For a Google Doc version follow this link: CC2 Competition Strategy (Complete Loadout) 2023[docs.google.com]

This plan is intended to be used in Carrier Command 2 player versus player tournaments held on Tricky’s discord server. Mods used in this match include the following:

• Captains Controls
  
• Turbo Barges
  
• Gentle Missile Speed Buff
  
• AA/TV Missile Rebalance
  
• Albatross AWACS with UI enhancer

This plan is an aggressive strategy targeted at hostile player carriers starting on adjacent warehouse islands. Foreknowledge of which teams are a greater threat will help you choose which team to attack and which team to register for prior to the event for island placement. This plan is only written for attacking one team at a time and does not contain contingencies against a third intervening team nor does it consider alliances with other teams. This plan is a guideline and not a step-by-step manual. A crew should exercise good judgment to make the best decisions given their unique situation they may find themselves in. The sole purpose of this plan is to dismantle a hostile team’s air force, allowing your team to gather resources for a lethal carrier air strike.

Implementation of this strategy also heavily relies on players’ ability to win Manta versus Manta dogfights using a 20mm autocannon, use TV missiles in dogfights, use AA missiles in BVR engagements, and dodge AA/CIWS fire in all aircraft. If these skills are not possessed by members of the crew, it is recommended that the crew practices these skills with the listed mods before the main event.

Reasoning behind this strategy stems from experience in the Tricky’s PVP series, specifically games 3, 12, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21:

Duel at Mnemonic (Tricky's #3)
GRNO Carrier Command 2 PVP Tricky's 12
Grim Reapers vs The World (Tricky's #17, Part 1)
Grim Reapers vs The World (Tricky's #17, Part 2)
Fast Carrier Strike (Tricky's #18, Part 1)
Duel at Duessa (Tricky's #18, part 2)
Cat n Mouse (Tricky's #19)

1. Destroy enemy air assets and repel air attack waves
2. Damage enemy carrier using air assets

The establishment of air superiority accomplishes multiple goals:

1. Restricting the enemy’s use of aircraft severely limits their options for attack plans.
2. Without the use of aircraft, hostile island capture is slowed dramatically.
3. Without air cover, hostile ground units such as ground chassis and ships are extremely vulnerable to air attack.
4. The destruction of the majority of an enemy’s air force has a serious degrading impact on their morale, typically characterized by hopelessness in the face of difficult odds.

When starting a match, it is important to consider the possibility of a massive immediate hostile air attack. To defend from such an attack, the preparation of Mantas and Albatrosses with AA/TV missiles and AWACS is the best way to counter this event. It is important that no matter how many airframes you deploy, you should always have a high number of AA missiles in the air ready to fire on soft targets (aircraft which aren’t Mantas). Rotorcraft such as Razorbill and Petrel are of limited use in defending against air attacks and should only be used as a last resort in this use case. Rotorcraft should instead be focused on island capture and deployed after the launch of combat air patrol (CAP) aircraft. One exception to this is the use of a Razorbill to provide flare coverage over a carrier during an enemy IR missile strike. Deploying airborne IR countermeasures is an excellent way to redirect IR missiles away from your carrier.

To support the high usage of aircraft, AA missiles, and flares, the following supplies should be ordered as quickly as possible to the carrier.

• 50 AA missiles
  
• 8 Flare Launchers
  
• 200 Flares
  
• 2 Albatross Chassis
  
• 2 Razorbill Chassis

It is important to launch your CAP aircraft first in order to be ready to intercept incoming attack aircraft far from the carrier. It is recommended that the slower AWACS carrying albatross be deployed first since the faster Mantas can easily catch up through supersonic flight. Once the first wave of CAP aircraft are in the air, then you should launch your island capture aircraft as quickly as possible including close air support (CAS) and anti-shipping aircraft.

It is recommended to keep your CAP aircraft halfway between your carrier position and the last known location of the hostile carrier. This will allow early detection of incoming air attacks and provide ample opportunity to intercept high speed enemy Manta aircraft. To help manage a large number of aircraft in the operator screen, it may be helpful to order aircraft to fly in formation together in a looping pattern or around a hold point. The AWACS aircraft should always be escorted closely by a CAP Manta (within 2 kilometers). It is also worth noting that oftentimes experienced teams will send large waves of aircraft far outside the edge of the map on one-way carrier strike missions. CAP search patterns should be built to account for this possibility. During the early stages of the game, you should also try to keep your barge safe by setting patrols to cover its location. Losing your only barge in the beginning of a match can be a serious strategic loss for your team.

To maintain constant CAP cover, it is important to rotate your aircraft in and out of patrols regularly to prevent running out of fuel. When operating far from the carrier, it is recommended to launch a replacement aircraft when the current aircraft is at 50% fuel and order the current aircraft to return to the carrier when it reaches 35%-40% fuel.

It can be very difficult and time consuming to destroy hostile Mantas piloted by players. This is why when given the choice between engaging hard air targets (Mantas) or engaging soft air targets (Albatross, Razorbill, Petrel), the pilot should always prioritize engaging the soft air targets first. Probability of kill is far greater when firing an AA missile at a soft air target and the engagement typically lasts only a few seconds at long range (4-6 kilometers). Commitment to an engagement against hostile player Mantas typically lasts 1-2 full minutes and probability of kill is far lower, closer to 50%. It is far more efficient from a resource management and time management standpoint to engage soft air targets before hard air targets, especially when soft target aircraft typically serve in special operations roles (Bear drop, Radar drop, Virus drop, AWACS, flare escort, noisemaker escort, IR missile attack). The destruction of soft air targets is often of great strategic importance while the destruction of hard air targets is of tactical importance.

AA Missiles

When firing AA missiles, it is vital to only use them at long range. An AA missile’s range is not dependent on target lock and is typically effective between 2-5km. Within 1km, the AA missile does not have the maneuverability to track a target and will normally miss. During a head-on engagement, fire your AA missile at 4km to ensure the missile tracks the enemy target and you have plenty of time to dodge the incoming enemy missile. AA missiles have a high probability of kill on Albatrosses and Petrels, typically 80%. This is less for the flare-equipped Razorbill at 60%. Probability of kill for an AA missile fired at an enemy Manta is very low, close to 20%. Thus, only a maximum of 1 AA missile should be spent on an enemy Manta to prevent wasting your ammunition for other targets which are more likely to be destroyed. Recent in-game testing found AA missiles can track targets flying head-on when fired at 6 km from the hostile air target. A coordinated ground control intercept officer (GCI) and pilot pair make it possible to fire on enemy aircraft without flying into the default 5 km detection radius given to all aircraft without AWACS equipped.

20mm Autocannon

The 20mm Autocannon should only be equipped on Mantas in low numbers (1-2 weapon slots) to prevent running out of inventory when aircraft are shot down. The pilot should always use the 20mm Autocannon in a turning fight (dogfight, or ACM) with the target locked to provide an aiming dot. During a dogfight, keep the throttle between 95%-100% and position your aircraft behind the enemy in the circle, not above them. Keep in mind that in Carrier Command 2, turn rate is determined mostly by airspeed, and airspeed is primarily determined by pitch input. To keep your airspeed high, pay attention to your pitch, lowering it for more airspeed.During a dogfight, be mindful of your surroundings, natural hazards, and other hostile units. If you must disengage from a dogfight, keep a high speed with your aircraft and make small subtle dodges to evade hostile gunfire from the rear.

Only when all hostile air assets are destroyed, the 20mm Autocannon should be used against hostile player ground units in strafing runs which may have been deployed for island capture or dropped from a destroyed Petrel.

TV Missiles

The TV missile is a special tool that can be utilized by a solo pilot or a crew of two players. In a solo engagement, use the operator screen to order the Manta to engage an enemy manta with guns using built-in AI. Then enter the vehicle control screen, select the TV Missile, then destroy the other aircraft. The Manta AI is surprisingly good at evading fire in a dogfight for short periods of time (less than 30 seconds) and can even beat inexperienced players using guns. When two players are available, the pilot should continue the gun engagement as normal while the second pilots the TV missile to destroy the enemy Manta. Besides use in a dogfight, TV missiles can also be used to shoot down a Manta flying at maximum speed. As long as the mothership aircraft is being piloted by a player, chasing the enemy Manta at maximum speed and staying within 5km, the TV missile can shoot down supersonic aircraft before they reach their target.

IR Missiles

IR Missiles should not be used in air to air engagements to destroy aircraft. They can be used to chase an aircraft like a trailing flare to indicate their direction of flight, but its slow speed often allows hostile aircraft to dodge or outrun this missile. Despite their low probability of kill, they should always be fired indefinitely from land-based turrets whenever hostile aircraft enter their range. It should also be noted that an IR missile trailing a Manta will deplete some, if not all of the Manta's IR countermeasures making them more vulnerable to AA missiles.

Ship AA Missiles and Other Ground Fire

When plotting CAP routes, always be mindful of the AA missile engagement range of a Swordfish protecting a level 2 island or higher. Oftentimes, CAP aircraft can be shot down while flying at 2000m due to an un-scouted Swordfish loitering near an island. Be sure to check with gimbal cameras for ships when flying near islands. To avoid other hazards such as CIWS fire from ships or ground units, it is recommended to keep CAP patterns at or above 1100m in altitude. Also keep in mind that the 4km engagement range of ship AA missiles is a spherical range. Keeping your CAP routes at 2000m allows your aircraft to fly up to 3.46km laterally within a swordfish on the operator panel before entering the 4km slant range.

Deep Water Launch and Recovery

The greatest natural hazard to CAP aircraft are large ocean waves on takeoff and recovery. When launching aircraft, use the small deck hold release buttons to time the launch with the carrier deck pointed towards the sky. This allows aircraft to be launched when underway in deep water with tall waves. Try to position the final approach leg of the carrier’s traffic pattern over shallow water to prevent the aircraft from flying into tall waves. If this is not a viable option, pilot the carrier to keep the ship at the crest of a wave such that no tall waves are blocking the landing approach for the runway.

Island Structures

To keep aircraft from flying into island terrain or buildings in the traffic pattern, position the left side of the carrier to be entirely over water.

During the phase of contested air power, most enemy teams will be fixated on the capture of islands and the destruction of your carrier. Take advantage of this fixation by prioritizing the destruction of their air assets. If you are successful in catching the enemy team by surprise during an island capture of air strike, it is vital to destroy as many soft air targets as quickly as possible. It only takes 40 seconds for the enemy to launch a Manta fitted for air to air combat in response to your incursion on their operations. Most players will not protect their island capture aircraft with CAP cover. Those who do will typically only designate 1 CAP Manta for this purpose. This means as long as you send 2 Mantas to interrupt a hostile island capture, 1 can distract the CAP aircraft while the other engages soft air targets.

When a hostile team begins losing a large number of aircraft, they will typically abandon their current operational plan and retreat beyond the fuel range of your aircraft. If this happens, it is encouraged to recall your aircraft to refuel and rearm while the enemy is in retreat.

During the phase of contested airspace, it is important to keep your carrier well behind the front lines of the battlefield. Hostile teams are likely to launch air strikes against your carrier and keeping distance allows you to have time to react to these attacks. To maximize opportunities for safe aircraft launch and recovery, try to keep the carrier parked in the shallow waters of a friendly island. When a hostile carrier airstrike is detected, move your carrier away from your last known location towards an unexpected direction. This can often be off the edge of the map far from any islands. To remain hidden, turn off your carrier radar, lights, and restrict aircraft launches when absolutely necessary (taxiing aircraft on deck produces blinking lights). You can even pilot the carrier to remain in the trough of large waves to reduce your silhouette against the horizon. Remember to stay away from barges during hostile airstrikes, or send barges in directions to confuse the enemy.

Tricky’s 3 (Default Loadout)

In this match, Team Vanislayer (VS) initiated contact 5 minutes into the match with a lone AWACS Albatross scout aircraft. This aircraft was quickly shot down by a Team Grim Reapers (GR) AWACS/CAP aircraft at 1.5km a distance of 10 km from the GR Carrier while they were capturing islands.

At 10 minutes into the match, GR recognizes the need to boost their CAP presence in anticipation for a hostile carrier airstrike, but it is too late. At this time, a flight of 2 IR Missile carrying Albatrosses enters the GR Area of Operations (AO), dodging AA missile fire from the lone CAP aircraft. Both VS aircraft scored direct hits with their IR Missiles before being destroyed by CIWS fire.

At 12 minutes, VS carrier, gun carrying Razorbill, and IR missile Albatross entered within 10km of GR and initiated combined cruise missile, IR Missile, and torpedo attacks causing GR to retreat with their carrier in the opposite direction at low carrier health.

This situation demonstrates the consequences which can result from insufficient CAP cover and early warning. Despite the early loss of a scout aircraft, VS were able to maintain air dominance in the following minutes to inflict damage on the GR carrier.

Tricky’s 12 (Complete Loadout)

In this match Team Grim Reapers (GR) engaged the opposition force (OPFOR), obtaining visual contact beyond 10km at 10 minutes with a scout heavy bombing carrier air strike Manta.

At 12 minutes, a GR CAP Manta destroys an OPFOR island capture Petrel alone over the ocean. At this time, GR begins launching 3 carrier strike Mantas now that the OPFOR approximate location is known. GR has not at this point established positive air superiority over OPFOR.

At 13 minutes and OPFOR CAP Manta engages the GR CAP Manta with guns and AA missiles. All AA missiles miss at close range, but one stray OPFOR AA missile destroys a nearby GR AWACS Albatross. OPFOR CAP aircraft managed to distract the GR carrier strike Manta long enough for OPFOR to launch 3 CAP aircraft.

At 16 minutes, the original GR carrier strike Manta is destroyed by OPFOR carrier AA missiles.

At 18 minutes, OPFOR destroys another GR AWACS Albatross and engages all GR CAP Mantas at a distance greater than 10km from the OPFOR Carrier.

At 20 Minutes, GR’s carrier strike flight approaches their target, firing at long range leading to medium damage to the OPFOR carrier.

At 21 minutes, the OPFOR carrier begins to retreat to a nearby friendly island in the opposite direction of GR.

In this case, GR failed to establish total air superiority over the OPFOR prior to carrier airstrikes. This led to inaccurate weapon drops from pilots under pressure, and less damage done to the OPFOR carrier than was possible. This pressure persisted from OPFOR CAP aircraft, disrupting a Bear drop operation, harassing the GR carrier, and drawing out the engagement to last an hour while at the same time draining GR of air assets, supplies, credits, and more importantly time to deal with the two other teams on the map.

Tricky’s 14 (Complete Loadout)

In this case Team Grim Reapers (GR) spawned next to the only two aircraft islands in the map. Using this to their advantage, they launched regular air attacks against two nearby opposing teams while a third team, opposition force (OPFOR), gained a foothold in many islands on the opposite side of the map. When GR began hunting the OPFOR carrier, they met stiff resistance in the form of constant OPFOR CAP Mantas and early warning AWACS Albatross. GR slowly attritied OPFOR aircraft in engagements, but GR was unable to locate the OPFOR carrier for 5.5 hours. When the OPFOR carrier revealed its location at one of the airframe production islands with a massive flotilla of CIWS Needlefish, GR was able to destroy their carrier with two large waves of heavy bombing Mantas. This case is a clear example of the difference a well-operated combat air patrol can have on the dynamic of a battle. In this case, it allowed OPFOR to conceal their position long enough to attempt a comeback despite an obvious disadvantage of a lack of aircraft.

Tricky’s 17 (Complete Loadout)

In this match, Team Grim Reapers (GR) engaged the opposition force (OPFOR) along the southern edge of a map with 3 islands between the teams’ starting islands. GR initially fixates on a dual island capture and does not even turn on the carrier radar until 10 minutes into the match. When the radar is turned on, it reveals a flight of four OPFOR aircraft within 10km approaching the GR carrier fast while GR has no CAP cover. GR immediately scrambles a CAP Manta but it is too late to prevent the loss of all the island capture aircraft in the immediate vicinity. The GR CAP Manta engages the OPFOR aircraft, successfully destroying 1 Manta before being destroyed by a second OPFOR CAP Manta. Another 2 GR CAP Mantas are destroyed 16 minutes into the match, causing GR to retreat with their carrier in the opposite direction. At 17 minutes, OPFOR establishes positive air superiority over GR, tracking their movements on the retreat. This situation highlights the effect of a successful air dominance campaign on a hostile which is caught by surprise during island capture operations.

Tricky’s 18 (Complete Loadout, Dual Carrier)

In this match, Team Grim Reapers (GR) fought against the opposition force (OPFOR) in a match where two teams had access to two carriers each. GR initiated contact with a massive wave of at least 6 Albatross IR Missile carrier strike aircraft with 2 Escort Mantas. OPFOR had already dispatched 2 CAP Mantas in the direction of the airframe island closest to GR’s home island, but in doing so were not prepared to intercept the wave of strike aircraft skirting around the extreme edge of the map. GR’s strike aircraft were all shot down but were able to destroy one of the OPFOR carriers within 10 minutes of starting the match. Following this event, OPFOR secured an airframe production island and manufactured Mantas while performing harassment attacks in the center of the map to stall for production time. Once 6 extra Mantas were produced, OPFOR drove their carrier towards the uncaptured airframe production island closest to GR in anticipation for an island capture. OPFOR successfully established positive air superiority over GR as they attempted a capture of the remaining airframe production island, however, the OPFOR carrier strayed too close to Bear units and suffered significant damage before charging the GR carrier and being destroyed with 160mm rounds. This situation could have turned out far differently if OPFOR instead remained at a large distance from GR, perhaps near their airframe production island. GR had run out of aircraft and would not have been able to defend from air attacks. Once again, this is an example where putting the carrier in unnecessary risk resulted in a loss that could have resulted in a win. Air superiority is useless if it is not used to support air operations. Opting for surface warfare in a carrier during a phase of air superiority is a waste.

Phase 2 of this plan outlines the following goals:

1. Apply pressure on the enemy team
2. Disrupt the operations of the enemy team
3. Destroy the enemy carrier using a series of airstrikes

The first step in planning an air strike is knowing what effect you wish to have on the target. The following table displays damage statistics for an aircraft carrier:

Credit: Mr. Scoot https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2849245295
According to these statistics, a flight of 5 Albatrosses with 4 IR Missiles each is capable of destroying a carrier in one attack run. This assumes all missiles impact the carrier, but this assumption can be easily made if a lead aircraft such as a Manta can disable CIWS turrets and AA missile launchers using targeted strikes on carrier subsystems. This strategy can be attempted with starting warehouse supplies in a complete loadout match. The most difficult attack to defend against is the flight of 3 Mantas with 4 Rocket Pods each.

CIWS

The most dangerous weapon system on the hostile carrier against aircraft are the four CIWS turrets located on each corner of the ship. Each turret fixates on one target and will continue to track the target in one axis of flight until it is destroyed. This means a CIWS turret which has locked an aircraft will not engage other targets like IR missiles or other aircraft as long as it is engaged with the first target. CIWS turrets also cannot depress their barrel below the plane of the deck. This makes the carrier vulnerable to wavetop level strikes. If targeted by a CIWS weapon system, dodge by diving to increase airspeed and fly in a corkscrew pattern (not a barrel roll). This system is difficult to destroy since there are four of them and they do not run out of ammunition quickly. However, destroying these systems will allow better accuracy on bombing runs and allow easier targeting of ship subsystems.

AA missile array

The second most dangerous weapon system to aircraft is the AA missile launcher array. This system is a threat primarily to slow-moving rotorcraft. Fixed-wing craft can dodge incoming AA missiles by suddenly changing direction before the missile impacts. This is easier to accomplish at higher airspeeds. Destroying this subsystem is somewhat easier due to its centralized location on the side of the ship and its long reload time.

When hunting an enemy carrier, the first step is to establish constant air superiority. Keep CAP aircraft in the vicinity of the hostile carrier ready to engage aircraft as they are launched. Wait until the airspace is clear before moving in with strike aircraft. When performing long-range carrier air strikes, it is preferable to use many low-risk attacks with high probability of aircraft recovery than a single high-risk air attack where aircraft recovery is unlikely. The advantage of air superiority allows you time to gather resources and outlast the enemy team with regards to logistics. Release all missile-type weapons after your aircraft passes within CIWS range to ensure all missiles hit their target. Releasing missiles outside CIWS range results in some missiles being intercepted (1-2 missiles intercepted). To successfully attack a carrier with missiles outside CIWS engagement range, it is important to saturate the CIWS defenses by releasing many missiles at once (at least 3).

Barge Hunting

If the hostile carrier has successfully evaded your scout aircraft, the next best alternative is to disrupt the enemy supply line by hunting barges or needlefish. A barge has 80% the HP of an aircraft carrier but this does not necessarily correlate to damage done to a barge. Depending on the weapon, more damage may be inflicted, for example, 1 manta carrying 5 heavy bombs in a game with the albatross AWACS is capable of destroying a barge. The table below shows how many weapons are needed to destroy a barge:

• When under attack from a carrier air strike and without air cover, a hostile player’s first instinct will be to launch any remaining CAP aircraft as quickly as possible. This will give you 40 seconds to engage and leave before the aircraft takes off.
  
• The enemy will rapidfire many AA missiles, (a maximum of 8). This can be effective against soft air targets but not Mantas.
  
• The enemy will activate their CIWS defenses causing power drain and a reduction of speed. A fast carrier can be an indication that the CIWS defenses are offline.
  
• The enemy will also drive the carrier erratically, using sharp turns or reverse thrust to evade weapons.
  
• Oftentimes, driving into deep water with tall waves can defend an enemy carrier from missiles by using waves as cover or even jumping over torpedoes.
  
• The enemy may keep their ship near a friendly island with IR missile turrets to fire upon incoming aircraft.
  
• The enemy may deploy ground chassis in the water with CIWS or IR missile attachments to support defense against aircraft and missiles.
  
• The enemy will drive the carrier away from the direction of attack to escape the fuel range of the aircraft.

During this phase of operations, it is recommended to keep your aircraft carrier far away from the front line of the battlefield, parked in the shallow waters of an aircraft production island to safely launch and recover an unlimited stream of aircraft.

Tricky’s 3 (Default Loadout)

Following a period of air dominance, Team Vanislayer (VS) engaged Team Grim Reapers (GR) in surface warfare. During this time, VS lost air dominance, allowing GR to maintain an airborne artillery spotting aircraft which ultimately fired the 160mm rounds which ended the match, destroying VS. This is an example of what happens when air superiority is not maintained into the carrier air strike phase of operations and the unnecessary risk involved in committing aircraft carriers to surface action.

Tricky’s 12 (Complete Loadout)

In this match, Team Grim Reapers fought a constant battle for air superiority with the opposition force (OPFOR) with no clear winner. Both sides experienced high rates of lost aircraft and GR executed many partially successful carrier airstrikes in this contested airspace. The failure to maintain air superiority during carrier airstrikes resulted in less effective damage done to the OPFOR carrier causing the engagement to last an unnecessarily long length of time (1 hour)..

Tricky’s 14 (Complete Loadout)

In this match, Team Grim Reapers maintained positive air superiority due largely in part to a monopoly on airframe production. This strategic advantage allowed them to project airpower across the entire map and wipe out every team after enough time.

Tricky’s 17 (Complete Loadout)

In this match, Team Grim Reapers (GR) is retreating from the opposition force (OPFOR) after losing many aircraft. OPFOR accomplished positive air superiority 17 minutes into the match and proceeded with carrier airstrikes. GR recognized their attrition of aircraft and paused the deployment of air assets while they attempted evasive maneuvers with their carrier near a friendly island laden with IR missile turrets. OPFOR successfully executes 2 small-scale strikes against the GR carrier and 1 unsuccessful Bear drop before presenting their carrier on radar 10km away from GR with complete air dominance. The commitment of the OPFOR carrier was a fatal mistake in this engagement because it presented GR with a reason to justify launching strike aircraft. These strike aircraft got through the CAP screen and destroyed the OPFOR carrier before the OPFOR carrier could close distance for a surface engagement. The pursuit of the GR carrier with the OPFOR carrier also exposed the OPFOR carrier to traps in the water. Overall, OPFOR took an unnecessary risk in closing distance with their carrier and could have won had they kept their distance and focused on maintaining air superiority.

Tricky’s 18 (Complete Loadout, Dual Carrier)

In this match, Team Grim Reapers lost air superiority to the opposition force (OPFOR). Here, they were exposed to air attacks, however OPFOR did not take advantage of their air superiority and instead lost their final carrier in unnecessary surface action.

With the suppression of the most dangerous team on the map, your crew should now be ready to win the rest of the match uncontested. Remember to prioritize the capture of airframe islands as quickly as possible to maintain air superiority and utilize your starting supplies to the fullest extent.

If you have lost this engagement, try to hold a debrief with the opposing team to understand what mistakes were made and how you can improve your strategy for the next event. Always challenge yourself to face new opponents and greater odds. Experience is the best teacher.

The best way to improve your skill in preparation for pvp tournaments is to play regular sessions against players in established multiplayer servers. This will not only improve your strategy, but also help you network with the player community and form relationships with fellow players who you might one day want to be on a crew with.

Use your best judgment, and learn from your mistakes.

Good hunting.

- Trench1936