Merc

Mercenary, or 'Merc', is where GA's most skilled players congregate to fight each other to decide, once and for all who's Alienware PC has the highest FPS.

Gamemodes
Merc has 3 gamemodes. Yes. 3, not 5. Demolition and Control don't actually exist, they are control measures put in by Hi-Rez to ensure that all of the new players are filtered into those gametypes and all of the Best Players are put in the rest.

The objective of most gametypes is to kill enough people to make sure your ASM doesn't go down after the game, because lets face it, there's no point trying when there's 8 Typical Merc Players.

Payload
Payload, also known as WHY IS MY DOME SHIELD KEEP BREAKING STUPID GAME, is a gamemode where the objective is to push cart into the enemies red circle on the floor at the end of the map. Every single payload map looks the same, or has the get out of jail free card, jumping out the maps boundaries. Recons need not worry about this since they have it as a offhand.

The objective is subjective, as with all gametypes. Depending on the type of player you are, you may wish to pursue any number of goals.

Payload Roles
Typical Merc Player: Your role is key. You have to stand on the point, when 4 turrets are facing it, and listen to the Team Commander on your team, as they always give helpful advice. It's always good to remember that no one can call you bad, since you have the moral highground. You are either playing for fun man, or taking one for the team, 2 cards that when used, can silence even the most furious nerds. Always remember that even though your role is key, there are up to 9 other typical merc players on your team, and hence, you don't need to worry because someone else will do it.

ASM Whore: This is your strongest gametype. You should typically be playing recon with a Sniper Rifle. I know what you're thinking, 'Sniper Rifles don't give me the best stats!' - but that's the thing, on this map, you'll be fighting from the map boundary the entire game. Even when the enemies are out of line of sight, so to maximize your ability to actually do any damage at all, you need a weapon that can do heavy long range damage. Now you can stand next to the boundary and shoot people at will. Always remember the 3 warning signs that a good recon will always look for.

If a player looks at you, cloak.

If a player hits you once with an SMG from long range, use bionics and return to spawn.

If a player hits you with any more damage than said SMG, cloak, bionics, and head for the map boundary.

Chaser: Perhaps your most hated gametype, it is suggested to play in a cool room with some refreshing water to prevent rage, since the majority of your attempts to get that one kill, will typically result in either the player escaping to the map boundary, or you getting flattened. A paingun medic is ESSENTIAL for you to fulfil your role of chasing after 1 person with reckless abandon, for in this gametype, there is little to no chance of reward for your efforts without one. It is suggested on this gametype, you only attack people if you can actually aim, or when the person you are attacking is distracted or on the opposite side of you to the boundary.

Player Hater: Same as the Chaser, except you have a little more freedom in how you play. Most games, the person you hate won't be on the opposite team, in which case you can put your ego to rest and try to play normally. If the player you hate IS on the opposite team however, expect even more rage than the chaser.

With paingun medic in tow, pursue your target to the ends of the map. Remember - it's all worth it if you got that one kill, hence making your job slightly easier than the chaser.

Team Commander: As an another essential part of the team, you must always assume command and provide helpful advice to team members. Commonly said phrases on this map include 'You've got to get your feet on the point, guys.' and 'For fuck sake guys, why is no one standing on the point?'. Always remember, turrets are not that dangerous, an assault with a ranged shield can tank them easily so there's no reason people shouldn't be standing on it - never let this cloud your judgement. You should typically be playing robo on this map, and never use drones. Place PTs in areas where they will likely survive for only a few seconds, the time it takes to build one, and then complain when your team isn't protecting them enough. Recon team commanders are possible but only if using abstract specs such as meleecon, powercon, or SMGcon.

Breach
Breach is the gamemode most commonly associated with fair and balanced gameplay, here, Robotics become an extremely useless part of the team as, unlike on the payload map where the turrets often go out of range of the payload and need replacing, here, they never need replacing, making all that offhand cooldown a HUGE waste. You should spec into AOE damage for this gamemode.

Breach Roles
Typical Merc Player: Stand on the point, or don't. Once again, someone else will do it. Most Typical Merc Players prefer to stay on the roof all game on attack, and on defense, prefer to roam around the point and get picked off 1 by 1, repeatedly. These, while both very successful strategies for the typical merc player, are not the best ones. There is an even better way to win a breach game, and that is to become a chaser in the spur of the moment. Since, unlike payload most Breach maps are very wide open, seeing that Medic getting away on 500 HP or the Assault escaping with 20 HP and a range shield might be infuriating to you. You give chase. Look behind you, there's 7 people with you - yes, this is a typical scenario on merc games where the entire team use Teamwork(TM) and work together to defeat 1 person trying to make a tactical retreat. You must do this atleast every 30 seconds - 1 minute to help you forget about the slapping that is happening on the point.

ASM Whore: A weak gametype for the ASM whore, as aforementioned, Typical Merc Players will group up in numbers in an attempt to hunt an escaping player down, even at the expense of the point. Do not stay and fight if you lose 3 quarters of 1/10th of your HP, if a group of Typical Merc Players are on you, that's all it takes. Use bionics and return to spawn, and make sure to check around the corner when you exit to make sure no one is hiding there. Don't take the beacon. That's what they want.

Chaser: The best gametype for a chaser, since the motion between capping a point and moving to the next allows for some fluid chasing. Capping the first point however, is difficult, since the point is typically such a stronghold of turrets and Assaults that simply getting in to get that one kill is nigh impossible. There are a few alternatives, the first, is the obvious - to suicide in and get that one kill - but this should only be attempted if the player is on low HP or if you have good aim by Global Agenda standards. Second, is to wait for people outside and prey on Typical Merc Players who will often find themselves chasing people as you do - but without as much skill. There is a golden window of oppurtunity when the first Typical Merc Player tries to chase someone where his friends have not caught onto the feeding frenzy. Kill him before it happens.

Player Hater: Attempt to clear out the objective as best you can, then when the turrets are down, and you have freedom of movement, set out in pursuit of that one kill. Chasing is so easy on this gametype that even Typical Merc Players manage to do it. If you fail, be prepared for a 'u got raped lol' or similar demoralising 1 liner.

Keep fighting. Don't let his mind games work - as aforementioned, if you get that one kill, all previous encounters are worth nothing. You are the winner.

Team Commander: Once again, the Team Commander will be fulfilling the niche of telling people what they already know in a weak voice with an angry tone. It is important as always you saturate your speech with swears as to stifle laughter - this way they know you are serious, and will listen. The usual lines apply here, get on the point, why is my team so X, and saying otherwise friendly advice in an angry tone such as "Robo, move your fucking med station over a little bit so it isn't blocked by the fucking wall. God.", it is important to add God or Jesus Christ to the end of most sentences since it implies you are losing patience with the team, and they will want to get in your good books when they realise this.

Scramble
Scramble is the perfect gametype for everyone. Bad or good, Chaser or Typical Merc Player, this gametype has it all. It's essentially breach with 1 neutral point - except you don't know where that point is going to end up! Oh the mystery! I'm getting excited already. This can lead to a great amount of freedom in the excuses you can use to cover up for your mistakes in this game.

Scramble Roles
Typical Merc Player: Do whatever you like. Really, even if you do something wrong, you can say you didn't know where the point was, or if you want to make people laugh, "I was defending the X point" where X is the direction opposite where the actual point is. But to really shine on this map, you must go AOE, stand miles away from the point, and just click as fast as you can whilst aiming at the point. The mouse doesn't even have to touch the mat, I, many times whilst a Typical Merc Player, picked up the mouse in the spur of the moment to click it in my hand for faster clicking speed. This is an excellent strategy I recommend you all try.

ASM Whore: Strong all around gametype for the ASM whore with AOE assault being a huge skill reliever and minecon needing no skill to acheive huge results, you can get huge damage and kills with little to no effort or danger. Do as the Typical Merc Players do, stand away from the point mashing click as AOE, or run around in cloak dropping mines ALL game, seriously. All game. This mode is so prone to explosions that people won't even notice they are 1 man down by having a minecon.

Chaser: Perhaps better than breach for the chaser, the points are in such close proximity to each other - and yet, 5/6's of the map is abandoned most of the time, allowing you to chase people into those empty zones, and follow them uninterrupted. Of course, you'd be better off joining the AOE fest - so why not use Headhunter, allowing you to fill both roles, recon with mines also works well.

Player Hater: The best map for you. No delays, no need to take down turrets most of the time. You are free to chase the person you hate, but beware, on Loch there are teleports rendering your efforts useless, and on Distribution there are so many changes in height that it can be incredibly hard to keep up with your target and continue shooting as Assault.

If all goes well, you should get 2x that one kill atleast, in which case - you can retire from Global Agenda. You've made it. Fuck the haters.

Team Commander: A weak gametype for the Team Commander, since the incompetence exhibited in other maps is downright obvious here. Bonus points for calling out wrong point positions, continue shouting stand on the point no matter how many rockets or nades are flying onto it. Typically you should be a Medic on this gametype for the respect you deserve - because you're gonna lose a lot of it on the other classes. Keep using the classics, "Stand on the fucking point" - except at the end of each game, if a loss - make sure to add some consolation such as "Good job guys, we gave them a good fight". This will cover up mistakes.