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TeyKey1

Beginner's guide to GLOPS

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The Global Operations (GLOPS) mode can be overwhelming at the beginning, especially for beginners. A lot happens at the same time and at a fast pace. This guide is intended to help those new to GLOPS to find their way around this very fun and action-packed mode.

grundlagen_glops_thumbnail.jpg

This is a guide I originally did for AWtactics. I decided to translate it for the forum because I think it is a solid guide to get people started in GLOPS. Also, as this mode is not going to get significant overhauls it should stay relevant. In case you find any errors (of whatever kind) please let me know.

Content:

  1. Introduction
  2. The ticket system and how to win the game
  3. The respawn mechanics
  4. The secondary objectives (Wildcards)
  5. How the cap points work
  6. The GLOPS phases
  7. The bots
  8. List and function of Wildcards
  9. The repair points
  10. Weather events
  11. The spawn

 

1. Introduction:

The game mode GLOPS is a PVP mode (up to 15v15 players) in Armored Warfare. You can only play this game mode starting from Tier 5. All lower tier vehicles are not allowed to enter the GLOPS Matchmaker. Both teams start on a mostly medium to large map with a full ticket account. The team's goal is to bring the opposing team's ticket balance down to 0 (the game is won in this case) before their own account balance does so. The goal of removing tickets from the opponents account can be achieved through various actions in the game. If a player's vehicle has been destroyed, it reappears refilled with ammunition and completely repaired at the spawn point of the respective team after a cooldown and can be used again by the respective player.

 

2. The ticket system and how to win the game:

The core of the GLOPS mode is the ticket system, which ultimately decides which team wins or loses. The ticket system is relatively simple and may be already known from some other games. Both teams start with a certain number of tickets on their ticket account. The starting number of tickets varies depending on the map between 2000 and 3000 tickets. The balance of both teams is recorded in the upper center of the screen and is displayed at all times.

Tickets.jpg

This is the ticket display. Your team's account balance is blue and the opponent's account balance is red.

The game ends as soon as the balance of one of both teams has dropped to 0 tickets or the time has expired (which happens very rarely). In case the game ends due to time expiration the team with the higher remaining balance wins the game. So it is important to lose as few tickets as possible during the game.

How can you remove tickets from the enemy team's account?

In order to win the game, it is essential that you remove tickets from your opponent through your actions during the game. The following actions cost the opponent tickets:

  • Kill an enemy player: -25 tickets on the enemy's account
  • Kill a bot vehicle (these are marked in yellow): -10 tickets on the enemy's account

There is also the most important element to withdraw tickets from the opponent: the main objectives.
The main objectives are cap points , which are scattered around the map. There are 2-4 of those, depending on the map and phase of the game. As soon as one of those points has been completely capped, tickets are continuously removed from the opponent's ticket account until the point is neutral again, has been captured by the opponent or disappears (phase change). That means: Whoever controls most of the main objective caps gains a significant ticket advantage. You should always try to control at least 1 more main objective than the enemy. Of course, the enemy will try to do the opposite.

 

3. The respawn mechanics:

If you are destroyed in GLOPS, the game is far from over as you will be revived after a 30s cooldown. It is important that your team loses 25 tickets each time you die (as described above). While you are dead, you can use the LCtrl key (standard controls) to display an enlarged minimap window and click on one of the available spawn points on which you want to be revived. There are two to three possible spawn points per map, which are located in different places on the map. It is therefore wise to choose a spawn point that is as close as possible to your desired position, which you want to take after your respawn. 

Important to know for PVE players: In contrast to PVE, respawn in GLOPS is free.

glops_respawn1.jpg

The respawn window, which can be displayed/closed with LCtrl. The blue crosses mark the possible spawn points that you can select. Currently the topmost spawn point is selected as the respawn location.

You can  change your spawn point selection any time again while you are still dead, in the respawn window. Simply display it with LCtrl and click on the desired point. While you are dead, you can switch between your intact allies with the left and right mouse button and see what they are doing (This can be important as you might gain valuable information by doing so). You can also continue to use the chat and ping the minimap.

When you respawn you will receive a completely ammunitioned and repaired vehicle (this also includes APS and smoke charges), but you will not receive any new consumables (Cooldowns on multi-use consumables are reset though). As soon as you have spawned again, you are invulnerable for 15 seconds to prevent you from being killed immediately after respawning.

 

4. The main objectives:

The main objectives are your primary goals during the GLOPS game. The main objectives are cap points, which your team must capture and hold. For each main objective cap held, tickets are continuously removed from the enemy's ticket account at a fixed rate. So if you consistently hold more main caps than the opposing team, you will deduct significantly more tickets from their account. In the vast majority of cases, victory in GLOPS only depends on whoever has more of the main objective caps under their control. So there is usually a lot going on in the area of these caps, as they are constantly hard-fought.
The main caps are numbered consecutively and shown on the minimap. The status of the main caps can also be seen in the upper center of the screen.

hauptziele.jpg

Picture above: The status display of the main caps. In this case, cappoint 2 is controlled by our team and cappoint 3 is under the control of the enemy. Cap point 1 is currently still a neutral cap point.
Picture below: The main objectives are also shown on the minimap. In this case, all 3 main cap points are neutral.

The time it takes to capture a main cap is 35 seconds for a single player (excluding bonuses on the cap time).

 

5. The secondary objectives (Wildcards):

The secondary objectives are caps which, in contrast to the main objectives, have no influence on the ticket balance of your team or the enemy, but instead give you a so-called “ wildcard ” if they are successfully captured. There are many different wildcards in GLOPS, which also have different functions. These are listed and explained further below. These wildcards give you the opportunity to place infantry in bunkers on the minimap (for example), which then fight your enemy. They are therefore generally a useful aid for your team to fight the enemy effectively and to help your team gaining the upper hand in the battle.
The secondary objectives, like the main objectives, are cap points, which are marked with the respective wildcard you receive when you successfully capture the point. So you already know in advance which wildcard you will get by capturing the cap point. It is therefore normal that some secondary caps are very crowded and hard-fought, as these contain very strong wildcards such as an airstrike or the AC-130 “Gunship”.

nebenziele.jpg

Picture above: The status of the secondary caps containing the icon of the respective wildcards in the upper center of the screen. 
Picture below: The display of the secondary caps on the minimap, which are all located in the southern half of the map. Here an ally is just capturing the air strike wildcard.

As soon as a secondary cap has been successfully captured, which takes 20 seconds for a single player (without bonuses on the cap time), the secondary cap disappears and the player receives the respective wildcard. In the event that several allied players cap the same secondary goal at the same time, the player who received the most cap points while capping the secondary goal receives the wildcard (see more on that in the Cappoint chapter).
If you have received a wildcard, it will be displayed in your user interface at the bottom left:

wildcard.jpg

My air strike wildcard, which I captured before, is marked in red here. To the right of it you can see the expiry time of the wildcard and which key you have to press to activate it.

As soon as you have received the wildcard, you have to activate it in most cases (exceptions are explained in the section “Wildcards”). You can do this with the Q key (standard controls). After that an enlarged mini map appears and you can decide with a click of the mouse where the wildcard should be used. If you want to leave this window without using the wildcard, you can do so by pressing the right mouse button (standard controls) (don't worry, the wildcard does not disappear, it can be reactivated afterwards with Q).
Attention: As long as you have a non-activated wildcard on your tank, you can lose it in the following 2 cases:

  • Your vehicle will be destroyed before you have activated the wildcard: The wildcard disappears and can no longer be used.
  • The expiry time of your wildcard reaches 0 seconds: Wildcards have an expiry time of 1 minute. As soon as you have captured a wildcard, a timer starts counting down one minute. You can see the timer status at any time on the right side of the wildcard icon (see picture above). Once this minute has passed, the wildcard disappears and can no longer be used.

 

6. How the cap points work:

In order to successfully play GLOPS, it is necessary to understand how the cap mechanics work in Armored Warfare:
In order to capture a cap, at least one allied vehicle must be inside the cap point. No enemy vehicles may be in the cap point at the same time. This vehicle now starts to collect points for the respective cap. These points also form the core mechanics of the caps. As soon as the player has collected 100% of the points for the respective cap, the cap point is captured. It is now under the control of your team.
You can also lose points you have collected while capping. This is the case if your vehicle is damaged during capping. Module damage is sufficient here. As soon as this is the case, the points you have collected will be reset to 0. You will also lose all of your points if you leave the cap point while capping.
Some vehicles that can transport infantry have a module called “Troop Compartment” which increases the collection rate of points for the cap by 25%. There are also some commander skills that can do this.

Cap_Punkte_Reset_en.jpg

Distribution of points in the cap.

In the picture above you can see how the point distribution affects several players in the cap: There are 3 players in the cap. Based on the points collected in %, it can be seen that not all of them entered the cap at the same time. Attention: This distribution is not visible in the game, in the game you only see the total status of the cap, which you can see on the right in the picture. Now an enemy hits the tank with 35% of the cap points and does (at least) module damage: The points collected by this hit vehicle are reset to 0%. This results in a new total of 40%.

In order to capture a cap point as quickly as possible, several allied players must be in the cap point at the same time. Since all players collect points separately for the cap, the point collection rate is much higher and the sum of all points that the players have collected in the cap reaches 100% faster. Attention, the collection rate cannot be increased by any number of players in the cap, but reaches its maximum with 3 players in the cap. Each additional player in the cap also collects points, but the collection rate of all players in the cap is then adjusted so that the total collection rate corresponds to the collection rate of 3 players in one cap.
So if more than three players collect points in a cap, there is only a more even distribution of points over all players, which can be an advantage if the enemies try to reset the cap by damaging the capping allies vehicles.

Cap points can enter the following states in the game:

Neutral cap points:
Neutral cap points are marked in white. These can be captured by you or your enemies. Caution: Once a neutral cap has been captured, it can never become neutral again! If you capture an opponent's cap, the cap does not become neutral first, but instead becomes an allied cap point when it is successfully captured.

Enemy cap points:
Enemy cap points are marked in red and have been successfully captured by the opponent. Your team can recapture this cap point. This takes as long as it takes to capture a neutral cap.

Allied cap points:
The allied cap points were successfully captured by your team. However, these can be recaptured at any time by the enemy.

Contested cap points:
A cap point is considered contested as soon as at least one enemy vehicle and at least one allied vehicle are in the same cap point. It doesn't matter which side has more vehicles in the cap point.
In a contested cap, the collection of points is interrupted for all vehicles in it, but each vehicle retains its previously collected points. However, as in normal situations, those points can still be lost through module damage / destruction or by leaving the cap.
Competitive caps pulsate in white and still show the current point score of the cap.

 

Status display of the cap points in GLOPS:

Since the cap points represent the most important element in GLOPS, their status is displayed in the upper center of the screen:

cap_status.jpg

Status indication of the various caps

In the picture above you can see the status of the caps that are currently active. At the moment there are only the three main objective caps 1, 2 and 3 active. Secondary objective caps and the respective status are also displayed here. In the picture above we can see that all 3 cap points are currently still neutral (white). If they are successfully captured, these take on the color of the holding team. Cap point 1 is currently a contested cap point, you can see that the opponent has already collected over 90% of the points for this cap. The two numbers under the cap icon show you how many opponents (red) and allies (blue) are currently inside this cap point. Since cappoint 1 is contested, it has no time indication. This is different with Cappoint 2, where it will probably take another 31 seconds for a successful capture.

The status display of the caps is very important for you to see what is going on with the caps, or whether an enemy is trying to capture your cap point.

 

7. The GLOPS phases:

Every GLOPS game is divided into several phases. As soon as a new phase becomes active, the main objectives of the old phase disappear and the main objectives of the new phase become active and can be captured. The secondary goals are also linked to the phases, so special wildcards usually only appear in a specific GLOPS phase, but some do not always have to appear exactly at the time of the phase change and are even randomized to a certain extent.

There are usually 3 phases per game and map. The phases are always the same in regard to the position of the main objective caps and are not generated at random. However, it is possible that the phases can occur in a different order on a map depending on the game. This varies per map.

The phases are tied to the ticket account balance of the two teams and are displayed on the account balances of the two teams:

Tickets.jpg

The display of the ticket balance.

If you take a closer look at the account balance bar, you can see 2 black bars that divide the bar into 3 parts. These black bars mark a phase change. As soon as one of the two teams drops below the black bar with their account balance, there is a phase change. Based on the proportions of the bar you can also see that in the example above, the 3rd phase will take the longest in terms of tickets and the 2nd phase is the shortest. The account balance bars start pulsating shortly before a phase change to warn you of the impending change.

phasenwechsel.jpg

Phases on the “Panama Canal” map. On the left the main goals of the 1st phase, on the right the main goals of the 2nd phase. Both phases can also occur in reverse order on this map.

It is essential for you as a player to be prepared for the phase changes, because the team with a faster reaction usually wins the game or at least gains a significant advantage. With enough experience in the game, you will quickly notice where the new main objectives will appear on the map and you can prepare for them before each phase change.

 

7. The bots:

In addition to your team and the enemy team, there is a third party on some (not all!) GLOPS maps: the bot opponents. The bot opponents are a team that is controlled by the AI. They are marked with the yellow color. The bots attack all players, regardless of which team they belong to.
Bot opponents can appear either as vehicles or as solid objects:

Bot vehicles:

The bot vehicles generally behave like the enemies in PVE modes. In GLOPS, they usually consist of vehicles of the same tier or lower tier of the two player teams. In addition, they usually have a reduced number of hit points. The bot vehicles usually spawn near main objectives or near some secondary objectives. In general, they don't move far from their spawn point. The vehicles attack everything that is within their range and choose their opponents, as in PVE, according to the “aggro level” (whoever caused a lot of damage to a bot vehicle has a high “aggro level” and is accordingly prioritized by this bot as a target).

bot-fahrzeuge.jpg

Some bot vehicles at the beginning of the battle.

Bot vehicles cannot cap or interrupt the cap process if they are in a cap point. However, they can reset the accumulated points of the cap by damaging the capping player.

If you kill a bot vehicle, 10 tickets will be deducted from the enemy's ticket account. The bots spawn in different locations depending on the GLOPS phase.

Bot objects:

So far there are only bot objects on the “Waterway” (Panama Canal) map. These are pillboxes that are set up at fixed locations on the map and attack all player vehicles with unguided rockets. They work exactly the same as the wildcard pillboxes .

Each have 1500 HP and no armor in the practical sense and can therefore be damaged by practically all types of ammunition available. Destroying a bot pillbox will not affect the ticket balances of either team.

bot_pillboxen.jpg

On the left a fully functional pillbox, on the right a destroyed pillbox with a visual timer.

As soon as a bot pillbox is destroyed, a timer starts to count down from 4:20 minutes. As soon as this time has passed, a fully functional bot pillbox will appear again.

 

8. List and function of Wildcards:

This section lists all available wildcards in GLOPS and explains their functions and special features. In general, not all wildcards have to appear within a game or on a specific map. Some are fixed though and bound to phases.

Pillboxes

Spoiler

Pillboxes can be obtained through a pillbox wildcard cap and can be activated as usual (Q key default controls). When activated, there are predefined locations on the map where you can place the pillboxes.. You can only place the pillboxes in locations that have not yet been taken by an active enemy or allied pillbox.

The placed pillboxes (usually two) then attack every opponent within range. They shoot unguided rockets at the current position of the targeted enemy. These missiles cause approx. 700 dmg and, with their high penetration power, can even penetrate well armored MBTs frontally.
The pillboxes each have 2000HP and remain active until the enemy destroys them. This can be done with almost all types of ammunition, as the pillboxes do not have any armor worth mentioning.

pillbox.jpg

On the left the icon for pillbox wildcard caps. The possible positions for placing the pillboxes are marked in yellow in the middle. Allied pillboxes in action on the right.

In general, the pillboxes are rather sluggish enemies. This means that you can dodge the missiles very well as long as you keep moving.

Drones

Spoiler

The drone can be obtained through a drone wildcard cap and can be activated as usual (Q key default controls). The drone can only be used in predefined locations and only in locations where there is no active allied or enemy drone.

drohnencap.jpg

A drone wildcard cap.

Once activated, the drone will circle over the chosen location, spotting all enemies below it. So it is an advantage to know where the enemy stands to fight him.

drohne.jpg

An enemy drone spotting the battlefield.

The drones have 500HP and can be shot down. This is best done by vehicles with autocannons and a good elevation angle. With a little practice you can also do this with normal cannons and even ATGM.
Opponents who are spotted by a drone receive a spot warning in the form of a small yellow drone icon.

Combat helicopter

Spoiler

The combat helicopter can be obtained through a combat helicopter wildcard cap can be activated as usual (Q key default controls). The combat helicopter can only be used on predefined locations, and only on locations where there is no active allied or enemy combat helicopter.

kampfhelikopter_aktivierung.jpg

The activation window of the combat helicopter. The flight direction of the combat helicopter is drawn in yellow (towards the enemy and back to the allied base).

The combat helicopter has 500HP. It flies over the map in the direction of the enemy spawn and fights enemies along the way with unguided missiles. It also spots all enemies around it inside a certain range. The helicopter can be shot down by the enemy. If that doesn't happen, and the helicopter reaches the enemy spawn, it turns around and flies back towards the friendly spawn, where it disappears.

kampfhelikopter.jpg

An attacking combat helicopter.

Artillery

Spoiler

Artillery currently only appears on the “Grindelwald” map. It is a very special wildcard that, if successfully activated, gives your team 3 bot artillery vehicles which then attack spotted enemies.
To activate the artillery, you must first supply them with ammunition. You can do this as soon as the ammunition caps appear. One of these caps appears near your spawn, the second near the enemy's spawn. It doesn't matter which of the two ammunition caps you capture.

As soon as a vehicle has successfully captured this cap, it now transports the ammunition. This vehicle is made visible by an icon on the minimap and in the UI. In addition, this vehicle is permanently spotted to the enemy as long as it carries the ammunition.
The vehicle can now bring the ammunition to the allied artillery wildcard cap. As soon as the vehicle and the ammunition are inside this cap, the artillery is automatically activated. The artillery vehicles now drive out of the bunker to their fire position and then fight the opponents.

arty_munition.jpg

On the left an ammunition cap, on the right the cap for the artillery wildcard.

If the vehicle carrying the ammunition is destroyed on the way to the artillery wildcard cap, it will drop the ammunition at its destruction position. The ammunition can then be recaptured. It is generally recommended to capture the ammunition with a fast and mobile vehicle, as you make an excellent target for your opponents while transporting the ammunition.

artilleriemunition.jpg

An ally player who transports the ammunition for the artillery and is therefore permanently spotted.

Warning: The allied artillery can be destroyed by opponents! Shrewd enemy players can even try to steal the ammunition near your spawn.

arty_wildcard.jpg

The activated and supplied artillery in the firing position.

Airstrike

Spoiler

The airstrike is a very powerful wildcard, which can cause enormous damage in a short time and sometimes also means the difference between defeat and victory. The airstrike can normally be obtained through an air strike wildcard cap and can be activated as usual (Q key default controls).
The airstrike calls for a bomber, which lays a bomb carpet on a defined square on the map. All vehicles (whether allied or enemies) as well as any objects (such as pillboxes) which are completely within this square will be destroyed. Vehicles at the very edge of the air strike take high splash damage.

When activated, the player can freely place the air strike on the map. The first click marks the beginning of the bomb carpet, the second click the direction. If you want to reset the first click, you can do this with the right mouse button. The second click activates the air strike.

luftschlag_menue.jpg

The yellow circle marks the potential position / direction of the bomb carpet in the activation window.

As soon as the bomb carpet is activated, the bomber flies over the map and drops the bombs on the selected location. While this is happening, a siren sounds for both teams, but only the allied team can see exactly where the bomb carpet was laid on the minimap. All opponents who are inside the bomb carpet receive a visual warning that there is an airstrike soon. Should you receive this warning, you should get out of the area as soon as possible. Try to locate the bomber in the skies to see in which direction it flies. Your best chances of escape are to drive out of the bomber's direction in a 90° angle.

luftschlag_minimap.jpg

The marked bomb carpet on the minimap is actually too small. The real size of the bomb carpet is shown in yellow (also notice the direction). You should always keep this in mind when activating an airstrike or escaping from one.

The damage caused by the air strike is credited to the player who activated it (including any team damage! However, you can't get kicked by teamkills of an airstrike). When positioning the air strike you should be careful not to hit any allied vehicles. This can very quickly lead to high XP penalties at the end of the battle.

bomber.jpg

The bomber in action.

The bomber cannot be shot down. The only thing that helps is to get out of the bomb carpet as quickly as possible before the bombs hit.

AC-130 "Gunship"

Spoiler

The AC-130 can be obtained normally through an AC-130 wildcard cap and can be activated as usual (Q key default controls). The only possible location to activate it is the middle of the map.
The AC-130 has automatic cannons and is the strongest wildcard next to the airstrike. The AC-130 has 9000HP and flies a single circle around the entire map. It spots the enemies below it and fights them with the machine guns and autocannons.
The only way to escape from the fire is by taking cover or by high speed. The AC-130 therefore does enormous damage to stationary and badly armored vehicles if it is not shot down quickly. It does not attack wildcards though.

AC130_CAP.jpg

An AC-130 wildcard cap. These are usually hard-fought.

The damage and spot damage that the AC-130 does is attributed to the player who activated the wildcard.

AC130.jpg

An AC-130 above the “Roughneck” map.

 

9. The repair points:

There is at least one repair point on every GLOPS map. This is a fixed point on the map near your spawn, which repairs you and your allies and resupplies your ammo. These belong to your team which means that no enemy can be repaired at your repair point (and vice versa).

reparaturpunkt.jpg

An allied repair point. They are also marked on the minimap.

As soon as you are within the repair point, you have to cap it, which takes 10 seconds. As in normal caps, the points you have collected can be reset by module damage / damage to the vehicle. As soon as you have “captured” the repair point, you will be fully ammunitioned and repaired (a maximum of 70% of your total HP will be repaired), but your APS and smoke charges will not be replenished. In addition, consumables are not replenished and cooldowns not reset. As soon as this happens, all allied repair points have a one-minute cooldown for you. During this time you cannot have yourself repaired again.

 

10. Weather events:

There are weather events on some GLOPS maps. These have an impact on the general view range in the game. The weather events include snow and sandstorms, as well as fog.
Some maps have these weather events enabled by default at the beginning of the battle. For others, chance can decide whether such an event occurs. In this case you will be informed by a popup text in the UI.

In general, the viewrange of everything is reduced by 50% in such an event.

The weather events are mostly dependent on the GLOPS phases and can also dissolve again (in this case the visibility is 100% again).

sandsturm.jpg

A sandstorm on the “Desert Crossing” map. On the left the warning of the storm, on the right the actual sandstorm.

 

11. The spawn:

Your spawns (where your team starts / is revived) as well as the opponent's spawn are protected by many pillboxes with 2000HP. An opponent who drives close to your spawn is being attacked by these pill boxes.

 

  • Upvote 6

Spoiler

fdassdaas.jpg.c709df3e98adc5265f232fe9458a3043.jpg

 

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Reserved

There's still some stuff which is not 100% clear. If anyone got more info on this stuff please share:

  • Damage scaling of pillboxes
  • Spotting distances of drones / drone spotting mechanics in general
  • Reset of players repairing in repair points by damage or interruption by enemies in the repair point (Not sure if that's still in??)
  • Stats of the arties called by the arty wildcards
  • Stats of the bomb carpet
  • Stats of the combat helicopter
  • Stats of the AC130 "Gunship"

Spoiler

fdassdaas.jpg.c709df3e98adc5265f232fe9458a3043.jpg

 

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Some of wildcard mechanics and general map orientation can be tasted in training room mode, playing solo on glops maps. 

Two GLOPS maps have bots to kill, so it can work both as basic solo interactive glops and pve trainer too,  these maps are Other -> Barren Divide and Other -> Desert Crossing, which gives certainly more fun than Test drive

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