Contention
DCS WORLD PVP SERVERS
By Strike Package Studios

Official Server Guide

Community Links

Strike Package Studios / Contention Discord:

Discord.gg/StrikePackage

Contention Public Trello Roadmap:

trello.strikepackagestudios.com

Contention Public Tacview Drive:

tacview.strikepackagestudios.com

Contention Official Server Guide (This Doc):

guide.strikepackagestudios.com

Strike Package Studios YouTube:

YouTube.com/@strikepackagestudios

Strike Package Studios / Contention Patreon:

Patreon.com/strikepackagestudios

DCS Server & SRS Connection Info

Contention Main / SARH Server

Contention Main / SARH Server IP:

dcs.strikepackagestudios.com:10308

Contention Main / SARH Server SRS IP:

srs.strikepackagestudios.com:5002

Contention Cold War Server

Contention Cold War Server IP:

dcs.strikepackagestudios.com:10318

Contention Cold War SRS IP:

srs.strikepackagestudios.com:5003

Contention Modern Server

Contention Modern Server IP:

dcs.strikepackagestudios.com:10328

Contention Modern SRS IP:

srs.strikepackagestudios.com:5004

Server Description

Contention is a Persistent, Dynamic DCS World PVP Campaign / Multiplayer Server that features a sandbox-style battlefield where players fight to capture all Airfields, FARPs, & Strongholds. Contention campaigns emphasize combined arms, teamwork, and strategy. Players are given the tools to achieve victory using a wide variety of tactics, including: CTLD (Player-Deployed Logistics), FAC (Artillery Command), Airborne Reinforcements, Drones, Bombers, Recon, Industrial Strikes, Naval Strikes, EWR Situational Awareness, AWACS & Tanker Support, Airlifts, Convoys, Combined Arms, Airfield Upgrade Systems, Advanced Zone Management Systems, and much more.

Contention offers players an opportunity to make a difference in almost any DCS aircraft module. Players can dominate the skies and decimate ground objectives using advanced 4th generation fighters and attack aircraft, or challenge themselves with older airframes. Helicopters are the driving force of any Contention campaign and serve as the logistic backbone of a team. Trainer aircraft & Warbirds (WWII Planes) have many unique tools on Contention that can be used to accomplish impressive tasks and significantly impact a campaign.

Contention campaigns are designed to be challenging. The goal is to create a full-scale PVP warzone and let players determine the outcome. There is no clear frontline or path to victory. Take advantage of the tools at your disposal, learn the server mechanics, and work with your teammates to conquer the battlefield.

Persistence:

        The fight doesn’t end when the server restarts! All ground units are saved between server restarts, along with all other elements of the campaign. Almost nothing changes when the server restarts. This means that any units you create with CTLD or Credit Drops will be there when the server comes back up. This completely persistent environment is a core element of Contention. Each campaign is intended to feel like a large-scale, persistent conflict that can potentially last weeks at a time!

Dynamic Mission Generation:

        Contention started off as more of a framework than a server. We wanted to make something that was easily-adaptable to any project. Another important goal was to make sure that our servers would continue to be fun and interesting for many years to come. So we created a highly-dynamic mission generation system that ensures that each campaign is different from the last. Many of the core objectives, like Airfields & FARPs, don’t move. However, almost all other objectives have some element of dynamic generation. Capture Points, Factories, Depots, and more are all selected from very large lists of potential options when a new campaign starts. Even more importantly, all ground units and SAM sites on the server are also generated dynamically to make sure their location and type are never predictable. Even attacking the same location throughout different parts of the same campaign can feel like a completely new experience.

How to Join Contention

Connect by IP:

1. Click the “Connect by IP” Button in the top right of the server browser.
2. Enter the Server IP:

1. SARH / Main Server:

1. dcs.strikepackagestudios.com:10308

2. Cold War Server:

1. dcs.strikepackagestudios.com:10318

3. Modern Server:

1. dcs.strikepackagestudios.com:10328

3. Connect.

If Contention was the last server you played, then the IP should already be in the IP field, and you should be able to just hit Connect by IP and then Enter without typing anything.

Connect by Searching or Sorting:

1. Search for Contention.

or

2. Find Contention in the server browser by sorting.
3. Favorite the server by clicking on the star on the far left of the name.
4. Connect.

Difficulty Finding the Server:

Recently there has been an issue where DCS servers will randomly become de-listed and will disappear from the server browser. If this happens, please connect by IP. If that doesn’t work, please verify that your game has been updated to the newest version of DCS World, and check our Discord for more info.

Connection Issues:

If you’re having trouble joining the server, please try the following steps:

1. Verify that your game has been updated to the newest version of DCS.
2. Try pre-loading the map in single-player.

1. Simply start any mission on the desired map and back out after loading in.
2. Many of the connection issues on Syria are due to timing out since load times can be very long.

3. Try Syncing / Resetting your PC Clock.

1. Right-Click on the date/time on the bottom right of your screen or press windows key and search for "Date & Time Settings".
2. Then click "Sync Now".

4. After doing this, please try to join again..
5. 3) If it does not work, please try steps 2-6 in the "crashes" section below.
6. 4) If none of these steps work, then there might be an issue with our host, your ISP, DCS, or some other issue outside of our control. You can keep trying to join or wait and try again at a later time.

Crash Issues:

If you are having trouble playing on Contention due to your game crashing, please try the following steps:

1. Upload the crash log from your session in the Eagle Dynamics Discord #dcs-log-analyzer channel.

1. This will provide information about your specific crash.
2. This is always the best place to start and we highly recommend doing this before proceeding with anything else because it can sometimes immediately point you to the issue.
3. ED Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/eagledynamics

If step 1 doesn't resolve your issue, then please try the following:

2. Run a DCS Repair: https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/support/faq/repair/
3. Remove any custom mods.
4. Delete Saved Games\DCS(or DCS.openbeta)\fxo and metashaders2
5. Delete %LOCALAPPDATA%\TEMP\DCS(or DCS.openbeta)
6. You can also rename Saved Games\DCS(or DCS.openbeta) to something like DCS.old so that it will generate a new saved games folder for you.

Dynamic Slots

Contention utilizes the Dynamic Slot system in DCS. This system allows us to have essentially unlimited slots for each type of aircraft, and also makes it very easy to swap aircraft between teams.

How to use Dynamic Slots:

1. Connect to Contention.
2. Select a Coalition and click JOIN.
3. Click ”Dynamic Slots”.
4. Select your desired spawn location.
5. Choose your desired aircraft and loadout.
6. Press OK.

Contention Server Rules - Expanded Version

Accidents happen and all reports are handled on a case-by-case basis.

1. Staff decisions are final and must be respected. Do not try to find or exploit loopholes in any systems or rules.
2. Any clear attempt to exploit server systems or DCS mechanics may result in administrative action. Please play the server as intended. This includes known DCS exploits.
3. The following actions are forbidden:

1. Intentional teamkilling.
2. Ramming of any kind. No aircraft or ground vehicle is allowed to make contact with another vehicle.
3. Griefing or trolling.
4. Stream-sniping.
5. Attacking a "Protected Airfield" with any A/A or A/G weapons.
6. De-slotting / re-slotting / disconnecting to avoid death or to deny kill credit. Ejecting is always allowed.

4. No abusive chat.

1. Be friendly and helpful.
2. Maturity and Respect are required at all times.
3. Be welcoming and patient with new players at all times.
4. Racism or any other hate speech is not permitted.

5. Do not abuse JTAC or Tactical Commander slots.
6. All units must be kept clearly out in the open and away from trees and buildings.
7. Do not move CTLD/Airdrop units created by other players without their permission.

1. These units contain CTLD or DROP in the unit/group name.
2. These units contain the name of the player who created them in the unit/group name.
3. Do not touch any of these units without explicit permission from the player who created them.

8. Do not remove units from the locations they are protecting unless they were created by yourself or another player via CTLD/Airdrop (and you have permission to move them).

1. Please make sure all units spawned by the server stay in their intended zones.
2. Server-spawned units will have unit/group names containing objective names, such as "airfield, farp, cp, ind, depot, stronghold, sam, iads, etc."

1. If the name does not contain CTLD or DROP, then it was spawned by the server.

3. Do not move any of these server-spawned units away from the zone where they were spawned by the server.

1. They must remain inside the shaded circle.

4. For FARPs & Airfields, the units must be kept inside the shaded inner-circle. The large outer-circle does NOT define the zone!
5. Do not remove any unit with a naming convention that includes "sam-" or "iads-" from their spawn location.
6. You may control any server-spawned units and move them as long as they are kept inside their intended zone and away from trees/buildings.

Additional Rules for Tactical Commanders

1. Server-Spawned Unit Pathing:

1. Tactical Commanders may never path any units spawned by the server.
2. Units spawned at Airfields, FARPs, Factories, Strongholds, Depots, CP's, default SAM sites with "sam-" or "-iads" in the name, or any other server-spawned units.
3. Manually driving individual units that were spawned by the server is always permitted as long as you remain inside the shaded circle/designated zone, but pathing them is not!
4. This will cause major issues, especially at airfields! Be very careful!

2. Road Pathing:

1. Tactical Commanders must utilize road pathing, with a green destination marker, whenever possible.
2. Please avoid using off-road pathing unless it is unavoidable to reach your destination.

• Contention Server Rules - Condensed Version

1. Staff decisions are final and must be respected. Do not try to find or exploit loopholes in any systems or rules.
2. Any clear attempt to exploit server systems or DCS mechanics may result in administrative action. Please play the server as intended. This includes known DCS exploits.
3. Please avoid any of the forbidden actions listed in the expanded server rules.
4. No abusive chat. Be friendly and helpful. Maturity and Respect are required at all times. Be welcoming and patient with new players at all times. Racism or any other hate speech is not permitted.
5. Do not abuse JTAC or Tactical Commander slots.
6. All units must be kept clearly out in the open and away from trees and buildings.
7. Do not move CTLD/Airdrop units created by other players without their permission.
8. Do not remove units from the locations they are protecting unless they were created by yourself or another player via CTLD/Airdrop (and you have permission to move them).
9. Tactical Commanders may never path any units that were spawned by the server.
10. Tactical Commanders must utilize road pathing, with a green destination marker, whenever possible.

Comms & Carrier Info

Eras & Weapon Restrictions

Contention Main Server

Contention Cold War Server

Contention servers do not aim for period-accuracy.

Campaign List

Main Server Campaigns:

Cold War Campaigns:

A flipped version means that starting team sides can be swapped between campaigns.

Example: If red starts in the north in one campaign, then they will start in the south in the next campaign.

SARH / 90’s Aircraft & Weapon Info:

Cold War Aircraft & Weapon Info:

Discord Commands

(Enter these commands in any SPS Discord channel that allows commands)

!guide, !faq - Server guide link (This guide)

!discord - Permanent Discord invite link

!srs - SRS IP

!tacview - Contention Public Tacview Drive Link

!trello - Contention Public Trello Link

!circles - Direct link to the “Objective Map Status Indicators” section of this guide

!eras - Display Cold War Era Info

!dyn - Display Dynamic Slot Info

!crash - Steps to fix Crash/Connection Issues.

Server Chat Commands

(Enter these commands in the in-game DCS chat while connected to the server)

-time to check the time remaining until the next server restart.

(-timeleft, .time, !time can also be used as alternatives)

• Contention campaigns restart every 6 hours. You can use this command to check in-game, or you can view the server uptime in the browser or in the Discord status channel and then subtract the uptime from 6 hours.
  

.credits to view your current credit balance.

(FAQ’s) Frequently Asked Questions

• What Radio Frequency should I use to communicate?

• 251.00 AM is the primary / common frequency.
• SRS is the primary method of communication on Contention servers.

• Download SRS: http://dcssimpleradio.com/

• How do I know where I can spawn?

• Protected Airfield:

• Both teams always have a “protected airfield” in each campaign. It will always be available for all aircraft.

• Cold War Server:

• Players can spawn any aircraft at any airfield as long as the HQ at that airfield is alive.
• You can tell if an HQ is alive by looking at the 3 circles next to the airfield. If the top one is red, then the HQ is dead and you can’t spawn there.

• SARH / 90’s / Modern:

• Fighters can only spawn at designated Fighter airfields. These are depicted by a small “F” above the airfield. Forward fighter spawns are depicted with “FF”. They have certain prerequisites that must be met before you can spawn there. Please read the forward fighter spawn section of the guide for more info.
• The HQ at any fighter spawn must be alive in order to spawn there. You can tell if an HQ is alive by looking at the 3 circles next to the airfield. If the top one is red, then the HQ is dead and you can’t spawn there.

• Can I kill the enemy AWACS?

• All AWACS units can be killed.
• Players can respawn any AWACS unit immediately by spending credits.

• Can I bomb runways?

• Yes, you may bomb runways.
• You may not bomb the runways at the 2 protected airfields (it will automatically kill you first anyways).

• Does this server use LotATC?

• No, we do not use LotATC. We have tested it in the past and it caused terrible server lag.
• However, JTAC slots are open to the public and Tactical Commander slots are available upon request in our Discord if you’re interested in being a GCI on the server.

• Can I kill enemy Aircraft Carriers and their escorts?

• Yes, all aircraft carriers and escorts can be killed.
• Once killed, the boats will not respawn for 48 hours.
• After 48 hours they will be available again.

• Where do I find enemy ground targets?

• Look on the F10 map for target zones that are marked with the enemy team’s color.

• For example, if you’re playing blue, then any red-filled circle on the map will contain enemy units.
• The most important targets are FARPs, Airfields, & Strongholds.

• There is no clearly-defined frontline. You will need to use the F10 map and attack a target that is controlled by the enemy.
• If you see an enemy airfield with a yellow circle inside the inner colored circle, then that airfield is currently being attacked. Alternatively, a friendly airfield with a yellow circle is also being attacked.
• Communicate with your team or head to the closest enemy zone. Read below for more info about targets.

• What types of ground units are on each team?

• We always try to make sure that ground units are on the appropriate real-life coalition. So for example, any real NATO ground units will be on Blue, and any Russian or Chinese ground units will be on Red.

• How does my team win a campaign?

• Win a campaign by capturing all Airfields, FARPs & Strongholds.

• How do I neutralize an enemy zone?

• Neutralize zones by killing all enemy ground units in the zone.
• To neutralize an Airfield you must kill all enemy units AND destroy the airfield HQ.
• To neutralize a factory you must kill all enemy units AND destroy all structures.

• How do I capture a neutral zone?

• Capture a neutral zone by bringing at least 1 friendly ground unit into the zone via CTLD, Combined Arms, or Airborne Reinforcements.
• Zone updates may take up to 1 minute to process.

• Where can I access CTLD to pick up crates?

• CTLD can be accessed from any friendly FARP or Airfield.
• You must be inside the inner shaded circle.

• How far do I need to fly before I can deploy my CTLD crates?

• The minimum distance to deploy CTLD units is 2.6nm.
• This distance is measured from the center of the nearest friendly farp or airfield.
• This includes any friendly farp or airfield, even if it’s not where you picked up the crate. So once a neutral zone gets captured, you cannot drop your crate nearby anymore.

• What can I spend my credits on?

• Credits can be spent on a wide variety of actions such as calling in reinforcements, bombers, drones, awacs units, tankers, convoys, & more.
• Please read below for more info.

• How can I spend my Credits?

• Please refer to the “How to Spend Credit Actions” section of this guide. You can locate it on the left using the outline panel, or scroll down, or use ctrl + f.

• Why am I getting spawn-killed before taking off?

• You may be killed at any spawn that is not a protected airfield.
• Do not complain about getting killed at a spawn.
• The enemy is doing nothing wrong by killing you on the spawn. This is necessary to capture the objective that you are spawning at.
• Spawn somewhere else.

• Which aircraft are hidden on EWR?

• All Helicopters, Warbirds, the MB-339, & the L-39C are hidden on EWR.

• How do I know where I should spawn?

• Players are highly encouraged to hop in a JTAC slot to figure out where to spawn before slotting in.
• If you don’t own Combined Arms, you should probably just hop in any available slot and look at the map, and then try selecting your desired forward spawn.
• Some spawns might not be available if they are not controlled by your team, or if the HQ is destroyed at that airfield, or if you are selecting a forward fighter spawn that is not available due to prerequisites not being met (read below for more info).

• What are “Protected Airfields”?

• Protected Airfields are airfields for each team that cannot be attacked.
• They serve as a permanent spawn location that will always be available.
• Enemies that try to enter a protected airspace will be destroyed via a script after being alerted and warned to leave.
• All Cargo flights and bombers spawn from a team’s protected airfield.

• What happens when an AWACS or Tanker runs out of fuel?

• AWACS & Tanker units will “RTB” when they get low on fuel and will need to be respawned with credits.
• They will actually be instantly despawned instead of returning to a base, to clear the unit off the server and allow for another one to spawn.

• Why can’t I rearm at a FARP?

• Rearming at a FARP requires the logistic trucks and supply units between the FARP pads to be alive. If they are dead, you won’t be able to rearm.
• You can manually repair these units instantly by using a command. Use: Comms Menu > F10 > Zone Management > FARP Actions > Fix FARP Supplies.
• This repair action has a 15 minute cooldown and will cost team resources.

• What do the big circles surrounding airfields and FARPs mean?

• The outer-circle / ring shows the minimum CTLD crate unpack range.
• The actual zone is defined only by the shaded inner-circle.

• The outer-circle does not denote the actual zone radius.
• All airfield units must be kept inside the shaded circle.
• The shaded inner-circle is the actual zone.

• The outer circle is just an indicator of the CTLD deployment range.

• How do I gain access to Tactical Commander slots?

• Open a ticket in our Discord to request Tactical Commander access.
• Find the #create-a-ticket channel and click the “Create Ticket” button.

• How do I report a player?

• Find the #create-a-ticket channel and click the “Create Ticket” button.
• Please provide evidence via screenshots, videos, or Tacview.

Quick Server Intro for New Players

        This guide is pretty intimidating to some new players. Hopefully this section helps you get a grasp of the basic elements, and understand that the foundation of the server is actually pretty simple.

        Contention is full of different objectives across the map. These objectives will either be Red, Blue, or White. Red and Blue zones are controlled by the Red or Blue team, and white objectives are Neutral. So if you’re looking for something to attack, head to a zone with the enemy’s color.

        It’s easy to capture most zones. You just need to kill all the enemy ground units, and then move friendly ground units in. Some zones contain structures that must be killed as well. You can learn more about those below. But don’t be too intimidated by the capture system. It almost always just comes down to killing the enemy units in the marked zone.

        The zones you need to capture to win the campaign are Airfields, FARPs, and Strongholds. However, many other objectives exist too. You can learn about them by reading the sections below.

        Understanding how to be useful and where to go at any given time on Contention can require a bit of experience. So start small and work your way up. Try attacking the closest enemy zone to a location that lets you spawn in your desired aircraft.

        As a new player, you should just start off by playing cautiously. Don’t overcommit, don’t push deep into enemy territory, and don’t be afraid to run.

        Communication can be very helpful, but it’s not always reliable. Sometimes your team just won’t be talking on SRS. So make sure to read the rest of this guide to learn how each different type of objective works, how to attack it, and what to prioritize.

        Make sure you’re paying attention to your EWR reports and any other situational awareness supplements on your aircraft. You can manually request EWR picture updates at any time, and the information displayed will always be based off the current visibility of your team’s EWR sources. Don’t be afraid to request pictures frequently, and consider binding it to a macro or voice attack.

        There’s a lot of complex elements to Contention. Things like team resources, credits, and many of the other features described below are important. However, you don’t need to jump into all these mechanics until you’re ready. Take your time, learn how to survive a simple sortie, and then slowly try taking on new challenges. And remember, you can always refer back to this guide!

How to WIN a Contention Campaign

Capture all Airfields

Capture all FARPs

Capture all Strongholds

Airfields, FARPs, & Strongholds are the primary objectives in any Contention campaign. These targets are described in greater detail below.

Airfield Example:

FARP Example:

Stronghold Example:

Objectives Types

• Primary Objectives:

• Airfields
• FARPs
• Strongholds

• Industrial Objectives:

• Command & Control Centers
• Industrial Centers
• CP's (Capture Points)
• Factories
• Depots
• Rear Depots
• Oil Platforms

• Strategic Targets:

• Naval Convoys
• Carrier Fleets
• SAM Sites
• AWACS

• Popup Events:

• Bombers
• Resource Delivery Cargo Flights
• CSAR Requests

Airfields, FARPs, & Strongholds must be captured to win the campaign.

All other objectives do not need to be captured or destroyed to win. However, capturing or destroying them can greatly assist your team.

Identifying Objectives

• Airfields & FARPs are marked on the map with a solid inner-circle surrounded by a larger outer circle/ring.

• The smaller shaded circle represents the actual zone.
• The larger unshaded circle shows the minimum CTLD crate unpack range and does not represent the zone itself.

• Strongholds are large solid circles labeled with the name of the location they represent.
• CP's are the smaller solid circles around the map that are not surrounded by a larger circle, and are named like: A-1, A-21, B-123, etc. The zone name will always start with A or B, followed by a number.
• Factories are marked on the map and can be easy to spot visually when the buildings are alive. They consist of up to 18 large industrial buildings, surrounded by enemy forces.
• Naval Convoys & Carrier Fleets are not directly marked on the map but can be found in each team’s Navy zone. They must be located visually or by using a radar. Convoys consist of up to 8 ships, and fleets consist of up to 6.
• Oil Platforms are located along the coast and are marked on the map.
• Depots are located next to every controlled FARP and Airfield. They are marked on the map.
• Rear Depots are located in each team’s industrial zone and are marked on the map.
• Command & Control Centers are located in each team’s industrial zone and are marked on the map.
• Industrial Centers are located in each team’s industrial zone and are marked on the map.

How to Capture Objectives

• Eliminate all enemy forces within a marked zone.
• Bring friendly ground units into the zone.
• Units can be dropped by players in helicopters using CTLD, or by calling in airborne reinforcements in the F10 menu (using personal credits). Tactical commanders and JTAC operators can move nearby units into a zone.
• It doesn't matter how the unit(s) get there as long as a friendly ground unit is within the zone radius and there are no hostiles in the zone.
• Zones without any friendly or enemy troops will go neutral.
• Zone capture status is checked by the server every 1 minute. It may take up to 60 seconds for a zone to be captured or go neutral after units enter it. It may take longer if units are still “burning out” and not considered dead yet by DCS.
• Airfields contain a structure, known as the “HQ”, which must also be killed before it will go neutral. More info about this can be found below.

• Factory objectives also require all buildings to be killed before going neutral.

Neutral Objective Example:

Airfields

• Airfields are the primary objectives of any Contention Campaign.
• Airfield defenses consist of:

• 1 Airfield HQ building
• Various ground vehicle defenses including:

• Tanks
• AAA
• IR SAMs
• Air Defense (SA-15/Roland)
• Medium-Range SAM (Hawk/SA-11).

• Airfields need an HQ for any repairs/upgrades/reinforcements to process. The HQ is a building that must be spawned first after an airfield is captured, before any reinforcements can be deployed.

• Players cannot start any reinforcement or upgrade actions without an active HQ.
• Destroy enemy HQ's to prevent them from repairing/reinforcing!

• The HQ is required for players to spawn at an airfield.

• The exceptions include: Helis, Trainers, Warbirds, A-10's, and Su-25's.

• These exception aircraft can spawn without an HQ.

• Destroy enemy HQ's to prevent them from spawning better aircraft!

• The HQ will start as a barracks, and can be upgraded to a stronger hanger building, and then a hardened command post bunker.
• The airfield SAM can be repaired.

• Repairing the SAM requires a tier 3 HQ.

• Airfield HQ Production, Unit Reinforcements, and SAM Reinforcements can be called through the Comms Menu > F10 > Zone Management > Airfield Actions while landed inside an airfield zone.

• Alternatively, players can remotely start these actions by placing markers on the F10 map.

• /hq - Repair HQ
• /troops - Dispatch Reinforcements
• /sam - Dispatch SAM Reinforcements

• Requirements:

• The marker must be placed within the shaded inner-circle of an airfield that your team controls.
• There cannot be an active reinforcement action in progress.
• Your team must have the appropriate number of resources available.

• Airfield HQ Repair System:

• HQ repair times & costs are based on the number of friendly units within the zone.
• If an airfield has a green reinforcement status (20+ units), then the repair time will only be 10 mins and the repair cost will be free.
• If an airfield has a yellow reinforcement status (10-19 units), then the repair time will be 50% of the normal time (minimum 10 mins) and the repair cost will be 50% of the normal cost.
• If an airfield has an orange or red reinforcement status then there is no discounted cost or decreased repair time.
• Automatic Repairs:

• HQ repairs will start automatically if an airfield has a green reinforcement status since there is no cost.
• An airfield with a yellow, orange, or red status must be repaired manually.
• Automatic repairs will start 1 minute after HQ destruction and will only start if there is no other reinforcement action in progress at that airfield.

• All of these airfield actions cost Team Resources. Please read below to learn more about team resources.
• Airfield reinforcements & airfield SAM repairs are delivered via a cargo plane airdrop. The plane must reach the destination alive!
• All airfields will have a tier 3 HQ (hardened bunker) at the start of each campaign.
• When an airfield gets captured, a free HQ will start being constructed. If it gets built successfully, then a free reinforcement flight will be dispatched. "Free" means it does not cost any team resources.
• Airfield reinforcement actions persist through server restarts.

• HQ construction will continue where it left off when the server comes back online.
• Reinforcement flights will spawn back over the protected airfield and continue their route when the server comes back online.

• All airfield defense units will spawn in a random location at the start of each campaign, and their unit type will be randomized. This will also happen whenever reinforcements arrive at an airfield.

Airfield Runway & Structure Repair System

• A system to prevent dynamic spawns from being blocked by craters, wrecks, or other damage has been implemented.

• When players spawn in, the area around them should be repaired. If this works properly, it means that cratering a few specific dynamic spawn locations won't completely prevent players from spawning at an airfield.
• This was previously possible and is now considered an exploit.

• Automatic repairs of runways and airfield structures (other than at spawn points as described above) have been disabled. The only way to repair a runway going forward is to use the system described below.
• This means that runway strikes can be very powerful!
• Initiate a repair using the command:

• Zone Management > Airfield Actions > Repair Airfield Runway & Structures

• Airfield repair costs 50,000 resources.
• Airfield repair takes 20 minutes to complete.
• Airfield repair cannot be done while another airfield action is in progress.
• Airfield repair requires an HQ to be alive at the airfield.
• Airfield repair time remaining will be displayed like HQ repair on the map.
• Airfield repair will continue if HQ gets destroyed.
• Airfield repair will refund 25,000 (half the cost) resources if the airfield goes neutral or gets captured while it is processing.
• "Fix FARP Supplies" updated to "Repair FARP" in Zone Management > FARP Actions.

• This command includes the previous functionality of repairing the farp ammo/fuel supplies between the pads to allow for refueling and rearming, and it now also repairs any craters/damage/wrecks in the FARP area.
• This will be especially useful for roadbases.
• The resource cost and 15 minute cooldown will remain the same as before.
• The repair action is still completed instantly.

Airfield "Under-Attack" System

• The "Under Attack" system is designed to inform players on both teams of airfields that are actively being attacked, by providing messages about attacks as well as map marker indications.
• This system is currently only planned and implemented for Airfields. This is intended to give players attacking farps, cp's, factories, and other objectives an opportunity to do so without giving away their position.
• "Under Attack" status lasts for 15 minutes. It starts when any unit inside an airfield zone gets killed, and the time gets extended each time another unit dies. If nothing dies for 15 minutes, then the map marker will be deleted and the status will be removed.
• Airfield "under attack" notifications include:

1. "X airfield is under attack!" for the team that owns it.
2. The attacking team will receive: "Our team is attacking X airfield!"

• When this status is in effect, a yellow marker approximately 1/2 of the size of the inner-circle surrounding the airfield will be spawned. This provides a simple visual indication on the F10 map that players can reference to see which airfields are currently being attacked.
• This system is simply intended to provide more info to players regarding current A/G action. There are no restrictions or limitations on airfields under attack.
• Both teams will also be notified when an airfield HQ gets destroyed.

FARPs

• Forward Arming & Refueling Points (FARPs) are important strategic helicopter spawn locations. They help connect the map and reduce helicopter flight times. They are primary objectives that must be captured to win a contention campaign.
• Some Caucasus FARPs also serve as road bases, with limited plane spawns.

• On Caucasus Coast (Cold War), players cannot spawn at roadbases, but they can land and rearm/refuel at them.

• FARPs are defended by various ground vehicles:

• Tanks
• AAA
• IR SAMs
• Air Defense (SA-15/Roland)

• FARPs can be reinforced with the Zone Management commands, similar to airfields, but they do not have an HQ to destroy before being captured.

• Players can use Comms Menu > F10 > Zone Management > FARP Actions while landed inside a friendly FARP zone.
• Players can also remotely start this reinforcement action by placing markers on the F10 map.

• /troops - Dispatch Reinforcements

• Requirements:

• The marker must be placed within the shaded inner-circle of a FARP that your team controls.
• There cannot be an active reinforcement action in progress.
• Your team must have the appropriate number of resources available.

• Instead of an HQ, FARPs contain 2x fuel trucks and 2x ammo trucks, located between the farp pads, that must be killed before the farp can be captured.

• These logi vehicles can be repaired, along with the logi static units, through the Comms Menu > F10 > Zone Management > Fix Farp Supplies.

• Please use this action if you can’t rearm at a friendly farp!

• This action will also clean up any carcasses or craters.
• This action has a 15 minute cooldown and costs 25,000 team resources.

• FARP reinforcements are airdropped by a cargo plane. The plane must reach the FARP alive.
• FARP reinforcement actions persist through server restarts.

• Reinforcement flights will spawn back over the protected airfield and continue their route when the server comes back online.

Objective Map Status Indicators

• Airfield and FARP status information can be observed quickly by looking at the small colored circles to the left of the objective on the F10 map.
• This system does not update instantly and can take a few minutes to accurately represent the status of the objective.
• To keep the map clean, no text has been added. Just the circles. Please refer to the information below to understand what each circle/color represents.
• Airfields have 3 circles:

• The TOP circle represents the HQ Level & HQ Alive/Dead Status.
• The MIDDLE circle represents the Reinforcement strength.
• The BOTTOM circle represents the Culling status.

• FARPs have 2 circles:

• The TOP circle represents the Reinforcement strength.
• The BOTTOM circle represents the Culling status.

• The culling system despawns/respawns units when there are no enemy units within a certain range in order to improve server performance.

Airfield Indicators:

• TOP Airfield Circle - HQ Status & Level:

• Purple Top Circle - HQ Repairing
• Red Top Circle - HQ Destroyed
• Orange Top Circle - HQ Level 1 & Alive
• Yellow Top Circle - HQ Level 2 & Alive
• Green Top Circle - HQ Level 3 & Alive

• MIDDLE Airfield Circle - Reinforcement Strength:

• Red Middle Circle - 0 Units Alive
• Orange Middle Circle - 1-9 Units Alive
• Yellow Middle Circle - 10-19 Units Alive
• Green Middle Circle - 20+ Units Alive

• BOTTOM Airfield Circle - Culling Status:

• Green Bottom Circle - Culling is NOT active and all units are spawned
• Purple Bottom Circle - Culling is ACTIVE and airfield units are not spawned

FARP Indicators:

• TOP FARP Circle - Reinforcement Strength:

• Red Top Circle - 0 Units Alive
• Orange Top Circle - 1-9 Units Alive
• Yellow Top Circle - 10-19 Units Alive
• Green Top Circle - 20+ Units Alive

• BOTTOM FARP Circle - Culling Status:

• Green Bottom Circle - Culling is NOT active and all units are spawned
• Purple Bottom Circle - Culling is ACTIVE and airfield units are not spawned

Strongholds

• Strongholds are REQUIRED objectives that must be captured in order to win a campaign.
• Stronghold objectives allow us to take advantage of cool parts of the map. Strongholds can be cities, strategic locations, cool POI's, or other interesting and well-modeled areas of the map.
• 3 Strongholds will spawn for each team at the start of a campaign. They are randomly selected from a bigger list to guarantee unique mission generation.
• Strongholds are marked on the map.
• Strongholds consist of a huge area defended by lots of units.

• All units must be killed to neutralize the zone, and a friendly unit must enter the zone to capture it.
• There is no HQ mechanic at strongholds.

• Strongholds can be reinforced with cargo planes or by completing an airlift.

• Reinforcements can be called in via a command:

• Comms Menu > F10 > Zone Management > Stronghold Reinforcements > Reinforce (name of stronghold)

• A cargo plane will be dispatched to reinforce the zone. The plane must reach the stronghold alive.
• Reinforcements cost 100,000 team resources.

• Stronghold reinforcement actions persist through server restarts.

• Reinforcement flights will spawn back over the protected airfield and continue their route when the server comes back online.

• Stronghold reinforcement and culling status is NOT displayed on the map with info circles.

• Instead, you can check the reinforcement status of a stronghold using the command:

• Comms Menu > F10 > Contention Campaign > Zone Status Reports > Stronghold Status Reports.

• Controlled Strongholds generate 250 resources per tick.

Capture Points (CP's)

• CP's are the smaller solid circles around the map that are not surrounded by a larger circle, and are named like: A-1, A-21, B-123, etc. The zone name will always start with A or B followed by a number.
• 15-30 CP's are randomly selected and spawned for each team at the start of the campaign. The exact number changes depending on the current map & era.
• CP's do not have an HQ or any form of repair/reinforcement actions.
• CP's generate a small amount of resources every few minutes. Capture enemy CP's to steal their resource production!
• Units at CP’s have a chance to be clustered together to make them easier to attack with dumb weapons. They will not always be clustered, and there’s a few variations to how they get clustered. This should prevent these objectives from being predictable while still adding this functionality.

Factories

• Factories are marked, capturable objectives that produce a large amount of resources every 2 minutes based on the number of buildings alive.
• Factories are not required to be captured to win a campaign.
• Each team starts with 10 factory buildings, labeled as either North or South Factory followed by a number to help identify them.
• The amount of resources produced depends on the number of factory structures that are alive within the factory zone. Each individual structure adds more resources, so every individual building/fuel tank/tent matters!
• Killing enemy factory buildings will result in the enemy producing fewer resources.
• Once all buildings have been destroyed, and all enemy ground units have been killed, the factory zones will go neutral.
• Once neutral, factory zones can be captured with ground units like any other zone.
• Once captured, your team can start repairing the factory to increase your passive resource production.
• Repairs can be accomplished by any Helicopter, Trainer, or Warbird (assuming the trainer or warbird can land successfully in the zone). However, the best way to repair a factory is using an Mi-8 or UH-1H! Hips and Hueys can carry 6 factory repair crates at once. All other aircraft can only carry 3 repair crates at a time.
• Factories consist of 18 individual buildings, meaning 18 total repair crates are required to achieve maximum passive income from a factory.
• Factory repair crates can be loaded at any friendly FARP or Airfield, and deployed at any friendly factory.
• Load crates using the F10 commands in Comms Menu > F10 > Zone Management > Factories
• Factory Commands include:

• “Check Cargo” - Display current factory crate cargo
• “Return Cargo to Base” - Drop your crate back to a friendly farp or airfield
• “Load Factory Supplies” - Pickup a crate from a friendly farp or airfield
• “Deliver Factory Supplies” - Use this option to deliver your crate once you land within a friendly factory zone. You will have 20 seconds to move after using this command before the buildings spawn. Be careful!

• A small amount of weight is applied to your aircraft while carrying these crates.
• Factory crates do not have any associated resource or credit cost. They are free.
• Players will receive +1 credit per crate delivered. So up to 6 credits per drop in a huey or hip, or 3 in anything else.
• Players can track the current number of buildings alive at all friendly factories by looking at the F10 map. The number will be displayed under the factory name and updated dynamically (can take up to 30 seconds to update). The number is not displayed on enemy factories.
• Killing enemy factory buildings will reward +2 credits per building. There is no landing bonus.

Command & Control (C2) Centers

• C2's are special deep strike objectives with a major impact on the campaign.
• Each team has 1 C2 location in their industrial zone.
• C2's are essentially the "ai commander" of each team. They dispatch all Bomber flights, Cargo flights, and other events.
• If a C2 gets wiped out, these automated systems will no longer work.

• If you take out the enemy C2 you can stop their bomber flights from spawning.
• You will also get FREE RESOURCES every time an enemy cargo plane would have spawned.

• Each C2 Spawns with 3 Bunkers. Each one controls 1/3 of the deployment abilities.

• If 1 Bunker dies: Bomber unit count will be reduced from 6 to 4 and Cargo flights will only carry 80,000 resources.
• If 2 Bunkers die: Bomber unit count will be reduced from 6 to 2 and Cargo flights will only carry 40,000 resources.
• If all 3 Bunkers die: Bombers and Cargo Flights will not spawn. The enemy team will be automatically rewarded 100,000 resources when friendly cargo flights are supposed to spawn.

• Repairs:

• Bunkers can be repaired through the F10 menu after being destroyed.
• Each bunker costs 250,000 Resources to repair.
• Each bunker takes 3 hours to repair. This repair time persists through server restarts.
• Only 1 bunker can be repaired at a time.
• Repairs and reinforcements are also displayed on the map like normal airfield repairs & reinforcements with the repair time also being displayed.
• The number of bunkers alive is displayed on the F10 map.

• Reinforcements:

• C2 centers are reinforced with primarily AAA and some IR SAM. There are also a few tanks and IFV's.
• C2 Reinforcements can be dispatched like normal airfield reinforcements. However, since the flight time is very short and the plane is unlikely to be intercepted, these reinforcements are expensive and cost 150,000 resources to replenish.

• Reinforcements and repairs can be done simultaneously due to the very long repair times.
• C2 reinforcement actions persist through server restarts.

• Reinforcement flights will spawn back over the protected airfield and continue their route when the server comes back online.

• Each C2 site is protected by 1x MR/LR Sam.

• This site can be repaired using: Comms Menu > F10 > Zone Management > SAM Repairs

• F10 Commands include:

• Zone Management > C2 Actions > Start Repairing - Initiate repairs
• Zone Management > C2 Actions > Reinforce C2 Units - Dispatch Reinforcements
• Zone Management > C2 Actions > C2 Status - Display facility & repair status

• Killing a C2 bunker will reward +20 credits.

Industrial Centers

• Industrial Centers are the central point of all resource generation by a team.
• These facilities generate resources, like factories, but they also play a much larger role in controlling the flow of resources and acting as a central hub for resource management.
• Each team has 1 Industrial Center in their industrial zone.
• What this means in-game:

• If you destroy any part of an enemy Industrial Center, their overall resource production from all factories & cp's will be decreased along with the reduced amount generated by the facility itself.
• If you completely destroy the facility, they will only generate a very small amount of resources (10% max) per tick from factories and cp's, and none from the facility itself.
• So targeting this facility can cut off up to 90% of the enemy's resource generation from CP's & Factories and 100% from the facility itself. It will not affect their airfield resource generation.

• These objectives consist of 4 Bunkers:

• Each bunker controls 25% of the facility's resource production, as well as 25% of that team's total resource production.
• If 1 bunker dies: The facility will only produce 75% of its normal resources per tick, all factories and cp's controlled by that team will only produce 75% of their normal rate per tick.
• If 2 bunkers dies: The facility will only produce 50% of its normal resources per tick, all factories and cp's controlled by that team will only produce 50% of their normal rate per tick.
• If 3 bunkers dies: The facility will only produce 25% of its normal resources per tick, all factories and cp's controlled by that team will only produce 25% of their normal rate per tick.
• If all 4 bunkers dies: The facility will produce 0% of its normal resources per tick, all factories and cp's controlled by that team will only produce 10% of their normal rate per tick.

• Repairs:

• Each bunker can be repaired manually using the zone management commands.
• Repairs cost 125,000 per-bunker and take 2 hours each.
• Only 1 bunker can be repaired at a time.
• These repairs persist through server restarts.
• The number of bunkers alive is displayed on the F10 map.

• Reinforcements:

• Each facility is protected by primarily AAA and some IR SAMs. There are also a few tanks and IFV's.
• Facility Reinforcements can be dispatched like normal airfield reinforcements. However, since the flight time is relatively short and less-likely to be intercepted, these reinforcements are expensive and cost 100,000 resources to replenish.

• Reinforcements and repairs can be done simultaneously due to the very long repair times.
• Each facility is protected by 1x MR/LR Sam.

• This site can be repaired using the commands in: Comms Menu > F10 > Zone Management > SAM Repairs

• F10 Commands include:

• Zone Management > Industrial Center Actions > Start Repairing - Initiate repairs
• Zone Management > Industrial Center Actions > Reinforce Industrial Center Units - Dispatch Reinforcements
• Zone Management > Industrial Center Actions > Industrial Center Status - Display facility & repair status
• Repairs and reinforcements are also displayed on the map like normal airfield repairs & reinforcements with the repair time also being displayed.

• Industrial center reinforcement actions persist through server restarts.

• Reinforcement flights will spawn back over the protected airfield and continue their route when the server comes back online.

• Killing an Industrial Center bunker will reward +15 credits.

Naval Convoys

• A Naval Convoy will spawn for each team with every server restart.
• Naval Convoys do not spawn on Cold War.
• The convoys consist of 6 cargo ships, and 2 escorts with CWIS.
• On Syria, the convoys will spawn near Cyprus, and sail towards their team's protected airfield port. On Caucasus, the convoys will spawn west of their team’s protected airfield port and sail towards it.
• The convoys will be en-route for approximately 5 hours. They will then respawn 15-30 mins after reaching their destination, and be en-route for 5 more hours. If a convoy is killed it will also respawn 15-30 mins after being killed.
• If the convoys survive all the way to port, they will reward a large sum of team resources to their team.
• Each convoy ship killed will also reward resources to the team that killed it, and credits to the player who strikes the killing blow.
• The convoys are intended to be relatively easy to kill, but the carrier group is positioned along their route, and can provide extra defense.
• Resource Rewards:

• 30,000 per ship killed
• 15,000 for each ship that arrives in port

• Credit Rewards:

• +20 Credits per ship killed!

Depots
OLD SYSTEM
This system has been replaced by the NEW Depot system described in the next section below!

• Depots are a special STRIKE objective.
• 2-3 depots spawn for each team at the start of each restart, depending on the map.
• Depots consist of 5 building targets with defenses consisting of light armor and tanks. Depots are not defended by SAMs or AAA. They are designed to be an easy target.
• To destroy a depot, players must kill the 5 buildings. The defensive units don't matter.
• Once the buildings are destroyed, the units will be despawned, and a new depot will be spawned elsewhere.
• Killing a depot building will reward +5 credits per building!
• Killing all 5 depot buildings will reward your team with +50,000 Team Resources!
• Players receive a +5 credit reward for each Depot structure killed.
• Syria Depots are on Cyprus. A few trainer, helicopter, and attack aircraft spawns exist at Larnaca and Gecitkale. These spawns are NOT PROTECTED! Spawn at your own risk. These airfields cannot be captured. Units on Cyprus do not persist through restarts.

Depots v2

• Depots are intended to provide a variety of interesting "soft" targets that are perfect for older aircraft or strikes with "dumb" munitions that would otherwise be very difficult to use. The new depots also make use of some of the newer assets added to DCS World recently.
• Depots are not intended to be difficult targets.

• They exist to give players a way to earn credits and resources using “dumb” weapons.
• These targets do not have any direct defenses. They are meant to be easy to kill.
• Depots are always close to a FARP or Airfield though, so there can be strong defenses nearby.
• Enemy players will also serve as one of the main defensive forces for depots.
• Depots are a very good way to actively earn more team resources.

• Every Airfield & FARP that is controlled by a team will spawn a depot nearby in one of various possible spawn locations.
• If that airfield/farp goes neutral, the depot will despawn.
• If that airfield/farp gets captured by the other team, that depot will despawn, and a new one will spawn for the enemy team in any of the potential spawn locations.
• Depots are marked on the map for all players.
• Depots spawn in one of many various configurations.

• Each configuration consists of roughly 50 buildings or vehicles.
• These are custom configurations that we spent a while developing in order to add more variety to these objectives.
• We will continue adding more configurations in the future.

• Depots are considered destroyed when 75-80% of the structures/units have been killed.
• Each depot structure/vehicle that you kill will reward you with +1 credit.

• The structures killed will display a message, and the vehicles will automatically add the normal +1 credit without displaying a message (just like any vehicle kill). The vehicle kills will also count towards a landing bonus.

• Destroying an enemy depot will reward your team with +45,000 team resources.
• When a depot gets destroyed, a new one will spawn in one of the other possible spawn locations for that farp/airfield, with a new randomly selected configuration.

Rear Depots

• Rear Depots are a DEEP STRIKE objective in each team’s Industrial Zone.
• 8 Rear Depots spawn for each team at the start of each restart.
• Rear Depots consist of 3 building targets with defenses consisting of light armor, tanks, and AAA. There are no SAM defenses at rear depots. They are designed to be an easy target to destroy, but a difficult target to reach due to their location deep behind enemy lines.
• To destroy a rear depot, players must kill the 3 buildings. The defensive units don't matter.
• Once the buildings are destroyed, the units will be despawned, and a new rear depot will be spawned elsewhere.
• Killing a rear depot building will reward +5 credits per building!
• Killing all 3 rear depot buildings will reward your team with +200,000 Team Resources!
• Players receive a +5 credit reward for each Rear Depot structure killed.

Oil Platforms

• Oil platforms are naval objectives that combine various elements like anti-ship attacks and helicopter logistics.
• 5 Oil Platforms have been added to each map.
• Oil Platform objectives are marked on the map. The map markers include:

• The name of the objective.
• The number of ships alive.
• The reinforcement status.

• The core objective itself will always consist of 4 oil platforms.

• These are "invincible" to the extent that they cannot actually be destroyed, but DCS will still count them as dead if they take damage. However, this isn't an issue because they don't actually get deleted or become too damaged to land on once "killed". This is intended. We want them to be invincible for this system to work. The boats protecting them are the things that we want players to attack.
• TLDR: You can’t kill the oil platforms themselves. Just the boats.

• The main goal is to capture each set of oil platforms.

• This can be done by landing a helicopter on any of the 4 pads and using the command:

• Zone Management > Oil Platforms > Deploy Capture Team.

• You do NOT need to actually load a capture team!

• This mechanic is difficult enough and timing is important. So for the sake of making it easier to accomplish, each heli will always have infinite capture teams onboard with no penalty and without having to manually load anything.
• You just always have them and can always use them if you land on an enemy oil platform.

• Before you can capture an enemy oil platform you need to kill any boats protecting it!
• Each oil platform can be protected by up to 10 boats.
• 10 boats will spawn by default, and the amount of boats alive can be seen under the name of the objective on the map.

• Example: 8 / 10 would be displayed below Oil Platforms - 1

• When all boats have been killed, the objective can be captured.
• When the objective gets captured, 1 boat will spawn automatically to defend it.
• After the first boat spawns, 3 waves of 3 boats will spawn and try to move to the objective to reinforce it.
• These boats can be killed in transit to prevent them from reinforcing.
• The transit time is typically about 30-45 mins per wave.
• When one wave dies or reaches the objective, another wave of 3 will spawn.
• Players can manually spawn an additional wave of 3 boats using the command:

• Zone Management > Oil Platforms > Dispatch Reinforcements > Oil Platform - (select number from list).
• Manual reinforcements cost 50,000 team resources per-wave.

• If an objective is being reinforced, it will say "Reinforcing" below the number of boats alive.
• Killing the boats will reward the normal boat kill credit bonus of +10 credits per boat. The credits are awarded instantly without any message, but an alert about the boats being killed will be sent to all players.
• Capturing an oil platform in a helicopter will reward +25 credits!
• Each Oil Platform controlled by your team will produce +500 resources per tick.
• Overall this objective might seem somewhat complex at first, but it's really very simple:

• Kill the boats protecting an oil platform
• Land a helicopter on one of the platforms and use the command to capture it.
• Protect the reinforcement boats.
• Profit.

Resource Delivery Cargo Flight Events

• “Resource Delivery Cargo Flights” are a special server event that will spawn every 1-2 hours. The event is intended to add some more life to the server and give both teams an objective to fight over.
• The event consists of AI Cargo planes being dispatched with random starting locations and destinations. Spawn locations and delivery points are randomized between various locations around the map. Destinations are always friendly airfields.
• The friendly team for each plane will rotate each time. So if the first one spawns for blue, the next one will spawn for red, etc.
• The Cargo planes are C-17's and IL-76's on SARH / 90’s / Modern, and they are C-130’s and An-26B's on Cold War.

• You can tell them apart from normal cargo planes by their altitude.
• The planes fly at 25,000ft MSL (Normal cargo planes fly at 10k MSL).

• Each Cargo Flight carries a cargo of 100,000 team resources.

• The reward will go to the friendly team if the plane reaches its destination alive.
• The reward will go to the enemy team if the plane dies before reaching its destination.

• Killing a cargo flight will reward +5 Credits in addition to the resource reward.
• They contain a notification system similar to bombers, but without the progress or destination.
• Spawn times are randomized and can overlap with bombers.
• Cargo planes can be located easily using the EWR menu:

• Use the “Request Friendly Picture (Full)” option to find friendly cargo planes.
• Use the “Request Enemy AI Picture” option to find enemy cargo planes.

Bomber Events

• Bomber Events are a major server event that can significantly alter the course of a campaign.
• Bomber Events spawn every few hours at random intervals.
• Bombers events are announced 15, 10, and 5 minutes before they begin.
• Bomber flights for each team will always spawn back-to-back with a short break in-between. In other words, if a red bomber flight spawns, you can expect a blue one to follow shortly after.
• Bomber events consist of a wave of 6 bombers.

• Red bombers are H-6J Badgers.
• Red bombers are B-52H Buffs.
• Bombers fly at 35,000ft MSL.

• Bombers have a strong payload. Each one can kill up to 8 ground units upon reaching the target zone alive!
• Bombers will despawn when they reach the target zone and drop their payload.
• Killing an enemy event bomber will reward +5 credits.
• Bomber notifications will display the aircraft type & altitude, the starting location, the progress, and the target.

• Progress is a measurement of the total % of distance to target that a bomber has reached. For example, a bomber that is showing 90% progress is getting very close to its target.
• For enemy players:

• Bomber progress shows up in the bomber alerts once the progress is greater than or equal to 33%.
• The target location for the bomber wave is displayed once the progress is greater than or equal to 66%.

• A brief air raid siren sound will play for all players when bombers spawn.
• Bombers can be located easily using the EWR menu:

• Use the “Request Friendly Picture (Full)” option to find friendly bombers.
• Use the “Request Enemy AI Picture” option to find enemy bombers.

CSAR Missions

• CSAR missions allow players to rescue downed pilots for credits/resources.
• The Chinook, Huey, Hip, & Hind can complete CSAR missions.
• Up to 6 CSAR missions total (3 per team) can be spawned on the server at a time. They are generated randomly.
• CSAR missions are announced to all players. Heli players will also hear the classic "Request CSAR" sound.
• The missions will be marked on the F10 map for all players.
• The list of active CSAR requests can be viewed with the command:

• Comms Menu > F10 > Zone Management > CSAR Requests > Display Active Requests
• The display active requests command will show:

• The name of the request (as it appears on the map)
• The team that the downed pilot belongs to
• The distance in NM and KM.
• It is sorted by distance.
• This is the only command available to pilots in aircraft that cannot complete CSAR missions.

• Each CSAR mission will either spawn as Red or Blue. A pilot from either team can complete the objective, regardless of the color it displays.
• If you are having trouble finding the pickup location, you can use the “Request Smoke” command to pop a green smoke on the target.

• You must be within 5nm of an active CSAR request to use this command.
• Comms Menu > F10 > Zone Management > CSAR Requests > Request Smoke

• To start the objective, a helicopter must land within the marked zone and use the Pickup command.

• Comms Menu > F10 > Zone Management > CSAR Requests > Pickup Downed Pilot

• When you pick up the pilot, the mission will disappear from the F10 map, all players will be notified that a downed pilot has been picked up, and the heli pilot will receive updated instructions.
• To complete the objective, the heli carrying the troops must land at a friendly farp or airfield and use the Unload command.

• Comms Menu > F10 > Zone Management > CSAR Requests > Unload Downed Pilot

• The troops will then be delivered and the mission will be completed.
• Helicopters can only carry 1 CSAR mission group at a time. You must complete your current mission before picking up troops from another mission. You can't chain missions without returning to base.
• You can use the “Transport Status” command to check your current status and confirm whether or not you are carrying a downed pilot.

•  Comms Menu > F10 > Zone Management > CSAR Requests > Transport Status

• CSAR Recoveries will reward the helicopter pilot with +25 credits!
• CSAR Recoveries will reward the helicopter pilot's team with +50,000 team resources!

SAMs

• SAMs are broken up into 4 categories:

• Airfield SAMS:

• SAM sites that spawn at all airfields.
• These can be repaired infinitely through the F10 menu while landed in the zone.
• Repairing these SAM sites will cost team resources.
• A cargo plane will be dispatched and must reach the airfield alive.

• CTLD SAMs:

• SAM sites that are placed by players using helicopters + CTLD.
• These can be repaired using CTLD.
• Unpacking a SAM system crate with CTLD will cost your team 25,000 team resources.
• Repairing a CTLD SAM system will cost your team 12,500 team resources.
• There is an overall limit of 8 active CTLD SAM sites per-team.

• Free SAMS:

• SAM sites that are generated automatically at the start of each campaign.
• These SAMs are randomized in terms of location and type. This means they will move, and possibly change type, in each new campaign.
• Free SAMs are the strongest air defense on the server, and will make things difficult at the start of a new campaign.
• When these SAMs die they cannot be repaired. That makes these SAMs a major target, and allows the campaign to continuously progress.

• Backline SAMs:

• Each team has multiple medium/long-range sams in the backline to help defend rear objectives and E-3’s.
• These sites can be repaired using team resources.
• The sites are marked on the map for the friendly team and named with a unique identifying number. This number is used to distinguish which site you are selecting to repair in the menu. Examples:

• Blue Patriot (1)
• Red SA-10 (2)

• Players can repair these sites through the Zone Management menu:

• Comms Menu > F10 > Zone Management > SAM Repairs
• The menu options will NOT be in numerical order so just make sure you select the correct identifier when selecting one to repair.
• The C2 & Industrial center sams are located in this menu, NOT in the C2/Industrial Center zone management commands.

• The option to repair is available to anyone at any time and any location. You don’t have to fly a heli to the zone to do it.
• Repairs cost 250,000 Resources and must be delivered by a Cargo Plane.

Aircraft Carriers / Carrier Groups

• Carrier groups are not enabled in Cold War.
• Carrier groups consist of:

• Blue:

• Stennis
• Roosevelt *Supercarrier Module required*
• Ticonderoga
• Oliver Hazard Perry

• Red:

• Kuznetsov
• Kuznetsov (2017) *Supercarrier Module required*
• 2x Neustrashimy
• Type 054A Frigate

• Carrier frequency info can be found at the top of this guide, in the kneeboard, and in the in-game briefing.
• TACAN, ICLS, Link 4, and ACLS are enabled for all carrier group boats.
• When a carrier group boat is killed, it will not respawn for 48 hours!
• Carrier groups move within defined carrier boxes, avoiding turns as much as possible.

• Turns cannot be avoided completely and will definitely cause some problems when they happen.
• This is just something we have to deal with.

Tankers

• KC-130 & KC-135 Tankers are available for Aerial Refueling.
• Tankers must be spawned via Credit Actions and can be deployed anywhere on the map.

• You get to choose their location when you call them in.
• Please read the sections below about credit actions to learn how to spawn them.

• Tanker frequency info can be found at the top of this guide, in the kneeboard, and in the in-game briefing.
• Players can adjust tanker speeds and altitudes using the commands in:

•  Comms Menu > F10 > Contention Campaign > Tanker Commands

FAC

• Forward Artillery Command / Forward Air Control is an awesome system that gives older and less-capable aircraft a way to be very useful on Contention.
• FAC is currently enabled on: UH-1H, OH-58, Mi-24, Mi-8, SA342, C-101, L-39, MB-339, F-86F, MiG-15, MiG-19, and all Warbirds.
• The ability to fire artillery shots with FAC is NOT available for: OH-58, SA342, Mi-24, F-86F, MiG-15, MiG-19. All other functions are still available.
• FAC options are contained in the Comms Menu > F10 > Forward Artillery Command.
• FAC target parameters: You must have line-of-sight with the target, you must not be landed, you must be at least 20ft AGL, and you must be below 12,000ft AGL.
• The distance parameter is based on altitude. At a low altitude, your FAC range will be ~3nm. As you increase in altitude, your max range will increase up to a max of ~5nm at 12,000ft AGL.
• Every 30 seconds your FAC menu will be updated with nearby target info.
• Targets within the parameters listed above will be added to your FAC target list. You will be notified with the number of targets in the top right of your screen.
• Select a target from the list in the FAC menu > Select Target.
• Once you have selected a target, you can fire on the target, smoke the target, lase the target, and get target status info from the F10 menu commands.
• Firing upon a target will take a few seconds, and then a burst of artillery fire will impact. The shots will kill most units, but it might be hard to kill some armored units like tanks.
• Shots require 70 seconds of cooldown before firing again.
• Lasing a target will emit a laser from the FAC aircraft. You must maintain line-of-sight with the target for the laser to be accurate. The laser will fire for 2 minutes and can be fired again immediately.
• Smokes are a very valuable tool for assisting other players. Smoke targets in the color of your choice to show your friends where they are.
• Players start with 5 smokes, and will need to land at a friendly farp or airfield to get more OR they can use an option in the F10 FAC menu to spend credits and instantly refill their smokes.

Cold War Only:

• The ability to Fire FAC Artillery is disabled on Cold War.

CTLD & Combined Arms

• CTLD (Complete Troops and Logistics Deployment) is a system that allows players to deploy units by transporting them in Helicopters, Trainers, & Warbirds.
• Contention Campaigns are heavily affected by player-driven actions. Players can utilize CTLD to deploy large quantities of troops or SAM sites. Players can then use Combined Arms to control & command those units making full-scale ground assaults and massive convoys possible.
• The name of the player that unpacks a CTLD crate will be added to the name of the unit that gets unpacked.

• This will hopefully reduce violations of server rule 7: Do not move CTLD units dropped by other players without their permission.

• Unpacking crates with CTLD will cost team resources! Make sure your team has resources before attempting to deploy any units.
• CTLD Team Resource Crate Costs:

• MR/LR SAM Sites: 25,000
• MR/LR SAM Repairs: 12,500
• Standard Ground Vehicles: 5,000-12,000
• AAA/IR/Optical/Radar SAMs: 10,000 - 15,000
• All other crates: 5,000

• CTLD is available in the Comms Menu > F10 > CTLD
• CTLD Crate & Troops actions are available for all helicopters and warbirds excluding the Apache & Ka-50.
• All airfields & FARPs have a built-in CTLD access point. You should be able to access it as long as your team owns the objective and you are within the inner circle of the zone..
• CTLD crates and troops must be transported a minimum distance of 2.6nm from the nearest CTLD pickup zone in order to be deployed.
• This 2.6nm distance is marked on the map. It is displayed by the outer-circle / ring surrounding all FARPs & Airfields.
• CTLD options include a long list of ground units, armor, anti-air, sam sites, and more.
• Mechanized Infantry:

• "Troops" and mortars have been removed/replaced with "Mechanized Infantry".
• Mechanized infantry are extremely important now that normal crates cost resources. This feature allows players to deploy troops and capture points without having to use any team resources. Utilize the advantages of the larger transport helis, and save your team some money by using credits instead.
• These "infantry" units can be picked up and moved after being dropped.
• Mechanized Infantry Tiers:

• Mechanized infantry are broken down into 3 tiers.
• All CTLD aircraft have access to tier 1 mechanized infantry.
• The Huey has access to tier 1 & 2 mechanized infantry.
• The Chinook & Mi-8 have access to tier 1, 2, & 3 mechanized infantry.
• Tier 1:

• Blue: Humvee
• Red: Technical

• Tier 2:

• Blue: Fuchs

• Tier 3:

• Blue: Stryker
• Red: BTR-80

• All units dropped with CTLD can be used to capture objectives.
• Players can leverage Combined Arms to control units. Combined Arms can be a very powerful way to assist your team.
• All players can use JTAC slots to control ground units. However, there are important rules for using Combined Arms slots. Players must remember to never move any units dropped by another player, whether by CTLD or Credit Actions, without their permission. Players must also remember to never take units that were spawned by the server out of their intended zones.
• All players can request access to Tactical Commander slots in Discord. Tactical Commander has a few extra important rules. It can be used to path units, including entire groups of units. Feel free to open a ticket in our discord and request access if you're interested in becoming a Tactical Commander!
• Combined Arms can change the battlefield completely. When combined with CTLD, it allows players to create large convoys, perform ground assaults, create massive Anti-Air sites, and much more.

Team Objective System

• Players can set Attack, Defend, SEAD, CAP, Anti-Ship, and Strike objectives on the map to help facilitate coordination.
• Map text will be displayed at the location of the objective, and players will be notified with a popup message.

• Attack objectives must be placed on an enemy FARP or Airfield.
• Defend Objectives must be placed on a friendly FARP or Airfield.
• SEAD objectives can be placed anywhere.
• CAP objectives can be placed anywhere.
• Anti-Ship objectives can be placed anywhere.
• Strike objectives can be placed on the enemy Command & Control Center or Industrial Center.

• Only 1 of each kind of objective can be active per-team at a time.
• Objectives will remain active for 60 minutes and will then be deleted automatically.
• Attack or Defend markers will be automatically deleted if the target zone flips to neutral or gets captured by the other team.
• Placing a new objective while another one of the same type is active will replace the old one.
• Coordinate and communicate with teammates when placing objectives so you don’t overwrite each other or place pointless objectives.

• Any abuse or misuse of this system will result in administrative action.
• Do not troll or grief your teammates by overwriting objectives.

• Adding an objective:

• Adding a new objective is easy.

• Any player can add a new objective by placing a marker on the F10 map.
• 1) Simply Open the F10 map and create a marker where you want to place the objective.

• Any attack marker must be inside the shaded inner-circle of an enemy FARP or Airfield.
• Any defend marker must be inside the shaded inner-circle of a friendly FARP or Airfield.
• Any strike marker must be placed inside the shaded circle of the enemy Command & Control Center or Industrial Center.
• The other markers (cap, sead, antiship) can be placed anywhere.

• 2) Set the text on the marker to the desired type of objective.

• /attack
• /defend
• /cap
• /sead
• /strike
• /antiship

EWR

• The EWR system is crucial to enhancing situational awareness.
• The EWR system gives players on-demand updates with the positions of enemy aircraft.
• The system utilizes the actual EWR units scattered around the map and provides updates based on what their radars can actually see. Each team has a specific type of EWR unit. Check the kneeboard to see what these units look like.
• The units that are displayed in EWR reports must be on the radar of an actual EWR unit, or an AWACS. It is not "all-seeing". Players can avoid being detected by hiding from enemy AWACS and EWR units.
• Place new EWR sites with CTLD, and kill enemy EWRs to affect their vision.
• Friendly EWR picture is also available to help find your friends.
• When a new campaign starts, teams must manually place EWR sites using CTLD or Credit Actions. No EWR sites will be spawned automatically.
• EWR Picture options can either be limited to 6 targets or the entire list when using the commands in the menu.
• Players can Request Enemy AI Picture to filter for enemy cargo planes, bombers, tankers, and AWACS units easily.
• Updates are enabled automatically and will be shown every 60 seconds.
• Updates can be disabled and measurement units can be changed in the menu.
• There is a kneeboard page that provides an image of each team’s EWR to help with visual identification. That page is included below.
• Some aircraft are HIDDEN on EWR and will not display on reports!

• SARH / 90’s / Modern:

• All Helicopters
• All Warbirds
• MB-339
• L-39C

• Cold War:

• All Helicopters
• All Warbirds

• Updates to the EWR System in v1.8:

• Cold War Only: 

• The data provided in manually-requested EWR updates is no longer captured at the moment of the request.

• This includes all enemy picture and bogey dope requests.
• EWR requests are no longer "instant".
• The overall picture updates on a set interval. This change is intended to make players look outside more in the Cold War environment, and reduce overall situational awareness.

• The EWR picture updates every 20 seconds. Any requests between that update time will include old information.
• A 20 second automatic update option has been added and is set as the default in cold war.

• These automatic reports will always include accurate info.
• There is also a 1 minute option you can enable, or you can disable auto updates.
• The 20 second option is highly recommended so that you can always get accurate updates in a timely manner.
• For example, if you have 20 second updates enabled, they will always be accurate. But if you try to request a picture between automatic updates, the info provided will be data from the time of the last 20 second update, and will not be accurate.

• All friendly picture options will always be perfectly accurate with no delay and all friendlies will be displayed, regardless of radar contact from an EWR.
• Remember that enemy players must be seen by an EWR site in order to be displayed.

• There is no AWACS on Cold War.
• All picture data only comes from EWR's.
• No EWR sites spawn by default. So all EWR sites must be placed manually at the start of a new campaign, and all EWR sites can be killed!

• SARH / 90's / Modern: 

• Everything still works like it did before.
• EWR requests still provide instant, accurate info.
• The data is NOT updated on 20 second intervals.
• 20 second auto updates are now enabled by default.
• 60 second updates are still available as an option in the EWR settings menu.

JTAC & Tactical Commander Visibility, Radar Coverage, and EWR Changes (Fog of War)
*Cold War Only!*

This system has been changed and is no longer accurate.

The information in the EWR section above is accurate and overwrites everything in this section.

• One of our goals for Cold War was to reduce the overall visibility of planes and helis on the F10 map for JTAC/Tac Com players, and on EWR reports. We want players to be able to sneak around the map by using terrain to mask them from enemy radars. We especially wanted to make sure this system would work for helicopters.
• F10 map visibility is heavily influenced by radars and ground unit detection ranges.

• Players will appear on enemy JTAC/Tac Com screens when they are within the detection radius of an active enemy radar, or within the detection range of any kind of ground unit.
• This means that we had to reduce the overall % of the map that was covered by SAM radars.
• It is important to understand that once you enter the detection range for any kind of ground unit, even a truck or tank, you will appear on the enemy map. So these changes primarily affect players that are in-transit to enemy objectives. Once you reach the objectives you will likely get spotted unless you are able to take them out from further away or somehow mask yourself from their LOS during your attack.

• Search radars have been removed from the longer-range sam sites to help with the SAM radar part of this system:

• The sites still work fine with just their track radars.
• On cold war, there's only a small handful of these sites anyways to protect the backline.
• Various sam types and radars have been adjusted to reduce their search visibility and allow players to hide from the F10 Jtac/tac com screens.

• One of the most significant changes that we had to do in order to make this work revolved around EWR’s:

• The normal EWR’s have insanely large detection ranges (hundreds of miles).
• Traditional EWR's have been replaced with short-range mobile EWR's for Cold War. This will require players to place many more EWR sites in order to provide coverage across the whole map.
• Red gets the Dog Ear and Blue gets the Roland EWR. They both have roughly the same detection range and both work as EWR's. They are also both mobile and can be moved by Tactical Commanders.
• Remember, no EWR sites spawn by default. So all EWR sites must be placed manually at the start of a new campaign, and all EWR sites can be killed!

• A few extra units also feed EWR:

• Roland ADS (The SAM site itself at airfields)
• Hawk Track Radar
• SA-8
• SA-2 Track Radar

• These extra units help provide additional EWR coverage around airfields with active SAMs, and in the backline.

• What this means:

• Only the EWR’s themselves (and the extra units listed above) feed the EWR system.
• EVERYTHING feeds the JTAC/Tactical Commander screen using the actual DCS fog of war system.
• Not everything that shows up on JTAC will show up on EWR reports.
• This means that human GCI’s are extremely valuable because they can see that do not appear on EWR.

Splash Damage System
*Cold War Only!*

• A splash damage system has been added to Cold War.
• Many munitions will have an added splash effect in order to make dumb weapons more effective in the cold war environment. Dumb bombs and rockets will have the biggest effects.
• Players will not get kill credit for anything killed by the splash damage script, because in the eyes of DCS you did not get the kill, the splash killed it.

• You will still get credit for most kills.
• Please do not complain about this. The improved effectiveness of dumb weapons is more important than your kill credit.

• This system does not need to be added to the main contention server because there’s more than enough PGM’s to do the job.
• This is a system that we will constantly be tweaking.

Counter-Battery System

• Command & Control Centers now have the ability to detect enemy artillery fire and pinpoint their positions.
• If a unit gets detected, the enemy team that detected it will receive a message that artillery was spotted, and a rough estimate of the unit location will be marked on the map.
• The team that the unit belongs to will receive a message warning them that their artillery has been detected by the enemy, so they can move it. This message will include the name of the specific unit.
• The marks appear on the map as large yellow circles with dashed borders.
• Artillery units have a chance of being detected every time they fire, but the system runs on a 3-minute interval.

• This means units like MLRS can fire a full salvo and it will only count as 1 chance of being detected if it happens within the same 3-minute window.
• This also means that you can fire some shots and then start moving before the detection happens.
• The 3-minute interval does not start at the time of the shots. It is constantly running every 3 minutes from server start.

• The % chance of detection and the accuracy of the markers will depend on the number of C2 bunkers that are alive.

• 1 bunker will have a low chance of detection and will mark a large area with a large offset from the actual location of the units.
• 2 bunkers will provide a medium chance of detection and a medium-sized detection zone.
• 3 bunkers will provide a high chance of detection with a higher accuracy / smaller zone.

• This system is intended to help provide a counter-play to artillery units while also adding more value to the Command & Control Centers.

Watchtower System

Part 1 - Airfield HQ Detection

• Airfields with an active HQ have a chance to detect enemy ground units within a certain radius.
• The detection % and radius depend on the HQ level.

• A level 1 HQ has a low % chance of detection and a small radius
• A level 2 HQ has a medium chance of detection and medium radius
• A level 3 HQ has a very high % chance of detection and a larger radius.

• If the HQ is dead then it will not detect anything.
• The system runs every 60 seconds.
• If units get detected then they will be marked on the map similar to recon.
• The team that spotted them will receive a notification warning them of nearby enemy units.
• The team that got detected will also be notified that their units have been spotted by the enemy.
• The markers will be deleted on the next 60 second update if the units are not spotted again.
• If a unit is moving and gets detected repeatedly, then the new marks will update with the new location.
• This system will help counter stealthy combined arms assaults on airfields while still giving the attacking team the ability to avoid detection by taking out the hq prior to the assault.

Part 2 - Last-Unit Detection

• The second part of the watchtower system is aimed at easing player frustrations caused by devoting an excessive amount of time and effort looking for the last unit(s) at an objective. This is a major complaint that we've received since the launch of the server.
• This system makes it easier to find the last unit(s) and should result in campaigns getting pushed faster. It will make it harder to hold onto zones unless you reinforce them.
• This system utilizes the Command & Control Centers to mark units at enemy objectives that are low on reinforcements.
• The number of units that must be remaining for the system to trigger is based on the number of C2 bunkers alive.

• If your team has 1 C2 bunker alive then the system will activate at enemy objectives with 1 unit remaining.
• 2 bunkers will activate the system when there's 2 or less units
• 3 bunkers will activate the system when an enemy objective has 3 or less units.

• Every 60 seconds, this system will activate. When it activates, it will mark enemy units on the map at any enemy Airfield or Stronghold that meets the unit count criteria listed above.

• For example, if your team has a level 3 C2, and an enemy airfield has 3 or less units remaining, then the system will activate on that enemy airfield.

• Just like the other part of the watchtower system, the detection is not guaranteed, and the % chance of detection is based on the number of friendly C2 bunkers alive.

• 1 bunker = low chance
• 2 bunkers = medium chance
• 3 bunkers = high chance.

• When the system activates on an enemy airfield that meets the requirements, and 1 or more units get detected, they will get marked on the map just like recon and the other part of the watchtower system.

• They will remain marked until the system activates again in 60 seconds.
• If they get detected again, then they will get marked again.
• If they don't get detected again, then the mark will get deleted.

• This system does not send text announcements to reduce message spam so keep an eye on the map when you're attacking an Airfield or Stronghold with a low unit count!

Team Resources

• Each team has an important currency called "Team Resources".
• Resources allow teams to upgrade, repair, and reinforce Airfields & FARPs.
• Resources are also consumed when unpacking CTLD crates.
• Use Comms Menu > F10 > Contention Campaign > Economy Status to view your team's current resource total & income stats.
• Resources can be acquired from a variety of different activities. Please read other sections in this guide to learn about how to gain resources.
• Resources are intended to slow the pace at which a team can reinforce, repair, or upgrade by forcing them to earn more resources through manual activities, or wait until they are generated over time. They also require players to think twice before unpacking an excessive number of CTLD units.
• Resources are intended to be difficult to acquire so that teams must think twice about airfield & farp actions.
• The maximum resource cap is 500,000 per team.

Primary Resource Income

• Passive income is generated on each Resource Tick.
• Resource Ticks occur every 2 minutes.
• CP Income Breakdown (Passive):

• Individual CP’s:

• 50 Resources / Tick
• 25 Resources / Minute
• 1,500 Resources / Hour

• Each team starts with 20 CP’s:

• 1,000 / Tick
• 500 / Minute
• 30,000 / Hour

• There’s 40 Total CP’s on the map:

• 2,000 / Tick
• 1,000 / Minute
• 60,000 / Hour

• Factory Income Breakdown (Passive):

• Individual Factory:

• 500 Resources / Tick
• 250 Resources / Minute
• 15,000 Resources / Hour

• 10 Factories Per-Team:

• 5,000 Resources / Tick
• 2,500 Resources / Minute
• 150,000 Resources / Hour

• 20 Factories Total:

• 10,000 Resources / Tick
• 5,000 Resources / Minute
• 300,000 Resources / Hour

• Airfield Income Breakdown (Passive):

• Tier 1 HQ:

• 100 Resources / Tick
• 3,000 Resources / Hour

• Tier 2 HQ:

• 200 Resources / Tick
• 6,000 Resources / Hour

• Tier 3 HQ:

• 300 Resources / Tick
• 9,000 Resources / Hour

• Industrial Center Income Breakdown (Passive):

• 1 Bunker:

• 500 Resources / Tick
• 15,000 Resources / Hour

• 4 Bunkers:

• 2,000 Resources / Tick
• 60,000 Resources / Hour

• Stronghold Income Breakdown (Passive):

• Individual Stronghold:

• 250 Resources / Tick
• 125 Resources / Minute
• 7,500 Resources / Hour

• 3 Strongholds Per-Team:

• 750 Resources / Tick
• 375 Resources / Minute
• 22,500 Resources / Hour

• 6 Strongholds Total:

• 1,500 Resources / Tick
• 750 Resources / Minute
• 45,000 Resources / Hour

• Oil Platform Income Breakdown (Passive):

• Individual Oil Platform:

• 500 Resources / Tick
• 250 Resources / Minute
• 15,000 Resources / Hour

• 2 Oil Platforms Per-Team:

• 1,000 Resources / Tick
• 500 Resources / Minute
• 30,000 Resources / Hour

• 5 Oil Platforms Total:

• 2,500 Resources / Tick
• 1,250 Resources / Minute
• 75,000 Resources / Hour

• Enemy Depot Destroyed (Active):

• 20,000 Resources

• Rear Depot Income Breakdown (Active):

• 200,000 Resources / Rear Depot Destroyed

• Naval Convoy Income Breakdown (Active):

• 30,000 Resources / Ship Destroyed
• 15,000 Resources / Ship that arrives in port

• Resource Delivery Cargo Flight Income Breakdown (Active/Passive):

• 100,000 Resources / Successful Delivery
• 100,000 Resources / Enemy Plane Killed

Primary Resource Costs

• Airfield HQ Construction/Repair costs by level:

• Level 1) 40,000
• Level 2) 80,000
• Level 3) 120,000

• Reinforcements:

• 75,000 for Airfield Reinforcements
• 50,000 for FARP Reinforcements
• 100,000 for Industrial Center Reinforcements
• 150,000 for Command & Control Center Reinforcements

• SAM Reinforcements:

• 100,000 for Airfield SAM Reinforcements
• 250,000 for Patriot / SA-10 / SA-5 Repairs

• Repairs:

• 250,000 per Command & Control Center Bunker
• 125,000 per Industrial Center Bunker

• Oil Platform Reinforcements:

• 50,000 to dispatch reinforcements manually

• Airlifts:

• 25,000 to start an Airlift

• CTLD Resource Costs:

• MR/LR SAM Sites: 25,000
• MR/LR SAM Repairs: 12,500
• Ground Vehicles: 5,000-10,000
• AAA/IR/Optical/Radar SAMs: 10,000 - 15,000
• All other crates: 5,000

Zone Management

• Players can use Comms Menu > F10 > Zone Management to repair, reinforce, or upgrade an Airfield or FARP.
• These options will cost team resources.
• Airfield reinforcements require an active HQ to be built and alive.
• Airfield HQ's can be upgraded to level 3.
• Higher level HQ's will provide slightly more reinforcements.
• An Airfield requires a level 3 HQ in order to get SAM reinforcements/repairs.
• Reinforcements & SAM Reinforcements cannot be called until a member of the current group has died in order to prevent resources from being wasted.
• HQ upgrades require the HQ building to remain alive.
• Reinforcements require a cargo plane to reach the destination alive.

Airlifts

• Airlifts allow players to reinforce Airfields, Strongholds, and FARPs without a cargo plane.
• An Airlift requires players to deliver 5 Airlift Supply Crates to the target airfield or FARP.

• Work with your team to coordinate these drops and quickly reinforce an airfield or FARP without needing to escort a cargo plane.

• Airlift crates can be carried by all Helicopters (besides Apache/KA-50), Trainers, and Warbirds. The most efficient way to complete an Airlift is by using an Mi-8, Chinook, or UH-1H.

• Hips, Chinooks, and Hueys can carry 2 airlift crates at once.
• All other aircraft can only carry 1 airlift crate at a time.

• Airlift crates can be picked up from any FARP, Stronghold, or Airfield that is not the target location.
• Airlifts cost 25,000 team resources to start.
• Airlifts have a time limit of 1 hour. The airlift will be canceled if the 1 hour timer expires.
• Reinforcements cannot be called to an airfield, stronghold, or FARP where an Airlift is active. HQ upgrades/repairs/construction can still be processed.
• While an airlift is active, both teams will receive notifications every 15 minutes stating that an airlift is in progress. If your team is doing the airlift, it will include the destination. The enemy team will receive a message that says "The enemy team has an active Airlift in progress.". This is intended to make sure they are aware and able to counter the action, similar to killing the cargo flights.
• Only 1 airlift per team can be in progress at any given time.
• Use Comms Menu > F10 > Zone Management > Airlifts to access the Airlift menu/commands. The commands include:

• “Start Airlift” - Start an airlift within the menu using the Start Airlift command, and selecting a target Airfield, FARP, or Stronghold.
• “Cancel Airlift” - Vote to cancel the current airlift. Requires 3 votes.
• “Airlift Status” - View current Airlift info by using the Airlift Status command in the menu.
• “Check Cargo” - Use the Check Cargo command in the Airlift menu to check if you currently have supplies loaded.
• “Return Cargo to Base” - You can drop your current crates back to the base by using Return Cargo to Base.
• “Load Airlift Supplies” - Load airlift crates by using the Load Airlift Supplies while landed and not moving inside a friendly farp or airfield zone (cannot be the target airfield). This is not in CTLD. This can be done at any friendly farp or airfield.
• “Deliver Airlift Supplies” - Unload your crate by landing in the target zone, not moving, and selecting the Deliver Airlift Supplies option in the menu.

• A small amount of weight is applied to your aircraft while carrying these crates.
• Delivering a crate will reward you with +5 credits.
• When all 5 crates are delivered, a full set of reinforcements will spawn.

Recon

Plane Recon:

• Recon allows players to scout enemy units and mark them on the map for teammates. This system is very powerful if used correctly.
• Players can enable recon mode in any plane through the Comms Menu > F10 > Recon > Enable Recon Mode.

• Recon must be enabled on the ground, before takeoff!
• In order to enable recon, you cannot be carrying any Fox 1 or Fox 3 weapons, and you may only carry up to 2x Fox 2's.
• You cannot carry any A/G weapons.
• All tpods, sensors, and fuel tanks are allowed.
• Internal gun ammo is allowed.

• When you enable recon, it will check your loadout. It will also check your loadout again when you take off, and then confirm if recon is enabled.
• Recon will automatically be disabled if you takeoff with a prohibited loadout. You will have to land, rearm, and enable it again before taking off with a valid loadout in order to use it if this happens.
• Once you take off with a valid loadout, you will have access to 5 Recon Film Uses.
• Film can be used via the command: Comms Menu > F10 > Recon > Use Film

• Using film will collect data on all enemy ground targets within 2.5nm if you have line-of-sight on the targets.
• If these targets have already been located by a previous film shot (by you or another player) then they will only be added again if their position has changed.
• There are currently no altitude or speed restrictions while using recon, but you must have LOS and be within 2.5nm. Recon cannot be used while landed.

• You can view data about the number of targets you've scouted by using the command: Comms Menu > F10 > Recon > Recon Data
• Land at a friendly airfield to deliver the recon data. The units will be marked on the map for your team and you will earn credits.
• Every unit that you scout successfully will earn you +1 credit. And you can immediately take off again and earn more. Just remember to enable recon again before taking off!
• *Important!* You will not get credit for any units that die before you land! If all of the units that you scout are killed by another player before you land, then you will get 0 credits and nothing will be marked on the map (because there's nothing to mark). Communicate with your team!
• You will also not get credit for any previously-marked targets unless they have moved from their previous location.

Scout Helicopter Recon:

• Scout Helicopter Recon is available for the Kiowa & Gazelle!
• This system works the same as the plane recon system described above, but with a few important differences listed below. Please read the section above to learn how to use it.
• There are no loadout restrictions while using helicopter recon.
• Helicopters do not need to enable recon before taking off. It will always be automatically enabled.
• Helicopters must be above 50ft AGL and have line-of-sight on the target(s) to use recon.
• Helicopter recon can be deposited in 2 ways: Remote upload, or landing.

• To remotely upload, use the command Comms Menu > F10 > Upload Target Data
• Remote uploads will immediately submit any target data, mark units on the map, and reward credits. However, you will only receive .5 credits per target.
• Landing at a friendly FARP or airfield can also be used to turn in recon, and will reward the normal 1 credit per target. Make sure not to use the remote upload function before landing because you will not receive this bonus for previously-uploaded targets.

• Cold War Only: 

• The normal recon restrictions from SARH would essentially allow many aircraft on the cold war server to always be able to enable recon and still carry a normal A/A loadout. In order to prevent this:

• Plane recon cannot be enabled with any A/A weapons, A/G weapons, or Gun Ammo in Cold War.
• You must be completely unarmed.

• Helicopter Recon has been added to the Mi-8 on Cold War.
• These changes do not affect the Recon system on SARH / 90's / Modern.

Credits & Credit Actions

• Credits are handled through the Discord bot. You must link your DCS & Discord accounts to properly use the credit system.
• Please read #dcs-bot-info in our Discord first if you have any questions about linking your account or using the Discord bot.
• Credits are a form of in-game currency that players earn from killing enemy air, ground, and ship units.
• Players can type .credits in the in-game chat to view their balance at any time.
• Read the “DCS Discord Bot Info” section of this guide below for more info.

Earning Credits

• A/A Kill: + 1 Credit instantly, +1 upon successful landing.
• A/G Kill: + 1 Credit instantly, +1 upon successful landing.
• Ship Kill: + 20 Credits instantly.
• Airfield HQ Kill: +10 Credits instantly.
• Depot Building Kill: +5 Credits instantly.
• Rear Depot Building Kill: +5 Credits instantly.
• Factory Building Kill: +2 Credits instantly.
• Enemy Cargo Plane Kill: +5 Credits Instantly.
• Enemy Bomber Kill: +5 Credits Instantly.
• Enemy Supersonic Bomber Kill: +10 Credits Instantly.
• ACE Bonus: +15 Credits upon successful landing with 5+ A/A kills in a single flight. This must be in one single takeoff and landing. If you land it will reset the count to 0.

Landing Bonuses

• Landing bonuses are intended to reward players that land after a successful sortie. Landing bonuses currently include flight time bonuses, air-to-air kill bonuses, air-to-ground bonuses, and ace rewards.
• Earn 1 credit for every 10 minutes of flight time upon landing.
• Earn 1 bonus point per air-to-air or air-to-ground kill upon landing.
• Earn 10 bonus points per enemy airfield HQ destroyed upon landing.
• Earn +15 bonus points if you landed with 5+ air-to-air kills in a single sortie. This must be in one single takeoff and landing. If you land it will reset the count to 0.
• Earn 2x your landing bonus for landing on an aircraft carrier!
• Players can use the Comms Menu > F10 > Contention Campaign > Current Life Stats to view their current landing bonus info.

Credit Spending Options

Airborne Reinforcements:

• A cargo plane will deliver friendly troops to the location of your choice. The cargo plane must reach the destination alive.
• Cargo flights persist through server restarts.

• Flights will spawn back over the protected airfield and continue their route when the server comes back online.

• Reinforcement Options include:

• JTAC Unit 1 Unarmed JTAC Unit
• Light Units, 1 APC, 2 Light Units
• Medium Units, 3 APC/IFV
• Heavy Units 1 MBT, 2 APC/IFV
• EWR unit 1 EWR Unit
• Anti-Air Units IR SAM + AAA + Ammo Truck
• Demolition Troops Destroy any enemy airfield bunker. The destination marker must be near an enemy airfield.
• Scout Team: A small group of units, similar to a mini convoy.
• Air Defense Units: 1x Roland or SA-15 + AAA + Ammo truck
• Tank Platoon: 4x Tanks
• Small Convoy: A convoy consisting of 11 vehicles.
• Medium Convoy: A convoy consisting of 17 vehicles.

• The name of the player that spawns a credit airdrop will be added to the name of the units that get dropped.

• This will hopefully reduce violations of rule 7: Do not move CTLD units dropped by other players without their permission.

AWACS Support:

• Players can use credits to deploy an E-2 Hawkeye AWACS to a custom marker location.
• Players can use credits to respawn their team’s E-3 Sentry AWACS if it dies.
• There can only be 1 active AWACS of each kind per team at a time.

Tanker Support:

• Players can deploy a tanker group to a custom marker location.
• Tanker groups will consist of 1 boom tanker & 1 basket tanker.
• All Tankers are usually on 250.00 AM
• Additional tanker frequency and tacan info can be found at the top of the briefing or near the top of this guide.

JTAC Drones:

• Once activated, an MQ-9 Reaper Drone will spawn at the closest friendly airfield with an active HQ and fly to the marker you placed. It will orbit the marker in a circle at 25,000 ft.
• JTAC Drones work like ground JTACs, and will smoke/lase targets nearby.
• They can only focus on 1 target at a time.
• JTAC drones will stay on-station for 30 mins if they are not killed, and then they will RTB.
• JTAC drones can be very useful for clearing out a specific zone. They are primarily intended to be used around FARPs and Airfields.
• Currently the JTAC drones cannot be moved manually after placing the initial marker. Eventually the ability to move active JTAC drones and extend their time-on-station may be added.

Recon Drones:

• Once activated, an MQ-9 Reaper Drone will spawn at the closest friendly airfield with an active HQ and fly to the marker you placed. It will orbit the marker in a circle at 25,000 ft.
• Recon Drones offer a more-powerful method of scouting. Once on-station, the drone will begin marking enemy units within a 5nm radius (10nm diameter) on the F10 map. The marks will include the unit type and coordinates. The drone will start with the closest unit to the marker, and move outwards.
• The drone will mark 1 target every 30 seconds for up to 10 minutes. This means it can mark a max of 20 targets if it stays alive.
• The drone will RTB after 10 minutes of marking targets.
• Recon drones can significantly improve your team's situational awareness across a relatively large area. They can be very useful for finding enemy unit farms or hidden units.
• Recon drones are more of a "get in, get out" mechanic vs a JTAC drone that will loiter for a long period of time.

Bombers:

• Blue Standard Bomber: B-52H Buff
• Blue Supersonic Bomber: B-1B Bone
• Red Standard Bomber: Tu-95 Bear
• Red Supersonic Bomber: Tu-22M3 Backfire
• Standard Bomber Cost: 75 Credits
• Supersonic Bomber Cost: 100 Credits
• Supersonic bombers are obviously much faster than Standard bombers, and therefore offer a higher chance of reaching their destination alive. However, both types will produce the same effect on their target zone.
• Bombers destinations are determined by the player calling them in. You can send bombers to attack any point on the map.
• Bomber marker locations at any form of objective must be inside the marked circle to have the maximum effect. This includes Airfields, Farps, CP's, and Factories.
• The explosion and target acquisition radius at a marked objective (farp/airfield/cp/factory) will include everything within the marked area (inner-circle). The radius at a random location is approximately 2km in each direction from the target marker.
• Bombers with a marker inside a solid airfield inner-circle will kill the airfield HQ.
• Bombers will guarantee up to 8 unit kills within the target zone, along with plenty of other generated explosions, which can result in much more damage. Bombers will attempt to prioritize Air Defense targets.

Resource/Credit Exchange:

Players can purchase team resources with credits.

• 25,000 Team Resources - 50 Credits.
• 50,000 Team Resources - 100 Credits.
• 75,000 Team Resources - 150 Credits.
• 100,000 Team Resources - 200 Credits.

How to Use Credit Actions

1) Open the Comms Menu > F10 > Credit Actions

2) Select your desired option from the list

*If you are calling in an E-3 AWACS, then that is all you need to do. If you are selecting another option, please continue to read below.

3) You will receive a message with instructions. It will contain a /action code, for example: /action 1001

4) Create a MARKER on the F10 MAP at your desired DESTINATION/DROP LOCATION

5) NAME that MARKER exactly the same as your /action code. So for the example above, you would type /action 1001 into the marker text and then click elsewhere on the map.

6) Your action will be processed immediately assuming you have enough credits and all other parameters are met.

The images above are slightly outdated!

Fighter Spawns & Forward Fighter Spawns

Please remember when reading below that we have flipped campaigns, and that the map isn't perfectly symmetrical. It is also important for us to utilize the larger airfields in order to fit enough aircraft slots.

• Fighter spawns for each team are restricted to 2 rear airfields plus the protected airfield.

• Protected airfields have hot starts!

• Each team can capture a forward fighter spawn to reduce long flight times at the end of a campaign.
• Fighter spawns are marked on the map with F or FF above the airfield to indicate Fighter or Forward Fighter.
• Syria Forward Fighter Spawns:

• North:

• Default fighter spawns: Aleppo, Bassel Al-Assad.
• Forward fighter spawn: Hama.

• In order to use the northern forward fighter spawn (Hama), the northern team must capture: Rene Mouawad, Al Qusayr, Shayrat, Tiyas, Palmyra, Wujah Al Hajar, and all starting northern airfields.

• South:

• Default fighter spawns: Damascus, Beirut.
• Forward fighter spawn: Al Qusayr.
• In order to use the southern forward fighter spawn (Al Qusayr), the southern team must capture Hama, Bassel, and all starting southern airfields.

• Caucasus Forward Fighter Spawns:

• Fighter spawns on Caucasus are different than on the other campaigns due to the extremely long distances between some airfields.
• Your team just needs to control one of your designated fighter spawn airfields to spawn there.

• You can spawn fighters at any of the airfields below as long as your team controls them and the HQ is active.
• You do not need to capture additional airfields.

• North Team Fighter Spawns:

• Anapa
• Maykop
• Sochi
• Min Vody

• South Team Fighter Spawns:

• Tbilisi
• Kutaisi
• Sochi
• Mozdok

Cold War Only:

• Players can spawn any aircraft at any airfield as long as the HQ is active on Cold War.
• If the HQ is destroyed then the same rules apply and only Helis, Warbirds, Trainers, & A10/SU25 can spawn there.

Takeoff Delay Timer

• Players must wait 3 minutes on the ground before takeoff to reduce fighter spam.
• The timer starts as soon as you enter a slot, and will notify you consistently for 3 minutes until it ends.
• You will be returned to spectator if you takeoff before your timer ends.
• Players can taxi around the airfield while the timer is ticking, as long as they don’t takeoff.

Culling System

• The “Culling System” is a vital part of Contention.
• This system despawns and respawns units based on the location of the nearest enemy ground or air unit.
• This system allows Contention servers to contain an extremely high number of stationary and moving ground units, along with 60 players, while also maintaining a stable environment with minimal lag and high FPS for players.
• This system is referenced a lot, but all you really need to know is that units within objective zones will be despawned when no enemies are nearby, and respawned when an enemy gets close.
• Airfields and FARPs that are culled will have a purple circle next to them, below the other circles.

Mercy Timer

• If a team has only 1 Airfield, FARP, or Stronghold remaining, they must capture another Airfield, FARP, or Stronghold within 1 hour or the campaign will end.
• The mercy system kicks in automatically when one team is down to 1 objective.
• It will be cleared if they capture another required objective.
• If they go back down to 1 objective, the timer will restart from 60 minutes. It will not continue from what it was at before.
• Messages will be sent every 10 minutes to update players of the mercy timer, and more frequently within the last 10 minutes.

Mig-29 HARMS

• 4x HARMs have been added to all Mig-29A/G/S slots!
• **IMPORTANT PLEASE READ BEFORE USING MIG-29 HARMS!!!:**

• In order to use the harms you swap to A/G mode, make sure the harms are selected, and then you must manually enable Launch Permission Override. Once you have turned on LA, you can simply fire the harms.
• There is no actual way to tell what you're firing at, you just fire in a direction and the harms will do their thing. The best method is to wait until you get spiked and fire in the direction of the threat on your RWR.
• This means it can be very easy to teamkill!! So be careful.

• The HARMs are equipped on the aircraft pylons by default when you spawn in. If you replace them and re-arm, you will not be able to add them back without re-slotting. However, you can land and re-arm them infinitely, at any airbase, as long as you don’t replace the HARMs with any other weapon.

F-4 HARMS

• 4x HARMs have been added to all F-4E slots!
• IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ BEFORE USING F-4 HARMS!!!

• The HARMs can be armed and fired the same way as Shrikes, but you won't get any tone.
• Simply select the pylon(s), master arm on, weapon selector to ARM, mode to Direct, and fire in the direction of an enemy radar.
• You might not see a kill notification in chat for F-4 HARM kills so watch the scoreboard and/or your current life/landing stats.
• There is no actual way to tell what you're firing at, you just fire in a direction and the harms will do their thing. The best method is to wait until you get spiked and fire in the direction of the threat on your RWR.
• This means it can be very easy to teamkill!! So be careful.

• The HARMs are equipped on the aircraft pylons by default when you spawn in. If you replace them and re-arm, you will not be able to add them back without re-slotting. However, you can land and re-arm them infinitely, at any airbase, as long as you don’t replace the HARMs with any other weapon.

Notification Settings

• This system allows players to hide certain notifications while playing on the servers.
• The option is contained with the Comms Menu > F10 > Contention Campaign > Personal Settings > Notification Settings.
• The options include “Show All Notifications” and “Show Less Notifications”.
• The default option will be “Show All Notifications” until you choose to show less.
• Notifications for any system you’re actively using like FAC, CSAR, CTLD, etc will never be hidden, along with important campaign alerts like captures.
• There is an inherent issue in the way DCS messages get displayed that prevents us from being able to display any messages that get hidden by this system from being displayed to players in JTAC / Tactical commander slots. Since players in those slots need to be aware of important campaign events, we have balanced this system around hiding messages that we have deemed to not be important to those players. If we think that a JTAC/Tac com player needs to see a message, then it will not be hidden by this system. So you will still get some messages even if you have "Show Less" enabled.
• You can always reduce the size of the notifications without hiding them by using the mod in this link: https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3330338/
• Hiding these notifications will inevitably lead to some players not being informed of important campaign events. We encourage players to try reducing their text size with the link above and avoid using this system whenever possible. The notifications exist for a reason and many of them are important. But we also understand that many players would prefer to hide the extra text while playing, so we have added this option to allow you to make that choice.
• Your setting choice should persist until the server restarts even if you die, disconnect, or re-slot. As long as you don’t change your name it will save your last selection until server restart.
• Please let us know your feedback on this system.

DCS Discord Bot Info

We use Special K's DCSServerBot for a variety of purposes: https://github.com/Special-K-s-Flightsim-Bots/DCSServerBot

Most bot functions are relatively self-explanatory. Please try using the command: /help in discord or .help in-game first if you have any questions.

Linking your Discord account to your DCS World account:

1. Make sure you are logged into the SPS Contention server on DCS.
2. Type /Linkme in #⁠🤖bot-commands (in Discord) Make sure you can receive direct messages from members of this Discord!
3. The bot will DM you a code. Copy and Paste the code into the in-game DCS chat. Your account will then be linked.

Player Stats:

• Use /statistics in #⁠🤖bot-commands (in Discord) to quickly pull up your stats after linking your accounts.
• Saved stats include kills, deaths, flight time, and more!

Credits:

• Players will earn personal credit points from all A/A & A/G kills on Contention!
• These points can be spent through various F10 menu commands.
• You can use .credits in the in-game chat to see your current credit count at any time, or /credits in discord.

Suggestions, Feedback, Bugs

Thank you for reading the official Contention server guide.

Please join the community in Discord: Discord.gg/StrikePackage

We greatly appreciate all suggestions, feedback, and bug reports from players. Please feel free to share your thoughts in Discord so we can continue to improve Contention!