| Page Contents Current As of Patch: | 2022-10-13 |
The Crown is a Large Outpost located in the center of the Indar. It is often credited with some of the fiercest fighting on the continent, especially when all three factions are converging on the location.
Base Layout[]
The Crown is a large and spread-out base located on top of a mountain, with three capture points. Various roads from all directions and nearby bases converge upon The Crown.
[A] is atop the bridge directly south of the plateau. [B] lies underground, and is accessible by only three entrances: one underneath the small bridge to the south, one on the eastern road, and one on the northern path up to the summit. It is important to notice here that [B] is not located in the building on the surface, where a lot of people tend to congregate. [C] is on the spur to the east, surrounded by steep cliffs on the northern, eastern, and southern sides.
The defenders spawn in the main tower, and there is an SCU there as well.
Base Capture[]
Offensive Strategy[]
Basic Notes[]
This base is such a notorious time-sink and Cert farming location that it's even referenced in the TR directive LMG's description. Prior to the implementation of the Lattice Link system, empires could be entirely trapped at their Warpgate and still stubbornly maintain a death grip on this base. The Crown has seen multiple balance passes and repositioning of its control points to make indefinite defense less possible.
The terrain is still not in the attackers' favor. Expect a literal uphill battle.
Overall strategy and Advanced Mobile Station placement will vary heavily based on what lattice-linked facilities are secured. In any case, attackers may only be able to secure two of the three control points at a time. Starting the capture timer is sometimes equivalent to an alarm bell going off for any factions with linked facilities. Time your assault on The Crown so that it doesn't draw allied fighters away from other important battles, and expect this battle to go on for a while.
Open terrain and wide, flat valleys nearby permit base building in support of the assault. Orbital Strikes are only lethal against surface forces. Using one on [B] is not likely to do much more than shake defenders of that point around. Placing one on [B] as a reference point for stopping defenders from getting to [C] is perfectly valid, however. Use caution when calling in strikes. Disrupting a counter-assault isn't much use if it knocks all the forces the strike was supposed to protect off of the plateau. If you do this, at least put a Router inside one of the buildings so that forces have a quick respawn point.
Infantry Composition[]
Infiltrators will be tempted to stay across the valley or down the hill if attacking from the south. This may not be the most productive thing to do aside from spamming the "spot target" command, battle conditions depending. It does give a good view of [A] from midway down the opposite hill, but all other places have too much hard cover for infantry to hide behind. EMP Grenades can help get through a doorway towards [B] if the limited entrances are all covered.
Light Assault troopers are a boon to capturing [C] and [A] due to the steep terrain, but should stick to the back lines in the tunnels beneath the plateau unless they have Drifter Jump Jets equipped. Smoke Grenades when ascending the slopes and Flash Grenades in the tunnels to help slower units close the distance are useful if intelligently employed. Skilled Impulse Grenade launches are the only timely way of jump jetting to the top of the mountain during a pitched battle, especially if one wants to attack from an unexpected angle.
Combat Medic: Bring your Nanite Revive Grenades and a Grenade Bandolier. You'll need them.
Engineers and MAXes are invaluable for pushing into a hotly contested [B] point. MAX units may be vulnerable to hostile aircraft on the surface between the tower and [C] when crossing between buildings. This assumes they can get to the summit in the first place, which can be helped (or hindered) by an engineer on an Ammunition Package with an Underbarrel Smoke Launcher. As always, put Spitfire Auto-Turrets near spawn points. This goes double for downhill spawn points, since Drifter Jump Jet users won't have to worry about gaining altitude to cruise over from the watchtower.
Heavy Assault: Bring Concussion Grenades if [B]'s entrances have turned into a meat grinder. Bring your choice of unguided Rocket Launchers in case you run into an enemy MAX down there, too. Otherwise? Bring an AA launcher and shoot bad guys as you normally would.
Ground Vehicle[]
Attacking from Ti Alloys or Crossroads Watchtower, vehicles will have decent firing lines while being able to keep at a relative distance from the cramped plateau, which is liable to be mined. Vehicle attacks from the north are much less effective, and will have to circle around the east side of the mountain to get to the near end of the bridge joining this base to The Palisade. Attacking from Zurvan Pump Station will require vehicles to get closer, but gives better access for parking a Sunderer under [A], near one of the entrances to the underground tunnels to [B]. Other good spawn point deployment spots are:
- Near the end of the bridge from The Palisade, obscured by the rocks and tucked into a closed mine shaft. There is also a building near the end of the bridge to host a Router pad. This placement requires infantry to run through the open, however.
- On the [A] point bridge, or below it as mentioned earlier. The bridge provides decent cover from enemies above. Be warned that this is a somewhat risky placement and is unlikely to survive if the defenders manage to counterattack [A] in force. These spots are only viable if enemies do not have possession of Crossroads Watchtower.
- Halfway up the northern path, near the north entrance to [B]. A router can be placed inside the building nearby, or inside the tunnels of [B]. A Sunderer without any performance upgrades will need a rolling start to get up this hill, and will not have the torque to advance further if it loses momentum.
- Among the western buildings of the plateau. Either a Router inside one of the buildings or a Sunderer in the cliffside cargo area, using the buildings and roof to give it hard cover. It will be difficult without an A.N.V.I.L. or an inattentive enemy to help get the Sunderer up there, since the most direct route is straight up the southern road.
- The two-story building west of [C]. It is possible to drive a Sunderer here from the northern path using a narrow footpath, but this is very risky. Using an A.N.V.I.L. will be more consistent. Parking the Sunderer under the eastern balcony of this building is common for giving it a margin of overhead cover, but be mindful that this opens it up to mines and C-4 being dropped on it if the building is overrun by defenders.
Aircraft[]
Spawning at Crossroads Watchtower may be risky if the defenders' air defenses are already up. Consider spawning slightly further away. Treat [B] as if it's a Bio Lab fight: aircraft only have influence over the entrances. [A] has a decent amount of overhead cover as well. [C] is wide open, and a kill zone that defenders will have difficulty re-capturing if the attackers have total air superiority.
Defensive Strategy[]
Basic Strategy[]
You have the high ground.
Don't get trapped in the main tower. It has decent firing lines and a commanding view of most of the continent, but no strategic value except for the SCU. Engineers with Anti-Materiel Rifles and NS-10 Burster MAXes on the upper level are likely to survive longer than the base Phalanx Turrets will. On that topic, the eastern and western sides have anti-infantry turrets. The southern side has a single anti-vehicle turret. The upper level has a pair of AA turrets, as is standard.
Defenders have the entire plateau to fire down upon attackers from. Attackers only have the rocky southern slope and a single path up the northern slope to get onto the plateau. Control [C] by keeping the northern path and southern rocks clear. Counter-attack through the rocks if [A] is taken. Use whatever entrance to [B] the attackers aren't entering through to reclaim that point if it is taken.
Do not forget that the [B] point exists. The fighting may move elsewhere, but allowing the attackers to establish themselves there can be a fatal mistake. Cut off their spawn points at either end of the tunnels. If they have a Router in there, nothing short of true Infiltrator shenanigans or a more appealing spawn point will dislodge them. Alternatively, you can destroy the relevant spire at the player-base hosting the router spire. Or the base itself.
Infantry Composition[]
Infiltrators should use their Motion Spotter and Recon Darts on areas where the enemy is attacking from. It's tempting to stay on the landing pads and plink at attackers, but this is only effective against assaults from the direct south. Setting up near the southern edge of [C] or watching down the northern path will give better sight lines against attacks from those angles. Place your faction's anti-personnel mines in doorways atop the plateau, along infantry routes up the plateau, and in the tunnels of [B]. If one only has mines in the latter location, a sudden hit marker or kill notification can be early warning that the attackers are probing [B]'s defenses.
Light Assaults with Drifter Jump Jets or that are skilled with Impulse Grenade launches will have ample opportunity to rain death from above with C-4, and the attackers know this. Expect them to be watching the skies. If an enemy Spawn Beacon is on top of the watchtower structure, destroy it ASAP.
Combat Medics are going to have their hands full, regardless of which side of the fight they are on. Stay with concentrations of defenders and keep any counter-offensives going with revives and healing. The enemy cannot trap you in your spawn if your forces never need to respawn. Just be aware that the luminous effects of Shield Recharging Fields and other healing effects can be a bullet magnet in night battles.
Engineers and MAXes, as mentioned earlier, can get decent results from lurking on the upper levels of the watchtower with Anti-Materiel Rifles and Bursters or anti-vehicular weapons. The tight quarters of the buildings east and west of the tower proper are also an ideal environment for anti-infantry MAX use, and MAXes with good support will make holding the choke points of [B] much easier. As stated in the Infiltrator section, anti-personnel mines in [B] are a good early warning, and there are plenty of doorways on the surface to mine as well. Once defense of these areas become a priority, Hardlight Barriers will make holding choke points easier. Vehicles also have very restricted movement along the slopes, so Tank Mines on the roads and bridges have a chance at getting results.
Heavy Assault: Guided Rocket Launchers will deter vehicles to an extent, but there are likely to be more vehicles than you have rockets to kill. Shoot them anyway, even if they're out of lock-on range. Any time an Engineer needs to spend repairing or maneuvering their vehicle is time they can't spend to shoot back. Lead the charge in counter-attacks against captured points. If you need to defend [B], swap out your launcher for an unguided one and consider bringing a Thumper or your faction's equivalent.
Ground Vehicle[]
If the enemy is attacking from the south, the vehicle pads will be under constant watch by enemy tanks. Armor will be best brought in from other locations. Parking a Sunderer at any of the spots listed in the section for attacking strategy can give friendly infantry a lot more flexibility and help prevent spawn room trapping - so long as the enemy isn't already there.
Aircraft[]
It can be a waste of nanites to spawn at The Crown if the battle is intense enough. Depending on which is aligned with the defender's faction, J908 Impact Site, Tawrich Tech Plant, Allatum Bio Lab, or Crimson Bluff Tower will be safer.
Keep enemy ground-attack aircraft from establishing themselves and intercept Galaxy drops whenever possible. Hostile armor is likely to congregate at good firing angles or get into traffic jams: harass them if enemy aircraft and AA are not a threat, and trace infantry movement back to their spawn points.
Keep your distance from the anti-aircraft Phalanxes at Crossroads Watchtower if it is under enemy control.
Media[]
Lattice Links[]
 Ti Alloys, Inc. | Ceres Hydroponics |
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 Crossroads Watchtower | Zurvan Pump Station | The Palisade |
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