THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO THE WCR
by Cougar
Hello everyone! Believe it or not, good ole Cougar is about to be 100% serious and to the point in the following thread (hard to believe, I know), because it is about something that is incredibly misunderstood, envied, dreaded, hated, loved, sought after and controversial. Yes friends, I am talking about the one and only War College Ribbon or better known as the WCR. In this guide I hope to answer the vast majority of questions, put to rest most of the myths and in the process, give a few tips and pointers as to some of the things I did to get it. As a warning, this thread will probably be really long and if you don't want to sit and read it all, the "Back" button is at the top left corner of your screen just below "File" (For IE users). Now, lets get to it shall we?
Part 1: The ribbon and the requirements.
For anyone who has been playing the game and looking around in UBAR or viewing their stats you probably already know what the ribbon looks like and what the requirements are. But for the people who may not, this is the ribbon:
And these are the requirements:
IAR: 45 Commander Points (before 2x)
50h command time
3 win loss ratio
I will go into detail on the requirements as to quell any and all debate as to what they mean. 50 hours of command time is just that, 50 Hours...as the commander. 45 Commander points IAR means you have to have 45 points WHILE elected commander of your team AND before the 2x bonus at the end if your team wins. You cannot have 25 points and then a 2x bonus, that does not count. Also if you have 10 points before you go commander and then get 35 commander points, that also, does not count. It is quite simply 45 Commander points while elected commander in 1 round of play before the round ends.
Now the 3:1 Win/Loss ratio. This simply means in your stats you must win 3 rounds to every 1 loss. If you have 500 losses you need 1500 wins to have a 3:1. If you look at the top of your stats page here at bf2s.com directly in the middle there is a section for the W:L, and Chuy has even added a feature that tells you how many wins you are away from getting the 3:1 if you just mouse over the numbers that are underlined. Pretty simple huh? Go thank Chuy.
Hopefully by now you understand the requirements if you didn't already.
Part 2: The Commander
In all sense, this award is designed as a commander award. You're going to have to be on top of your game as a commander for 50 hours to get this. I say that because the best way to get the 3:1 ratio is to command a team and lead it to victory yourself. You can do more for your team by being a shithot commander than you ever could by being an armor whore. A great commander can easily turn the tide of a battle in their favor by "manipulating" their team into doing certain things. What I mean by this is, you can make your team do very specific things without them realizing you are doing it. Psychology 101 folks, use it to your advantage. In example:
Tank whore is driving past the MEC controlled gatehouse on his way to rape the MEC main by himself. Normally this is a good thing but being that you just saw three tanks and 4 infantry at that flag you know he is going to die. On the other hand there is no one at Gatehouse. What to do? Drop a supply crate on the flag and then deploy a UAV over the area. Tank whore see's the supplies and also see's on the UAV there is no one around, so he goes up there and ends up taking the flag as opposed to going to the MEC main and getting raped.
That is one example of thousands, but I'm sure you guys can be creative and come up with some of your own.
Commander tools and knowing how to use them is a huge "plus" as well. Do a scan every single time that thing reloads so you are up to date on where every enemy on the map is at ALL times. If you notice a red blip behind the front line, notify your troops via TEXT CHAT (NOT VoIP, some people don't have it enabled, don't have speakers or will completely ignore you), via VoIP only squad leaders can hear you, but through text, everyone on the team hears about it, and more times than not someone will react and take care of the situation. In the case no one does and you have the ability to, do it yourself. Anything you can do yourself that will free up a troop to do something somewhere else is the best and most important thing you can do for your team. Commanders essentially are "Force Multipliers".
Learn when and where UAV's can be most useful and cover the greatest number of enemy troops, unless you are using for a specialty mission as stated in the example using the tank whore at the Gatehouse. UAV's are built in hacks basically, so why not use the HELL out of it. Deploy them as often as possible to give your team that extra "umpfh" that the other team may not have because thier commander is being a medic whore in the alley at the Hotel on Karkand. You also need to be able to place artillery effectively, but that is pretty self explanatory....just aim for the big red blip.
Supplies are your ultimate advantage. You can sway even the most non-team play having tank whore into a tight spot as long as he has a supply crate to keep feeding him ammo and health. Pop those babies whenever possible to the most strategic spots you can find in order to lure a tank or a squad of infantry to a specific location. You can also bait enemy soldiers in with supply crates and then nuke them with arty. Supplies=Friend.
After 50 Hours as a commander you should have your own little tricks and you should also have an expert knowledge in how to use this wonderful feature to the utmost of it's ability to help you team achieve wins. Winning after all is the whole purpose of being a commander in quest of the WCR.
Part 3: The Dreaded 3:1
Here is the hard part, getting the dad-gum 3:1. Personally, I will tell you to start EARLY, I'm talking two days after you start up an account to start working for this ribbon. If you are a Colonel with 4500 losses and a 1.09 W:L, your probably SOL, unless winning 12,000 rounds in a row excites you. In a nutshell 3:1 is extremely hard and nearly impossible playing as a reg on a public server. What you need is a small (yes SMALL) 16 man server. 16 man servers playing 16 man maps are the absolute perfect place to go after the WCR. The rounds only last 5 to 10 minutes which means if you do happen to get a loss, you can make up for it in 20 minutes as opposed to 3 hours. 16 man/16 map Karkand servers are the absolute best if you manage to get on the MEC team as a commander. It is nearly impossible to lose, even a team of Terry Shiavo commandos couldn't lose that map if you manage to drain the Americans for more than 2 minutes, there’s only 100 tickets!!! Get commander, go Anti-Tank, climb to the top of the Square building and deny access to that and the back flag and drop UAV's for your team at the front. It's that simple. A monkey could do it. If you start going for the 3:1 early playing these maps, by the time your 50 Hours for commander are up, you already have the 3:1 and it is just a matter of going into a big server to get the 45 points. Simple simple simple.
Part 4: Myths
Myth #1: Team switching.
Contrary to popular belief, this DOES NOT WORK, PERIOD. You have to switch before 1/4 of the tickets are gone. Meaning on a round with 300 tickets, you have to switch before your team reaches 230 tickets. That early in the game...WHO CARES? The round can always flip flop and by that point you are out of luck. It is better to go down with your ship. Believe me, I tested this theory when I was going for the ribbon and it is 100% true. Switch teams with 80 tickets left, wait for the round to end and then go check your stats. You will have one more loss than before. Switch with 230 tickets, you have 1 more win.
(Note: I have had conflicting reports as to wether or not this is still the case, things may have changed in recent patches. I will re-test the team switching theory when I get a chance and update the post accordingly)
Myth #2: Disconnecting.
False, yet again. If you disconnect before a round ends, guess what, you still get a loss. The ranked feature will save a snapshot of your points until the round is over once you join a game. Point in example, have you ever been disconnected in the middle of a round and then tried to re-connect to the same server? What happened when you got back in? You still had all your points didn't you? This is because it saves your score, and if you disconnect, you still get charged with a loss. Unfortunately, this does not work the other way, if you get disconnected on a winning team, you do not get a win. It sucks, I know.
Myth #3: Only server admin’s have this award.
Wrong again. I am not currently or have I ever been an admin on a BF2 server, and looky looky what I got in my sig.
Myth #4: The only way to get this award is through team switching.
Once again, WRONG. I've already told you that you do not receive credit for team switching, and besides, if you follow the guide YOU DON'T NEED TOO!
Myth #5: If your W:L falls below 3:1 after you get the award it goes away.
Nope. I stopped caring about my W:L after I got it and it fell to 2.39:1. I've still got mine.
Part 5: Tips and Hints (Major Contributor=voltage)
"If you plan to continue with your post I hope you name more maps-size-sides where win is likely, I've had enough of Karkand for a lifetime. Perhaps a small list."
Thats a great idea voltage. Here would be some of the maps that I personally recommend for an easy win:
16 Man Karkand on the MEC team.
16 Man Sharqi on the USMC team.
Any Wake Island map as Chinese
32 Man Dalian Plant on the Chinese team.
32 Man Dragon Valley on the Chinese team.
16 Man Daqing Oilfields on the USMC team.
"If you get to know a map well, you can identify good starts and bad starts, eg if your side takes the centre island on Zatar. If the other side does it early it's a sign they know how to play the map and you might want to disconnect right away."
That is correct. If you join a server thats just starting or on a team that manages to screw the pooch 5 minutes into the game, you might want to try to switch before the 1/4 ticket cutoff has passed. Also if you disconnect EARLY enough, it is possible you will not be charged with the loss. This however is highly hypothetical. Bring your own weapons, saftey not guaranteed.
"Don't join a game which is half-way through, one team will be loosing and that's where mr auto-balance will put you."
I kicked myself in the ass after writing this and then reading that from for not thinking of that in the first place. He is absoultly correct guys, never ever ever ever never ever join a server that is halfway over. 90% of the time you will be on the wrong team due to AB. Always look in the server preview pane at the bottom of the server browser before joining a server. Ideally you want to join a server where everyones score is still under 10.
(Minor addition by ThomasMorgan: If you join halfway through a round and the teams are even and you are the odd man out, you can pretty much choose your team for the fact that autobalance cannot balance and odd number such as 30-31.)
Kudo's to voltage for the idea's that I missed! +1 dude. +1 to ThomasMorgan as well!
Part 6: Conclusion.
The WCR is indeed a very hard ribbon to get, so hard in fact, that the vast majority of BF2 players will never see it, hence an extreme hatred for the ribbon and people who have by those who never will. They will always downplay and discredit the ribbon because they will never have it and therefore think no one else should have it either. In all honesty, anyone who times it right and has the intelligence to do it right can get this ribbon. It isn't some ghost ribbon that can't be obtained and it isn't a demon ribbon to be had only by cheaters and padders. The requirements are not to hard, they are right where they should be, on a pedestal slightly taller than the rest. It is the one and only award in BF2 that has any kind of originality and a sense of accomplishment to boot. People who whine and cry about the requirements really do not deserve it to begin with, being that anyone who wants it is going to have to put a lot of time and effort into it, making the ribbon worth a damn to those who have it. I have the utmost respect for people who have as I know what a royal pain in the ass it is to get.
I hope this guide either helped you, answered some questions for you, taught you something or hell, maybe even all three. CONSTRUCTIVE criticism is more than welcome and if I left something out let me know and I'll add it in. Hopefully this will put an end to the 4 million WCR question threads that assault our eyes on a daily basis and possibly even shut some of the whiners and myth gossiping retards up.
For all those who have it congrats and for all those trying, good luck!
by Cougar
Hello everyone! Believe it or not, good ole Cougar is about to be 100% serious and to the point in the following thread (hard to believe, I know), because it is about something that is incredibly misunderstood, envied, dreaded, hated, loved, sought after and controversial. Yes friends, I am talking about the one and only War College Ribbon or better known as the WCR. In this guide I hope to answer the vast majority of questions, put to rest most of the myths and in the process, give a few tips and pointers as to some of the things I did to get it. As a warning, this thread will probably be really long and if you don't want to sit and read it all, the "Back" button is at the top left corner of your screen just below "File" (For IE users). Now, lets get to it shall we?
Part 1: The ribbon and the requirements.
For anyone who has been playing the game and looking around in UBAR or viewing their stats you probably already know what the ribbon looks like and what the requirements are. But for the people who may not, this is the ribbon:
And these are the requirements:
IAR: 45 Commander Points (before 2x)
50h command time
3 win loss ratio
I will go into detail on the requirements as to quell any and all debate as to what they mean. 50 hours of command time is just that, 50 Hours...as the commander. 45 Commander points IAR means you have to have 45 points WHILE elected commander of your team AND before the 2x bonus at the end if your team wins. You cannot have 25 points and then a 2x bonus, that does not count. Also if you have 10 points before you go commander and then get 35 commander points, that also, does not count. It is quite simply 45 Commander points while elected commander in 1 round of play before the round ends.
Now the 3:1 Win/Loss ratio. This simply means in your stats you must win 3 rounds to every 1 loss. If you have 500 losses you need 1500 wins to have a 3:1. If you look at the top of your stats page here at bf2s.com directly in the middle there is a section for the W:L, and Chuy has even added a feature that tells you how many wins you are away from getting the 3:1 if you just mouse over the numbers that are underlined. Pretty simple huh? Go thank Chuy.
Hopefully by now you understand the requirements if you didn't already.
Part 2: The Commander
In all sense, this award is designed as a commander award. You're going to have to be on top of your game as a commander for 50 hours to get this. I say that because the best way to get the 3:1 ratio is to command a team and lead it to victory yourself. You can do more for your team by being a shithot commander than you ever could by being an armor whore. A great commander can easily turn the tide of a battle in their favor by "manipulating" their team into doing certain things. What I mean by this is, you can make your team do very specific things without them realizing you are doing it. Psychology 101 folks, use it to your advantage. In example:
Tank whore is driving past the MEC controlled gatehouse on his way to rape the MEC main by himself. Normally this is a good thing but being that you just saw three tanks and 4 infantry at that flag you know he is going to die. On the other hand there is no one at Gatehouse. What to do? Drop a supply crate on the flag and then deploy a UAV over the area. Tank whore see's the supplies and also see's on the UAV there is no one around, so he goes up there and ends up taking the flag as opposed to going to the MEC main and getting raped.
That is one example of thousands, but I'm sure you guys can be creative and come up with some of your own.
Commander tools and knowing how to use them is a huge "plus" as well. Do a scan every single time that thing reloads so you are up to date on where every enemy on the map is at ALL times. If you notice a red blip behind the front line, notify your troops via TEXT CHAT (NOT VoIP, some people don't have it enabled, don't have speakers or will completely ignore you), via VoIP only squad leaders can hear you, but through text, everyone on the team hears about it, and more times than not someone will react and take care of the situation. In the case no one does and you have the ability to, do it yourself. Anything you can do yourself that will free up a troop to do something somewhere else is the best and most important thing you can do for your team. Commanders essentially are "Force Multipliers".
Learn when and where UAV's can be most useful and cover the greatest number of enemy troops, unless you are using for a specialty mission as stated in the example using the tank whore at the Gatehouse. UAV's are built in hacks basically, so why not use the HELL out of it. Deploy them as often as possible to give your team that extra "umpfh" that the other team may not have because thier commander is being a medic whore in the alley at the Hotel on Karkand. You also need to be able to place artillery effectively, but that is pretty self explanatory....just aim for the big red blip.
Supplies are your ultimate advantage. You can sway even the most non-team play having tank whore into a tight spot as long as he has a supply crate to keep feeding him ammo and health. Pop those babies whenever possible to the most strategic spots you can find in order to lure a tank or a squad of infantry to a specific location. You can also bait enemy soldiers in with supply crates and then nuke them with arty. Supplies=Friend.
After 50 Hours as a commander you should have your own little tricks and you should also have an expert knowledge in how to use this wonderful feature to the utmost of it's ability to help you team achieve wins. Winning after all is the whole purpose of being a commander in quest of the WCR.
Part 3: The Dreaded 3:1
Here is the hard part, getting the dad-gum 3:1. Personally, I will tell you to start EARLY, I'm talking two days after you start up an account to start working for this ribbon. If you are a Colonel with 4500 losses and a 1.09 W:L, your probably SOL, unless winning 12,000 rounds in a row excites you. In a nutshell 3:1 is extremely hard and nearly impossible playing as a reg on a public server. What you need is a small (yes SMALL) 16 man server. 16 man servers playing 16 man maps are the absolute perfect place to go after the WCR. The rounds only last 5 to 10 minutes which means if you do happen to get a loss, you can make up for it in 20 minutes as opposed to 3 hours. 16 man/16 map Karkand servers are the absolute best if you manage to get on the MEC team as a commander. It is nearly impossible to lose, even a team of Terry Shiavo commandos couldn't lose that map if you manage to drain the Americans for more than 2 minutes, there’s only 100 tickets!!! Get commander, go Anti-Tank, climb to the top of the Square building and deny access to that and the back flag and drop UAV's for your team at the front. It's that simple. A monkey could do it. If you start going for the 3:1 early playing these maps, by the time your 50 Hours for commander are up, you already have the 3:1 and it is just a matter of going into a big server to get the 45 points. Simple simple simple.
Part 4: Myths
Myth #1: Team switching.
Contrary to popular belief, this DOES NOT WORK, PERIOD. You have to switch before 1/4 of the tickets are gone. Meaning on a round with 300 tickets, you have to switch before your team reaches 230 tickets. That early in the game...WHO CARES? The round can always flip flop and by that point you are out of luck. It is better to go down with your ship. Believe me, I tested this theory when I was going for the ribbon and it is 100% true. Switch teams with 80 tickets left, wait for the round to end and then go check your stats. You will have one more loss than before. Switch with 230 tickets, you have 1 more win.
(Note: I have had conflicting reports as to wether or not this is still the case, things may have changed in recent patches. I will re-test the team switching theory when I get a chance and update the post accordingly)
Myth #2: Disconnecting.
False, yet again. If you disconnect before a round ends, guess what, you still get a loss. The ranked feature will save a snapshot of your points until the round is over once you join a game. Point in example, have you ever been disconnected in the middle of a round and then tried to re-connect to the same server? What happened when you got back in? You still had all your points didn't you? This is because it saves your score, and if you disconnect, you still get charged with a loss. Unfortunately, this does not work the other way, if you get disconnected on a winning team, you do not get a win. It sucks, I know.
Myth #3: Only server admin’s have this award.
Wrong again. I am not currently or have I ever been an admin on a BF2 server, and looky looky what I got in my sig.
Myth #4: The only way to get this award is through team switching.
Once again, WRONG. I've already told you that you do not receive credit for team switching, and besides, if you follow the guide YOU DON'T NEED TOO!
Myth #5: If your W:L falls below 3:1 after you get the award it goes away.
Nope. I stopped caring about my W:L after I got it and it fell to 2.39:1. I've still got mine.
Part 5: Tips and Hints (Major Contributor=voltage)
"If you plan to continue with your post I hope you name more maps-size-sides where win is likely, I've had enough of Karkand for a lifetime. Perhaps a small list."
Thats a great idea voltage. Here would be some of the maps that I personally recommend for an easy win:
16 Man Karkand on the MEC team.
16 Man Sharqi on the USMC team.
Any Wake Island map as Chinese
32 Man Dalian Plant on the Chinese team.
32 Man Dragon Valley on the Chinese team.
16 Man Daqing Oilfields on the USMC team.
"If you get to know a map well, you can identify good starts and bad starts, eg if your side takes the centre island on Zatar. If the other side does it early it's a sign they know how to play the map and you might want to disconnect right away."
That is correct. If you join a server thats just starting or on a team that manages to screw the pooch 5 minutes into the game, you might want to try to switch before the 1/4 ticket cutoff has passed. Also if you disconnect EARLY enough, it is possible you will not be charged with the loss. This however is highly hypothetical. Bring your own weapons, saftey not guaranteed.
"Don't join a game which is half-way through, one team will be loosing and that's where mr auto-balance will put you."
I kicked myself in the ass after writing this and then reading that from for not thinking of that in the first place. He is absoultly correct guys, never ever ever ever never ever join a server that is halfway over. 90% of the time you will be on the wrong team due to AB. Always look in the server preview pane at the bottom of the server browser before joining a server. Ideally you want to join a server where everyones score is still under 10.
(Minor addition by ThomasMorgan: If you join halfway through a round and the teams are even and you are the odd man out, you can pretty much choose your team for the fact that autobalance cannot balance and odd number such as 30-31.)
Kudo's to voltage for the idea's that I missed! +1 dude. +1 to ThomasMorgan as well!
Part 6: Conclusion.
The WCR is indeed a very hard ribbon to get, so hard in fact, that the vast majority of BF2 players will never see it, hence an extreme hatred for the ribbon and people who have by those who never will. They will always downplay and discredit the ribbon because they will never have it and therefore think no one else should have it either. In all honesty, anyone who times it right and has the intelligence to do it right can get this ribbon. It isn't some ghost ribbon that can't be obtained and it isn't a demon ribbon to be had only by cheaters and padders. The requirements are not to hard, they are right where they should be, on a pedestal slightly taller than the rest. It is the one and only award in BF2 that has any kind of originality and a sense of accomplishment to boot. People who whine and cry about the requirements really do not deserve it to begin with, being that anyone who wants it is going to have to put a lot of time and effort into it, making the ribbon worth a damn to those who have it. I have the utmost respect for people who have as I know what a royal pain in the ass it is to get.
I hope this guide either helped you, answered some questions for you, taught you something or hell, maybe even all three. CONSTRUCTIVE criticism is more than welcome and if I left something out let me know and I'll add it in. Hopefully this will put an end to the 4 million WCR question threads that assault our eyes on a daily basis and possibly even shut some of the whiners and myth gossiping retards up.
For all those who have it congrats and for all those trying, good luck!
Last edited by Cougar (2006-05-04 02:13:47)