SUPPORT NETWORK > FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

AMERICA'S ARMY SUPPORT NETWORK
There are many different subjects when speaking about the America's Army brand, each with its own set of contacts and support topics.

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS FOR: GAMEPLAY

1.   HOW COME EVERY TIME I TRY TO JOIN A SERVER, IT SAYS I'M NOT QUALIFIED?
Answer:
You need to go through basic training before you can take part in online missions. Go to Soldier Training, and make sure you have completed all four sections of Basic Combat Training. If you are receiving this error when attempting to join SF maps, you need to ensure you have at least 15 honor, and have completed all SF training.
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2.   DO I HAVE TO COMPLETE BASIC TRAINING BEFORE PLAYING ONLINE?
Answer:
No. With the addition of ETA (Explore The Army) servers, you can now play in a limited fashion without completing Basic Training. To do this, launch the game and click the "Explore The Army" link.

However, to fully experience America's Army and all of its features, you must complete Basic Training.
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3.   CAN I RE-QUALIFY IN BASIC MARKSMANSHIP, OR DO I HAVE ONLY ONE CHANCE?
Answer:
You can re-qualify on Rifle Range and try for a higher score.
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4.   WHY CAN’T I TRAIN TO BE AN ADVANCED MARKSMAN?
Answer:
You must score a 36 or higher on the rifle range to be able to qualify for Advanced Marksmanship training.
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5.   HOW DO I SELECT MY WEAPON? I WANT THE [M249/M203/M16A2/M4A1]!
Answer:
Hit F2 to open the Class Preference menu, click on one of the available classes, and hit Select. Classes are re-assigned each round.
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6.   HOW DO I BECOME SQUAD LEADER OR FIRETEAM LEADER?
Answer:
In the Class Preference menu (F2) select squad Leader or FireTeam leader.
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7.   PLAYERS KEEP SELECTING THE CLASS BEFORE ME. WHY CAN'T I GET IT? WHAT'S GOING ON?
Answer:
Class selection is now based upon the player with the highest score/honor being able to select their slot first.
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8.   WHAT'S SO SPECIAL ABOUT BEING A FIRETEAM LEADER?
Answer:
The FireTeam Leaders (a.k.a. “Team Leader”) have the greatest amount of visibility in the squad. The FireTeam leader can see both the Squad Leader and every member of their FireTeam on their compass indicator. Likewise, they can be seen by every member of their FireTeam and by the Squad Leader. By using their superior visibility effectively, the FireTeam leader can assist the Squad Leader in ensuring that the squad works as a team.
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9.   WHAT'S SO SPECIAL ABOUT BEING A SQUAD LEADER?
Answer:
The Squad Leader is the only member of the squad who can assign objectives (bound to 'O' by default) and send Squad Radio messages. Additionally, all of the FireTeam Leaders are visible on the Squad Leader's compass indicator, and the Squad Leader is visible on the compass indicators of all members of the squad. By assigning objectives, and using his enhanced visibility and vision effectively, the Squad Leader can ensure that the squad remains focused and works as a team. Note: on SF maps, the “leader” is not called a squad leader, but rather, a “team leader”, because SF are organized into 12-person “teams”.
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10.   HOW MANY SQUAD LEADERS AND FIRETEAM LEADERS ARE THERE ON A TEAM?
Answer:
Since your team is your squad, there is only one Squad Leader. The number of FireTeam leaders depends on the number of soldiers in your squad. If there are not enough soldiers to fill out even one FireTeam, then the Squad Leader will also act as FireTeam Leader. Otherwise, there will be as many FireTeam Leaders as there are FireTeams, and there will be between 1 and 4 FireTeams, as many as are necessary to accommodate the members of your squad.
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11.   WHY DO I KEEP GETTING SENT TO A PRISON CELL?
Answer:
You have committed a serious ROE (Rules of Engagement) violation. You have been sent to the United States Military Prison at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. This violation will go on your permanent record. Repeated ROE violations of this degree will result in a player account being temporarily or permanently banned from official servers.
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12.   WHAT DOES ROE MEAN?
Answer:
ROE stands for Rules of Engagement, which all Soldiers must learn and obey while in hostile situations. For America's Army, ROE means not firing upon your fellow U.S. Soldiers, and not attempting to destroy or kill an objective which you are assigned to protect. Every incident of friendly fire will be recorded in your ROE score, including non-fatal shots and grenade damage. If you accumulate an ROE score of over 400 during a single match, you will be kicked off of the server and sent to Leavenworth Prison. Repeated ROE violations will result in your player account being temporarily or permanently banned.
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13.   HOW COME MY ACCURACY IS SO LOW?
Answer:
The most important thing to remember is that as long as you are moving, your accuracy will be poor. The next most important thing to remember is that you can always improve your accuracy by going into a lower posture or by bringing up your sights. Also remember that when using a sniper rifle, unless you are using the scope, your accuracy will be poor. Waiting for you CEM to reach the top of the bar will also help your accuracy. There are six things that affect your accuracy and recoil:

1. Speed
a.Sprinting - Cannot Fire
b.Fast Move - Extremely High Penalty
c.Slow Move - Very High Penalty
d.Still - None

2. Posture
a.Standing - Moderate Penalty
b.Crouching - Small Penalty
c.Prone - None
d.Leaning - Small Penalty
(Leaning penalty is cumulative)

3. Health
a.Red - Large Penalty
b.Yellow - Moderate Penalty
c.Green - None

4. Sights
Rifles:
a.Sights up - BONUS: Large
Sniper Rifles:
b.Scope off - Very High Penalty
c.Scope on - BONUS: Large
d.Breathing - BONUS: Small
(fire at the top or bottom of the breathing cycle)

5. Support (Automatic Rifles and Sniper Rifles only)
a.Supported - BONUS: Large

6. Class
Native - BONUS: Moderate
(Using the same class of weapon that you started with)
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14.   HOW DO I CONNECT DIRECTLY TO A SERVER IF I KNOW THE IP?
Answer:
If you know the IP, you can connect directly to a server. Go to the console (hit ESC to get out of the menu, then hit '~') and type "open 123.45.67.8" Where 123... is the IP address of the server you are trying to get to. If the is a password add to the end ?password=xxxx so the full command would be open 123.45.67.8?password=xxx
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15.   ON THE SCOREBOARD, WHAT DOES THE NUMBER TO THE LEFT OF MY USERNAME MEAN?
Answer:
This is your Honor value. If you have not played before, you will have an Honor value of 10. As you play your Honor value will increase. ROE violations will reduce your Honor value. Players with higher Honor values are given higher priority when selecting a weapons Class and Leadership roles.
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16.   MY HONOR IS BELOW 10 AND I CAN’T JOIN MOST SERVERS WHAT CAN I DO?
Answer:
There are retraining servers so you can get your Honor back up. Use the filter in your game browser to locate servers that allow 1-100 honor. Also, please remember to be a little more careful with your grenades and with your identification of friend and foe.
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17.   HOW DO I CONTACT AN ADMIN?
Answer:
We do not currently support in-game administrators. If you require assistance with a Leased or Official server, please contact your server provider. If you're having problems with your in-game account, please email aacm@americasarmy.com or post your issue in the Authentication and Account support forum.
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18.   THE SERVER IS PASSWORD PROTECTED. HOW DO I GET IN?
Answer:
There is a box at the bottom of the filter screen where you can type the password in.
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19.   WHY CAN’T I CHOOSE MEDIC?
Answer:
Make sure you have completed medic training. The Sniper and SSG class cannot select medic. Also, medic slots are limited. This means if all medic slots are already taken, you will not be able to select it until a slot opens.
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20.   I CAN'T SEEM TO BE ABLE TO JOIN A SERVER?
Answer:
Make sure your firewall ports are open and check to make sure PunkBuster is enabled.

UDP - 1716, 1717, 1718, 8777, 27900
TCP - 14200, 20025-45, 20046, 20047, 20048, 28910

UDP ports explained:
1716 for the Game
1717 for the GameQuery
1718 for the Master Server Query
8777 for the Standard UT Query
27900 for GameSpy

TCP ports explained:
28910 for GameSpy
20025-45 for MBS Game Server
20046 for the Auth server
20047 for MBS
20048 for DCDS
14200 for LAN
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21.   WHAT IS THIS HONOR SCORING SYSTEM ALL ABOUT?
Answer:
HONOR forms the basis of AA’s unique scoring system. It is modeled after the Army values (Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless-Service, Honor, Integrity and Personal Courage or LeaDeRSHIP). This forms the basis of our rewards system in the game. The Honor scale ranges from 0 – 100. When you first create your character, you begin with an Honor of 10. As your character progresses throughout the game, Honor increases (a good thing) and decreases (definitely not a good thing). Your Honor increases for choosing to be a leader during the match (squad leader, team leader), successfully accomplishing your team’s goals or objectives, winning a mission, and avoiding ROE (Rules of Engagement) violations.
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22.   WHAT IS ROE?
Answer:
ROE are Rules of Engagement – rules which govern activity on the battlefield. In America’s Army, each map has some set of ROE (e.g. do not harm non-combatants and/or civilians). A common ROE violation includes fratricide (either intentional or non-intentional). Violation of ROE may result in reduced Honor (experience) points and ultimately, removal from the game server and a virtual sentence to the United States Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
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23.   HOW IS EXPERIENCE (HONOR) DETERMINED/ACCUMULATED?
Answer:
Experience points are a factor of Honor (see preceding for details). In other words, each Honor point consists of “x” number of experience points. Similar to Honor, experience points are earned by:

• completing objectives
• guarding anyone taking an objective
• higher points are awarded to leader positions
• win the round
• heal teammates while playing as medic
• eliminating the OPFOR

Experience points are taken away by:

• Injuring or eliminating your own teammates (ROE points vary)
• being eliminated by another player (-10 points)
• getting kicked from a server for a ROE violation (-500 points, or server ROE max)


Once you reach the maximum ROE allowed, you will be sent to an offline prison environment called Leavenworth. Remember, prison is not an on-going thing. You may be set “free” by joining the server again with the “open IP” command or by quitting the game altogether.
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24.   I HAVE REGISTERED OR REACTIVATED MY ACCOUNT, BUT I HAVEN'T GOTTEN MY TEMPORARY PASSWORD EMAILED TO ME (EVEN AFTER X DAYS!) WHY COULD THIS HAPPEN? WHAT DO I DO NOW?
Answer:
Make sure your Internet Service Provider or email account is not marking the email as "spam." A lot of the time, AOL, Yahoo, MSN and Hotmail accounts are more likely to have this problem. If you are having a problem receiving your password, submit a support request at this link: http://login.americasarmy.com/views/support.php
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25.   MY HONOR ALL OF A SUDDEN HAS DROPPED TO 0. WHAT SHOULD I DO?
Answer:
Get feedback to all your account support questions by completing the form on the support page here: http://login.americasarmy.com/views/support.php. Please note that this form is intended for inquiries about your accounts only.
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26.   CAN I RECOVER MY GAME ACCOUNT IF I'VE FORGOTTEN MY USERNAME BUT I HAVE THE EMAIL ADDRESS?
Answer:
Go to the Account Management page and select the "Forgot Password?" link.
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27.   HOW COME THE ADVANCED MARKSMANSHIP TRAINING CLASSES (M24/M82) ARE NEVER LISTED AS AVAILABLE WHEN I’M IN-GAME?
Answer:
Training, Soldier! First, you must be qualified as an Advanced Marksman by completing the Advanced Marksmanship training (see above). Also, the minimum number of squad members on the server must be reached before this class becomes available.
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28.   HOW COME I CAN’T PLAY THE SPECIAL FORCES CHARACTER?
Answer:
First, you must complete all of the Special Forces training. Second, your Honor must be 15 and above to be qualified for a Special Forces character in a public server. Last, the Special Forces class is only available on the Special Forces maps.
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29.   HOW DO I USE THE MODIFICATIONS FOR THE SPECIAL FORCES WEAPON?
Answer:
Go to Personnel Jacket then Weapon Mods. Once you have created your weapon sets, you must be playing a SF map, have a minimum of 15 Honor and select a SF class in-game. You may select up to five predefined gun mods that you may switch to on-the-fly. The new selection will take place at the start of the next round.
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30.   HOW DO I USE THE M9 PISTOL WHEN I'M AN ADVANCED MARKSMAN?
Answer:
By default, you can draw your M9 pistol by pressing the P key. You can change the default key by choosing settings>controls>combat.
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31.   I CAN NOT SEE THE SLIDES IN MEDIC AND/OR SPECIAL FORCES TRAINING, WHY?
Answer:
Make sure ‘projectors’ is selected to 'on' under >settings>video>advanced. If the box is checked and you are still unable to see the slides, make sure you have a supported video card.
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32.   HOW DO I CALL FOR A MEDIC? AND WHEN I AM MEDIC HOW DO I KNOW SOMEONE NEEDS HELP?
Answer:
To call for a medic hit the M key (by default) you will yell "Medic" and it will report in for you. When you are medic you can tell someone needs medical attention by looking at your compass, you will see a red icon, also read the reports you will see when someone calls for a medic it will also report them in at the same time.
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33.   CAN MEDICS HEAL THEMSELVES?
Answer:
No, you will need to call for a medic on your team to come and offer medical assistance.
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34.   WHAT DOES IF MEAN?
Answer:
IF stands for Indigenous Forces. If you play on an SF map and are not SF qualified, you will be required to play as IF. You will also have to play as IF if there are no remaining open spots for Special Forces characters on the game server.
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35.   HOW DO I TAKE A SCREENSHOT AND HOW DO I VIEW THEM?
Answer:
By default, you can take a screenshot by pressing the F9 key. You can also take a screenshot by opening up your console and typing ‘shot’ (without the quotes). Screenshots are saved in your America's Army directory:

C:\Program Files\America’s Army\Screenshots
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36.   IF I UNINSTALL OR REINSTALL AA WILL I LOSE MY HONOR AND TRAINING STATS?
Answer:
No. All of your info (training, Honor) is saved to a server. The only thing you need is your user name and password, then just login from the personnel jacket. No matter where you are in the world, your records jacket will always be saved.
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37.   DO PLAYERS WITH A HIGH PING LAG A GAME SERVER?
Answer:
No. Like most game engines, Unreal uses the UDP protocol for communication. This protocol is connection-less, meaning when the server sends information to a connected player it does not wait for a confirmation that the information was received. This prevents the server from worrying about whether a connected player is receiving information or not and players with high pings only affect themselves.
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