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About Us

Second Life Militaries

Second Life Militaries are organizations which revole around combat using the Linden Lab Combat System 'LLCS'. A military's home sim will be set to "unsafe" or "damage". This means that a health bar will appear on the upper task bar. In these sims you can be "killed", usually instantly, by scripted objects such as bullets, explosions, and other kill prims. When you are killed you will teleport back to your homepoint, which is usually set in one's own base. Each military has it's own unique theme, operation, philosophies and technologies. An actual battle will often consist of one military teleporting their troops into an enemy miltary sim's hub, and then advancing in attempts to overrun and conquer their base.

When you are fragged you are returned to your own sim, and must start from the begining again. Rinse and repeat. The individuality of the armies creates variables which keep combat exciting and interesting, for interest, you may find yourself dug into a trench fighting heavily armed mech warriors, in a jet fighter defending your home skies from enemy fleet ships, or fending off hordes of oncoming attackers from an ally's barracks.

Our Belief

"Moral excellence comes about as a result of habit. We become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts."

-- Aristotle

When Second Life was still young and fairly unpopulated, the SL Combat community was formed from the friendships which had formed in the sandboxes throughout the world. Over time, those original friendships have had many trials, but the hardest one has come from the question of morality and the values shown by the various combat groups. In a tight-knit community of friends, such questions are rarely needed to be addressed, but as the militaries grew, as new faces joined the ranks, there was no longer the original bonds of respect guiding participants on the field of battle. It became fashion to insult the enemy, to instill actual hate between the groups. The human face of SL Combat was lost, replaced by faces of war and duty. The Merczateers have always found strength through camaraderie, through the devotion and respect the comrades have felt for each other. We aren't just nameless troops following a banner into the fight. Every member is valued for being more than just an image on a computer screen; we are all human on the other side of it, and we treat others with the same consideration and respect online that we would show to people offline.

The Iron Symphony

With this notion in mind The Merczateers founded the alliance known as the "Iron Symphony" commonly reffered to as the 'IS'. The Iron Symphony is a collection of militaries sharing similar views and ideologies pertaining to combat and how it should be conducted within Second Life. Formally all members are allies, however in the interests of facilitating combat with a higher degree of standards, skirmishes are regularly held. The IS was formed with the intention of creating their own combat community to influence the rest of the community to adapt fairer combat technology and friendlier relationships with eachother. The long time nemisis of the Merczateers, the Alliance Navy, responded by forming their own alliance known as the Ascendant Initiative which is characterized by tradition and rigid following of a treaty called STABLE. More recently a third alliance has emerged, dubbed the Sovereign Regime. A much smaller organization, they are the antithesis of the Iron Symphony. The SR holds the philosohpy that the most important part of combat is defeating and damaging the enemy, regardles of the means. They are noted for their immoral tactics and behavior both within and beyond the battlefield.

The Merczateers is arguably the most proficient and accomplished military group in Second Life. For four years it has been one of the dominant military groups on the grid. What is not arguable however is its sheer size. The Merczateers has over eighty active members from all over the world. In total, the Merczateers has over four-hundred members. Founded in June of 2005, the Merczateers have an extensive history in which their soldiers hold great pride.

Once style as a Post-Modern Soviet military faction, the Merczateers has slowly shed it's Communist past in favor of Capitalism. This is made apparent by the ability of members to purchase and use weapons from the Operations store. Created and supplied by Marshal Anthony Lehane, profits from Operations in combination with the generous donations of supporters funds the entire army and it's territory. However, the themes of oldare still prevalent in the group. The Merczateer's base of operations is held in the snowy motherland of Badnarik, two sims rich with soviet stars, crimson red, and Russian-esque architecture.

The Merczateers describes itself as a military roleplay, but to a light degree. Members are expected to act like none other than themselves as they carry out their expected duties to help maintain a fully functioning chain of command. Members are trained to perform the duties of a Merczateer soldier upon joining, and as they progress through the ranks of the enlisted, are taught to perform in combat, as well as the skills they need to move on to ranks of higher authority and responsibility. The non-commissioned ranks of the Merczateers are divided into four classes. Trooper, Specialist, Support, and Aeronaut. Each has their own unique set of weapons and abilities - and each performs their own vital role in the success of any combat operation. When not participating in training, Merczateer soldiers take part in defense of our headquarters and missions abroad, whether it be assaulting an enemy base, or helping allied factions in the defense of their own. The group also features a method of persistent character advancement. In addition to rank, members may also build prestige points (PP) by participating in training and combat. Which allows them to unlock new weapons, vehicles, and accessories. Merczateers are also awarded merits for performance above the standards of regular duty, which also results with various unlockable items.

The Merczateers are also the leading edge in the developement of weapon and combat technologies. Their pursuit of fairer and more enjoyable combat has brought the grid major technological advances, such as the attachment Uriel aircraft, which has greatly reduced the script lag in combat, as well as eliminte other issues with sit base vehicles. Their weapons have a variety of features unique to only the Merczateers, such as meele action, tactical reload, special effect toggles, and the option to enable low lag bullets. All of this is made possible by the Merczateer's own Research and Development Department. This division consists of our most talented builders, texturers, scripters and animators. R and D is constantly providing the Merczateers with a slew of custom designed weaponry, top of the line scripts, and even original animation overrides 'AOs'. From simple battle rifles to aerospace fighters and dropships, they are always working on a new project to give the Merczateers an edge in battle.

All content used by the Merczateers - whether it be weapons, vehicles, armor, or even the headquarters itself, is made by its very own personnel. These highly appreciated and selfless individuals make up our Research and Development division. This is one of many divisions and roles Merczateers may assume in addition to their place on the chain of command. There are many to take part in; The infastructure division manages training and recruitment, as well as the secretive Light Ops division which acts as our primary source of intelligence, which also specializes in assuming advanced combat roles beyond the skill or ability of a standard soldier.

The active member count also has risen to phenomenal levels, and new weapons, gear and vehicles roll out of the factories and labs on a daily basis. On this day, we consider ourselves the premier military faction in Second Life. Although we've had many hardships, the group has stood tall during each and every one of them. It's up to every single Merczateer to keep this group strong, and make it rise above the rest.