The Merczateers - One Life, One Fate

One of Second Life’s largest military forces -- from the perspectives of its members, its allies, and its enemies.

by Caine Constantine

When it comes to armed combat in Second Life, there may be no more recognized military force than the Merczateers.

They are massive, clocking in at 254 members as of the writing of this article. With four regions under their direct control – Badnarik, Salamis, Appledore and Amtor – they are the largest military force, in terms of both manpower and land ownership, on the grid today.

With those resources behind them, the Merczateers have created a military force that is, at least among the broad and ever-growing Second Life military community, envied, despised, feared, praised, or admired, depending on who you talk to.

The group has become one of the centers of the community, and almost everyone in the community has an opinion about the Merczateers. Even when its members leave the group, or are ejected from it, they often use their time and experience it to form their own military forces. 

When I first started writing articles for Herald and covered the Task Force Marines, they told me they were no different. Flamethrower Rives, a former Admiral in the Marines, explained.

Flamethrower Rives: i was a mercz

Caine Constantine: What happened with the Merczateers that made you leave?

Flamethrower Rives: u don't wanna know
Flamethrower Rives: wait
Flamethrower Rives: soo boring
Flamethrower Rives: all you do is sit in there base defend

Flamethrower Rives: i base my training off of mercz

A quick search through Second Life’s groups reveals that in addition to the countless official and unofficial Merczateer groups, there are also a number of spin-off groups whose main enemy, or even sole purpose, is to fight and kill Merczateers.

The Merczateers have many allies, some of whom are powerful grid-wide militaries in and of themselves. Imperator Aryte Vesperia, leader of the Ordo Imperialis and the strongest ally the Merczateers have, put it simply.

Caine Constantine: I wanted to ask you about how the alliance with the Merczateers is working out for you?

Aryte Vesperia: There's nothing to really complain about. Our alliance is long lasting and just fine. The Merczateers are a solid group. They have their issues, but so do we.

So with this sort of reach and impact on the community, what is it that makes the group function, and what is it that makes it unique? 

The natural people to talk to on this subject were the Merczateers themselves, who I visited first in Appledore, where they were recently holding up as their main battlegrounds, Salamis and Badnarik, were under redesign.

I first spoke with Màrshal Anthony Lehane about the group, and he told me that there is one overriding goal when it comes to the actions of the Merczateers.

Anthony Lehane: There are two types of combat groups.
Anthony Lehane: People who want to have fun.
Anthony Lehane: And people who just want to win.
Anthony Lehane: We celebrate our victories and recognize our defeats. But we have fun doing what we do.
Anthony Lehane: And that's all that matters.

The first question I had was one that I almost overlooked, but seemed fair to ask. What is a Merczateer anyway – and where did that name come from? According to Màrshal Lehane, the original founder of the group, William Cruyff, pitched it out of left field.

Anthony Lehane: He just made it up, off the top of his head.
Anthony Lehane: It's always nice to have an original name, rather than one like TACTICAL AWESOME MARINES or SUPER SOLDIER SQUAD.

Word to the wise, Mr. Lehane – watch your back. They may not have an original name, but they plan on ending up "victorius," no matter the cost.

And for a group that provides its soldiers with so much in the way of uniforms, weapons and training, and for a group that pays for four sims, how do the Merczateers afford their wars? In the true spirit of the military-industrial complex, it comes through weapons sales by Màrshal Lehane’s company, Operations.

Anthony Lehane: The thing that's great about Operations is that many of the engineers of the Merczateers provide for it. So essentially we work to sustain ourselves, and it's great to see people so dedicated.

Anthony Lehane: The Kommissariat all puts in their fair share, Poon scripts everything up, I do concepts, some building and all the marketing, etc. It's really a great thing. I don't sell anything I don't use myself.

Caine Constantine: And so you really finance this through work, and not just through donations?

Anthony Lehane: Operations covers EVERYTHING. I laugh when people accuse us of being communist. Some people donate, but 95% is Operations.

The accusations of communism probably relate to the group’s Soviet look, with its red star, themed rankings, and its Cyrillic text. But do the Merczateers really have a set theme?

Caine Constantine: What would you sayƒ your theme is then? At least Soviet-esque?

Anthony Lehane: Most people would just say "post-modern Ukranian." I really don't care, I just wanna get out and shoot some shit under the Merczateer name.

The newly built base fits the idea of a Soviet theme. In what looks like an eternal winter, a massive grey fortress dominates the picture, contrasting a large, commanding statue reminiscent of Soviet imagery. 

The bulk of the base though is located underground in a massive bunker complex that drives deep enough into the earth to raise a lava flow into the base.

Only a dank black gate reveals the existence of an above and a below – and falls through this steaming gate often lead to a quick death in the lava flow.

The weapons and devices the group employs are unique as well. According to Màrshal Lehane, they are rooted in a goal of making combat fun, and explained it by comparing the group to the Alliance Navy.

Anthony Lehane: Lurdan likes to say "They're adaptive, we're interactive"
Anthony Lehane: I can explain that, if you'd like.

Caine Constantine: Definitely, please do.

Anthony Lehane: Alright, Merczateers have a more interactive approach, for example: Our support troops can build things with their wrenches, they choose what to build, then have to click to whack their wrench until the structure is built.
Anthony Lehane: Then our extensive melee system, in which our men can attack with rifle butts, or knives (support guys use their wrench) then, our combat dive/roll we issued the other day. C4, that can be disarmed by cutting the correct wire.
Anthony Lehane: All of these things make combat very fun.

Anthony Lehane: Now, the AN, don't usually think too much for fun. They create new tech to adapt to other's tech. For example, to counter fast planes, they invented the seeking missile.
Anthony Lehane: Their gear is linear, ours is dynamic.

Caine Constantine: I have read in fact on one Second Life wiki that the "Merczateers have an irrational attachment to their melee weapons, and will often use them instead of guns when possible.”

Anthony Lehane: Well, our troops, if placed in a situation where they may not be able to get a shot off due to rez offset, will simply hit < + > at the same time to hit with their rifle butt.
Anthony Lehane: Yeah, and our soldiers have a lot of fun using it too. Also a good way to show the enemy "Dude, you suck."

Caine Constantine: And how do they get these weapons, like that gun with the saw on it?

Anthony Lehane: We have a merit, the melee merit. When they get it, they're awarded the Lancer.
Anthony Lehane: That's the rifle with the chainsaw on it.
Anthony Lehane: A lot of fun kills with that.

Indeed, the Lancer is a fearsome gun – an assault rifle with a chainsaw on the barrel. From a distance it functions like other weapons, but up close, it cuts melee fighters to pieces in a gruesome display.

Caine Constantine: I know a lot of groups - like Sparta, I believe, for example - have a backstory to give the group a roleplay theme. Is there anything along those lines here?

Anthony Lehane: We don't need a silly backstory. We've been in SL so long that our actual history is our backstory.

It is definitely an interesting history. The Merczateers were founded back in 2005 and have died and been reborn a few times since then. The picture below is from about three years ago, in their lands in Isere.

Perhaps the greatest crisis the Merczateers ever faced was the resignation of one of their leading generals, Christoph Naumova, who today is the Vorhut Fuhrer of the Vanguard Armed Forces and one of the chief enemies of the Merczateers.

After many in the Merczateers, wishing for better relations with the Alliance Navy, grew tired of Naumova’s policy of antagonizing the group, Spartann Plunkett, another general in the Merczateers, confronted him over it and the argument heated up until Plunkett told Naumova to “do your worst.”

He did. Naumova, who at that time was a general with full power over most of the group, including the capability to abandon group land and eject members from the group, did so. He himself had contributed a lot of land to the group, though much of it had also been financed and purchased by current Merczateer Màrshal Lurdan Huszar.

All of it was lost as former General Naumova, wanting quick retribution, abandoned all of the land to Governor Linden immediately, not even trying to sell it.

As members were ejected one by one, Màrshal Huszar, then a General as well, sent a last transmission to what was left of the group that it would be reborn, before it was finally disbanded completely.

Vorhut Fuhrer Naumova eagerly admits to doing all of this, and believes it was simply his right considering he was leaving the group.

Caine Constantine: As one of the Merczateers put it, you "left them for dead."

Christoph Naumova: Roger.
Christoph Naumova: Yes, I did.

Caine Constantine: Was that the intention?

Christoph Naumova: Not for dead
Christoph Naumova: But they were on their own
Christoph Naumova: I took what I gave to the group.
Christoph Naumova: Which was, basically everything.

Caine Constantine: So you are saying you only took everything you brought to the table?

Christoph Naumova: Yeah.

But Màrshal Huszar disagrees with the idea that he took only what he brought in.

Lurdan Huszar: He was paying for a large portion of the land tier, but I bought most, if not all of the parcels.
Lurdan Huszar: I spent 30K buying a plot for our airfield the day before it happened.
Lurdan Huszar: So no, he didn't take back what was his.
Lurdan Huszar: He wasted a very large portion of my money.

Landless and with most of its members ejected, the Merczateers were basically dead – but eventually they grew back to prominence as new members and new lands were found for the group. By the time the Merczateers had moved into their current home in Badnarik, the group had not just cheated death but had become more powerful than ever before.

The Alliance Navy, long one Second Life’s premier military forces, was even allied with the Merczateers during this time period. But conflict broke out between them over the sim Dorien, the current home of the Alliance Navy. It was previously known as “The Woofer” and given to the Merczateers to build on. The landowner mysteriously switched sides – supposedly under the advice of nearby Alliance Navy personnel according to some – and then gave it to the Alliance Navy. 

Though war was not declared over the particular issue, the alliance was off and neutrality was only fleeting. What started the war and the battle is up for debate, though perhaps the last spark was Merczateer General Jonathan Arna shooting Alliance Navy Admiral Nanao Mahfouz.

But regardless, now the reborn Merczateers faced their greatest challenge in the form of a massive assault by the Alliance Navy on their new home, which they entitled “Operation: Crucifix.” 

Màrshal Anthony Lehane recalled some of the conditions that the Merczateers fought the battle under.

Caine Constantine: This battle with the Alliance Navy seems like it was a major turning point in the development of your group.

Anthony Lehane: Crucifix was probably the largest SL battle in history.
Anthony Lehane: They attacked for I think 5 days straight.
Anthony Lehane: I remember coming home, getting on my computer, logging on, and saying "THEY'RE STILL ATTACKING?!"

Anthony Lehane: We had no AD at the time, just infantry superiority. So their fleet and AD completely crushed us.
Anthony Lehane: We had to teach our guys to shoot down planes with their rifles.
Anthony Lehane: What I used to do was parachute down from 700m shooting at the fleetships with my AK, that was the best we could do.

Caine Constantine: Any kills?

Anthony Lehane: Yeah, hahaha

Caine Constantine: So if they kept attacking for five days, you must have been defending that long also.

Anthony Lehane: Yeah, near the final days many of the grunts had given up, and it was just the Merczateer Elite, and High Command basically shooting at their AD from the roof of the Kremlin.

Anthony Lehane: Until it blew up.
Anthony Lehane: One of our Generals, Jonathan Arna, had turned on us and sold the Kremlin to one of the AN marines.
Anthony Lehane: The same Jonathan Arna was responsible for the war with the AN to begin with.

Caine Constantine: It blew up? How did that happen?

Anthony Lehane: Yes. Phys-delinked.
Anthony Lehane: Lurdan and some Elites were fighting on top of it at the time if I remember correctly.

And so as their Kremlin collapsed, the battle was clearly over, but the Merczateers set upon learning lessons from their defeat and rebuilding anew. It became the biggest military defeat the Merczateers have ever had, and the Kremlin was scrapped, but the group gained many new recruits and worked on improving its air forces – perhaps the most vital tool for staving off a future assault like Crucifix.

In fact, in May of 2008, the rejuvenated Merczateers unleashed their own assault on the Alliance Navy, calling it “Operation: Crucify This” and using a completely different strategy. While the Alliance Navy attack had used overwhelming air power to crush the Merczateers, the invading Merczateers used what has been called the “grunt flood” to control the ground and win the day.

Anthony Lehane: Yeah, nobody can beat the Mercz grunt flood.
Anthony Lehane: Nobody.
Anthony Lehane: We have by far the most active members at any given time.
Anthony Lehane: Our men are well-equipped and trained.

Caine Constantine: So you would take pride in the grunt flood because they aren't just grunts - they're trained at what they do?

Anthony Lehane: It's a long-term inside joke with the whole group. We're all grunts at heart.

Caine Constantine: I heard “Operation: Crucify This” was a definitive victory for the Merczateers.

Anthony Lehane: As have pretty much all the assaults we've conducted on the AN since we re-opened interactions with them.
Anthony Lehane: Not to sound like I'm bragging or anything, but they've lost the manpower they used to have.
Anthony Lehane: I respect the AN however, they have a lot of good people, and the ways they conduct combat are very fair. It's just their strict treaty makes things complicated.

A ten-minute video made by the Merczateers, detailing the conditions as they saw them during the battle, can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQTl2GuHpps.

And so now, at the strongest they have ever been, what is the goal of the Merczateers for the future?

Caine Constantine: Where do you see the Merczateers a year from now?

Anthony Lehane: I see us being the hub of where combat should be in SL, free from drama, bullshit, strict treaties and unfair gear. I see everyone slowly realizing that the way we do things is the right way, and more militaries forming around our system.

The Iron Symphony alliance is one tool by which they plan to bring this vision to life. I talked to Màrshal Lurdan Huszar who could be considered the de-facto head man at the alliance to find out more about what it was all about.

Caine Constantine: What is the Iron Symphony? I have heard it described as an alliance and as a group of like minded people following similar rules.

Lurdan Huszar: That's a good portion of it. We're formally an alliance, and we do also share similar views as to how combat should be conducted.
Lurdan Huszar: One of our defining features is that we don't restrict ourselves with a treaty.
Lurdan Huszar: Rather, if one group feels that another is using technology or performing conduct which is unbalanced, unfair, or unacceptable, we discuss it.
Lurdan Huszar: Before a group can enter the Iron Symphony, I have a brief interview with them to make sure they're reasonable and understand that combat needs balance.

Lurdan Huszar: Another defining feature is that we may formally, be an alliance, however we soon are going to begin organizing regular battles with each other.
Lurdan Huszar: This is important, because the Iron Symphony is really about facilitating good combat.

Caine Constantine: Who are the current members? It seems like people join - or at least claim they will be joining - fairly often.

Lurdan Huszar: Currently we have Ordo Imperalis, Merczateers, Militant Collective, U.N.I.T., Iron Eagle Navy, [Dominatium], and Tarsus Autocratoria 

Caine Constantine: And how is it governed, if at all? Is it run by the Merczateers? 

Lurdan Huszar: That really hasn't been clearly established yet, if anything, we're all equals.
Lurdan Huszar: I manage recruitment though.
Lurdan Huszar: Ordo, MC and the Merczateers kind of set the standard for regulation and policy however, just passively.

Caine Constantine: But it is also a formal alliance too, in which members defend one another against enemy groups? 

Lurdan Huszar: If they request assistance, yes.
Lurdan Huszar: If a threat pops up in an IS sim, we can't all just pile in, or it'd become an uneven battle, so we only come to each other if requested.

Caine Constantine: And do all members make similar policies, like boycotting Vanguard, for example? 

Lurdan Huszar: I've being considering whether or not I should suggest that be mandatory.
Lurdan Huszar: But it's not at this time.
Lurdan Huszar: Most of our members have decided to do so, however.

Màrshal Huszar also said he believes that the mindset held by many – that the object of combat in Second Life should be about destroying the enemy group completely – should be ended. Though he previously said Vanguard was guilty of this, he also said others held it as well.

Lurdan Huszar: We also need to drop the idea that the enemy group needs to be actually damaged.

Caine Constantine: Do any groups seem to be sticking to that philosophy other than, as you’ve previously said, Vanguard?

Lurdan Huszar: It's part of the Ascendant Initiative mindset.

Caine Constantine: Including the

Alliance

Navy?

Lurdan Huszar: Yes.
Lurdan Huszar: Well, you know what?
Lurdan Huszar: Not really, now that I think of it.
Lurdan Huszar: Nevermind.
Lurdan Huszar: It's not the groups.
Lurdan Huszar: It's just some of their leaders.
Lurdan Huszar: People like Harlequin Salome (Alliance Navy admiral) likely take pleasure in watching an enemy group suffer.

And so where does Màrshal Huszar believe this will lead the Merczateers?

Caine Constantine: And then my last question is, where do you see the Merczateers, and the Iron Symphony, going in the future?

Lurdan Huszar: I think soon we'll be setting the standard for how Second Life combat should be. I believe our mindset is the healthiest and most productive one, and I'm seeing more and more people hopping on every day.

Caine Constantine: From what I've gathered, the mindset comes down to fair and fun, drama-free combat?

Lurdan Huszar: Yes.

When it is all said and done, nobody can seriously doubt the strength the Merczateers currently have on hand. There is also a definite drive among the group to succeed, with new weapons, new sim designs and new creations of all kinds coming down the pipe regularly.

Politically, the Merczateers are certainly helping building an alliance that represents perhaps the strongest collection of militaries today, though as the Merczateers themselves have shown, even small groups can rise to – or recover – great prominence relatively quickly on the military scene. Perhaps these Guerilla Warlords, who frequently attack the Merczateers, will someday rival their strength?

Nevertheless, as things stand today, they are a true force to be reckoned with. It would seem that their openness about the group, and about the idea of fighting for fun first, rather than for just simple victory, makes them part of a unique idea of how to fight war in an often cutthroat military scene.

Yet, though they are clearly very successful in many ways, there are many people – former Merczateers, staunch enemies, and even some current allies of the Merczateers – who claim that the picture the Merczateers put on the surface veils a host of problems with the group that are only becoming more apparent as time goes on.

In the next part of this series, we will hear from those who say that the Merczateers are anything but the fair, fun-loving military heavyweight they are often described as – and get comment from the Merczateers themselves on their own views of the subject.

Comments

[Lulz]

What skill? We've been bombing their sims according to their own rules and taking them out 7 at a time.

[thrax trilam]

next part? shit, wait for the comments to start coming in DRAMA AHOY.

anyway, i dont have a real problem with the mercz, they are a solid group aside from their breaching tactics (using multiple charge's inside of a wall to break through larger blocks) and the fact that their gear lags a bit ( but i guess the same can be said for most) a decent post overall. cant wait to see the second part through the harelds eyes :P

[Nidol Slazar]

Anthony Lehane: Alright, Merczateers have a more interactive approach, for example: Our support troops can build things with their wrenches, they choose what to build, then have to click to whack their wrench until the structure is built.

----------------

Sounds like someone ripped off of Tayste Waydelich's old idea :O

[Eye Korobase]

great, another biased Merczateers story that we have all heard before. Hell, at least there is a picture of me with a RPG. That was a fun day. That was when the GRs attacked for about an hour and a half and did not get too far. Poon and I got to do some sniping that day, hahah

[Debi Dastardly]

Great article Caine, I am very proud to be a member of the Merczateers

[Lurdan Huszar]

"What skill? We've been bombing their sims according to their own rules and taking them out 7 at a time."

Right, and it takes some hardcore skill to fly over blips on a minimap and drop bombs before enemy AD intercepts you. The current state of air combat in Second Life is disgusting, AD taking on infantry doesn't take /any/ skill whatsoever. Recognizing this, we keep our aircraft grounded on the home front until an air threat or armored unit decides to show up in Salamis. You want to impress me? Try taking our grunts on toe to toe.

[Avil Creeggan]

"Sounds like someone ripped off of Tayste Waydelich's old idea :O"

Sounds like someone ripped off EMPIRES MOD.

[Jenkins]

Exactly or bombing a spawn point repeatedly that shows how much skill one has.

[Vegna Fouroux]

Amtor as far as I'm aware was the remnant imperium H.Q until it flopped and now it's a BDSM store :o

fucking superb article nevertheless Caine

[Aleksandr Laryukov]

In all honesty... This news piece has made me proud to be a Merczateer. Never in all my mind would I have thought this group would have taken off this well.

My props to all of you.. For you have really made the group worth being in.

And hey, Once a Gwunt always a Gwunt.

[Blade Syakumi]

"What skill? We've been bombing their sims according to their own rules and taking them out 7 at a time."

Like Lurdan said, come take us on face-to-face, then we'll see how good you are. Oh, and, loving the fact that you post under the name lulz, at least account for your /great/ achievement. For the record, lul is Dutch for cock. =)

-B.

P.S. - Eye. Shut up.

[Poon Voom]

Great Article Caine, I'm sure there's going to be a lot of people angry at this, but you did openly state "In the next part of this series, we will hear from those who say that the Merczateers are anything but the fair, fun-loving military heavyweight they are often described as – and get comment from the Merczateers themselves on their own views of the subject.". I'll be looking forward to that as well.

[Trevor Russell]

Another great article. Caine, you are the best military reporter I have read in the Second Life Herald, well done.

[Tailson Forcella]

This is a very interesting article. It's good to see the Mercz have been portrayed in a good light. I must say I'm proud to be one.

[Rob Shark]

Good Article, it'll be a shame when the "Drama Comments" start

[haha]

"P.S. - Eye. Shut up."

I second that.

[pesky plumber]

itt: hrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrdrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr lets play e-house and e-military on the e-playground ^____________^
and pretend it takes skill although it takes just as much skill as aiming your peepee to the toilet when you take a piss

[GreenLantern Excelsior]

Caine, you are an excellent writer and I look forward to more of your military articles.

By the way, "AD" stands for "Aeronautics Division." It's an acronym generally used to describe aircraft.

[ex-AN]

Ok, not saying the Mercz are bad, they are a nice group but I just have to laugh at how the hell are you going to have a fun and fair fight if neither you nor your enemy follow the same guild lines for RoE?

really I want to know, you guys don't think having treaties is a good thing because it limits your creativity (that is ripped off almost every modern FPS anyways).

really the only reason the mercz doesn't want to have a set treaty is because they would be able to change their sim rules on the fly that have been witness already.

and your AD would attack someone that jumps as a air target I'm not even taking about grav packs or jump packs, just bunny hopping lol.

last thing, if the mercz are really about fun and fair combat why do they attack 4 to 1 or even 5 to 1? It's not very fair now is it?

I wish the Mercz HC would get over themselves already I mean come on, they may have numbers and fire power but they are morally retarded or just blind to their own failures of humanity.

don't make me laugh anymore it's starting to hurts my sides.

[Aled Numanox]

""P.S. - Eye. Shut up."

I second that."

- I third that.

[maxifr83]

bonjour à tous vous cherchez des lieux pour vos ballade vos achat ou meme vous éclaté second life guide touristique vous acceuil sur sa land http://slurl.com/secondlife/Lucilin/54/97/23
ou sur sont guide touristique à
http://second-life.kanak.fr/index.htm
réfférence des lieux comme dans un annuaire et propose de vous booster sur sl
passé en exclusivité sur le guide.
Devenez reporter pour le guide.

[Lurdan Huszar]

Looks like it's time for another wonderful point by point breakdown of some misguided individual's post seemingly saturated in the Ascendant Initiative mindset he was raised under.

"really I want to know, you guys don't think having treaties is a good thing because it limits your creativity (that is ripped off almost every modern FPS anyways).

really the only reason the mercz doesn't want to have a set treaty is because they would be able to change their sim rules on the fly that have been witness already."

Now, if you would actually check your facts before you decide to spit out a bunch of senseless hate, you'd realize that the Merczateers operate underneath every treaty. We limit ourselves all the time in order to ensure that our standard grunt isn't just saying that he's good at what he does because he's hooked up to more technology than a Space Shuttle. And yes, "Ex-AN", we will change our rules on the fly if we feel something is being exploited, or if someone is cheating. We won't stand for it, and we'll make those changes and inform you. If you want to provide a little more than just some hearsay there, maybe I can give you some more information.

"and your AD would attack someone that jumps as a air target I'm not even taking about grav packs or jump packs, just bunny hopping lol."

We are one of the very few militaries that has an active policy in which our aircraft are not to engage infantry unless they are given permission under certain circumstances. You claim you're ex-AN. You have no grounds to even whine about this coming from a military that brings 2-3 Arrowheads up and a fleetship or two when a soloist comes to Dorien to play.

"last thing, if the mercz are really about fun and fair combat why do they attack 4 to 1 or even 5 to 1? It's not very fair now is it?"

We made it recent policy to match the opponent's numbers in most engagements. The last battle in which we knowingly sent in 30+ members to engage under 15 people was two months ago. Again , check your facts. Yesterday we gathered five of our veterans and teamed them up with five of the Ordo's best, and went to Dorien to engage roughly the same amount of people. Guess what happened? Somebody decided to scream "AHHHHHHHH MERC" over Ascendant Initiative chat, and suddenly Dorien had almost 40 people in it. Yes, we were outnumbered about 3:1, and they knew it. So next time you decide to pick a fight with me, please make sure you're not standing on ground tainted with hypocrisy, thanks!

Oh and Eye? Please do shut up. Nobody wants to hear your nonsensical bickering and whining. And yes Eye, people who have been putting a large amount of effort into Second Life for three years tend to take the game a biiiiit more seriously than some group-hopper that's only interested in shooting people, slandering people, and fucking people. So yeah, you can take the Joker mask off now, it's getting old.

[Artemis Fate]

""Sounds like someone ripped off of Tayste Waydelich's old idea :O"

Sounds like someone ripped off EMPIRES MOD."

Or Enemy Territory: Quake Wars.

"last thing, if the mercz are really about fun and fair combat why do they attack 4 to 1 or even 5 to 1? It's not very fair now is it?"

Isn't that what AN does too, proud yet anonymous ex-AN member?

It's not really a conscious effort of "we want to be unfair" I'd say, but more a lot of "Me too me too!" that comes from a lot of bored grunts sitting in the sim itching for a fight, even if it means joining 10 other soldiers in repelling a lone invader.

Was a good article anyways, nice to hear about some of that history with the group, the social scene of the military groups is always pretty interesting.

[Weasel Blackadder]

Having fought the Merczateers a lot, I joined them. Why? Because I found that they were skilled, but fair fighters who were polite and good company when you took a break from fighting them. One the inside I found that this wasn't accidental, with Merczateer leadership and training founded on the principles of integrity and respect that underpin and every successful organisation. As for 'those who say that the Merczateers are anything but the fair, fun-loving military heavyweight they are often described as', all I can say is that my experience has been uniformly positive.

Proud to be a Merczateer.

[Bruno Ziskey]

"Lurdan Huszar: We also need to drop the idea that the enemy group needs to be actually damaged."

I take this to mean that Ethan Schuman, who in past articles has done such things as threaten to fill a sim to bursting so the defenders dont have a chance in hell, and to destroy any group in the way of the IS, is NOT in any way the voice of the IS? Just clarifying in case he begins posting as if he's really in IS at all.

[pingas]

in approximately 2 days, a large group of unnamed members from AN, Ordo, 39th and 2142 will be creating hundreds of alt accounts for the sole purpose of simultaneously crashing all four sims owned by the Merczateers for an entire week. You've been warned.

[Eye Korobase]

Wow I did not even insult or say anything to anyone and every one jumps down my throat like if I said the worst thing ever. hell, I even commented that it was a fun day. geez people, fucking crying over nothing, GG

[Zrazor Rozenstrauch]

"Màrshal Huszar also said he believes that the mindset held by many – that the object of combat in Second Life should be about destroying the enemy group completely – should be ended."

Uh.

"Vanguard will never be a valid military group, and the only reason the Sodomy Regime still stands is because the Iron Symphony and Ascendant Initiative have been too busy to stop and take a week to put it down once and for all. That, however, may soon be changing."
-Ethan Schuman

Huh.

[Vorlon Bikcin]

Eye, shut up. "GG"

[Nexii Malthus]

INSERT DRAMA!

[Smulet]

So uh, INTENSE.

[Nathanp Back]

Caine, amazing job with the article. Everything you, Lurdan, and Anthony said was right on. I have been with multiple armies including: Vanguard, AN, SLSN, and 2142. And I have never had the leadership, friendship, or combat like I have with the Mercz. I am not just being a biased grunt either. I, as every other one of my comrades would say, am proud to be a Merczateer. Keep up the good work, Kommissariat.

Efrёytor Back

[Loon Hanfoi]

Amazing article, you (caine) made the history allot more exciting, I think you need to do a much larger series on just overall history and major SL battles.

[Vinzenz Fiertze]

Great article, Caine. I am looking forward to part II. I would like to make a point; Many say, that, the Merczateers should "Die in flames," and such. Many also like to make blanket statements about Ordo, saying they are "Fur-Fags," and "Yiff-Freaks," and what not. First of all, Ordo is one of, if not THE most disciplined, successful, and organized army(ies) in the Second Life Game. They have established much of what we haven't: Teamwork, Sportsman ship, and (once again), Discipline, all three being a very important part of an SL army's success. Merczateers are not much different. Like Ordo, they are serious, but they can also have a good time. Their sense of humor mixed with their ability to be strict at a snap proves their abilites as a military.

And the Ordo Furry/Chaos Problem. I have already explained why all the idiots out there should leave Ordo alone, but the Furry thing is important too. Everybody here has an avatar, yes? And many of you, (I know) spend a lot of time (and L) on fixing them up and making them nice. Why? Because it's you like it. You enjoy being that avatar. So leave the "furries" alone. Some of them are more intelligent than most of the common scum these days. Enough with it, eh?

And the Chaos Imperialis. I joined it, out of curiosity, but what a mistake. I do applaud lightly for the comedy, but curse heavily for the insult it has placed upon ordo. It's their armor, guys, and how disgusting, to make a banner with the ordo logo/a furry head nailed to the top?

Sometimes I fear the absence of limit many have as far as psychotic acts go.

[Joseph Rustamova]

I am fairly new to SL combat, sure I've been to combat sims but fighting with huds getting "cheap" kills is hardly "combat". Therefore since joining the Merczateers has been a big learning curve.

Since joining I have been very impressed with the moral values in which the Merczateers promote and the way we engage our enemies. I am proud to be a Merczateer and fighting with my comrades has been a great experience, one in which I had never experienced before within second life thanks to the regulations to ensure fair combat between military groups.

[Ethan Schuman]

Let me preface this post with a reiteration of what seems to be becoming a catch phrase: Eye, shut up.

That was a wonderful article, Caine. Very thorough, well written, and covered a lot of things most others don't. As someone who personally witnessed Nanao pitching a bitchfit, and then John Arna subsequently shooting him, and who was fighting near the Kremlin when it fell, I particularly enjoyed the Crucifix section. It was indeed a terrible blow, but as Machiavelli once said "Men ought either to be indulged or utterly destroyed, for if you merely offend them they take vengeance, but if you injure them greatly they are unable to retaliate, so that the injury done to a man ought to be such that vengeance cannot be feared." Just like Christoph, the Alliance Navy knocked us down, but didn't take us out. And because of this, we came back with a vengeance. I really do have to thank Nanao and Harlequin for their little plan. If it hadn't been for their zealous desire to destroy us, we never would have become nearly as powerful as we are now. Thanks again, guys!

To Bruno:
I -will- destroy any group, or person, who gets in the way of the Iron Symphony. However, there isn't a military group out there who opposes the type of environment we're trying to create, and this includes both Sparta and the Alliance Navy. I have no desire to destroy Sparta, and I have stated this repeatedly. I do, however, desire to see Sparta with a competent leader, who actually gets involved in matters concerning his group with others, rather than an isolationist little baby who thumps his chest, sucks his thumb, and moans whenever five of his people are attacked by six attackers. You're a hypocrit, Bruno. You claim to be one in favor of fair odds and greatly disdain "swarming", yet you allow your defending forces to make use of teleporters, dynamic homepoints, air to infantry defense, hub camping, and many other tactics. This is not normally an issue, as defenders naturally have an advantage in any combat scenario. You should know this, Mr. Annapolis. So when facing defensive fortifications, an attacker must naturally make use of other advantages, such as air power (WAAAH! BAN!), superior firepower (WAAAH! BAN!), surprise attacks during events such as training (WAAAH! BAN!), or the good old fashioned mass attack (WAAAH! BAN!). So help me, God, if you start to bitch about how "it's perfectly legal according to STABLE", I will kick your teeth down your throat and drown you in a vat of olive oil. There's nothing in STABLE that prevents using superior numbers, surprise attacks, or air power. Even the Alliance Navy deemed the attachment Uriels are legal. I'd wager that the Merczateers are more STABLE compliant than Sparta is. So don't try to hide behind that fallacy filled piece of rubbish. Basically what it boils down to, is that even with the advantages conferred by being on the defensive, either your men are so poor at combat, or (more likely) YOU are so poor at combat and you must force your troops to endure your games and shenanigans because of this. You have so little confidence in your troops' abilities that you actually have to implement the hard restraint of disallowing your adversaries to use anything that might be an advantage, while freely reserving many for yourself. For someone who claims to lead an elite military, that's quite poor form indeed. The saddest part is, is that when the roles get reversed, such as during Iron Symphony's attack on Dorien yesterday, that even while the Merczateers and Ordo were outnumbered, you still sent reinforcements in who gleefully fired volley after volley into the hub. What's all that crap about fair fighting, again? That's what I thought. Revisiting Machiavelli for a moment, "He who wishes to be obeyed must know how to command." Go back to jerking off to tapes of pro wrestling while listening to the soundtrack from 300, and put Sparta into the hands of someone who can actually make it what it deserves to be. But I digress. The attention of this article belongs to the Merczateers, and while I'd be perfectly happy to continue to humiliate you here, I'm just going to point back to my STILL AS OF YET UNANSWERED challenge to a five on five fight in Pacific Breeze, and dare you to try to step up and back up some of what you say in world. Want to try to talk diplomacy and posture yourself? Come and get it. My IM windows are always open.

To Zrazor:
The point you tried to make with that quote of mine is nullified by the actual contents of it.

"Vanguard will never be a valid military group,"
Vanguard is not, and never will be, a military group. It is a collection of griefers, half-wits, and rejects with an OCCASIONAL talented member. Iron Symphony does not view Vanguard as a military. I can't speak for the entirety of Ascendant Initiative, but I have a pretty good feeling they all feel the same way. So yes, eventually AI and IS will turn and crush Vanguard once and for all, and then watch SR fall apart and join the real organizations. So you see, we are quite serious when we say we want to get away from destroying enemy combat groups. As Vanguard does not meet that classification, it is afforded no protection. You all are free game, and targets of opportunity to be taken out whenever it is convenient.

[Ropeytwo Brennan]

""P.S. - Eye. Shut up."

I second that."

"- I third that."

"Oh and Eye? Please do shut up. Nobody wants to hear your nonsensical bickering and whining. And yes Eye, people who have been putting a large amount of effort into Second Life for three years tend to take the game a biiiiit more seriously than some group-hopper that's only interested in shooting people, slandering people, and fucking people. So yeah, you can take the Joker mask off now, it's getting old."

Fifth'd

[Blade Syakumi]

To Pingas.

This is deemed impossible for several reasons, firstly, this is from the Second Life Support Centre, Alt Account FAQ.

How many alts may I have?

Currently, you can create as many additional Basic or Premium accounts as you want to pay for, with the following limitations:

* You can create up to five accounts per email address.
* You can create no more than two accounts in a single 24-hour period.

Secondly. We no longer own four sims, although the article was correct at the time of writing. It was indeed sold.

So. It's 2am. And this is my final rant of the day.

Good luck with that Pingas, good luck.

-B.

-P.S. I agree with Ethan on the Bruno thing...

[ex-AN]

And Ethan is why I don't respect the high command of the Mercz, Ethan may not be apart of the mercz anymore but he still active with them. I mean come on look at all the shit foaming from his mouth. he's a rabid dog that needs to be put down. Also I know no one wants the respect of someone that chooses not to be named so you can go fuck yourselves I guess.

At no time that I knew Nanao or Harlequin did neither of them say they wanted to destroy the Mercz, showing them up yes, destroying no. another one of Ethan's insanities I guess.

I remember hearing a quot a while ago that the Mecrz doesn't follow Stable, that's fine and dandy but than claiming you do, that's kind of well lame. now it's been sometime so if they are now following stable that's just fine.

[Kastrenzo Benelli]

Schuman, I do beileve that the SR Has already fallen Apart, TFM Has disbanded, EAF's sim misteriously dissapeared,

Vanguard and Pan-Slayva stand alone now,

[Proteus Hand]

Actually, anonymous ex-AN member, quite some time back, in a skype conversation with good 'ol mister Salome, he informed me that the one thing he wished of the Merczateers, was it to die, and Badnarik to sink into the ocean.

He, like many enemies of the Merczateers and the Ordo, reserve a deep seated hatred from some spat long ago, where, whether or not they were right, were made to look like a total fool.

Shit happens, and when you're one the wrong side, you usually don't hear exactly WHY you're on the wrong side.

[Anthony Lehane]

"I remember hearing a quot a while ago that the Mecrz doesn't follow Stable, that's fine and dandy but than claiming you do, that's kind of well lame. now it's been sometime so if they are now following stable that's just fine."

What Lurdan said is that the Merczateers is not bound by STABLE and does not use it to dictate what our rules are - however, all Mercz weaponry and equipment is legal by STABLE.
P.S Avil Creeggan, the guy who wrote STABLE, is currently a Merczateer S-Enlisted.

[Zrazor Rozenstrauch]

@Ethan
"So yes, eventually AI and IS will turn and crush Vanguard once and for all, and then watch SR fall apart and join the real organizations."

Bring it on then, Daisy-May.

@Vinz
"leave Ordo alone"

http://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/images/chris-crocker.jpg ;-;

[Nathanp Back]

"At no time that I knew Nanao or Harlequin did neither of them say they wanted to destroy the Mercz, showing them up yes, destroying no."

In the short year I've been in SL all I've heard about is how the Mercz need to be destroyed, buried underground, burned, thrown into the ocean, etc. This has not only come from the AN, but Vanguard, 2142, TFM, Sparta, 39th, and many many other groups. So the bullshit about how this is not being said needs to stop.

What happened to the good old SL combat where everyone just wanted to have fun? I've been in SL combat for about 10 months now and when I started it was fun, but now it's just a load of BS. People cry about getting shot and say we're cheating. Armies cry about a grunt flood when clearly you should have more people on base, or in your army perhaps, to defend.

"I remember hearing a quot a while ago that the Mecrz doesn't follow Stable, that's fine and dandy but than claiming you do, that's kind of well lame. now it's been sometime so if they are now following stable that's just fine."

I have been to so many stable meetings only to see who? Atleast one member of the Mercz at every meeting. Restating what Marshal Lehane said, Avil Creeggan is the man who wrote stable and just so happens to be S-Enlisted within the Mercz ranks.

To all armies: If you want a successful army, WORK FOR IT! Stop titty grabbin and get to work on making your army a work of art. The success of the Merczateers is not by luck, it is by all the hard work evey member of the Merczateers has put in.

Oh and to end this I have one last thing to say...... Eye. Shut up!

Efrёytor Back

[Steve319 cao]

Firstly dam fine article does not matter what group it was about, it was in depth and fair minded so congrats , I would have still stood up and applauded had that been on Sparta for example.

Secondly Anyone who does not believe AN would destroy a group given half the opportunity to is out of there tiny minds I speak from experiance,after choosing to end the alliance between AN and SLSN in the summer of last year. Purely because despite all the help we were getting from AN technology wise, we had there men on our sim treating our members like shit.

As a result of this harle and nanao made our lives a living and I mean RL not SL constant ims false allegations the list goes on,hell I even remember nanao sitting in AN vent predicting the date mercz would disband under AN pressure.
So guys please be under no illusions about AN.

And finally to Ethan please stop going public saying you would go out of your way to destroy any group that dares stand against IS it confuses the message were trying to send and makes you seem no better than Nanao

Steve 319 Cao

[Vegna Fouroux]

INTENSE is right

on the Eye thing: I seventh that motion.

oh god Bruno you really have made a boob of yourself. Your trying to fight something with Ethan you've already lost. the facts speak for themselves:

Pan Slayva: Estate banned (because Bruno can't trust some of his command not to unban them in the regular fashion which is what happened when they realized there is no valid reason for the ban.

The Merczateer/Schumann 5 VS. 5 challenge: shamefully unanswered and Bruno never comments once it's been brought up on the herald.

Sparta's falling numbers: what is it now 48? RATHIUM HAVE BEEN ON THE GO FOR A FEW WEEKS AND ALREADY HAVE 37, you're an utter joke.

NEVER Bruno can you fall back on stable, I notice you still issue high commanders with hover boards(sky chariot) (something explicitly mentioned in the current STABLE infantry rewrite as banned).

I'm going to rob and bastardize Cato the Elder here: "Sparta est delenda"

[Joseph Rustamova]

The above comment by me was not made by me, rather sounds erm like shoo man!!!!

[Joseph Rustamova]

lol, 1st off the post was mine I go mixed up due to the confusing author labels on here, PS I have previously designed websites so either I should have spotted it or hmm :-(

Second I'm sensing a lot of hostility, shouldn't we all treat our enemies with respect and have fun!

[Anthony Lehane]

There really isn't much hostility and drama in these comments compared to the other SL military articles - I'm glad. It says a lot.

[Bruno Ziskey]

"I -will- destroy any group, or person, who gets in the way of the Iron Symphony."

So you're saying you have some god-like power to wipe away those on Second Life who don't fit your views or the views of the IS? Hmm..sounds like an attempt at bullying to me. Do you want to make the IS to seem like bullies in the comments section of an article about one of their founding groups? Sad.

"So help me, God, if you start to bitch about how "it's perfectly legal according to STABLE", I will kick your teeth down your throat and drown you in a vat of olive oil."

Do try, I'd love to see you actually try to meet me in RL and do that. No really, I dare you.

"There's nothing in STABLE that prevents using superior numbers, surprise attacks, or air power. "

There's also nothing in STABLE that prevents using any movement enhancers or bombs bigger than 5m but smaller than 32, however just yesterday I was told that Anthony Lehane told one of my pilots that Mercz dont allow bombs bigger than 5m....which is fine with me, your house your rules. Care to explain why Mercz are allowed to do as they wish, add on restrictions not in STABLE but Sparta cannot?

"he saddest part is, is that when the roles get reversed, such as during Iron Symphony's attack on Dorien yesterday, that even while the Merczateers and Ordo were outnumbered, you still sent reinforcements in who gleefully fired volley after volley into the hub. What's all that crap about fair fighting, again?"

I wasnt even there, and neither were any of my people as I require them to report to me any defenses of allies. So yeah, talk to AN about that, not me.

"Firstly dam fine article does not matter what group it was about, it was in depth and fair minded so congrats , I would have still stood up and applauded had that been on Sparta for example."

Thank you steve, and Ethan, you want groups to respect each other? Read what steve wrote there and try to copy that. He didnt go on a tirade like you did when all I asked was a response from someone in the IS about if your views are the official views of the IS. At least from steve's view, it's not. I know everyone makes fun of his grammar, myself included, but he does show to have more brains and common sense than you. If you really did want to have "fair and fun" combat you wouldnt go parading around saying you could destroy any group you wanted. That's only acting like the AN's side you keep telling us about so much. You want to start acting like the enemy, become the monster you've whined so much about? Go ahead, you'll only end up making you and the rest of the IS look like big bad bullies in the end and wonder why you keep being banned.

As for the 5 on 5 thing, Mercz are free to attack any time they wish so long as they follow STABLE and our sim rules, as we are required to do whenever we attack Mercz. In fact this would be able to prove what mercz are saying in this article, that lately they've been sending in equal numbers. Choose a time that there's at least 5 Spartans on base and then attack. Seriously Ethan, this isnt some Roman Gladiator arena...it's just a game.

"Pan Slayva: Estate banned (because Bruno can't trust some of his command not to unban them in the regular fashion which is what happened when they realized there is no valid reason for the ban."

1. Spawn camping our members.
2. Using bombs that are larger than 32m and have no reload.
3. Using weapons that do in fact act as phantoms (dont try to cry "havoc4" on me, we've tested our defense with velocity as high as 255 and bullets havent gone through)
4. Rezzing nukes on our sim. Anyone who doesnt believe this should come to our base in pacific breeze to talk to people about that event, I find it hilarious how they kept rezzing them from the hub and then didnt expect us to actually shoot them to stop them from using the nukes before we could return them after they kept getting held back by our people using normal tactics.

"Sparta's falling numbers: what is it now 48? RATHIUM HAVE BEEN ON THE GO FOR A FEW WEEKS AND ALREADY HAVE 37, you're an utter joke."

Don't actually care to be honest. I don't see huge numbers as being a successful military, it's how you fight that makes people remember you. I'd rather have a small group of disciplined fighters than a mob of unorganized idiots with no training or self control (nukes anyone?)

"NEVER Bruno can you fall back on stable, I notice you still issue high commanders with hover boards(sky chariot) (something explicitly mentioned in the current STABLE infantry rewrite as banned)."

Prove it, we havent allowed their use for months now since that rewrite.

So sad Vegna that you were once s staunch supporter of Sparta, even giving me a log of you giving Ethan quite a verbal thrashing in debates about Sparta vs Mercz. Oh well...have fun in life I suppose....Real Life that is....apparently SL isnt going so well for you.

[Anthony Lehane]

This is an article about the Merczateers, guys. Can you take the Bruno/Schuman/Vegna argument in-game?

[Blade Syakumi]

Dear Queen Ziskey:

"Do try, I'd love to see you actually try to meet me in RL and do that. No really, I dare you."

Referring back to a previous issuing of the Weekly (Or should I say Weakly) Wisdom.

"I'll shake your hand for serving your country, but
don't start talking about your group in Second Life if you're in a griefer group
(which is pretty much any of our enemies) or I might just turn that handshake into
an arm pull and kick you in the chest, with my arms pulling you closer to me so my
boot will go deeper and faster into your body."

You, good sir, are a farcical hypocrite of the worst degree.

That is all.

-B.

-P.S. - Boot fetishes; Not cool.

[Vegna Fouroux]

yes disicipline wow funny how i attack today on my alt and 2 of the four fighters are already in planes

do you realize how pathetic that is? using aerial to take down sole infantry

Maury uses the fucking thing all the time and does not consider himself "infantry only"

oh and tych voyager is your 3ic. that er speaks for itself

dude i'll criticise sparta where I feel it is due, don't mistake me for one of ethan's master-debating (see wut i did thar) buddies.

but yeah like anthony said i'm contributing to something completely off topic

this is about the merczateers

who are awesome :o

[Judge Hocho]

This may come as a surprise, but I actually enjoyed this piece. Sure, some of the facts may be skewed, but the author seemed to accomplish some measure of due diligence with interviewing folks outside the Mercz. While there's certainly more quoting than writing, it's still far more solid than most articles.

All in all, nice job Caine.

[Ethan Schuman]

I'll attempt to make this as brief as possible, to detract as little as possible from the core focus of this article, which is why the Merczateers > you.

"So you're saying you have some god-like power to wipe away those on Second Life who don't fit your views or the views of the IS? Hmm..sounds like an attempt at bullying to me. Do you want to make the IS to seem like bullies in the comments section of an article about one of their founding groups? Sad."
-Wrong. People can disagree with the IS all they like. That's their prerogative. You might not like how we do things, and that's fine. Everyone should pursue what they feel is right. I won't shoot someone in the face simply because they have a different belief on something than I do. It's when you stop merely disagreeing with, and begin to stand in the way of, that you enter my line of fire. The Iron Symphony school of thought is something I've believed in for quite some time, and I'll fight for it. See, Bruno... that'd probably be the core difference between you and me. Whereas you CLAIM to believe in things and support them, you actually do quite little besides cry when said things are challenged. Having the gall to stand up for, and defend, the things you value is not only a vital trait of a good leader, but also of being a man. When you've actually grown a spine instead of merely pretending to have one, you can speak on this issue. Until then, refer back to everyones' comments to Eye Korobase.

"Do try, I'd love to see you actually try to meet me in RL and do that. No really, I dare you."
-It'd be the last mistake you'd ever make to challenge me in real life under the false presumption that I'm some scrawny kid. If you think being a stocky farm boy that knows how to wrangle because he's watched some WWF tapes would be enough, you've got another thing coming. While I could go on and on about my real life combat prowess and how you'd be bitching "No fair!" fifteen seconds into the fight, everybody knows that the old "OMFG I WUD KIK UR ASS IRL!" line is the mating call of the e-weakling.

"There's also nothing in STABLE that prevents using any movement enhancers or bombs bigger than 5m but smaller than 32, however just yesterday I was told that Anthony Lehane told one of my pilots that Mercz dont allow bombs bigger than 5m....which is fine with me, your house your rules. Care to explain why Mercz are allowed to do as they wish, add on restrictions not in STABLE but Sparta cannot?"
-The Merczateers do not market themselves as a STABLE military. Our weapons are compliant with STABLE, more so than even necessary. In addition, the Merczateers handicap themselves as well, by sacrificing actual, tangible advantages such as air power and explosives, while you sit there and try to justify your actions with the bullshit hypothetical "Well, you're not allowed to use this, because Sparta doesn't have it, and lacks the ability to get it, but if we did, we wouldn't either!" Nobody buys your crap, and we all realize that the moment you ever have something you prohibit on supposed principles, your tone will change to accommodate it. Your "additions" are just a way to try to take away advantages from attackers, while preserving as many as possible for yourself. It's illegal to spawncamp Spartans, yet they are allowed to set their homepoints anywhere they choose (even in the middle of a firezone), fire fearlessly from their spawns while being protected by your rules, as well as hubcamp. Compare that to "Merczateer aerial assets are not allowed to engage attacking infantry except under specific circumstances and officer consent." See the difference there? Everyone else does.

"I wasnt even there, and neither were any of my people as I require them to report to me any defenses of allies. So yeah, talk to AN about that, not me."
-Talk to Tig Spijkers, who IS one of your people. Seriously, with such small numbers of what are supposed to be elite soldiers, you can't even monitor that? How do you expect to be seen as a good commander when you don't even keep tabs on your troops?

-Actually, Bruno, I'm beginning to doubt if you can even comprehend what you read. I've said it before, I'll say it again. I have no desire to destroy Sparta, or any other military group. There are no valid military groups trying to interfere with the Iron Symphony. Please, stop trying to distort my distaste for a supposed king of a group that shrinks more and more daily (mostly because of said "king"), into a dislike for the group itself. You are not Sparta. Sparta is Sparta. You merely provide the tier and act as an idiot figurehead who is the single greatest enemy to his own organization. That's why you have to go, and that's why I work to see you gone. You didn't ban me because I bully your group, you banned me because I bully you, and you're afraid of more of your troops realizing I'm right. Stop accusing me of wanting to destroy your group, as the only part of Sparta I want gone is you. Speak to that, or go back to sucking your thumb in your access only throne room. For the five on five, drop the bans on pretty much everyone and their mother, and if by some miracle of chance you manage to have five Spartans on base, we'll be in there.

While I may disagree with 99% of the things you do, this is a 1% category. Good job on sacrificing a combat opponent who expected you to compromise your values. If the rest of the Ascendant Initiative did this (with Vanguard as well), the community would be much better off.

"Don't actually care to be honest. I don't see huge numbers as being a successful military, it's how you fight that makes people remember you. I'd rather have a small group of disciplined fighters than a mob of unorganized idiots with no training or self control (nukes anyone?)"
-A lack of concern regarding dropping numbers, using the excuse of "I'd rather have a small elite group blah blah blah..." reveals an apathetic leader. People are leaving your group and not joining for a reason, Bruno. As a commander, you should endeavor to find out why.

"So sad Vegna that you were once s staunch supporter of Sparta, even giving me a log of you giving Ethan quite a verbal thrashing in debates about Sparta vs Mercz. Oh well...have fun in life I suppose....Real Life that is....apparently SL isnt going so well for you."
-So let me get this straight.. you welcome Vegna with open arms and greet him as an intellectual when he endorses Sparta, yet when he converts, instead of asking him WHY he no longer endorses Sparta and listening to him (as any wise leader would do), you shoot him down, label him a fool, and disregard everything he says? Why is that? Logic would dictate that Vegna is still just as smart, if not moreso, than he was when you met him. Either your pride blinds you, or you just don't care. Either way, that's not admirable of a leader.

Basically, what I see as I look at you, is an individual who has a dedicated group of followers which he cares little about, and is only interested in posturing himself into a position where he can have some feeling of importance and relevance. I'd actually go so far as to say that I care more about Sparta than you do, as I'm far more interested in what Sparta can (and should) become, while you only care about how Sparta can make you look cool, regardless of the cost to your troops. The next time you dare try to question my sincerity on appearances and meaning what I say, perhaps you'd better check twice to make sure you're not throwing that brick out of a glass palace.

------------------------------

Now, all that being said, back to the Merczateers.

Something that this article did not mention, and probably would have benefited from, is that the Merczateers don't just create a higher standard for the other military groups, they'll go so far as to send in consultants to help a military adapt to the new code should they switch. Merczateers will train, and even in some cases arm and equip, other militaries that want to fight according to Iron Symphony yet lack the technical capability to adapt quickly on their own.

The Merczateers, and Iron Symphony as a whole, really just love to fight. We recognize that combat belongs on the battlefield, and that while the guns are silent, we as a community should be working together to increase the enjoyment of combat for all. I know the concept of being opponents rather than enemies is strange and new, but it's possible. Iron Symphony fights with 2142 all the time, and we have a blast while doing so. But if there was a time where 2142 was having some difficulty with something, I can guarantee you there'd be no shortage of volunteers to go help them.

[Bruno Ziskey]

"While I could go on and on about my real life combat prowess and how you'd be bitching "No fair!" fifteen seconds into the fight, everybody knows that the old "OMFG I WUD KIK UR ASS IRL!" line is the mating call of the e-weakling."

Bring it on tubby, and thanks but I dont watch fake wrestling..waste of time.
Seriously...come and meet me.

[Nidol Slazar]

"-It'd be the last mistake you'd ever make to challenge me in real life under the false presumption that I'm some scrawny kid. If you think being a stocky farm boy that knows how to wrangle because he's watched some WWF tapes would be enough, you've got another thing coming. While I could go on and on about my real life combat prowess and how you'd be bitching "No fair!" fifteen seconds into the fight, everybody knows that the old "OMFG I WUD KIK UR ASS IRL!" line is the mating call of the e-weakling." - Ethan

But... you just did that call.

[Zrazor Rozenstrauch]

ETHAN VS BRUNO

WHOEVER WINS, WE ALL LOL

[Artemis Fate]

Ahaha this Ethan/Bruno argument has devolved into backless threats of RL violence already? Awesome.

[Mikael Khalamov]

Shut the fucking drama.

Let the Mercz have their article, shite.

[ex-AN]

Nidol, it's Ethan, he does that, he always does that, like I said he's an insane man, well rabid dog that needs to be put down.

but yea the bad thing is Ethan believes the shit he says, all the bullshit and everything. Ethan koolaid is strong, very very strong.

HAY MERCZ, HO