chew on the tension in Twitch chat as both teams are lined up and ready to go. The casters are having laughing fits at the idea of a final standoff to what has been an amazing set of matches. Everyone’s anticipation is summarized by Torkz’s cry of, “YES!!!” as the last match ended and we are all eagerly awaiting the countdown to the bridge battle to end all bridge battles.
The countdown timer begins and as it hits 0 both outfits charge the bridge. TRG smoke their initial movements with a few smoke grenades and GOTR immediately respond by firing lashers across the bridge to suppress cross movements. Each outfit pushes on the exterior of the bridge, using the pillars as cover as they advance their lines to meet just a bit over halfway on TRG’s side.
Sardus isn’t taking any chances and begins a big push on the right side of the bridge, wiping out the defending GOTR squads. It looks like TRG has the match in their hands as both TRG sides begin a frontal assault on the defending GOTR lines when, out of nowhere, revive grenades begin splashing behind the TRG attack squads!
Those clutch revive grenades pick up the GOTR fallen and they have TRG in a sandwich.
Just as everyone thought TRG had the game GOTR wipes out the oncoming TRG attack from behind and in the end take out the few remaining TRG troops to seal the victory. There is so much confusion and disbelief that even as GOTR begin firing off victory rounds into the sky people are hard pressed to understand what just happened.
GOTR has won the match in a final score of 5-4 in a battle that took your breath away and left the casters reeling in laughter at the pure joy of what we all just beheld with our very own eyes. The match was decided by one revive grenade from across the bridge in a pass that even Pistol Pete would be proud of. The intensity, action, tug-of-war nature of the bridge battle serves as a symbol of all the matches up to that moment in time.
TRG and GOTR both held themselves very well in each round and during the in between sections of the battles Sardus and Robo acted as gentleman, displaying both good sportsmanship and a competitiveness that we can all aspire to as outfit leaders.
It is a good sign for things to come in the Planetside 2 eSports arena if we can still treat each other with respect and admiration even in the face of defeat. Planetside 2 is the game we love and the game we love to play, so our opponents are as much a sign of Planetside’s 2 success as our own in game exploits.
On Wednesday, 8/28/13 at 6pm PST Future Crew will be fighting The Iron Wolves. Both are extremely competitive outfits as Future Crew has proven they have what it takes by winning the Ultimate Squad Showdown at SOE Live this year and putting up impressive stats on the outfit leaderboards. TIW are ranked the #1 NC outfit in the game with an impressive #10 in the world to FC’s #6 rank. This looks to be another great battle for Community Clash and the community as we’ll be able to watch two of the best outfits in the world go head to head in a 24v24 brawl. The safe money goes to FC taking the victory but don’t count TIW out. They can compete with the best and are the outfit Jax of MLG fame helped form. This promises to be a good one.
This article originally appeared on TheMittani.com, written by kidRiot.
