What Is Defending?

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The Free Dictionary defines defending as:

• To make or keep safe from danger, attack, or harm

• To engage in or be prepared to engage in battle to prevent (a population or area, for example) from being captured or occupied by an enemy.

• To compete against a challenger in an attempt to retain (a championship).
  

So as you can see, being a defender is pretty much the opposite of raiding. Instead of taking control from the natives, you take control from the raiders on behalf of the natives.

Defending is when a group of players use puppet nations to join the World Assembly(hereafter referred to as the WA) and use them to:

1. Seize control of a region from raiders("make or keep safe from danger, attack, or harm")

2. Prevent raiders from seizing control of a region("engage in or be prepared to engage in battle to prevent a population or area, for example from being captured or occupied by an enemy")

3. Prevent them from re-seizing the region once you seized it from them("compete against a challenger in an attempt to retain")
   

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Yes, I do concede that raiding does seem a lot cooler. However, there are still many defenders out there, for various reasons such as:

• For fun(majority)

• Moral instinct to protect those who can't defend themselves; believing that each region has the inherent freedom to control themselves, without that freedom taken away by others

• Revenge(raiders took your region and you got pissed)
  

Plus, you can portray yourselves as the good guys of NationStates, and leave behind a good reputation for yourself!

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Good question. You do pretty much the same as what you would do with raiding, except with different purposes. Here's a recap:

1. Resign from the WA on the other puppets, if they are not the puppets you will be using for the current mission

2. Join the WA with the puppet you wish to use(note: this puppet must not have updated during this update). Click on the link on the sidebar, then click on the "Apply to Join" button. You will receive an invitation email in the next few seconds/minutes. Click on the link in the email.

3. Endorse point/Cross-endorse on each other

4. Move into the targeted region

5. Endorse former/current native delegate if needed

6. Gain delegacy/Successfully defend delegacy from raiders
   

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Raiders tag. They try to blitz across the NationStates world, trying to leave a mess in as many regions as possible. So how do we stop them? By chasing.

Chasing is the process in which defenders try to spot taggers and move in to stop the taggers from gaining the delegacy, basically the same as what taggers do, but we do not leave any mess behind. It falls under the second method of defending - preventing them from gaining the delegacy, taking place during the update.

• Switcher puppets aka Switchers

  • You should have many of these(10 is a minimum if you want to last through the update, 20 is recommended)

  • You can apply for the WA with as many puppets as you want to....

  • ...But you can only have 1 in the WA at any one time. Trying to circumvent this rule by having different email addresses for your puppets WILL get you ejected from the WA

  • Switchers should be placed in your region's jump point

  • If you are a delegate, you can resign from the WA and still be able to use the regional controls afforded to delegates, until the next update

  • You can also use the regional controls if you moved to another region, until the next update

  • This means you can be the delegates of many regions using multiple puppets, but one puppet can only be the delegate of one region

  • Remember to set the frequency of issues to "Twice a day"

• World Activity Page - Spot for nations resigning and joining the WA, endorsing one another as well as moves
  

1. Answer issues with your puppets(these should be done way before update)

2. Join the WA with the puppet you want to use

3. Cross-endorse on other chasers

4. Use the Activities page to spot for taggers(nations that just joined the WA and are cross-endorsing each other, nations found in known raider puppet storage)

5. When these taggers move from the puppet storage to a region, follow suit quickly

6. Refresh the page repeatedly until you get a new issue
   

Then, resign from the WA and repeat the steps above with the next puppet. Move your puppets back to your region's puppet storage after the update. Should you become the delegate, log in to your delegate puppet(s) after the update and ban/banject the raiders. If a tagger becomes the delegate, either stay and get banjected or quickly go back to your puppet storage and still possibly be banned.

There is also a possibility that both of you missed. To determine this, wait for the raiders to resign and/or move back to their puppet storage. When that happens, resign from the WA and continue. There could also be a case where both of you updated, but no delegate was elected. Resign and continue, too.

Overall, it is hard work and definitely not the most fun of defenses, but it is the one you will be doing most frequently as a defender, with the number of regions raiders try to tag each update.

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Raiders tag. At some point in time we would have stumbled upon a region that has been tagged, with its embassies closed, new ones built with raider regions, its WFE filled with raider propaganda, its tags changed to "Invader", its flag changed to the raider region's flag and its RMB suppressed. Kind of looks like someone crashed in, made a mess of things and left, doesn't it? Yes, that's what it is. That's why we're here to make these regions look presentable once again.

Detagging falls under the first method of defending - seizing control of the region from the raiders. This also takes place during the update.

• Switcher puppets aka Switchers - Exactly the same as what you would do when chasing

• A list of regions to detag with their update times - You can either compile them or join a defender organisation; the latter has plenty of them for you to do
  

1. Answer issues with your puppets(these should be done way before update)

2. Join the WA with the puppet you want to use

3. Cross-endorse on other detaggers

4. Based on the list, move into the target region 5-15 seconds before its estimated update time(A longer period gives you more time to move but increases the likelihood of being intercepted)

5. Refresh the page repeatedly until you get a new issue
   

Then, resign from the WA and repeat the steps above with the next puppet. Move your puppets back to your region's puppet storage after the update. Should you become the delegate, log in to your delegate puppet(s) after the update and do the following:

• Restore the WFE. Use this link: http://udl.taijitu.org/wfe_index/?(region name), but replace "(region name)" with the region you're looking for. If there is none, type this into the RMB:

  [size=200][b][color=red]Welcome to (region name)![/color][/b][/size]

  Replace "(region name)" with the region's name

• Restore the flag. Use this link: http://udl.taijitu.org/images/rflags/(region name)/, but replace "(region name)" with the region you're looking for. If there is none, just remove the flag and DO NOT hang any others in its place

• Ban the taggers

• Remove other people in the ban list

• Close embassies with the raider region and reopen those closed by the raiders(the History page is helpful)

• Unsuppress posts on the RMB and suppress those made by raiders and recruiters

• Restore the tags either using the Wayback Machine or Google
  

Remember, DO NOT leave a trace behind e.g. open embassies with your region, replace the flag with your region's, post your own message on the WFE, post messages on the RMB, etc. That's hypocritical.

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Here's the one that everyone's been waiting for: Liberations. You've probably heard of many of them taking place. You've probably even seen badges around NationStates that mention of a player's participation in a liberation(not to be confused with the badges that the game gives out). If you are in the World Assembly, you would have noticed a Liberation proposal pop up from time to time. So, why are they so well-known? Simply because the time and effort required to put together a liberation is simply huge.

Liberations are exactly what the word suggests: Freeing a region from the control of raiders. While this sounds similar to detagging, the difference is that liberations involve freeing a region from a long-term occupation by the raiders, who have the intention of refounding it as a trophy, while detagging involves cleaning up after the raiders occupy the region for only an update. These liberations are usually pulled off with one or more defender organisations working together.

Liberations fall under the first method of defending - to seize control of a region from raiders. It takes place during the update.

• Many puppets(Use your switchers)

• Cooperation with other defenders - So you will not mess it up

• Fast reflex skills - It's like storming the beaches of Normandy; you can get shot/banjected while trying to land/jump. Try to time it as close to the update time as possible to ensure maximum number of people get in

1. Join the WA with the puppet you wish to use

2. Cross-endorse on other defenders; I cannot stress how important this is

3. When the command is given, move quickly to the target region. Make sure you get in before the region updates; every nation counts.

4. Endorse the native point if needed

5. Refresh and hope you do not get banjected

If a defender point/native point becomes the WA Delegate, you've succeeded. This is then followed with Support, which will be covered later. If not, prepare to get banjected and use another puppet to try again next update.

As you can see, liberations are the most exciting missions defenders participate in. They're also the ones that will cause the most amount of frustration, especially after a failed liberation.

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This is less well-known as compared to liberations, but still equally important. Support is usually needed after a liberation to allow the defender/native delegate to gain enough influence to ban the raiders, as well as ensure raiders do not try to interrupt the recovery process.

Support falls under the third method of defending - to prevent raiders from re-seizing the region once you seized it from them. Unlike the other types of missions, this can take place BOTH during the update as well as outside update.

• A puppet - It's that simple!

1. Once a region is successfully liberated, stay inside there or move to that region if you haven't

2. DO NOT resign from the WA

3. Unendorse all other defenders except for the current delegate, or if you are instructed otherwise

4. Remain there until order for withdrawal is issued(usually when recovery is complete)
   

Yes, it really is that simple. However, be prepared for raiders who might try to retake the region.

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Here's the last type of mission - defense. I'm not kidding, actual defense, in which you stop an invasion. Usually, this takes place when we gain knowledge of an upcoming invasion, either by spotting or by obtaining the information from others. Indicators of a possible invasion are:

• Name, flag, motto of an "innocent" nation resembles a known raider nation

• Many nations cross-endorsing on each other before update and are not known defenders

• Number of nations flooding a region seems a lot more than the usual rate of increase in number of nations in the region, and these nations do not seem to be puppets of the same player
  

This is basically a form of chasing, with the only difference being the number of defenders taking part.

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As shown above, defending involves many types of operations, some harder than others. However, do not be disheartened if an operation fails, or if you jump late. It's just a game! Which brings me on to my next point - the relationship between the two sides. No matter what your enmity on the battlefield may be, keep it to the battlefield. Remember, it's just a game; there is no need for such hatred towards the other side. Get to know the raiders as much as you can. Interact more with them off the battlefield. I assure you this will make your NationStates career a much happier one.

One last note, should you decide to ignore everything above - do not be HYPOCRITICAL. If you are truly defending, do not replace what the raiders left behind with yours. You will be looked down by both sides as well as the NationStates world if you do that.
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Words	Definition
Raider	One who tries to vandalise/destroy a region for fun, for revenge or under the orders of their region
Defender	One who tries to undo what raiders cause and might seek to prevent such future occurances
Natives	Nations that were already in the region, who feel a sense of belonging to that region
Endorse	Click on the "Endorse (nation)" button at the bottom of that nation's page. This is how both sides fight
Cross-endorse	Endorse each other
Jump	The act of moving from one region to the target region at short notice
Tag	The act of trying to seize multiple delegacies in one update for the purpose of leaving behind their own message on the RMB and WFE and changing the tags. They might also change the flags, suppress messages, close embassies and open new ones
Update	Two periods during a day in which NationStates gives new issues, changes your national stats, determine who the delegate is, increase/decrease the amount of influence you have etc. They take place during 12:00 PM EST and 12:00 AM EST. Use this if in doubt.
Puppets	Other nations that you own, besides the one that you primarily play on and are known by.
Switchers	Puppets that are intended for use in quick succession during R/D gameplay. The word comes from how you have to quickly "switch" from one nation to another.
Jump point	A region designated as a point for you to jump from. This is preferably a late-updating region.
Puppet storage	A region where you store your puppets. Usually, this is also your jump point. This region should preferably be a late-updating region.
Banject	A portmanteau word, combining the words "ban" and "eject". You should know what both these are.

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Originally written by Imperial rivercorps armada 2nd fleet aka Rivercastle for Nohbdy. Other regions are welcome to use it.