Arma 3 metagame

The Endurance Coalition's goal is similar to others: be a safe place to hang out and play games. The caveat is that EDC has a focus towards Arma 3. To facilitate the Arma 3 aspect, there is a “metagame” for it – an underlying social system that exists specifically for it.

The metagame has 2 aspects: certifications, and ranks.

Certifications

A certification is a course written by any member of EDC and which is approved by an EDC administrator. A certification can be completed in 1 of 2 ways.

• The person is taught the material by a certified person in real time. Once all material is covered, they are certified.
• The person studies independently and, when ready, demonstrates their understanding through performing actions on the certification’s dedicated checklist – all certifications have these – in the presence of a certified person.

Certifications serve 2 purposes. The first purpose is Standard Qualifications 1 and 2, which are designed to get someone who has never played Arma 3 before into a state where they are more or less competent.

The second purpose is to teach how to play specific roles, such as medic or radio operator. The goal here is that, as someone gets more certifications, they become a more competent player, and as more people become competent players, scenarios can be made more challenging and complex.

The carrot used to get people to engage in this system is that role based certifications are required for someone to sign-up for that role prior to the day of an operation – a term used in Arma communities to denote playing a curated military scenario.

On the day of the operation, if not all roles are covered for any reason, people may slot into them with preference first being given to those who are certified in it. If the role is still available after that, then a non-certified person may take it.

Some certifications expire. All this means is, when it does expire, the member must re-certify on it. So long as it is expired, it is treated as if the member lacks it entirely.

This is particularly relevant for the Standard Qualification certifications. If they are expired for too long, at the discretion of the EDC administration, the member may be demoted in rank until they catch back up.

Ranks

The term rank is misleading, as it doesn’t mean you are a “private”, “lieutenant”, or whatever. It’s a 3-step ladder that indicates your proven level of knowledge of how to play the game, and whether you fit the desired “vibe” of the unit – a term used in Arma communities to refer to organized groups of people who play operations together.

The ladder is as follows:

1. Enlisted
2. Cadet
3. Member

Enlisted

An enlisted is someone who is fresh to EDC, fresh to Arma, or both, and has indicated interest in it to an EDC administrator. That’s it.

Those who are enlisted may not participate in an operation unless it is marked “casual” by the operation creator. EDC wishes to ensure that participants in a more “serious” environment have a baseline understanding of Arma and team-based play within it before allowing them to play.

To verify this understanding, the certification Standard Qualification 1 (SQ-1) exists. It teaches the very basics that will be needed to participate in a more “serious” operation without breaking the suspension of disbelief for other players. Once it is obtained, the person is immediately made a cadet.

Cadet

Cadets may now participate in non-casual operations; but they may not take roles with heightened responsibility. This means they cannot be medics, cannot be squad leaders, even should the situation occur where it would otherwise be permissible. This is because while SQ-1 is a good foundation, there is more information – so to speak – that EDC wants all their full members to know. Furthermore, before becoming a full member, a “vibe check” is desired. Being a hyper-competent player is great, but if the person just isn’t a fit for the social dynamics of the community, then that is a disservice to both them and EDC.

So, going from cadet to member is a two-step process, but the steps can be completed in any order. One step is to complete Standard Qualification 2 (SQ-2) which goes over all the additional information that EDC wants to ensure you know. The other step is to participate in at least 1 non-casual operation and, once it ends, all full members will be asked if they have any major complaints or concerns.

If SQ-2 is completed, and no full member voices a complaint or concern, then the person immediately becomes a full member. This is permanent (unless requested), with the caveat that the Standard Qualification duo must be done once a year, and as part of a disciplinary action reduction to a lower rank may be enacted by an EDC administrator.

Member

A full member has no additional caveats to consider. They may begin working on role based certifications if they so desire.