SWG Basic Combat Training: TKO Hunting Group Methods and Tactics

§ I Introduction: About Groups

Objectives:
- Understand the fundamental aspects of efficient groups.
- Understand the general classifaction of group member roles.
- Consider what happens to qualify a group as good.

The power of variety in a group is that an individual's uncommon skills become the skills of the entire group. The power of singularity in a group is that common skills multiply efficiency when members apply them to the same task.

1. Group Efficiency
   People tend to group when it is more efficient to do so, which makes distinguishing individual from group goals an important part of helping a group run efficiently. The role each group member takes is their responsibility to fulfill, and this guide will aid you in understanding group roles, and how the actions and words of individuals affect the efficiency of a group, and the performance of other group members.
   1. The Single Most Important Task in Running an Efficient Group
      Reduce downtime. Anything including making preparations in town, healing in camp, indiscriminately throwing camps and fighting MOBs that have nothing to do with your group's plans adds downtime.
   2. Group Member's Who Know Their Roles
      This one comes down to predictability. When group members know their roles and practice them habitually, the other group members, including the GL, know where they are, what they are doing and what they will do. The importance of this is that no one has to take time look around to see what everyone is doing, or whether they have to take up the slack for a wayward group member. To a large degree, knowing your role comes down to knowing how to best use the skills on which your group is relying on you to use.
   3. Group Members Who Understand Other Members's Roles
      Another issues on the predictability list. Knowing what ranged, melee, medic and GL roles and responsibilities are and how your groupmates perform them helps you determine where you need to be and what you need to be doing. Sometimes, for example, an inexperienced group member (with high level skills or not) will be trying to figure out what to do or simply won't know to pay attention to something, and it has the potential to cause havoc in the group (such as if a group medic is having consistent trouble selecting targets for healing, the other group members with healing skills should be on their toes about healing themselves and those around them until the medic becomes more efficient).
   4. Group Members Who Follow Group Leader Instructions
      Yes, there's more than one way to eviscerate an Enraged Pubam Chieftain, but you only need one method, and that decision is up to the GL.
   5. A Group Leader Who Cuts the Slack
      It is the GL's job to get everyone on the same task, and each individual's strengths working for the group to reduce downtime and accomplish the group's goals. Sometimes this means being undemocratic or unceremoniously booting members out of the group.
2. Group Composition and Primary Roles
   Hunting and Fighting Groups in particular have four types of members described below. Specialty Groups, such as Scout, Exploration, Survey and ATST Killer Groups, may have members with particular specialties to complete their goals. In general, though, most groups will be Hunting Groups with these categories of members:
   1. Group Leader (GL)
      The role of GL has already been explained, but it may prove helpful to consider each GL as having important qualities which can be measured against the following rules.
      1. Decision Making Reliance
         Ranging from Democratic (takes action based on a majority of member votes) to Dictatorial (relies solely on personal experience and opinion). A GL who acts like a judge or a CEO of a board of directors, consulting with and hearing arguments from members but making final decisions him- or herself, will fall near the middle of this scale.
      2. Group Purpose Paradigm
         Ranging from Fun (is everyone having a good time?) to Functional (is everything getting done?). A GL who works toward both fun and function would fall near the middle of this scale.
      3. Sympathetic Nature
         Ranging from altruistic (being very giving, tending to teach and explain decisions) to parsimonious (being stingy, tending to offer no teaching or explanations for decisions).
   2. Combatants
      There are two general groups of combat skills: Ranged and Melee.
      1. Ranged Combat
         Ranged combat is distinguished by the ability to kite (to attack and run to avoid serious injury).The role of ranged combat is to support the tanks (the front line melee).
      2. Melee Combat
         Melee combat is distinguished by the ability to stop and hold MOBs. The role of melee combat is to prevent ranged combatants from being attacked.
   3. Healers
      There are two types of healers: Medics and Entertainers.
      1. Medics
         Medics are distinguished by their ability to heal, buff (temporarily improve) or debuff (wound) Health- and Action-related stats. The role of Medic is to keep group members on their feet.
      2. Entertainers
         Entertainers are distinguished by their ability to heal and buff Mind-related stats, and to heal Battle Fatigue (BF). The role of Entertainer is to use combat or medic skills to support the group while in combat, and to heal Mind-related damage in camp, and BF in town.
   4. Pets
      Player-controlled creatures (MOBs gone good) or faction personnel (ATST, Rebel or Imperials Commandos, et al). Pets are used primarily to tank and pull, much like melee, and keep MOB attention off other gruop members.
3. Good Group Experiences
   A good group experience is an emotional event that may have nothing to do with efficiency and everything to do with getting killed by dragons. You're lucky to get into a group wherein everyone shares the same likes, dislikes, attitudes and playstyles. Generally speaking, though, there are two kinds of good groups:
   1. A group that efficiently gets from Alpha to Zed
   2. A group that has a lot of fun without getting to Zed.
   A great group accomplishes both.