All future announcements can be found in the HDC Discord here: https://discord.com/invite/TkKgyz2

Agents,

This week, we have a few topics to cover, so please reference the table of contents:

1. PLAYTESTING
   
2. THE NLAW
   
3. FIRETEAM LEADERS WANTED
   
4. SCHEDULE

1. PLAYTESTING
We are finally ready to solicit assistance from any brave @Game Knights willing to step into the unknown and become pioneers in a new world of server configurations and map testing. To put it plainly, we need to stress and parity test some things and need as many people as we can get to try to break the server. If you are interested in participating, download these two mods and await a ping for @Game Knights tonight: https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2764686098 and https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2764740492

Expect loading screens and crashes.

2. THE NLAW
With the rollout of the new NLAW, there has been some confusion over what role the weapon fills, who can use it, and when. We will continue to remind everyone in the coming weeks, but we wanted to devote some space here to provide a detailed explanation of anything and everything NLAW.

What role does the NLAW fill?: The NLAW is fundamentally intended to be an emergency AT weapon for average rifleman. When we say "emergency", what we mean is that it is a weapon of last resort and should not be used unless other options, such as dedicated AT and/or armor are unavailable. NLAW operators should always defer to assets better equipped to deal with the AT role.

Who can use the NLAW?: Everyone who is not running a specialized class. In other words, classes such as MG, medic, sniper, grenadier, etc. cannot carry NLAWs because they already have enough weight and utility as compared to a standard rifleman. The NLAW is primarily meant to be carried and used by riflemen as a supplement to their capabilities.

When can the NLAW be used?: As mentioned previously, the NLAW is meant to be a weapon of last resort for the average rifleman. Thus, the NLAW should only be fired if no better options are available. If a dedicated AT (MAAWS or Titan) or other asset can effectively engage the target without imperiling the rest of the infantry due to time delay, then they are given priority over NLAWs.

As always, our doctrines will continue to evolve as they are guided by practical experience and agent input, so please feel free to contact leadership with any questions or feedback on these guidelines.

3. FIRETEAM LEADERS WANTED
Those of you who attended last week's operation are already aware that we are trying out a new style of ground team organization. As such, we now have an interest in determining who among you is interested (even a little) in taking on a more regular fireteam lead or other leadership role. If you have any desire or curiosity to lead whatsoever, react to this post in Discord with the designated emoji.

4. SCHEDULE
TRAINING: Friday (08/19) at 8PM Eastern/7PM Central/6PM Mountain/5PM Pacific. For Europeans: 1AM UTC/2AM CET on Saturday.

OPERATION: Saturday (08/20) at 8PM Eastern/7PM Central/6PM Mountain/5PM Pacific. For Europeans: 1AM UTC/2AM CET on Sunday.

Agents,

As was stated earlier this week in #patch-notes, we have made changes to most of our vest capacities; specifically, we have reduced them across the board. This was done for two reasons:

1. As a compromise to once again allow the common usage of backpacks. In fact, some of you might find that the additional capacity offered by backpacks is now necessary, though we have ensured that standard rifleman loadouts can still go without a backpack if desired.

2. To bring the vest capacities more in line with reality. Our vests were always overly generous with capacity, to the point of enabling absurdly heavy loadouts.

The first question most of you will have is probably, "Will this break my loadouts?" The answer is maybe, but not catastrophically. No item ids were changed, so your existing loadouts will load up just fine. However, if you filled up your vest to the max, you will likely see that some items are now missing due to the reduced capacities.

There are two solutions to this issue:

1. Load up your loadouts (preferably prior to op day) and rejigger them to replace the missing items, or just lighten them up.

2. Use the arsenal exports from the roster to make fresh loadouts. See #arma-info for a link to the roster.

Finally, we once again want to remind everyone to RSVP to the events in Discord to help us gauge attendance as well as sign up for the @Botnet to help us grow. Without further ado, this week's schedule is as follows:

WEEKLY EVENT STATUS
TRAINING: Friday (08/12) at 8PM Eastern/7PM Central/6PM Mountain/5PM Pacific. For Europeans: 1AM UTC/2AM CET on Saturday.

OPERATION: Saturday (08/13) at 8PM Eastern/7PM Central/6PM Mountain/5PM Pacific. For Europeans: 1AM UTC/2AM CET on Sunday.

Agents,

This week, we want to spotlight a new role available in #role-selection: @Botnet. This role is a way for the the truly dedicated among you to help us grow by boosting Steam and Reddit recruitment and propaganda posts. We will ping this role, typically once or twice a week to summon the swarm. If you want bigger ops with more people, sign up for the @Botnet today!

With that out of the way, this week's schedule is as follows:

WEEKLY EVENT STATUS
TRAINING: Friday (08/05) at 8PM Eastern/7PM Central/6PM Mountain/5PM Pacific. For Europeans: 1AM UTC/2AM CET on Saturday.

OPERATION: Saturday (08/06) at 8PM Eastern/7PM Central/6PM Mountain/5PM Pacific. For Europeans: 1AM UTC/2AM CET on Sunday.

Agents,

There are no mod changes this week. As always, be sure to RSVP to the events in Discord or post in #the-infirmary if you cannot make it. This week's schedule is as follows:

WEEKLY EVENT STATUS
TRAINING: Friday (07/29) at 8PM Eastern/7PM Central/6PM Mountain/5PM Pacific. For Europeans: 1AM UTC/2AM CET on Saturday.

OPERATION: Saturday (07/30) at 8PM Eastern/7PM Central/6PM Mountain/5PM Pacific. For Europeans: 1AM UTC/2AM CET on Sunday.