(Auxiliary Players in the Prussian 8th Life Regiment)

The Support Class Motto: “We Must Fight… to Run Away!”

Introduction:

Well, hello there! My name is Muszy and I am an Auxiliary officer in the 8th Life Regiment, you can see the lovely faces of my company above! We're a big group of folks who all love playing the huge variety of support classes in this wonderful game from flags to musicians, surgeons to sappers.

But as for you, welcome to the support company of Holdfast!

As you can often notice, there are dozens of players in the community handling the different support classes of this goofy Napoleonic war game with skill, mastery, a touch of silliness, and dedication to keeping a fun experience for everyone.

I believe in learning on the job, but there are quite a few basic things that you can learn before being thrown into the field! Be it my personal tips or those of you needing a loving kick on the butt!

"I don't need to read the rules, I'm aux. You stand behind the line, press 'E.'"
-Auxillarie-Major Penguin Flapjack

"You need seeeeeeexual healing... Do you want a footlong?"
-Kaiserlicher Stabsarzt-Doktor Vel

My favorite class! Everyone needs a medic at some point, even the great Eagle Company (E | C) warriors like Marquis de Lafayette or Joan of Arc need to stop for a heal!

Surgeons:
Source: Holdfast Wiki "Auxiliary"
"Surgeons are able to view the healthbars of nearby friendly troops. Once a surgeon enters the proximity of an injured friendly soldier while facing them, he or she has the ability to heal them by holding down 'E'. (This ability is known as 'Medicine'.)
If a surgeon is injured in battle, he or she may heal themselves by holding down 'Q'. Self healing has a cooldown of one minute. (This ability is known as 'Bandage'.)"


Most shots are a one-hit-kill, but for long-range engagements, there is a higher chance to be injured rather than killed. Having a surgeon there will benefit the rank and file in this type of combat.

Those are the two basic abilities of a surgeon, and the game awards you and your patient with points to do this. Ultimately, it encourages medics to exist in order to save lives or "tickets" for your team.

You have considerable range with being able to heal people, and soldiers do not need to step out of line or double rank in order for you to heal them.

Have fun! Medics are often the funniest and most memorable players. Boost the morale of your comrades by sawing their legs off while telling your best and worst jokes. You get to run around and heal people, what’s not to love?

"We are going to commit origami."
-Auxillarie-Hauptmann Rogue while building an explosive barrel.

"Good times... never played sapper a single time in an Event."
-Pionier-Leutnant Maggot, leader of the Sapper Detachment.

"One more bad remark from the arty guys and the sappers go on strike, no more cannon defenses or repairs."
-Festung-Meister Wussy "Perkele"

Sappers, or pioniers, engineers, military-engineers, the great Perkele, whatever name you hear them called, will risk their lives building offensive and defensive structures and creations in chaos!

Sappers:
Source: Holdfast Wiki "Auxiliary"
"Sappers have access to three unique construction tools that allow them to build, a hammer, a sledgehammer, and a shovel."

On default controls, press "Q" as if you were a musician and HOLD "Right-Click" to open the menu, while holding, you can hover your mouse and select things with "Left-Click."


First, your tools (construct [hammer], deconstruct [sledgehammer], dig [spade], un-dig [also spade, deconstruct function for earthworks]). Then you have structures to construct in the Artillery and Defenses categories. Banned items from events will be specified in the rules or will be colored red on your menu.

You get to construct fortifications, dig earthworks, and repair the artillery crew’s equipment. With spikes, they are the best counter to cavalry, and they can get a couple kills impaling infantry, too, if you hide them well.

Getting better at sapper is all about speed. You need to familiarize yourself with the oddities of construction and the menu. You will need to build defenses quickly and most likely deconstruct them quickly as well.

My personal favorite is the Chevaux de Frise (L) Large. With one hammer swing you can build a structure that cav can get stuck on, a cannonball could explode, or to absorb a few musket rounds. It is not invincible, but it's the best we can do in a jiffy. Much faster than a palisade!

A unique weapon for the sapper that is not included with other support classes is the carbine (a smaller sort of musket with no bayonet function.) You do share this weapon with the Dragoons and Cuirassiers.

And finally, of course, we cannot forget the most important strategy of being a sapper, THE SUICIDE BARREL! Be careful though, enemy muskets can blow you up by simply shooting you, but you can use this to your advantage!

"Those are the King's colours! Raise them high!!"
-Auxillarie-Leutnant Emperor Jay

"What song do you want? Do you want me to play 'Onion?'"
-Unterstabsarzt Whisk

So you want to get some extra points by just standing around, eh? Well my friend, it's gonna be smooth sailing for you with that flag or fife.

Flag-Bearers and Musicians are fairly similar in use and play-style. Within compass range of a line, you gain assist kills while playing your instrument or holding up your flag, but you also give the rank and file important bonuses. Here are some of the basic things to keep in mind while playing as a musician or flag-bearer.

Flags:
Source: Holdfast Wiki "Auxiliary"
"While holding a flag, a flagbearer can increase the reload speed of nearby rank and file by 10%. This boost does not stack with other flagbearers."

In the 1800s, flags were a way for regiments to communicate to each other and find their bearing on a chaotic battlefield, but now, luckily, we have VOIP and Discord! So we don’t need the flags held high, it just makes us an easy target.

Try your best to keep the flag hidden so we still get your buff but you stay alive. Holding Down-Attack works, and if you get tired of that switch to your other finger and Down-Block. I'm not too sure how long this glitch might last, but you also still gain all the benefits of holding your flag while using the sitting emote.


Musicians:
Source: Holdfast Wiki "Auxiliary"
"Musicians can increase the firing accuracy of nearby rank and file by playing their instruments. This boost starts out at 8% for one musician but can stack to 12% if two musicians plays a song with another."

Press “Q” and “Left-Click” to open up the Song Panel. You will be able to “Left-Click” on the song of your choosing and begin to play. Oi! You! Yes you, you little pricks who play different songs at once, it's not funny!

Yellow/Green highlighted songs are the ones your nearby musicians are playing. You can both play the same song which sounds much nicer than two at once.


Both:
You also don't need to be directly in line to give people a buff! So often I see rookie flagbearers and band members standing in line with their comrades, this is obviously dangerous which goes against the NUMBER ONE AUXILIARY/SUPPORT RULE: "Don't get dead." Your big ol' flag or the elbow of your fluteplaying arm additionally blocks the sight of your comrades in line.

Stay off to the side, find some hard cover to crouch behind if you can! You can see who you're giving the buff to by glancing down at your compass. Those with your buff will be the arrows highlighted in purple, and generally it will be all the infantrymen on your compass.

You can use this to your advantage and try to get in between multiple lines at once to maximize your scrumptious assist kills!

"This man will fit right in with Auxiliary fearlessly charging into a cannon piece loaded with grapeshot while playing a f***ing instrument."
-UnterMusiker The One Who Plays The Fife "Fifer"

"VIVE LA AUX!!!!!!"
-FarbenTräger DisabledGooru

"Auxiliary is best company."
-UnterFahnenWache AGS Storey

My Final Tips and Tricks:

Respect the infantry or arty crew you are helping. Or really, respect all players for that matter. Do not cut them off, or annoy them, or distract them from their officer’s orders. You are there to support them, and they are there to protect you. You are not above them just because you get to run around acting all silly.

Remember! The Geneva Convention has not been invented yet as much as people joke about it in game! Be prepared to be targeted as you are a vital asset to your team!

But don't worry, Holdfast has armed you with the weakest firearm in the game! (Sorry devs, I'm still a little salty about the pistol thing. ❤️) You also are armed with a sword that can do side attacks, which can be devastating to recruits already trying to learn how to block a bayonet.


Be mindful and proactive, look for enemies on our flanks and rear.

Just a Holdfast cultural thing, it is considered (--using proper technical anthropology terms--) a d*** move to kill an enemy musician while he is peacefully playing. Many musicians will happily be taken prisoner by you. Musicians, be sure you do not disrespect this common courtesy.

Find cover!!!
There are three types of cover:
---Soft Cover: the infantry itself or sapper emplacements,
---Visual Cover: thin trees or bushes, and
---Hard Cover: thick trees, rocks, and hills/sand dunes. Hard Cover should always be chosen above the others. You aren’t being a coward, you want to stay alive so that you can support the rank and file. REMEMBER THE ONE RULE! Don't get dead. You're not useful if you're dead!

When the infantry takes fire, the dead fall and our spirits shake. But the wounds are still patched, the flags are still waving, and the instruments are still playing. While everyone fires back, we keep them moving forward.

Happy playing! Make your Prussian mothers proud and die where your fathers stood!
-Auxillarie-Leutnant Muszy