Decking

General Tips:

• Attackers will usually have 2 deckers for objectives that require control of Cyberspace, or 3 if the objective itself can only be captured with a Cyberdeck. There are objectives where 4 deckers might be a valid strategy, usually these objectives are only capturable in Cyberspace and require great Cyber presence and combat.

• Defenders will usually have 1 primary decker and 1 backup decker on most objectives, it is valid to sometimes only have 1 decker depending on team composition and if the extra focus on Meatspace can tip the balance in the defenders favour. 3, or 4 deckers are only used on objectives where Cyberspace control is extremely important. 

• Defenders may choose to switch to 4 Cyberdeck users temporarily for special situations such as recapturing an objective that is only accessible through Cyberspace, and has just been lost.

• Coldsuit will provide +25% energy regen while not decked in. Can be a useful implant in certain situations where there might not be any safe opportunity to combat opponents in meatspace, as dying to opponents is the only way to regain full energy quickly.

• Try your best to not get fragged in Cyberspace, it is almost always better to immediately deck out just before. Once you are fragged in Cyberspace your JIP is temporarily disabled for a short duration, long enough that that the opponents can make progress in controlling Cyberspace, and any backup decker on your team loses valuable time where they could be preventing that from happening.

• Try to deck out in places where the opposing decker can't easily take your energy crystal, such as behind any friendly ICE barriers, if possible leave it a convenient place for teammates.

Attacking strategy:

• Generally as attackers for objectives where Cyberspace control provides a decent advantage, you will want full control of Cyberspace, or key nodes before starting your attack as 5 players. In the meantime your teammates will strip the armour of the opposing team and not frag them, especially any Heavies.

• To get control, sometimes you might want to capture any key nodes quickly, if you know that the ICE Barriers can't be secured yet (in case you get there before any opposing deckers) then you can use Wedge to save time and capture the node. If you are unaware of the protection, use Scan, then Breaker - only use Wedge after Scan if you definitely need those extra seconds (provided there is no Mine). Once you have captured the node, you can then Break from the inside.

• Ideally you will Break all unfriendly ICE Barriers in all the key nodes, and fully secure the nodes with Encrypt + ICE Mines/Alarms. If there are multiple nodes, randomise your usage of Green Ice and Mine to throw off opposing deckers decision making.

• Once all nodes, or any key nodes are fully secure you must immediately attack the objective as 5 players together.

• Most decking objectives only take a short time to cap, around 15s, therefore it might be a good idea to either cap or die trying for these types. That is to say, one should trust their teammates to buy the extra seconds needed to cap, and not deck out to frag any incoming defenders if you have already made some progress. If you were late to deck in, it might be a good idea to wipe the incoming defenders before decking in to cap.

Defending strategy:

• Defenders must retain control of key nodes such as turrets, while also balancing their Meatspace presence, as they cannot utilise the armour strip mechanic like attackers. Even deckers must be ready to fight in Meatspace at any moment.

• Anyone defending the decker must make a timely "deck out" call if the the objective or the decker are in danger, while at the same time giving maximum time to finish things in Cyberspace, although it's better to be safe than sorry.

• If defenders are aware that attackers have used Green Ice on any key nodes, they may choose not to Break it, so it can be Wedged and the node taken. This wastes the attacking deckers time considerably forcing them to deck in again and regain control all the time.

• Primary deckers should communicate with backup deckers to work together to keep control of Cyberspace, try not to get decked out so a replacement can deck in immediately.

• If possible, once your energy is depleted while decking, try to go into Meatspace and get the maximum damage or frags on any incoming wave making it easier for your team to frag them, but also you may die in the process and respawn with full energy. Although be careful of the spawn timings, being light helps for this.